The Purpose
God created us to have a loving relationship with him. This is a relationship where God is properly acknowledged as the sole authority in life. This is a relationship where God’s will, purpose, and values are acknowledged and lived out. And God promises his blessing to those who have this relationship with him. (Colossians 1.16; Mark 12.30)
The Problem
We chose to go our own way. This is what sin is all about. Its fundamental nature is simply our failure to let God be God in our lives. When we place anything or anyone else in the highest place that belongs only to God, that is sin. We do not have to do “evil” things such as murder or adultery or thievery in order to commit sin. Simply disregarding God and his authority over our life, implying that we know better or can do better than him, is sin. (Exodus 20.3; Romans 3.23)
The result is a broken relationship. This means separation from a loving God, and the blessing of his loving care and protection. The consequence is spiritual death for we cut ourselves off from the source of real life. If nothing is done about this problem the absolute end is eternal death. (Romans 6.23a) Sin places us in a very grim situation from which we need to be saved, an enslavement from which we need to be freed. No amount of human effort can resolve the problem. We need outside help. (Ephesians 2.8–9)
The Plan
God sent his Son Jesus to deal with the problem. Jesus is the Chosen One (Christ) who alone fully accomplished the purpose of God. His total commitment and obedience to the Father led to his death on the cross. But the story does not end in his death. Jesus rose again from the grave. Jesus demolished the power of sin and death. Now he offers every sinner the opportunity to return to God through him. He offers the opportunity to share in the life of God himself, the promise of eternal life. (John 3.16; 14.6; Acts 4.12; 1 John 5.11–13)
The Proper Response (ABC of Salvation)
- Admit
that you are a sinner in need of God’s salvation.
This is confession. Confession means to agree with
God concerning his evaluation of your condition of
sinfulness. It means to concur with God regarding
what he says about sin. No more games. This clears
the way for fresh blessings from God. (1
John 1.9) - Believe
that Jesus Christ is the only solution to your sin-problem.
Jesus is the only one who has conquered sin with his
total obedience to the Father. To believe in Jesus
is to acknowledge his unique position as sole forgiver
of sin and as absolute leader of your life. (Romans
10.9) - Commit
to surrender your life to the leadership of Christ.
Belief is revealed in action. You need to trust Jesus
enough to surrender your control over your own life
and let Jesus take over as the absolute leader. This
begins with a prayer of commitment. It continues with
a life defined by the will, purpose, and values of
Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Bible. (Matthew
16.24a; Romans 12.1–2)
A prayer of commitment will be something like this:
“Dear God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I admit that I have failed to let you be God and have chosen to run my own life my way. But now I confess my sin to you and ask you to forgive me. I believe that only Jesus Christ is the one who can bring me back to a right relationship with you. I believe that he alone died for my sins and rose again to conquer death. I surrender my life to your absolute leadership through Jesus Christ. From this moment on, take control of my life. Thank you for saving me from my sin. Amen.”
If this makes sense to you, why not utter a prayer of commitment to God right now? Discover the wonderful experience of knowing God’s forgiveness and living under his leadership through Jesus Christ. Then share with someone else what Jesus Christ has done for you.