Some May Feel They’ve Done Things God Won’t Forgive, but Is That Really True?
There is probably something
that you’ve done in the past that you deeply regret, but you keep feeling
terrible about it. It turns out that we all have done this on one level or
another, whether it’s things we’ve done, choices we’ve made or haven’t made, or
unhealthy relationships we’ve been in. I
sure have done my share of mistakes, and I deeply regret some of these.
Fortunately, the Lord God forgives me, and doesn’t want me to beat myself up
over these. Of course, He wants me to be mindful of them, so I don’t continue
making unhealthy choices. Christ loves me, not because I’m good. I am a sinful
human being and I continue to sin. But He loves me, despite my many sins and
inadequacies, because I love Him as my Lord and Savior.
I felt led to do this Biblical Research Project, since there are some who say people who don’t have the same political views, aren’t on the same side of Roe vs Wade, don’t feel the same about gun rights, and those who are different from them by: skin color, ethnicity, culture, sexual preference, whether they are tax paying citizens or not, aren’t going to heaven. Is that true? Does it say that in the Bible?
I will share many examples throughout the Bible that answer this question! I will put my observations, conclusions, who is speaking or being spoken to within [brackets.]
Leviticus 19:32-34 says:
“You shall rise before the gray headed [elderly] and honor the presence of an
old man, and fear [respect] your God: I am the Lord. And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat
him. The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and
you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I
am the Lord your God.” NKJV Bible
[I’m concerned when I hear of those who say to others that they aren’t going to heaven. In the same breath, they discriminate against many different ethnicities and cultures, saying they shouldn’t be able to get food, medical services, financial support, asylum, or safe housing, when that isn’t what Jesus says. The Lord God loves us all, no matter what our ethnicity or culture is.]
[This is when King David lusted after
Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and was sexually intimate with her. When King David
found out that Bathsheba was pregnant with his child, and he had Uriah, her
husband, put in the front of the ferocious battle, so Uriah would be killed and
hide David’s guilt from others.]
2 Samuel: 9-10, [Where the prophet, Nathan, speaks to King David on the Lord
God’s behalf.] 9 Why did you turn your back on what I told you to do? You did
what is evil in My sight. You made sure that Uriah, the Hittite, would be
killed in battle. You took his wife to be your own. You let the men of Ammon
kill him with their swords. 10 So time after time members
of your own royal house will be killed with swords. That’s because you turned
your back on Me. You took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be your own.’ NIRV
Bible
[According to David’s severe consequences for
committing these abominations of adultery and murder, you might think that the
Lord God would never forgive King David for doing this. But when you read these
other passages, you will see the Lord God later had it predicted that Jesus
Christ would be born in King David’s lineage, and it actually happened. That
means that the Lord God loved David, despite all he
had done, because David
continued to love the Lord God with all his heart, although he wasn’t perfect.]
Prediction in Jeremiah of
Jesus, the Righteous Branch of David
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In His days Judah
shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name
whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Jeremiah
23:5-6 KJV Bible
New Testament Proof of fulfillment of the prediction: But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption-that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 KJV Bible
Ezekiel 34:22-24, 22 I
will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between
one sheep and another. 23 I
will place over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will
tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will
be their God, and My servant, David, will be prince among
them. I the Lord have spoken. NIV Bible
[Despite all David had done, the Lord God still continued to have long range plans for David to shepherd and guide the Lord’s people.]
[Additionally, the Lord God
has Ezekiel, His prophet, explain about how the Lord God responds to those who
turn away from following Him, and how the Lord God responds to those who turn
away from their wicked actions and now rely on the Lord.]
Ezekiel 33:10-11 and it is
continued in verses 18-20 below: 10 “Son of man, speak to the
Israelites. Tell them, ‘You are saying, “Our sins and the wrong things we have
done weigh us down. We are wasting away because we have sinned so much. So how
can we live?”’ 11 Tell them, ‘When sinful people die, it
does not give Me [the Lord God] any joy. But when they turn away from their
sins and live, that makes Me very happy. [Just] as sure as I am alive,’
announces the Lord and
King. ‘So turn away from your sins! Change your evil ways! Why should you die,
people of Israel?’ NIRV Bible
Ezekiel 33:18-20 18 Suppose a godly person stops doing what is right. And they do what is evil. Then they will die because of it. 19 But suppose a sinful person turns away from the evil things they have done. And they do what is fair and right. Then they will live by doing that. 20 In spite of that, you Israelites say, ‘What the Lord does isn’t fair.’ But I will judge each of you based on how you have lived.” NIRV Bible
[On the other hand, this is an example of King
Solomon, David’s son, who followed the Lord God, but turned away from the Lord,
later in his life. First, 1 Kings 8:20-21 shows King Solomon’s
dedication to the Lord God. Next, 1 Kings 11:4-6 shows how King Solomon
got led astray by marrying many women, who turned Solomon’s heart toward false
gods. Lastly, 1 Kings 11:10-11 shows that the Lord God warned Solomon
not to worship the false gods, but Solomon didn’t stop from doing this. So, the
Lord God tore the kingdom from Solomon’s hands. This is an example of how
someone whose life was first aligned with the Lord God, might lose his
salvation by turning to false gods or other things that lead us to make
unfaithful choices.]
