The Lord is Righteous
Are you looking for a simple explanation for how to be sure you will go to Heaven rather than Hell? You’ve come to the right place. This is a very important message, and while my goal is to make it brief, I also must be thorough. This will not cover all of the details, but instead will give you what you need to know to be saved. Here you will learn the problem and the solution that we all face.
The Problem: People are Sinful and Unrighteous.
- Rather than being righteous, people are sinners. Being sinful is basically the opposite of being righteous. God created the law (the Ten Commandments and the many other Old Testament rules) because of sin.
- None are righteous. If people were righteous, there would have been no need for the law, but people are sinners, and so the law was made for them.
- Obedience to the law would result in righteousness.
- Complete obedience to the law would be required, because breaking just one part of the law is the same as breaking the entire law.
- Sin is properly defined as disobedience to the law.
- Every person is a sinner.
- Sin lives in the flesh, or in the body. This means that as long as a person remains in their human body, they will never be able to stop sinning.
- If everyone is a sinner, and they cannot stop sinning, then everyone has broken and continues to break the law. This means that nobody can earn their own righteousness that the law would give. God is righteous and cannot tolerate sin, so God demands a price to be paid for sins committed. God had a system in the Old Testament for dealing with the sins of those who were under the law, and this system required blood.
- Lambs, bulls, and goats were sacrificed to God, and the blood of these animals was offered to God due to the sins of the people.
- An atonement was something that would satisfy or reconcile. The blood of sacrificial animals would satisfy God’s price for sin, and those who had sinned placed their faith in that blood’s ability to reconcile them to God. This system served as a solution for many years, but it was a faulty solution. Since it was impossible for people to stop sinning and obey the Old Testament law, blood atonement was constantly needed. Animal blood was simply never going to be enough to fully resolve the sin problem.
- This blood would only temporarily satisfy God when it came to His need to punish sin. This blood could never permanently deal with the ongoing sin problem. People were never going to stop sinning, meaning that they would continually break the law, preventing them from ever having a righteous nature. People would never measure up to the high standards of a righteous God.
Jesus Christ: A Permanent Solution.
- When the time was right, God set the law and animal blood atonement aside in favor of a permanent solution that would solve the problem. This solution was God’s own Son, Jesus Christ.
- Jesus Christ died on a cross, shedding His blood. Jesus was buried and rose again three days later, and then He took His own blood to Heaven and offered it to God for the sins of the world.
- People are sinners and will never be able to earn their own righteousness from keeping the law, but through faith in the blood of Jesus, people can receive righteousness and a record free of sin.
- When a person places their faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, their sins are forgiven, and no more sins will ever be recorded to their account. Instead of sin, the very righteousness of God is added to the believer’s account. In this state, people can finally measure up to the high standards of a righteous God.
Being Saved
- Believers are forgiven of their sins, sins are never again counted against them, and the righteousness of God is credited to them. This is what is called being saved, and it is something every person needs. There are many ways of saying how it is that you become saved. Have faith in the blood of Christ, have faith in the work of Christ, believe on Jesus Christ, etc. The bottom line is this: If you believe in the work that Jesus Christ did for you, you will be saved.
- What is the Gospel of Christ? It is a powerful message meant to be believed, and once believed, it saves the soul of the believer. Here’s the Gospel of Christ:
- What gives the Gospel of Christ the power to save the souls of those who believe? The blood of Christ.
- Sinners still need atonement for their sins. But this is no longer a continuous process involving animal sacrifices. Atonement is given in a one-time, permanent transaction to those who place their faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
- If you want to be saved, understand that you will never be able to save yourself. The very idea of being saved implies helplessness and a dependence on someone else. You are a sinner, you are unrighteous, and you are helpless to save yourself. You will never measure up to God’s high standards on your own. There is no work that you can do. But there’s good news: Someone else did all of the work for you. All you have to do is believe it. If you want to be saved, you must believe on Jesus Christ. There is no magical prayer you must say. There is no religious work you must do. There is no church you must attend. There is no sin you must give up, besides the sin of unbelief. You either believe in Jesus, or you don’t. You either accept His free gift of eternal salvation, or you don’t. Your sins have been paid for in full, and righteousness is freely available to you. All you must do now is believe on Jesus and you will be saved.
- In closing, you have two options, and the option you choose will determine what will happen to you when this life is over and done. If you don’t believe in what Jesus accomplished, your soul will have a terrible fate.
- If you believe in what Jesus accomplished, you will not go to the lake of fire, but instead your soul will be saved. Your sins will be forgiven, no more sins will be added to your account, and you will have the righteousness of God placed there instead.