All Have Sinned
Many people today are like the man who said, “I am not good enough for heaven and not bad enough for hell.” They think they are pretty good and God will somehow give them a home in heaven.
What does the Bible say about man? It says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I have—you have. We are like the man who was lost in the woods. He was finally so confused that he had to sit down and wait for someone to find him. Are you lost? Do you know where to go?
There Is Hope for You
You need not be lost and live in sin. You need not despair. Jesus Christ has opened the way for all to live a happy life. He has opened the door of heaven for you. Whether you are poor as a beggar or rich as a millionaire, whether you are highly respected or not, you have the opportunity to come to the Lord Jesus. He says in his Word, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). There is hope for you. You can come to the Friend of all men and be saved from your sins.
Jesus Will Give You Peace
The teacher held out his gold watch, saying, “The one who comes here to take this watch can have it.” None of the children came forward except the smallest boy in the classroom. To the surprise of the others, he got the watch. They just hadn’t believed the teacher. The offer was too good to be true, they thought. Now the opportunity was gone. The little boy had the prize.
Jesus holds out a greater prize. He says, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Many people have already accepted this call. Have you? He is calling you now. These words are for you. If you are tired of sin, if your heart is troubled, come to the One who will give you rest. He will forgive your sinful past. He will carry your load of worries away. You can put on Him all your troubles because He cares for you. He is now reaching out his arms to help you.
You May Accept His Gift Now
The little boy believed his teacher, stepped up to the desk, and got the watch. In the same way you can receive the gift that Jesus offers you today.
“What shall I do?” you say. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,” says God’s Word, “and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). As you look to the Lord you see how sinful you are, and you say, “There is no hope for me. I cannot come to the Lord this way.” Listen again to the words of Jesus, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden” (Matthew 11:28). He does not tell you to get rid of your sins, to clean up your life and then come. No, come as you are. Tell Him your sins, tell Him your troubles, and apologize to those you have wronged. Believe that He hears you. Reach out, believing like the little boy, and He will give you peace of mind and rest for your soul.
Let’s see what else Jesus says. “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). Notice the last part, “is passed from death unto life.” It need not take long. The price is paid, and you can be free right now. He paid the debt when He died on the cross. There your sins were paid for. But you must look in faith to Jesus who died on the cross in your stead.
Can you believe this? Can you take Jesus at his word and leave your load of sin and trouble to Him? Pray to Him now, repent of and confess your sins, and receive that free gift of peace—be born anew, be a child of God. Jesus says in the third chapter of John, “Ye must be born again.” That is, born of the Spirit.
You Can Enjoy Living with Christ
When you are born again, your old desire for sin passes away. Sin does not look so attractive anymore. Your heart is filled with peace, and you do not enjoy the foolishness of the world.
Now you love to pray. You enjoy God’s Word. You read it, listen to it, and study it. You even love those whom you did not like very well before. At home or in church you commune with God in prayer and receive strength to say no to the tempter. When trials or temptations come, you know that God is always near, ready to help you over the rough places. And as you grow in your Christian life you find that prayer is your vital breath—you cannot get along without it.
You Can Work for Jesus
Knowing that the Lord has saved you makes you want to do something for Him. You start by telling others of your experience with the Lord. Your heart overflows with joy, and you want others to have the same experience.
As you learn to know God’s Word better, you can reach out farther and help those who are in sin. Or you can help with other work in the Church. You can help in Sunday school, in Bible classes, and in church services. You can testify for the Lord in public. God will lead you into an active Christian life. In this way you can honor God and show your appreciation for what He has done in your life. God calls every Christian to serve Him.
The apostle Paul gives us some good instructions along this line. He says, “My beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
One thing we need to remember is to be obedient to the Word of God and to the Holy Spirit who leads us in the right path. Jesus emphasizes it very strongly that we must be doers of the will of our heavenly Father (Matthew 7:21).
God Will Reward You
How does God reward you? Actually there are two stages of reward. One is here in this life; the other is in the life to come.
Let’s look at the words of Jesus again. He says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). The peace He speaks of here is for those whose sins are forgiven, whose hearts are washed with the blood of Christ. It is for those who have completely given their lives over to Him. He gives that peace to men so the Christian life will be worthwhile. You can have peace in your heart as you turn to Him in all your problems. That is part of the reward.
He helps you to resist temptation. He hears your prayers when you call to Him for help.
If you remain faithful to the Lord you will have a reward in heaven. In this life you will have disappointments, but in heaven you will have eternal happiness. When you get to heaven, all the troubles and cares of this life will have vanished. You will be with God and the angels and all the faithful Christians forever and ever. That will be the eternal reward.
Jesus Is Coming Soon
The Bible tells us that Jesus will return again. He is not coming as a loving Savior as before. This time He will come as a judge, and He will “reward every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27). The sinner will go to the place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). There hope is gone. No one will be able to turn to God for forgiveness. The Bible describes it as “outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). Jesus warns us about the place “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44).
As a child of God you need not fear the coming of the Lord. Jesus is coming to take his children home to heaven. He says, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:33).