What in the world could I have possibly learned about Christianity from "That 70's Show"? I'm sure that's what everyone is thinking right about now.
Well today I was watching it and the episode was about the family going to church and generally their take on religion.
The kids didn't want to go and the mom wanted them to because she kept having these dreams about how if she wasn't a "Good Christian" and taking her kids to church God wasn't going to let her into heaven.
The dad didn't like going to church because it was boring and he didn't see any point to it. The daughter kept hitting on the youth pastor and overall it was a pretty funny show...but I digress.
What it taught me was that people need to know what being a Christian really means to us and to God!
What do you think would have been the kids reaction to going to church if they realized that they didn't have to go? Do you think they would of wanted to go because they wanted to get to know the God that sent his son Jesus to die on the Cross for their sins?
Do you think the mom's life would of been a lot less stressful if she realized she wasn't responsible for the fate of herself and her family? That she could of gotten into heaven the way she imagined by just accepting God's gift of salvation by faith?
And the daughter that kept flirting with the youth pastor? Well, she probably wouldn't have been looking to satisfy her need for intimacy with so many different people when she realized how much God loved her and desired her companionship.
It's amazing how much it would help the lives of these people on "That 70's Show" if they realized who they were and who God is. Would it change your life if you knew these things?
God created you and me and loves us very much (Genesis 1:1). He gave us all life and deserves our love and gratitude.
But we chose to disobey Him and al of us has failed to do what is right (Romans 3:23). We may not be as sinful as that guy down the street or we may be even worse than him or anyone else we know; but either way we are ALL guilty before God (1 John 1:8).
God is a perfect, completely good, and always just. Because of this He can't overlook the fact that we have all sinned. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The fair punishment we deserve for our rebellion against God is death.
Jesus, the only Son of God, came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life--he was completely innocent. He received the punishment that we deserved when he was crucified on the cross, he took it all upon himself--the death sentence that should of been ours. (Romans 5:8) But he did not remain dead, after three days he rose from the grave and later ascended into heaven. And he will return one day.
Jesus died for you. You can be saved by asking Him for forgiveness from your sins. If you are willing to repent of your sin, He is waiting to forgive you. It doesn't matter what you have done in the past, if you cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, He won't reject you. The word "repent" literally means "to turn away from." You need to look at your life, admit that you are a sinner, genuinely desire to turn your back on that sin, and ask Him to forgive you. If you do this, He promises to forgive you.
True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or trying to make your behavior fit some model of how a Christian should act. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior.
Jesus is always present. He can hear you now if you ask Him for forgiveness. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer something like this:
"Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. The truth is that I have sinned by my choice, and I am responsible for it. I know that the fair punishment for my sin is death. Jesus, I believe that You died in my place. Forgive me for my sin. I am relying totally on You because I know that I can do nothing to fix my situation. I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin, and give me the life that you've promised me."
If you have prayed this, YOU ARE SAVED! You are now completely forgiven, a new creation, holy and blameless in the eyes of God. If you messed up here and there, don't worry, the words are not what's important--they are just simply our faith being expressed through prayer.
Congratulations and welcome to the family of God!
© Caleb Osborne - All Rights reserved
Caleb Osborne, a native of Virginia, is an up and coming author who has just completed publishing his first book--Christ Through Me. He is now in the process of working on other projects and running his website at http://www.ChristThroughMe.com where he has a FREE email newsletter that all are encouraged to sign up for.
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