Law? Or Grace?

Romans Chapter 3

What advantage, then, is there in being of the tribes of Israel? What value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

So what if some did not believe? Would their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Of course not! So God is True even if every man is a liar.

As Psalm 51:4 says, "So that You may be proved right when You speak and prevail when You judge."

So God gave His Law to Israel, so they could demonstrate to the World how good life can be when His rules are followed. But, being human, they never did fully implement the kind of society God showed them in the Law, and they all ended up carried away into slavery. But He's not given up on them.

So we know that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law,

God's rules apply to all of His Creation: the Natural Laws and the Moral Laws.

so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole World held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; through the Law we become conscious of sin.

No one has ever yet been able to obey all of God's rules for living, either in the moral, financial, emotional or natural realms; we have all fallen short at one time or another, some more, some less. That is why "the ground is level at the foot of the Cross." 

There is no difference, for all have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of God, and are justified freely by His Grace through the Redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 

God presented Him as the Sacrifice of Atonement (full and absolute payment), through faith in His Blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--

Because all the animal sacrifices could only cover the sins, not pay off the debt to take them away.

--He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be Just and the One Who Justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Although Jesus' Blood can pay off the debt of everyone who ever lived, not everyone wants to come to Him. Only those who "seek Him with all their heart," will find Him. Those who choose any other way will not find Him. 

There is nothing we can do that will make God choose us, nothing we can do to convince Him that we deserve Heaven. Everything we do is contaminated by our sin-nature. (Isaiah 64:6 says that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy, uncleanable menstrual rags" in God's sight.)

All we can do is to believe that He already loves us more than we can imagine, and has already done all the "work" that needs to be done for our Salvation from our sins and our Redemption out of this painful, sorrowful World System. He can never love us more than He already does, and nothing can ever diminish His love for us. While we were still His enemies, Jesus Christ died in our place, that's how God loves us (Romans 5:8). 

So stop trying to get God to notice you. Give it up, and let Jesus take your sins, your death, on the Cross. Die to yourself. Then He will give you that New Life, in addition to the one you already have, and you will know that you are forgiven and cleansed, and see with New Eyes, know with New Understanding, and fall on your own knees to willingly give Him all the praise and glory.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!