Verses to read:
Romans 3:23; Proverbs 28:13; 1John 1:7-9; John 14:15; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 2:8; 2Corinthians 12:9
Last Month I had the chance to sit in on a military court marshal. This is the equivalent of a civilian court proceeding. The Airman who was being tried had gotten in a wreck while driving drunk and got a DUI. His friend and him left the bar and got in his car to drive home, a few blocks away from the bar he slammed in to the back of a parked Thunderbird. Luckily no one was seriously injured. his friend had a minor concussion and some broken ribs. But what if he had hit a moving car? he could have died, or killed an innocent bystander.The civilian courts turned the prosecution of this case over to the military, so he was tried in the military court system.
The court case started off with an explanation of the charges and then the prosecutor called up their witnesses and each one told about exactly what happened. the Police officer told about how bad he failed the field sobriety test, how he had a .23 BAC, and the way he acted when he was arrested. The nurse from the hospital told of administering the Blood test. His friend told exactly what he remembered from the night.
The Defense then called up their witness, The Airman's supervisor, who talked about how great of an airman he was and all the things he had accomplished. He was truly a top of the line Airman, he had made Senior Airman BTZ (he made the next rank six months early), he was put in charge of projects that were above his pay grade, he had a very long list of volunteer activities and all the positive things he had done and he had volunteered for multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was what we call a "stellar Airman."
After this both sides said their closing arguments and they both recommended to the Judge what punishment he should receive. The Prosecutors argued that because he had committed the crime he should receive a harsh punishment. The defense argued that because he was such a stellar Airman, and he was such a good asset to the Air Force that the Judge shouldn't punish him, or only give him a minor punishment, After all, this was the first time he ever messed up or got in trouble.
The Judge ended up giving him a strict punishment. He lost one stripe (rank), a half of a months pay was taken, he wasn't allowed to leave base for 15 days, and he had to work hard labor for 45 days.
I do a lot of witnessing, and one common thing I come across more than anything, is that people think that their goods will make up for the bad they have done. Most people feel that they are good (Proverbs 20:8) and that God will let them in to heaven because of how much good they are done. This is a lot like this Airman. He thought that because he was such a good Airman the Judge should let him go. He hoped that the judge would see all the good he has done and overlook the bad. But the judge couldn't do that. Because the Judge is just, and must uphold the law, he had to punish the Airman for the DUI. If he had let the Airman go, he wouldn't have been a righteous judge at all.
The Bible says that God will judge the world in righteousness (Psalm 96:13), And because he is a good Judge he cant overlook even the smallest sin. In fact, He tells us in his word that we will be judged for EVERY idle word we ever speak. (Matthew 12:36-37). Every sin we commit will be brought before Gods Judgment and we will have to give an account for it. The punishment for sin is eternity in Hell. (Romans 6:23) No matter how much good we do, God will never look at our good deeds and overlook our sin. The bible says that People who practice sin will not inherit the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21) Just like the Airman, you can beg and plead for God to forgive you, you can promise you will change, you can masquerade all of your good deeds in front of him, but he says that is all just a filthy rag (Isaiah 64:6-7) It is like trying to bribe God with your works.
But at the same time, God loves us so much (John 3:16) that he made a way for us to get out of the punishment that we deserved. He sent his Son to live a perfect life, then die a sinners death on the cross. When he did that he took every single ounce of punishment we are owed upon himself. He made a way for us to be forgiven, not because of what we do, but because of what he already did (Ephesians 2:8). His Grace is sufficient. His strength upon that cross covered us. When we are weak, it shows how strong he is. (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Jesus wants us to obey him. He told us that if we love him we will obey him (John 14:15). But we obey him because we love him. It is not to try and earn our way into heaven. Jesus gave you us a free gift with his salvation, and when we try to earn our way in its like we are trying to pay for that gift. but our payment is pathetic. It could never add up to the cost of his sacrifice. When he died on the cross he forgave all of our sins, past, present and future. And we know that if we confess our sins to him, and turn away from them, he will forgive us completely. (1John 1:7-9) no matter how bad of a sin it is, no matter what you have done, Jesus's sacrifice at Calvary covered it. He paid your fine in full and he is ready to forgive you , All it takes is trust. Just trust that he died for your sins and was resurrected 3 days later. You might not feel worthy of his forgiveness, but the truth is, that none of us our. every single one of us are filthy, sinful, wretched people. We deserve nothing less than death. But Jesus gave us what we don't deserve. he gave us life, eternally.
PRAYER IDEAS
- Ask God to Search heart, to make sure you aren't trusting your own righteousness
-Thank God For his Sacrifice
-Praise God For how great he is
-Confess your sins, even the deepest darkest sins of your heart
- Ask the holy spirit to humble you so you may trust fully in Jesus's sacrifice.
- Pray for the salvation of those that dont know Jesus.
Thank you Alex!!! I LOVE your posts!!!!
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