What does it mean to personally trust in Christ as Savior and Lord?
(Adapted from Search Ministries)
"You have made us for yourself, oh God, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You."
~Augustine
"Man searches in vain, but finds nothing to help him, other than to see infinite emptiness that can only be filled by One who is infinite and unchanging. In other words, it can only be filled by God Himself." ~Blaise Pascal
There is a problem.
The problem is many people seek to fill that God-shaped emptiness with pleasure, prosperity, or power - anything but God; and so emptiness remains. Why? Because finite things can never fill an infinite emptiness. The search for fulfillment in life must begin and end with God. Only the One can fill the emptiness by remedying the problem that caused it. God is the answer to man's search!
Note: For additional information on Jesus, click below to see the article
which answers the question "Who is Jesus?".
GOD'S POSITION - This is not the problem.
God is a God of love. His desire is to have a loving relationship with us.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." ~John 3:16
However, God is also a God of perfection. His absolute moral perfection is the standard upon which the relationship is based.
"The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He." ~Deuteronomy 32:4
Imagine you are given a glass of cold, refreshing water… Just before you put the glass to your lips you are told that a small drop of cyanide has been added to the water. However, since it is such a small amount of cyanide, you needn't worry. What harm can such a small amount of poison do to a full glass of cool, clear water? But you know that no matter how small the dose of poison, it contaminates the whole glass of water. In the same, way God cannot allow even a small amount of sin into heaven lest it contaminate the entire place.
MAN'S CONDITION - This is the problem.
People must realize three things:
1. They fall short of God's standard of perfection.
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." ~Romans 3:23
2. They face God's penalty of eternal separation.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 6:23
3. They fail to enjoy relationship with God.
"But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear." ~Isaiah 59:2
Picture yourself with all humanity lined up at the rim of a canyon. The only way to get across the one-mile chasm is to jump. The distance you can jump is directly proportional to how many good deeds you have performed.
A mass murderer jumps only one foot and plummets downward. If you are an exceptionally good person, you may be able to jump 25 feet. But this is still short of the goal.
One by one they try, but fall short of the other side. In the same way, even though some people perform more good deeds than others, all of us fall short of perfection.
What is the solution?
Jesus Christ said,
"I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except THROUGH ME!" John 14:6
God Himself came to earth as a human being to bring us back to Himself. If any other way would have worked, Jesus Christ would not have had to come. The Way is a Person!
GOD'S PROVISION
God, in the person of Jesus Christ, came to deliver us from sin and its wages.
God substituted Christ's perfection for our imperfection through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit." ~1 Peter 3:18
God satisfied both His love and perfection thereby making a relationship with Him possible.
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [satisfactory payment] for our sins." 1 John 4:10
During the Great Depression, police brought an elderly man before a New York City night court magistrate. The man was starving and had stolen a loaf of bread.
That night Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia was presiding over the court, as he sometimes did to stay close to the citizens. He fined the old man $10. "The law is the law, and cannot be broken," the mayor said. At the same time, he took a $10 bill out of his wallet and paid the fine for the man.
Then LaGuardia cited each person in the courtroom for living in a city that did not help its poor and elderly, unduly tempting them to steal. The mayor fined everyone in the audience 50 cents and gave almost $50 to the amazed defendant. Both justice and love were served when LaGuardia paid the penalty and more for the old man.
MAN'S DECISION
People have a choice: To accept or reject Christ's perfect payment for your sins.
Accepting God's gift involves accepting the truth about ourselves that we have failed to measure up to God's standards and we are separated from Him.
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 6:23
Accepting God's gift involves transferring your trust from yourself to Jesus Christ.
"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." ~John 1:12
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast." ~Ephesians 2:8-9
Blondin, the famous 19th century French tightrope walker, successfully crossed Niagara Falls a number of times (an 1100-foot span, 160 feet above the raging waters).
On one occasion Blondin pushed a wheelbarrow across. He then asked how many in the crowd believed he could push the wheelbarrow across with someone in it. The crowd cheered. He then asked, "Does anyone believe enough in me to get in the wheelbarrow and cross Niagara Falls with me?" No one volunteered. Finally, Blondin's manager climbed on his back and they crossed the great falls together.
The crowd's belief was purely intellectual, but Blondin's manager went beyond intellectual assent to personal trust. That's the kind of faith the Bible says we must have in Christ.
Let's Review
- God's Position: What is God like? God is both loving and perfect.
- Man's Condition: What are we like? We are sinful and separated from God.
- God's Provision: What did God do about the problem? He gave His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross as a satisfactory payment for our sins.
- Man's Decision: What should you do? Admit you are separated from God and receive Jesus Christ as Savior through faith alone.
Would you like to receive Christ now?
You can use this prayer to God express your faith in Christ for salvation.
Dear God,
I admit that I am a sinner and I understand that my sin separates me from you. I believe that Jesus being God, paid the penalty for all my sins when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. I want to place my trust in Him as my Savior. Thank you for loving and forgiving me and giving to me the gift of eternal life.
In Jesus' name, amen.
If you have just prayed this prayer, please give us a call at the church office at (254) 848-7200 or fill out a Connection Card HERE and tell us of the great news so that we can help you with the next steps!
