Am I Too Sinful To Be Saved?
It’s easy to think we can’t be saved because our sins are too many and too messy.
We may think we can’t be saved because our sins are too public or too private.
We may think we can’t be saved because our sins are…
….too deep
…too dirty, and
…too dark.
We may think we are too depraved to be saved.
We may think our sins are so bad that we can’t be saved.
That’s what Peter thought.
Peter said the following words to Jesus, "Get away from me, I am a sinful man!" (Luke 5:8)
Peter thought he was too sinful to be saved.
However, Peter was not to sinful to be saved.
No one is.
Peter became the leader of the disciples, spoke about Jesus to thousands during his life, and died as a believer in Jesus.
Peter wrote two letters in the Bible.
His final words in his last letter are:
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)
Peter understood the grace of God.
That’s because his life consisted of learning about grace and growing in grace.
Peter’s life before being saved was very sinful.
So sinful that he tried to push Jesus away.
Yet Jesus, in his grace, comes to sinful people.
No one has too many sins for Jesus.
No sin is too messy for Jesus.
No sin is to deep, dirty, or dark for Jesus.
No one is too depraved for Jesus.
No sin is too bad for Jesus.
In love, Jesus went to the cross and paid the penalty for our sins.
Paul, a one-time murder and enemy of Jesus, writes about this love in Galatians 2:20 when he states, “The one who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Paul also writes about the love of Jesus for all people in 2 Corinthians 5:14.
He writes, “The love of Jesus [for all people] compels me [to tell others about the love of Jesus]. For I am convinced one [Jesus] died for all.”
Paul makes it clear that Jesus loves all people…no matter how many their sins, deep their sins, dirty their sins, messy their sins, or bad their sins.
Paul tells us that all of our sins were counted against Jesus and, therefore, are no longer counted against us (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
The sins you may think that God is counting against you have been counted against Jesus.
God is not counting your sins against you…none of them.
Rather he is offering his forgiveness to you.
Jesus told Paul to tell people that forgiveness of sins is received by faith (Acts 26:18).
And that is what Paul did (Acts 13:38-39).
Today, Jesus is offering you his forgiveness…his salvation.
It is received by faith.
Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus.
He writes, “It is by grace through faith you are saved, and this not of yourselves - it is a gift of God - so that no one may boast.”
If we could save ourselves, we could boast about how good we are.
But no one can save themselves with good works, because we all have sinned; therefore, no one can boast and say, “Look at me! Look at how good I am! I saved myself through good works!”
Instead, we will say, “Look at Jesus! Look at what Jesus did for me to save me! Look at his good work on the cross! Look at his grace!”
We all need grace.
Peter and Paul both wrote about grace.
Grace is the unconditional love of God, unmerited kindness of God, and unlimited forgiveness freely and fully revealed and given to us in Jesus.
Grace is everything God did for us in Jesus to save us from the penalty for our sins and give us eternal life, leaving us nothing to do but to receive by faith what Jesus did for us.
Salvation is a gift.
A gift is something someone purchased for another person to enjoy.
The gift is received and opened by faith.
God has purchased salvation for us all through the blood of Jesus.
He offers us this salvation as a gift.
This gift of salvation is received by faith.
If anyone is too sinful to be saved, then Peter nor Paul could not have been saved...and no one could be saved, because we are all sinful apart from Christ and stand in need of his grace, which he poured out upon us at the cross.
If you would like to be saved, you can be.
You are not too sinful to be saved.
Below is a simple prayer where you can express your faith in Jesus and receive the free gift of forgiveness and salvation.
Jesus, I admit that I have sinned. I believe you love me and gave your life for me. I believe you died for all my sins on the cross where you shed your blood for my sins. Today, I receive by faith your gift of forgiveness and salvation.
If you made the decision to believe in Jesus today, we would love to know. Send us a message from the Contact Us page letting us know you have believed in Jesus.
If you would like to learn more about Jesus, Brad has many resources on this website that can be accessed from the Home page.
One article that may interest you is an article Brad wrote, Name Him Jesus, He Will Save Us From Our Sins