The New Testament book of Romans 4:3-9: For what saith
the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Even as (King) David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works,
Saying,
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute
sin.
Cometh this blessedness then upon
the circumcision only (Jews), or upon the uncircumcision (gentiles) also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness.
God counts, or reckons
us righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. He imputes his righteousness to those who believe in Jesus.
You can pray and ask The Lord Jesus Christ to come into your heart, right
now, and get everlasting life. New Testament book of Romans 10:9-11:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed.
No matter what happens, believers in Jesus Christ are permanently SEALED for heaven.
The New Testament book of Ephesians says:
Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints (Christians) which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in
Christ Jesus: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
grace; .....
That we should be to
the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory.
What tremendously hopeful words --- "believed, trusted, sealed, earnest." God gives
believers in Jesus Christ, the "earnest" (like earnest money, or down-payment) of his Holy Spirit, certifying,
sealing us, promising us, that he will come back to claim us (his purchased possession.)
See my page: They Came to Jesus -- where three people came to Jesus, in the New Testament, right before our eyes.
The New Testament book of
John has many comforting statements by Jesus Christ: Jesus said,
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.
For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth
on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God. (John3:14-18)
This passage is based on an account in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 21.
And the people spake against God, and against Moses,
Wherefore
have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul
loatheth this light bread.
And the LORD
sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to
Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away
the serpents from us.
And Moses prayed
for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass,
that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
We should notice that it is a very dangerous thing even
to speak against God or his workers. But God made a miraculous way for them to be saved.
A person only needed to do
a believing “look” at the brass serpent and he or she was immediately healed.
Also see my web page: They Came to Jesus
Please notice that this great hope comes with carefully believing or trusting
in Jesus Christ.
And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him
that sent me.
And this is the Father's
will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day.
And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the
last day.
The Jews then murmured at him,
because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven (New Testament book of John 6:35-40).
In the above passage everyone who “sees and believes” gets “everlasting
life.” What a blessing that as soon as you get it, it is “everlasting” from that point on.
Wow!
The New Testament book of Romans (chapter 3 and 4) explains
that a person is “reckoned righteous” on the basis of faith.
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference:
For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,
to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just,
and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but
by the law of faith.
Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also:
Seeing it is
one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through
faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh,
hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto
him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Even as (King) David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin. Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that
faith was reckonedto Abraham for righteousness.
How
was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he
received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:
that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not
circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the
circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
For the promise, that he should be the
heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise
made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who
is the father of us all,
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed,
even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many
nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years
old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
He
staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to
perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification.
Again,
See my page, They Came to Jesus, for three examples of people who did exactly this, right before our
eyes.
