HAVE YOU RECEIVED
GOD'S PARDON?

Preface

Life Down Here Is Not Forever

10 out of 10 people will give an account of their lives to the Creator of the universe.

Will you be found guilty or innocent before a God whose nature is unlike the little gods we have given our attention to? Think about it. Whatever idol you may cherish, whether it be a deity, a person, or a thing, does it know you from the inside & out? How much money, energy, and time have you invested in it only to find yourself feeling more miserable, depressed, empty, broken... Anyone can put on a happy mask but deep inside God knows who you are.

One

Our Crisis

As a Western society, our morals have greatly declined. What used to be considered bad not long ago is now considered good, and vice-versa. We do not need to look far down the corridors of history for evidence, we just have to check out the news reports: rape, child trafficking, burglary, murder, drug abuse, cover-ups, lies, and the list goes on and on...

How long will we be playing games with ourselves, deceiving ourselves that everything is fine with us and that the problem is out there?

It is written in Proverbs 20:6a that most men will proclaim every one his own goodness.

Have you done a good deed lately? Feels good, doesn't it? But when you do wrong, does your conscious bother you?

Two

Everybody Wants Respect

Let's consider you first. What happens when you are disrespected? You want justice, don't you? Well, you can rest assured that God will deal in righteousness with whoever has disrespected you. But He will also judge you for every wrong you did to others including God, who is the very one who brought you into existence in the first place.

God said that He will not hold anyone guiltless who takes His name in vain. It's called blasphemy. It's a very serious sin. To put it bluntly, it is like spitting in God's face after He has created you. (Exodus 20:7)

Furthermore, God commanded us to do good to others: honor your father & mother, do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony against your neighbor, and do not be jealous of your neighbor.

Three

Imagine Going to Heaven

Everybody has an idea what heaven will be like but how many people are certain of entering it? Suppose you go to heaven, how long will it take before someone drops the ball and heaven turns into widespread chaos with people hurting one another?

In the first book of the Bible, it is recorded that God threw Adam & Eve out of paradise. How many sins had they done? Just one. Now, how many times have you failed to give your attention to God and to obey His word since you got out of bed today?

You may think that God knows your heart (and He sure does) but God doesn't listen to your prayers if you continue living in sin (John 9:31). Just as a best friend whom you keep disrespecting in front of everyone would not continue to enjoy your friendship.

The prophet Isaiah wrote this about God to an evil Jewish generation in his time, "[...] your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Ch. 59)

In another passage in the Bible, the prophet Habakkuk acknowledges this about God in his prayer to Him, "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing." (Ch.1)

Since God does not hear sinners because He is too pure to tolerate wrongdoings, how can anyone enter into His presence?

How will anyone go to heaven?

Four

Your Great Achievement

Just in case you think you can still get to heaven by your good works, allow me to show you an analogy:

Suppose your life is like a final exam. Your score is 98%. Once you meet other students who took a similar test and passed, what do you talk about with each other? You will probably be talking about how well you all did your test. You will be patting each other on the back, singing how great you are. You will be proud and feel superior to those who failed the test. Everyone who passes will take all the credit and give none to the teacher.

This is what this analogy is trying to point out: If you go to heaven because you lived a good life (only making a few mistakes here and there) you will be boasting in your righteousness among other believers. But it is written in the Bible that no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law. (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16)

Consider this verse, "God resists the proud and He gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)

Five

The Solution

Okay, what now? How does anyone receive salvation if no one can earn it by their good deeds?

It's very simple and clear.

You see, we broke the law of God. Therefore, we deserve His justice. Think of it as you are standing before a judge in a court of law: you broke the law by stealing a package from the Mayor's porch. The video captured the evidence in vivid colors. Your excuses don't cancel out the judgment set against you as the gavel is about to hit the table. The amount that you must pay for your wrongdoing is too high. In reality, the wages you must pay for your sins are even greater because you have committed them against God.

The Bible reports that we have all sinned and fallen short of giving due glory to God (Romans 3:23). As a matter of fact, it says in the 18th chapter of Ezekiel, the soul who sins shall die. Remember when we talked about respect in Chapter 2? Well, that's what it is: when you disrespected God throughout your life on earth, you reap what you have sown: your well-deserved punishment. Is this what you want?

Our fallen world shows how sin destroys people who are enslaved to it and where it leads to eternal condemnation in the fiery lake. BUT GOD demonstrated His love toward sinners by sending Jesus Christ. Jesus perfectly reflects the image of the invisible God. And He voluntarily came to save us from our sins by paying the death penalty we deserve. He bore our shame upon Himself and died on a cross at our place and then, He was buried (but He wasn't left in the grave to rot). He resurrected on the 3rd day and 40 days later, He ascended to heaven to sit down on His throne next to His Father.

The Bible says that God is commanding all people to repent of their sins and turn to Him. It is an urgent warning because He has set a day on which He is going to judge everyone's secret lives in righteousness by the Lord Jesus Christ. ​(see Acts 17:30)

The First Coming

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

John 3:16-21

The Gospel's Call

Friend, take God's pardon today. Do not put it aside!

Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)

Six

REPENT

The most common translation of "repent" is "turn". God commands everyone to turn from their evil ways and renounce their detestable practices. (Acts 17:30)

TRUST

Believe in Jesus' gospel. In other words, trust in the finished work & the person of Jesus Christ as you would trust a parachute.

FOLLOW

Learn from Jesus Christ by following Him, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:29). Jesus also said, "Come, follow Me, and I will send you out to fish for people." (Matthew 4:19)