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Would you consider yourself to be a Good Person?
Would you consider yourself to be a good person? I am sure that most (if not all) people would say "Yes, I think I am a good person. I try to do something nice for someone every day. I try to say something nice to someone all the time."
Well, there is a very simple way to figure out if you (or I) are a good person or not.
It only takes thinking about a few questions, and it doesn't take very long.
--------------------------------
Question #1
--------------------------------
Have you ever told a lie? Only one lie in your entire life? Even if it was a harmless "little white lie"?
Has your mom or dad ever asked you, "Did you break this dish?", and you answered, "It wasn't me!".
Has your mom or dad ever asked you, "Who took the last cookie?", and you answered, "It wasn't me!".
Have you ever cheated on a test?
So, if you have ever told even one lie in your life, what would you be called?
Some folks might say, "Well, I am just a normal person. I am a human being. I'm not a bad person."
Well, how many murders would a person have to commit in order to be called a murderer? That's right, only one.
So, if you have ever told even one lie in your entire life, what would you be called? That's right - a liar.
--------------------------------
Question #2
--------------------------------
Have you ever stolen anything? It does not matter what the value of the item is - even if it is a handful of dirt. If it didn't belong to you, that would be considered stealing.
Have you ever taken a dollar bill or a quarter out of your mom's purse or your dad's wallet when they weren't looking?
Have you ever taken a pack of gum out of a store when you didn't think anyone saw you do it?
Have you ever showed up late for work or left early from work?
Have you ever taken a pen or a pencil from work?
So, if you've ever stolen anything (irrespective of its value) what would you be called?
That's right - you'd be called a thief.
--------------------------------
Question #3
--------------------------------
Whether you are a man or a woman, have you ever looked with lust at someone? Have you ever envisioned having sex with someone?
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
(Matthew 5:28 - New American Standard Bible)
In other words, if we simply look at someone with lust, God considers that to be the same as adultery.
So, if you have ever lusted after someone, God considers you to be an adulterer.
--------------------------------
Question #4
--------------------------------
Have you ever hated someone or even gotten really angry with someone? God considers that to be the same as murder.
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
(Matthew 5:22 - New American Standard Bible)
The Bible also says:
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
(1 John 3:15 - New American Standard Bible)
So, if you have ever gotten angry with or hated someone, God considers you to be a murderer.
--------------------------------
Question #5
--------------------------------
Have you ever been jealous of someone because of the things they own? Have you ever wanted something that someone else had? Have you ever gotten angry at someone because you thought they shouldn't have some nice possession because you didn't think they deserved it?
If so, then you are a covetous person.
--------------------------------
Self Examination
--------------------------------
So if we are honest with ourselves, and we answered those 5 questions honestly, by our own admission, we would have to say that we are a lying, thieving, covetous, adulterous murderer.
And we have only taken a look at 5 of the 10 commandments.
Instinctively, we know that we have broken God's law. We know when we have done something bad, because God has given each of us a conscience, and we feel guilty - being pricked by our conscience - when we think something bad, or do something bad.
The Bible says:
"For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."
(Romans 2:14-16 - New American Standard Bible)
--------------------------------
The 10 Commandments
--------------------------------
The 10 commandments can be found in Exodus 20:3-17 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21.
#1: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
#2: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
#3: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
#4: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
#5: Honour thy father and thy mother.
#6: Thou shalt not kill.
#7: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
#8: Thou shalt not steal.
#9: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
#10: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
(King James Version)
--------------------------------
God's Standard of Perfection
--------------------------------
You can see that God does not only consider our actions, and the things that we do. God considers and judges our thoughts and the attitudes of our heart.
God has a very strict standard - a perfect standard.
God compares us to Himself. When God compares us to His standard - we are guilty.
Here is what the Bible says about why God gave us "the Law", the "10 commandments":
"Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."
(Romans 3:19-20 - New American Standard Bible)
God gave us the law - so that we could see how wicked we are. Through the 10 commndments - we see that we are truly sinful.
God says that we must be perfect.
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
(Matthew 5:48 - King James Version)
What we like to do, as human beings, is compare ourselves to **other people**. We like to say, "Well, compared to *that other person*, I'm not so bad. I do good things once in awhile. I'm not as bad as that other guy. Jeffrey Dahmer was a serial murderer. I'm not like *THAT* guy."
Well, as we have already seen, if we have ever just been angry at someone, God sees us as guilty of committing murder.
