1 - Introduction - Living like a real Christian City - The World That Is | Page 4

Monday
Matthew 9 v 13
Romans 5 v 8
This Christian faith is soutterly different than how every other religionworks
that it doesn’t really deserve to be calleda ‘religion’.
Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13).
There are three ways to relate to God:religion, irreligion, and the gospel.
Both religious and irreligiouspeople are avoiding God as Saviour and Lord.
Both are seeking to keep controlof their own lives by looking to something
besides God as their salvation.The religious only repent of sins. The irreligious
don’t repent at all.
Christians, through the gospel,however, repent of both their sins and of their
self-righteousness.
The differences between irreligion and the gospel are easy to spot. It isoften
harder to discern the differences between religion and the gospel.Read
through the following table which summarizes the differencesbetween religion
and the gospel.
Religion
“I obey; therefore, I’m accepted.”
Motivation is based on fear and
insecurity.
I obey God in order to get things from
God.

Gospel
“I’m accepted; therefore, I obey.”
Motivation is based on grateful joy.
I obey God to get God—to delight in
andresemble him.

When circumstances in my life go
When circumstances in my life go
wrong, I amangry at God or myself, since wrong, I struggle,but I know all my
I believe that anyonewho is good
punishment fell on Jesus and that
deserves a comfortable life.
while God may allow this for my
training, he willexercise his
Fatherly love within my trial.
When I am criticized, I am furious or
When I am criticized, I struggle, but