“Isn’t there something else I have to do?”
This is a natural question to ask—it’s just human nature to believe that nothing of value is truly free.
How then, could acquiring the most priceless possession in the universe be so simple? As we read earlier in Ephesians 2:8–9, the Bible strongly insists that salvation is a gift. And it’s important to God we are clear on that. Remember, the price he had to pay was the horrific death of his only Son. If there were something we could have done to buy our salvation, such a sacrifice would never have been necessary.
Think about it this way: What good deed or religious act could we carry out that would be needed in addition to Jesus’ perfect sacrifice?
When Jesus came to the end of his sufferings on the cross, he cried out, “It is finished.” He meant that the price for our sins had been paid in full. There’s nothing we can do to earn, deserve, or buy salvation. There’s only one way to receive a true gift—you reach out and accept it.
“What about ‘repenting’?”
If you’ve ever read the Bible or listened to sermons, chances are you’ve heard the word “repent.” And you may be wondering, “Is this something I should do?” Well, let’s talk about what it means.
Often, the word repentance is associated with feelings of sadness or pain for the wrong things we’ve done or telling God we’re sorry. (And I think any believer who understands the price Jesus paid for our sins certainly wants to do that.) But repentance involves more.
Our English word “repent” comes from two Greek words that are jammed together, literally meaning “changed thinking.”
Think about this Scripture for a minute:
“I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”
Acts 20:21 (NIV)
Paul is telling us his own story. Everywhere he went, regardless of who he met, he had two instructions—that people change their thinking about God and put their faith in Jesus Christ.
Let’s talk about what having a “change in thinking” means. Remember what Isaiah said? He said every one of us has decided to go our own way (which means living as if we didn’t really need God) because we thought our own way was good enough. But the message we talked about earlier tells us we can’t handle life by ourselves. We can’t figure things out on our own. Worst of all, our sins threaten to destroy us.
We need God to take charge of our lives. Repentance means owning up to the reality that we are on the wrong track, turning from our old way of thinking (changing our minds), and embracing Jesus as our Lord and King.
Have you had such a turning point? If not, this is the perfect time. Admit to God that your life has been on the wrong road. Put your faith in Jesus, trusting him to forgive you and make you God’s child. Tell him that, by his grace, you want a new start. Ask him to give you the strength to follow Jesus. Ask him to show you how to leave the past behind so you can please him by the way you live your life from now on.
“I’m excited about having Jesus in my life, but I know I can’t be perfect.”
The last part of that statement is probably much more true than either you or I realize. Perfect means doing everything right—nothing wrong—and having the truest of motivations for all of our actions.
The fact is, we are all light years away from perfection.
But at the moment you accepted Jesus, God moved inside you. As you now worship, pray, and read your Bible, God will help you grow and learn how to please him.
Certainly there are going to be times, though, when you and I will let him down miserably. Is it all over at that point? Does he rescind his free gift? Hardly.
First of all, think about what Scripture says:
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38–39 (NLT)
In the book of 1 John, the Bible even tells us what to do when we sin:
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
1 John 1:8–9 (NLT)
In one of the most beautiful verses in Scripture, we are assured:
My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
1 John 2:1–2 (NLT)
“Can I ever lose my relationship with God?”
This is another big question. Suppose I sin once too often—does that mean I am not saved anymore? Although Christians have argued about this through the ages, to me it’s very clear. It all comes down to one simple truth:
When you accept Jesus, you become God’s child. In Jesus’ words, you are born again, or born from above. You are adopted into his family.
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
John 1:12–13 (NLT)
God sent him (Jesus) to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
Galatians 4:5 (NLT)
Think about the relationship between a parent and their child. Even when the child does wrong, their parent doesn’t disown them. Actually, from what we know of DNA today, it would be impossible. We’ve all heard of children who have broken their parents’ hearts with long spells of rebellion, yet their parents loved and prayed for them throughout that time and longed to restore the relationship.
