Bob Cassell, Messenger
What is your problem with God, or what is God’s problem with you? Why can’t he be generous and let you into heaven, as you are?
In his natural state man is born into Sin and has a condemned sin nature that is at enmity with God. Man needs to be reconciled to God, but God must be propitiated and does not need to be reconciled to anyone or anything. Blessings and benefits are associated with being reconciled to God. God in merciful love has given his unique Son to die a substitutionary death for lost and unredeemed humanity. This unique payment for all sins and the sin nature itself, has already been provided as the total basis for God to justify and make righteous needy and unredeemed unbelievers.
God is justified in delivering the unbeliever from experiencing his wrath and condemnation because justification completely removes the penalty between man and God. When an individual believes in Jesus Christ, perfect righteousness is imputed or passed on to him, and he is no longer at enmity or an enemy because he has been reconciled to God.
For when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life Romans 5:10.
This scripture provides absolute clarity as it identifies the exclusive way a person can be reconciled to God. God the father gave his only begotten son as the unique savior from the sin nature and all sins that emanated from that nature.
You may be sure there are not multiple roads and highways to heaven. There is only one way, one road, one door, and one savior. The exclusive savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot be ignored nor discounted as he is the only door, and only entrance into Heaven. The thief and robber may attempt to come through another way but they will be denied!
Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not know them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out, and find pasture John 10: 7-9.
Please notice, in order to enter heaven, you must pass through a door. That door is not a door with hinges; it is the door of a person, and that person is the only savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 4:12, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given, among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the father, but by me.
Many may look at this exclusive door and attempt to go around it; some may feel they need to pry the door open, break through it, become a slave to the door keeper, or pay a high fee for entrance. A rare few may feel they must humble themselves, weep great tears of repentance, or beg the door keeper for mercy.
Notice how complicated this can become; this complexity occurs because man has not believed he must come to the door and enter through Jesus Christ himself. He is the door! Walk up to the door and enter by means of faith in Jesus Christ, the only savior, and he will give you entrance. Nothing else will cause the door to open. It is not your faith; your faith will never be strong enough to save. It is faith in the only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He must be the object of your faith.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out John 6:37.
The problem is not excessively complicated. God is holy and you are sinful. God will not allow sin in any form to enter into his perfect and eternal heaven. If sinful man could enter heaven unredeemed or unreconciled, heaven would be stained by his entrance.
God is of purer eyes to even behold iniquity Habakkuk 1:13. Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on iniquity.
For anyone to enter into heaven the sin nature and the sins that emanate from it must be as if they never occurred. Perfection from the savior, Jesus Christ, and the individual’s name must be recorded in the Lambs book of life.
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
This is quite a high bar of perfection. How is this man centered problem resolved? First man, who is sinful in nature and actions, cannot offer himself because his complete offering or substitutionary work would be from a flawed and sin contaminated nature. Imperfect man cannot offer a perfect sacrifice to a perfect God in order to redeem his corrupt and imperfect nature. Therefore, to look at the whole of humanity for a worthy redemption is impossible because everyone, without exception, is imperfect and not fit for heaven.
If humanity is unable to redeem itself, then where must man look? Obviously, the look must be outside of sinful and flawed humanity. Consider this scripture for a first step or start.
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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God Hebrews 12:2.
Notice, where you may look! It is unto Jesus, and as you look to him, he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He could not be seated and victorious over sin unless the full penalty of sin and its nature had been paid. Remember? Nothing that is defiled may enter into heaven.
In looking at the entrance into Heaven an insurmountable barrier stands between man and God. The barrier cannot be penetrated of eliminated by man or man’s best efforts. Let’s look at the components of this substantial barrier. The first component is the inadequate character of man. Man is defiled by a sin nature that is already condemned by God and separates all of humanity from our righteous and Holy God. That sin nature is the source of our sin’s and every sin from that corrupt nature, as well as the sinful nature itself, must be paid for before man can have entrance into heaven.
What does God see in man that creates the sin problem which separates man from Him? Notice his viewpoint of man and ask if you are an exception.
There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands, there is none that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no, not one Romans 3:10-12.
