Let's recap your situation:
you are guilty of
sinning against God Himself and because you have a conscience, you
have done this "with knowledge." Every time you have sinned you had the
knowledge that what you did was wrong. To make matters worse, you have actually angered
God by your
sin. The Bible says His wrath abides on you and that you are an
enemy of God in your mind through wicked works (Colossians
1:21). Luckily for you, God has made provision for your sins to
be forgiven. His love for you is so great that He did
something unimaginable for you. Please read this very carefully:
Let's go back to the
courtroom. This time it's you who has broken the law. You're
guilty of 10 very serious crimes and the evidence against you is
overwhelming. You stare into the unwavering eyes of the judge as
he declares your guilt and sentences you to either pay a fine of
$50 million dollars or face life imprisonment. You are
restrained with handcuffs and the bailiff begins to lead
you away to your jail cell as you explain to the judge that you
simply haven't got enough money to pay such a huge fine.
At this very moment, a
complete stranger walks through the back door of the courtroom
and approaches the judge. To everyone's surprise, he places $50
million dollars in cash on the bench and says, "Your Honor, I
know that I'm innocent and this man is guilty, but
I love him so much that I've sold everything that I own in order
to pay his fine FOR him." At this point, the judge is able
to turn to you and JUSTLY say, "You're free to go on the
grounds that your fine has been paid." Because justice has
been served by your fine being paid, the judge can righteously
let you go free.
This is exactly what God
did for you about 2,000 years ago when He sent His Son Jesus
into the world. Almighty God left his thrown in heaven and
humbled himself by taking on the form of a man. The Bible says
this about Jesus: For by him were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by him, and for him
(Colossians 1:16); All things were made by him; and without
him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3).
Jesus Christ was born of a
virgin and lived a perfectly sinless life, never once sinning in
thought, word, or deed. When Jesus suffered and died on the
cross, He paid the penalty for every one of your sins as well as
the sins of the whole world. The Bible says: But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement
of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah
53:5-6). Then He rose again on the third day, defeating death, and
ascended up into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the
Father (Hebrews 12:2).
Simply put, in the
courtroom of God's eternal justice, you broke the Law and Jesus
paid your fine so that you wouldn't have to. God's love for you
is amazing: For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16);
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us,
in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:7-8);
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me (John 14:6).
In order for you to obtain
His forgiveness, God commands you to repent (Acts 17:30) by
confessing and turning away from your sins, and you must put all
of your trust in Jesus in order to escape the wrath of God on
the Day of Judgment. The Bible says: That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans
10:9-10).
The moment you repent and
ask God for forgiveness through Jesus with all of your heart
(Psalm 51:17) the Bible says that God will give you a new heart,
a new mind, and new desires, making you a new creation in Jesus
Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God will forgive you of every sin
that you've ever committed, no matter how bad you think it is,
and grant you the gift of eternal life in exchange for the
punishment
you truly deserve. The Bible says: The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,
but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). This
is why the word gospel literally translated means "good news!"
Ask God to forgive you today by praying
something like this: Dear God, I understand that I have
sinned against you by breaking your Holy Law. I know that I
deserve to spend eternity in hell for my sins. Please forgive
me. This day I repent and put my trust in Jesus Christ as my
Savior and my Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for suffering on the cross
in my place. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
