What I Believe

2-15-2006

God is the author and finisher of the Law.
God wrote the Law.
And by the Law, no flesh is justified.
It is impossible not to break the Law in some form or fashion.
Therefore, we are all sinners. It doesn't matter what happened, we cannot stand before a Holy God. We are doomed.
But God created us. Just the way we are. And He declared it good.
He loves us so much, He sent His only Son, Jesus (Emmanuel, Savior), whom the Holy Spirit indwelt. God, Himself, was born a human, lived as a human, and died as a human.
As God, He kept the Law. Never sinned. Period. Was perfect, blameless.
Other humans, thus being proved sinners, accused and condemned the Holy God to death for sin.
He allowed this, and took the blame for all sin, everywhere, for all men, for all time, although He was sinless.
He planned this from before the creation of the world. It was no accident.
The punishment for breaking the Law is death.
Therefore He died.
And went to the grave (in the body), and He went to hell (in the spirit).
And on the third day, He left hell and took all the people that were trapped there, the people that had died up to that point without a Savior, and went to Paradise where He applied His own blood to the altar, wiping out the slate of offenses against us who believe.
You can't earn it. You can't do what He did because you are not god. You can't live a perfect enough life. You can be better than most people, but the Law was written with God as the standard. Sin is absolute.
You can receive forgiveness of sin only through faith.
You have to have faith that He loves you.
You have to have faith that Jesus is the only Son of God.
You have to have faith He paid the price for you.
You have to have faith that you will go to Heaven when you die.

You have to have faith.

And guess what? God even gives you the faith you need. God created faith.
God is the author and finisher of our faith.

God is love!

Read all of Romans 3, especially vs. 20-25: "Therefore by the deeds of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the Law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the propheets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forebearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed."

Read all of Romans 4.

Romans 14:23 "...whatever is not from faith is sin."