Oh, so you thought only the best kind of person would qualify for Heaven. I think not! All of humankind fall short of the requirement of God for perfection. If you are thinking this is unfair because the apostle Paul was legalistic and too requiring, let’s ask the Prophet Isaiah for his thoughts about the goodness of mankind to qualify him for heaven.
Isa 59:12 For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them.
Isa 64:6, But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Does God look at this corruption and simply dismiss it or is there a declaration, somewhere in the bible, that allows you to see his attitude toward us and all that we are or are not doing. Yes, here is a clear statement from God regarding his view of our corrupt condition. But your iniquities, that’s you, and not someone who may be worse than you, it’s YOU!
Isa 59:2, But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
Ever wonder why there is silence and a hardened barrier between a holy God and sinful you? It is because there is a sin barrier between you and God. He is holy and you are not; therefore, you are in a desperate condition and need Grace, mercy and help for a problem you are unable to resolve.
Thank God there is a remedy! This entire barrier and your incapacity to remove it may be done away with, not by you, but by the work of Christ through
JUSTIFICATION AND IMPUTATION.
What is justification? It is the remission of sin and removal from guilt and punishment. It is an act of grace by which God pardons your sin and its nature and accepts you as righteous because of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the cross.
Because God the Father is satisfied (propitiated) we are freely justified.
Romans 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded by the law of faith. Therefore, Paul concludes that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law.
Romans 3:19 Every mouth is stopped, and the world has become guilty before God.
So here we stand guilty and condemned and I ask you… how can all mouths be stopped if a power that gives us ability is left in us? If a person is going to heaven, that person must have perfect righteousness and you can clearly see man within himself has no righteousness. Therefore, he is dependent on another’s righteousness. Here’s the good news… the righteousness of God to man is not an attribute of God nor is the changed character of the believer but Christ himself is made unto us righteousness.
1 Corinthians I:30, But of him are you IN CHRIST JESUS, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SANCTIFICATION and REDEMPTION.
Therefore, glory in him and not in yourself because if your faith is centered in Jesus Christ, you are justified freely. This means without cost.
Notice the beautiful truth about God’s free gift to you as delineated in Romans 3:24, Being justified freely BY HIS GRACE, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. There is a beautiful Greek word here, when it is unfurled your soul will see more clearly, than you have ever seen before, our Lord’s so great salvation is perfectly centered in person of The Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word is Doreon and is translated: without cost to you, in you, from you, or because of you! For absolutely nothing!! If this nothing is something, that something would be a contributing factor in our Salvation that only resides in our great savior, the LORD Jesus Christ. It is plain, when you believe in Jesus you are believing in a person, God’s only begotten son, the King of glory, the only begotten of the father, and the only Savior. You may say, oh, it is fine to believe in Jesus, BUT (and this is a big and compelling but) but have you made him LORD? This is unnecessary because when you believe in Jesus, you are believing in the LORD JESUS CHRIST and there is salvation in no other. To say you must make him KURIOS or LORD is redundant because when you believe in JESUS you are not taking anything away from his deity as Jesus is the LORD of glory (he is KURIOS) whether you say his full name or not. The central issue is do you believe in his person and that THIS JESUS and not a man called by this name in Mexico, is the exclusive and only savior of humankind?
Let’s let the Apostle Paul make a declaration as to the efficacy of the person called Jesus… Romans 3:26 TO DECLARE, Paul is making a declaration, what is it? To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness (who’s righteousness) Jesus’. You must have his (Jesus’) righteousness to be accepted in heaven… Here it is…. vs 26, to declare his righteousness that he (Jesus) might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in JESUS. When you believe in Jesus you have the entire salvation package! Jesus said he was the Door, and I believe, him! He said he was the way, and I believe he is the only way. He said he is the life, and I believe eternal life is in the person of Jesus, who is THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. You can’t make Jesus who or what he is not, but only what he is, because we cannot even determine if a line is crooked if it is measured only by crooked lines. A crooked line is made obvious only when it is aligned to a straight line. The Straight line to heaven is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the straight line to heaven, and the only way to heaven.
Earlier in this message I stated there exists a barrier between God and man and incapable man has no capacity to remove this damning barrier, but the good news is, it can be removed by justification and imputation. I attempted to clarify the meaning and definition of justification, imputation, and propitiation.
