”To Be Made Right With God”
By Pastor Donald Parker
Jesus said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Righteousness means “to be right with God” – to be in the right relationship with God. It’s a yearning for God. It’s a longing for His righteous character to be evident in your life.
Paul writes in Romans 1:17 “The Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight.” The Good News is the Gospel. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, God will satisfy, God will fill, and God will bless. Why is being righteous so important? 1) It’s the only way to live and 2) It’s the only way into heaven.
You first need to understand that you can’t make yourself righteous because the Bible tells us we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.” No one on earth always does what is right and never sins.
Paul writes in Romans 3:20, “No one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” A lot of people think they’re going to heaven because they keep the Ten Commandments; yet they can’t even name them all. What Paul is saying is the purpose of the law is not to bring salvation, but to make us aware of sin.
The only way people can be made right with God, is for God to declare them righteous. So God had to come up with a plan to take care of our unrighteousness. What was His plan? He sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sins so we could be called righteous.
The Bible tells us what we’ve earned for our sin is death (Romans 6:23). That means somebody has to pay for all the sins you and I have ever committed in our life. Either we pay for our own sin; or someone else. Jesus says, “I’ll be your Savior. I came to this earth to die for your sins. You don’t have to pay for it; I’ve already paid the penalty of all your sins.” Jesus said “It is finished.” What’s finished? Paying for the sins of all mankind, that includes yours and mine, and that my friend is Good News!
All you have to do to be made right with God is to accept by faith what Jesus has already done for you. All you have to do is accept God’s grace and His mercy. All you have to do is accept God’s forgiveness and say you believe that what Jesus did on the cross paid for your sins.
Romans 3:22 says, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” You can be made right with God when you place your faith in Jesus Christ. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, you can be saved and made right with God!
Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” It’s personal my friend. You confess to God that you are a sinner and turn from your sins and follow Him and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and that He came and died on a cross for your sins and three days later was raised to life. When you do this, it makes you right with God and God saves you in that very moment and you are instantly considered by God – as righteous.
Join us Sunday mornings at 11am First Baptist Church, “A Place to Belong.” Mark your calendars; Pastor Vic Taylor will be preaching August 11th at First Baptist Church of Van Horn.
