The Bad News and the Good News
Your good works can't save you, only Christ can.
There are two things that you must know - The BAD news and the GOOD news.
The bad news is that we are all sinners. I am no
excpetion. I have sinned, you have sinned. You say, where have I
sinned? Sin is transgression of the law of God. When you
break God's law, you have sinned. So what is God's law?
The Ten Commandments
Have you kept all of them without fail?
Exodus 20
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (20:3)
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image (20:4)
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain (20:7)
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (20:8)
5. Honour thy father and thy mother: (20:12)
6. Thou shalt not kill. (20:13)
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (20:14)
8. Thou shalt not steal. (20:15)
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (20:16)
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house (20:17)
If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that you have
broken at least some of the Ten Commandments. "Okay, I've
sinned," you say. "But I haven't done anything horrible. I
haven't killed anyone." The Bible says that if you break one
law, but keep the whole law, you are guilty of breaking the ENTIRE law:
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).
Not only are we sinners, there is nothing that we can do ourselves
to get rid of our sins. Our good deeds will not be weighted
against our sins at the gates of Heaven. Our good works will
never outweigh our sins, for of all the good that we can do, it is not
enought to cover for even ONE of our sins. But we are all as
an unclean thing, and ALL our righteousnesses [good deeds] are as
filthy rags: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities [sins],
like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6) And there
are consequences to our sin. The Bible says that the wages of
sin is DEATH. Not just physical death, but ETERNAL death in
Hell. For the wages of sin is death... Romans 6:23a.
"Are you telling me that I'm going to Hell? I thought God was a
loving God. Why would a loving God send anyone to Hell?"
Hold on, here is the good news. God indeed loves you
and does not want you to go to Hell. He made a way for you to be
reconciled with himself. His Son, Jesus Christ, took your
punishment when He was crucified. Through faith in His
sacrifice, you will be forgiven of your sins and will live forever in
Heaven. Here is the second half of Romans 6:23: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord..
Salvation is a free gift; but just like any gift you must ACCEPT it.
You must be willing to turn from your sin and accept Christ as
your Saviour. But God is also a just God; If you do not accept
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, your sins will not be forgiven,
and He will have no choice but to cast you into Hell. Therefore,
why would you refuse a free gift
that would get you forgivness of sins and entry into Heaven? Why
do you continue on thinking that you can earn your way into Heaven.
8 For by GRACE are ye saved through FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8,9
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