Why do I believe in Jesus?

Why do I believe in Jesus? Why do I trust in Him and believe His Word? My answer is quite simple. I believe in Jesus because I am a sinner and because Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

I am a sinner -- there's no doubt about that! 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 honored Him in all my ways; and I haven't loved my neighbor as much 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: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"; and, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23, 6:23a). I know that I am a sinner and, in God's judgment, deserve to be condemned to eternal punishment in hell for my sins!

So, why do I believe in Jesus? Because He came into the world to save sinners!

The Bible says: "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15). All of us are sinners, and God provided a way for sinners like you and like me to be saved when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world as a true man to keep God's commandments for us and then to die upon the cross and bear the full punishment for my sins and the sins of the whole world of sinners.

The Bible tells us: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).

Again, the Bible says that "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); and that "Jesus Christ the righteous ... is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2).

Jesus' resurrection from the dead on the third day is proof that He paid in full for all my sins -- and for the sins of all people -- when He suffered and died upon the cross, for He was suffering there, not for anything He had done amiss, but for our transgressions and disobedience to God's perfect law. The Bible says of the Lord Jesus that He "was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification" (Romans 4:25).

I believe in Jesus because He paid the price for all my sins and made me, a sinner, acceptable in God's sight. Through faith in Christ Jesus, God accepts me and forgives all my sins for Jesus' sake.

The Bible says: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:23-26).

The Bible also tells us, as believers: "He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..." (Ephesians 1:6-7).

Because of Jesus' life and death for me, I know that God will not condemn me to eternal suffering in hell for my sins, but will, instead, grant me a place with Him in heaven! Jesus Himself says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

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). "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

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, too, will believe in Jesus, for He came into the world to save sinners like me, and like you!

[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Editorial on 03/16/2016