It's a RELATIONSHIP

If there's one thing I can never stress enough, it's that being a Christian is being in a relationship with Christ.

God wants that.

When God called Abraham to be the father of HIS chosen people, He did not call him to PRACTICE A RELIGION -- He called him to DEVOTION to Him.

When Jesus came, He did NOT establish A CHURCH (in the religion sense of the word); He came and taught, DIED for the people He created -- AND ROSE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD to establish relationships with the people He came to save.

SALVATION is not received by MEMBERSHIP to a CHURCH, nor by AFFILIATION to a certain DENOMINATION -- it is by A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with JESUS CHRIST.

The Bible clearly says:

"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

You NEVER go into any relationship with anyone YOU DO NOT KNOW. A relationship with Christ ENTAILS A KNOWLEDGE and ACCEPTANCE of who He IS, and what He's DONE for us.

Another aspect of a relationship can be found in Matthew 7:21:

"Not everyone who says to Me (Jesus), 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."

Relationships demand OBEDIENCE. When we accept Christ for who He is -- we essentially accept Him as our LORD and SAVIOR. It IS pretty straight forward, "Why are you calling me Lord when you're not obeying me?"

And of course, there's the all important idea from 1 John 4:19

"We love because he first loved us."

A relationship HAS to be founded on LOVE. The whole idea of Christianity is basically having GOD LOVE US SO MUCH.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Christianity is not primarily a whole list of dos and don'ts that can get you saved, that's what RELIGION is for. Christ coming to earth was essentially BECAUSE HE LOVED US TO MUCH and WANTED TO SAVE US. We do not become Christians to adhere to its teachings and laws to be saved -- we become Christians to RECEIVE His LOVE and GRACE, to ENTER INTO A RELATIONSHIP with HIM.

We saints do not subscribe to a religion, we FOLLOW a GOD who LOVES US. Blindly following a religion and its teachings is totally different from KNOWING, LOVING, and FOLLOWING Someone -- someone who came over to this measly earth He himself created, died in the hands of those He came to save, and provided His salvation as a free gift JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES US SO MUCH.

Q: Does it mean, then, that as long as I have a relationship with Him, I am a saint already? I don't need to follow a certain way of living?

-- Well sure, but remember, being in a relationship CHANGES people. If you truly are COMMITTED to someone, IT WILL SHOW.