Seek Jesus
All of these basic Christian beliefs are directly from the Bible. I again encourage you to seek Jesus with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind by reading your Bible for yourself. As the Catholic Catechism teaches in agreement with the Bible:
“...one can abandon oneself in full trust to the truth and faithfulness of his word in all things” (para. 215).
Also, please remember that
“The Church ‘forcefully and specifically exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn “the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ,” by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”’” (para. 133).
Some people know about God but still may not know Him and may never have truly accepted Him. The Catholic Catechism is in complete agreement with the Bible when it teaches that
“Interior repentance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all of our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed” (para. 1431).
“God must give people a new heart. Conversion is first of all a work of the grace of God who makes our hearts turn to Him: ‘Restore us to thyself, O Lord, that we may be restored!’ God gives us the strength to begin anew. It is in discovering the greatness of God’s love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him. The human heart is converted by looking upon him whom our sins have pierced: ‘Let us fix our eyes on Christ’s blood and understand how precious it is to his Father, for, poured out for our salvation, it has brought to the whole world the grace of repentance’” (para. 1432).
We are told that true conversion is “a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all of our heart.” Have you ever experienced internal repentance that was a radical reorientation of your whole life? Have you ever had a conversion to God with all of your heart? Do you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind? Have you stopped attempting to establish your own righteousness by trying to be good enough and instead completely submitted to God’s righteousness through faith? Have you ever accepted Jesus?
You may have answered yes to all of these questions; and if so, praise God! Your answers to these questions indicate whether you really know Jesus and whether He really knows you as someone who believes in Him and as someone who has accepted Him into your heart as your Savior and Lord. The Bible tells us that we must accept Jesus:
“He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world came to be through him, but the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him. But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...” (John 1:10–12).
Our belief in Jesus must lead us to accept Him. If we truly accept Him, then our faith in Him will be evident as we trust and follow Him with our lives. We know that true Christian faith is more than just simply believing in the existence of God and Jesus, because the Bible tells us,
“Even the demons believe that and tremble” (James 2:19).
The demons believe in God, but because they do not accept Him, they tremble in fear of Him. If we have not accepted Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, then we also should tremble in fear of Him.
If you feel uncomfortable or uncertain regarding your eternal destination, you can have assurance this very day! And when you have that assurance, nothing that anyone says to you regarding Heaven and Hell will make you feel uncomfortable regarding your eternal destiny.
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If you would like a free copy of the book
for yourself or to share with family or
friends, simply e-mail me at:
Joe@TeachingsOfTheCatholicChurch.com
and I will be happy to send one to you.
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