Your Day in Court with God

The Bible says:

Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)
It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Have a think about this verse for a minute. Firstly it is telling you something we all know: that it is appointed for us to die. Death is an unavoidable, sad fact of life. We see celebrities on the news, living in their prime, having their lives suddenly taken away. We mourn them for a while. Then they are forgotten, erased from our minds. The world keeps moving and spinning with or without them. It makes us think how empty and futile our lives are.

And we will all die likewise. We will pass from time into eternity in a matter of seconds. The verse says that death has been "appointed" to us, meaning that there is an exact time and date that has been set for you when you will be snatched away from among the land of the living. It may be sickness, or an accident, or in a natural disaster - but however you will die, it is certain that you will not last forever here. Like the grass of the field, you will wither away, and like the flower of the grass, your beauty and glory will fade.

But the Bible tells you that death is not a natural process of life. Death is not just another part of life. Try telling someone that at a funeral. They cannot believe what happened to their loved one, how they could be simply disappear from the face of the earth, never to be with them anymore. Death is not natural. That's why every death is so shocking and tragic. Human beings were originally made to last forever. But the Bible tells us that death came into this world because of SIN:
Romans 5:12 (ESV)
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned-

Our first parent Adam sinned, and death came to the world as punishment for sin. Sin is anything we do that does not please God, anything that does not glorify God. Sin is disobedience to God Word, and transgression against His Law, against any of His Commandments. Sin is a failure to reflect the good, loving, and perfectly holy image of God. Sin is a failure to do God's will, but doing your own will. Sin is a failure to live according to our conscience, which God has given as a guide to our soul. Anything that made us feel guilty or shameful is sin. Sin is that evil thing we have done or thought that we could never tell even to our closest friend or family, because we are so ashamed and embarrassed of it. We know that we deserve death for these things, and we know that these things are bad, because we often condemn others for doing these same things that we commit.

Everyone in the world has sinned. It doesn't matter who we are or where we were born, Bible says we were born slaves of sin:
John 8:34 (ESV)
Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.
This means that we cannot do anything but sin. Even our best thing that we have ever done was to God's eyes, sin. This is because God's standards are PERFECT. Think of it: God has NEVER, ever sinned or done or thought anything sinful. He is perfectly good and perfectly loving and perfectly holy. His eyes are purer than to look upon any evil. He cannot tolerate any evil, not even a tiny dot of sin is hateful to His eyes, and He must punish evil.

For example, let's say you went to a restaurant, and you ordered some soup. But in the soup there was one fly. Just one. Would you take it out and drink the soup like there was nothing wrong with it? No. You would immediately ask the soup to be taken away from you, even though it was just one fly. That is why it is enough for one sin to condemn a person to an eternity in Hell. Even one sin is an abomination to God, and it ruins the entire person. Adam only once ate the bite of a fruit, and the entire human race became sinners and subjected to death and eternal destruction. Then ask yourself how many times have you sinned, on just today? Hundreds of flies are in your soup. How then do you expect God to be satisfied because of your good works? Even your good works are defiled and contaminated by the decay of sin. You deserve death, like the rest of us. There is no one good that deserves life:
Romans 3:10-12 (ESV)
"None is righteous, no, not one; [11] no one understands; no one seeks for God. [12] All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."

And the verse in Hebrews says that it is appointed man to die ONCE. You will not get a second chance in life. Do not believe in this lie that you will get another chance, or will come back to life as another being. There is only one life, and one death. And after death, Bible says you will either spend eternity in Heaven, in continual fellowship with God, or in Hell, being in endless pain and torment for the sins that you have committed against the everlasting God, who is Your Creator. Your eternal fate will be determined on how you go on the Day of Judgment.

