Assalaam ‘alaikum

Dear Friend,

Is your greatest desire to be accepted by God on the day of judgment? If it is, this desire is an honorable one. The Qur’an clearly states that if God were to judge men according to what they deserved, he would not leave a single man alive on earth. The Holy Bible records that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that "there is no-one righteous, no not one". So clearly, righteousness must come through the act of God’s mercy and righteousness only comes through knowing God. A friend recently asked, "How do we know if Jesus Christ is the right way to God?" He had read in the Holy Bible where it says, "Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.’ " Yet he had some questions. What happens to people who lived before Jesus Christ ever lived? How do they come to God? I explained to him that God had promised that through Abraham’s seed the whole world would be blessed. Abraham believed God. Yet when God told him to sacrifice his son, Abraham had a choice to make, "Would he believe everything God said or simply part of it." Abraham chose to believe everything God said, believing God would bring his son back to life. Because Abraham believed what God said about his seed, God rescued Abraham’s son and provided a lamb instead. Jesus Christ is the descendant of that son and the blessing to the whole world.

We know that in the very beginning of time, God had stated that the offspring of Eve would crush Satan. By causing Adam and Eve to sin, Satan had dealt a deadly blow—he had brought death into this world. This was not simply physical death but spiritual death—eternal separation from God. After many years, the eternal Spirit of God came to indwell a body of flesh. This was Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God kept that physical body pure from sin, thereby proving who he was by conquering death and rising from the dead. This was the victory that took the bite out of death and fulfilled the prophecy that Eve’s offspring would crush Satan.

With the celebration of the resurrection of Christ just past, you may be thinking, "Why can’t God simply forgive us without the death and resurrection of Christ?" That’s a good question, indeed. From what God has revealed to us in the scriptures, it is very clear that if Jesus Christ hadn’t done what he did, mankind could not have forgiveness. God has declared from the beginning of time how he would offer his forgiveness and mercy to us. The life of Jesus Christ has fulfilled this prophecy without question. Yet, how much do I personally need to believe about Jesus Christ before I can have that forgiveness? Couldn’t I simply believe that God has freely offered his forgiveness and forget about the details? Wouldn’t that be sufficient? In order to experience this forgiveness myself, do I really have to believe exactly what the Holy Bible says about who Jesus Christ was and what he did to bring us God’s forgiveness?

On this matter, there are two questions that continually keep surfacing. The first is, Why would God go to all the trouble to do what he did through Jesus Christ, if God, without doing a thing, could have simply said to human beings, "You’re forgiven."? Why did God say it was not enough to simply believe that Jesus existed and respect him, but that we need to personally rely on the Spirit that made Jesus Christ acceptable before God, to live in us. Obviously God had a purpose in doing it this way. He has even recorded this plan for us. If God has taken the trouble to accomplish his plan and record it, why shouldn’t we go to the trouble to at least take him at his word? Secondly, can anyone be confident in this life that he really will be forgiven and accepted by God on the day of judgment? Can he do so without understanding and believing who Jesus Christ was and what he did in order to realize that he needs to receive the Spirit of Jesus Christ into his own life? I don’t know of anyone who can. Even though many people claim to believe that God can simply forgive whom he chooses, when it really comes down to it, they are all trying to earn God’s forgiveness because they know they have no right to receive forgiveness from God. Through Jesus Christ we can’t earn our forgiveness, we can simply receive it by receiving God’s Spirit that lived in Jesus Christ, not based on our own merit, but only through the merit of Jesus Christ. Receiving forgiveness in this way, with a humble, thankful heart, is a life changing experience that results in a life honoring to God.

Sincerely,
Your friend, a servant of truth and love.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NIV®
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