accept or acceptable?

What is my "crazy", "intolerant", "fundamental Christian" friend posting now you ask yourself. Well... this is what it's all about, and likely why you find my constant "Faith oriented" posts annoying. You cannot be a marginal Christian or a moderate Christian, you're either in or your out... read on (it's long... but it could help answer some questions for you).

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I'd like to tell you that I'm a follower of Christ; I am, I'm a follower of Christ. But that's not enough, it's not enough to simply say that I am a follower of Christ.

I acknowledge His teaching, the Bible, as Good and True; and it is, the teachings of GOD are Good and True, but it's not enough that I acknowledge this fact.

I acknowledge that Jesus is GOD! And HE IS, Jesus IS GOD. But even the Demons acknowledge that.

I prayed a prayer, and I meant it. I meant every word; I want Jesus to save me from Hell. And HE WILL, He can and will save us from Hell. But it is not enough to simply utter a prayer, no matter how sincere we may feel.

What then is it that makes me a Christian? What is it that separates me from the demons? What separates me from the World and sets me apart as belonging to Christ? What makes me a Child of Almighty God?

You see. God is Holy, Holy means perfect, without blemish, unspoiled, the definition of GOOD, the benchmark of RIGHTEOUSNESS, the measure against which all things are held. GOD is that, and He shows us Himself in His WORD. HE is so HOLY, that HE, and only HE could have created the Universe, from nothing, into everything, in seven days. HE created us, HE created us to HONOR HIM; and we REBELLED against HIM, we disobeyed HIM. WE defined SIN, for you see, everything that is NOT of HOLINESS, is SIN, and we are it; WE ARE SIN. We made ourselves SIN in our disobedience; in that sin we are separated from GOD. LOST, condemned to our sin in judgement and wrath to suffer in this LIFE of DEATH and saturated in EVIL and an eternity of utter torment in HELL with those Demons who also acknowledge that Jesus is God.

You SEE, the consequence of SIN is DEATH. Bad things never happen to good people, because GOD is the benchmark of GOOD and we are the opposite of that because we are IN SIN - there are no "good people". We live out the consequence of sin in our separation from GOD, in our struggle for SELF, our love for numero uno! No imperfect thing can have relationship with a PERFECT GOD. This is our judgement, this is our curse.

BUT GOD, in HIS perfect, unblemished, completely RIGHTEOUS Holiness came to EARTH; HE came to Earth, suffered, bled and DIED as an ATONEMENT for us, in our SIN. In His perfection and perfect SINLESS sacrifice we may be made RIGHTEOUS before God. God will see us through the perfect sacrifice of CHRIST.

God is Sovereign, He is LORD. For us to be counted as His children it is not enough that we approach HIM and say, "Hey God... I accept you as Savior." Christ did not die on the cross and rise from the dead so that we would accept HIM, The redemptive work of CHRIST on the Cross was so that we might be made ACCEPTABLE to GOD!

WE are made right before GOD by humbly submitting ourselves to HIM, by making our lives a LIVING SACRIFICE for HIM. We are made right before GOD in repentance for our sin, by turning from EVERYTHING that is not of GOD and by turning to EVERYTHING that is of God; and by doing this not out of obligation but out of a deep desire to HONOR GOD. We are made right before GOD in the perfect sinless sacrifice of Christ on the cross and HIS conquering of DEATH and the grave by rising again. We are SAVED from our sin, from self, by abandoning ourselves to HIM in REPENTANCE and FAITH, that GOD might see us through the ATONING BLOOD of Jesus Christ. This is not salvation by WORKS, this is Salvation by REPENTANCE and FAITH. This is salvation by allowing the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD to completely reform our HEARTS and MINDS. This is salvation by throwing ourselves at the MERCY of a GOOD and HOLY GOD.

This SALVATION does not make us perfect, it makes us forgiven! It replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh and gives us the capacity to set our affections on things that HONOR GOD.

I CANNOT be a Child of GOD and live in a perpetual unrepentant state of SIN, it is contrary to that RELATIONSHIP in the most basic fundamental way.

Examine your HEART and know if you are HIS.

REPENT, turn from your sin and enter into a RELATIONSHIP of Repentance and Faith with a Holy God. The World will hate you for it, but it's supposed to, it HATES GOD too.