Why Don't I?

I have divided this topic into two parts directed at two different types of sinners. If I just hurt your feeling by saying "sinner". Then maybe this message is for you.

The first part is "Why Don't I accept Jesus as Savior"?

Maybe you have made a profession of faith in Christ Jesus and have been baptized. If you have accepted Jesus and are a child of God the Father, then please pray that these words be used to touch someone's heart.

The reasons why people don't become saved are many. One that I have experienced a few times has to do with the worldly goodness of the person and how he or she compares their life with others around them. Allow me to use this illustration to explain what I mean.

A few years ago, when I witnessed to my uncle, his response was something about how he was as good as some church member, deacon, or preacher. His argument presented me with a problem because in a human sense I have to agree with some of the examples he mentioned. Humanly speaking he was better than some of these people.

My response was to read to him Romans 3:23 which says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God". If this is the excuse you are using, hear again this verse, " For all (the word all includes you, me, and everyone else)have sinned, and come short of the glory of God".

Some may know I work with cattle and when I was preparing this, I thought of all those frisky calves that are so hard to enclose in a small fenced area They are just hard to move from place to place. This verse means that God surrounded all of us frisky people and included us in this all because we all have made the choice to sin. Like a calf at times does, none of us have escaped the condemnation of our sin.

Yes, you are a sinner, I am a sinner, and every person you meet is a sinner. Now that we realize we are all in the same field - the field of sin; what are the results or responsibilities for being a sinner?

In Romans 6:29 we learn what we have earned for our sins, "For the wages of sin is death". Yes, we are all sinners and because of this sin, there must be a death. For each one of us, someone must die. We are now coming to the place where everyone must make a decision.

You may choose to die for your own sins and spend eternity in Hell - apart from God, or you can choose Jesus who is the perfect substitute. In 1 John 2;2 we read, "And He (Jesus), is the appeasement for our sin". This says that Jesus' death on the cross of Calvary met God's demand for a death for sin and if you will accept His sacrificial death, it is a just replacement for your own deserved death.

WE have established that all of us are sinners and that sins demand death as payment; and we know that there is a substitute available. He willingly became our substitute. But before we can avail ourselves of this substitute, we must first repent of those sins. We are told in Luke 13:3, "Except you repent ye shall all likewise perish".

It is not enough to recognize that you are a sinner, but you must repent of those sins (or have sorrow for those sins). This is not simply sorrow about being caught, or having to suffer the punishment, but sorrow and true regret for having committed those sins.

You realize you are a sinner, there must be a death for those sins to satisfy a just God; Jesus' death is the acceptable substitute; you feel true sorrow for your sins and are willing to repent & turn away from sin; what's the next step? What must you do to be saved from the just wages for your sin?

Acts 16:31 gives us an example of a jailer asking that same question. Here is what was said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved". Here is what you must believe in order to be saved: I am a sinner, Christ died for my sins, He was buried, and He arose on the third day.

He willingly received your rightful wages for you sins. Now you need to ask Him to receive you, forgive you, and save you. If you realize that you need the salvation only offered by Jesus Christ, all you need to do is call out to Him. For example, you could say: "Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. Please forgive me of my sins and help me turn away from them. Save me Jesus and wash me clean. I accept you as my Savior and my Lord from this day forward. Amen."

If you have prayed that simple prayer, please email me (at: angus9418@hotmail.com) so I can celebrate your new birth in Jesus with you. Jesus is waiting right now to forgive you and wants to have a loving relationship with you. But the choice is yours.