The Bible says:
"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
(Ephesians 5:5 - New American Standard Bible)
And the Bible also says:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - New American Standard Bible)
And the Bible also says:
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
(Revelation 21:8 - New King James Version)
--------------------------------
Facing God
--------------------------------
So, if you were to die, and face God on judgment day, knowing that you had broken the 10 commandments, do you think that God would find you to be innocent or guilty?
Well, some folks might say:
"I think that god would find me to be innocent, because my god is a loving and merciful god. Of course He would find me innocent, and let me into heaven. He's merciful and loves me!"
If you were to think that, do you know what you just did? You would have just broken the second commandment, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.", because you would have just made up a fictitious, safe and comfortable "god" that suits you - that you could live with - that conforms to what you would want a "god" to be. That "god" that you made up does not exist.
The living and true God, the Lord God Almighty, is first and foremost a holy, pure and righteous God. God absolutely must punish sin and unrighteousness. If he didn't, He would not be a righteous God.
Let's say that you had sold cocaine to little kids in your neighborhood, and you were caught, and were standing trial before a judge.
If you said to the judge, "Hey judge, I really am a good person, and I walk little old ladies across the street once in awhile, and I go to church sometimes. I know that you are a good and loving judge. Please just let me go, and I'll wash your car once in awhile on some Saturdays."
If that judge let you go, would you consider that judge to be a good judge?
No. That would be a corrupt judge.
A true and honest judge would say to you, "It doesn't matter if you are a good person or not, or if you wash my car or not, or if you walk little old ladies across the street or not. That is irrelevant to your crime. You did commit a crime, and you are guilty of the crime, and I find you to be guilty."
This is the same as God himself. We are guilty of breaking the 10 commandments, and He must find us to be guilty.
--------------------------------
Judgment
--------------------------------
So, if God found you guilty of breaking even one of the commandments, and judged you to be guilty, do you think that He would send you to heaven or to hell?
If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to say that God would send us to hell, because sin and unrighteousness cannot stand in God' presence.
The Bible says:
"For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You."
(Psalm 5:4 - New American Standard Bible)
So, if God found us guilty of breaking even one of His commandments, and God sent us to hell and punishment for all of eternity, would that concern you?
--------------------------------
The Good News
--------------------------------
If you have come face-to-face with our true nature - when we are compared to God - and your heart is broken before God - and you realize how wicked we are as human beings as compared to God, I would hope that you truly are concerned with where you will spend eternity.
I also am concerned about where you will spend eternity.
God knows all about us and He knows our true nature.
As a matter of fact, in eternity past, He knew that we would reject Him and turn against Him, and that we would separate ourselves from Him.
When God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden, he gave them every gift they could possibly imagine. God only gave them ONE RULE - ONE LAW to keep:
The Bible says:
"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
(Genesis 2:15-17 - New King James Version)
All Adam and Eve had to do was keep one rule - one law - and they failed. They were tempted, and gave into that temptation and ate that forbidden fruit. They broke God's law, God's rule, and they died spiritually. They were separated from God. They were plunged into sin.
And so, each and every one of us who have ever lived, has also inherited their sin nature. We are all guilty. We are all spiritually dead to God.
The Bible says:
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
(Romans 3:23 - New King James Version)
However, God knew all of this in advance, and He prepared for us the way of salvation.
2000 years ago, the Lord God Almighty (God the Father) sent His Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son) to earth - and He came in the flesh so that He could tell us the way of salvation.
Jesus Christ lived a perfect and sinless life so that He could keep the law and fulfill the Law (God's standard of perfection) - something that we cannot do ourselves.
Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, and while on the cross, God poured onto Jesus, all of the sins from every person who has ever lived on the earth, past, present and future.
Jesus Christ took all of our sins upon Himself, and he died, in order to pay the penalty for all of our sins. Jesus paid our price - death - so that we would not have to.
The Bible says:
"For the wages of sin is death..."
(Romans 6:23 (a) - New King James Version)
Jesus Christ then rose from the dead, thus proving that He had defeated death, and thus further proving that He is the Lord God Almighty.
--------------------------------
Our Response to God's Salvation
--------------------------------
The Lord God Almighty Himself paid our price for our sins. The Lord God Almighty paid our penalty and our fine.
God set us free from our penalty of death.
What do we have to do in order to be forgiven and possess this tremendous gift of salvation?
We must repent of our sin and place our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word "repent" means to "turn around" - to "change one's mind".
We must "change our mind" about our own self-righteousness. We must realize that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. There is no amount of "good acts" that we can do to be "good enough" for God to like us, forgive us, and let us into heaven. We must "change our mind". We must realize that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, that He paid the price of our sins, and throw ourselves upon His mercy, and accept Jesus into our heart as our Savior.