Hebrews 9:27 says that after death you will face the judgment of God. Here is something that you don't realize: God is preparing a lawsuit against your soul. Every time that you have sinned and done, spoke or thought that which is not right in His sight, He has marked the time, date and the offense, and recorded them all His books. By these records you will be judged on the Day of Judgment:
Revelation 20:12 (ESV)
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Perhaps you have had another person make a lawsuit against you. And perhaps it was not successful because there were not enough evidence against you. But GOD is the one who is entering into judgment with you on the Last Day. He has gathered more than enough evidence to condemn you to an eternity in Hell. God sees all things, and does not need any one to witness to Him about what is in man (John 2:24-25). He knows all your thoughts, all your intents, and all your secrets. He will therefore need no one to give witness about you on the Day of Judgment, for your own conscience will bear witness, and agree with God as the records are being read out for your condemnation:
Romans 2:15-16 (ESV)
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them [16] on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

And since God is bringing a charge against you, a human being, there will be a suitable Judge who will judge between God and you. This is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is God who was came to earth as a human being, clothed with flesh, being born of a virgin. He is fully God, yet fully Man. That is why He called Himself the Son of Man, as well as the Son of God. And because He is both God and Man, He alone is the adequate Judge who will judge between God and you on the Last Day:
John 5:25-27 (ESV)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. [26] For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. [27] And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
Every person will stand before Jesus Christ to be judged by Him for every sin they have committed. Everyone will see and believe on that Day that Jesus is real, and that He really did rise again from the dead, and that He is indeed the Son of God and the Judge of all the Earth.

Now perhaps you are thinking that God is good, and that He will forgive you on your Day in God's court. But because God is perfectly good, and just, He must punish your sins. Think of a judge you lets a murderer go because he is a "good" judge. You would not say he is good at all, but an EVIL judge with a crooked standard of right and wrong. God is not a corrupt judge, but He will righteously avenge all the evil that you have ever committed. Or perhaps you are thinking that God is love, so He will have compassion on you when you are judged. But because He IS love, He must punish you, since you have NOT been loving at all both to God nor to your fellow man. You haven't loved your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength, all the time. And neither you have loved all your neighbors perfectly, but you have hated most of them in your heart. And God can never allow an unloving person into His Kingdom.

So in your current state you will most surely die and be sentenced to an eternity in Hell. Hell is eternal because you can't pay your debts to God fully. Sinning against God is not like breaking a parking violation. You have hated God, who is your Creator, the one who gave you life, and rebelled against His Commandments. You have listened to the Devil and joined hands with him in treason against the King of Kings. You have made yourself God, living for yourself, serving yourself, pleasing yourself. You worship yourself, and give yourself credit for all things you have, instead of God the provider and sustainer of all things. How do you expect to go to Heaven, when you have done nothing that has pleased Him? You will spend an eternity in the lake of fire, and not even a drop of relief will be given to you. You will forever be locked up in a dark solitary cell of pain and misery, since you have ignored God and abused His blessings. This is the fate that awaits your soul.

But God has provided a way for you to be saved. The Good News that God is announcing to you is that He has made a way for you to have peace with Him. The Gospel is what God has done for you in Jesus Christ His Son. God laid on Jesus Christ the sins of the world, and made Him to be crucified on a Roman cross. This was an actual event in History. God the Son came down on Earth for this main reason: to live a perfectly righteous life for His people, and to be forsaken by God on the cross for the sins of His people. He did it because He loved the world, and did not desire us to be condemned without a hope of everlasting life.

Jesus Christ took the punishment that you and I deserve on the Cross, so that we can go free on the Day of Judgment. Not only that, Jesus Christ lived the perfect life that we could not live, so if we repent and put our trust only in Jesus, we can be seen as righteous before God, and deserve to go to Heaven on that Day. This is nothing we have done: we have done nothing but to condemn Jesus on the Cross with our sins. Christ died for us WHILE we were sinners, while we hated Him in our hearts.

What you must do is to put your trust in this Saviour, Jesus Christ. He did not remain dead, but He rose again from the dead on the third day, so that He may go to the right hand of God the Father, and be an Intercessor for all who trust in Him. Jesus Christ is the only Bridge between you and God. Though God is angry against your sins, and though you are His enemy, if you confess and are willing to turn from sin, and put your trust in Jesus Christ, He will turn away all His wrath against you. He will dismiss your case, and He will erase all the records that has been written against you, because Jesus has died for them all:
Colossians 2:13-14 (ESV)
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

And when you believe in Jesus, God's Spirit will come and dwell in you, and will be with you, and He will change your heart and make you more and more like Jesus Christ. You will be born again as a child of God, and Spirit of God will bear through you fruits that are pleasing to God. Holy Spirit, and the fruits that He will bear through you, will be a guarantee and evidence of your eternal life, until on that Last Day you will fully take possession of it in heaven:
Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

