Can We Do Enough?

  We had a good teaching on this subject a few weeks back. The question was this, "At what point do we do enough to be reconciled to God?" The answer is, we can't do enough ourselves to be reconciled with God! Before we understand and receive the gift of eternal salvation, we stand in front of God as filthy sinners, or as God's Word say's as His enemy! We can not do enough good works, say enough good things or go to church enough to be reconciled to God. There is only one way to be justified and that is through Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore, having be justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received access by faith into grace, in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." So it's only by faith, by trusting in the gospel of Jesus, trusting that the sacrifice He made for us, was powerful enough to save us from our sins and not just our sins from the point of salvation back but all of our sins. Even those sins that we may stumble with and commit in the future. We may trust with all of our hearts that Jesus paid our debt in full, that when Jesus said "It is finished", that He meant that. We must trust that Jesus paid our debt in full, not in part, in full means Jesus paid for ALL of our sin debt not just those we committed before our rebirth!
  In order to be justified, we must also be reconciled. Romans 5:10-11 says, "For if when we were 

enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." Only through Jesus do we receive reconciliation with God, which justifies us in God's eyes! How does this happen, Romans 3:26 says, God imputes Jesus' righteousness on us and in Romans 4:6, God imputes righteousness apart from works. Showing us that we can never do enough to earn our own reconciliation with God! Here is the amazing part, after Jesus robes us with His righteousness, He then takes our sins, filthiness, unworthiness and imputes it on Himself forever! And then makes us one of many promises, Romans 4:7-8 says, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” That's right never to impute sin upon His child again and we stand in front of God now, after salvation, perfect, sin free, in His eyes just like Jesus! But still in a sinful body, with a nature that we will wrestle with sin until the final day and we receive a perfect body! But we are still perfect in God's eyes!

  How is that possible you might ask? Simple, Romans 8:1-3 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin:...". For those are the key words "no condemnation for those who are IN Christ Jesus," you see we have to truly abide in Jesus fully, putting your full trust in Him. 

  Is this a license to sin and continue in the lifestyle you live, NO! If you have repented of your sins, you won't want to. Repent means, to turn away from sin completely.  You will stumble and even fall  but like the "The Forgiving Father",  He is there to pick you up with open arms! So again, can we do enough to earn our own reconciliation with God? The answer is no, Jesus has already done it for us if we will trust Him and abide in Him!