IF we want to be clear ad honest there is a lot of work needed here.
We are saved by Accepting and Confessing Jesus as LORD.
LORD
Rom 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.
The early Church gave true loyalty to Jesus as LORD. We have little idea of what the word “LORD” means. The ancient soldiers knelt as subjects before their Lord, bowled their head in respect before their Lord, swore by their position or weapon of battle their LIFE to their Lord, YES, it still means that today. Calling Jesus Lord means I give Him everything, My Life, all I have, all I dream of being.
Righteousness
Here we come to a most important pair of ideas, Grace and works (right living).
. The righteousness of God is needed because man has no righteousness acceptable to God. No one was ever saved by the Law of Moses for by the law
is the knowledge of sin. And there were the traditions and laws of men that date back to Ancient Times which said man by knowledge and his ability can overcome evil and come to God.
Only obedience to the Self-existent Holy God and His Righteousness are good enough to come into the presence of God. No one has ever lived up to the Glory of God in never failing to obey Him in all things. We are all still under the Law, because the Law has always been to point out what “Sin” is and not saving any one from sin.
Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law
is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God
which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
No man is or can be saved by the law or any other power of man or earth.
the righteousness of God is manifested ie made known to man.
In Adam, God gave Adam the Blood sacrifice and the promise of a Messiah.
The promise was repeated in Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the Prophets.
Some 79 times in the OT God said “Hear my Voice (word), and keep my commandments and I will be your GOD.
NOT the Law but OBEDIENCE.
The righteousness of God which is ours in GRACE by faith in Jesus Christ
Made Righteous freely by His Grace through the propitiation in Jesus Christ.
Grace is the unmerited gift of a loving Father to meet our need in what we could not do.
faith is when the TRUTH of that gift becomes real to me and I accept it without having to see the evidence.
SIN;
We must define a word here, it is used in so many ways and most wrong, we need to get it meaning right.
SIN = ἁμαρτάνω hamartanō
Thayer Definition:
- to be without a share in
- to miss the mark
Rom 3:23 for all miss the mark and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:23 for all are without a share in the glory of God,
BUT, LOOK AT THE VERSE, IT SAYS WE MISS THE MARK OF THE GLORY OF GOD CREATED IN US!! WE miss the mark, fail to follow the PATH, AND FAIL TO SHARE IN GOD’S GLORY. WE FAIL TO OBEY GOD!
God created mankind with the ability and right to CHOOSE to OBEY HIM or NOT!
Satan's victory in the Garden gave him a hold in decieving People to think they did not need God. But, forever to disobey God is SIN!!
The Idea of SIN being great or small, seems to me to be an inconstancy in thought. Sin, to leave the path, or to miss God’s glory is to Disobey GOD!
I ask what is there that we do that is “the Source of our SIN beyond a choice to disobey GOD”. There is no work that we may do to gain, deserve, or to earn God’s Grace. I will also say there is no act or work we may do to gain, deserve, or earn rejection from grace and a place in Hell beyond a choice to reject GOD. Man rejecting God will live as he chooses and all the evil resulting there is only the natural behavior of rejecting God. This evil shows one that rejects God, BUT, the subject is still a Choice Obey God or Not. We spend too much time focused on “Evil” and not enough time really focused on “Knowing GOD!”
God’s Grace is freely offered, and we by faith accept or ignore that offer.
We support the biblical teaching that all people are lost in sin
and are born with a sinful nature.
They can be saved by
repentance, forgiveness and faith in Jesus Christ's death (blood sacrifice) and resurrection. No human merit or performance earns salvation