Salvation is the gift of God, not a work of our righteousness, we cannot earn the approval of God through rituals.
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. ” Isaiah 64:6
This verse teaches us that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves “right enough” or righteous enough to please God. All of our attempts to earn His approval are little more than bandages that a leprous man would use to cover his festering wounds. These bandages by no means fixed the disease, they only made the leper to feel better and more presentable concerning his condition. This is what our attempts to be good enough to please God do for us, they do not change our sinful condition, they only leave us feeling better about it.
But does this mean no one is good enough?
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ” Romans 3:10-12
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
According to the scriptures we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is no more of an all encompassing word than all, because all simply means all and it leaves no room for exception. The phrase “there is none that doeth good” can be found four other times throughout the book of Psalms in addition to its use in Romans 3. God has left no room for questioning, we are all sinners and none of us can be good enough to go to Heaven on our own.
So then what must we do?
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1st John 1:8-10
“And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:31, 32
We must realize that we are sinners, in agreement with the Word of God, allowing us to repent of our sinful condition. Jesus Christ uses the example of a healthy man and a sick man to plainly show us that it is the one who sees his sickly condition that will turn to the physician for the help they need. The spiritual side of this is the same as well, it is when we realize our own sin sickened condition that we can turn to Jesus Christ, our Great Physician.
What do we do after we see the need?
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ” Romans 6:23
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Understand that Hell and Heaven are both real and literal places, also understand you will spend eternity in one of these. We are by nature sinners and because of this we are also by nature condemned to Hell, that is what is meant by the wages or “cost” of sin is death. It is referring to the second death, which is to be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. “But the gift of God is eternal life” if we do not want eternal death then the we must instead chose eternal life, God’s gift to us. We will all stand before God in judgment; the only question is will you come trusting your works, which we see can never be good enough, or will you come trusting in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ?
Since we cannot earn it, what must we do to have eternal life?
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Romans 5:1
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“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 they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. “
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” Romans 10:9-11
You must simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, coming to Him in faith. Salvation as the Bible has so clearly shown is God’s free gift to us, however it was not free for Him. He gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to pay the wages of sin for us and now we must come to Him and trust in His saving gift. Our hope and our forgiveness is not found in rituals or acts of righteousness but solely in the person and sacrifice of God’s precious Son. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth are the simple instructions that God gives to us. If you are willing to come to God in the name of Christ alone asking Him for forgiveness of sin and trusting His grace, then I encourage you to humble yourself in prayer and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to be your savior today.
If you have further questions or you have chosen to trust Christ as your savior please contact us today at juniorhaley@mwbm.org so we may be a further help to you.
Cross and sunset