What ‘That’ 70s Show ‘Taught Me About Christianity

What the hell could he have learned about Christianity from “That 70’s Show”? I’m sure that’s what everyone is thinking right now.

Well, today I was watching it and the episode was about the family going to church and generally their opinion on religion. The children did not want to go and the mother wanted them to because she kept having these dreams that if she was not a “good Christian” and took her children to church, God would not let her go to heaven.

Dad didn’t like going to church because it was boring and he didn’t see any point in it. The daughter continued to flirt with the youth pastor and overall it was quite a fun show … but I digress. What it taught me was that people need to know what being a Christian really means to us and to God.

What do you think the children’s reaction to going to church would have been if they realized they didn’t have to go? Do you think they would have wanted to go because they wanted to know the God who sent his son Jesus to die on the Cross for their sins? Do you think the mother’s life would have been much less stressful if she realized that she was not responsible for the fate of her and her family? That he could have gotten to heaven the way he envisioned simply by accepting God’s gift of salvation by faith? And the daughter who kept flirting with the youth pastor? Well, she probably wouldn’t have been looking to satisfy her need for intimacy with so many different people when she realized how much God loved her and desired her company.

It’s amazing how much it would help the lives of these people on “That 70’s Show” if they realized who they were and who God is. Would your life change if you knew these things? God created you and me and loves us very much (Genesis 1: 1). He gave us all life and deserves our love and gratitude. But we decided to disobey him and we have all failed to do the right thing (Romans 3:23). We may not be as sinful as that guy on the street or we may be even worse than him or anyone else we know; but either way we are ALL guilty before God (1 John 1: 8).

God is perfect, completely good, and always just. Because of this, he cannot ignore the fact that we have all sinned. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The just punishment we deserve for our rebellion against God is death.

Jesus, the only Son of God, came to earth and lived a perfect sinless life – he was completely innocent. He received the punishment we deserved when he was crucified on the cross, he took it all upon himself: the death sentence that should have been ours. (Romans 5: 8) But he did not remain dead, after three days he rose from the grave and then ascended to heaven. And it will come back one day. Jesus DIED FOR YOU. You can be saved by asking forgiveness for your sins. If you are willing to repent of your sin, He is waiting to forgive you. No matter what you have done in the past, if you cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, He will not reject you. The word “repent” literally means “turn away from.” You need to look at your life, admit that you are a sinner, genuinely want to turn your back on that sin, and ask it to forgive you. If you do this, He promises to forgive you.

True Christianity is not about attending a particular church, or trying to make its behavior conform to some model of how a Christian should act. Being a Christian means that you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, that He is your Savior. Jesus is always present. He can listen to you now if you ask for forgiveness. If you want to pray and ask Jesus to be your Savior, you can say a prayer like this:

“Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. The truth is that I have sinned by my choice, and I am responsible for it. I know that the just punishment for my sin is death. Jesus, I believe You died in me Forgive me for my sin. I am trusting totally in You because I know there is nothing I can do to fix my situation. I repent. Come into my life, take away my sin and give me the life You have promised. “

If you have prayed this, YOU ARE SAVED! Now you are completely forgiven, you are a new creation, holy and without blemish in the eyes of God. If you made a mistake here and there, don’t worry, the words are not what is important, they are simply our faith expressed through prayer.

Congratulations and welcome to the family of God!

© Caleb Osborne – All rights reserved

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *