For your Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health & Well-being - March 2003

By Galen Howell, Pastor,
River of Life Christian Fellowship

The grace of God is at the heart of Christian doctrine. Christianity teaches that God, by his grace, saved us from the most terrible predicament, that of being separated from him. He made fellowship with him possible through the sacrificial death of his son, Jesus Christ. Christ’s death paid the price for the offenses committed against God for all time, and for our individual sins. His work broke down the barrier that stood between God and man.

God’s love was the motivation for this redemptive work and his grace sees it through to the individual. His redeeming work is appropriated to us as a free gift, received by a person’s faith in the work of Jesus Christ. It comes from the gracious heart and hand of God.

When Jesus Christ was on the earth he taught that all people live in one of two conditions. We either live in union with God or we live in union with that which is in opposition to him; we all live in one condition or the other and there is no middle ground. He taught that to live in opposition to God is a burdensome existence, consisting of condemnation, guilt, and spiritual darkness. In contrast, he taught that the life lived in union with God is one of peace, freedom, and light. (In the Bible, to have “spiritual light” is to have the truth about God and his redeeming work on behalf of mankind; see Matthew 11:28-30; John 8:34-38; 1 John 1:5). Jesus Christ invites us to take up union with the Father through him. This is accomplished by believing in his work and making the decision to follow him.

Christians believe that it is impossible to earn favor with God. We cannot do anything to win ourselves into fellowship with him. There is no amount of good deeds, no level of thought or knowledge, that can gain us acceptance into the presence of a pure and holy God. A relationship with the One who is perfect can only be obtained through the work of that One himself. This work was accomplished by the Father sending his Son: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NIV).

God sent his Son to die for the whole world, even those living as his enemies (Romans 5:8). He did this because of his love and his desire that no one would exist apart from him. He is the epitome of true love and his nature defines what love is. His desire is that everyone would experience him.

God has made a way for us to be with him and be with him forever. That way has been established through his Son by his grace. Eternal life is a free gift available to all will believe. It is not a matter of earning God’s favor by being a “good person,” it’s a matter of accepting the redeeming work that he has done on our behalf, a work that is the product of his incomparable grace and love.

“The River of God is teeming with life, And all who touch it can be revived, And those who linger on this river’s shore, Will come back thirsting for more of the Lord.” Andy Park River of Life Christian Fellowship 2651 S. Arroyo Road,Moab UT 84532 (2 miles south of Moab on Highway 191) Sunday Services: 10:30am and 7:00pm Wednesday Bible Study: 7:00 pm For more information call 259-8308