Jesus wants us to understand that God is a much better parent than those of us who are earthly parents. Listen to what Jesus said on one occasion:
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:11–12 (NIV)
God is such a wonderful Father that compared to him, I, as a dad, am totally inferior. And yet, it is in my nature to forgive and restore my children. So how much more is it the inclination of our Heavenly Father to do so?
Take a look at the following story that Jesus told, and I think you’ll get an even clearer picture of what he’s saying to us.
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.
“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.
“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”
Luke 15:11–24 (NLT)
Now, don’t get the wrong idea. Even though God doesn’t reject us from his family, if we live lives of rebellion like this kid after we have received Jesus as our Savior, sin still has consequences. The Bible tells us we will reap the harvest of the seeds we plant. But that doesn’t mean we will have to pay the price for our sins; Jesus did that on the cross. The only way you and I could pay the actual penalty for our sins is to spend an eternity in hell. What we’re talking about here is not paying for sin but dealing with the painful consequences of sin.
Think about the kid in our story. Although he experienced forgiveness from his dad, he dealt with a ton of unpleasant consequences from the choices he made during his rebellion. He came home humbled, broken, and tattered, but as Jesus’ story tells us, God’s children always have a home and a Father to come back to.
One final thing should be pointed out here: If you and I continue in deep sin patterns, it’s actually God’s mercy to let us feel the pain from those choices. Someone has said that pain is God’s megaphone. He loves us way too much to let us continue in a life we weren’t designed to live. See how the Bible says it:
For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
Hebrews 12:10–11 (NLT)
“Is it possible I’ve been too ‘bad’ for God to save?”
This question is too important and sensitive for any answer I might give, so I’ll just let Scripture speak for itself:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
John 3:14–15 (NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16–18 (NIV)
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.
1 Timothy 1:15–16 (NLT)
Maybe this is a good time to stop and think about something: If you feel like the worst sinner you know, believe it or not, that’s a good thing. The reality is, the closer we get to God, the more we’re going to feel our sinfulness. See, as long as we’re comparing ourselves to other people, we can come off looking all right—but when we get an idea of who God is in all of his perfection, we realize just how short we come up.
Here’s the deal: If you are concerned that your sins are too bad, you are exactly the person God can help.
I want to show you an amazing verse that had a huge impact on me when I was young and struggling with some of these feelings in my life:
However, to the one who does not work (the one who doesn’t depend on their own good works) but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.
Romans 4:5 (NIV)
As the great preacher Charles Spurgeon wrote a hundred years ago, “If you feel wicked, then you are just the one the Lord can help, because He is the one who justifies the wicked.”
What an awesome Savior we have!
“How can I know for sure God has forgiven me?”
The moment you chose to believe in Jesus and prayed for him to become your Savior, God moved inside you. And to be sure, that will make a difference.
But everything won’t happen overnight. It is a new relationship. In fact, the early days of being a Christian are characterized as being a “baby in Christ.” Babies grow and mature, and the same thing will happen with you. As you grow, you will begin to notice evidence that a change has happened in your life.
But here’s the big thing: When God wants to assure you of your relationship with him, he points you to two places:
- His Word.
- God’s Spirit living in you.
Check these verses out:
And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.
1 John 5:11–13 (NLT)
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31 (NIV)
And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”
Galatians 4:6 (NLT)
That last one is really special. It’s saying that when you receive Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside you and makes it a natural thing to call God your Father.
See the word “Abba”? It’s an Aramaic word that has been a challenge to Bible translators through the years. The closest thing we have to it in English is “Daddy” or “Dear Papa.” Some Bible scholars worried that it would be too informal to address God in such a way, so they left the word in the Aramaic. The truth is, it’s not about the title we choose to address God with. “Heavenly Father” is fine. It’s more about the spirit of tenderness and the sense of acceptance we feel when we talk with him. It’s one of the most powerful indicators that we have truly become God’s child.