“There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:22b-25a NIV)
What wonderful, encouraging words! We are all sinners…well, that is not specifically the encouraging part, though it’s true…and we are justified freely by God’s grace because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross (there it is!). And all I need do, actually all I can do, is to claim that sacrifice by faith. It’s true…Christianity is too simple for some to believe! Too many find this simple faith too difficult…people want to “do something,” but the fact of the matter is there is nothing left to do but put your faith in Jesus Christ. Still, in order to put our faith in Christ we must stop depending upon our own strength and knowledge…we must totally depend upon Christ. What boggles my mind is that most I’ve talked to will readily confess that they have tried to work/give/earn their way to heaven with no success, but some have come to the conclusion that if they cannot earn their place themselves it cannot be done. How sad…to have the Savior offering a free gift (which cost a tremendous price) and to have someone reject it because they couldn’t do it themselves…it surely breaks the Lord’s heart.
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