Salvation v1.0nly page 3

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Innocent or guilty ?

Some, because they don't know what God has said about himself, are under the misconception that because God is a god of love and mercy that he will forgive them anyway because they “didn’t really mean to hurt anyone” or that they were “good most of the time”. However, is this what God has said about himself in the Bible ?

Exodus 34:5-7...
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished...”

Malachi 3:6...
“I the LORD do not change. ... ” (see also Numbers 23:19 & James 1:17)

As this scripture says; God is gracious and abounding in love and forgiveness. But God hates our sin and can have no partnership with it and he has set a day and warned us well in advance that on that day he will sentence the guilty.

Isaiah 66:15 & 16
See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the LORD.

Revelation 20:11-15 (The Apostle John's vision of Judgement Day)
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. ¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
(see also Isaiah 34:4, Daniel 12:2 and 2^nd Peter 3:10)

A little frightening ! But how wonderful in contrast are the promises in passages that follow which talk of what God has for those who turn to him.

Try that in Civil Court !

If a civil court judge allows someone to go free after they committed murder because they said, "Your honour I have heard that you were a good judge, please I am truly sorry for what I have done and I have been a good person in every other part of my life, can't you set me free", Would that judge be a good judge ? Clearly not. If he is a good judge he would say, "your right I am a good judge and you should be sorry and you will face the consequences of your actions."

It's because the judge is a good judge he will see that justice is done and sentencing is carried out.

You cannot separate God's goodness from his justice. They go hand in hand.

It is because God is a good and just judge that he will see that all murderers are duly condemned for their crime. But this is the thing... he wont stop there... The Bible warns us very clearly that all liars, thieves, adulterers and idolaters will not enter Heaven. They have an entirely different destiny;

1 Corinthians 6:9...-10...
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders ¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

(By the way, in case you were wondering, “sexually immoral” does include heterosexual sex before marriage)

What is an “Idolater” ?

The 2nd Commandment says that we must not create for ourselves an Idol; a false god. When we say “My God is not like that” we break this Commandment. Just as some cultures have formed “gods” of wood or metal, which cannot hear, speak or see, we do the same by fashioning (i.e. creating) a god in our minds to suit ourselves; to suite our own desires and to suite our sins. Just like metal or wooden idols, on Judgment Day these “gods” will be useless to us. I deceived myself in this way for many years. It's called idolatry and to do this makes you an idolater.

Even if we ascribe to our own sense of morality, separate from God, and we were to say “Actually I am doing alright without God thankyou, I have my own standards” Then God will treat you fairly and justly also...

Ezekiel 33:20
Yet, O house of Israel, you say, 'the way of the Lord is not just.' But I will judge each of you according to his own ways."

Romans 2:12-16
The “Law” refers to The 10 Commandments and “Gentiles” is anyone who is not a Jew by their faith.
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. ¹³For 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. ¹⁴(Indeed, when 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, ¹⁵since 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.) ¹⁶This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ as my gospel declares.

James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

This shows us that because we fail even to live up to our own standards, on Judgment Day, God will judge us according to our consciousnesses. Ask yourself about those times when you didn't do what you should have or when you did do what you shouldn't, according to your own standards.

Consider the world around you;

2 Timothy 3:1-...7
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ²People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- ⁵having a form of godliness but denying its power. ... , ⁷always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.

2 Timothy 4:3 & 4
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
For more signs of the days we are living in see also Matthew chapter 24 and Luke chapter 21

Interesting reading huh !

Are you like God ?

Proverbs 19:3 & 20:9,10 & 30:12
³A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.

⁹Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? ¹⁰Differing weights and differing measures - the Lord detests them both.

¹¹“There are; ... ¹²those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth”

Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

We cannot compare ourselves to others when it comes to sin as God has already set the standard. We cannot say to ourselves “surely I'll be OK, I'll make it to Heaven” or “That person is a good person surely they'll be OK”. It's not about man's righteousness because we are not righteous before a Holy God. Remember that on Judjment Day God will not compare you to other people ...he will compare you to himself. But because he is a merciful God he gives us an opportunity to make the comparison for ourselves before we enter our eternity through the door of death.

Did you know that our thoughts and even our prayers can be a sin in God's eyes ! see Proverbs 15:8, 15:26 & 28:9

Psalm 139:1 to 2
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. ²You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceve my thoughts from afar.

Ecclesiates 12:4
For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing wether it is good or evil.

Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Imagine that we could record onto a computer chip all your thoughts for 2 weeks and then play it on a video screen in front of all your family and loved ones: Mum, Dad, your husband or wife and children ! The Bible says that God is pure and perfect in every way... Are you really like him ?

Psalms 14:1 to 3
The fool says in his heart “there is no God.” They are corrupt their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. ²The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. ³All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Isaiah 59:2
But your inequities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

Hosea 7:13 to 14
Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me. ¹⁴They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me.

If he sees our "rightous acts as filthy rags" how then must he view our sin !

Our redemption from our sin and reconciliation to God; i.e. our “Salvation”, comes not by the dreams or aspirations of humanity, not by some “enduring human spirit”, not by our hopes of a better world that we'll all one day live in when we work “it” all out, not by observing a strict set of laws, religious code or seemingly spiritual practices, and not by any amount of good deeds. Our “Salvation” comes from God alone !

Why live a lie ?

We can only expect to be condemned without someone to mediate between us and God. Ignoring this or searching for some “enlightenment”, philosophy or doctrine that seems spiritual or serves the purpose of justifying the lifestyles we'd like to have for ourselves wont work. Subscribing to this only serves to deny ourselves the truth God has already provided for us.

After all what can the mortal offer the immortal ? What fellowship has darkness with light ?

Psalm 49:7-9
No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him - ⁸the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough - ⁹that he should live on forever and not see decay.

Psalm 89:48
What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?

Matthew 16:26
What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

If you are convinced of your guilt before God then ask yourself this question; On Judgement Day would you be destined for Heaven or Hell ?

Does this concern you ?

Yes	No
Tell me the Good News	I don't care about my eternity

Here are some other Bible verses highlighting man’s condition before God

Psalm 103:15-17 & 146:3-6, Isaiah 59:12-16, Luke 23:32-43 wow ! that shoots down the idea of doing good deeds or following religious procedures to earn your way to Heaven.
Romans 1:18-32 & 2 Peter 3:3-10 Interesting ! Seems to me God knows what we are like before we do.