1 Kings 8:20-21 20 “The Lord has kept the promise He made. I’ve become the next king after my father David. Now I’m sitting on the throne of Israel. That’s exactly what the Lord promised would happen. I’ve built the temple where the Lord will put His Name. He is the God of Israel. 21 I’ve provided a place for the ark there. The tablets of the Lord’s covenant law are inside it. He made that covenant with our people of long ago. He made it when he brought them out of Egypt.” NIRV Bible
1 Kings 11:4-6 4 As Solomon grew older, his wives turned his heart toward other gods. He didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart. So he wasn’t like his father David. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth. Ashtoreth was the female god of the Sidonians. He also worshiped Molek. Molek was the god of the Ammonites. The Lord hated that god. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He didn’t completely obey the Lord. He didn’t do what his father David had done. NIRV Bible
1 Kings 11:10-11 10 He had commanded Solomon
not to worship other gods. But Solomon didn’t obey the Lord. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “You have chosen not to keep my
covenant. You have decided not to obey my rules. I commanded you to do what I
told you. But you did not do it. So you can be absolutely sure I will tear the
kingdom away from you. I will give it to one of your officials. NIRV Bible
[If Solomon had turned back to only focusing on the Lord God after being warned, instead of false gods, things might have turned out differently! God gives us a choice to love Him or not, which seems to be the biggest determiner of our Salvation.]
Jonah 4:10-11 says: But the
Lord said, “You [Jonah] have had pity on the plant for which you have not
labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night.
And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city,
in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot
discern between their right hand and their left- and much livestock?” NKJV
Bible
[The backstory is: God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh to warn them to change from their wickedness or they would be destroyed in 40 days. Jonah didn’t want to do that, so he bought a ticket going in the opposite direction, but only went after he was thrown overboard during a big storm & was spit out of a whale’s mouth. After reading this and the New Testament passages below, I think God wants every single person in the world who believes in Jesus as their Savior to have Salvation.]
In Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus says: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” NKJV Bible
Matthew 9:13 says: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” NKJV Bible [This means to me that Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous Pharisees who think they’re perfect and judge others, but Jesus came to call those who humbly come to Him.]
Matthew 18:10-14 says: “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say
to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in
heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save
that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep,
and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the
mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it,
assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the
ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it
is not the will of your Father [God] who is in heaven that one of these little
ones should perish. NKJV Bible
[Jesus is happier about one person who may have lost his way, but turns his life around and comes to love the Lord God, although they aren’t perfect.]
Matthew 21:28-32 says: “But what do you think? A
man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my
vineyard.’ “He [the son] answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he
regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he
answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did the
will of his father?” They said to Him [Jesus],
“The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and
harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not
believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed Him; and when you
saw it, you did not afterward [regret it] and believe Him.” NKJV Bible
[This tells me that those who some looked down upon were valued, because they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and those who thought they were better than others didn’t.]
Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus
says: “When the Son of Man [Jesus Christ] comes in His
glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His
glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep
from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on
the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave
Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me,
I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ then the
righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed
You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we
see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see
You sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and
say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the
least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those
on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire
prepared for the devil and his angels: for I
was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I
was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me,
sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer
Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say
to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did
not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life.” NKJV
Bible
[Although I’m not to be judgmental of others, because I’m most definitely not perfect, I still get concerned about those who say they are Christians, but they get very upset that we would help those from other countries or those in our country who don’t have enough food, medical care, or need a safe place to stay, or are in prison.]
Mark 2:15-17 says: Now it
happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and
sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many,
and they followed Him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him [Jesus]
eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is
it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard
it, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” NKJV Bible
[It appears that Jesus came to tell the humble sinners, who know they aren’t perfect, about being their Savior and about Salvation.]
Mark 12:29-31 says: Jesus
answered him, “The first of all the
commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the
second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is
no other commandment greater than these.”
[Jesus talks in this passage only about loving others, not discriminating against them for any reason, even if they have different: ethnicity, skin color, sexual preference, political views, etc.]
Mark 16:15-16 says: And He
[Jesus] said to them, “Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature [person]. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
[It sounds to me like Jesus wants everyone to come to love Him as their Savior, so they all are saved, and none are lost.]
