Extreme Life Ministries "Extreme Realization Tract"

The Extreme Reality
      His Extreme Sacrifice
              and Our Extreme Challenge

To understand Christ’s suffering, His Extreme Sacrifice on the cross and why He gave His life to rescue ours, we must first understand
the Extreme dilemma that faces all of us in the human race. Our extreme dilemma is sin! The selfish, mean, ugly and impure things we all do.
Sin separates us from Almighty God and leads to death (Is 59:1-2). God is Holy and Righteous, while we are all spiritually and morally impure,
meaning; unholy and unrighteous, unlike God (Lev.10:3). Two such beings cannot coexist. It is a supernatural law. It would be like butter trying to
occupy the same space as a block of steel. It can’t happen. No matter how much force you use and regardless of how much you want it to (Ex. 33:18-20)

God created us to be and desires us to be in relationship with Him, but despite the Lord’s warning and instruction, Man’s choosing to sin and disobey, severed that relationship
completely. Not just original sin, but, that sin nature has been passed on to all of us and continues to feed the chasm that separates us from relationship with God (Romans 5:12).
Sin is real, it’s all around us, it’s in us, coming from us, effecting others in proximity to us and ultimately working death and destruction for all (James 1:13-15).

The “Extreme Reality” is that we are all guilty and in serious trouble! Living in peril without the Lord in this life and heading for eternal punishment, suffering and
torment in the next. Alienated from the Lord who made us and wants to guide us, by the sin nature that we were all born with and sadly choose to remain in.
We are terminal generations, doomed beings, completely at risk and desperately needing to be rescued (Romans 1:18).

Most people, especially in America, don’t feel they need to do anything. You see, most people when asked “why will God accept you into heaven?” or
“how can you be right with God?” will reply with something like “cause I’m a good person” or “I’m doing my best and I try to help and not hurt people” Sound familiar?
Yeah, I’ve said stuff like this too (Pr. 20:6). The truth, if you dare to know it, is that if this sums up where you’re at and how you plan on getting into heaven
and be right with God, you are using a faulty premise and means, and like me you are in trouble! Big trouble! Eternal trouble! To use our own goodness as the merit
for our entering God’s heaven would be like someone violently using the wrong key to open a lock. It is a key, but, if it’s not the right key it doesn’t matter how much force
or effort you use, it just won’t work (\John 14:6). That’s like religion or man‘s trying to be “good enough.” Man is trying to get right with God on his own, using the wrong key.
No amount of religious force or activity will make us right with the Lord and earn us heaven (Romans 3:20-23).

We all know we sin. Really! It may be way down there, buried under a mountain of denial, but we know it’s there. God has given us a tool, a utility if you will, to alert us and make
us aware of sin in our lives. It’s called the conscience. The word conscience means; “with knowledge”. So we all have built in to our being a mechanism that gives us the
awareness of sin, of doing wrong and the danger that is connected to it. The conscience is a gift the Lord has given to all of us (Rom. 2:15). The tool that God uses to activate our
conscience is the Law, His Commandments. Like a key that’s used to start a car. A car may run perfectly, but, without the key that was made for that car, it can’t be started. You
must have the right key. God’s Law, the Ten Commandments is the right key that starts our conscience. The Commandments don’t help us get to heaven, by obeying them,
because we can’t. No one can! They were designed to leave us helpless and see our need of the Savior (Eph. 2:8-10). Try it! Ask yourself if your really as good a person as
you think you are after your conscience is stirred by the Law of God (The 10 Commandments). Which is His definition of good. The Commandments are the Lord’s standard,
which none of us can meet fully. Remember, Most of us feel God will let us into heaven cause we’re good people and doing our best (Pr. 14:12). Give it a try…

~Ever stolen anything? Regardless of the value or cost. Taken something that didn’t   belong to you? God’s Law says “You shall not steal” -The 8th Commandment.
~Ever told a lie? A fib? White lie? God’s Law says “You shall not lie” -The 9th Commandment.
~Ever dishonored your parents? God’s Law says “You shall honor your father and your mother” -The 5th Commandment.
~Ever coveted (wanted) something that belonged someone else? God’s Law says “You shall not covet what is your neighbor’s” -The 10 Commandment.

Based on this look at just a few of the commandments, do you think Almighty God, who knows everything and who is Holy and Righteous thinks your good based on how you
measure up to the Commandments, which is His definition of good? (Gal. 3:10) Would He find you guilty or innocent based on the discovery you made by looking into the few
Commandments above? If you said guilty then welcome to the club, there’s a lot of us. In fact, it’s all of us! (Rom. 3:19)

So, our Extreme Dilemma is that none of us are good enough to appease God’s justice, standard and judgment on our own. The bible says “all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God” ( Rom. 3:23) and that “there is none righteous, no not one.” (Rom. 3:10) For someone to receive the cure they must know that they’re sick (Matt. 9:12-13).
For someone to receive and appreciate freedom, they must know they’re in prison (John 8:31-36). Most people today don’t know that by hanging on to the “I’m a good person”
argument, they are already condemned and have one foot in the hell flames. Are you bummed? Scared? Concerned? Good! You should be! Know you’re ready for the good
news and ready to receive help. Hopefully! (John 3:15-20)

The good news is that God is not only great, but, He is good too! And in His goodness, He chose to rescue us and show us who He is by sending Jesus, His only begotten (one
of a kind) Son to the earth He created to live a perfect life and then lay it down to be a sacrifice for us. To take the punishment that was due us in his Extreme sacrifice by
suffering for us and giving His life on the cross (Isaiah 53:3-10). It was once said, that Jesus took all of our sin and so He could give us all of His righteousness; right standing
with God (2Cor. 5:21). He suffered and died in our place (1Pet. 3:18). He gave Himself to satisfy divine justice. This is the good news and the greatest gift. And like all gifts it
has to be accepted and received. It’s not enough to only believe. We must act on our belief and receive what Christ did for us (Rom. 6:23, John 1:12).

If you were receive a million dollars, a billion, a trillion, no, all the money in the world, it would not be as great a gift as the forgiveness of sin and eternal life through the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see, we are all going to life forever. The question is; were will you spend eternity? With the Lord in His glory and splendor, sharing all that is His, or in the torment of
the hell flames and the lake of fire. It’s your choice. The Lord is not willing that anyone is lost to the second death, but the choice is yours (Matt. 18:14). He has done all that is
necessary for us to escape the judgment, wrath and torture that is due all of us who have violated His commands and deserve to suffer eternally for those crimes against Him,
heaven and our fellow man (Col. 1:19-23). If you reject Jesus, His suffering in your place and His gift of grace, mercy and forgiveness, then you will remain in your sin and face
the doom of going before God the Father in judgment without the only thing that can appease His wrath, which is; believing the truth of God’s Word and receiving by faith the
redeeming shed blood of his Son Jesus Christ (John 8:24, 2Thes. 1:7-8). God not only desires to give you eternal life with Him forever, but, desires you to have an abundant
and purpose filled life in the here and now (John 10:10, John 17:3). Again the choice is yours (Rom. 10:13). Our challenge to you is to choose life, the life that is found in a
personal relationship with Christ. Trusting Him alone to present you to the Father in that moment when your eternal destiny will be decided. Life in Him is the greatest
gift on earth, but like all gifts, it is to be received. Receive Him today and know His love, partnership and presence forever (John 1:12).


                 Receive Him Today! 2 Cor. 6:2