-- Revised Standard
2 Corinthians 5:19. that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
According to Gods Word, God has already reconciled the world to Himself in Christ Jesus, and is not counting our trespasses against us.
This is not written about Christians, it was written to Christians. We have the message of reconciliation to share with the world.
This is the good news of the Gospel. But in order for it to do us any good we have to receive it.
We have been reconciled to God the Father through Jesus. Yet many of us don’t understand this awesome incredible truth. We’re not going to get reconciled someday, we are reconciled right now.
Ro.3;21. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it,
22. the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;
23. since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,
25. whom God put forward as an expiation 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;
26. it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus.
I want to point out this is not something that we earn in any way shape or form. It is a free gift. If it was something that we had to earn, it wouldn’t be much of a gift would it? No, praise God, it’s free. Vs. 21 says the righteousness of God has been made manifest apart from the law. We can’t earn it by obeying the ten commandments, the righteousness of God comes by faith in Christ Jesus.
That’s the only way we can get it!
We have all sinned and fallen short, but the good news is we’ve all been redeemed. We have to receive it by faith. What a shame it would be to die and go to hell, not knowing that you have been made the righteousness of God
If you inherited a great fortune, yet never knew what you had, it wouldn’t
do you any good would it? Let’s take advantage of what is ours in Christ Jesus, for it has been freely given, and at an incredible cost..
New Jerusalem with Apocrypha
Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
This didn’t say He will bless us when we get to heaven, it says He has
blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ.
Not only has He already blessed us, past tense, but He has blessed us with
all the spiritual blessings of heaven.
Not just some of them, all of them. Praise God!
You might say I don’t know, that sounds too good to be true, and even if it
is true, I don’t deserve it.
Who said you deserve it? Gods Word makes it clear enough that we didn’t deserve any of it, and as far as it sounding too good to be true, that’s what makes it the Good News. We couldn’t have earned it even if we wanted to.
Ep.2:3. Among these we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us,
5. even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6. and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
Titus. 3:5. he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit,
It’s all because God is rich in mercy, and has great love for us.
We should praise Him, and thank Him that He has called us worthy, and start saying what Gods Word has to say about us. Even if you feel unworthy, thank God that His Word is true and that you have been made the righteousness of God in Christ. Renew your mind with these thoughts and prove that Gods Word is true.
Romans 12:2. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Gods Word says renewing your mind will transform you, and prove
Gods will. This is something we have to do, God doesn‘t do it for us. Yet He has given us the ability to do it, and He will make good on His Word.
2Pe.1:4. by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.
5. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6. and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7. and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you can’t claim any of these promises for yourself then you need to come to a personal knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the very first step any one can make.
If you want to know for sure that you are a child of God then pray this prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to you in the name of Jesus.
Your Word says, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out” (Jn.6:37),
So I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in,
And I thank you for it.
You said in your Word, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Ro. 10:13).
I am calling on Your name,
So I know You have saved me now,
You also said, “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Ro.10:9,10).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
And I confess Him now as my Lord,
Because Your Word says, “… with the heart man believeth unto righteousness…” and I do believe with my heart,
I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ.
(2 Cor. 5:21),
And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!
Glory to God!!!!
The Olive Branch
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