Luke 2:30-32 says: “For my eyes have seen
Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, A
light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people
Israel.” KNJV Bible
[Luke says he’s seen the salvation that Jesus has prepared for all peoples, including the Gentiles and others who choose to love Him as their Savior, and not just the Hebrews.]
Luke 9:55-56 says: But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s
lives but to save them.” And they went to another
village. NKJV
Bible
[Jesus came to forgive the sins of all those who come to Him for Salvation.]
Luke 15:8-10 says: “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost.’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” NKJV Bible
Luke 15:25-32 says: [This
is the story of the Prodigal Son, but since it’s long, I am telling the last
quarter of the passage.] “Now his older son was in
the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and
dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him
safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ But he [the older
brother] was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and
pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years
I have been serving you; I never [sinned against] your commandment at any time;
and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my
friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who had devoured your
livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ And he [the dad]
said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad,
for [I thought] your brother was dead and is alive again, was lost and is
found.” NKJV Bible
[The Lord God is happy about those who weren’t always Christians, but come to love Him and believe in Jesus as their Savior.]
Luke 19:8-10 [Zacchaeus was a tax collector and it was common for them to overcharge people.]
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look,
Lord, I [will] give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything
from anyone by false accusation, I [will] restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said
to him [Zacchaeus]: “Today salvation has come
to this house, because he [Zacchaeus] also is a
son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost.” NKJV Bible
[Jesus show sus, that although we may have done some pretty bad things in our lives that we regret, we can turn our lives around and put our lives into Jesus, our Savior’s, very capable hands.]
Luke
23:40-43 is when one criminal on the cross next to Jesus says this to the other
criminal who was challenging Christ: But the other [criminal],
answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under
the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward
of our deeds; but this Man has done
nothing wrong.” Then he said to
Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to
him, “Assuredly,
I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” NKJV Bible
[Although it’s the last minutes of the life of the criminal, who admits to deserving punishment and spoke up for Jesus’ innocence, Jesus forgave that criminal of all his sins, and said that the criminal would join Him in paradise. Unfortunately, the other criminal didn’t choose to turn to Jesus as his Savior, so that wasn’t the case for him. If Jesus can forgive the one criminal of all his faults, it seems that Jesus can surely do the same for you and for me, and for everyone else who turns to Him as their Savior!]
John 6:37-40 says: “All that the Father gives
Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me
I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do
My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This
is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me, I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of
Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” NKJV Bible
[There are no exclusions in these statements. Everyone means everyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior, will go to heaven some day when Jesus calls them to join Him.]
John 6:47-48 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the Bread of Life.” NKJV Bible
John 8:4-5 [The Pharisees]
said to [Jesus], Master, this woman was [caught in the act] of adultery. In
Moses’ law, they commanded [stoning for this,] but what do You say?
John 8:7 When they
continued asking [Jesus,] He lifted Himself [from writing on the ground with
His finger,] and said to them, He that is without sin
among you, let him cast the first stone at her.
John 8:9 [Those who] heard,
were convicted by their own conscience, and went out one by one from the eldest
to the youngest. Jesus and the woman [were left there] alone.
John 8:11-12 She said, [There is] no man [left to accuse me]. Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Then, Jesus spoke again to them, saying, I am the light of the world. [Those who] follow Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the lift of life. KJV Bible [condensed and paraphrased]
John 10:27-30 says: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given
them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is
able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”
NKJV Bible
[We, myself included, need to turn to Jesus when we are tempted to stray, because He will protect us so that no one or nothing keeps us from being with Him on the Last Day.]
[At the Last Supper, Jesus
warned Peter, that he would deny Jesus three times.]
John 18:17 Then the damsel that kept the door said to Peter, [Aren’t] you one of this man’s [Jesus’] disciples? [Peter] said, I am not. KJV Bible
John 18:24-27 Now Annas had
sent Him [Jesus] bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. And Simon Peter stood and
warmed himself. They said to him, Are you not also one of His [Jesus’]
disciples? [Peter] denied it, and said, I am
not. One of the servants of the high priest, being [a relative of the
man] whose ear Peter cut off, said, [Didn’t] I see you in the garden with Him
[Jesus]? Peter then denied again; and
immediately the cock [crowed]. KJV Bible
[You would think Jesus would turn His back on Peter, after being denied three times by His own disciple who was warned, but that’s not the case for our forgiving Savior!]
[Jesus knew all things in
advance because He is God’s Son and One with God.]
Luke 16:15-19 He [Jesus] said to them
[disciples,] But whom [do you] say I am? And
Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are
you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My
Father which is in heaven. And I say to you, That
you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven: and [whatever] you shall bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven: and [whatever] you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
KJV Bible
[Jesus’ telling Peter He’s giving the keys of the kingdom of heaven to him, doesn’t sound like Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus, keeps Jesus from loving Peter.]
