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"I just hate to think of judgment day .. We are who we are .. Who can blame us .. We were made in the image of God .. Why do we have to be judged .. sounds so like kindergarten ...how sad."
I received this message in response to the post Are you a "good" person?
You are right when you said we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). But what happened was sin-nature (murder, robbery etc. are the products or actions of the sin-nature) entered the human race by Adam''''''''s disobedience. As a result, the entire human race became sinners. You and I did not become a sinner by our actions. Just by the virtue of being born as a descendant of Adam we are born as sinners. Is it fair? Of course, it is not.
Now let us address the judgment issue. Let me preface it by saying, this is not about people judging people. We are not to judge others. Jesus emphatically addresses this issue in Matthew 7:1-5 - “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother''''''''s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother''''''''s eye."
Having cleared that, are you saying that a murderer should not be tried and judged by a court system, because the judge is "so loving and good"? But if that is the case, wouldn''''''''t that make him a corrupt judge? Don''''''''t we need justice? Or would we rather prefer lawlessness? Of course, God is good but His nature is just. Sin cannot go unpunished. Someone has to pay the price for sin. And that someone was JESUS, since we were unable to reach the high standard of God''''''''s righteousness with our own efforts. Note, the goal is to seek His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), not self-righteousness. Why? Because God is perfection. His standard of holiness or perfectness is way higher than we can attain with our effort, no matter how sincere it might be. There is no small sin or big sin. We often like to compare ourselves to people like Hitler or Osama and come to the conclusion that "we''''''''re way better" than them. But from God''''''''s eyes, sin is sin. You have to keep all of it or even if you break one, it is akin to breaking all the laws. James 2:10-11 - For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
So, what do we do if we cannot with our effort keep the law?
God in the form of Jesus came to earth and paid the price for the penalty. Jesus fulfilled the law (Matt 5:17), bore our sickness (Matt 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24), crucified the sin nature (the main culprit for the chaos we see around) on the cross for us (Romans 6:6) and became the sacrificial lamb, once and for all (Hebrews 10:10-14, 9:28) - which means, your past, present and future sins are completely forgiven - WHEN and FROM the moment you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and when you are IN Him (Rom 8:1-2, 14). People don’t go to hell because of their sins. Jesus wiped away the sins of the whole world with His precious Blood. They will go to hell because they reject the payment for their sins. They will go to hell because they refuse to receive Jesus Christ. If you don''''''''t receive Jesus as their Savior, you are rejecting the only payment available for your sins. There’s no other way to the Father except through His Son. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6). Pause. Read and re-read this paragraph along with the scriptures. Allow it to sink in your heart.
Once you are in Christ Jesus, you have ZERO condemnation (Rom 12:1-2), because the power that Satan had over you is broken (Col 1:13). You are Christ''''''''s. He purchased you with His blood. Sin will no longer have dominion over us since we are no longer under law, but under grace (Romans 6:14).
You do NOT have to be afraid of the judgment day IF you are born again (spiritually rebirthed or invite Jesus to your life).
Even after you get born again, there might be sins that you are battling with, but it is not because of the sin-nature (or the old self). The sin-nature, when you get born again, is taken away from you (Romans 6:6-7, 14). The only thing that we might be battling with is the thinking pattern that the old-self left behind. And this battle is in the mind. This is why the born again believer has to renew his or her thinking pattern (Romans 12:1-2) to the new-creation reality (2 Corinthians 5:17), by casting down every thought that does not line up with the Word of God (James 1:14-15, 2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
We have victory IN Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13). The victory is set up for us. Our will-power might be weak, but through Christ Jesus, that is, when we completely depend on Him, we can overcome anything (Phil 4:13, John 16:33). This is not a feel-good/pat on the back statement. It is 100% scriptural but it will have no effect until we decide to believe the living and life-changing Word of God.
The ONLY thing that God requires of us is to Believe and invite Jesus Christ to our life. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16
This is a gift from God. We do not earn, merit or deserve it. We receive it by Grace. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
Invite Him to your life by praying this prayer from your heart out loud:
"Dear God, I come to You in the Name of Jesus. I realize that I am a sinner and no matter how hard I try, I cannot save myself. All my good deeds do not measure up in comparison with your holiness. So God, I come to you on the basis of what Jesus has done for me. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that Jesus died and rose again in my place. I invite you, Lord Jesus, to come into my life. Thank you for paying the price for my sins 2,000 years ago on the cross. I turn from self-reliance. Jesus, I confess that You are Lord of my life. Thank You for living inside of me and guiding me from this moment on. Because of the new life I receive now, I turn away from the old life. Jesus, I belong to You now. Thank You for the gift of salvation. In Jesus'''''''' Name, Amen."
If you have prayed that prayer from you heart, you have become ''''''''born again'''''''' (John 3:3-7, John 1:12-13), in other other words, spiritually re-birthed. The Bible says, you are now the child of the Most High God (John 1:12-13). Old things have passed away, you have become a new creation in Jesus (2 Cori 5:17). You have escaped the eternal lake of fire. Sin, Sicknesses (no matter how small or terminal it is) or negative circumstances (does not matter how trivial or worse it is) can no longer have a hold on you. Through Jesus Christ you are an overcomer.
. Read your Bible (KJV - read on why I prefer this version) daily to get to know this Jesus better. Again, christian life is not about religion or rituals. It is a relationship with Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Bible is the food for our spiritual person. Start reading from the New Testament.
. Talk to God in prayer daily (Matthew 21:22, Philippians 4:6, Mark 11:24, 1 Thessalonians 5:17). When you pray, focus on Jesus. Pray to the Father in Jesus'''''''' Name.
. Be baptized, worship, fellowship and serve with Christians in a church (Matthew 28:19, Hebrews 10:25) where Jesus Christ is preached and Bible is the final authority (2 Timothy 3:16).
. Share the good news about Jesus Christ (Mark 16:15, 1 Corinthians 9:16, Romans 1:16)