Christian faith, it's always your choice

Faith in Jesus brings one back into a GOOD relationship with God

The summary of the gospel, God’s good news is contained in Jesus’ words of instruction and appeal to Nicodemus: “For 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)
This relationship is restored when a person believes that God offers him/her, even though he/she is a rebellious sinner, the gift of a blessed relationship with him if he/she will have faith in his word and trust him by acknowledging that his Son, Jesus, is Lord, God in human flesh, and in repentance from his/her sinful rebellion accept Jesus’ atoning sacrifice when he was crucified on a cross.
As Jesus began his ministry, he said, “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) When Peter concluded his powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost with a proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus, in response to their question, “what shall we do?”, he replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:36–38) Paul covers this topic of the connection between faith and repentance, belief and obedience, sin and righteousness in Romans chapters 4–8.
God is saying to his sinful human creatures, if you want to live in a GOOD relationship with me, have faith in me, trust me that I can and will bring you back into a joyous and providential relationship with me as you believe upon my Son, Jesus, and accept his sacrifice for your sins.
Like your physician by your bed who is ready to transplant a perfectly healthy heart into your dying body, God offers you his challenging invitation for an amazing personal experience of his loving and GOOD care, by saying in effect, “If you really believe me and trust me or have faith in me, surrender to my surgery and let me give you the heart of Jesus, and I’ll even give you the faith to undergo the process.” But there is a challenging rule that comes into play here. It is this: if you do not trust me enough to accept my invitation, then you will not be able to experence the benefits that you claim to believe that I am offering you. Belief has to be expressed in active faithful obedient surrender or it will not bring you the experience.
But this new dynamic life as a new person with the power of Jesus’ Spirit working within you is not accomplished by keeping a set of divine rules or regularly practicing a series of religious rituals or even believing a creed of theological doctrines. It is surrending in trust to the wisdom and the power and the love of Jesus, the Spirit, and the Father who lives within you.

The GOODness of such faith

Accepting God’s invitation in faith is extremely GOOD. Not only will it deliver you from being separated from God by your sin and death, but it will enable you to live as a forgiven sinner who has been cleansed and renewed by the righteousness of Jesus, God’s Son, and who is able to live with dynamic energy in this world of sickening and deadly forces protected from their harmful effects and ultimately empowered to resist the devil’s lying and seductive words for eternity (see Romans 8:28–39).
Sharing such faith with others in daily demonstrations of trusting God, testifying to the GOODness of his will and the dependability of his promises, can have extensive and everlasting blessings to you and to those with whom you share your faith. The life of “faith” with the Spirit and power of Jesus within you should not be a passive experience in which one just enjoys God’s thrilling blessings. Jesus has work that he wants to accomplish through you as he motivates your desires and empowers the activities of your life. There are hungry men, women, and children that need to be fed and clothed. There are the sick and broken that need to be healed and visited. There are those who are “lost”, perhaps members of your family and friends, who are overwhealmed by the challenges and burdens of living, that need to hear and to see your “witness” regarding what God and Jesus can do when one has “faith” in God’s GOODness and his victorious power. There are your “enemies” that need to be forgiven. God and Jesus need to be glorified by what others see happening in your life as Jesus empowers you to live as a new person of faith on this “battlefield” in which we all live. And they will be glorified as you resist the temptation to be constantly trying to live in accord with your own selfish feable efforts to do what only Jesus can do.
This is what the Christian faith is all about. It is the experience of living in a new relationship of trust and surrender with God through his Son, Jesus, by the indwelling power of the Spirit. And your fundamental Christian ministry is sharing the good news of Jesus’ redemption of sinful humanity. This is why Christianity is not a religion of rules and rituals but rather a life of personal faith in God and a daily walk of surrender and trust in union with him and Jesus.