What Must I do?

Only Belive....



Only believe?

What Must I Do?

It's against our nature to admit that we have failed. We want to do something to save ourselves. But God says:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV).

What is faith? It is certainly more than just believing in the reality of this story. Faith has three facets: Believing, trusting, and surrendering. They are all portrayed in the following Scripture:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:9-10 NIV).

Believing is the first step. But if the belief is not sincere enough to cause us to trust, it is worthless. This passage indicates that salvation requires a faith that trusts in God to justify what we can not fix.

We have just read where God says that we cannot do works good enough to save ourselves. Yet it is a shallow faith indeed that would say, "Yes I believe. Thank you for the gift. I will take it from here."

The faith that God requires says instead, "I believe Jesus is my only hope. I have failed miserably. I cannot be good in myself. I am trusting the righteousness of Jesus to be placed in my stead. I trust him to begin changing me, so that same righteousness will begin to be produced by Him through my life."

This leads to the third facet...that of surrender. No longer do I chose to continue on this path toward destruction. I repent and turn back toward Jesus. From this day forth I will call him my Lord -- for he is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ. I accept Him as my Lord and Savior. To the best of my ability, I will follow His plan for my life.

Once again we have a choice. We don't have to face eternal damnation, for He has rescued us. Jesus, God's son, took our place!

The greatest tragedy of the human race is that many people have chosen to refuse this second chance, this magnificent sacrifice of love. They have been lost forever, never to know the fellowship of the Savior who died to bring them home.

How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29 NIV)

But it doesn't have to end that way. Jesus, God's son, is the Lord of all, and His arms are outstretched for you today.

for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13 NIV).


Lord Jesus,

I understand now that I am part of a blighted race, and that I have failed to meet your standards. Even when I try, I can't be good enough to reach you.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you have reached me. You have touched my heart, and I want to be part of your forever family. Thank you that you didn't give up on me, Jesus. Thank you that you loved me so much that you died for me.

Lord Jesus, I can never repay you, and I know that. I have made a mess out of my life, and I have nothing to offer you in return. I come empty-handed, helpless, and hopeless without you.

I repent of the wrong I've done. I accept you as Lord of my life, and ask you to begin changing me even now. I don't want to be like this. I want to be all you created me to be.

Lord Jesus, I give myself to you right now. You lead the way, and I will follow.

Thank you for the change that you are making in my heart even now. Lord, I believe. I trust you to go with me forever. And I surrender my life to you.

Thank you for saving me Jesus. Thank you for this moment that has changed my life forever. From this day forth, I walk with you.

Amen.


If you have just prayed this prayer, or if you have any questions we can help you with, email us. We would love to hear from you and will help you in any way we can.




If you haven't already read this section on Knowing God, click Back to return to the Knowing God contents page and read through this section. If you have read this section, click Next for some steps you need to take now to grow in your new found faith.


If you are Still Unsure Please click here to Read, "Why Should I Let You Into Heaven?"
May God bless you!

Scriptures in the Knowing God section are taken from the "New International Version" and the "Bible in Basic English."

Copyright ©1981-2006 by Lois Turley
Used by permission."



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