'Personal Relationship' With Christ? Sorry, That's a Sham!

1/01/2021 Christianity 28 Comments

What the Apostle Paul had written in Galatians 1:10-11 (KJV) has been the guiding principle that I have followed since I started preaching until now. It says,

10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. 
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

As the Gospel that the Apostle Paul preached was not after man, we are to expect that it was not meant to please men. Pleasing people and winning their approval never became Paul’s primary concern whenever he preached. As a servant of Christ, he was more concerned in fulfilling his task of preaching the Gospel as faithfully as he could.

And that is exactly what I am trying to also do, with God’s help. My speech may not be pleasing nor is it sweet-sounding to the ears of others, but you can be sure that what I am saying is all based on the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ written in the Bible.

Indeed, the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are not aimed at pleasing men. In fact, they are somehow in contrast with the thinking, way of life, and the principles of men.

However, like the Apostle Paul, my commitment is not in pleasing people but in doing things that would please my Lord, like heralding the Gospel and exposing beliefs and practices of other religions that are against or are not part of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

An example of which is the teaching of the different Born Again groups about having the so-called personal relationship with Christ. Let me say it straight: This teaching is not a part of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ taught by the apostles. And there is no such thing as a “personal relationship with Christ” in the Bible.

If you understand the meaning of “personal relationship,” you would realize that in our era, it is highly improbable for anyone to establish a personal relationship with Christ as He is not here on Earth anymore; He is in heaven. Gone are the days when people could talk to Him and interact with Him personally.

But though Christ is not physically present anymore, it does not mean that we can no longer have a connection or a relationship with Him. We still can, but only in an indirect manner, and not a personal one.

The Bible cited a particular scenario which proves that even if a person did not get a chance to deal with or associate with Christ personally — thereby making it impossible for that person to have a personal relationship with Him — that person may still be able to develop a connection or a relationship with Christ and may still be saved under certain provisions. This is what Matthew 25:32-49 (KJV) says:

32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

These verses show us that having a personal relationship with Christ is not a requisite to man’s salvation. There are people who will be privileged to inherit the kingdom of God despite the absence of that personal relationship with Christ that the Born Again groups are talking about.

As seen in the verses above, those people were not even aware that they had done Christ any good deed because they had not met nor seen Him personally. But at certain points in their lives, they had given something to eat and something to drink to a hungry and thirsty person who, without their knowledge, is one of Christ’s brethren. And that simple act of kindness is already enough to establish their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Was there a personal encounter that happened between them and Christ? Was there a personal relationship? There was none. The kindness and compassion that they had shown to His disciples and to the least of His brethren were enough to weld a bond between them and the Lord Jesus Christ. And as a token of gratefulness and appreciation for what they had done, the Lord Jesus Christ will make them heirs of the kingdom of God in heaven come judgment day.

Let me reiterate that in the absence of Christ’s physical presence you cannot have a personal relationship with Him. But it is still possible to develop a relationship with Him, albeit not in a personal way.

Instead, it is via loving, caring for, and being compassionate to a fellow believer in Christ. As it is mentioned in Matthew 25:40, every act of kindness that a person renders unto the brethren of Christ is automatically counted as something done unto Him; He becomes its indirect recipient. And your good deed will not go uncompensated because in the end, you will be rewarded with life everlasting in paradise.

A personal relationship with Christ? Sorry, there is no such thing in the Bible! It is the good works that we do to the brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ that count!