Religion Can't Save You - Love Does

 

Is it just me, or is "Are you saved?" one of the most annoying Christianese questions out there?

I'm willing to wager you've heard it at least once in your lifetime. We use Christian lingo to condense large concepts while talking among ourselves. Like all lingo, it’s convenient. That’s the reason we use it. But the danger of speaking Christianese is we become lazy and even fail to explain the fundamentals of our beliefs.

The sad result of our negligence is newbies often grow up in the Church having never fully understood the basics of Christianity. 

So let's break down that question and explain things in plain ol' English.

Q: What am I being "saved" from?

A: Sin and its consequence (aka death - not only the ultimate death, but also death-giving ways in this lifetime)

So yeah, if we’re going to discuss all things saved we can’t avoid the big bad s-word: sin.

I like to think of sin as a math equation. 

Sin = Separation

Sin separates us from a Holy God. 

Can't change that or pretend it away…just like math. 

We can’t have relationship with God as long as we are tainted by sin. 

If you aren't convinced of your own sin (aka you think you're perfect), well...just ask your friends and family what they think. 

They'll put it nicely, right? 

Yeah we'll go with that. 

Paul says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Just as the strongest person on earth cannot withstand the power and energy of the sun in all its glory, so we cannot withstand the power and presence of Holiness in all His glory.

Therefore, we need to be saved from our sin, the logical and mathematical consequence of which is death and eternal separation from everything that is good. 

Like Paul says in Romans, “For the wages of sin is death…”

Q: How do I get saved?

A: Trust in the Savior.

Jesus was both Man and God (who alone is Holy). 

God became man in Jesus Christ. 

He lived the sinless life that we all should have lived. 

And then - get this - died the death that we should have died. Dude! 

Remember, the wages of sin is death and separation. 

He took upon himself all the consequences for our sin. 

He did it for us, took our place.

He was separated from the Father, and He bore the wrath that sin deserves. 

He atoned for all the sin there ever was or will be. 

It’s done. 

The rest of that verse in Romans goes, “…but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

The gift is freely given. 

Jesus restores relationship between you and a Holy God. 

You just have to repent of your sin and place your life in His hands. 

It’s a grace-filled exchange: your death for His life. 

But it’s also a costly exchange because it means you are choosing to make Him (not you) the Lord of your life. 

It’s though Jesus and only Jesus that you can come into the presence of a Holy God.

Q: Why did He save me?

A: Because He loves you and wants relationship with you.

Read and ponder John 3:16 if you’re wondering about that. 

Read all of the Gospel of John, for that matter. 

It’s the gospel of love.

 

Q: So what’s the difference between religion and love? (after all, that’s the title of this blogpost…)

A: When people use the word “religious” around me, 95% of the time they’re referring to a man-made construct whereby they learned to make themselves feel holy or seem holy to others. 

I’ve heard both these phrases spoken by many different people in conversation over the years: 

1. “My family was very religious growing up." 

2. “Oh yes, I’m very religious; I attend church every week.”

Can you identify a problem with both those statements? 

You’d probably have to dig deeper and hear more to identify the root problem. 

But I’ll give you the cheat sheet: both share an underlying assumption that if we do religious things, we can make ourself holy.

Truth is, we can’t make ourselves holy. 

It’s a losing battle, and one which usually ends in bitterness toward a misguided understanding of God, His people, His Church, and even religion. 

God tells us that we can’t make ourselves holy so many times you’d think we’d give up trying in our own strength. 

But most of us are pretty stupid and prideful that way. We like that feeling of deserving something. Like to feel good about ourselves. And definitely don’t like to admit we’re helpless.

John helps us out saying, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

He cleanses us. 

It’s His holiness transferred to us. 

We can never make ourselves holy by doing good or by incorporating more holy things into our daily routine. 

The encouraging truth is, if you’ve only experienced this kind of religiosity, you’ve got a lot to look forward to! 

You have yet to experience the fullness of a real, lasting, satisfying, life-giving relationship with Jesus. 

In truth, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the word religious.

 I love being part of the Christian Religion. 

***But the distinction I’m drawing between religion and love is the difference between following a set of rules and actually experiencing a change of heart.***

Love, when you experience the real thing, changes your heart.

It’s really no surprise, then, when we learn that the greatest commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

Love Him with everything you have in you. 

He’s not interested in your service or rituals if you don’t love Him. 

Service, obedience, sanctification, conviction, joy, emotional stability, peace, goodness, growth, spiritual resilience, freedom, and every other good thing a life lived for Jesus has to offer, comes from this place of love.

Q: How do I fall in love with God?

A: That’s ultimately between you and Him. It looks a little different for everyone. 

But there are 3 general principles to falling in love:

1) Want Him. (You have to want Him. It starts there.)

2) Keep spending time with Him even when you don't feel like it.

3) Ask Him to show you how much He loves you.

My initial in-loveness came from the realization that I was a great sinner in need of a savior. 

When I understood and felt the greatness of His love for me, it changed me. 

On the spot. 

All I knew was that I wanted Him and that He was the best.

It wasn’t a risky decision for me.

I loved Him with my whole four-year-old heart.

But His great love has gone on changing me, wooing my heart unto His own as I’ve made myself vulnerable to Him. 

20 years after I made that decision to make Jesus Lord of my life, I had to take a leap of faith and put my trust and love to the test.

It’s an experience all adult believers must go through, whether they are first-time Jesus followers or began their journey early in life like myself, because in our adulthood we finally possess mature reasoning faculties and have also convinced ourselves we have a lot to lose if we choose to follow Him.

For me this leap was terribly vulnerable, but so worth it. 

One precious result is that my love for Him has deepened and ripened. 

It's exhilarating, truly, to be in love with Him!

Here’s a pro tip: He won’t woo you if you don’t let Him. 

So, if you want to love Him more, you have to let Him have His way with you. 

That’s always scary because it means letting go of your right to control your life. 

But here’s the promise: He will never leave you or forsake you. 

He loves you with an everlasting love and will increase His faithfulness toward you. 

He is Good. 

He is Love. 

He is Life. 

He is Truth. 

He is Joy. 

He is Power. 

He is Peace. 

There’s nothing to fear.

Let Him in.