If you have not yet put your trust in Christ, please do so today. Jesus Christ will be your Judge, but He can also be your Advocate on that Day. He can plead and speak for your case by His blood. There is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ, for God has not given us another Name by which we must be saved. Do not put off getting right with God until later, for you don't know when God has appointed you to die and face Him. God wants you to turn to Him now, by the way of Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ is only one Way back to Him. Put your whole trust in Christ alone to save you. Receive Him as your only eternal life and as your salvation. Receive Him as your King. Throw away all your hope in yourself to make you right before God on that Day, or in any other god, and put your whole trust in Jesus, and you will not be condemned. This is God's promise to you. Believe in His promise!:
John 5:24 (ESV)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

God is Love

1 John 4:7-12 (ESV)
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [9] In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. [10] In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

You may have heard this last phrase many times that 'God is love'. The phrase does not just say that God is loving, or that God is full of love, but that God IS love. God is the definition and the epitome of love. Love is who God is. But what is love? Here in this verse we see that love is something that one does, as it says, "anyone who does not love, does not know God". Love is a verb, a doing word. Love is not a feeling, the warm and fuzzy feeling that we feel towards another. That is not God's love. God's love always works, and all God's works are love, because He Himself is love.

And because God is love, His law and His commandments towards us, His creatures, are also love. Read what Jesus said:
Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. [38] This is the great and first commandment. [39] And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. [40] On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Jesus is saying here that loving God and loving man was the summary of ALL of God's law and His statutes. God commands and expects us to be loving people. That is why God created us, so that we may love Him, our Creator, and love our fellow man as our own selves. This is our purpose in life. God wants us to love Him above all things, and not put other things above Him in our priority. God does not want us to make other things to replace Him, that we serve those things instead of Him. God wants us to use His name in a holy manner, that we may use His name only to give Him praise and honour. God also requires us to respect the weekly Sabbath, that we may rest, and acknowledge Him as the Creator who created the world in seven days. God wants us to honour our mothers and our fathers. He does not want us to hate others, or to call them names, nor want us to talk about others behind their backs. He does not want us to be unfaithful with our husbands and wives, and he does not even want us to look lustfully at those whom we are not married to. God does not want us to steal other people's things, even if it is the smallest thing that the other person do not notice. God does not want us to lie, and say things that which are not true about our neighbours. God does not want us to desire that which belongs to someone else, but that we be content with those things that we have. These are the things that our God who is love, expect us to do as people who were created in His image.

But we have not done these things. We have not loved. We have loved other things more than God. We have hated having God in our mind. We rarely think about this world as His creation, and we do not give thanks to Him for the things He has given us. We use His name lightly, and even use His name for a cuss word. We don't honor Him and give Him the glory as King of this world, but we instead think of Him as if He was one of His own creatures, and compare Him to a mere man or an animal, and even make statues or images to worship instead of Him. We don't love God. We also are not loving to our fellow man: We are disobedient to our parents; we have hated and had murderous and injurious thoughts of our neighbors; we are lustful in both heart and deed; we have stolen things from other people; we have lied and spoken falsehood against our neighbors; we have desired what others have. We are never content with what we have, but always lust after things we don't have, having greedy hearts. These things that we long for are like our gods that we serve, for whom we live and we devote our lives to, instead of the God that created us.

We are not people of love. We don't do any love. All the acts that appear 'loving' are always done for self-gain and for self-pleasure, but not really for that person. We don't love God and others, but we only love our selves, living for our selves and doing everything only for our own profit. We dare not sacrifice anything for others purely for the others' sake, but only if it makes us feel good or if there is something favorable for us in return. We are not patient, we are not kind, but we are envious, we are arrogant, we are rude, we insist on our own way, we are irritable, we are resentful. We are not love:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [6] it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. [7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We don't perfectly and unconditionally love God and people. And this is a problem. Why? Because "anyone who does not love does not know God". And why is not knowing God a problem? Because it is eternal death:
John 17:3 (ESV)
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
Jesus said knowing God is eternal life, which means not knowing God is not having this eternal life. God, who is love, cannot grant eternal life to a people who is not loving both to God and to people. God, because He IS love, must punish our acts of lovelessness. God is love, and therefore He HATES the acts of lovelessness that we have displayed. Our lovelessness does not reflect God's loving character, which we were created to reflect. We have failed His standards of love miserably, and therefore God must judge us eternally. He cannot stay in fellowship with us forever, since we haven't even come close to fulfilling His standard of love, by which we will be judged on the Day of Judgment. We, with all our lovelessness, are detestable to Him, and He will make us to be separated from His presence forever in Hell, a place where we will be punished forever for the lawless, evil, loveless crimes we have committed against this God of love.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

