The Sinner’s Prayer
Too many times religion has tried to complicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So often we demand that people jump through rituals of man’s design before we let them enter the Kingdom of God. Humans seem to demand pageantry and pomp for the conversion of one lost soul. You cannot be voted in by an organization nor is salvation written upon a diploma.
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We all have sinned. Every human has committed crimes against God in the form of white lies, theft, covetousness, or using God’s Name in vain. If we do not resolve these sins then we are fugitives running from justice. A fugitive’s life will never have any peace.
But notice that the scripture says we “come short.” No matter how holy your actions or unholy your deeds you still fall short. Imagine you are stranded on a cliff and you need to jump a 50 foot gap to get to the safety of the other side. The other side represents Heaven and falling short represents Hell. Let’s say for every good work you did you get one step running start. So if you did 100 good deeds in your life you will get 100 running steps to try to jump to the other side. If you did 500 good works then you get 500 running steps. But let’s say that you were an awful person full of awful deeds and never did one good thing. That means you wouldn’t get any running start and would have to leap from the very edge. Now what’s going to happen? The person with 500 running steps is going to get a good jump. But will it matter? The gap is still 50 feet and even with that much of a running start nobody can jump that far. They might have gotten a ways out there but still they came short. The person with a 100 steps? Same thing. The person with zero steps? They come short.
Unfortunately people are trying to make the jump themselves all the time. People with the good works trust that their running start will get them over. And people without a running start feel hopeless. They both are doomed unless a bridge is built.
Romans 10:9 says, “If you shall confess (or speak) with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe IN YOUR HEART that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved.” Notice it says nothing about your money, church history, or deeds. God is interested in a heart decision. There are not enough good works to get you in and there are not enough bad works to keep you out. There is no running start. God wants your trust. Will you give it to Him? You can only bridge the gap when you pray out of a sincere heart to accept Jesus Christ to be your Lord.
It sounds like this: “Dear God, I believe Jesus Christ is the Lord. I believe in my heart that you raised Him from the dead to save me. Forgive me of my sins. Jesus I take you as my Lord and Savior. Come into my life. In Jesus Name, Amen.” Please share this with others
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
