Imagine you are sitting at a nice restaurant just finishing up a delicious meal with a group of friends. As conversation lulls, you glance over at the next booth to notice an older gentleman slumping motionless over his plate. His pale complexion and glazed stare indicate that he’s having a medical emergency. A few more awkward moments pass with him in that fixed position, and you realize he’s completely helpless. If he’s going to survive, someone must step in to save him.
You know, spiritually, we’re in exactly the same helpless situation.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, sin corrupted the whole human race. Adam’s legacy of spiritual death was passed on to all of his descendants. (Rom. 5:12) Since then, all people are born with a corrupt, sinful nature and cannot please God. Ephesians 2:1 clearly describes our dire condition as “dead in transgressions and sins.”
Our situation isn’t based on how we behave. It’s rooted in what we are. Sin has made us dead. Our condition is terminal! If we’re going to survive, we need to be rescued.
That’s where God stepped in.
Ephesians 2:5 announces that God “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead.” Verse 13 continues saying “In Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”
Where death once reigned, Christ brings life. It seems too good to be true, but that’s the clear message of Scripture. And the best news is that salvation can be yours if you want it.
You don’t have to be good enough for God to give you the gift of salvation. You don’t have to straighten up your life or try to do better. Only God can bring life to a dead person. His part is resurrection. Your part is to believe.
Probably the most well-known verse in the Bible is John 3:16. “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.” That verse doesn’t say that whoever believes the facts about Jesus will have eternal life. It says “whoever believes IN HIM.” It’s a different kind of belief.
Plenty of people know about God and even believe He exists, but that knowledge hasn’t impacted their hearts. It’s belief IN HIM -in Christ and His work on the cross- that brings about spiritual birth.
God didn’t make believing complicated. It doesn’t take special words or learning a complicated set of rules. All you need to do is trust in Jesus and receive His offer. Romans 10:9 says “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Christ is the only one who can bring you back from spiritual death, and He’s ready to rescue you, and breathe life into your dead soul. All you need to do is to respond to what He has already done for you!
“For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved”
– Romans 10:13
Click here to ask a question about becoming a Christian or following Jesus!
We are dead in trespasses and in sin before we come to Christ. Once we humble ourselves and repent, we then can call out to Jesus Christ for salvation and be alive in Him.
Yes. Exactly! Spiritual life is impossible without Christ. He is the only one who can breathe life into our dead souls. “Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ! Cor 15:57 Thanks for your comment!
Karen, How appropriate on this historical day for you to offer guidance on how to become a Christian. Love this…
So many people woke up on Sept 11 2001 to go to work thinking it would be just another day at the office, never realizing it would be their last. It’s just a stark reminder that we can never, ever know what the future holds for us even one day in advance. That’s why we need to be careful to obey God now, and not fall into the temptation to put off His commands until another day. And that’s especially true when it comes to being saved. He always says, “Today is the day of salvation!” 2 Cor. 6:2