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Knowing God

True Christianity is not a religion. Neither is it a set of do's and don'ts. It is not about guilt or being better than everyone else. It is about a relationship with God; about knowing Him personally and developing a friendship with Him.

God loves you. He takes an interest in your life and wants to have a relationship with you. Yet the sinful things in your life (things like the small dishonesties, the actions of resentfulness and anger, the hurtful things you've said, the moments of lust and greed) have separated you from God. You see, our dishonesty cannot exist with God's truth; our resentfulness cannot be bound to his love; and our anger, lust and greed separate us from his kindness, justice, and selflessness. The consequence of sin is separation from God and death to your soul.

The truth is that we have all sinned and are separated from God. None of us can reach Him on our own. It is also true that God loves us; He loves you, just the way you are. He loves you enough not to leave you separated from Him. Because you cannot get back to Him on your own, He made a way for you to have a relationship with Him. Years ago, He sent His son, Jesus, to live on Earth. Jesus lived a sinless life, and willingly became separated from His Father and died on a cross. In doing this He took the consequence of your sin on Himself, so that you wouldn't have to bear it. He did it as a gift to you so that, through His action, you would not have to be separated from God any more.

These things are confirmed in the Bible, in the written accounts of Jesus' life and words authored by people who knew him:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" John 1:12

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. Noone comes to the Father except through Me.'" John 14:6

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9;

Lawyers know that gifts are made up of three things: an intent of the giver to give, an act of giving, and acceptance by the person to whom the gift is made. Jesus intended to bear the consequences of your sin so that you could have a relationship with God and eternal life for your soul instead of death. He acted on this intent when He died on the cross and became separated from God in your place. The only thing necessary for you to have this gift, for you to have a relationship with God, is to accept it. Christians call this acceptance being "born again" or starting over. (See Chapter 3 of the Gospel of John.) As with any person to whom a gift is made, you have the choice of whether to reject or accept God's gift.

If you want to accept God's gift, you need only repent of your sins (admit that you do sin and consciously reject that way of life), invite Jesus into your life and believe that through Him you will be forgiven, and enter into a relationship with God by surrendering control of your life to Him so that He may bring about His best in your life. This acceptance is not purely emotional. It is a conscious act of your will, and must be genuine. And once you have genuinely accepted God's gift, it is yours forever. ("For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" I Peter 3:18; "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28)

If you want to begin or renew a relationship with God, we invite you to do so now. There are no magic or required words. Simply pray and genuinely tell God that you accept his gift, that you know that you have sinned and are separated from Him, that you want to turn away from your sin, that you want to accept Jesus' gift and invite Him into your life so that you can have a relationship with God, and that you are surrendering control of your life to Him.

If you chose to accept God's gift after reading this page, we encourage you to find a Bible and begin reading it in the book called John. We also encourage you to Contact Us (link). We would love to hear from you and help you begin your new relationship with God in a strong way. If you want more information, please Contact Us (link), and we would be happy to talk with you.

Also, we invite you to visit this website: http://www.greatcom.org/laws/englishkgp/default.htm for more information.