Human nature is sinful, unholy, proud, and desperate for redemption. Without Christ, we are self-centered, unforgiving, ungrateful, abusive, and boastful.

However, God has not abandoned us to sin. He has provided a way for each one of us to experience His eternal grace and salvation. Christ’s death on Calvary’s cross is God’s perfect solution for our sin. Christ’s sacrifice is nothing short of life itself. It is through His blood that we are redeemed, resurrected, and eternally freed from the chains of sin that lead to death. It is as Charles Spurgeon said in a sermon delivered in August 1876:

O Sinner, if you feel yourself to be the worst sinner out of Hell, still pray, believingly pray for mercy! If your sense of unworthiness is enough to drive you to self-destruction, yet I beseech you, out of the depths, out of the dungeon of self-loathing, still cry unto God, for your salvation rests in no measure or degree upon yourself or upon anything that you are or have been or can be! You need to be saved from yourself, not by yourself! It is yours to be empty, that Jesus may fill you! It is yours to confess your filthiness, that He may wash you! It is yours to be less than nothing, that Jesus may be everything to you!

The Bible tells us that every person who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (see Acts 2:21). Why? Because God loves us and desires a personal relationship with us. When you accept Christ as your Savior, you become a new person because of the righteousness of Christ imparted to you: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through the Holy Spirit working in you, you are empowered to obey God’s Word. You can trust Him. He knows your future and the plans He has for you.

While you may be dismayed over the sin raging around you, don’t despair. God is in control. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). Rest in the Lord’s love and power—and trust that He can redeem anyone from the deepest of pits.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for calling me out of my sin and making me Yours. Help me to empty myself so that I can be filled with Your Spirit and grow in Christlikeness. Grant me discipline to pray, worshiping and fellowshipping with You, and to intercede for the lost with compassion. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).

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