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The Amish Voice 7

(Matthew 23:27-28) (emphasis mine).

Indeed, this is the danger with self-

improvement. We can pretty ourselves up

by making ourselves appear beautiful

outwardly, and yet inside we are still like

a trash can full of putrefying filth. No

wonder God had such words for these

religious ones. For it is also written,

For

the word of God is quick, and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword,

piercing even to the dividing asunder of

soul and spirit, and of the joints and

marrow, and is a discerner of the

thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither

is there any creature that is not manifest

in his sight: but all things are naked and

opened unto the eyes of him with whom

we have to do

(Heb. 4:12-13).

For the

LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man

looketh on the outward appearance, but

the LORD looketh on the heart

(1 Samuel

16:7b). You may fool man by looking all

spiritual, but you won’t trick God!

A GOD OF MERCY

So then, if fig leaves, animal sacrifices,

and efforts to change ourselves are of no

use whatsoever, then what are we to do?

How are we to be reconciled to God if we

have been estranged from Him by our

sin? For we must understand the severity

of the penalty of our sin. The Bible says,

Behold, the Lord cometh with ten

thousands of his saints, To execute

judgment upon all, and to convince all

that are ungodly among them of all their

ungodly deeds which they have ungodly

committed, and of all their hard speeches

which ungodly sinners have spoken

against him

(Jude 14-15). It is written,

And whosoever was not found written in

the book of life was cast into the lake of

fire

(Revelation 20:15).

We have come to see that we deserve the

judgement of God for our sinfulness.

However, our God is also a merciful and

loving God.

The Lord is…longsuffering

to us-ward, not willing that any should

perish, but that all should come to

repentance

(2 Peter 3:9). As we saw

earlier, God provided the remedy for

Adam and Eve. However, it was not for

them alone, but for many throughout the

Scriptures, that He Himself was going to

supply the remedy. This mercy is offered

to us so that we can be reconciled to God

once and for all.

At last we come to this Scripture:

The

next day John seeth Jesus coming unto

him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God,

which taketh away the sin of the world.

(John 1:29). Like Adam and Eve and the

religious hypocrites, all we can do is try

to cover up our sin. However, Jesus came

as the Lamb of God to take away our sin.

So what did Jesus do? He went to the

cross to die. Why did He have to die?

The Bible says,

The wages of sin is death

(Romans 6:23). Jesus went to the cross to

pay the full penalty for our sin. In fact,

He endured the complete wrath of God

for all our sin that we may be pardoned.

For it is written

, Without shedding of

blood there is no remission [forgiveness]

(Hebrews 9:22b). This is what Jesus does

for all those who place their trust in Him

as their Savior, and not themselves.

As

far as the east is from the west, so far

hath he removed our transgressions

[sins]

from us

(Psalm 103:12). This is

good news! Jesus said,

I am the way, the

truth, and the life: no man cometh unto

the Father, but by me

(John 14:6). We

understand then that none can become

Christians by trying to clean up their

lives, because their sin has not been dealt

with. This is why we need to trust Jesus

to be the one who can take care of all our

sin and sinful habits. He not only

removes our sin from us by paying its

penalty by death on the cross, but He also

liberates us from being slaves to sin. For

it is written,

our old man is crucified with

Him

[Jesus],

that the body of sin might

be destroyed, that henceforth we should

not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed

from sin

(Romans 6:6-7).

EVERYONE WHO CALLS

Let’s briefly sum this up. You need to see

that trying to clean up your own life

won’t work, for even your best attempts

at being good are “

filthy rags

” in God’s

sight. You need to admit that you are still

a sinner in need of God’s cleansing. The

Bible says,

But God commendeth his

love toward us in that while we were yet

sinners, Christ died for us

(Romans 5:8).

Don’t pretend to be righteous or good

enough, for God will never be fooled by

your fig leaves. Instead, acknowledge to

Him that you have failed. Simply do as

this verse instructs:

For WHOSOEVER

calls upon the name of the Lord shall be

saved

(Romans 10:13). Then relax,

trusting that what Jesus has done is

enough to save you. For God’s Word

says of Jesus,

Wherefore he is able also

to save them to the uttermost that come

unto God by him

,

seeing he ever liveth to

make intercession for them

(Hebrews

7:25). Remember also, Jesus did not stay

in the grave, but rose the third day as was

prophesied. When we trust Him as our

Savior, He comes to take up permanent

residence in us by His Spirit. He comes

to live the Christian life we could not

live. He says that He is the vine and we

are the branches.

I am the vine, ye are the

branches: He that abideth in me, and I in

him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:

for without me ye can do nothing

(John

15:5). So then, trust Jesus to cancel your

sin-debt, give you victory in your

Christian life over sin, and save you

from the very presence of sin in Heaven

in the future.

So, there’s the good news! You don’t

have to try and be a Christian. Rather you

actually become one when you trust

Jesus, and not yourself, to save you from

your sins. You don’t have to try and paint

up the garbage can filled with filth. You

trust that Jesus will get rid of the garbage

and stench. Then, most amazingly, Jesus

comes to live in you by His Spirit. This

makes you beautiful inside and out. This

is amazing grace! Stop trying to better

yourself, and let Jesus save you and

transform you from a sinner to a saint.

Remember, FOR WHOSOEVER CALLS

UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD,

SHALL BE SAVED. You

can count on Him.

Continued from previous page

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