Society sometimes portrays Christianity as a "honey do" list. In fact, becoming a Christian is not "doing" something. The gift of salvation from sin and death is a gracious free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7). All one has to do is to quit rejecting that gift! No one forces us to do anything. God counts the righteous life of Jesus as if we lived it (Romans 5:19). The biblical teaching of grace tells us of God's pardoning us for Jesus' sake. It is all a gift of His love, His sacrifice on the cross. This is the beautiful good news of Christianity.
   Christ is the miracle that cancels out our sin. The Bible teaches that salvation is not gained by what we do, but by faith alone in Christ (Luke 7:48-50, John 3:16, 6:35-51, 11:25-26, 20:31, Acts 10:43, 13:38-39, 16:30-31, Romans 3:22-4:8, 5:1, 10:4-13, 11:6, Galatians 2:16, Philippians 3:9, 1 John 5:5-13, etc.). Only as God works faith in our heart, faith in Jesus Christ, do we receive God's forgiveness of all sins (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).
   Christianity is not a barter system, where if God does certain things for me I will respond. Or, if I perform then I expect God to reciprocate. Genuine Christianity is a surrender faith. The Christian says, "God, I surrender my life unconditionally to you with repentance" (Matthew 5:3-12, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10). Even a lifetime of sin and unbelief can all be forgiven (Matthew 20:1-16, Luke 23:39-43).
   Yet this means more than mere intellectual assent (James 2:19). The type of faith that saves is one that truly receives Christ. Billy Graham points out that it does little good to know that a plane will fly unless you get on board. You may hold a ticket, even go to the airport, but unless you climb aboard, the plane will not get you to your destination ( John 1:12, Revelation 3:20).
   Faith implies trust. By putting our trust in Christ as Lord of our life (as well as our Savior), we then come into a peaceful relationship with God. It can be said that Christianity is not a religion at all, but a personal relationship (Matthew 11:28-30, Luke 23:42-43, John 4:13-14, Romans 10:11).
   After allowing Christ into our life, should we expect a change in our heart and our life? Resoundingly, YES! Because of joy and gratitude for God's grace, good works will result from an authentic saving faith (2 Corinthians 9:8-12). But this is much different from saying that you must change first in order to receive His salvation.
   We must be honest. God demands a lot of us. Belief in Christ implies believing what he says, which further implies being obedient to him. (There are over 200 passages in Scripture regarding how we are saved. For further study, email us at mail@faithfacts.org and request a list of passages.)
   God does not want us to give up anything except that which is harmful to us. Lose our freedom? Just the opposite (Galatians 5:1-3)! One of the most profound revelations in all of the Bible is this: Jesus said that by following Him, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32). Christianity is not bondage, but freedom! Profound, joyous, glorious freedom!