All have sinned.
Romans 3:23 makes this point very clear: "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." I have sinned; and reader, you have, too. No matter how much good we do, we cannot deny the sin we have all committed. But what is sin? James tells us in 4:17, "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." To know the difference, one must read the Bible, and learn what God's righteous standards are. There isn't an individual who, being honest, would say that he or she has even kept the Ten Commandments 100%. A person only needs know their own heart and thoughts to know that sin is present, and I assure you, God knows us better than we know ourselves. Even the tiniest infraction keeps us from the glory of God; the least amount of dirt must remain separated from God; that is how Holy He is!
Sin's penalty is death.
As stated in the first portion of Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death..." This is not physical death. Everyone will experience that. This is spiritual death and eternal separation from God. There is a very real physical place called Heaven, and a very real physical place called Hell. Being in Heaven equates to God's presence eternally. But Hell is that spiritual death. Whatever you may have heard about Hell, nothing is worst than being apart from God.
The Good News...God loves us all.
God's desire was not to for man to remain separated and by His grace, He provided a Way. Jesus' own words in John 3:16-18: "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.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 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." That last part got me; I didn't have to do anything to become condemned; I already was. God's love is so great that if you were the only person who had sinned, then the preceding quote would have the words "the world" replaced with your name.
God's grace is a gift.
As stated above in John 3:16, God gave His Son, Jesus. Let's look at the rest of Romans 6:23, as well, beginning with the portion quoted above, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." What is a gift? Perhaps that's better answered by first stating what it's not. It's not something earned; it is something given where the receiver's merit is not even considered.
How to receive a gift.
I suppose that may seem elementary. But, imagine you were thrown a birthday party. When it came to opening the presents, how absurd would it be to stack them unopened in a corner. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, verse 10:9-10, "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." This is how we "open" the gift God has mercifully and graciously provided as the Way back to Him.
Why would God do that?
That is a great question, and I cannot honestly give a satisfactory answer. What my finite mind accepts is this though, and the first part is a bit of repetition of earlier stated things. With God, mercy and grace walk hand in hand. Mercy is when God withholds from us what we deserve, and grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve. In other words, by His mercy, we have another Way instead of death; and by His grace, He has provided Life. Another thing is, and to take nothing away from the preceding statements, God desires praise, but again, because He is Holy, will accept nothing that is tarnished with sin. We are clean and accepted under the blood of Jesus, the Christ. "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool," Isaiah 1:18.
Is there not another way?
No. Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The entire Old Testament points the way to Jesus and the cross; the Gospels of the New Testament describe the path to it; and the remainder of the New Testament celebrates He who died and rose again. There is a scripturally sound argument that disputes every claim man can make to heaven, besides the acceptance of Jesus. Most of us would like to bring our own "good" works and hope enough merit will be found in those. Isaiah 64:6, "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." This has been well summed up this way: if a person's life is spent helping their fellow man, say, feeding the hungry. This is a very admirable way to spend one's time. Suppose that same person does the unthinkable and takes a life. If the judge is a good one, the person will still be given the appropriate penalty for the crime, no matter how much many people he or she helped feed. God is the perfect and just judge; He said the penalty must be taken by someone; God Himself provided that Someone.1
A quick Gospel summary.
Most of this blog, I've spent assuming you know the story of Jesus, otherwise known as the Gospel, which is adapted from the Old English for "good news", which in turn has its origins in the original Greek used by the apostle, Paul. Jesus is the Son of God, born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:30-35). He was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17) prior to beginning His public ministry (to identify with us, mankind). Jesus' public ministry lasted approximately 3 years, during which He healed many of various ailments (Matthew 15:30-31), many of which are documented in detail. He lived the perfect life, committing no sin (1 Peter 2:22), as you and I have. Jesus went to a horrible Roman cross to die (John 19:18), that is, to take the punishment, for your sin and mine. He was buried (Mark 15:43-47), was in the grave three days, and rose again, alive for evermore (Mark 16:1-7)!
Making it personal.
Tune in next time...
1Adapted from a character's quote in the film, Courageous, directed by Alex Kendrick (2011; Albany, GA; Sherwood Pictures)
