Unlocking The Divine: How To Get Right With God
What do you and I need if we want to get right with God?
“Every religion is man’s effort to be reconciled to God by earning His favor.” ~ Steven J. Cole, @ Bible.org
I believe a more accurate statement would say, “Almost every religion…”
Most religions have a list of rules and instructions that define “good works.” Christianity alone says that we can’t earn God’s saving grace…
Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Ephesians 2:9
Christianity alone says that God’s favor is a gift of God through Jesus…
God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
Ephesians 2:8, 18
Faith alone, in Christ alone, through Grace alone, by God’s Word alone, is the only way to be right with God. And when people have a right relationship with God through faith, they (we) want to glorify Him and share His love.
Paul summed it up like this…
Faith’s way of getting right with God says,
“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.”And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
Romans 10:6a, 8–10
Jesus said that when a sinner believes in their hearts and confesses with their lips, there’s a celebration…
“There is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”
Luke 15:10
We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found. So the party began.
Luke 15:23b–24
The enemy works relentlessly on humanity, trying to convince individuals that they can be good enough to earn God’s favor. He wants everyone to live with pride and selfishness. Jesus said that we are to be humble with childlike faith, recognizing that everything we have is a gift from a gracious, loving God.
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:10
Jeremiah wrote…
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
Lamentations 3:22–24
His mercies never cease.
Great is His faithfulness;
His mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in Him!”
How do we get right with God?
We TRUST His love and respond with FAITH. We make SEEKing, KNOWing, LOVING, and OBEYing God our greatest desire. All because of Jesus!
Let’s pray…
A Prayer to Be Right With God
Father, the enemy of our souls wants us to focus on ourselves. He tempts us with selfishness through worldly desires, and taunts us with pride, foolishly comparing ourselves with one another. Please forgive us. Please forgive me.
I want my heart to be right with You, Lord, and Your Word says that Jesus is the only Way. He is the Truth, who gives Life to all who repent and trust in Him.
Your Word, Jesus, and faith are all a gift from Your grace.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, I believe in my heart and I do declare that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I believe You sent Him as a sacrifice to take away my sins and because He lives, I will live with You forever.
I believe His promise to come for me and bring me home when everything is ready. I believe Your faithful love never ends and Your mercies never cease. I believe You are gracious and faithfully keep Your promises.
With Your Spirit’s help, I will live with hope, trusting that I am right with You through Jesus. I thank and praise You for giving me everything I need. Amen.
Jerry Jenkins wrote…
“Christianity is not a religion, it’s a relationship with God through Christ.”
Our relationship with God is based on love. His love for us and our love for Him. So, it is not by “good works” that we earn His favor. He already loves us. We do the good He has prepared for us because we love Him.
Remember, as Rev used to say, “It’s not obeying because we have to, it’s loving the Lord so much that we get to … we want to.
May you be blessed with peace today and hope for the future, as you believe in your heart and declare with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.
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I love what Rev said!! It is so true. My faith in Christ and my trust in Him that sent my Redeemer makes me want to obey Him. I want everyone to know about Jesus! It is with so much gratitude and love for HIM that keeps me going.
God’s blessings to you sweet and wise lady. I am grateful for you too.
I’m with you, Sue. I want everyone to experience the blessings of knowing and trusting Jesus. And yes, love for Him makes me want to please Him and do what He says. Blessings!
Thank you for this post Deb 🥰 It’s funny how the most recurring word in life is TRUST. God wants us to Trust Him. We want other people to Trust us. We expect our pets to Trust us, and we do the same in return. Yet, from all these relationships, Trusting God seems to be the hardest.
So often I say that I trust Him, but when the roof falls then panic sets in immediately and I look around bewildered that what happened to my Trust?
I tend to hold onto God’s love for me for sustenance as even if I’d try to deny that, I couldn’t. He’s been so faithful to me throughout my entire life….even during those backsliding periods. That’s why I learned this passage as a forever reminder –
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for my anger turned away from him.”
There is so much wisdom in your words, Gaby. I think we struggle with trust in difficult moments because the enemy uses our momentary weakness against. He loves to tempt us to give in to fear and doubt. As I’ve lived out this year of grief, I try to remember to pray first. It’s not really remember. During calm moments, I prayerfully ask the Spirit to remind me to pray in difficult moments. Oh, how I need Him. I like that passage. God is still with us even through our moments of doubt and fear. Blessings to you, my friend!
I love Rev’s words you quoted here, Deb, and also what Jerry Jenkins said. Christianity is a relationship with God that makes us desire to love Him more and more. Blessings!
I’m glad they blessed and encouraged you, Martha! It’s overwhelming to know that the God of the Universe wants a personal relationship with us. What an awesome God! Blessings and HUGS!
I love the idea that we do good things, not because we have to, but because we want to please our Father. We do not need to do all of the good works to receive the kingdom of Heaven, but, when we do good for others, imagine how proud our Heavenly Father is that we are living as he has taught us to. I also love that his mercies begin afresh each morning! We all need a clean slate sometimes!
Thank you Deb for giving us a place to feel at home with the Lord!
Emmie
Thank you, Emmie. I need a clean slate every morning. It’s a wonderful blessing to know that God’s grace is sufficient for all my thoughts, words, and actions that don’t align with His will for me. Praise God for Jesus and for the Spirit who helps us KNOW, TRUST, and LOVE. God be with you and bless you!