But the Good News is that God has made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, that we may have eternal life and fellowship with Him forever. It is by the display of GOD's love towards unloving sinners. This above verse says that in this way God's love was made manifest to us: "that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him". Out of His love, God sent His only Son into this world, to be born of a virgin, that He would come to earth as a human being. This God-man is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived on this earth, and did many miracles, and healed many who were sick, even raising those who were dead. He did many great things, but the main purpose why He came to earth was to fulfill one mission: to die for the sins of His people and to rise again from the dead. God demonstrated His love toward sinners by taking the punishment, guilt, condemnation and the curse of their sins and placing them on the body of Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, and by crushing Him by the full force of His anger, killing Him on the Cross as a sacrifice for sins. This is the way God showed His love towards His people. And His promise is that anyone who trusts in this sacrifice of Jesus Christ is no longer condemned, but can have the assurance of eternal life with God:
John 3:16 (ESV)
"For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
This is the Gospel, the Good News, of Jesus Christ. It is the good news of God's love towards us. All we must do is to turn away from our loveless deeds, and to believe and trust in this Son of God to take us to heaven when we die. When we believe in Christ, we go to heaven not because of what we have done, since we have done nothing but to offend God with our lovelessness. But we get to go to heaven purely and only because of what Christ did on earth to fulfill all the righteous requirement of God's law of love, by His life, death and resurrection.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

This verse says truthfully that we have not loved God first, but it is God who loved us first. Indeed we have not loved God at all, but actually we have hated Him. We have offered Him nothing but our hatred. We have ignored Him, and have barely acknowledged Him our whole life. But see how great God's love was, that He sent His only Son to be a propitiation - which means the Satisfaction - for our sins. We are the ones who sinned, but it was Jesus Christ who paid the price. God's justice and His punishment was fully satisfied when His own Son, by His own will, chose to die for our sins. We haven't done anything worthy to deserve heaven, but we have done nothing but condemn the sinless Son of God with our sins. There is nothing we have done to receive this great gift of God. It is God who loved, because He is love, and this was the best act of love that He could offer us.

All that remains for you is to receive this love of God by putting your trust in this Satisfaction offering that God has made for your sins. Jesus Christ bled for you, so that all your sins may be forgiven, only if you believe in Him. Trust in Christ, and God will make you to be righteous before His eyes. Jesus Christ's perfect love to God and to man will be reckoned to be yours, if you only, by faith, reckon your sins to be crucified with Him on that cross. Throw yourself to Jesus Christ. He is still alive today, and He is the one whom God has appointed to be the Judge of all the earth. He will come back one day and call us to account everything we have done that was not loving. How will you escape this judgment on that Day without Christ? You will never escape, if you reject Jesus Christ today. There is no other name that God has given under heaven that we may be saved. Save yourself today. Turn away from your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ to be your righteousness, so that the love of God will come to you, and be in you to be a well that springs up to eternal life!:
John 4:13-14 (ESV)
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, [14] but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Believing in Him who justifies the ungodly

Romans 4:4-5
Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness

GOD: He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has formed you in your mother's womb in His own image. God has given you life, and everything you have. He sustains your life, and in Him you move and have your being. He is the King and the ruler of the universe, and all things exist in obedience to His will.

YOU: You were made by God to give glory to Him. You were made to love Him. That is your purpose in life. However, you have spent the life God has given you for other things. You have loved the things God has given you more than Himself. You have lived your life against the will of your Creator. You think God exists to serve you, when it is you who were made to serve Him. You haven't thanked Him for all the things He has given you, but give yourselves credit for things you have received. You hate God, and wish He was dead, and indeed, in your own mind you consider Him non-existent. Yet you know that He exists, but you don't bother to seek Him nor find out about who He is. Your mind is filled with desires that are hostile to His good and perfect ways. You have done and thought things that are so evil that you would be ashamed to tell them to your closest friend.

