A Better Way of Life?

Dear Fellow Travelers,
Who deserves the most severe punishment? We all do!!—every last one of us—which is why we do NOT want God to be fair. “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks (you and I) are all under sin, as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one (this includes you and me, especially me); there is none who understands (why can’t we get this?), there is none who seeks for God (so much for the ‘seeker-friendly’ mentality that pervades the church today); all have turned aside, together they have become useless (gosh!); there is none who does good, there is not even one (eliminates you and me, even the Pope!)’” (Romans3:9-12; parenthetical comments, mine).
You see, the poor, old chap who was stoned to death for picking up sticks got what he deserved because he fell into the above category, not because he violated one of the Ten Commandments. He, like you and I, was born in Adam—a sinner, who could not make it on his own, especially, if doing something as benign as picking up sticks would cause him to fail the test for righteousness. You see, his birth was his problem, NOT his behavior. He could not please God by keeping the rules because keeping rules does not please God—never has, never will. It is only Jesus, who pleases God, and, thankfully, He pleased Him in your behalf, i.e. IF (and only IF) you are one of those He chose for redemption.
It is obvious to me (and I have been around the block a time or two!) that the mes-sage of the church today (sadly!) is that Jesus came to show us how to live a better life, to be an example for us to follow, to help us improve our ability to obey the Ten Commandments. Folks, this is NOT why Jesus came, not even close! The message of the gospel is not what most seem to think; it is not “if you obey God, He will bless you with health, wealth, and wisdom”! Listen up! Jesus came because God knew that were incapable of righteousness on our own! He came to accomplish for you what you not only could never accomplish on our own, but also what you did not desire (and could not desire) to accomplish on your own, or with His help for that matter. He came to create a new creation in Christ Jesus, not a remodeled version of a corpse (we are born into the world dead to God!). As an embalmer, I “remodel” corpses all the time, but, inevitably, when I finish, all I have is a dressed-up dead man (or woman). Trust me, God did much more than that for His elect! He gave us the very life of Jesus!!
By the way, if you are one of those who believes that Jesus came to show you a better way to live your life, you are also one of those who tramples underfoot the Son of God and regards the blood of the New Covenant as unclean, and insults the Spirit of grace.
Please give this some thought--