The Bible says:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9 - New American Standard Bible)
We must "turn around" from our sin nature. We must turn from our sin, and turn towards God, and ask Him into our heart so that He can cleanse us from sin, and dwell in our hearts by faith.
When we do this, God forgives us, cleanses us from our sin, and forgives us. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is credited to us, and all of our sins are wiped away.
This is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 6:23 - New King James Version)
The Bible also says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
(John 3:16-17 - New King James Version)
Here is a practical example - salvation is similar to putting on a parachute.
If you are on a jet liner, suppose that the captain of the airplane announces over the loudspeaker that the plane has suffered a massive engine failure, and will crash in 15 minutes. The captain states that you must put on your parachute and jump from the plane to be saved.
Salvation from God is similar to putting on that parachute.
It is not enough to believe that the parachute exists. It is not enough to simply understand that a parachute can help someone float to the ground. If you never ** act ** and put on the parachute and jump - you will die.
It is not enough to simply believe that God exists "out there" somewhere. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was some sort of "good dude" that lived somewhere in the past, and had some good advice to impart to us.
You must ** PUT ON ** the parachute. By trusting in the parachute, and putting on the parachute, and jumping from the plane, means that you would be saved from certain death.
In like manner, we must believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty, and that His death paid the price of our sins, and that His resurrection defeated death, and that His righteousness is given to us so that God the Father sees us as forgiven and sinless.
The Bible says:
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."
(Romans 13:14 - New American Standard Bible)
--------------------------------
What Do I Do Now?
--------------------------------
If God the Holy Spirit has touched your heart while reading this, and you are truly convicted of your sins, I would like to encourage you to pour out your heart to God - repent of your sin - turn from your sin nature - and turn to the Lord God Almighty as your only hope. Turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and ask Him to forgive you and to dwell in your heart by faith, and accept Him as your Creator, Lord, Master, and Savior.
Welcome to the Kingdom of God!
I would encourage you to buy a Bible, and read it every day, and follow what it says.
If you truly cannot afford a Bible, post a message here and we can figure out a way for you to get one.
I hope that God the Father, God the Son - Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit has touched your heart!
Well, there is a very simple way to figure out if you (or I) are a good person or not.
It only takes thinking about a few questions, and it doesn't take very long.
--------------------------------
Question #1
--------------------------------
Have you ever told a lie? Only one lie in your entire life? Even if it was a harmless "little white lie"?
Has your mom or dad ever asked you, "Did you break this dish?", and you answered, "It wasn't me!".
Has your mom or dad ever asked you, "Who took the last cookie?", and you answered, "It wasn't me!".
Have you ever cheated on a test?
So, if you have ever told even one lie in your life, what would you be called?
Some folks might say, "Well, I am just a normal person. I am a human being. I'm not a bad person."
Well, how many murders would a person have to commit in order to be called a murderer? That's right, only one.
So, if you have ever told even one lie in your entire life, what would you be called? That's right - a liar.
--------------------------------
Question #2
--------------------------------
Have you ever stolen anything? It does not matter what the value of the item is - even if it is a handful of dirt. If it didn't belong to you, that would be considered stealing.
Have you ever taken a dollar bill or a quarter out of your mom's purse or your dad's wallet when they weren't looking?
Have you ever taken a pack of gum out of a store when you didn't think anyone saw you do it?
Have you ever showed up late for work or left early from work?
Have you ever taken a pen or a pencil from work?
So, if you've ever stolen anything (irrespective of its value) what would you be called?
That's right - you'd be called a thief.
--------------------------------
Question #3
--------------------------------
Whether you are a man or a woman, have you ever looked with lust at someone? Have you ever envisioned having sex with someone?
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
(Matthew 5:28 - New American Standard Bible)
In other words, if we simply look at someone with lust, God considers that to be the same as adultery.
So, if you have ever lusted after someone, God considers you to be an adulterer.
--------------------------------
Question #4
--------------------------------
Have you ever hated someone or even gotten really angry with someone? God considers that to be the same as murder.
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell."
(Matthew 5:22 - New American Standard Bible)
The Bible also says:
"Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
(1 John 3:15 - New American Standard Bible)
So, if you have ever gotten angry with or hated someone, God considers you to be a murderer.
--------------------------------
Question #5
--------------------------------
Have you ever been jealous of someone because of the things they own? Have you ever wanted something that someone else had? Have you ever gotten angry at someone because you thought they shouldn't have some nice possession because you didn't think they deserved it?
