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.”
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.”
“All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.”
“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.”
First Peter 3:18 says,
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to 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)
“to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
“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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
“...whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).
“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).
“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).
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).
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
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