guilty of all. The affirmation re minds us that "the soul that sin- i neth, it shall die." We might also I liken it to a person trying to jump across the Pacific Ocean. What dif ference does it make if it is the world's greatest broad-jumper or one who may be severely crippled with arthritis? Neither one could get anywhere nearly across. What difference would it make whether you jumped 25 feet or only three? Someone may say, "I don't have a lot of bad sins." The point is he still falls far short of Cod's stand ard of righteousness (Roman 3:22). Yet, Cod in His love and grace a has made provision for us (3:22, fl 24). On the basis of the righteous- | ness of Christ, and that He died for us, the Lord is able to declare us i j free from the judgment of sin. This salvation is His free gift. It cannot 1 be worked for or purchased at any price. We are justified freely which ij means to be declared completely 1 righteous. This entire transaction occurs because of grace which means "Cod's unmerited favor." Redemption is the price which has to be paid to bring something back to ownership. If someone were unfortunately kidnapped we hear of the redemption price or the ransom. Under the judgment of Cod, because of sin, Christ paid the price to bring us back to Him. The cost was His own precious blood. Because of this we are able to sing with the hymn writer, "Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling!" Such a testimony strikes at the proud heart of man. He has to ad mit that he cannot provide salva tion himself. It is all a work of Jesus Christ. The fifth chapter shows us the means of entering fully into the l J
JUDGMENT Even though the judgment of Cod may be suppressed in many people's minds, it is interesting to note how many times, when peo ple are in danger, they pray. On the Titanic they sang, "Nearer My Cod to Thee" as the ship was sink ing. A lot of individuals have fig ured up all kinds of excuses by which they think they can escape facing the Lord. Sincerity seems to rank high on the list of reasons used to merit the Almighty's favor. They feel He will overlook any little inconsistencies in life. "The Gold en Rule" is the catch-all they seek to follow in avoidance of condem nation. All such is nothing more than the folly of "whistling past the graveyard" of Cod's final asize. There must be a final place of ac countability for sin. It will either be on Calvary's cross when we ac cept Christ, or at the final Great White Throne Judgment. The Bible has the answer to con quering any fear of judgment. There is definite assurance of peace with God. The first step is to realize our hopeless condition. Romans 3:19 and 20 show the absurd effort of someone seeking deliverance from his sins by being good. As the Apostle points out, all the world is guilty before God. It is a sad and hopeless person who is trying to make it to heaven by being good. Assurance will never be his posses sion. Such has been compared to keeping all the traffic laws. Have you ever seen a policeman in your rear view mirror and instinctively looked at your speedometer? This is the reaction of a person who is trying, by keeping the law, to be good enough to be saved. The Bible reminds us that if we break one point of the law we are
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