Because the Bible is not a fairy tale
The Bible is not a collection of fairy tales, myths or legends. Many believe that this is so. They see the Bible solely as a product of human effort, containing some truth, some error, some fact, some history, some mythology.
This opinion is incorrect for two reasons. First of all, the Bible itself denies it. Look at 2 Timothy 3:16, 17: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfected, prepared for every good work.” Any religion that accepts the Bible has to deal with this verse, and it teaches that there are no fairy tales in the Bible. Second, if the Bible is a mixture of truth and error, then no part of the Bible at all can be trusted as unquestionably true. Even such unacceptable truths as, for example, the divinity of Christ, may turn out to be false.
Since the Bible is not a fairy tale, start reading it, understand it and obey its commands.
The Christian religion is not just about helping each other. She is saved by grace! This is how Paul describes the essence of our religion: “He saved us not by works of righteousness, which we would have done, but by His mercy, the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Tit. 3:5). Christianity offers salvation, but it is not possible to be saved by good deeds alone. You can be saved by grace. This means that you should think about your attitude towards faith.
Because Jesus is not just “meek and mild”
Some believe in Jesus, but they see only “gentleness and mildness” in Him. To them He is so loving, so good and kind that He simply cannot ever judge. And then why do His will? They think that even if they don’t, He still won’t punish them.
Although Jesus is indeed “gentle and meek,” there is another side to His being – what some have called the “stormy north side” of Jesus. Consider, for example, verse 8:24 from the Gospel of John: “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” Jesus believed in the existence of sin. Moreover, Jesus believed in punishment, in death as a consequence of sin. He said that some will be convicted. Jesus even believed that there were certain conditions, the failure of which could lead to condemnation. Jesus indicated that one must listen to God in order not to perish (Matthew 7:21). If Jesus can and will judge, I must do His will, and that to me is what faith is all about.
Because faith is not a magic potion
There is a popular theory that all you have to do is believe in Jesus and everything will be fine. All you have to do to be saved is to have faith. Confess Jesus as Lord, believe in His divinity – and you are saved regardless of what else you do or don’t do.
But faith alone will not save (James 2:24). Faith is very important (John 3:16). But faith that saves is faith that works by love (Gal. 5:6). You are not saved the moment you begin to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Having believed this fact, you must allow your faith to lead your faith to lead you to do His will. Only after fulfilling the will of God thanks to your faith, you receive salvation – not before. In Acts 2 some believed Peter who preached Christ. They believed that Jesus was really the Lord and the Christ. And then they asked: “What should we do?” Peter did not tell these Jews that they had already done everything that was required of them and therefore were already saved. He said to these believers: “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:28). Faith alone was not enough, repentance and baptism were also needed. Since we also need to submit to His will, that is reason enough to be a believer.
Because God is not Santa Claus
Do we imagine that God is the same?
Some tend to believe that God has a lot in common with Santa Claus, the mythical white-bearded old man who brings people gifts for the New Year.
God is not like that! God is good and merciful. But that’s all. Is God also just? And the justice of God requires that He be sometimes strict and punishing, and not only generous and forgiving. The Bible speaks of “the grace and severity of God” (Rom. 11:22). She warns: “It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God!” (Heb. 10631). you can’t do whatever you want and expect to get away with it. God is just, and therefore He will certainly punish unrepentant and unforgiven sinners.
Because death is not the end
Many believe that if a person has died, then it is final and forever. If so, then there is no need to be a believer. You can live and be happy, because you will not have to report from the other side of the grave. And there is no reason to worry about doing God’s will.
But death does not end our existence. On the other side of the grave, we continue to live. The Bible says: “…People must die somehow, and then the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). After death, there will be a judgment at which we must all stand before God and give an account of what we have done in the body. We will be judged. Our eternity will be spent either in heaven or in hell. Isn’t that reason enough to start doing God’s will, to be a believer?
Because you are not superhuman
Imagine a person who knows he is a sinner and knows what to do to save himself, but plans to act sometime in the future. He says, “Maybe next week, next month, or next year. Then I will come to Christ and begin to serve God. Then I will become a believer.” Apparently, he considers himself a kind of superman, a superman who is in complete control of his life and circumstances. He believes that he can control time, life, diseases, and death. Nothing bothers him. Serious illness? No, he doesn’t get sick.
Accident? No, he can guarantee that nothing will happen to him. Tragedy? No problem – with a wave of his hand, he banishes the tragedy. An untimely death? Of course, he needn’t worry about that. After all, he is sure that he will live long enough to do all the good things he has planned, such as becoming a Christian.
If you think so, my friends, you are deluding yourself. James says: “You who do not know what (happens) tomorrow: for what is your life? A vapor that is for a little while, and then disappears” (James 4:14). There is no superman. No one can be sure that neither illness, nor accidents, nor tragedy, nor early death will come between him and the realization of his intentions. You are not Superman. The only way you can be sure that you have time to turn to Christ is to come to Him today. Accept Christ on His terms and become His child now.
Because man is ineradicably religious
People today worship different things. Some worship money. They believe that money can bring happiness, so they devote their lives to the service of the almighty dollar. Others worship pleasures; they are only interested in having a good time. Some worship science, look for answers to all questions in science. If only we could have advanced enough technology or gain enough knowledge through science, we would have reached heaven on earth. And there are those who worship sin. Sin captured them, turned them into slaves, and nothing else interests them. But the point is that everyone worships something.
Your choice, therefore, is not whether you will worship or not, but why you will worship. Jesus clothed our choice in the following words: “No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will strive for one and neglect the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Jat. 6:24). Here is your choice: god or mammon, Creator or creation. What will be yours?
