The average 'weekday' newspaper circulation in America is around 56 million, and the Sunday circulation is around 60 million. It takes 500,000 trees each week just to make all the Sunday papers in America, and around 2.5 million trees to make all of America's newspapers for one week. In an average lifetime, an American reads around 5,000 newspapers. But in all of these millions of newspapers, you will never hear this Good News. Please read on.
The Bible says all men, by nature and practice, are sinners. The sinner's own sins bring guilt and fear to his conscience and soul; consequently, he seeks to establish his own self-righteousness in an attempt to save and prepare himself to meet God at death. This attempt is fatal and futile. All man's conceits about his past righteousnesses must by completed torn down. Men flatter themselves that all is well with them, because they have been baptized, or have come to communion, or have done some other outward religious ceremony. There are millions of souls who are resting upon mere self-goodness and ceremonies. Some base their confidence on the fact that they have never indulged in the grosser sins, they confess to have done their best to be honest. They have tried to be good mothers and wives, dads and husbands, and have been charitable to their neighbors. But these self-righteous rags must be stripped off their sinful souls before they can be really saved by the grace of God.
No man can put on the robe of Christ's righteousness until he has taken off his own natural self-righteous rags. Christ will never just play a part in your salvation - He must do it all or nothing. He must be your Savior alone without any help from you at all. Christ Jesus lived a sinless life 2,000 years ago without your help, He suffered on the Cross alone, and He rose again the third day without any of your good works. You must be saved by Him alone, resting on Him entirely, and counting your self-righteousness to be dung and and filthy rags, or else you can never be really saved at all. Self-goodness must come down in the dust, and Christ's goodness must be exalted. Self-righteousness must be forsaken completely, and you must make room for the righteousness of Jesus (His perfect holiness) alone; otherwise, true salvation can never be yours. You may think highly of yourself now, you may say, "I've never killed anyone, I've never committed a crime, I've never committed adultery." You think that God will overlook all of your other secret sins, but He won't. Remember - the worst sin you can be guilty of is the rejection of the Son of God.
You must give up all self-confidence in your own resolutions, willpower, vows, and selfish endeavors to help save yourself, for the future, and come to rest the future where you rest your past sins, on Christ, and Christ alone. You confess that you have slipped and sinned in the past, but now you 'think' you can stand upright and do good enough to keep yourself safe from the wrath of God in the future, but this is only your self-sufficiency at work. When a sinner truly comes to know himself by the help of the Holy Spirit, he will flee immediately from his shack of self-righteousness into the eternal fortress of Christ's righteousness. You will never quit a single evil passion without the power of Blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost. Sin is only put away forever by the blood of the Great Sacrifice.
This is the Best News that a tongue ever had to tell. God was manifest in the flesh 2,000 years ago, and He was born into the world as a Jewish baby. God only became a man one time in history - His name was Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a sinless life, and went about doing good. He was betrayed and led away to judgment and crucifixion. Crowds did not greet Jesus the day He was crucified, not one friend received Him, not a kind word from men did He hear. A howling mob took Him and mocked and beat Him. The Lamb of God did all this for you. He was offered bitter gall, despised, and forsaken by all men. For this cause Christ came to seek and save sinners. He had no place to call His home, He only owned the clothes on His back, and men gambled for them at the foot of the Cross. He bore your sin's shame, and suffered the wrath of God for you. He was spit upon and crowned with thorns. He came into this world to save sinners, because they were lost. He died upon Calvary's Cross voluntarily, He did all this for you. Christ Jesus' trial came and He was condemned to die, they cried out , "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" He was led away, and stripped naked. Through the gates of Jerusalem, He was led out to Calvary's hill to be nailed and die in your place. He did all this for you.
Christ Jesus was the most God-forsaken person that ever lived. Christ became SIN while hanging on the Cross that day and was made a curse for you. Your sins mutilated His body and drained His life's blood from His veins. Jesus received the stripes and nailed that were due to you. It was you personally that Jesus died upon the cruel Cross, He died in agony and shame. You really ought to have died there that day for your sins, but Jesus took your place. The cursing crowd that day around the Cross watched Him as His blood dripped from His brow, hands, and feet. God heaped up all of your sins in one great, crushing load and dropped it upon Jesus. Christ was the recipient of the wrath of God on the Cross; He took the full brunt for you sin. There is a mirror hanging on the Cross, come up close and see yourself in it, your sins and selfishness caused what happened to Jesus on the Cross.
