Tainted "goodness" is not goodness at all

Are you depending on your own goodness to get to Heaven? Do you think that since you go to a certain church, perform that certain good deed, or that you've been baptized, confirmed, or walked an isle somewhere God will overlook your sin?  God cannot overlook your sin.  His very nature demands He punish every one of your sins.  God's standard is perfection. He does not grade on a curve. For us to get to Heaven by being a "good" person, we must have never sinned even once, we must be perfect. God demands perfection.  But the reality is that you have sinned, and so have I. We both rightfully deserve Hell. We have piled up a huge sin debt to God throughout our lives that we can never repay. We also continue to add to the enormous sin debt every single day.  Furthermore, our good works do not make up for our sins.  We are a debtor with no means to pay off our debt.  In fact there is nothing we can do to offset, or pay for our own sin debt.  Any attempt to do so is a bribe to the Judge of the Universe, and a stench in the nostrils of a Holy God.  He will not accept our payment since it is tainted with sin.  We have no hope.   The penalty for our sin is death & eternal Hell.  The only payment a Holy God can accept for our debt is from someone who is also Holy and sinless.  Only They can pay off our unpayable sin debt for us. 

Almighty God humbled Himself to step down from the Glories of Heaven to pay our unpayable debt Himself. The King of kings & Lord of lords, became a man, clothed Himself in human flesh, was born of a virgin, born in a simple stable in order to die in your place, to pay your sin debt. Jesus Christ, Son of God, through Whom everything was created, through Whom everything is held together, came to Earth to bear our sin and pay our debt. No one else was qualified to do it.  God the Father poured out His great Wrath on His Own Beloved Son Jesus Christ on the cross to punish Him as though He had committed my sin & yours.  In 3 hours on the cross, Jesus Christ bore the punishment for the sin debt of humanity.  Jesus Christ suffered and died in our place.  He paid our sin debt in His own blood.  He died to purchase me for Himself, for His glory!  God can legally give a sinner mercy because someone already paid their sin debt. The penalty for our sin is death, and Jesus Christ died in our place. 

We can add nothing more to what has already been paid.  God alone can save us from His Wrath by virtue of our repentance and faith in Jesus Christ because God's Wrath was already poured out on His Own Son.  If we humble ourselves, confess and forsake our sin (repent), and put our trust totally and exclusively in Jesus Christ, God will forgive our sins, and save us. 

Have you done that? Have you repented from your sin & put your trust totally & exclusively in Jesus Christ & what He accomplished on the cross?  You may ask, how do I do that?  Call out to God.  Confess you sins to Him (you know what they are).  Ask God to forgive you, and save you.  Give your life completely to Him, and from this day forward live for Him.  Read the Bible every day and obey what it says.  None of us is guaranteed another day.  Don't wait.  Do it TODAY!