Human nature commonly thinks that free salvation through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ is too good to be true. But every sinner is born a natural rebel with his face turned away from his Maker. He is a criminal; he has broken the law of God and is guilty. He stands stubbornly with his back to the Light, and is going down a dark road, the road which leads to destruction. Man must be converted, that is, he needs to be turned around. He must make an 'about face' towards God (be converted) and look to Christ alone for salvation from SIN. Unless the Spirit of God and the word of God awaken the lost man, he will continue on in his darkness and perish in his sins forever. A man is only justified (freely pardoned and made righteous in the sight of God) by the power of God through faith in the shed blood and righteousness (sinless perfection) of Jesus Christ. God so loved you that He gave His Precious Son to die in your place.
There are millions and millions of sinners, in this world, going the wrong way, and do not know it, and some even believe they are doing God service, when they are actually opposing God and His Son. Some men think they all right in the sight of God; they pray, attend a place of worship, and try to do what's right towards their fellow man. They say, "Well, if I'm not right and going to heaven, I wonder who is; and if I've gone wrong, where must my friends and neighbors be going?" As long as he is still in his sin's blindness, he will see no fault in himself, BUT when the Spirit of God comes to him, and reveals to him the Law of God, then he perceives that he has broken all of the Ten Commandments in the spirit, if not in the letter of them. Even the most moral men tremble when they remember Christ's words in Matt 5:28, "But I say unto you, whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
When you come to understand that the Commandments of God not only forbid wrong actions, but also idle words, selfish intents, lustful desires, filthy imaginations, and evil thoughts of the heart. You can commit murder by just hating someone in your heart, or commit adultery by simply lusting after a woman in your imaginations, and you can rob your neighbors by not loving them as you should, or blaspheme God without ever speaking a wicked word. You can break all of the Commandments before you put your clothes on in the morning, for the Bible says in James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in ONE POINT, he is guilty of all." The Lord Jesus also said, "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."
Only the Spirit of God, through the word of God, can bring home to the sinner's heart these truths and make a man see that he is in error and in danger; and the Holy Spirit's power alone will cause the man to see there is a terrible precipice right before him called Death and Hell, over which he will fall if he goes on in his stubborn pride, trespasses, and sins. When he finally realizes his sinful condition and senses his peril, he stops, and considers his latter end.
The Word of God tells a sinner that, by the works of the law, he cannot be justified; it tells him that his heart is defiled, that he himself is condemned already, that he is shut up under condemnation for having broken God's law, and says to him that, whatever he may do, or however much he may struggle, if he does not seek salvation in God's way, he will only make his bad condition worse, and be like a drowning man, who sinks the faster the more he struggles.
Christ died for the ungodly, not for good people. Your sin deserves punishment. God has laid that punishment upon His only-begotten Son; and, therefore, He is ready to forgive you freely for Christ's sake, not because of anything good in you, or anything you ever can do, but ENTIRELY of God's free mercy. God bids you trust yourself in the hands of Jesus that He may save you. Come, then, and rely upon what Christ has done, and is still doing for you, and believe in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, and not in yourself at all.
The Word of the Lord with the power of the Holy Spirit helps the sinner to believe. The self-righteous man is quite startled at the idea of free salvation - instantaneous pardon - the full blotting out of sin - ALL FOR NOTHING - a pardon for the worst and vilest freely given, and given now this moment. But Mr. Do-Gooder says, "Surely, this is too good to be true!" He thinks he must add his works. He is filled with amazement, for God's thoughts are as high above him, as the heavens are above the earth. The word of God says to him, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
The simple story of the Lamb of God dying on the cross for his sins and rising again from the dead melts his heart and persuades his stubborn will. The Spirit of God applies the precious promises and gracious invitations to his soul, and the sinner responds, "I can and I do believe in Jesus. Lord, I do gladly accept your pardoning mercy. I look unto Christ who was nailed to the cross, and I find in Him the cure for the serpent-bites of sin. I do and I will trust in Jesus and commit my soul's eternal safety unto Him. Then, the word of God converts his soul through the power of the Holy Spirit, and helps the man to repent of his dead works and believe implicitly in Christ Jesus' shed blood and righteousness. God be merciful to me a sinner, please wash my sins away in the precious blood of the living Christ, right now.
