How to Be Saved

The Bible tells us that man by nature is sinful.   “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Rom. 3:23) 

For instance, you don't have to teach little children to lie; – they’ll learn it quite well on their own!  Sin is as natural to mankind as eating, breathing and drinking.  The Book of Job says, “How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?”  (Job 15:16) We are all sinners.  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;” (Is. 53:6)  We’ve all broken God’s laws.   

  

Don’t believe it?  Just take a simple test. 

Ever told a lie?

Ever stolen something?

Ever looked at another person with lust?

Ever taken God’s name in vain?

 

(And that’s just four of God’s many, many commandments!)

 

How is it that in all of humanity, since the beginning of time, there is no one that has ever been able to live without breaking those commandments?  What’s more, people can’t even live up to their own expectations of what they know is right. They violate their own standards.  That’s why their conscience bothers them.  If you stop to think for very long at all about what God calls sin, your conscience is sure to remind you specifically about some things.   You can’t be the person you know you should be… for only one reason: because you are a sinner! 

 

God gave those commandments because He wanted us to recognize how sinful we truly are.  Do you realize that if a person sins just five times a day over a lifetime of seventy years, he will have sinned 127,000 times?  Ezra said, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities (sins) are increased over our head, and our trespass (sin) is grown up unto the heavens.”  (Ezra 9:6)  David said, “For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.”  (Ps. 38:4)

 

Many people think that they will go to Heaven because they are “good”: religious, hard-working, moral, respectable, etc.  But compared to God's standard, they will never be good enough because God's standard is Jesus Christ. God demands perfection. God is so holy that He cannot dwell with sin. The term “good” is relative. If a man commits murder on Monday but doesn't sin the rest of the week, it could be said that he was “good” on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc. People are always “good” when they compare themselves to other people. But one day, God is going to compare you to His son Jesus Christ who is holy..  “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:20)  The Pharisees were some of the most religious people of Jesus’ day, and yet God says that their righteousness was not enough. 

 

A certain rich, young ruler once asked Jesus what he had to do to go to Heaven.  He was a very righteous young man and even told the Lord how good he was.  But it wasn’t enough. When Jesus’ disciples saw it, they were shocked beyond belief, and they blurted out, “Who then can be saved?”  “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”  (Mark 10 & Luke 18)

 How could God declare sinful humanity to be righteous and innocent when we are so far from that?

 

God in His love and mercy wants reconciliation. But God in His holiness cannot and will not tolerate sin.

 

Being holy God cannot dwell with sin.  He could not allow sin into Heaven or else Heaven would be as bad as things are here on Earth!  He can’t just overlook sin, or let it go anymore than a just judge can turn a blind eye to crime.  God would no longer be just and holy if He did that.

 

What could God do?

The solution is found in this story:  A man was brought before a judge and being found guilty he had to pay an enormous fine.  He had to pay $250,000 and didn't have the money.  If he didn’t pay he would undoubtedly go to jail. The judge, who was merciful, had pity on the man; but the demands of the law required that a payment be made. There was no way around it. The man would have to be punished. How could this just judge declare the man innocent and yet at the same time remain a just and honourable judge who upholds the law?

 

There is only one answer.  If someone were gracious and loving enough to walk into that courtroom and pay that man’s fine, then and only then, could he be declared “not guilty” and walk away a free man…if, of course, he accepted the payment to receive the pardon!

 

It’s no different with us. God is a just and holy judge. The Apostle Paul called God, “the Lord, the righteous judge.”  (II Tim. 4:8) He knows our thoughts.  He sees our secret sins.  He can see right down into the depths of our hearts.  We’re guilty, and we know it.  Yet, in His mercy, He wants to forgive us and declare us innocent.  We have a debt of sin that we cannot pay.  God’s “jail” is Hell.  A man who cannot pay his “debt” of sin is destined to go to Hell.  Since no one can pay their debt of sin, we ask ourselves just as the disciples did, “Who then can be saved?”  And we get the same answer, “With men, it is impossible: but with God all things are possible!”

God has made a way for you to be forgiven, justified and declared innocent. Because He is loving and merciful, He left Heaven and came down in the form of a man and lived the perfect, sinless life that you couldn’t live. Then, as prophesied, He died on the cross for your sins and took your sins in His body.  He bore the punishment of the wrath of God because of your sins. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:”  (Is. 53:5)  “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.”  (I Pet. 3:18)  He now offers you His righteous life for your sinful life.  If you accept, God can declare you “Not Guilty” and yet remain a just and holy God.  If you reject Jesus Christ as Saviour, then you will pay for your sins against an eternal God in an eternal Hell.

  

One day you will stand before the Righteous Judge.  The Bible tells us, “God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 2:16)  Right now, while you have the opportunity, will you accept the payment Jesus made for you at the cross?  Will you pray and acknowledge that His work at the cross is sufficient to pay for all your sins?  If you will, then the day you stand before God, Jesus Christ will not be your judge, but your lawyer.  John wrote, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”  (I Jn. 2:1)

 

Please let us know that you have prayed and received Jesus Christ as the payment for your sins so that we may rejoice with you and help you in any way we can.  The Bible says that there is joy “in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”  (Lk. 15:6, 7) 

 

“These things have I written unto you… that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  I John 5:13