RESULT: Since you have used your life which God has given you for evil when you should have used it for God, the consequence of your rebellion is death. And since you were made to last forever, after death you will spend an eternity in Hell, both in your soul and in later in your resurrected body (Matthew 10:28, John 5:28-29, Revelation 21:8). In Hell you will not enjoy any of the good things God has given you in this life. Just as you have been negligent of God in this world, God who provided for you in this life will be negligent to you for all of eternity. All pleasure that you have misused in this world will be taken from you, and there will be nothing but endless suffering and torment.

GOOD NEWS: But God has still provided a way for you to be right with God. It is by what God has done for you through Jesus Christ, His Son. God sent His only begotten Son into the world, to be born of a virgin, to be born as a human being. Jesus lived the perfect life that you couldn't live, living always according to the will of God. Never once did He disobey the commandment of God. Never once did an evil thought enter into His mind. He did good toward man and glorified God all his life. But men did not believe in Him, but crucified Him even though He hadn't done anything wrong. But through this act, they carried out the will of God planned from before the foundation of the world:

God laid on Jesus Christ the sins of the world and killed His own Son by the hands of men. Jesus became our sin and our curse on that tree, and all the just anger and wrath that should have fallen upon you, fell upon Him. All the shame you should have received for your sins, Jesus publicly suffered for you. God did it to show His righteousness, to show that He has never left sin unpunished. God did it so that He may now be just to forgive you, since the price of sin has been paid. Jesus Christ did not remain dead, for He Himself never sinned, but He was raised from the dead on the third day by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the Good News that God wants you to believe (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 1:16). He ascended to heaven and now the heavens must receive Him until the Day when He shall come back in His glory to judge the mankind for their sins.

YOUR RESPONSE: You can try two things to be right with God. You can work hard for your own salvation. You can do good things, and try your hardest not to sin, and hope for the best on Judgment Day. But beware, the Jesus warns you that salvation is impossible with man (Mark 10:26-27). Even though you do good, the fact is you have already sinned before you began doing good. You have already committed crimes that demand justice. And all the good you have ever done was to please yourself. In fact, you'll find that the more you try to be good, you become more evil. This is because you are by nature a slave to sin, and you can do nothing but sin (John 8:34, Romans 7:18). Worst of all, if you try to work for your salvation, you offend God by saying you DESERVE heaven, when you know deep inside you deserve nothing but death. You are wanting glory for your own salvation, when God said He will not share His glory with anyone (Isaiah 42:8). You will never be justified in God's sight by your effort (Galatians 2:16). There is NOTHING you can do to make yourself right for God's judgment.

However, what is impossible with man is possible with God. God has made a way for you to be saved by what Jesus Christ has done. It is by faith, by trusting in GOD to save you because of what JESUS has done on the cross. The bible says God is able to make you right before Him if you believe in Jesus Christ as the only way for you to be right with Him. Trust God that He is able to justify you because of Christ. God can now count the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to be yours, if only you will believe. God bought forgiveness and grace for you when He killed His own Son on the cross. Throw yourself into the arms of God's grace. Though you are a sinner, God is able to save you, because Jesus died for your sins. Grace is getting something you didn't work for, something you don't deserve. God is able to give you eternal life, even though you have done nothing but sin. What God has done for you alone is enough to get you to heaven.

Trust in God's grace and believe what His Son has done for you. Do this today, because God has not promised tomorrow to you. God is waiting for you to turn from your own ways to throw yourself into His arms. God is a good God. He doesn't want to see you go to Hell. The door to heaven is open, if you only come by faith in the Son of God. There is no other way for you to be right with God but through faith in Jesus. God is waiting for you. Believe in Him through Jesus today!

Mark 1:15
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel."

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

John 19:30
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Hebrews 2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?

Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ

"...For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." Romans 3:22-26

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

You and I were made by God to give glory to Him. We were made to glorify Him for all the good He has given us. We were made in His image so that we may reflect His glory by everything we do, say and think. We were made to glorify Him by loving Him above anything in the world, with all our mind, heart and strength. We were made to glorify Him by loving our neighbours as our own selves. We were made to praise Him for His creation and His works, and wonder at how amazing God is. We were made to offer thanks to Him for giving us life and breath and everything we have. We were made that every time we are happy, we would give glory to Him who gave us such wonderful joy in our hearts.

