“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full
acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” – 1 Timothy 1:15
NIV
Jesus Christ deserves our full acceptance. This
is because He saved us from sin by crucifying Himself on the cross (Colossians 2:13-15), and God, our Heavenly
Father and Creator gave us a chance to have eternal life at the end of the age.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift
of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) The reason why He saved us
from the wages of sin is because of the sake of His kingdom and His steadfast
love.
For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in
him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already
because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18)
This is how God
showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we
might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved
us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
Therefore, if we want the eternal life that
our Heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6) offers to us, then we have
to repent (Matthew 3:2) and accept Jesus Christ as our
Lord and Savior (Acts 4:12) by believing in Him. “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by
works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) This means that once we
have been spiritually saved through faith—we have to deny ourselves (Matthew 16:24-25) and align with the Spirit
of God that God has poured into us (Ezekiel 36:26-27); to do His will until the
end of the age. This is because Jesus proclaims, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) Also, Hebrews 11:6 declares: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who
comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him.”
Don’t be
misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you
plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest
decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the
Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7-8)
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness,
mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not
have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed
from their past sins.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your
calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and
you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-11)
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