I trust some of the referenced scriptures were helpful. Now, we will add another word that requires understanding in order to provide clarity regarding our standing before our holy and righteous God.
We have seen God’s viewpoint of Man and God’s viewpoint of man’s viewpoint and the conclusion that our iniquities have separated us from God, and we must be justified or redeemed from sin, guilt, and eternal punishment.
The work of Jesus Christ includes his act of Grace by which God pardons the individual and accepts him as righteous because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.
Because God the Father is satisfied (propitiated) we are freely justified according to Romans 3:24, and therefore, we may rejoice in the clear wording of
Romans 5:1, Therefore, being justified by faith we have peace (reconciliation) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The work of Christ works for the unbeliever by means of imputation, which is defined as, charging to the account of one, (Jesus) something which properly belonged to another (you). The Lord Jesus Christ shares or imputes his absolute righteousness with the one who places all of their trust in him. Unsaved humans with absolutely no righteousness meet God, who is absolute righteousness at the cross and God imputes to believing mankind his perfect righteousness. How is this miracle of eternal life made possible by simply believing in Jesus Christ? Let’s examine what God’s word says about it!
For he (God the Father) hath made him (God the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21. That’s Jesus, my dear reader!
More good news! Because the absolute righteousness of The LORD JESUS CHRIST has been IMPUTED to the new believer, God declares him JUSTIFIED!
What is IMPUTATION? An understanding of imputation is important because it is the impartation of God’s absolute righteousness, by means of faith in Christ, that produces absolute JUSTIFICATION.
Let me clarify a point regarding justification, NONE are forgiven that are not Justified and none are justified that are not forgiven. There is no righteousness in man unless it is imputed to him by means of faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
The entire book of Romans stresses the imputed righteousness of Jesus that is possessed by the individual who trusts in him for eternal salvation. No one can enter heaven without the imputation of perfect righteousness. No one can possess perfect righteousness, without believing on THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The unbeliever must have that righteousness that God’s righteousness requires him to require…. and that, my dear seeker, is perfect righteousness! It can only be appropriated by imputation of Christ’s righteousness by means of faith in his person.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For HE (GOD) hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be MADE the righteousness of God in him.
DEFINE IMPUTATION: It is a credit to the account of an individual, something which properly belongs to another. The Lord Jesus Christ shares or imputes HIS perfect righteousness to the new believer and the recipient receives the full benefit (credit) of the imputation.
An individual with no righteousness, meets God who has perfect righteousness, at the cross, and God imputes to that person his perfect righteousness.
Romans 3:22, Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus unto all and upon all them that believe Vs 24, Being justified (Doreon) freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Only because God’s absolute righteousness is imputed may the new believer be called, by God, Justified.
The best efforts from humankind only produce a relative righteousness. However, our absolutely perfect God will only recognize perfect, impeccable, flawless, and absolute righteousness.
This kind of righteousness cannot emanate from humankind as, on his best day, he is imperfect, and in need of perfection from the perfection that is imputed from the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Believe on the perfect Savior who was perfect in every way and who offered his perfect self as the perfect sin bearer to perfectly pay for every sin ever committed including the very nature to sin, transmitted, or imputed, at birth from Adam.
Be it known to you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe (in Jesus) are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses, Acts 13:38,39.
Please stop, look and listen to this God provided word of truth that will transform your soul from darkness to light and from death to life, and from Hell to Heaven.
For by grace are you saved through faith (in Jesus) and that not of yourselves: it the gift of God and not of works, lest any man should boast Eph 2:8,9.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Romans 10:13. Taste and see that the Lord is good… (not only good but perfect) blessed is the man that trusts in him Psalm 34:8.
That if thou (that’s you) shall confess with thy mouth the Lord JESUS and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved Romans 10:9.
If you have never believed in Jesus Christ as your only and exclusive savior, you may do that now, in the quietness of your own soul, this is an issue between you and God, and you may never have a better opportunity.
Believe on the Lord JESUS Christ and you will be saved Acts 16:31. You have God’s word on it and he will never let you down!
Call upon me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know, Jeremiah 33:3. Your responsibility is to call… his is to answer, and he will.
