Time is short, life is fleeting, death is hastening on, Eternity is near. You have sinned, you must repent of sinning, and turn from your sins. You cannot be saved unless you personally receive Jesus Christ into your inward parts - heart, soul, mind, spirit. You must undergo a radical change in your mind about everything when it comes to Biblical Truth. You think little of sin and Christ, but you must loathe sin and forsake it. You must turn to God, think of God, trust, love, long for, live for, delight in, adore Him. Do works meets for repentance. Make restitution to those you have wronged, reconcile with those you have offended, acknowledge if you've spoken falsely, give up evil habits, earnestly endeavor to be pure and holy. Strive against sin, deny self, read and heed God's words, live wholly for Christ, ask the Lord to change your whole life, every thought, word and deed.
By nature, no man hates his sins, and truly wants to love God. The Holy Ghost first comes in His power and remind you of your sins, and to think much of the Savior of sinners. The horrible enormity of your iniquity was laid on Jesus at the Cross. The Holy Spirit comes to make sin appear sin, and cause you to see sin's dreadful consequences. He convinces you of sin, the source of your sin, the depravity of your inward nature. The Holy Spirit blows and the beauty and excellence of human righteousness withers away. This is the withering work of the Holy Spirit which is most needful. Men must first be pulled down, emptied, humbled, and convinced of sin and guilt. A real sinner who mourns in his inmost soul; this man will welcome the Gospel, grace, and The Savior. Repentance, self-despair, and faith in Jesus is the work of the Holy Ghost. The Gospel has a blunt diagnosis for sinners; your sin and self-righteousness have to be dealt with severely and invasively by the Great Physician with the scalpel of the words of God.
The Holy Ghost first brings us to despair over our sins, and then He leads us to delight in the Savior. Evil thoughts, impure desires, unclean imaginations, proud intentions flit across the mind all the time. The desire to commit evil can only be kept in check by the Holy Spirit. We are by nature sinful. Our pride kicks against this fact. Every sin is an attack against God's person, throne, and glory. Sin would destroy God if it could. Sin is heinous and horrifying. Look to Jesus to apply the heavenly balm and take away your sins. See the sin of unbelief, it is much worse than theft, lying, or lust. To reject Christ is the damning sin, because you make God a liar and you reject His mercy. Perceive the greatness of your crimes against your Maker, your high offenses against the bleeding Lamb. All that real saving faith can build upon is what God has said in the Holy Bible. The only solid foothold that faith has is, "It is written, God hath said it." When a sinner comes to God, he has nothing else to rely upon except this, "Do as Thou has said."
The Holy Spirit must also show men they have no righteousness of their own, and that they have no means of working a righteousness that is pleasing to God, and that apart from the grace of God you are condemned already. Only the righteousness of God, Jesus Christ Himself, justifies sinners, and renders them acceptable to God. The Lord mass us righteous on the spot, but putting away our sins, and justifying us by the Righteousness of faith, a perfect Righteousness which comes to us by the worthiness of Another who attained this Righteousness for us. Christ's Righteousness is set to our account. All of your doing is in vain. This is the glory of God, that He justifies the ungodly and saves sinners by the finished work of Christ. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. The light of God's Holy Spirit, and the Savior's Atonement is Salvation. The nature of God, right and wrong, the sinfulness of man, the need of Atonement, the rewards of the righteous, the penalties of the wicked - these truths needs to be declared today. *John 1:27*
The grand old story of the Incarnate God who loved His enemies, and gave Himself to die in their place, that they might live through Him. God is perfectly satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ, and if you are satisfied with Him, then God is satisfied with you. God is satisfied only with Christ, trust Christ's Atoning Blood, and God will be satisfied with you. Accept the Atonement made by Christ, and the Righteousness prepared by the Savior. Every truly wise man will say, "A Savior is what I need and a great One, an Atonement for all my sins is the one thing needful to me; a full Atonement, divine mercy, and everlasting love." Faith is a conscious dependence on Christ's strength. Lie down humbly at Christ's feet, conscious of your sin, mourning over it, resting on Christ's Grace and Blood for everything. *John 3:16*
The hourglass is almost out of sand - life is short, death is sure, sin the Curse, Christ the Cure. You need the Atonement through the Son of God who laid down His life for sinners. You must be rescued by the Righteousness and Atonement of Another. God has provided an Atonement, I accept it, I rest on Him. The religion of human nature is Do, but the true religion is all Done. You can never live well enough to satisfy God. Jesus will supply you with His Atonement, Righteousness, and Everlasting Life. My case is perfectly met by the Savior's Atonement. The Lord Jesus Christ rendered unto the divine justice of God an absolutely satisfactory Atonement by His sinless suffering and bloody death for guilty sinners. Rejoicing only in the Savior's full Atonement; this is only true source of Joy.
When all of your merit is found in the person of Jesus Christ, God will accept you, only then. God's way of salvation is not by works, but by simply trusting in the Son of God and the full Atonement for sin He offers so freely. Justification by Faith, divine Substitution, Atonement made by Precious Blood. The blessed way of Salvation by atoning blood. I accept Jesus, and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Cast your whole weight of sin upon His Atonement. Hang on Jesus as a cup hangs on a nail, and seek no other support. Glory in the Cross. God was made flesh, and He offered perfect Atonement for human guilt. Literal incarnation, actual Substitution, definite Atonement, certain Forgiveness, and present Salvation is what every sinner needs. Sin cannot be in two places at once, I believe on Jesus Christ as my Sin-Bearer, my sins are put away forever by His Atonement. Jesus' Atonement is the sinner's rest. Repose your soul now upon His Great Atonement and Finished Work.
