Religion is NOT Salvation, Part One, The Real Christ

You must be careful. Do not render God's Will of no effect, by following solely the traditions of men.

You see, God is more concerned with a personal relationship with YOU. He is more interested in you getting to know Him on a personal level. One on one with Him. He wants you to know Him, and His Will, and do it. He is less concerned with what Church, you claim fellowship with, says about this or that.

Most people know that there is something missing in their lives. They try to fill the void with this or that. Problem is, if you do not know what it is you are missing, you may fill the void with something that, even though may seem right, or even seem holy, but may not be what God has in mind for you.

We have talked about who God is. We talked about who you are before and after you become a Child of God. We talked about God's Promise to His Children, and we talked about who the enemy is and the fact he is very real also. So now I want to share with you the very distinct difference in true Faith vs man-made tradition called, Religion. You may be surprised to learn, not only are they vastly different, in some cases, they are total opposites.

You see, God's plan is so simple, that it is in that very simplicity, that humankind gets so lost. God created all that is, was, and ever will be. One man, named Adam, sinned and gave authority of this world over to the devil. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, Jesus, to die for our Sins. To pay the price. You seek salvation? Say this prayer.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really IS just that simple. You have just been adopted into the family of God. God is now your Daddy. You can now have a personal, one on one relationship with Him. All you have to do is go be baptized in the way Jesus said to be, and learn what the truth and way is, so that you may share your faith with others. That is what you should do, now that you are a child of God.

Remember Acts 4:

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

That's it. It really is that easy. Do not allow others to trick you. Some religions tell you that Jesus is here or there. Some say there is no need of Him. Some in the world, claim to be the Christ today. So who is the real Christ? We are warned of false Christs in Mark: 13

21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

Now we are told who Christ will be in Isaiah 53

1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Now this is a CLEAR picture of whom Jesus was long after Isaiah foretold us these things. Keep reading.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

This IS Jesus foretold. No other person in history has matched this prophecy any more than that of Jesus himself. Look at His life, and you will see it was as if he was playing a part, following a script, written by Isaiah. Anyone else that does not fit this description, is not the Christ. It really is that simple.

Now Matthew 1, gives us another fact that can not be denied as the Christ.

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

So anyone that is NOT born of a virgin, is NOT the Christ. If he was not born in Bethlehem, he is not the Christ. Matthew 2:1

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

The devil knew that Jesus was the Christ. That's why he tempted him. Remember Matthew 4:

1Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

You see, Satan knew if Jesus would just follow him, he would have nothing to worry about. That there would be no Salvation for humankind. It would be over, and he would win. But Jesus did not give into the temptations of the flesh. He fulfilled God's plan and died, yet rather, was raised again, for the Salvation of all. He opened it up, which Peter tells the Rulers of the Church at the time, that even the Gentiles will find Salvation by believing in Jesus's name. Jesus himself, in John 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus IS the key. There is only one door to Heaven. There is only one key to that door. His name is Jesus. He IS the Christ. He IS The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Period. He continues..

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Now think about that. The "Comforter" The "Spirit of Truth" comes into those that accepts the gift. Those that have Faith to believe the words of Christ. The same Spirit that was in Jesus, come into you. Jesus even says, "the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do;" As a child of God, when you come to realize God's plan and purpose for your life? Greater works than Jesus himself, will you do. Let that soak in. Jesus tells us that those that receive the Holy Spirit, will do greater works than Jesus himself did. Or at least, you have the ability to do them.

Look at this prayer that Jesus gives in John 17

1These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Now this is a prayer that is not taught often in Mainstream Religion. Lets look at it more closely. First, he recognizes that God the Father, is in charge of all things. That it is His Will that is the most important. Notice this passage...."And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Jesus was, before the world was. As he also said in verse 24 " For thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. Jesus IS Lord. He IS God in the flesh. So was the Spirit. Notice Genesis 1

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The Spirit moved on the face of the waters. He was there in the beginning In Genesis 1:

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

In the original translation "us" means three or more. The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. All three where there in the beginning. They are all three, yet ONE. When you receive the Spirit, that Jesus prays you to receive, you receive the same Spirit that "Moved upon the waters." Back to Jesus's Prayer.. "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them." Now this one was something I just recently came to understand. For YEARS I prayed for the world. I prayed that all would hear the truth and the truth would bring forth a mighty harvest. However, Jesus said, "I do not pray for the wold," but those who were sent to him, by God. Remember, no one comes on to the Father, except through Christ Jesus. No one comes to Jesus, without being lead to Him by the Spirit, send by God.

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world." Again we see that He, and God, do not promise us that we will no longer be tempted. That evil will not longer touch us, but they wish us to overcome it. They protect our lives, for our lives, now belong to them. We should be continuing Jesus's which is God's work on earth. We should be walking in the Spirit and not after the flesh. He will give us the strength to do so.

"And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." The Glory God gave Jesus, he gives us. He prays that we become one with HIM. Like God The Father, The Son, and The Hold Spirit, are one. Then he wraps up the Prayer in praise and glory to God.

This is who Jesus is. The REAL Christ. This is HIS Prayer for us. That we, as Children of God, become ONE with God. Not our fellow man. Not to kiss a ring. Bow before Statues. Not to mindlessly repeat man-made traditions. But to have a Relationship with Him.

In Part Two, we will discuss the difference in true Faith and Salvation and that of the Traditions of man, called Religion. You see, all you have to do to be Saved, for Salvation sake, is have the key to enter the door. To have the key to enter the gate. Without that, nothing else really matters.

Have a great rest of week. Be Blessed, and Jesus IS Lord!