Religion or Repentance

Have you ever been in a court room? Hopefully not; but if you have you will agree it’s not a pleasant place to be and especially if you are the one who is seeing the judge.  Legal documents, legal procedures, and legal languages, which may or may not be understood. I remember not long ago sitting in a court room with another person. They called a young lady to present her case.  She approached the Judge without a lawyer and she didn’t do very well at all. Later that same day another lady's case was called and she too was not represented by a lawyer. As she presented her case she called her only witness, and as I turn to see this lady walking toward the front of the court room it was the same lady who earlier had lost her case. Needless to say that lady lost her case too. I learned that day that it was not a good idea to stand before a judge without a lawyer. If we were to stand before the Heavenly Judge (God) to present our case how would we present ourselves?  Would we present ourselves by telling God that we were a good person as well as kind to others, gave some money to others from time to time; to sum things up we were better than most.  With our religion? Religion may do a lot of things but it can never save the human soul. The Apostle Paul before he gave his life to Christ was named Saul. He had religion and it was his religion that drove him into the blackness of antipathy against the Lord Jesus and against His followers. Then we read of this man Saul giving his life to the Lord Jesus and being redeemed. You see we that have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have a lawyer

1John 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (intercessor, consoler, comforter) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1John 2:2  And he is the propitiation (atonement, payment ) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Let’s get this straight; we as God’s children have an intercessor Jesus Christ and He has already paid the payment for our sins. Is that not what we just read? We as Gods children have a lawyer but did you notice something else “not for our sins only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Even those who like Saul were busy putting Gods people in prison and killing those who refused his request 

Acts 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.  Paul asked the High Priest to write letters of authorization to the synagogue leaders in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted to arrest any man or woman who followed the way of Christ and imprison them in Jerusalem. We just can’t get away from the love of God 

John 3:16  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.

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

John 3:18  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.

We have all had our sins paid for but have you accepted the payment? Religion or Repentance? Payment in full or Debt.