The World is Full of Religion, But Short on Christianity

Most people think these two words mean the same thing, but they are very different. Anyone can have religion, but what everyone needs is Christianity. A religion is the creed you live by whether Christian or not. The word Christian means a follower of Jesus Christ, a Christ -ian. You can be a follower of Jesus Christ and not be redeemed or converted to a child of God. God adopts you and brings you into the family of God when you are born again. The ideal is for a converted born again person to act like Christ or be a Christian. But some non-religious, unconverted people act more like Christ than some who call themselves Christian. The Bible refers to unconverted people as lost and born again people as saved. It is not surprising that church members who study their Bibles regularly are confused about all this, let alone the unconverted. It is the unconverted that are more Christian than church members that turn the world off to the church. The world and God expect some things of a Christian. It is God's will that all converted people be in a church, a local physical church. The church was God's idea, not man's and you cannot be wrong with the church and right with God. There are churches and religions that are not right with God though. It is difficult sometimes to find a good one, but worth the effort.

What if there are no good churches in your area? Jesus and the Apostles went to Synagogues and they were not perfect, they rejected the deity of Christ. Yet they saw attending these religious institutions as an opportunity to share the truth with them. It can be daunting finding a good church, but if you find a perfect one don't join it. You will mess it up. The church is not full of hypocrites like you have heard, there's always room for one more. Seriously though if you can't find a good church anywhere think about starting one. Your town needs one if there aren't any. Just like babies need their mothers a Christian needs a church family. Jesus started the church, and the Apostles did nothing but start churches in the New Testament. No other mission work was done. There are only two kinds of churches, there are thousands of religions but only two churches. One that has a "do" religion where you have to do something to be converted and a "done" religion where you acknowledge that Christ has already done everything for you to be saved. Where you just merely believe by faith and trust in His finished work. That the work of Chist has has made an atonement for your sin and cancelled the debt as described in Isaiah 53 and Hebrews 9. The latter is the Biblical kind and the one you should seek. I have to admit there are about a thousand ill conceived religions out there to every one true church. Look for a church that believes the Bible they hold in their hand is the very words of God verbatim translated into English, and follows it alone as their final authority. Don't substitute a TV or radio preacher for church, the televangelists are mostly false prophets. God said He would send a strong delusion just before His return for His church. 

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 

All indications are that the Lord is coming back soon. These verses prove that there won't be an opportunity for anyone to receive Christ after His immanent return as popular movies and Christian authors claim. Now is the time to secure your relationship with Christ, after the rapture the window of opportunity will be closed. Putting it off is gambling with your soul and that is dangerous business. You don't want to spend eternity in hell. Hebrews 9 tells how Jesus became our blood sacrifice and made an atonement for sin in our behalf 2000 years ago. In order to be saved you have to know two things. You have to know who Jesus is (Isaiah 9:6; Colossians 1:16-21 says He is the Father and God our creator), and you have to know what He has done for you (Isaiah 53; Hebrews 9). Study the Scriptures, for they contain the words of life.

John 5:39 "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."

Evangelist Art Shady

? 2015 Evangelist Art Shady - Updated May 2020

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