The Religion of “I” 

     The late Dr. D. James Kennedy broke down the gospel of salvation in a way like this: He said that if you examine all the religions in the world, and when you untie the ribbon, remove the wrapping and open the boxes, there are essentially only two: 1. The religion of “I”, or, 2. “the cross of Jesus”.

   The religion of “I” says: “I go to church, I live a moral life, I’m a good person, I give to charity, I do the best I can, there are many worse than I, I pray, I do this and I do that.”

   On the other hand, the cross of Jesus says, “It is finished!” Jesus has accomplished by Himself all that is required for my salvation and His finished work becomes my finished work when I trust in Him and Him alone for my salvation. Only He can reconcile me to God.

   The “I” religion of “doing” in effort to approve myself to God is in direct competition to the cross of Jesus, and is a futile attempt by man to save himself by being his own savior. It is time for anyone in the “I” religion to get out of the “savior” business; declare spiritual bankruptcy and trust in Jesus and Him alone for your salvation. He alone paid for my sin - I cannot.

   The religion of “I” says, “Keep doing”; the cross of Jesus says, “Done!”

   The religion of “I” keeps seeking forgiveness; the cross of Jesus says,   

“Forgiven!”

   The religion of “I” keeps striving for acceptance; the cross of Jesus says,

“Accepted!”

   The religion of “I” can’t save you; the cross of Jesus already has - if you will

only believe and trust Him.  

    Real repentance is placing my trust in what Jesus has done for me instead of what “I” have done or must yet do. It is a genuine turning from trusting in me to trusting in Jesus and Him alone. When this happens, God immediately forgives my sin and declares me righteous – covered by the blood of Jesus. I am accepted into God’s eternal family, here and now. I will have boldness rather than fear on the Day of Judgment (1 John 4:9), because I know I am accepted by God through faith in Christ (Ephesians 1:6).

   There is nothing left for me to “do” for my salvation. It is done! In Christ, I can stop working and worrying about my salvation and begin enjoying it! I am now in right relationship with God and free to simply love Him with all my heart, to rejoice in what Jesus has done for me and to gladly tell others this marvelous good news!

What does it mean to be saved? 

   We often hear the call to accept Jesus and be “saved”, but what does that term really mean?

   The original Greek word used in the New Testament from which the word “saved” is translated is “sozo” (sode'-zo) meaning, “to save, i.e. deliver or protect”. Webster’s defines the word “save” as follows: “To deliver from sin, to rescue or deliver from danger or harm, to preserve or guard from injury, destruction, or loss.” Sounds serious, doesn’t it?

   To the shepherds, upon the birth of Jesus, the angels proclaimed, “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Matthew 1:21). A Savior! If a Savior has been sent from Heaven to save us, especially if that Savior is the Son of God Himself, then there is something very, very serious we need to be saved from. Here’s a clue: In telling of the Savior’s birth, the angel told Joseph, “…and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Luke 2:11). This is it! We need to be saved from our “sins”, or more literally, from the consequences of our sin. What are the consequences of sin? Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death…”  The death from sin speaks of more than mere physical death. This death is the eternal spiritual separation of the sinner from God in a place of torment called Hell (Matthew 23:33, Luke 12:5, 2 Peter 2:4).

   How many sins does it take to earn the death wage of sin? Just one. That’s right; just one sin committed in your lifetime qualifies you. Romans 3:23 says that we ALL have sinned, therefore we ALL are under the sentence of death and eternal separation from God in Hell - unless we are “saved”. Please read again the meaning of the word saved.   

   Jesus came to offer His life as the payment for our sin, to pay the death wage for our sin Himself so that in Him we can be forgiven and live. This is His salvation He offers us. His was a dramatic and love-filled rescue mission of the highest order to save us from certain doom.

   Are we all automatically saved because Jesus came to save us? No, it is a personal salvation. His death for your sin made His salvation possible and available to you, but you must come to Him by faith to personally receive Him and His forgiveness. God’s grace becomes yours the moment you repent (turn your heart to God) and come to trust Jesus as your Savior, believing that the death He died paid your sin debt in full.

   Heaven can now be yours based on what Jesus did for you, and not because of your own perceived goodness (Ephesians 2:8). This simple faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior causes God to indwell you with His Holy Spirit (New Birth), change your heart and seal you for eternal life in Christ. You now have been purchased by Christ (1 Corinthians 6:20) and belong to Him. This is being “saved”.

   Perhaps you have always thought that your sins aren’t really that bad or that your good deeds will outweigh your sin and God will somehow look favorably upon you without your being saved. There’s not a chance because that’s not how it works. Just one sin is too many. God will not let you or anyone else into Heaven unless you have been “saved” by making Christ your Savior.

   I pray that you have received this dramatic rescue that God offers you through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. If not, it’s not too late - the Savior’s rescue offer is still open to you today. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Bob Holland

Faith in Action Ministries

A letter was recently found that a respected Christian man had written -