Friday, December 29, 2006
I have waited to long to put up the fourth and last point of discovery, funny how flipping a page on your calendar can complicate life. Moving on, my last point of discovery was that Jesus Christ offered the opportunity to actually know your standing with God. It was a sort of good news bad news find, but the good out weighed the bad. The bad news I more or less already knew; that being my unacceptability to God as I was. While I had no real sense of personal sin, something I am not sure you can know without God's assistance, I did not have to go far to believe I fell short of any standard God might apply.
Why would I feel this way? It boiled down to two basic reasons. The first was past behavior which I will not go into. Again, there was no over whelming sense of guilt or sin. Actually, I though I was a fairly decent person and was feeling pretty good about where I was headed in life. There was a war going on and I was in the military so I did have reason to contemplate my end even though the risk for myself was very low. But, having accepted the possibility of Gos being there, I also accepted the possibility of justice. The second reason was more a factor. I could not consistently live up to my own standards. That bothered me. If I found fault with myself should I not expect God to do the same.
The surprising discovery was that God through Jesus Christ had eliminated the issue of my imperfections and sin. Jesus' death on the cross had satisfied God's sense of justice. Jesus had stood in for me/us. Sin no longer being the main point of separation, God offers life with and in Him. The "in" Him part is an important distinction. Let me share some Bible verses.
"He (The Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21 parenthesis mine.)
By being in Christ we are covered by His life and goodness so that Romans 8:1 becomes a reality.
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."
Romans 8:1 & 2
John 3:16 says it all. We can know our standing with God by accepting the reality of Jesus Christ. That closed it for me. It made sense that a God of love would not leave us guessing. I never had to guess at my standing in my family or for that matter any other relationship so why would it be different with God.
So there it is. 38 years ago I sat down to really examine Christianity and found it fit with reality. I found an explanation of God that was reasonable. I decided to become a christian at that time and have spent a significant part of the time hence studying the Bible. I continued to evaluate my faith in light of opposing views and am still a christian. I thank God for giving me the life He promised is in Jesus.
Why would I feel this way? It boiled down to two basic reasons. The first was past behavior which I will not go into. Again, there was no over whelming sense of guilt or sin. Actually, I though I was a fairly decent person and was feeling pretty good about where I was headed in life. There was a war going on and I was in the military so I did have reason to contemplate my end even though the risk for myself was very low. But, having accepted the possibility of Gos being there, I also accepted the possibility of justice. The second reason was more a factor. I could not consistently live up to my own standards. That bothered me. If I found fault with myself should I not expect God to do the same.
The surprising discovery was that God through Jesus Christ had eliminated the issue of my imperfections and sin. Jesus' death on the cross had satisfied God's sense of justice. Jesus had stood in for me/us. Sin no longer being the main point of separation, God offers life with and in Him. The "in" Him part is an important distinction. Let me share some Bible verses.
"He (The Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21 parenthesis mine.)
By being in Christ we are covered by His life and goodness so that Romans 8:1 becomes a reality.
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death."
Romans 8:1 & 2
John 3:16 says it all. We can know our standing with God by accepting the reality of Jesus Christ. That closed it for me. It made sense that a God of love would not leave us guessing. I never had to guess at my standing in my family or for that matter any other relationship so why would it be different with God.
So there it is. 38 years ago I sat down to really examine Christianity and found it fit with reality. I found an explanation of God that was reasonable. I decided to become a christian at that time and have spent a significant part of the time hence studying the Bible. I continued to evaluate my faith in light of opposing views and am still a christian. I thank God for giving me the life He promised is in Jesus.
