Not Another Religion

At Christ Community Church we celebrate a message about the most important relationship a person can have, not another religion. Let it never be said that Jesus Christ came to establish another religion. The difference between religious systems and the message of Jesus Christ is that religion commands us to ascend to God but Jesus was God Himself come down to us. Religion suggests we can escape from the prison of our pride and self-absorption through obedience to a prescription of practices. Religion teaches a way to ascend to God proposing a path, a set of practices, a method, a list of directives, that if followed, promise to make you acceptable to God and lead you up to God. The problem with this prescription is that selfishness and pride has tainted all we attempt to do in our own power to ascend to God. All of our so-called good works, and religious practices apart from the transforming grace and love of God are nothing more, the Bible says, than filthy rags in light of the Holiness of God (Isaiah 64:6). This way of thinking cannot hold up in the presence of the white hot holiness of God.  

In contrast, Jesus taught and demonstrated the message that God, instead, descended to us according to his great grace and love, in order to carry us into His presence and restore our broken relationship with Him. It is written in the Bible, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10) Consider the unfathomable degree of sacrifice God made on our behalf: that we, the enemies of God due to pride and selfishness, can be reconciled to God. How? By the death of God's own Son, Jesus! This is the message called the "Gospel" and it is the message that lies behind all we do and say at CCC. We are not peddling another religion. Rather it is our aim to teach the Gospel (see post: "Proclaiming the Gospel"). Religion says, "Obey God's laws so you can be accepted by God." But the Gospel, the message of Jesus Christ says, "Through Christ you can be accepted by God which enables you to joyfully obey God's Laws."