By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
ISAIAH 43:11-12 (NKJV) ~ "I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God."
ISAIAH 43:11-12 (NKJV) ~ "I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God."
A Facebooker posted: "Catholic Christian."
"Religion is NOT Salvation." You may be religious and think you are very moral and still be lost and a stranger to salvation. You may claim that God's Word in the Bible is not the "sole authority" of faith and practice. You may claim that there are many ways to get to Heaven. But God's Word in the Bible says, there is only one way, in John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." There are many people who build their salvation on religion. They think that by observing religious rituals, ordinances, and doing the best they can, that God will have to accept them. None of these acts will never give anyone Biblical Salvation that leads to eternal life through God's only Begotten Son (John 3:16).
You may belong to a church, be an active member with a perfect attendance, an officer, or a worker, be trying your best, striving to live right, you may have been taught in God's Word, have read the Bible from beginning to end, memorized Bible Scriptures, baptized in water as an infant, and confirmed; you may have partaken of the Lord's Supper, taught Sunday school, preached the Word of God—I mean, name it, you've done it all—yes, all the rest, that you may think you have what it truly takes to make it to Heaven. But, apart from Biblical Salvation, all those things that define your salvation are futile to God. Unless you have been changed, you remain in bondage to sin and the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't know you. The Lord Jesus said, "you must be born again" (read John 3:1-21). "So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:8). You remain in the flesh as long as you are unsaved, no matter how good you may try to be; or how you may try to please the Lord. "And all our righteousness are filty rags;" (Isaiah 64:6) in the sight of the Lord. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us," (Titus 3:5).
There is only ONE way you can be saved. Not in religion or denomination, not many ways according to religious teaching, and that is by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior (John 3:3; John 14:6; Romans 2:8-9; Romans 10:9-10).
Perhaps you believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross for you, but you have not repented from your sins, you have not accepted in your heart that you are a lost sinner, that you cannot save yourself for Heaven, and that you need a savior. But you have not received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior, then you have not made use of what you have known of Him and what He has done for you. "But as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name" (John 1:12). Perhaps you have been trying to do your best, but still have a longing in your heart for peace with God. Friend, this peace can only be yours when you let Christ save your soul. He is the only One who can truly fill your empty life with genuine peace (John 14:1; John 14:27), once and for all.
Friend, God is not asking you what religion or denomination ( Lutheran, Catholic, Islam, Baptist, Buddhist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, etc. ) you have or you belong to. He's asking you if you have been born again (saved by the Lord Jesus Christ alone—John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9)? If you died right now do you know for sure that you would go to Heaven and that the Lord Jesus knows you? Now is the hour of salvation. Don't put it on hold. Let Jesus Christ save your soul and make yourself a stranger to Him no more. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, " (Hebrews 2:3).
Be reminded:
Your religion didn't die for you—the Lord Jesus did. Put your trust in Him and not in your religion.
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
