RECONCILED

2 Corinthians 5:18
All this newness of life is from God,
who brought us back to himself
through what Christ did.
And God has given us the task
of reconciling people to him.



In Bogota, Columbia, there is a Church called the Church of the Penitents that was built over 300 years ago by penitents who carried up two bricks for each sin committed. Now, if you think that penitent behavior reduces or removes your sins, you'd be sadly mistaken. You can only have new life in Christ Jesus if you allow Him to cleanse you of your sins in disobedience to God. Under no circumstance can we take credit for our being cleansed, which is why personal penitence is meaningless. Ephesians 2:8 teaches us, “God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” For one to have a new life in God, a person must understand that there aren’t enough works for us to do that would be worthy. Only God is powerful enough to reach down and reconcile man to Himself.