Conscious of Sin

Romans 2:10-16 “Glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when unbelieving Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.”

Atheists choose to not believe because if there is a God who created everything, then that God has sovereignty to reign and rule over all Creation, and all Creation is subject to his teachings, commands, and statutes. To an unbeliever, that is unacceptable to their self-governing life standards. But whether we believe in God or not, He exists and there comes a day when He judges all, just and fair, by His holy Law. There is purpose to God’s Law for us and nature. It is not legalism, but the standard that He sent before His Creation for contentment, order and peace. We have the liberty to follow His righteous Law or not, but there are consequences to breaking any law: Man’s, Nature’s or Nature’s God ... there is loss and penalty in some way, shape or form, based upon the law. We are accountable, whether we believe in the law or not. The Law-giver has authority whether we like the law or not. Sin is falling short of God’s standards ... missing the Mark set by God and hitting a different Mark. But if perfect observance of God’s law is the standard, then how can anyone be found righteous before God? Nobody is perfect.

Romans 3:19-25 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Romans 6:21-23 “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become bond-slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

To all who believe through faith in the Cross, there is justification by grace through the atoning redemption by our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. It was God’s Plan that His Son would pay a debt that He did not owe, because we owed a debt that we could not pay. To pay the price for our Sin, Jesus willingly took our place on that Cross out of pure love for us ... it was not bought, earned nor deserved by us. Shall we continue in selfishly willful disobedience, that Christ died to save us from in love and who now lives inside our hearts, or shall we live to God?

Galatians 2:16-21 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I, through the law, died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

In Christ, our Lord & Savior,

Brian