One night, a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to Jesus. He had a few questions for the man from Galilee.
"How can a man be born when he is old?"
"Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
Jesus then goes on to explain to him that the rebirth that Nicodemus needs is spiritual, not physical, that redemption is the name of the game and even foretells His purpose in what is now the most quoted scripture in the Bible,
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16
And Jesus gives this truth with grace.
1 Peter 3:15 says,
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
Why are you saved? Why have you decided to follow Jesus Christ?
Honestly, you may not have heard it phrased like this before. Maybe to you questions about your faith sound like:
Why don't you drink?
Why don't you smoke?
Why are you waiting to have sex?
Why don't you curse?
A little lie never hurt nobody...
How do you respond? Why do you live the life you do?
Going to church does not a Christian make, and to be seen in the pews is not salvation.
Building a relationship with your Savior - the God who sacrificed His son so that you could both, live in eternal peace with Him AND walk in purpose while here on earth - should follow the same logic as getting to know a new friend...who just saved your life.
Who is God? What is His character? What pleases Him?
Not having an answer to these questions can make you defensive, especially if your faith is founded and exclusively nurtured in how the gospel makes you feel. This kind of faith is described in the parable of the sower,
"Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away."
Matthew 13: 5, 6
This is why Ephesians 3:17-19 is important,
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God"
and Psalm 119: 10, 11:
With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
A relationship with Christ is just like any other relationship. It starts with love, but it won't last without commitment that encourages depth with the person you are in relationship with.
If you asked someone why they loved you, and they answered, "Because I just do", how confident would you be in their love?
So why be satisfied loving God that way?