Am I Too Bad For God To Save Me?

Is anyone too bad or too far gone to come to God?

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16.

THE WORST OF SINNERS
The Apostle Paul wasn't always a follower of Jesus. He was at one time a persecutor of the church and had a hand in having Christians arrested and put in prison. He endorsed the execution of Stephen by holding the coats of those who were stoning him, (Acts 7:58). Scripture says he even went from house to house to arrest Christians, (Acts 8:3).

You would think this would be the last person God would show his grace to, he was God's enemy.

HOPE
The hope we have is not in ourselves but in Jesus. It was Jesus who saved Paul. It was Jesus who had immense patience. It was not because of Paul's goodness that Jesus saved him but in spite of Paul's sinfulness that Jesus saved him.

RECEIVE
We think salvation is something we earn. We think we do some good and it outweighs the bad or that we avoid doing bad and the good comes to the top. The Bible in this verse uses the word "receive," not earn or merit. Eternal life is not earned but given as a gift.

MERCY
We have nothing to bring but come empty and ask for mercy, God is rich in mercy. He has the power to condemn but He has made salvation available to the worst of sinners no matter what you have done or how bad you are you can still find mercy.

To learn more about how to find salvation see the tab above titled The Gospel.

To learn about my books of poems visit my website, A.E. Dozat.com.

 (c)Adron Dozat 8/22/14

Is There More Than One Way To God?

We know we need God. We want to find him but which way is right? Do all ways lead to Heaven?

The Bible says:
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."  1 Timothy 2:5.

MEDIATOR
A mediator brings two or more parties together. Mankind needs a mediator, because we are barred away from Our Heavenly Father. We are barred from God because of our wrongs against him and the people he loves. Our wrongs have offended him and as a holy being he must judge sin or be a hypocrite himself and a sinner. God loves us, so he sent a mediator to do what we couldn't do.

We can't be our own mediators since our wrongs have made a barrier between us and God, so we need someone to do it. We need someone who...
   
     * Has access to God.
     * Knows God.
     * Is not in need of mediation himself.
     * Is from God.
     * Is fully man.
     * Is sinless and beyond condemnation.
     * Is not bound by death, the judgment of sin.

JESUS
Christ is the only one who qualifies. When he died on the cross he paid for the sin that kept us far from God. Jesus had no sin, so his death is sufficient for us. When he takes on our sin he offers his purity on our behalf before the judgment of God. Through the blood of his death we may have forgiveness, and the barrier between us and Our Father in Heave is taken down.

The resurrection proves Jesus is the sufficient mediator. Death had no hold over him. The judgment is satisfied or he would not return from the grave.

Jesus said: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:13-14
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me." John 14:6.

To learn more about the way of salvation click on the tab titled, "Gospel."

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Thank you for visiting this blog. I hope these thoughts are helpful for you.

You can find more like this in the most helpful post list on the left sidebar.

You can contact me through comments or the email link. If you live near Columbia MD I would be glad to meet you and discuss how you can know for sure that you may have eternal life.

Adron

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