God is Holy
God, our Creator, is holy. He is highly exalted above all that He has made. His holiness also means that He is good and morally perfect. The Bible says of him, “Your eyes are too pure to approve evil; and you cannot look on wickedness with favour” (Hbk. 1:13). The heavenly beings confess His holiness day and night (Rev. 4:8–11).
Man is Sinful
God requires us, His creatures, to obey Him and do His will. Instead, we do the exact opposite – even though we know right from wrong, we choose to disobey His commandments. This is sin.
Have you stolen, or lied or hated, or prized things in your heart above God? God who knows you fully and truly, testifies in His word that you are a sinner. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23a). This is true of everyone, of you, even now.
Sin is Costly
Any sin, however ‘small’, is great because it is against a great God. The Bible says that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18). Our holy God is just; He will judge all sin very soon. Death is just around the corner, after which you can do nothing to change your fate.
Judgement Hangs on your Head
“For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil…” (Rom. 28-9). This dreadful judgement is eternal. How will you, a sinner, stand before a holy God?
You cannot Rescue Yourself
Committing to live a ‘better’ life will not save you from the sins you’ve done already. You will still sin. Confessing your sins every day cannot guarantee you salvation. Admitting our sins is far from paying for our sin. Nothing that you can do can save you. Your actions cannot take away the guilt of sin or its power over you.
God Alone can Save You
God has provided one way to save us, give us new life, and reconcile us to Him. This way is Jesus Christ. Jesus came and lived a perfect, sinless life and died in the place of sinners and was raised. ”He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet.2:24)
For all who believe in Him, their sins are forgiven because His death is counted on their behalf, Divine justice is satisfied for them.
Only the infinite value of the life of Christ is able to pay for the infinite value of sin. But there is even more. Just as He took our sins to be counted as His own sin, He also gave us His righteousness to be counted as our own righteousness, if justified. It is a great exchange!
God paid the awful penalty of our sin, so that He may save us from the demands of His righteous justice. We who deserve His condemnation receive His pardon and justification through Jesus Christ.
How do you Receive this Pardon and Righteousness?
Through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 3:22). You must depend on Christ alone for your salvation, not on your personal goodness, your knowledge, or your service to God or men. These are worthless compared to Jesus. Only His sacrifice is acceptable to God, not yours. Forsake anything you are trusting in right now and let Jesus be your one defense before God. Leave your current sinful direction and follow Him as your Master and Saviour.
To believe in Jesus is to accept all that God reveals Him in the Bible to be – your God and your Saviour (Tit. 2:13).
“Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God” (John 3:18).