But the problem is that we have not glorified God as He ought to be glorified. This is SIN. And the bible tells us this bad news that ALL, every human being, every person standing on earth, have failed to glorify God without distinction. It doesn't matter where you were born, whether in Asia, in America, in Africa or in Europe, you have failed at perfectly glorifying God. It doesn't matter if you were born in a Christian family or a Buddhist family or an Islamic family, you have failed at loving God perfectly. It doesn't matter if you have never committed crimes or always give your alms to the poor, you have not perfectly reflected the image of the perfectly and eternally loving and righteous God. There is no distinction. It doesn't matter if you have gone to church all your life, were baptized, never skipped church or even memorize scriptures - You have failed at keeping all the commandments of God perfectly all the time.

Everyone has sinned, and fallen short of God's perfect standard. And God's standard is not like ours. Many times we compromise our perspective of good and evil to suit our needs. For example, when we know something is wrong, we do it anyway because other people do the same. But God is not like us. God has never done, thought or said anything that is evil. He is so holy and perfectly good that He has absolutely no tolerance for sin. The bible says God is of "purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong". He hates evil. And because He is also completely just, He will not compromise or lower His standards for any one in favoritism, for if He relaxes the law for one, He would need to do it for every one else. God is not a respecter of persons. This is the High and Holy God we have and continue to sin against. We have fallen far, far below reaching even close to satisfying His standards. That is why the bible says that "our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" before His holy eyes.

justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith

The only way we, who have fallen so far short of reaching anywhere near the perfect righteousness of God, was that God provide a way for us to meet that standard. This is the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ, though He was God the Son, became a man, and came down to earth. Why did Jesus Christ become a man? He came to be put forward as a propitiation. This means that God put Jesus on display on the cross to be a Satisfaction for God's justice. You see, there is no way that God can be satisfied by your efforts to be good. You fall hopelessly short of His glory, and God's anger is increasing against your sins every day. The only way you can satisfy this just wrath of God is either God strikes you down and send you to an eternity in Hell for your sins; or someone else satisfy this divine wrath for you. There is no other way. Either you must die, or someone else die. God cannot simply overlook your sins, because He is perfectly Just. God is your Judge. He is not like a human judge who is going to bend the law for you to show you compassion. Jesus said not even a dot or an iota will pass from the Law of God, by which you will be judged on the Judgment Day. How will you escape this perfect judgment of God?

The only way you will escape the condemnation of God is by faith in the redemption which is in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one who died for your sins. Jesus Christ is the one who shed His blood for the satisfaction of God's justice which was against you. God did this because He loved you, even though you hadn't done anything that pleased Him. He sent His own Son into the world to live a perfect life for you, and not only that, made Him to be crushed under the Law of God for your lawlessness. This is the redemption, the payment that Jesus Christ made to His own Father for your sins.

And the verse says this is a gift to be received by faith. Faith is not works. In fact, bible says it is a gift that is from God. What is faith? Faith is the assurance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1a). There is a voice within you that says "I hope I go to heaven when I die". But when you receive the salvation that is in Jesus Christ by faith, you have the confidence that you will go to heaven, not on the basis of your works, but by what Jesus Christ has done for you on the cross. Faith is also the conviction of things unseen (Hebrews 11:1b). You have never seen Jesus Christ, nor His crucifixion, nor His resurrection. But you have heard the Gospel being preached forth from the Word of God that were written by those who were eyewitnesses to Jesus Christ's ministry, crucifixion and His resurrection. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. This Good News is being preached to you now, that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again from the dead so He could forgive all your sins. Are you going to believe this Good News? Or will you disbelieve, and take God to be a liar?

If you believe, as this verse says, you will receive this redemption that is in Christ Jesus. You will be justified, which means God will consider you right before Him, because what Jesus Christ has done on earth, to meet His perfect standard and satisfy God's wrath, will be counted to be your works. God now sees you as though you have perfectly pleased Him all your life, even though you have not. This is because of what Jesus Christ has done. This is Grace. Grace is getting something good that you didn't work for. Grace is getting something good you don't deserve. God's salvation is a gift. When you received a gift from your friends on your birthday, you didn't work for it to buy it with your money. Your friends gave it to you out of their own expenses. It cost Jesus Christ's blood to buy you eternal life in heaven, but He gave it to you free of charge. All that is left for you to is to receive it by faith, and keep it until you meet Him again in heaven. This is the Good News of God.