If so, then you are a covetous person.
--------------------------------
Self Examination
--------------------------------
So if we are honest with ourselves, and we answered those 5 questions honestly, by our own admission, we would have to say that we are a lying, thieving, covetous, adulterous murderer.
And we have only taken a look at 5 of the 10 commandments.
Instinctively, we know that we have broken God's law. We know when we have done something bad, because God has given each of us a conscience, and we feel guilty - being pricked by our conscience - when we think something bad, or do something bad.
The Bible says:
"For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus."
(Romans 2:14-16 - New American Standard Bible)
--------------------------------
The 10 Commandments
--------------------------------
The 10 commandments can be found in Exodus 20:3-17 and Deuteronomy 5:7-21.
#1: Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
#2: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
#3: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
#4: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
#5: Honour thy father and thy mother.
#6: Thou shalt not kill.
#7: Thou shalt not commit adultery.
#8: Thou shalt not steal.
#9: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
#10: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
(King James Version)
--------------------------------
God's Standard of Perfection
--------------------------------
You can see that God does not only consider our actions, and the things that we do. God considers and judges our thoughts and the attitudes of our heart.
God has a very strict standard - a perfect standard.
God compares us to Himself. When God compares us to His standard - we are guilty.
Here is what the Bible says about why God gave us "the Law", the "10 commandments":
"Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."
(Romans 3:19-20 - New American Standard Bible)
God gave us the law - so that we could see how wicked we are. Through the 10 commndments - we see that we are truly sinful.
God says that we must be perfect.
The Bible says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
(Matthew 5:48 - King James Version)
What we like to do, as human beings, is compare ourselves to **other people**. We like to say, "Well, compared to *that other person*, I'm not so bad. I do good things once in awhile. I'm not as bad as that other guy. Jeffrey Dahmer was a serial murderer. I'm not like *THAT* guy."
Well, as we have already seen, if we have ever just been angry at someone, God sees us as guilty of committing murder.
The Bible says:
"For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God."
(Ephesians 5:5 - New American Standard Bible)
And the Bible also says:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 - New American Standard Bible)
And the Bible also says:
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
(Revelation 21:8 - New King James Version)
--------------------------------
Facing God
--------------------------------
So, if you were to die, and face God on judgment day, knowing that you had broken the 10 commandments, do you think that God would find you to be innocent or guilty?
Well, some folks might say:
"I think that god would find me to be innocent, because my god is a loving and merciful god. Of course He would find me innocent, and let me into heaven. He's merciful and loves me!"
If you were to think that, do you know what you just did? You would have just broken the second commandment, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.", because you would have just made up a fictitious, safe and comfortable "god" that suits you - that you could live with - that conforms to what you would want a "god" to be. That "god" that you made up does not exist.
The living and true God, the Lord God Almighty, is first and foremost a holy, pure and righteous God. God absolutely must punish sin and unrighteousness. If he didn't, He would not be a righteous God.
Let's say that you had sold cocaine to little kids in your neighborhood, and you were caught, and were standing trial before a judge.
If you said to the judge, "Hey judge, I really am a good person, and I walk little old ladies across the street once in awhile, and I go to church sometimes. I know that you are a good and loving judge. Please just let me go, and I'll wash your car once in awhile on some Saturdays."
If that judge let you go, would you consider that judge to be a good judge?
No. That would be a corrupt judge.
A true and honest judge would say to you, "It doesn't matter if you are a good person or not, or if you wash my car or not, or if you walk little old ladies across the street or not. That is irrelevant to your crime. You did commit a crime, and you are guilty of the crime, and I find you to be guilty."
This is the same as God himself. We are guilty of breaking the 10 commandments, and He must find us to be guilty.
--------------------------------
Judgment
--------------------------------
So, if God found you guilty of breaking even one of the commandments, and judged you to be guilty, do you think that He would send you to heaven or to hell?
If we are honest with ourselves, we would have to say that God would send us to hell, because sin and unrighteousness cannot stand in God' presence.
The Bible says:
"For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You."
(Psalm 5:4 - New American Standard Bible)
So, if God found us guilty of breaking even one of His commandments, and God sent us to hell and punishment for all of eternity, would that concern you?
--------------------------------
The Good News
--------------------------------
If you have come face-to-face with our true nature - when we are compared to God - and your heart is broken before God - and you realize how wicked we are as human beings as compared to God, I would hope that you truly are concerned with where you will spend eternity.
I also am concerned about where you will spend eternity.
