Romans
6:23 “ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
Pastor
Willie Nolte continues that God’s grace is always offered for life. We tend to
filter punishment through our own values, not God’s. Our Heavenly Father is
love and mercy by nature, by which He extends grace, that “because
of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have
been saved” - Ephesians 2:4-5.
We understand a parents love and bond, because we experience it. They cannot
unlove or abandon their child. Nothing could ever stop God from loving and
expressing the love and mercy that are His natural attributes. God is love. We
feel that we should earn our way to Heaven by being righteous, but how much is
enough to make it to a perfect God? Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us; “For there is not a
just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” Nobody is perfect, so
how can we be found righteous in the eyes of God? The 1828 Webster’s dictionary
defines “righteousness” as: Purity of
heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law.
Righteousness is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles
and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes
all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is
true religion.
Romans
4:4-5 “Now to the one who
works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. However,
to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their
faith is credited as righteousness.”
Righteousness
as based upon faith; not works. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest
anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Christians do not perform “good works’ in order to get saved; they do “good
works” because they are saved. James 2:18
explains, But someone will say, “You have
faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I
will show you my faith by my works. Our faith in God and the finished work
of Jesus Christ on the cross, for the Lord Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:28, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.” Refuse
to compromise your Christian faith.
Acts
2:38 tells us: “Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Our
salvation is in Christ and obedience to God is proof of our faith. Only a
Believer obeys the Lord, but only the obedient believe. Who is Savior and Lord
of your life? Noah’s Ark is an example of God’s salvation, in that to be “in
the Ark” (saved) is a type of being in Christ” (saved). We have to be connected
to Jesus, in His redemption / salvation experience. Buried with Christ in
baptism for sin’s paid, then raised with Christ in righteousness. So, Do what
God says regardless what the world says because God’s plan for you and I is for
our ultimate life and blessing. Would I do what God says or compromise? The
really bad news is that Sin has separated us from God, but the really good news
is that God, in His love, mercy and grace, offers redemption, regeneration, reconciliation,
eternal life through the finished work of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Hebrews
11:7 “By faith Noah,
being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark
to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became
heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
Faith,
in Christ, Brian
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