“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
Your Condition:
The Bible reveals that at birth you inherit a nature of sin from Adam. With this sin nature, you are also born in a state of spiritual death
(Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13)
In this spiritual death, there is nothing that you can do to save yourself. You need to be quickened (Ephesians 2:1), that is, you need to be made alive to God through Jesus Christ. This life comes only through the preaching of the Gospel and the converting work of God’s Holy Spirit in your life.
If you remain in your sinful state of spiritual death, you will ultimately face the wrath of Holy God (Romans 1:18; John 3:36) which is eternal suffering in a place called hell
(Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:14-15; Matthew 10:28)
Jesus Christ Died and Rose Again for Sinners:
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
This is the gospel! Jesus suffered and died for your sin (read John 19). He died by painful Roman crucifixion as your substitute; that is, He died in your place (2 Corinthians 5:21). When Jesus died, God’s full wrath against sin fell upon Him (Isaiah 53:10-11; Romans 15:3) When you surrender your life to Jesus Christ as Lord, the wrath of God is satisfied against you. Jesus bears God’s wrath for you fully!
Three days after Jesus died on the cross for your sin, He bodily arose from the dead by the power of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 1:4; Read John 20) Jesus is alive right now at God’s right hand waiting for God’s command for Him to come and destroy all of God’s enemies (Hebrews 10:12-13). Every lost sinner is the enemy of God! (Romans 5:10; Philippians 3:18; Colossians 1:21; James 4:4)
God Demands Repentance and Faith from You:
Because you are a sinner and because your sin made the death of God’s Son necessary, God calls for you to turn away from all of your sin. Repentance is both a gift from God (Romans 2:4) as well as a gospel duty (Acts 3:19). Repentance is a heart-felt forsaking of sin! Repentance is when you take sides with God against yourself and confess all your sin to him (1 John 1:9). Repentance is a godly sorrow over sin that leads to a change of behavior (2 Corinthians 7:10)
Faith is resting in and trusting in God’s ability to save through Jesus Christ! Faith means to rely upon God and to depend upon God to be able to save. Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9), but like repentance it is also a gospel duty (Acts 16:31). The call of God is for you to place all of your trust and faith in Jesus Christ and His work on your behalf on the cross.
You Must Surrender to Jesus as Lord:
The most frequently used title for Jesus in the New Testament is Lord. The call of God in the Gospel is for you to surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom.10:9-10)
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Rom.10:13)
Lord is the Greek word kurios which means Master, Controller, Ruler, Supreme Authority. Salvation is surrendering to Jesus Christ to be the Lord of your life! This means that when you come to Jesus for salvation, you are making a lifetime commitment to follow and obey Jesus and His Word. This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This is what it means to be saved! (Luke 6:46; 1 John 2:3-6; Matthew 7:21-22)
God’s Holy Spirit Will Draw You:
Jesus said, no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44, John 16:8-15) The Holy Spirit is God, and as God He draws us to the Savior, Jesus Christ, for salvation. We will never see the need of salvation until the Holy Spirit quickens us (Romans 3:10-12, Ephesians 2:1-2) and places a desire within us to turn to God.
- If you sense God’s Holy Spirit making you sorry for your sin
- If your attitude is truly different toward your sin and toward God
- If you desire to have God forgive all of your sin
- If you want to come to Jesus and surrender your very life to Him
- If you want to begin following God’s will for your life
Then it is time for you to be saved! Call out to Jesus right now. Tell Him that you are a sinner. Tell Jesus that you are sorry for your sin and ask Him to forgive you. Accept His death on the cross as the full payment for all your sin. Commit your very life to Him and ask Him to become the Lord of your life! He will save you right now!
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please write to us so that we can pray for you and send you some materials to help you grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Reach out to Grace Life Church of Lake City if we can pray for you or minister to you.
