"and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless " 2 Peter 2:7
Pastor Chuck Smith said, if GOD can call Lot a righteous man, there is hope for me.
Noah Got drunk and passed out naked and God chose him , Abraham lied , and then God made an everlasting promise to him , Moses killed a man and then god chose him to lead israel out of bondage in Egypt , God chose David and made him king then David committed adultery plotted and had a man killed to cover his own sin up and God forgave David and promised him an eternal throne
Peter denied knowing Jesus , Paul tried to destroy Christianity before it got a foothold ect
truthfully God already knows this part
“for
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 3:23 KJV
and in his mercy he’s done this
“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.”
Romans 3:21-26 KJV
because we’ve all sinned and everyone is guilty by the law
“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 3:19-20 KJV
now there’s only one way to be saved , that’s what the gospel is all about saving people who acknolwedge their own sins and repent and turn back to God
So all those sinners proven by the law are made this offer now
“Incline your ear, and
come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:3, 6-7 KJV
in order for one to be forgiven we have to first acknolwedge our sins like David the chosen of God , did
“Have
mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And
cleanse me from my sin.
For
I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.”
Psalm 51:1-3, 7, 9-10
Christian’s aren’t perfect if we think we are we’re fooling ourselves we are imperfect and need desperately Gods mercy renewed each day we need to acknolwedge our sins when we recognize them and repent but the view of I must be perfect or God won’t call
Me righteous is not our God , our God already knows we all failed in perfection and he loves us and wants us anyways because we place our faith in Jesus