02/14/2020
A man is watching as Christians sing and worship Jesus, then he listens as the pastor speaks of life that awaits us in Christ. All of this stirs something in his heart, and he feels an urge to come forward and be saved, but he doesn’t. It is the age old struggle between good and evil that is raging within him. He hears the good news of Jesus, but Satan continues telling him he is lost, and in that lie, salvation seem beyond his reach. Salvation isn’t complicated, and the call to the altar requires only one price... for us to believe.
“Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"”
Acts 16:30 ESV
This scripture comes from a story of the Apostle Paul. He was in a prison cell praying, and singing hymns, when an earthquake came and threw the prison door open while loosing the chains of the prisoners . Feeling the shaking, the prison guard came running and when he saw the door open he assumed the prisoners had escaped, then, knowing he would be killed because of this he prepared to take his own life, but from inside the dark cell he heard Paul say...
“But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."”
Acts 16:28 ESV
This act of not escaping and running away moved the jailer so much that his heart was opened, and he was called to accept Jesus as his savior... but he really didn’t know how to do that. So he brought Paul and his friends out of their cell so that he could see them and asked how he could be saved...
“Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"”
Acts 16:30 ESV
Being saved... I am certain he thought that this must be something very hard to do; but is it? You can imagine his joy when Paul and the other Christians said these words...
“And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."”
Acts 16:31 ESV
How incredible this seemed! He had jailed and beaten these men, just as he had many others before them; yet this Jesus was prepared to forgive him all of those atrocities, and other sins he had committed, if he would just believe in Him? Could it be true? Could his life, and his families lives, be changed, and made pure in an instant? Could this really happen by simply believing in this man Jesus, and that he was the Son of God? But Paul told him that it was true, and friends, it is just as true for us today.
“And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.”
Acts 16:33 ESV
The good news is that God sent His Son to be born a man, live, teach us, die on a cross, rise from the grave, and ascend into heaven so that by His sacrifice we could be saved from sin and death by simply believing in Him. And when we do this... when we believe... we are saved, and our lives will be changed forever. Oh Joy!
“Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”
Acts 16:34 ESV
This is a simple story about a simple but very sinful man. It is a story about belief, faith, contrition, and forgiveness. It is about God’s mercy and grace being poured over us... and all we need to do is accept it... to believe.
We may have committed egregious sins in our lives, but God is waiting to forgive them through His Son Jesus. We might even have lived a relatively moral life only to find something missing from it, but Jesus is prepared to lead us to God, and to introduce us to the fullness of peace, and joy, that awaits us there. Whatever our circumstances, no matter how much Satan tries to convince us that we are undeserving, or beyond the reach of God’s grace... it is a lie, because he is the father of lies that uses all that we have once been to convince us that we can’t be what God desires us to be... saved.
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
John 8:44 ESV
So don’t believe the lies. Don’t let evil convince you that you are too far gone, or that salvation is for others, but not for you. Don’t let your entanglement in a sinful life seem too complex to escape from, because our God can solve the most difficult of situations. To Him all of this is simple, and the way has already been prepared for you. All that is left for you to do is BELIEVE in Jesus Christ, and then act upon your belief.
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
John 3:16-18 ESV
BELIEVE! - it’s not difficult. Pray this simple prayer with me today, believe that you have been saved, and then begin living a changed life in Jesus... do as Jesus told others to do when He said to them: “Go and sin no more.”
Prayer for Salvation:
Holy Father, hear me now because Although I am a sinner I come to you asking for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus is your Son, that He died for my sins, and that you raised Him from the dead. I accept Him as my savior, and want to follow Him in my life from this day forward. I believe in Him Father, and accept His sacrifice as the price for my redemption. Guide me in my faith Lord, and make me yours forevermore.
Amen
Rich Forbes