When we believe that we are sinners and have offended a holy and perfect God, that we deserve nothing but separation from him and eventually to be away from Him for eternity, then it grips our hearts that we need to be reconciled to God. But we cannot reconcile ourselves to Him, because our “good” works are not enough. They do not meet His standard of perfection.

 

Fortunately, this Holy God is a God of love, not willing that we should perish without Him or live without Him. Knowing that we are deserving of eternal separation from Him in life and death, He sent His own son Jesus Christ to die in our place and pay the penalty for all our sins, that we may have a relationship with God.

 

All that we need to take hold of what Christ did for us is to believe. Believe that Christ died in our place. He paid the penalty for our sins, so now we are free. We are reconciled to God instantly if we believe that Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins.

 

If we have faith in what He did, and we turn to Christ, ask Him to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all evil and filthiness and come into our heart as Lord and Savior and change us, turn us away from our old life (repent), then we are saved from the penalty of our sins – spiritual death and separation from God. We now have a relationship with Him and are free to enter into His presence.

 

We will never be saved or reconciled to God by good works. When Jesus died on the cross, 2 criminals were crucified on crosses with Him, one to His left and one to His right. One of the thieves turned to Jesus and asked that Jesus remember him when Jesus came into His kingdom. It was a simple profession of faith from this criminal, believing that Jesus was Lord and asking Jesus for mercy.

 

Jesus’ reply to this criminal was one of mercy. That the criminal would be with Him in paradise that very day. Jesus’ awarded this criminal forgiveness and took him into heaven based just on the criminal’s faith in Jesus.

 

The evangelist D.L Moody put it this way. “The thief had nails through both hands, so that he could not work; and a nail through each foot, so that he could not run errands for the Lord; he could not lift a hand or a foot toward his salvation, and yet Christ offered him the gift of God; and he took it. Christ threw him a passport, and took him into Paradise.”

 

We are saved only by faith in Christ. Believe that He is Lord and Savior and that He died for our sins. Receive Him as the criminal did and be on the way to paradise where He is, and in relationship with the Lord for the rest of your days on earth.