Answer--part 1: God is holy. To say that God is holy is to
point out His otherness: God is other than we are. We see this in many ways.
God is eternal; we are temporal. God is immutable; we are constantly changing.
God is all powerful; in creating all things out of Himself, God spoke and it
was so. What are we able to create out of ourselves by speaking? God is good;
all that He does is good. Most of us know people that we would categorize as
good, and yet we know that sometimes these people do things that are not good.
We see then, that people are not good in the same way that God is good.
Answer--part 2: I have sinned against Holy God, and do not
have a peaceful relationship with Him. God has created us for Himself and given
us specific commandments that we are to obey. No one has. (The consequence for
disobeying God is death.) According to Romans 3:9, we are all sinners. We can
take God's word for it. We can also easily show that all of us are sinners.
One day Jesus was asked: "Master, which is the great
commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, 'You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind'" (Matthew
22:36-37). You notice that there is no time limit placed on this commandment.
It is not a matter of loving God on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings only
(although none of us could even claim that!). This commandment is to actively
love God at all times. It is obvious that we are all sinners!
Answer--part 3: I am unable to save myself. You may have
received a great deal of religious instruction as you were growing up as Saul
of Tarsus did. Note then, that Saul was not saved until he was a grown man when
Jesus met him on the road to Damascus.
You may be a good person like the rich young ruler that desired eternal life.
He knew he was lacking; his goodness did not put him right with God.
Furthermore, his refusal to obey and follow Jesus is a clear indicator of his
lost condition. You may not be religious or good, you may be like one of the
thieves crucified along side Jesus. Jesus invites all who know themselves to be
guilty sinners to come to Him for salvation. None of our efforts, religious or
good, can put us right with God. We need Jesus to save us.
Why do I need to be saved? God is holy, I have sinned
against Him, and I am unable to save myself.
Question:
How can Jesus save me?
Answer: By His substitutionary death on the cross. "The
wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
Jesus lived a sinless life, always doing those things that please the Father
(Jesus did not deserve to die). His obedience includes dying on the cross to
satisfy God's justice toward guilty sinners. When God saves a person, a
transaction occurs: "For he [God] has made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us
[those who believe in Jesus Christ], who knew no sin [Jesus is sinless]; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (Second Corinthians 5:21).
Allow me to say all that in another way. I am a guilty
sinner; I have not always done those things that please the Father. I deserve
to be thrown into eternal Hell. God's standard is perfect righteousness and
therefore only One that possesses perfect righteousness can satisfy God's
justice toward me. Jesus saves me by dying in my place: He has received God's justice for my sin.
Question:
How can I be saved?
Answer: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing in Jesus
is not a matter of mental recognition only: "Oh yes, I believe in Jesus."
Carefully look at Jesus' invitation: "Come unto me, all you that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). In the
beginning, God created us for Himself. In salvation, God creates us in Christ
for Himself. "Take my yoke upon you"; that is to say, "obey and follow Me". The
one that is lost in his sinful state is self-centered: he does what pleases and
glorifies himself because he loves himself. The one that truly believes in
Jesus is God-centered: he does what please and glorifies God because he loves
God.
I can know whether I am lost or saved by examining
myself: who do I desire to please and glorify?
Reader, have you accepted Jesus' invitation to come to
Him for salvation? If so, praise God for His grace to you! If not, may God
enable you to come to Jesus to be saved.