How to Know God

God’s desire is that we might enjoy a personal relationship with Him forever.  But our sins stand as an obstacle between us and God.  Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  And Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.”

Not only do our sins keep us from enjoying a relationship with God in this life, but if they are not dealt with, they will lead to eternal punishment in the hereafter.  Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death.”  Our just reward for the sins which we have committed is “death” which speaks not merely of the temporary, physical death which we all experience in the grave, but of an eternal, spiritual death which the Bible refers to as the “second death.”  Revelation 20:14-15 says, “This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

God is a God of holiness and justice and He must punish sin; but God is also a God of love and mercy, and Romans 5:8 says that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  As the perfect Judge of this universe, when God looked down upon the sins of mankind, He had no choice but to declare a verdict of “guilty” and a sentence of condemnation.  But no sooner had He done that than He stepped down from heaven, put on human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, came to earth and stood in the place of the accused - us - where He took upon Himself the death sentence we deserved.  When Jesus died on the cross, He was suffering the eternal wrath of God for us.  He died to pay sin’s penalty so that we could be forgiven.  And He rose from the dead so that we could enjoy an eternal relationship with Him, and so that, by His Spirit, He could transform us from the inside out.

The Bible refers to what Jesus did for us as a “gift.”  Again, Romans 6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Contrary to popular opinion, eternal life is not something that we can work for or earn through good works.  It is a gift, and we need only receive it by faith.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”  When we humbly recognize that we are sinners, worthy of God’s eternal punishment, and when we place our trust in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life, we begin a relationship with God that can never be broken.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Would you like to enjoy an eternal, personal relationship with God?  Are you willing to trust in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, for salvation from sin and it’s eternal penalty?  If so, simply express your faith to God, perhaps in a prayer like the following:

Dear God,
I know that I’m a sinner and that my sins deserve to be punished.  But I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose from the grave to give me new life.  I now trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior and I entrust myself to Him as my Lord.  Thank you for the forgiveness and eternal relationship with You that is now mine.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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