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Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Have you ever heard someone say one or more of these statements to you?
Dear friend, these statements are hurtful lies that do not define your identity. Instead, your Creator, the one true living God, has established your identity in His unending, unfailing love for you. He has also given you His perfect Word, the Bible, to reveal truths about Himself and you that disprove these lies.
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
For example, God’s Word reveals that humanity was not created by a random accident, but by His deliberate, loving intervention. God made people distinct from animals by designing us to bear His image, have His life dwell within us, and rule over the earth to care for it.
“Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth… then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 1:26, 2:7
The Bible also reveals that every person is the unique, beautiful, and intricate handiwork of our loving Creator. King David joyfully proclaimed:
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:13-14
Furthermore, God places immeasurable worth on every person because He creates us with a distinct, vital purpose He planned before we were born. He told Jeremiah:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
Additionally, God deeply desires an unending personal relationship with us. The Bible’s most famous verse proclaims:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
After reading these truths, you may be wondering, “Why don’t I experience God’s love?” The Bible reveals that you cannot because of sin, which is anything you say, do, or think that falls short of God’s perfect standards. This includes seemingly good actions (e.g., helping the poor) that are done not to obey and glorify God, but to enrich or draw attention to yourself.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28
God reveals His perfect standards through His Law, which includes the Ten Commandments’ rules against lying, adultery, lust, murder, and idolatry (Exod 20:1-17). Breaking just one commandment even once makes you guilty before Him. Your sin also prevents you from making yourself right before God through obedience to His Law.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” James 2:10-11
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in [God’s] sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20
Because God is holy (i.e., separate from all sin), your sins separate you from Him. Furthermore, His righteousness (i.e., perfect moral purity and justice) requires Him to intensely hate and thoroughly judge sin by sentencing the unsaved to eternal torment in hell after they die.
“Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 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 59:1-2
“In flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
Thankfully, God’s profound love for you led Him to provide deliverance from this hopeless state through His Son, Jesus Christ. Being fully God and fully man, Jesus lived sinlessly, surrendering His entire life for your sake. Through bearing His Father’s wrath for your sins and dying on the Cross for them, He earned your salvation (i.e., rescue from God’s judgment for sin).
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10
“...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8
Three days later, Jesus triumphantly rose from the dead through His Resurrection, fully conquering all sin and death while proving He was God. After paying for all your sins and establishing the only way to fellowship with God the Father (John 14:6), Jesus returned to heaven. His Holy Spirit was then sent into the world, who has since been convicting unbelievers of their sin and drawing them to receive Christ’s salvation (John 16:7-8).
“And was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:4
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
Dear friend, although your mind has learned these truths, they cannot save you unless they change your heart. If you want to receive Jesus’ salvation, you must first repent, meaning your mind is changed to align with God’s. This requires confessing your sinfulness before God, turning from your sins, and submitting to Jesus’ request to become your Savior and Lord.
“...I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3
Next, you must place your faith (i.e., trust) entirely upon Jesus for your salvation. This requires your heart agreeing with God’s Word that you cannot save yourself; only He alone can.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10
Finally, confess to God through prayer your decision to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord, giving Him control of your life.
“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9-10
Dear friend, please use this opportunity now to be saved, for you are not guaranteed tomorrow. God lovingly warns:
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7
By receiving His salvation, you will not only feel and know God’s love, but He will also transform your life in many ways. For example, He will adopt you into His family (John 1:12), dwell within you through His Holy Spirit (1 Co. 6:19), and never abandon you (Deut 31:6). Furthermore, God will develop a personal relationship with you as you seek Him through reading the Bible, applying its truths, praying to Him, and worshipping Him with other believers at a godly, Bible-believing church. While you will still struggle with sin as a believer, Jesus not only provides immediate forgiveness when you confess your sins (1 Jo 1:9) but He also promises His love for you will never change or ever be taken away from you.
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
For more information on why we need Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, please read In Need of a Savior.
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