{"id":97,"date":"2018-05-07T15:51:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/?p=97"},"modified":"2018-05-07T15:51:13","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T20:51:13","slug":"a-4-letter-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/2018\/05\/07\/a-4-letter-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"A 4 Letter Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"T<\/span>here is a big difference between your religion and mine,\u201d<\/strong> a Christian lady said to a\u00a0friend in their discussion of religious beliefs.\u201cIn what way?\u201d he asked.
\n\u201cYour religion has only two letters in it, and mine has four,\u201d she replied.
\nIt seems that this lady\u2019s friend was someone who felt it was necessary to work his way into heaven. He faithfully followed the ordinances and ceremonies that his religion required in his attempt to be accepted by God into heaven at the end of his life. He was basing his acceptance on what the Bible calls \u201cdead works.\u201d
\nHe did not understand the Christian lady\u2019s reference to the two letters and the four letters, and so he asked, \u201cWhat do you mean by two letters and four letters?\u201d
\n\u201cLet me explain,\u201d said the lady. \u201cYour religion is d\u2011o, two letters, a DO religion, whereas mine is d\u2011o\u2011n\u2011e, four letters, DONE!\u201d<\/strong>
\nThe discussion ended with that comment, and the lady went on her way. Her simple explanation remained in his thoughts, however, causing the man to do some serious soul-searching. As he considered the comparison of the two words, the difference became evident. He had been trying to follow rules and regulations devised and acceptable by man\u2019s standards, but God offered forgiveness of sins through the work that Christ finished on the cross\u2009\u2014\u2009Christianity.
\nThe two letters and four letters was an unusual and original way of explaining the gospel, and it was very appropriate for this man who had been taught that he must follow strict religious laws in order to acquire the reward of heaven. He realized that he had been a legalist, hoping that keeping these laws would cancel his sin, whereas the Bible teaches that any works we do cannot cancel even one sin. \u201cWe are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags\u201d<\/strong> (Isaiah 64:6). \u201cNot by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He [saves] us\u201d<\/strong> (Titus 3:5).
\nThe next time he saw his friend, he told her, \u201cNow I can also say that my religion is d\u2011o\u2011n\u2011e, DONE.\u201d
\nThe Spirit of God had shown him that his religious deeds were worthless in removing his sins, but that all God required to settle the sin question was to accept the finished work of Christ. He understood that it was no longer a question of what he could do for God, but of what God\u2019s Son had done for him.
\nThe matter of his sins was settled. What a joy and relief it was for this man to know that what he had been striving and hoping for was already completely finished\u2009\u2014\u2009DONE\u2009\u2014\u2009almost 2000 years ago on the cross!<\/strong> Now he could look forward with certainty to an eternity in heaven.
\nChrist has finished all that God required.<\/strong> He has put away sin and satisfied the claims of divine justice. He has conquered Satan, taking the sting out of death. He has glorified God here on earth where He has been dishonored. He has brought in everlasting righteousness. All of this is included in these four letters: d\u2011o\u2011n\u2011e.
\nWill you exchange the deceptive belief and system of \u201cdoing\u201d for the joy and Bible truth of Christ\u2019s having already \u201cdone\u201d what God requires?
\nQuestion:<\/strong> \u201cWhat must I do to be saved?\u201d<\/strong>
\nAnswer: \u201cBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ\u201d<\/strong> (Acts 16:30\u201131).
\n\u201cBy grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast\u201d (Ephesians 2:8\u20119).
\nNothing either great or small,<\/em>
\n Nothing, sinner, no;<\/em>
\n Jesus did it, did it all,<\/em>
\n Long, long ago.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cast your deadly doings down,<\/em>
\n Down at Jesus\u2019 feet;<\/em>
\n Stand in Him\u2009\u2014\u2009in Him alone\u2009\u2014<\/em>
\n Gloriously complete.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

here is a big difference between your religion and mine,\u201d a Christian lady said to a\u00a0friend in their discussion of religious beliefs.\u201cIn what way?\u201d he asked. \u201cYour religion has only two letters in it, and mine has four,\u201d she replied. It seems that this lady\u2019s friend was someone who felt it was necessary to work … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “A 4 Letter Religion”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gospelmessage","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bibletruthpublishers.com\/gospel\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}