A Divine Diagnosis
Just as with any visit to the doctor’s office, before the necessity of treatment can be ascertained, there must be a proper diagnosis to determine what is wrong. Likewise before one perceives the need for salvation, there must first be evidenced the deficiency of righteousness and holiness, both of which God requires of all of us:
MATTHEW 5:48
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
1 PETER 1:16
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The Ten Commandments (found in EXODUS 20), as well as the Law in general, found throughout the Old Testament, is God’s righteous standard, a yard stick so to speak, to see how we all measure up. Even a superficial overview of the Ten Commandments will snag every one of us, yours truly included, in at least one point.
Failure to obey God’s command is generally known as ‘sin’. One may endeavor in all sincerity to obey God’s law, but never quite obtain a perfect performance. We “fall short of the mark” much like a contestant at a carnival, who, with hammer in hand, tries to strike the bell high above, but as he strikes, the iron ball rises, only to fall back down, without sounding the bell. He has fallen short of the mark, he has failed.
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