God’s Forgiveness
It’s true that God is love, but it is also true that God is righteous. “… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23, 24 NIV). Have you ever taken a stand on something as a matter of principle? This happens when we feel so strongly on a matter, that we can not find within ourselves the capacity to either compromise or give in. Clearly compromise is easier, quicker and often more efficient but sometimes it’s just not right. That’s how God feels about sin, no compromise, not even for us, whom He loves. The fact that we love our children does not excuse their “bad” behavior, while their bad behavior does not negate our love. This is often a cause of confusion. God will not forgive our sins because He loves us, as sinners we can only be justified to Him through the redemption that comes by way of Jesus Christ. There is no other way to God. We can not stand in God’s presence as sinners and we can not successfully live a sin free life on our own. Many believe (wrongly) that God forgives us simply because he loves us. That thinking defies the righteous, just nature of God. Until we understand and accept that our salvation can only be realized through Jesus, we stand alone in a storm. Therefore to believe that Jesus was an extraordinary man of God, isn’t quite enough. Jesus is God. To not “believe” in Jesus is to reject and deny God Himself. To believe in Jesus requires more than an acknowledging statement or thought, it requires love, admiration, commitment, sacrifice and a willingness to be mentored by Him, through the Holy Spirit.
This is a principle of understanding which we are literally betting our lives on. It isn’t something that we can compromise, for any reason. Jesus didn’t compromise on us. He personally paid the price for our sin and the only way to eternal life now is through Him, which isn’t going to happen if we don’t really know Him. The best way to know God is to read His Word and listen to His Spirit. Jesus talks to us through the Spirit when he says, “He (the Spirit) will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.” (John 16:14 NIV). The idea that we are already good to go, simply because we are good at heart, is a mistake of eternal significance. I would expect that Satan himself promotes this lie of omission, since those souls who buy in are still up for grabs.
JC Calkins with COMMON SENSE 4 UNCOMMON PEOPLE
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Real brain power on display. Thanks for this!