God knows all about us and He knows our true nature.
As a matter of fact, in eternity past, He knew that we would reject Him and turn against Him, and that we would separate ourselves from Him.
When God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden, he gave them every gift they could possibly imagine. God only gave them ONE RULE - ONE LAW to keep:
The Bible says:
"Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
(Genesis 2:15-17 - New King James Version)
All Adam and Eve had to do was keep one rule - one law - and they failed. They were tempted, and gave into that temptation and ate that forbidden fruit. They broke God's law, God's rule, and they died spiritually. They were separated from God. They were plunged into sin.
And so, each and every one of us who have ever lived, has also inherited their sin nature. We are all guilty. We are all spiritually dead to God.
The Bible says:
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
(Romans 3:23 - New King James Version)
However, God knew all of this in advance, and He prepared for us the way of salvation.
2000 years ago, the Lord God Almighty (God the Father) sent His Son, Jesus Christ (God the Son) to earth - and He came in the flesh so that He could tell us the way of salvation.
Jesus Christ lived a perfect and sinless life so that He could keep the law and fulfill the Law (God's standard of perfection) - something that we cannot do ourselves.
Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, and while on the cross, God poured onto Jesus, all of the sins from every person who has ever lived on the earth, past, present and future.
Jesus Christ took all of our sins upon Himself, and he died, in order to pay the penalty for all of our sins. Jesus paid our price - death - so that we would not have to.
The Bible says:
"For the wages of sin is death..."
(Romans 6:23 (a) - New King James Version)
Jesus Christ then rose from the dead, thus proving that He had defeated death, and thus further proving that He is the Lord God Almighty.
--------------------------------
Our Response to God's Salvation
--------------------------------
The Lord God Almighty Himself paid our price for our sins. The Lord God Almighty paid our penalty and our fine.
God set us free from our penalty of death.
What do we have to do in order to be forgiven and possess this tremendous gift of salvation?
We must repent of our sin and place our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The word "repent" means to "turn around" - to "change one's mind".
We must "change our mind" about our own self-righteousness. We must realize that there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. There is no amount of "good acts" that we can do to be "good enough" for God to like us, forgive us, and let us into heaven. We must "change our mind". We must realize that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven, that He paid the price of our sins, and throw ourselves upon His mercy, and accept Jesus into our heart as our Savior.
The Bible says:
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."
(Ephesians 2:8-9 - New American Standard Bible)
We must "turn around" from our sin nature. We must turn from our sin, and turn towards God, and ask Him into our heart so that He can cleanse us from sin, and dwell in our hearts by faith.
When we do this, God forgives us, cleanses us from our sin, and forgives us. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is credited to us, and all of our sins are wiped away.
This is the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
(Romans 6:23 - New King James Version)
The Bible also says (Jesus Christ is speaking here):
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
(John 3:16-17 - New King James Version)
Here is a practical example - salvation is similar to putting on a parachute.
If you are on a jet liner, suppose that the captain of the airplane announces over the loudspeaker that the plane has suffered a massive engine failure, and will crash in 15 minutes. The captain states that you must put on your parachute and jump from the plane to be saved.
Salvation from God is similar to putting on that parachute.
It is not enough to believe that the parachute exists. It is not enough to simply understand that a parachute can help someone float to the ground. If you never ** act ** and put on the parachute and jump - you will die.
It is not enough to simply believe that God exists "out there" somewhere. It is not enough to believe that Jesus was some sort of "good dude" that lived somewhere in the past, and had some good advice to impart to us.
You must ** PUT ON ** the parachute. By trusting in the parachute, and putting on the parachute, and jumping from the plane, means that you would be saved from certain death.
In like manner, we must believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord God Almighty, and that His death paid the price of our sins, and that His resurrection defeated death, and that His righteousness is given to us so that God the Father sees us as forgiven and sinless.
The Bible says:
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts."
(Romans 13:14 - New American Standard Bible)
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What Do I Do Now?
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If God the Holy Spirit has touched your heart while reading this, and you are truly convicted of your sins, I would like to encourage you to pour out your heart to God - repent of your sin - turn from your sin nature - and turn to the Lord God Almighty as your only hope. Turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and ask Him to forgive you and to dwell in your heart by faith, and accept Him as your Creator, Lord, Master, and Savior.
Welcome to the Kingdom of God!
I would encourage you to buy a Bible, and read it every day, and follow what it says.
If you truly cannot afford a Bible, post a message here and we can figure out a way for you to get one.
I hope that God the Father, God the Son - Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit has touched your heart!
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