let us never forget that there is nothing that we can personally do to bridge the gap between us and God. we must admit our shortcomings, our failures, our guilts and allow Jesus to radically transform our lives, our hearts.
there is NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, that we can do on our own accord to be made right with God. nothing. it does not matter how many hours you log at your local shelter house, how much food you donate to the food pantry, how many times you have been over seas on missions trips, how many sundays you go to church. it doesn't matter if you completely abstain from drinking alcohol, if you call yourself a christian, if you get straight A's, if you make 6 figures, if you give all your money to the poor. it doesn't matter if you appear to be a better person than every person around you, if you do better things than your neighbor, if you are more kind and generous and loving than every other person on this earth. there is nothing you can personally do to bring you any closer to jesus or can cause him to love you any more or less than he abundantly does.
it is a heart condition.
you can not make your heart right with God on your own accord. you're not perfect. i'm not perfect. the God of israel has not given us a set of rules to abide by and IF we meet them ALL, then and only then can we be reunited with him. NO, the God of israel has come down to meet us where we are. no other "god" can claim this. the God of israel loves us DESPITE our shortcomings, our fears and failures, our perverted minds, and our detestable actions. he over looks our past when we come before him broken and dependent. let us never forget that our chains of slavery, our shackles of shame, and our bonds of self-righteous can be broken once and for all when we come humbly before God and confess that Jesus' death on the cross is sufficient for salvation.
• we are made right in God's sight when we trust in jesus christ to take away our sins. and we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. –romans 3:22
• for God sent jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. we are made right with God when we believe that jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. and he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in jesus. –romans 3:25-26
• so w are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law –romans 3:28
• for it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. –romans 10:10
• there was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. you have been made right with God because of what the Lord jesus christ and the spirit of our God have done for you. –1 corinthians 6:11
it is for Freedom that we have been set free.
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