It is hard for a self-righteous person to give up two things: all glorying and trust in past goodness, and all hope in any future goodness, from himself. It is the hardest thing for a self-righteous sinner to be a pauper and a beggar. Human nature is pitted against Christ's Righteousness. Men are ashamed to beg God for mercy. He refuses to come and knock at Mercy's door and ask for a hand-out, but only as a begging sinner can you come to God. You may think that you are good and excellent in a thousand ways, but remember, you MUST still come, just as the publican came, with this cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner." These are God's terms, and He receive you on no other. Please do not be proud and kick at God's ways, but simply submit to Christ's righteousness and dying love, let your sinful vanity and wicked pride be demeaned and confess that Jesus Christ is all in all to you for your salvation. By simple trust in Christ alone, God freely puts away your sins forever in a moment's time.
It is the sinful tendency in human nature to always try and find something to rest upon in ourselves, but there is no place to rest in us. Men trust in their imaginary goodness, and are very proud of it, and forget that Christ Himself is the only Person a sinner can trust in for salvation. Jesus must be all your GLORY and CONFIDENCE. Jesus Himself must be ENOUGH for you, or you must die and perish in your sins.
The reliance of a really saved soul is upon the Person, work, and righteousness of Jesus Christ Only. You must rest your soul's salvation alone upon Jesus. Lean your soul's whole weight upon God's Son. Christ's Cross is the only pillar of strength that a sin-sick sinner can lean upon - Christ will not fail you, He is all sufficient to redeem your soul from sin. Christ is the bleeding Sin-Bearer that paid all the debt of your sin upon Calvary's Cross. He is able to save you to the uttermost if you come to God through Him alone.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, died on the Cross of Calvary, bearing upon Himself all of your sins, and He made a full atonement, so that your sins could be forgiven freely by His rich mercy and bleeding love. Christ paid all your sin debt, you can go free. He was punished for every one of your sins, you can be acquitted. God cannot punish the same sin twice; if He punishes Christ for your sins, He will not punish you. But you must turn from your sins and selfish pride and place your entire trust in Christ alone. Rest on Him alone. Don't count your soul safe until you hang your soul on Christ.
Just like you would hang your coat upon a peg or nail, hang your soul's eternal safety on Christ's divine grace and love. Only Christ Jesus can hold your soul up at death. Depend only upon Him and you are saved freely, immediately, and forever. Rest on nothing less than Christ Himself, nor rest on anything more. The strength and security of Christ's will keep you safe. Simply hang your all upon the FINISHED WORK of Jesus Christ. You have nothing to glory in except Him, cast everything else aside, and rest as a helpless sinner upon Him. Rely entirely, solely, rest in Jesus Himself.
There is nothing whatsoever for you to DO of yourself, but simply to come by faith, just as you are, resting wholly upon HIM, to be saved from your sins. What is to save you is already done, Christ has done it all. The robe you must wear to enter Heaven is woven already; you don't have to sew one stitch of it to cover your sins. The fountain of blood you are to wash in is filled to brim; all you must do is simply step in naked and trust the Blood of Christ to cleanse you. Trust Christ, step into the fountain of blood, rely on Christ, depend on Christ, and salvation is DONE, and you are saved. When you trust Christ, you are safe now, safe all your life, safe at death, and safe in Heaven forever.
There is nothing whatsoever for you to DO of yourself, but simply to come by faith, just as you are, resting wholly upon HIM, to be saved from your sins. What is to save you is already done, Christ has done it all. The robe you must wear to enter Heaven is woven already; you don't have to sew one stitch of it to cover your sins. The fountain of blood you are to wash in is filled to brim; all you must do is simply step in naked and trust the Blood of Christ to cleanse you. Trust Christ, step into the fountain of blood, rely on Christ, depend on Christ, and salvation is DONE, and you are saved. When you trust Christ, you are safe now, safe all your life, safe at death, and safe in Heaven forever.
If you want to be saved from sin, death, and hell, you must rest alone upon the works of Jesus, not your past or future works at all. No matter how many black skeletons are rattling in your closet from your past sins, Jesus can erase them all with His blood. They are erased forever, what God does, He does forever. God forgives and forgets all your sins because of Christ's precious blood. This is Good News. However guilty you may be, simply believe this Gospel truth: Christ is able to save you, go and cast yourself on Him, rest on His finished work. If you simply and implicitly trust in Jesus' blood alone, He will be all your glory, defense and confidence.
