(Rom. 3:23) "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Have you ever asked yourself what this verse means? Well it means that if you are a human being no matter how good or righteous you are, because of your sin, your righteousness and glory can never equal or be good enough to get you into heaven. Why, because you fall short of the standard that God has set up, and that standard is the righteousness and glory of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, God gave the world the ten commandments not to save, but to explain to us why and how it is that we fall short. (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." And that is why God sent Jesus, for man from birth is under the condemnation or judgment of God. We therefore need God's help to cover our sin to stand righteous before God. Therefore, to be justified and free from the condemnation for sin, God sent Jesus to die in our place, and to pay the price for our redemption, which was the price of His innocent life and blood. God therefore came himself to be our justifier, and Christ His Son the innocent one. (3:26) "To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." Thus, enters Faith. All that is required to be righteous enough to get into heaven, is to by Faith believe and receive God's pardon by trusting not in our works, but rather in the finished work of Christ.
( Gen 41:41-43) “And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt... A nd he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.” When Joseph was introduced to us in chp.37, he was a young inexperienced 17 year old boy, and yet 13 years later God raised him up to rule the nation of Egypt. So, what made him different ? The Answer : “ Time,” and his faith in God ! You see time is a wonderful teacher; 1) Time strengthens endurance . Endurance and faith can only be strengthened over time. Like exercise, we start out not able to do much but over time we find that we can do more. You see, God allows us to go through the ups and downs of life, to help us gain not only spiritual maturity, but also spiritual abilities. Spiritual endurance therefore enables us to handle life’s trials better. 2) Time strengthens patience . Although Joseph, ...
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