Identity

A lot of times when people have been around me for a little while & they recognize that I talk about God & the Bible & church a lot, they seem to label me as a "religious" person. It's usually not an appropriate context for me to explain why I don't see myself as "religious" so I don't worry about the semantics, although once or twice I have been able to take it further. Usually non-"church-going" people see "church-going" people as religious, & they respect them, but don't want any part of it, & they don't know the deeper issues. Some people who do go to church think of themselves as religious people, but they for the most part don't really know what's going on, either. There's always talk about different religions, & some people think that they should be tolerant of all religions, while on the other extreme they believe you have to find the right religion, but I think both sides are wrong. This is what I have come to understand the term "religion" to mean: Man's efforts to get to God. This applies to every religion in the world except justification in Christ alone, therefore what I believe is not a "religion". The Gospel (good news) that brings salvation comes by believing that Jesus Christ died on the Cross to take your punishment & that He rose again the 3rd day & now indwells all believers by His Holy Spirit. First you must recognize the truth that you are a sinner, & because you are a sinner you cannot earn your own deliverance from the punishment of sin, but the God-man Christ Jesus, who was without sin, took your sin upon Himself & was punished for it, & God the Father was satisfied. Jesus died for you whether you believe it or not, but His righteousness will only be placed on your account if you choose to accept His gift! I have heard many people say things like, "If God is like that, I don't want to believe in Him." But you know what? God is the way He is no matter what you believe, but if you take the time to get to know Him, you will realize how great His love is, & how perfect His justice is! I don't mean to sound cold, but here's where I stand: Everyone is responsible to make his or her own decisions, but there are right decisions & wrong decisions! Whoever sang, "I believe I can fly..." was speaking metaphorically, because I'm pretty sure he didn't try it. If what you choose to believe is true, that's good, but if what you choose to believe is not true, by believing it you have not made it true! I believe the Bible is the authoritative Word of God. As a child I believed it because that's what I was taught, so I'm passionate that we should teach children what it true! Now I still believe it, but I have logical reason to! What I'm getting to is that true salvation in Jesus Christ is not a "religion" but a "relationship". Perhaps you've heard that before, & it's very true, & easy to remember. Yes, God wants to have a relationship with you through His Son, Jesus, as the mediator. There's more to it than that. Before the relationship comes the "identity". If you have accepted that Christ's sacrificial death on the Cross was for you, then you have been identified as (1) forgiven from your sin, & (2) indwelt by God's Holy Spirit. A Christian is not what you do, but who you are!