"God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Messiah died for us." (Rms 5:8)
"He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God." (Rms 4:25)
"Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." (Jn 5:22)

Sin separates us from God but the Messiah came to bridge the gap between man and God by means of his death on the Cross. When He rose from the dead, He gained complete and total victory over death and it is through His death and resurrection that we gain eternal life.

Jn 5:22 is especially interesting. It is not God the Father who does the judging. Rather, it is God the Son (Messiah Jesus) who is the one that grants forgiveness and does the judging. That is why it is so necessary to study His Word and to obey it---if we love Him, we will do as He says.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me has everlasting life." (John 6:47)

"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2:4-9)

I am so glad it is by grace I am saved! If it were dependent upon my own efforts and "good" works, I could never attain salvation. Praise God, though, Jesus has already paid the price on the Cross and now I am freed from the power of sin and death, free to love and serve Him.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)

My study Bible has an interesting note on this verse: the word "looking" in verse 2 comes from the Greek aphorao. Apo means away from, and horao means to see. It means setting one's undivided attention on an object---in this context, it means having eyes for no-one but Jesus. I love the last part of the passage---Jesus not only is the author of our faith, but also its completion. There is nothing more that needs to be done---He paid the price IN FULL for our salvation through His death on the Cross, and the sacrifice which brings us salvation is completed. Nothing we do can ever bring us closer to salvation, because it has already been bought and paid in full by Jesus Himself. We need only accept His gift of salvation. I would say He is more than worthy of our undivided attention!!

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Heb. 1:3)

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Col. 1:15-17)

I believe I posted both of these verses before but they are just so powerful I had to post them again!!

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity rests in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority." (Col. 2:9)

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." (Co. 2:13-15)

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities: all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." (Colossians 1:15-17)

"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven." (Hebrews 1:3)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1)

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1)

This is a good verse to carry us over in those difficult times when we have trouble sensing God's presence in our lives. It is a real comfort, knowing that we can rely on God even when we can't "see" him in our situation. God promised that he would never leave us nor forsake us, so even in those times when we feel totally alone, we can be assured that God is still with us. He still loves us, no matter what, and even when we walk away from him (spiritually speaking), he still is trying to draw us back to him.

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and whose spirit is no deceit." (Psalm 32:1-2)

"Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:18-19)

What a wonderful Savior we have! He was obedient (unto death, says the Bible) in order that we might be made righteous. It's nothing we can do in our own power---it's all because of Him!!

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation." (Romans 5:6-11)

I praise God that He did not leave it up to us to try to find our own way to God. I know from my own life that I can never be good enough---I am constantly messing up and failing. When I try to do good, more often than not I end up doing the opposite of what I want or know I need to do. Thank God, though, that we do not have to rely on our own "good works" to make our lives right with Him. He has already paid the price for our reconciliation. We only need accept His beautiful gift, offered with His wonderful grace and mercy to all who would receive it.

"But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's (Adam's) sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:15-17)

This is an often-repeated theme in the Bible: sin entered the world through Adam, bringing with it not only the physical manifestations of sin (sickness, death, war, etc.) but also spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God. However, God in His infinite mercy provided a way of atonement: Jesus Himself paid the price for our sin so that we may be made right with God. We in ourselves cannot possibly make things right, but Jesus has already done it for us!! We need only accept this gift. When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and become a Christ-follower, we are made right with God and will spend eternity with Him.

"But right now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,l and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood." (Romans 3:21-25)

This sums up the whole of the Gospel. All of us have fallen short of God's standard---every single one of us. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God---but in His infinite mercy, He himself provided the way. God sent His one and only Son to be made the sacrifice for our sins. The only thing we need (or can) do to be reconciled with God is to accept the price that Jesus Himself paid on the Cross. Eternal life is a free gift offered to us by God Himself---free to us, because Jesus Himself paid the entire price. No other love on this earth could ever compare to that!

"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple." (Ps. 27:4)

"'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who was, and is, and is to come, the Almighty.'" (Rev. 1:8)

Later in Revelation (see Chapter 22, starting vs. 12) he repeats the phrase and adds (vs. 16) "I, Jesus, have sent my angel..."

It can't be any clearer as to the true identity of Jesus. Those religious groups that claim he was just a man, not God, have not read these verses. It's astonishing that the God of the universe would have come to earth and paid the price Himself for our sin, so that we might live with Him throughout eternity. None of us deserve it, but praise God He was willing to do it!

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17)

"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" (John 4:13-14)