 Dear friend,
The Bible is the Word of God. It is the means by which God chose to communicate to us in our own human language. What is it that He communicates to us?
The Law (the Ten Commandments; Exodus 20) is God’s moral standard for us. If we break one of these Laws at any time in our lives, we are separated from Him. Ask yourself, “Have I ever stolen anything? Or lied?”
The Problem. Paul says to the Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). So, in other words, we have all broken God’s Law; we have all failed on a moral level, and therefore we need to be saved from this problem. This problem of being separated from God.
The Solution. Paul continues to explain our separation from God in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…” Meaning, the cost of our moral failures is the reason why we die, but that is not the end! Paul continues in the same verse, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). So, God became man to save us from our sins (John 1:14), because only God could meet the requirements of His standard (the Law).
Why would God do something like this? Why would He leave His throne and come down to people? Romans 5:8 gives us the answer... It communicates to us that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ took our place of punishment for our sins against God because He loves us! John 3:16 is similar: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have eternal life!"
How should we respond to such a love? Romans 10:9 tells us exactly that. All one must do to be saved is “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, then you shall be saved.” This is where your personal relationship with your Creator begins. It is not where it ends. If you haven’t done this already, get right with God. Put your faith and trust in Jesus alone, today. You will be a new creation; old things will pass away and behold, all things will become new (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
As always, if you have any questions concerning this, let's set up a meeting and discuss it!
Grace and peace,
Dr. Nace Howell
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