Many
have been told they should keep the commandments, or try to be good, or
become religious. Some begin to keep the
commandments, and become regular in Bible study, church attendance,
giving to the poor, and in other good deeds.
Others
try to live right, and keep the commandments, yet it is no use. There
is no inner desire, no inner hunger to do what is supposedly
right—and so they do not see the point of trying. They
conclude Religion is not for them.
Here we see two
contrasting groups—those who keep the commandments, and those
who do
not. According to Scripture, which of these two groups are
justified (made righteous) in the eyes of God?
According
to the Bible, forgiveness of sins does
not come by
keeping the
commandments, nor by being good, nor by becoming
religious—No,
nor by our good deeds, no matter
how many or how good they might be! (See Isaiah 64:6; John 3:3; Romans
3:10;
Titus 3:5).
And so it is, that according to the Bible standard,
neither group in the above example is justified, nor righteous in God's eyes, nor are their sins forgiven.
Why is this true? If we are
not
justified by keeping God's commandments, then how
do we become justified? How do we become righteous? How
do we
receive forgiveness of our sins?
I must first recognise that if I have ever committed the least sin, then according to the Bible, I am a
sinner; and because of that sin, I am condemned to death. We are
all in this predicament, and no amount of good deeds can erase the sentence of death that is upon us all.
Many have heard
that
Yahushua
(the Hebrew name for the Messiah, also known by the Greek name
Jesus)
has died for the sins of the world—and by the spilling of His
blood, everyone in the world is forgiven of their sins (that is,
their
disobedience
to
God).
And so many ask the questions, "What does
this have to do
with
me?"
and, "What about
my
sins? How are
my
sins forgiven?"
If
I would be forgiven, I must
first approach Messiah Yahushua personally, in prayer. I must
first
admit, "
I
am a sinner" (see Romans 3:23 below), for I realize that sinners
are
separated from God (Isaiah 59:3). Sinners do not qualify for
eternal life, nor will they be allowed into the Kingdom of
Heaven—but must receive eternal death (Matt 18:3; John 3:5;
Romans 6:23; Rev 22:14-15).
I
would then cry out to God,
telling Him the awful truth that none of us like to
admit—that
I
need His salvation, His rescue, from
my
sins. I would tell Him that I need His forgiveness
provided for me when Messiah died on the tree, when He paid for
my sins by dying in
my place:
Who
his own self bare
our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being
dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were
healed. (1Peter 2:24)
For all have
sinned,
and come
short of the
glory of God; 24 Being
justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in
Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a
propitiation through
faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the
remission ["letting go; forgiveness"] of sins that are past,
through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:23-25)
Much
more then,
being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his
life. (Romans 5:9-10)
And almost all
things are by the law
purged (cleansed) with blood; and without shedding of
blood is no
remission ["forgiveness"]. (Hebrews 9:22)
And
from
Jesus
Christ, who
is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him (Jesus) that loved us,
and washed
us from
our sins in his own blood, (Revelation 1:5)
If we look carefully at the above Scriptures, we see that we can be
justified,
made
righteous
by
Messiah's blood
that He spilled when He
died, with the
result that we become reconciled to God, and our sins are forgiven.
But
how do
I become
justified,
so that His forgiveness applies to
me
in a personal way? Here's an example in Scripture:
And
the publican,
standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, saying,
God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I
tell you, this
man went down to his house justified rather than the
other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth
himself
shall be exalted. (Luke 18:13-14)
Notice
in the above verse that the unrighteous publican was justified when he
humbled
himself,
by admitting he was a
sinner,
and by crying out for
God’s
mercy. If I am sincere and humble, God will
hear
my
prayer
also.
If
my prayer—my request for His mercy and forgiveness—is a
sincere and honest request, then He will make His forgiveness personal
for
me.
My sins will then be forgiven, and I too become
justified,
made
righteous.
And so it is by
His Blood that
we are justified, made righteous, and forgiven of our sins—but it is when I humble myself, and cry out
for His mercy, that His justification and forgiveness are
applied to me
personally.
After I have cried out to God in true
sincerity,
and have truly sought His forgiveness, then Messiah becomes 'birthed'
within me—and I now have a
profound sense of
the burden, the
weight
of
sin and guilt, being lifted from me. The guilt is
completely gone, for His Blood has cleansed me; and He now lives
within
me (John 3:3,7; Colossians 1:27; 1John 1:7; 1John 3:5).
By
His being birthed
within me, He makes me to be a "New Creation," whereby old things are
passed away, and all things become new (2Corinthians 5:17). He wipes
the slate clean, and gives me a new start in life.
Only
after
this personal encounter with Messiah, only then does He tell me, "Go,
and sin no more" (John 8:11). Only
then am I able to begin a life of
obedience to the Commandments, of being good, and of doing what is
right.
Only
after
this personal
encounter with Messiah am I
able to repent—to turn, and go in a different direction in
life. For only
after
Messiah is birthed within, do I have the
new-found desire (and ability) to walk with Him, for He gives me the
gift of His Grace—His desire, and His ability—to
turn, and to do what is right (Philippians 1:11; Philippians
2:13).
Only
after
this
personal encounter with Messiah, who shed
His Blood on my behalf, are my sins forgiven (Psalms 50:5; Matt 26:28;
Heb 9:22). And now what I have is not
Religion—but
a
Relationship
with our Heavenly Father:
Jesus
saith unto him, I
am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
Messiah
Himself is the Way to the Father. He is the gate or
door—the
Entrance—into the Kingdom of Heaven (John 10:7). We enter the
Way through Messiah, by the forgiveness of our Sins.
Let
us
therefore cry out
for His
mercy — and make His forgiveness personal for ourselves!