“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15
Why do I believe in Jesus? Why do I follow after Him and continue in His Word? I believe in Jesus because I am a sinner and because Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
There is no doubt that I am a sinner! I haven’t kept all of God’s commandments perfectly as He demands. I haven’t loved God with all my heart, soul and mind; and I haven’t loved my neighbor as I have loved myself. I haven’t always put God first in my life, and I haven’t always used God’s name in an honorable way or eagerly listened to God’s Word. I’ve disobeyed my parents. I’ve hated and spoken evil of others rather than loving and helping them in their needs. I’ve had evil thoughts and desires, and I’ve desired things which were not mine to have.
God’s Word is right when it says of me: “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I know I am a sinner and, in God’s judgment, deserve to be condemned to eternal punishment in hell for my sins!
But I believe in Jesus because He came into the world to save sinners! The Bible says that God provided a way for sinners like me to be saved when He sent His only begotten Son into the world, a true man, to keep God’s commandments and then to die upon the cross and bear the punishment for the sins of the whole world. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures … He was buried … He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). “Jesus Christ the righteous … is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).
I believe in Jesus because, for His sake, God has forgiven all my sins and made me, a sinner, acceptable in His sight. The Bible says: “He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).
Yes, I am a sinner and have come short, but I am “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
When I stand before God in His great judgment on the Last Day, I need not be afraid. Though a sinner, Jesus shed His blood for me! His cleansing blood will be my only plea!
I pray that you, also, will believe in Jesus, for He came into the world to save sinners like me and like you, too!
O dearest Jesus, thank You for coming into this world to save sinners like me. Grant that I ever hold fast to You and trust in You and Your shed blood for my eternal salvation. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]
Community, Pages 4 on 09/15/2010