FRIENDS WITH GOD

Col. 1:22b-23 You were his enemies separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

You were an enemy of God. Your evil thoughts and actions kept you seperated from Him. No one can claim otherwise. We were born into sin and stayed in our sins until we opened up our hearts to Christ. If you haven't done that yet, you are still a sinner, an enemy of God. If you have turned to Christ and sought His forgiveness for your sins, you are now a friend of God. It's not something you have done; it's what Christ has done for you.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins. God took on our humanity, lived a sinless life on earth, went to the cross of Calvary, took our sins, guilt, and shame upon His own heart, and died for our sins so that He can bring us into the presence of God. When Jesus died, He broke down all barriers that kept us from God. He went back to heaven and now serves there as our way to God. In Christ we are made holy and blameless, able to draw near to God. In Christ, and only in Christ, we are able to stand before God without fault.

We are then compelled to stay in close fellowship with Christ. We must strive to let Him always be Lord of our lives. We must stand guard over our souls and quickly confess our sins to Him when we do sin, and we do. We must stay in God's Word so that we will recognize our sins. We must understand our constant need to live in Christ. Otherwise, we will not be able to draw near to God. We cannot approach God on our own; we need Jesus.