Personal Relationship With Jesus Christ

[stewstew03]

“True knowledge of God lies in a personal and profound experience of Jesus Christ. Faith is first of all an intimate personal encounter with Jesus, the experience of his closeness, of his friendship and his love. Only in this way can we learn to love him and know him even more. Let us hope that this can happen in all of us.”

“If we let Christ into our lives, we lose, nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful, and great. Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide.”

-his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI

Great quote - thanks Tiger.

 

[GraceDK]

What is it? And what is the standard for determining whether one has it?

This is primarily a question for protestant evangelicals - I hear this term “personal relationship with JC” quite a bit, but looking for an operational definition.

It doesn’t matter who says it. Its a valid and suitable expression - although you may feel free to use another expression - that points to a relationship looking like a friendship.

Without the relationship you will have little motivation for religious conduct when it gets tough.

Some determining factors: Knowing He is here right now and interested in MY small life, my work, my well being, Trust that He leads me and that he wills what is best for me (this is important because many people doubt God’s goodness, but when you have a Father or Friend you know that Person would never deliberately hurt you).
I actually like to spend time with him and feel that he appreaciates me too. I experience that he SEES me and wills something from me… just like an eathly brother is not contend if you never speak to him and demands something from him on a personal level.

You see, its like a friendship, family relationship or love relationship of any kind. You love the person for whom they are, not for what they can give you. And you don’t just recite prayers (like the heathens) but you are aware that you speak to a person who HEARS.

And like any relationship it has to be nourished or you will again drift apart.

The day i got a personal relationship with Jesus was when I realized WOW HE IS RIGHT HERE WITH ME RIGHT NOW! I realised I had never been alone for a moment in my life… quite an interesting feeling really… I also felt clearly there were those who had also experienced this and there were those who hadn’t and it made a lot of difference…

 

[TeeStew]

I believe strongly in a personal relationship with Christ. I talk to him and walk with him and even get mad at him like I would a friend. I have a new book out for women that is all about this type of relationship. It is called the Treasure Seeker: Finding Love and Value in the Arms of Your Loving Heavenly Father. It views us and Christ as treasure seekers and what a deep and rich relationship we can have if we mutually seek and find each other, the lost treasure.I wish more people could understand this type of relationship. In no way is it perfect, because we are not perfect, but it is very real and personal.

 

[w0lfy]

very interesting discussion… glad i stumbled upon it

 

[smitchell]

Personal relationship with Jesus is hardly Protestant, it is very Catholic.

You can hardly listen to or read anything Pope Benedict has to say without hearing him refer to the necessity of a personal encounter or personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus is a person, he is risen, he “stands at the door and knocks” and if anyone opens the door he promises to come in. Relationship with a person is always possible. It isn’t about feelings, I don’t always feel warm and fuzzy toward my kids or my wife, a relationship is about a decision.

Here are just a few quotes from popes and others that refer to this amazing ability that is offered to everyone.

“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical duty or lofty idea but the encounter with a person who gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (P.Ben XVI Int’l address to Evangelical Leaders.)

“Catechesis without any explicit personal attachment to Jesus Christ falls on deaf ears.” (P. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation: Catechesi Tradendae, 1977)

“I worry that some of you still have not really met Jesus, one-to-one, you and Jesus alone. … Never give up the pursuit of this intimate contact with Jesus as the real, living person, not just an idea.” (Mother Theresa of Calcutta, Quoted by C.O.R.E Ministries, Minneapolis)

Sometimes even Catholics have lost or never had the chance to experience Christ personally: not Christ as a mere ‘paradigm’ or ‘value’, but as the living Lord, ‘the way, and the truth, and the life’ John Paul II

It is necessary to awaken again in believers a full relationship with Christ, mankind’s only Saviour. Only from a personal relationship with Jesus can an effective evangelization develop. John Paul II

The purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is … Pope Benedict XVI

It is easy, open the door and trust Jesus that he will do exactly what he promised.

 

[may_they_be_one]

@HPM1984, you mentioned,
"But no question easy believism is on the rise- but where did it come from???
Billy Sunday, then Billy Graham & then a host of Pentecostal and Evangelical Preachers swamped many of the Protestant denominations (mainly Baptist, Assembly of God, Campus Crusade and Intervarsity), with the Roman Road & the Sinner’s Prayer… whammo you have a “once saved always saved Christian,Cheap and Easy Christianity”​

I would agree with you that it is a quick christianity. But upon reflecting on the outreach of these Billys, they did touch so many people to open their hearts and let in the rays of light from God in one big act of acceptance. In one moment, something happened that would not have happened if they hadn’t presented the oportunity, namely a sudden colapse of their total defense of their pride, and seeing the real love of Jesus for the first time, which so overwhelmed and captured them. I think of those presenting this call from Jesus as I would of St. John the Baptist, who was preparing the people to know and follow Jesus. Once they know and experience his love even for a short moment, something changes within a person. They are now different and want to be one with him, making possible a journey to search for him. It sends them on their “WAY”.

Fred, I appreciate your perspective. Very well said.

Something else to add:

In light of the way the Gospel is QUICKLY spreading in un-Christianized countries/regions–just as it did after the first Pentecost–new believers MUST respond with that first “easy” step of faith only after they hear the preaching of the Good News!! What else can they do?!?

The rub lies in the next phase (called “discipleship” by some Protestants) where all their questions are answered, their faith starts to gain depth, and they begin receiving the sacraments (starting with baptism). This is where non-denom. Protestant churches fall a little short, missing the depth of the “fullness of the faith”.

Contrast this with the majority of cradle-Catholics (specifically in America) who go through the sacraments because it’s what their family does, or because it’s just what you’re “supposed” to do at a certain age (e.g., confirmation), or what their local culture does.

In this case, the rub lies not in the question of whether or not their Catechism was thorough/accurate, but whether they’ve experienced a personal “born-again” experience, where their hearts truly hear the Word of God and the Good News changes them from the inside out through the Holy Spirit’s activity… Jesus said no one can enter the Kingdom unless they are born again.

The way I see it, the “Church” (i.e., the universal Body of ALL Christians) needs a balanced mix of both the Protestant and Catholic systems of evangelization and discipleship/Catechism/teaching.

Helping facilitate this mix is what I believe is my calling… please pray for me!