This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

This verse says that not only did Jesus Christ die for you, but He died to show God's righteousness. This means Jesus Christ died on the cross to show that God never left sin unpunished. For thousands of years God overlooked the sins of Earth's inhabitants. He forgave Jacob even though he was a liar and a fraud. He forgave Moses even though he killed a man. He forgave Israel's many sins in the desert when they came out of Egypt. He forgave David when he murdered a man and committed adultery with her wife. He forgave Israel, and did not destroy them completely, though they continuously made idols and bowed down to other gods. He passed over these former sins, but He laid them upon the shoulders of His Son Jesus Christ. And when God Himself crucified His own Son, He was showing the whole world that God is righteous, that although He is forgiving, He never, ever compromised His own perfect standard of righteousness.

It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

But what about future sins? The bible says the cross of Jesus Christ still continues to display God's perfect standard of righteousness. The cross of Jesus Christ is now what enables God to be Just while being forgiving at the same time. God never has to compromise on His perfect standard to forgive our sins. This is why the bible says: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 1 John 1:9. Because His perfect standard has been fulfilled by the righteous acts and the death of His Son, God is now free to show infinite mercy and forgiveness to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ.

This God continues to justify sinners on the account of what His Son has graciously done. If you are reading this, and you haven't yet put your faith in Jesus Christ, do not miss this chance. God is now able to make you right before Him because His perfect and holy Son has lived the perfect life and died for your sins. Confess all your sins to God, and ask Him to blot out the record of your sins by the blood of His Son. If you put your trust in Jesus, God will change Jesus Christ's account with yours, and His death will be come your death, and His eternal life will be your life. God's Holy Spirit will come and dwell within you, and you will become a son of God, like Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit will change you and mould you to become like the image of Jesus Christ, so that your actions will also be pleasing to Him. Do this today. Stop loving your sins more than God, and gaze by faith at the Beloved Son of God who was hung on the cross just so that God may open the gates to heaven for you and everyone who believes in Jesus. Put your trust in Jesus Christ today!

Let me share something to you about God:

God has created the world and everything in it. He has also created you in your mother's womb. Your mother may have delivered you, but she did not create you. God is the one who gave you the limbs, organs, muscles, and the soul that was made in His likeness. He is the one who has given you life. Not only that, God has so far blessed you with fresh air, food, family, health, money, talents, a job and every other thing you have. By His word you are kept alive and have your being.

But the bad news is that you haven't glorified God as God.

You haven't given Him thanks for the things you have received from God. Even though you say you may have at some point, the problem is that you haven't glorified nor gave thanks to God in every single moment of your life with a 100% genuine heart. You don't love God with all your heart, mind and with all your strength, all the time.

Not only you haven't given your whole to and for God, you have only used your time on this world for your own self. You have been worshipping and serving your own self for your entire life, living only for your will, your passions and your desires. You have made yourself your own God.

Not only that, you have made the things of this world gods and delighted in them and worshipped them. Things that God has given you - money, career, recognition, family, sex, hobbies, etc - you have loved more than God, and lived your life for them and served them. You would even die and sacrifice yourself for them. These are idols you have made and followed after, instead of God who has created all things.

However, the biggest problem is that you have done things that you know is wrong. You have sinned against God. You have done wicked, evil things. You have lied, you have stolen, cheated, thought evil things, been angry and violent at people, been bitter, hating and cussing, having adulterous and perverted evil imaginations, etc. You have done and thought things that you wouldn't mention to anyone, not even to your best friend. You have sinned and done things that are evil and wrong not only in God's holy eyes, but even in your own eyes.

So for all these things, you are under the just wrath and anger of God. You will die physically because of your sins, and afterward face the judgement of God. You have failed God in every aspect and have come nowhere close to pleasing God. God is Good so therefore He shall by His justice punish all the evil you have done and thought and spoken. You have lived your life for yourself, for things and for sin, when you should have lived your life for the glory of God and in thanksgiving to God. All the good that you have ever done is to please your own self and make yourself look righteous to yourself and to others. But God looks at it and says your righteousness is as filthy rags, because you are corrupted and evil on the inside and love evil.

