GOD IS!

Our Dilemma With SinOne is deceiving himself if he orshe thinks one can buy salvation fromGod with good works. God says youcannot do enough good works to adequatelypay for the salvation that Hehas to offer. If you could live a thousandlifetimes, you still could not paythe price of your salvation. If you aredoing good works in order to buy yoursalvation, you have no chance of payingthe bill.The point is that we cannot put Godin debt to give us eternal salvation. Wecannot make God a debtor. Therefore,we will not be able to stand in finaljudgment and demand heaven fromGod because of our good works. Thegift is too great to be earned by the effortsof any person. So how can onereceive that for which he or she cannotdo enough good works to earn? Theanswer is God’s grace.One Cannot EarnGod’s FavorWith Perfect Living.The second principle that identifiessome who are religiously misguided isthe belief that one can so live accordingto God's law that he or she can demandsalvation onthe basis of obedienceto law. Somemay feel that they aregood because oftheir obedience tolaw. However, one sin makes a sinner.James says, “For whoever willkeep the whole law, and yet stumble inone point, he has become guilty of all”19(Js 2:10). If you think you are goodaccording to law, but break one law, thelaw condemns you as a sinner. Therefore,“man is not justified by the worksof law but by the faith of Jesus Christ... for by the works of law no fleshwill be justified” (Gl 2:16). The Biblealso says, “Therefore by the deeds oflaw no flesh will be justified in His sight...” (Rm 3:20).The reason why one is not pronouncedrighteous before God bytrying to keep law is the fact that allmen break God’s law (Rm 3:23).“There is none righteous, no, not one”(Rm 3:10). And the wages of sin isspiritual death (Rm 6:23). This is whyno one can be justified before God bykeeping His law perfectly.We cannot earn our salvation bydoing good works. We cannot keepGod's law perfectly so as to have nosin. We are thus condemned by thelaw of God to be eternally separatedfrom God because of our sin. We arecondemned unless there is a solutionfor our problem of sin that is providedby God and not man. In recognition ofour sinful state of condemnation, everyone of us should be driven to saywhat Paul proclaimed, “O wretchedman that I am! Who will deliver me fromthis body of death?”(Rm 7:24). The answerto this questionis not in inventing ourown religion or ourown methods to find forgiveness.When dealing with sin against Godthe only solution is God’s solution.The only source for discoveringGod’s solution is the Bible.