We read the Bible so we can find the power of God’s word, and the way to God through Christ Jesus the Lord.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV)
If God sees every single thing we do, good and bad, how can anyone stand before Him without guilt. We can stand before Him only because Jesus paid the price for our redemption, and God will see Jesus’ righteousness instead of our inability to live according to God’s holy standards. (Philippians 3:9; 2Corinthians 5:17-19, 21; 1Corinthians 1:30-31; Romans 10:13)
“By this the love of God was revealed in us, that God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we remain in Him and He in us, because He has given to us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, we also are in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.” (1John 4:9-19 NAS)
It is because of the righteousness of Christ that we can stand before God without fear.
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV)
Because we believe in Jesus that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we will escape the judgement reserved for unregenerate sinners. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Watch out, however, because the precious Grace of God is not an excuse to continue in a sinful style of living.
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I
am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just
as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing
wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to
holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of
righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you
are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have
been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap
leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 6:15-23 NIV) [1]
