Tom and I have been friends for over twenty years and on Sunday he will be baptised. His journey to faith in Jesus for the remission of his sins has been a long one. He really does believe, but one thing keeps bothering him: "What if I'm not good enough?" Like many new believers, Tom is fearful of failing, letting the Lord down, or not being able to live the Christian life. And so by way of encouragement I remind Tom of the following:
Jesus Died For You
He came to seek and save the lost and to give his life as a ransom for you. The description of our spiritual condition doesn't make for pleasant reading, but it's God's verdict: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6) Powerless and ungodly. Who would have thought it? So when Jesus adopts you, he knows your weaknesses, your failings, your frailty. Yet he saves you, not because you are good, or show great potential for spiritual growth; he saves you because he loves you and died for you. It's not about you; it's all about Jesus. John Newton did not write "Amazing Grace" having contemplated on man, but upon what Jesus did for sinful man.
How God Views You
Jesus died so that you don't have to. There is not a sin in your past or in your future which Jesus has not atoned for. Your sins will never be held against you because Jesus took them to the cross with him. Peter expresses it this way, "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the tree." (1 Peter 2:24) And as a result, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) Before God you are accounted as sinless. Forgiven because of the Lamb of God.
Power for the Journey
The Lord Jesus who saves you has made provision by the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you live a faithful and fruitful Christian life. It is inconceivable to think that Jesus would die for you and then leave you to complete the journey alone. God is active in your life. Paul's words bear this out: "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13) The battle against sin can never be won by self-determination or positive thinking. Sin is far too strong. "But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." (Romans 8:13-14) The Holy Spirit you receive at baptism (Acts 2:38) works in your
Welcome Home
Death is inescapable. It is no respecter of persons. It claims the rich and famous as well as the poor and obscure. But the Lord who came to save you said this: "In my father's house are many rooms … I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2-3) When you die it is not the end, but the beginning of an eternity with a loving God and Father. And when the time comes for you to die you will be welcomed into heaven, not because you lived for Jesus, but that Jesus died for you. And in the words of the Apostle Paul: "Being confident of this, he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
On that day when you stand before God you will hear him say, "Tom, well done good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."
Home at last! Hallelujah!