Four Things You Need to Do to Receive Jesus Christ into Your Life | Step 1: Admit Your Spiritual Need (Romans 10:9)
Admit: confess to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance.1
I have not met many people that did not recognize a spiritual need in their life. It’s very rare that a person will not recognize their need for God, and in most instances, they are on a pursuit for truth in a quest to find peace. However, sitting on the other side of my own salvation experience, it is hard for me to relate to the resistance to the truth of the gospel.
In my own journey of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, I have been committed to sharing the glory of the Good News that has been proclaimed to all people — good news that Jesus died for our sins, and because of His sacrifice, we can through faith in Him experience relationship with the risen Christ because of God’s grace. Grace that is not earned, but given to us by a holy and just God. I have had some exciting moments as I witnessed the transformation of people’s lives by the incredible power of the gospel.
In these salvation experiences, I am always aware of the entry point for all believers: the ability to recognize their need for God because of their sin. This is a moment of humility for people — humbling themselves with the recognition that they are imperfect. Sin is a term that means to “miss the mark.” We all “miss the mark” in our pursuit of perfection, but that is why God sent His Son to Earth so that He could live a perfect life and die for our sins. God had our redemption in mind from the beginning of time. Jesus willingly went to the cross so that we could have eternal life. So, when we admit our sin, we are opening the door to a change in our life that will lead to a new identity in Christ — an identity as a son or daughter of the King. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
As I have walked through these moments of decision with people, I have seen that this step to admit your spiritual need is not hard for most. Why? I think it is because most people recognize something is missing in their life before they meet Christ. I have heard it said that we all have a God-shaped hole that only our Creator can fill. Everybody outside of a relationship with God is looking for the missing piece to fill that hole.
Also, many people are looking for release from the oppression in their lives. Solomon wrote, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). What a moment it is when a person walks through the door of God’s grace, embracing salvation by admitting their sin to the Lord — confessing that they are a sinner in need of grace. Solomon’s dad David had no problem confessing his sins to the Lord: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). David knew very well the sweet release from the bondage of condemnation to the freedom found in right relationship with God.
In the next few days, we will be writing about the Four Things You Need to Do to Receive Jesus Christ into Your Life. If you are reading this right now, you probably know Christ. If not, pay attention! The process found in these next few devotions can change your destiny! However, if you do know Christ, use these next few days to sharpen your skills in sharing the gospel, wrestling with the components of sharing Christ, and helping people receive Him into their life as you did. Have the perspective that “my friend does not know Jesus yet”! I also want you to start praying for that friend that needs to hear the good news and admit the sin that moves them to the next step: making a u-turn. You can read about that tomorrow!
Pastor Chuck Reed
1 definition of admit, found at Google.com (accessed October 6th)