Let’s begin with a brief look at the Ten Commandments. Commandment #9 is “Thou shalt not lie.” Have you ever told a lie? Any lie? A white lie? Answer this question for yourself. If you have ever told a single lie – which the majority of folks have – you are a liar in light of God’s commandments. Commandment #8 is “Thou shalt not steal.” Have you ever stolen anything? Perhaps as a child taken something while Mommy wasn’t watching from the discount store? Or, what about the purse full of ink pens, stolen unintentionally from the bank’s drive thru? If so, if you have ever stolen anything, you are a thief when considering the holy standard of God. Commandment #3 is “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Have you ever, maybe in a moment of rage or pain, used the Lord’s name as a curse word or word of disgust? If you have to answer affirmatively to this question, you are counted as a blasphemer in regard to God’s statues. You have just evaluated your standing with God based upon three of the Ten Commandments, and if you have found yourself to be guilty of telling a lie, stealing anything or using God’s name in vain, you have incriminated yourself as being a lying, thieving blasphemer in the sight of a holy God. And if you have ever harbored anger in your heart towards another or looked upon someone of the opposite sex with lust, you have broken two more of the Ten Commandments making you an adulterous murderer as defined by Christ Himself. (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28) Now as you assess your righteousness before the Lord (which more than likely includes your lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterating, murdering past), ponder your state before the Law Maker.
Would you be found guilty or innocent if you were judged by God’s standards? Undoubtedly, you are guilty before the Lord. And His fair and just judgment of you would send you to Hell upon your death. The Scripture says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23), “For the wages of sin is death … ” Romans 6:23,1 and “ … death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12. “Death” in these passages refers to a spiritual death, involving an eternal separation from God. It is the pronouncement of an eternity in Hell for the guilty.
So, you are in a real mess. You’ve broken the commandments of God, and the Bible clearly states God’s just nature will sentence you to an endless afterlife of death in Hell. And you need some source of salvation to rescue you from the judgment your sinfulness has destined for you. Well, my friend, that saving remedy is available for you. Romans 6:23b states, “ … but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You see, God is offering to you the gift of salvation, a way by which your sins can be forgiven and you can stand as innocent before a righteous God. He graciously provided the means by which your eternal destiny can be re-routed from one of judgment (which you and I obviously deserve) to everlasting life in Heaven. As a fair and just judge, God had to require some restitution for your transgressions. A redemption payment had to be made to render your sins as null and void. According to Hebrews 9:22, that atonement required the shedding of blood. (“ … without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”)
The sins that have left you helplessly standing as guilty before God Almighty can be cancelled by His act of compassion. Romans 5:8 says, “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Out of His love for you, God provided the sacrifice of His dear Son as an atonement for your sins. Jesus Christ became the bearer of your sins’ punishment in order for you to experience the forgiveness of the Lord. The sinless Son of God, Jesus, endured a torturous death on a cross as the payment for all humanity’s sins.
Please don’t let anything stop you from accepting God’s salvation. Take courage in His promise, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). No one has ever loved you more. Won’t you let today be the day of your salvation, your new birth in Christ? Please begin your walk with Him, and allow Him to make you a child of His.
Salvation is accepting God’s gift. Salvation, becoming a Christian, is someone, like you and me, entering into a love relationship with the Creator of this Universe, and salvation is daily acted upon by seeking to maintain that communion. With a broken heart for your sinfulness and with an awareness of your inability to escape your eternal damnation, bow before the Lord and receive His grace upon your life. Repent of your sins by confessing them to the Lord and seek the forgiveness made available by the sacrificial death and resurrection of God’s perfect Son. Forsake your sins once and for all. Turn from them and turn to Christ by yielding all you are and all you are going to be to His Lordship. Surrender your life to Him. Make Him your Lord (Boss). The inception of your new life in Christ is only a prayer away. Won’t you go to the Lord now in prayer? Right now, talk to the Lord of the Universe … Confess your sins, believe in Christ’s death and resurrection as the only atonement for your sin; seek the Lord’s forgiveness; surrender your life to Him, and trust Him as your Lord and Savior. He loves you so.
“If you have just now prayed to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, we are so happy for you! Please contact our ministry. We would like to send you some free material to encourage you in your new life in Christ.”
