By David Miller
He saved us, not because of works done by
us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
When a
person newly understands that Jesus is God and took his or her death penalty
for sin on himself, it can definitely be an emotional experience. When he or
she has crossed over from eternal death to eternal life, that can be an
emotional experience, too. But the
emotional experience is not all there is to Christianity.
Some think
when they have a religious experience and suddenly want to live well and do
good in the world, that is Christianity. They may get some emotional joy out of
helping others, but that is not Christianity.
Christianity
is based on facts:
- That there is only one true God.
- That He is perfect and holy and requires all who enter his
presence to be the same (without sin).
- That since Adam and Eve introduced sin into the world,
everyone born has sinned.
- That the only way, then, for us to enter God’s presence
and survive is to have our sins dealt with.
- That the only way to deal with our sins is to die for them
-- or to have someone else step in to die for us.
- That the only person qualified to step in for us must be a
perfect sacrifice (sinless), and the only one who can live sinless is God
Himself. So God came as a man, Jesus, and took the death penalty for our
sins upon Himself on the cross.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NASB) He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
- And that anyone who accepts this fact (believes it,
understands it, owns it for themselves) is saved from the death penalty of
sin and will spend eternity in the presence of God (in heaven).
John 14:6 (NASB), Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Those are
facts. Facts are not based on emotion. Facts are facts.
Emotions
come and go, ebb and flow like waves on a shore. Anything based on emotions
will also rise and fall, grow and fade, wax and wane.
True
Christian faith is based on reason and understanding of God’s history of work
on earth. When a person truly understands and believes in Christ (the
definition of a Christian), then his or her faith stands strong through any
emotional episode.
Emotions may erupt and fade,
but true faith remains.
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
