One can never understand grace and mercy until they have first understood, judgment. It is easy to believe that people are for the most part good. I mean there are plenty of nice people walking around, minding their own and not causing any trouble. There are actually days when I believe that I am good. What is good? Where do we even get the idea that there is good and there is evil? Some would say that it is a variable thing. That it changes from person to person. Others would say that there really isn't good or evil, it is all human law. What if someone grew up without such laws, would they understand good and evil? Let me tell you this, I have a son who will only be turning a year old in a few weeks and he knows what is good and evil. His emotions clearly express that. Yes, he is learning by guidence or law about how to act but he knows by heart how he wants to be treated. One person might say that certain things they do are right or wrong but you know what they believe to be good or evil by how they react when it is done toward them. For instance, once might say that nothing is wrong with stealing but as soon as they have been robbed it is a different story. We all know what is right and what is wrong, however, some of us convince ourselves otherwise and are decieved.
Now let me ask, since we all know what is good and what is evil by our very own hearts, where does this standard come from? We know this the day we are born, I have seen it in my very own son's smile and in his cry. Who planted this knowledge in his heart? It is God. God wrote the law just as He said in the hearts of man. The law whether we acknowledge it or not is always on our conscience saying this is good or this is bad. God uses His commandments as a way to convince us both of evil and how evil we really are. The truth is that God is righteous. He by nature cannot be evil or even be in the presence of evil. If God in any circumstance were able
sin or be sinned against, He would no longer be God. If God in any way would even think that a certain sin or evil thought that man had were no big deal, He would instantly cease to be God. God is righteous and holy period. All sins must be accounted for and judged. Yes it is true that one sin may be greater than another in the sense that one in has greater earthy consequences than another. On the heavenly scale, however, all sins are equall. If you break one you break them all. Even the smallest, most insignificant sin in the eyes of God is beyond what we can even understand as discusting and evil and must be accounted for. For once again, if it weren't, God would instantly cease to be God. Nothing evil can come from God and lack of righteous judgment in itself would be evil. For righteous judgment is good.
So it is indeed true that we all have sinned and that we all continue to sin. Just last night when I was driving home from Greencastle, I was moving at about 75 mph in a 65 and I thought to myself, I am breaking the law. Indeed, I was breaking the law and it seems so stupid but it was wrong. It is discusting no better than murder when compared to God. It must be accounted for. I am giving a little example of ways that we all sin everyday which add up. Even if I were only to sin once, just one little sin, it must be judged. I know that I am capable of and have done much worse as we all have. If God truly is God, our sins must be judged. That judgment is eternity without God and or eternity under His wrath. This would be the worst thing you could possibly think of times the millionth power. If God is truly God, this has to be true. If He is by definition truly righteous and just, this must be true. It has to be. It seems harsh but God is just and justice is a good thing. If God were not always fully just in His judgment, He would be no less than evil. Now because we know what is good and what is evil by nature not by law, we also know that there is indeed a Creator. This we also know, that no one ever does evil for the sake of doing evil. They do it because they find something that is decievingly good out of it. Pleasure is a good thing but becomes evil when perverted. You can't say that your going to do something for the sake of doing evil without doing it for our own good pleasure (even though that pleasure is perverted). We can do good for the sake of doing good but we can't do evil for the sake of doing evil. So now we come to the conclusion that the Creator must be good.
Now if there is a Creator and the Creator is good, than that Creator cannot be in the presense of evil or He would no longer be good. Good cannot allow for evil and still be good. God gave us a standard of His righteosness. This is the ten commandments. Fullfill them fully and you are righteous. Since this is impossible, God also gave us an image of His righteousness in Jesus Christ, His incarnit son Who was both fully God and fully man. Christ fulfilled the law of righteousness and became a perfect sacrifice for us so that we could take on His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, and not be condemmed on the day of judgment. Christ has all ready been judged for us. Being perfectly righteous He also could not be held captive by death which is unrighteous so He conquered death proving that He is good and that eternal life is indeed in Him.
Now whoever believes in this proves that the Spirit of God is indeed in them. Only that which is Spirit can hear that which is of the Spirit. But who is he that claims to believe yet does not live as if it were true? He is not a believer. He is amoung the decieved. The same Spirit Whom gives you grace to believe is the same Spirit Who gives you the power to live and this is the Spirit Whom raised Christ from the dead.
Now my friends Christ has fulfilled the 10 commandments in our place but has left a new commandment that His people must follow.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself."(Matt 22:37-40).
Truly, this isn't a law but a privaledge.
"Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He has given us." 1 John 3:24
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