Two Little Questions that Changed my Life
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I grew up in a Christian home and always considered myself a Christian. But at some point, I started believing that I had to be perfect to please God and get into heaven, so for a long time that's what I tried to be. I'll unpack more of my story in another blog post, but the TL;DR version is that I quickly discovered that being perfect was impossible, so I basically said screw it and lived it up during college. I hit a low point during my senior year, yet one night in my bedroom, God met me. It was through a randomly found sermon that He showed me just how wrong my perception of Him was. During that message, the pastor asked two simple questions that completely changed my life:
- On a scale of 1-10 (10 being certain and 1 being not so sure), if you were to die today, how certain are you that you're going to heaven?
- If you stand before God today and He asks you why he should let you in, what would you say?
Before you keep reading, I want you to take a moment and answer these two questions for yourself too. Think of a number and keep it in your head or write it down.
When I was asked these questions back in 2016, I rated myself a 7 because I tried really hard to be a good person, but I had obviously done some bad things so I couldn't be 100% sure right? And I honestly couldn't even answer why God should let me into heaven. The pastor then went on to explain that if you answered anything but a 10, then you must not know or fully understand the true meaning of the Gospel, which is this:
We've all messed up and have done things that are displeasing to God: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23
Our sin separates us from having a relationship with God, and there's nothing we can do on our own to make ourselves right with Him: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" - Romans 6:23
Despite our sinful nature, God loved us so much that He sent His son Jesus to die for us, paying the price of our sins: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8
If we put our faith in Jesus, and believe that He died and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins, we will be saved: "If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9
Salvation is a free gift from God, not something we can earn on our own merit: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
We're all in desperate need of a savior. Jesus died to save us. He paid the price for all our sins - past, present, and future. By trusting in Jesus and accepting His sacrifice, our sins are forgiven, and we are reconciled back to God. Forever! Not because of our good works or achievements, but only because of God's grace and mercy towards us. THAT'S the good news of the Gospel, and in sharing this truth I've come to know with you, I hope it changes your life just like it changed mine.