It's Not Too Late

Psalm 145:9 - "The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works."

Matthew 5:45 - "...for He (God the Father) causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Luke 6:35 - "...the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men."

God's lovingkindness and grace extends every minute, of every day, to everyone who lives in His creation. Every leader, of every country is experiencing it - President Obama, Bashar al-Assad, Vladimir Putin, all three of these men are experiencing it.  Hitler experienced it.  Pilate experienced it. Judas experienced it.  Osama Bin Laden experienced it.  You and I are experiencing it.  Every breath we take or anyone has ever taken, is because of the favor and mercy and kindness of God, because all have sinned and fall short of His glory. (Romans 3:23)  Here's the good news - God's grace never ends for us when we call out to Him, in repentance, and accept the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf - Jesus in our place.  God's goodness does come to an end however, at death, if we refuse, ignore, or walk away from His free gift of salvation through His saving, changing, eternal grace.  Every single one of us needs to be changed because every single one of us is born with a heart for the capacity for the worst evil.  We are also born in rebellion against God and His ways.  Everyone one of us needs to humble ourselves before Him, admit our need for His saving, changing grace.  We need to turn from our sin and to Jesus. We can be the nicest person ever, trying to gain heaven by good works (this falls short of God's glory because we are attempting to gain eternal life by our own plan and goodness).  We can be the cruelest person ever. We can have ended a baby's life through abortion. We can be involved in pornography.  We can be involved in adultery. We can be liars.  We can be thieves.  God's saving, changing, eternal grace is given to all who call upon Jesus, no matter what we have done.  There is no one else, but Jesus, by which we gain God's saving, changing, eternal grace.  We cannot be saved by our own works.  We cannot be saved through the prayer or works of a friend or family member.  We cannot enter into the family of God through Buddha, through Baha'u'llah, or through Muhammad.  It's all about Jesus, and Jesus alone. He only, made the payment for our sin and without payment for sin, we cannot enter into the kingdom and presence of holy, perfect, righteous, good, merciful, gracious, loving God.  At death, we become objects of God's wrath, for eternity, because of our sin, if we have not turned from our sin, to Jesus Christ.   Let today be the day of salvation for you.  Let Jesus be your wrath-bearer.  It's not too late, to exchange your sin for Jesus righteousness, to be forgiven, to be washed of your sin and dressed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, having God the Father look at you from this day forward and into eternity, with the perfection of His Son - as if you'd never sinned, and as if you've always obeyed and pleased Him.

Titus 2:11 - "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men..."

Titus 3:5 - "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Acts 4:12 - "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

2 Corinthians 5:15, 18 - "And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf...He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

1 Peter 2:24 - "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed."

(I love what Mark Driscoll posted yesterday - "Forgiveness from Jesus is not a license to sin.  If you're in Christ, the last thing you want to do is betray the One who is faithful to you.")