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The Amish Voice 7
(Matthew 23:27-28) (emphasis mine).
Indeed, this is the danger with self-
improvement. We can pretty ourselves up
by making ourselves appear beautiful
outwardly, and yet inside we are still like
a trash can full of putrefying filth. No
wonder God had such words for these
religious ones. For it is also written,
For
the word of God is quick, and powerful,
and sharper than any twoedged sword,
piercing even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither
is there any creature that is not manifest
in his sight: but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do
(Heb. 4:12-13).
For the
LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but
the LORD looketh on the heart
(1 Samuel
16:7b). You may fool man by looking all
spiritual, but you won’t trick God!
A GOD OF MERCY
So then, if fig leaves, animal sacrifices,
and efforts to change ourselves are of no
use whatsoever, then what are we to do?
How are we to be reconciled to God if we
have been estranged from Him by our
sin? For we must understand the severity
of the penalty of our sin. The Bible says,
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of his saints, To execute
judgment upon all, and to convince all
that are ungodly among them of all their
ungodly deeds which they have ungodly
committed, and of all their hard speeches
which ungodly sinners have spoken
against him
(Jude 14-15). It is written,
And whosoever was not found written in
the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire
(Revelation 20:15).
We have come to see that we deserve the
judgement of God for our sinfulness.
However, our God is also a merciful and
loving God.
The Lord is…longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to
repentance
(2 Peter 3:9). As we saw
earlier, God provided the remedy for
Adam and Eve. However, it was not for
them alone, but for many throughout the
Scriptures, that He Himself was going to
supply the remedy. This mercy is offered
to us so that we can be reconciled to God
once and for all.
At last we come to this Scripture:
The
next day John seeth Jesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world.
(John 1:29). Like Adam and Eve and the
religious hypocrites, all we can do is try
to cover up our sin. However, Jesus came
as the Lamb of God to take away our sin.
So what did Jesus do? He went to the
cross to die. Why did He have to die?
The Bible says,
The wages of sin is death
(Romans 6:23). Jesus went to the cross to
pay the full penalty for our sin. In fact,
He endured the complete wrath of God
for all our sin that we may be pardoned.
For it is written
, Without shedding of
blood there is no remission [forgiveness]
(Hebrews 9:22b). This is what Jesus does
for all those who place their trust in Him
as their Savior, and not themselves.
As
far as the east is from the west, so far
hath he removed our transgressions
[sins]
from us
(Psalm 103:12). This is
good news! Jesus said,
I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me
(John 14:6). We
understand then that none can become
Christians by trying to clean up their
lives, because their sin has not been dealt
with. This is why we need to trust Jesus
to be the one who can take care of all our
sin and sinful habits. He not only
removes our sin from us by paying its
penalty by death on the cross, but He also
liberates us from being slaves to sin. For
it is written,
our old man is crucified with
Him
[Jesus],
that the body of sin might
be destroyed, that henceforth we should
not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed
from sin
(Romans 6:6-7).
EVERYONE WHO CALLS
Let’s briefly sum this up. You need to see
that trying to clean up your own life
won’t work, for even your best attempts
at being good are “
filthy rags
” in God’s
sight. You need to admit that you are still
a sinner in need of God’s cleansing. The
Bible says,
But God commendeth his
love toward us in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us
(Romans 5:8).
Don’t pretend to be righteous or good
enough, for God will never be fooled by
your fig leaves. Instead, acknowledge to
Him that you have failed. Simply do as
this verse instructs:
For WHOSOEVER
calls upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved
(Romans 10:13). Then relax,
trusting that what Jesus has done is
enough to save you. For God’s Word
says of Jesus,
Wherefore he is able also
to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him
,
seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them
(Hebrews
7:25). Remember also, Jesus did not stay
in the grave, but rose the third day as was
prophesied. When we trust Him as our
Savior, He comes to take up permanent
residence in us by His Spirit. He comes
to live the Christian life we could not
live. He says that He is the vine and we
are the branches.
I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing
(John
15:5). So then, trust Jesus to cancel your
sin-debt, give you victory in your
Christian life over sin, and save you
from the very presence of sin in Heaven
in the future.
So, there’s the good news! You don’t
have to try and be a Christian. Rather you
actually become one when you trust
Jesus, and not yourself, to save you from
your sins. You don’t have to try and paint
up the garbage can filled with filth. You
trust that Jesus will get rid of the garbage
and stench. Then, most amazingly, Jesus
comes to live in you by His Spirit. This
makes you beautiful inside and out. This
is amazing grace! Stop trying to better
yourself, and let Jesus save you and
transform you from a sinner to a saint.
Remember, FOR WHOSOEVER CALLS
UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD,
SHALL BE SAVED. You
can count on Him.
Continued from previous page
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