September 15, 2012

“A Time to Choose”

Scripture:

So we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be accepted by God because of our faith in Christ—and not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be saved by obeying the law.
(Galatians 2:16) NLT

Observation:

No living person has the ability nor the power to stand justified before the Most Holy One of Israel. In order for anyone to stand holy and blameless in the eyes of the Living God, we, too, must be holy as He is Holy. And the only way for our justification and holiness (so we can escape God’s final punishment) is through His forgiveness of sin and the holy covering of our Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23-25).

Application:

Because of the sinful nature we all inherit, we are cursed with the human weakness to fight the evil, God hating power of sin, and thus, we need the blood of Christ to cleanse us and His holiness to save us. There is no other Way, for our inherent human weakness to sin is our condemnation. We cannot save ourselves no matter how righteous we try to be, or how righteous we think we are. We all have the tendency to do whatever we feel like doing, rather than doing what is righteous and pleasing to God. Many of us only come to God when we are in desperate need of something greater than ourselves, because we hate to admit that we are powerless in our own circumstances. And God hates pride! Pride is the reason that Lucifer, the greatest and most beautiful of God’s angels was thrown out of Heaven and condemned to the eternal Lake of Fire with no chance for redemption. It was the human pride of Jewish leaders that led to the murder of the Son of Man. It is our stubborn pride that is our ticket to Hell. But there is very good news, for we now live in the Age of the Church and we know there is only One Truth, because the Lord our God has poured out His Holy Spirit to reveal His Truth and give us the Resurrection Power that not only helps us walk through the sanctification process, but gives us the strength to maintain the holiness that God calls us to have (Leviticus 19:2). Upon our acceptance of God’s redemptive plan through Christ Jesus, we have the sacrificial blood of Christ to cleanse us, His sacrificial death that saves us, God’s resurrection power to sustain us, and God’s promise of eternal life to reward us. God had His plan for mankind before the foundation of the earth was laid. And unlike the waves of the sea, the Creator does not waver in His ways. Unlike the finite creatures that we are, God knows that we cannot live without Him. His infinite Wisdom and Power and Mercy is all the grace we need. For He knows that we are mere humans, not god’s; that we are weak and vulnerable, and are lives are but a dream—once realized, but soon forgotten. Our earthly lives are just a blink of an eye, but our souls (our very spirits themselves) are eternal. This is why our Holy and Just God has given us all fair warning—why He has given us the Way and the time to choose. God wants no one to perish, but the time is growing dangerously close to the completion of His redemptive plan. It’s time to choose, if you have not already done so. Don’t wait, dear friends—don’t let the Perfect and Holy Justice of God decide for you— for if you do, you will not be pleased.

Prayer:

What a glorious and awesome God you are, O LORD. Your love and faithfulness is unending and has no bounds. You are, the Great I Am—You are our Great Gift Giver—You and You alone are our only hope for salvation, for You are the only Savior of Creation. Amen