All of the great and wondrous blessings that are part of this salvation come as gifts from God. Through the work of Christ God brought to an end the state of war that had existed between us and Him and He made us His dear friends. Then He entrusted is this message that brings peace with God.
Every man who insists on being the king of his own life is in a state of war with God, whether he knows it or not. Because Christ bore our sins God no longer has to punish us for the things we have done – as long as we accept this message that brings our personal war with God to an end and makes us His dear friends.
In our ministry we act much like ambassadors from God’s kingdom with a message for each and every little kingdom of “self” that is in a state of rebellion against God. When we speak we speak His very words; we communicate His own personal peace proposal to everyone we meet, literally begging them to accept God’s peace proposal through Christ.
God took Christ, who was totally free from the taint of sin and completely pure in thought, word, and deed, and He literally poured our sins out on Him. Christ took every last particle of our taint and our guilt and in its place He gave us His own purity and righteousness to have as our very own. In the sight of God, if you are in Christ, you are just as pure and holy as God Himself is!
And in our partnership with God in this ministry we plead with you to ignore the false teachers in Corinth right now who are trying to get you to believe in a different gospel. You have received the grace of God through faith but that faith will only save you if you continue in it.[1]
Through the prophet Isaiah God said that “at the appointed time I will respond to your need and save you.” What we are saying is this. This is that appointed time. This is the “day of salvation.” This is your only hope. If you turn away from it there will be no salvation for you and you will be destroyed.
[1] “By which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.” I Corinthians 15:2
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