Topic: From Alienation to Reconciliation [Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 12 August 2021]
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From Alienation to Reconciliation
- AUGUST 12, 2021
Daily In Touch Devotion THURSDAY12
2 Corinthians 5:14-21
One of the hardest truths for many nonbelievers to accept is that they’re enemies of God. Even though they aren’t close to the Lord, they still consider themselves good people. Surely, they think, I haven’t done anything bad enough to make myself His enemy. But the truth is, everyone begins life alienated from God because all mankind is born into sin (Psalm 51:5; Rom. 5:12).
To be saved, a person must first understand that the gap between perfect God and sinful man is vast. Human beings like comparing themselves with others to illustrate how good they are, but the standard for goodness isn’t other people; it’s a holy, perfect God. The only way to reach Him is through faith in His Son for forgiveness and reconciliation (John 14:6). Whoever rejects Christ’s offer of salvation simply cannot spend eternity with God.
Only the cross of Christ spans the gulf between alienation and reconciliation. Jesus took our sins upon Himself and underwent the punishment we deserved. Now any person who trusts in the Savior’s substitutionary atonement can enter into a new life of communion with God.
Bible in One Year: Jeremiah 12-14