And as if that wasn't enough, you have judged and condemned those who sinned the same sins you commit. You hate liars and acts of injustice, and you condemn them, but you yourself lie and do acts of injustice to your neighbors. God will be the only righteous judge, who will condemn your unrighteous judgments.

Death, corruption and eternal fire awaits you in hell. Hell is nothing but an eternal punishment for your sins in eternal torment and suffering. Just as you have abused the blessings that God has given you in this life and offended an eternal God, you will die forever in an eternal hell of endless suffering. Just as you were useless to God in giving Him all the glory in this life, you will involuntarily give glory to Him in the flames of hell as an involuntary burnt offering to God. This is the suffering that awaits you in your current state.

But God has pronounced His Good News to the world.

This Good News is what God has done for you in His Son Jesus Christ so that you may escape the wrath of God. Not only that, it is what God has done for you so that you may become His child and enjoy His eternal blessings and love forever.

God sent His only Son to the world, who was born of a virgin, to be born as a human being, clothed with human flesh. Jesus Christ, though He was equal to God, came and lived a sinless life in this world. Not only that, He lived a life that was pleasing to God, glorifying God and doing good towards man, being confirmed by God by many miracles He performed. However, men did not believe in Him, but condemned and crucified Jesus Christ. But little did they realize that through this act they were performing the will of God ordained and planned from the foundation of the world:

God had laid on His Son all your sins and my sins, and crucified Him on a tree, making Him to be sin who knew no sin. God laid on Jesus Christ all the curse and the wrath of God that should have fallen upon you, and slaughtered His own Son instead. Through the suffering death of His Son, God made it possible for you to be forgiven, even though you have sinned against Him continuously. God did this because He loved you, even though you despised Him and gave Him not the honour that He deserves. He sacrificed and gave away His own Son for you so that you don't have to go to Hell, so you don't have to be judged for your sins. This is the great Gospel, the Good News of God. This is the love of God, manifested for the whole world to see. And not only that, Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. It was God's confirmation and proof and a sign to the world that Jesus Christ was indeed the Son of God and that everything He spoke was true, and that Jesus Himself was not a sinner, but that He lived a life perfectly pleasing to God.

This Jesus ascended to Heaven, to appear in front of God for whoever believes and trusts in Him. This Jesus will come back and judge the world for all its evil and unrighteousness.

This is what you have to do to be saved. You must believe. Believe that this Good News that God is preaching is true and every bit of it is God's work and that it is the only way for you to be saved. Believe God and His Son to be true in what they have spoken and done in this world.

Second, trust in Jesus Christ the person Himself. He is the only mediator, the only Bridge between God and man. Jesus Christ is the only way you can have true peace with God, and have a right relationship with God. All other roads lead to Hell, because God has not given us any other name by which we must be saved. No other gods or mediators will save you from the eternal condemnation. Jesus is the only God that can save you from the eternal fire. Trust in Jesus Christ to save you from the wrath to come.

When you believe and put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God says He will grant you the authority to become a true child of God. Because you receive His Son Jesus Christ, God also adopts you as His own son. You become the child of God by the grace of God. God's Holy Spirit will live within you, to guide you and lead you in the path of righteousness and holiness. The Holy Spirit will give you new desires and make you understand more about Jesus Christ and the love of the Father. As a child of God you become the heir of eternal life and become a king and priest of God, and shall one day rule the world with Christ the King.

Turn your life today and become a child of God. Repent of your sins and confess everything you have done that has displeased God in your life. And ask God for forgiveness. Ask Him to blot out your transgressions by the merit of what His Son Jesus Christ has done. Save yourself from this wicked and twisted generation. Stop loving sin and evil more than God, stop your rebellion against God, and believe and trust in what God has done for you. God has given everything He can give so that you may not die. Love Him, and you can start by appreciating what His Son has done for you. Turn to God, by the Way of Jesus Christ. Give glory to Him and thanks to Him by believing in Him and the promise of eternal life that God has given you. Do this today and don't put it off until tomorrow as God hasn't promised tomorrow to you. Save yourself today and you will have the courage to face death and the confidence to enter into heaven!