This past week, I was contacted by an old friend of mine whom I had not spoken to in several months. He asked what was going on in my life, so I told him all about the things that my family and I are involved in at the church, since that's what is most prominent in our lives right now. I explained that, over the course of the last year, I had grown closer in some respects to my church family than I ever had been to my earthly family. This is not an uncommon thing among believers, because when God becomes the center of a relationship, God blesses that relationship with His strength and love.It became apparent to me, from the worldly way my friend responded, that he did not truly have a relationship with Jesus. Since he had not shut me out completely and asked me to explain what I meant by having a stronger relationship by making God the central focus, I pressed on by laying out the pathway to salvation for him. His first response took the typical diplomatic "works for you but not for me" route. I was content to offer him some references for additional information and leave it at that, because my job as a believer is merely to present Jesus' offer of salvation and leave the decision to the individual. He didn't have to take my word for it, because my words are not what produce a saving faith in Christ. God's word does that.
Because I know this person very well, I expected what happened next. He became very indignant with me, insisting that I was treating him as though he'd never spent a day in church. He responded with everything he thought he knew, about how the Bible is just a book, and that people can make it say whatever they want to fit their own purposes. He told me all about how there are so many different ways to Heaven, and he believed that I was trying to beat him into submitting to my own personal way of thinking. Anyone who has ever tried their hand at soul-winning for Christ has heard these and many other arguments like them before.
If you have a personal relationship with Jesus, especially if that relationship did not begin until adulthood, you know that it is absolutely possible to spend a lifetime in church and never really "get it". Going to church every week doesn't make you a Christian. Listening to others' opinions on what the Bible is and what it says without examining it for yourself does not make you knowledgeable about it. Listening to what the rest of the world says about God doesn't tell you who He is. God preserved His inerrant, unchanging word for us for a reason - so that we could find and commune with Him on our own, without the influence of the world.
Only human arrogance would assume that it is possible to reach God on our own terms, and this very notion violates the holiness and sovereignty of God. This is why there are so many religions in the world today - people are still trying to reach God their own way, because they don't understand who He is! God's word says there is only one way to Him, and that is through a saving faith in Jesus Christ. A relationship with God cannot truly begin until God's word finally sinks in, until you realize that God doesn't judge by your own personal standards but by His. When you finally realize who God is, and who and what you are in the sight of God, when you truly humble yourself before Him for the first time and throw your very life upon His mercy, when you acknowledge that Jesus paid your sin debt in full, then and only then can true fellowship with Him begin.
Satan amplifies human arrogance through religion, by encouraging us to believe that we can be good enough for God on our own. Satan attempts to tarnish the name of Jesus by tempting Christians to sin, and by encouraging those who are not disciples of Christ to call themselves Christians. Satan dilutes the very word of God by encouraging us to create "newer and better" translations of the Bible which change or leave out key words and phrases (Acts 8:37 is a great example). Don't be fooled by this! Blow the dust off your family's ancient King James Bible, and start reading. Research the original words and their meanings. (Strong's Concordance is a great way to do this.) Discover for yourself that God's word means what it says!
I regret to report that my friend did not choose to receive Christ. Nevertheless, I have pleased my Lord by delivering His good news and offering His gift of salvation to another. All I can do for my friend now is pray for him, which I continue to do. I trust God to do the rest, for I know that it is His will that we all humble ourselves before Him and receive Christ. I still love my friend dearly, but I serve the Lord first.
What amused me about our conversation was that my friend insisted that I was not behaving like the person he once knew. He's absolutely right, because I'm no longer that person! The study of God's word and the fellowship I've been privileged to share with other believers has done (and is still doing) a tremendous job of transforming me into the person that God wants me to be, so that I may serve Him the way He wants me to serve Him with my life. Praise God for leading me back to a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching church! Praise God for the life-changing power of His word!
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." - 1 Corinthians 1:18
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17
"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." - Matthew 10:37
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