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God Ain't Gonna Quit Ya

¹ What's so great about bein' a Jew and having your pickle clipped? ² Well, more than you might think! First off, God trusted them with his story. ³ Now some of them didn't believe his story. But just because some of them turned their backs on God, doesn't mean he's gonna turn his back on us. ⁴ God never screws up like we do. He don't screw up at all. The Good Book says, "You and truth are tied hard and fast. You are unfazed by rejection."

⁵ But if our sorry ways go to show just how good God is, why would God punish us for making him look good? (That's just the cowpuncher in me talkin'.) ⁶ That's foolish talk. God is completely fair and the only one qualified to judge the whole world. ⁷ Still others will argue, "If my lies reveal God's honesty, what is wrong with that?" ⁸ Others have gone on to twist our words and tell people we have said the more you sin the better it is for God. Those counterfeits will get what's comin' to 'em.

Ain't No One Perfect

⁹ Is it safe to say the Jews are better off than everyone else? Nope! Jews and outsiders (those who were not born Jews) are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ The Good Book says, "No one is good enough for God—not one single cowboy. ¹¹ Nobody is really wise; no one is even looking for God. ¹² They've all dropped their ropes; everyone is useless. Nobody is doing anything good, not a single one. ¹³ Gross things come from their mouth, like the smell from a rotting corpse. Their tongues are addicted to lies. Venom slips from their lips. ¹⁴ Their mouths curse and complain. ¹⁵ They are hotheaded and violent without cause. ¹⁶ Pain and tears follow their every move. ¹⁷ They've given up looking for peace. ¹⁸ They fear a rock in their boot more than they fear God."

¹⁹ The Code was given in the Good Book, not for others, but us. The Code doesn't tell us how to be perfect, it shows us that we are not and cannot be. ²⁰ No one is made right with God by following rules.

Right with God, Right in Faith

²¹ But God hasn't shunned us. He showed us a way to be right with him that wasn't keeping the requirements of the Code. ²² The only way we can be made right with God is by believing in his boy, Jesus Christ. This is for everyone.

²³ For all have been bucked off and fallen short of the glory of God. ²⁴ But God, because he loves us, makes us right in his eyes. He does this through his son, Jesus, who paid the price for our sins on the cross. ²⁵ God accepted Jesus's death on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for every cowboy's sin. The only way to be made right with God is to believe Jesus died for your sins. God showed he was being fair when he withheld the punishment for those in the past who had sinned. ²⁶ God knew what he was going to do with his son. That sacrifice covered everyone before and after. God did this to show he does the right thing every time. He makes even sorry cowboys flawless in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

²⁷ So do we have any bragging rights about being made right with God? Shoot no, we were made right because of what Jesus did, not because we followed the Code. ²⁸ Let me say this plain, you are made right with God through faith, not by obeying rules.

²⁹ Is God only a God of the Jews? Isn't he the God of the outsiders and day trash too? You know the answer is yes. ³⁰ There's only one God and only one way to be made right with him—faith in Jesus. And it doesn't matter if they are Jews, Gentiles, cowpunchers, or day trash. ³¹ Do we throw the Code away when we have faith? Not one bit. The Code shows us we need God to make us right with him. We can't do it on our own. That's why our faith makes the Code even more powerful.