08/31/2026
What does being a Christian mean to you? Does it mean being a member of a local church, following a certain code of doctrinal guidelines? Where does a relationship with God fall in your order of priorities, which is more important, that relationship or your particular church’s teachings? Too many times we find ourselves sidetracked from what should be the main focus of our religious life, that is, our relationship with God. And while following the teachings of your church are important, as Christians our foundation should be what God, through His grace did for us.
The Bible teaches us that it is only through the sacrifice Jesus made for us that we are able to have any hope of someday making heaven our home. Paul understood this and when he went to the city of Corinth, he went determined that he was going to try to bring the people there into a relationship with Christ, not convert them to a set code of doctrinal laws and practices.
He said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
We all have our ideas as to what the church should be and do and we all have our own opinions as to how to best follow Jesus’ teachings. That is why there are so many different denominations in the Christian faith. But the one thing that we must all agree on is that Jesus and our relationship with Him is of utmost importance. It is only when we get to the place where that is important to us that we can truly enter into the type of relationship that Paul was talking about and that God wants to have with us.
It is when we have the understanding that Jesus’ sacrifice is the central theme of our faith that we can find the peace and joy that the Bible talks about. This comes from having a personal relationship with God, the kind of relationship where we look to Him for guidance. Make no mistake, I am not advocating ignoring church teachings, indeed the Bible tells us in Romans 10:14-15 that we must have a preacher/teacher in order to learn to believe. What I am trying to say is found in Philippians 2:12, we need to work out our own salvation. We can have an intimate fulfilling relationship with God but this only comes on a personal level, not a corporate one. The Church and her teachings are there to lead us and guide us to that relationship, not replace it. It is God’s desire is to get to know each of us personally, Scripture tells us that He has no greater joy than when someone decides to start that kind of relationship with Him.(Luke 15:7) The beautiful thing about it is that our past will not hinder us from having this relationship with God, He is eager to start one with you, Jesus’ death on the cross paved the way for you to come to Him without any fear of rejection. No matter who you are or what you have done, God loves you and wants you to be one of His special friends, all you have to do is come to Him with a sincere heart. Once you do that God will start the process of adoption and soon you will become His child and that is the most precious feeling that there
