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The “I am a good person” test! “I am a good person”! So,
YOU say. But, are you REALLY a good
person? Are you good enough? Jesus said, “Be ye therefore
perfect, even
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48). Are you
THAT
good? Let’s see how good you
are: Have you every told a lie (be
honest)? Have you ever stolen something (even
something small)? Have you ever taken God’s name in vain?
What is your answer? If you have ever lied, stolen anything, or taken
God’s
name in vain then you are a lying, thieving, blasphemer! Remember the Ten
Commandments? Of course you do, because the work of the Law is written
in your
heart and your conscience bears witness to that fact (Romans 2:15). You
know
that taking the Lord’s name in vain, and stealing, and lying is WRONG (Exodus 20:3-17)! It’s not wrong just because you say it’s
wrong. It’s wrong because God’s Law says it’s wrong - Dead wrong! “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans
6:23) and “…sin is the transgression of the law.” (I John 3:4). Are you good? Have you
ever lusted about someone - anyone? Jesus said, “…whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already
in his
heart.” (Matthew 5:28) Have you ever
hated someone in your heart? Jesus considers this murder (Matthew 5:21-22). If you have ever lusted or hated a
person you are an adulterer and murderer at heart. This is why the
Bible says,
“…There is none righteous, no, not one…there is none that doeth good,
no, not
one.” (Romans 3:10-12). Yes, that includes YOU! You are not good! You
stand condemned as a law breaker before a Holy God! You have violated
His Law!
As the Holy Judge of all the earth, God has already given His verdict –
He says
you are “condemned already” (John 3:18). He says, “…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), and “…your iniquities have
separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that
he will
not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). This should trouble you! God is Just! He has never and will never
overlook sin!
He has never and will never overlook YOUR sin! It matters not that you
“say”
you are a good person. God knows how you really are – He knows your
heart! And,
you MUST face your sins. You must be punished for your sins or you must have some one
that God will accept take your punishment. If you do not have a
substitute, this
too should trouble you! Lawbreaker, are you troubled?
Worried? Depressed? Concerned? Guilty? Good! But, those feelings
are not even good enough to save you! However, if you do feel that way,
then I
have good news for you! God
graciously sent His only begotten Son the Lord
Jesus Christ into this world to suffer, bleed, and die in the place
of guilty,
helpless, condemned sinners.
Jesus is God’s gracious provision of a satisfactory substitute! It is God’s demands that must be met! Your
goodness
(you have none) cannot meet God’s demands. God satisfied His own
inflexible
justice by mercifully sending His beloved Son to die in the place of
guilty
sinners. Notice what the Scripture says,
“…Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that
are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this
time his
righteousness: that he might be just, and the
justifier
of him which believeth in Jesus.” It is God who is “just” and
“righteous”! So just and so righteous that
he will not let
one sin slip by. So just and so righteous that if a person is to find
God’s favor
at His bar of Justice their sins must be PAID FOR! ”. So just and so
righteous,
that God put on Christ’s account all the sins of all those who come to
faith in
Christ. And, having put on Christ those sins God there and then
punished Christ
for all the sins of all of His people. You see, Jesus did not
die for his own sin, because he did not have any. I Peter 2:22 says, concerning
Jesus that He, “…did no sin...” Truly
Jesus Christ was and is “…holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners…”
(Hebrews 7:26). Jesus did not die for His sins. He died because the
sins of all
of his people were put to his account. He died as a substitute in the
place of
sinners. In doing so, Jesus satisfied the just demands of the God’s
Holy Law
for all those he died for. It was Jesus, “Who his
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…” ( I Peter 2:24). It is in Jesus
that, “…we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
(Colossians
1:14). It was, “…while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8). Jesus
did not come to save good people! Jesus was sent and came to save bad
people!
Sinners! Guilty, helpless, condemned sinners! “This is a faithful
saying, and
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save
sinners…” (I Timothy 1:15) But that is not all!
After Jesus paid in full the sin debt of His people, He then arose from
the
grave to prove that He has completely cleared our guilty standing
before God. Romans
4:25 say, “Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification.” The resurrection
of
Jesus Christ is proof that God has accepted the sacrifice of Christ in
the
place of guilty sinners. Jesus cried aloud “It is finished” (John
19:30) He
died on the cross and on the third day after his death and burial, God
proved
that He had accepted the sacrifice of Christ by raising Jesus from the
dead! Lawbreaker, stop trusting
in your goodness – it’s no good! Sinner, stop making excuses for yours
sins.
God has made full provision for guilty, condemned, heartbroken sinners.
Repent
and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will enjoy “FULL PARDON”!
Stop
trusting in your own goodness (it’s not
enough), repent of your sins and trust in Christ today! “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved…”
(Acts “He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of
God.” (John “He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of
God abideth on him.” (John 3:36) |