Our need before God
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 3:23
We may compare ourselves with other people and find reasons to feel respectable, but God’s standard is His own perfect holiness. Sin is not merely the worst thing a person has done. It is the condition and guilt of a heart that has turned from God. Every one of us has come short.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
Sin has earned its wages. We cannot cancel guilt with religion, good intentions, charity, or reform. Yet the verse that declares the wages also announces a gift.
God’s provision in His Son
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16
God did not leave sinners without hope. The Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven, lived without sin, and went willingly to the cross. He was not dying for wrongs of His own. He took the place of guilty people and bore the judgment sin deserved.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5
The finished work of Christ
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
1 Corinthians 15:3–4
The Gospel rests on what Christ has done, not on what we promise to do. His death answered to the judgment of God against sin. His resurrection declares that He has conquered death. The Saviour’s work is complete.
God’s invitation and your response
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
Acts 16:31
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to cease trusting yourself and rest your whole confidence in Him—who He is and what He accomplished at Calvary. Salvation is not earned in stages. It is received by faith.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
John 5:24
The question is personal: what will you do with Christ? God offers eternal life freely through Him. Come as you are, with no plea but your need and no confidence but the Saviour.