Beginning With God
Our New Relationship With God
When you made that decision and invited Jesus into your life, it is important to know, did God hear you? Yes. Jesus promised that He would enter our lives, if we ask Him.
In Revelation 3:20 Jesus makes this offer,
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Did you open the door of your heart to God? If so, what did He say He would do? Would God mislead you?
First John 5:14 says,
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
In John 6:37, Jesus said,
“All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.”
And in John 10:27-29 Jesus said,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that we could be in relationship with Him. He’s not indifferent to the issue. He went to great lengths to bring us into relationship with Him. Jesus took our sins on Himself and covered us with His righteousness, making us fully forgiven and fully accepted by Him. We don’t have to first live good lives, or perform religious rituals, or spend years begging Him. God is the one who made it possible for us to have a relationship with Him. And we come to Him based on what He did for us, rather than what we can do. He paid for our sins, in order to forgive us and come into our lives.
First Peter 3:18 says,
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
When a person asks Jesus into their life, it is exciting to know what God says is now true about your relationship with God:
You are at peace with God
“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
You became a child of God
“to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
You are no longer living in darkness
“for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)
“He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13,14)
You are forgiven
“To him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43)
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us.” (Ephesians 1:7,8)
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9,10)
You have been given eternal life
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)
“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life. I write this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)
You are sealed with the Holy Spirit
“In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13)
You begin to know God’s love for you
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:7-11)
TOTALLY SECURE
There are many relationships in our lives that don’t last. We might see a divorce, friends we lose track of, or maybe even the death of someone we loved. So, maybe you are wondering about this new relationship with God…will this last?
God tells us,
“I will never fail you, nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5)
When we place our faith in Jesus, wanting Him in our lives, we become His child and forever can rest secure in His love. The following Scripture will help you see what is now true of your relationship with Him.
We did not earn a relationship with God, nor do we have to struggle to hold onto it. The Bible is clear about this. Once we placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we were accepted by God.
“We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous [in right standing, ok with him]. He did this through Christ Jesus when [on the cross] he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:22-24)
The following Scripture will help you see what is now true of your relationship with Him.
Before we became Christians
You may not have been aware of the following. However, before becoming Christians, the Bible describes us as:
- Enemies of God (Romans 5:10)
- Helpless (Romans 5:6)
- Ungodly (Romans 5:6)
- Sinners (Romans 5:8)
- Lost (Matthew 18:11)
- Poor (Revelation 3:17)
- Blind (2 Corinthians 4:4)
- Under God’s judgment (John 3:36)
- Dead through our sins (Ephesians 2:1)
- Foolish, slaves to passions (Titus 3:3)
- Doing evil deeds (Colossians 1:21)
- Far from God (Ephesians 2:13)
- Without hope (Ephesians 2:12)
- Walking in darkness (John 8:12)
Now that we are Christians
From the moment we receive Christ into our lives, we have a new relationship with God, and a new life. Here is how the Bible describes us now that we have Christ in our life. We are:
- At peace with God (Romans 5:1)
- A child of God (John 1:12)
- Completely forgiven (Colossians 1:14)
- Brought near to God (Ephesians 2:13)
- Sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
- No longer living in darkness (Ephesians 5:8)
- Members of His kingdom (Colossians 1:13,14)
- Loved by God (1John 4:9,10; John 15:9)
- Given eternal life (John 3:16)
- Secure in God’s love (Romans 8:38,39)
- Saved by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8,9)
- Christ dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17)
- Chosen by God (Ephesians 1:4,5)
- Crossed from death to life (John 5:24)
- Alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:15)
- Righteous in God’s eyes (2Corinthians 5:21)
- Led by a caring Shepherd (John 10:27)
Jesus said,
“…whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).
He describes that further saying,
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-30).
He holds us securely. Further we can be
“confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
Jesus fully paid for our sins and once we thank Him for that, receive Him into our lives, desiring for our lives to be His, He makes us His child, giving us full forgiveness and acceptance with Him.
This relationship is protected, not by what we do, but because of God’s character and Jesus’ death on our behalf. Jesus purchased our relationship with Him, canceling the penalty of sin that stood between us and God. And so we become His child, forgiven, indwelled by Him, declared righteous in His eyes, because Jesus covers our sin. Unfortunately, we still will sin. We still will find ourselves choosing to do things our way instead of God’s way. But this does not change the security of our relationship with Christ. We stand secure in this relationship, because of what God says about it.
“Therefore, since we have been right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1).
Salvation through Jesus is purely God’s gift, received once by faith. At that moment we have begun a relationship with God that lasts eternally. Our relationship with Christ does not hinge on personal holiness, or levels of faith, or sacrifices, or good works or religious acts. God doesn’t intend for our focus to be on our performance. He desires our focus to be on Jesus.
Unlike other relationships we have in this world, our relationship with God is secure because He brought us into this relationship in the first place,and He is faithful to keep us unto eternal life. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says
“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Originally posted on March 2, 2018 @ 7:04 am