[This
is another time when Jesus Christ showed Himself to many of His disciples after
He had arisen from the grave on the third day. This is at the seaside of
Tiberias. Jesus had prepared fish for His disciples, unbeknownst to them.]
John 21:15-17 So when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, [Do you] love Me more than
these? [Peter]
said to [Jesus,] [Yes,] Lord; You know that I love You. [Jesus] said to
[Peter,] Feed
My lambs. [Jesus] said to [Peter] a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, [Do you] love Me? Peter said, [Yes,] Lord;
You know that I love You. [Jesus] said to [Peter,] Feed My sheep. [Jesus] said to [Peter] the third time, Simon,
son of Jonas, [Do
you] love Me? Peter was grieved, because He said to him the third time, [Do
you] love Me? And [Peter] said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You
know that I love You. Jesus said to [Peter] Feed My
sheep. KJV Bible
[This is more proof that Jesus forgave Peter for denying Him. Because of Peter’s continued faith, Jesus asks Peter to, Feed My sheep. It’s significant, because Jesus wants Peter to nurture the other disciples [Jesus’ sheep] and new believers [Jesus’ lambs] in their faith walk, learning more about Jesus Christ, their Savior, and sharing their faith with others.]
Acts 2:21 says: “And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.” NKJV Bible [That’s everyone in the whole world, no matter how tall or short, how thin or fat, how smart or not smart, how dark or light their skin is, their sexual preference, how young or old, whatever their cultural heritage is, how rich or poor, and what their political views are, as long as they believe that Jesus is their Lord and Savior, they can go to heaven some day when Jesus calls them to join Him.]
[Saul persecuted the
Christians and helped to bring about the death of many. Later, after a blinding
encounter with Christ, the Lord God used Saul to bring many to become
Christians. Saul became known as the Apostle Paul.]
Acts 9:15 says: But the
Lord said to him, “Go for he [Saul] is a
chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings, and the
children of Israel. NKJV Bible
[Jesus wanted Saul [Paul] to go to the Gentiles and other people in the world, to tell them how his new belief in Jesus Christ, as his Savior, has changed his life dramatically. Jesus used Saul/ Paul who was a Roman to share his faith with Gentiles and others who would pay attention to him, but might not have listened to the Jewish disciples.]
Acts
13:38-39 says: “Therefore let be known to
you, brethren, that through this Man [Jesus] is
preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is
justified from all things which you could not be justified by the
law of Moses.” NKJV Bible
[Hebrews used to think that they were the only ones who could go to heaven, but the disciples now realize that everyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior is justified.]
Romans
6:10 says: For the death that He
[Jesus] died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He [Jesus] lives, He lives
to God. NKJV Bible
[Jesus conquered sin once in His death on the cross and provided the opportunity for resurrection for ALL which includes every single person who believes in Him.]
Colossians 3:8-11 says: But now you yourselves are to put off all these:
anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie
to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put
on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him [the
Lord God] who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised
nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ in all. NKJV
Bible
[All those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior are united in the Lord! None of us is perfect, but through our love of Jesus Christ, we try to turn our bad habits and vices into Christ’s very capable hands and to be examples of loving our neighbors as ourselves.]
1 Timothy
1:15 says: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. NKJV
Bible
[Paul, formerly named Saul, used to persecute Christians until their death, yet Christ forgave him, despite all Paul had done in the past. After that, Paul/Saul dedicated his whole life to teach others about Jesus Christ, our Savior.]
Titus
2:11-14 says: For the grace of God that
brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing
of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and
purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. NKJV
Bible
[Our Salvation in heaven is through the Grace of God because Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross, died, was buried, and arose to conquer sin, death, and the devil. Christ knows we’re all sinful human beings and we won’t be perfect, but if we continue to turn to Him with all our shortcomings, He will continue to forgive us and lead us in the path we need to go.]
1 Peter 4:8-10 says: And
above all things have fervent love for one
another, for “love will cover a
multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to
one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to
one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. NKJV Bible
[I have to be honest, that I have probably grumbled under my breath more times than I would like to admit. Fortunately, Jesus forgives me when I ask Him, and leads me to be a better witness for Him.]
2
Peter 3:9 says: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV Bible
[The
Lord would like that every single person would repent of their sins and come to
know Him as their Lord and Savior, so they can join Him in heaven some day when
He calls us to join Him.]
[You’ve read how the Lord
God values those who sinned and made poor choices, but have turned their lives
around to focus on Christ to guide them throughout their life.]
John 3:16-17 where Jesus says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” NKJV
Bible
