"Lord, I know I'm unworthy, but . . . "
How many prayers have you heard or said that included those words or words to that effect? The idea is that we are supposed to be humble before God and remember that we are "just an old sinner saved by grace." Well, if you are saved by grace, then you are NOT an old sinner! You are an EX-sinner!
2 Corinthians 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
This makes it clear that when a you accept Jesus and are born again, you are not a sinner anymore, you are remade into the righteousness of God. This gives us the right and ability to come directly into the presence of God and speak directly to Him without cowering and being afraid that you will be zapped by a bolt of lightning or something.
Hebrews 4:16, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Before you start another prayer with "Lord, I know I'm unworthy, but . . . " Stop and think for a moment about what you are implying with those words. God has made it clear in His word that the price of sin has been paid by Jesus. He has made it plain that there is no other name under heaven that can save us (Acts 4:12). When you accept Jesus your sins are not simply "put under the blood" as people often say without realizing what they are saying, that sin is washed away. Because if all it did was cover sin, then it wouldnt be enough, the sin would still be there. When you have a dirty shirt, and you wash that shirt, the dirt is not simply covered, it is totatly removed. If it were simply covered, it would only LOOK clean when in fact, the shirt would still be dirty. Fortunately for us, the blood of Jesus does not simply cover sin, it removes it, leaving us in the same condition that we would be in if we had never sinned in the first place.
Get this! You ARE worthy! It is true that none of us are worthy of our own merit. None of us can be good enough by our own works to be worthy of anything from God except utter, complete, total, absolute condemnation. But God loves us anyway in spite of our failures and shortcomings, and He shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. And since when we come to Him and are born again we are made new. Literally made the righteousness of God, then suddenly we are worthy of all that God wants us to have and be. That's the way He wanted it, and He loved us enough to do what it took to make it possible. Given what God has done in sending Jesus to die on the cross for us in order to bring us back into fellowship with Him, continuing to call ourselves unworthy in the light of His great gift to us is nothing less than an insult to God. It's telling God that He wasn't good enough and did not do enough for us.
Well, what do you want? Blood?!?
Ok, fine, Blood it is then.
Take a look at the cross.
Do you see those stains?
That is Gods' own blood.
And if that is not enough for you, and you decide not to accept what He has given you, then you will go to hell because of that decision.
God is not ever going to be any more merciful than He is right now. Because of Jesus and the cross, you have the ability to become one of His children and be able to stand before Him in confidence at the Judgement, knowing that you are a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. He is Never going to provide any other, neater, more convienient, or socially acceptable path to heaven. He is not going to ask you how you would prefer to come to Him. He has made it clear, that the only way you can approach Him is in absolute, total, complete righteousness. And that anything less than that is unacceptable. No carnal, unsaved, fleshly human has ever been, or will ever be able to stand in the presense of God and look Him in the face. And if you think that you could stand before God clothed only in your own righteousness, then you are a fool. If you are not made the rightousness of God by becoming a new creation in Jesus The Anointed One and His Anointing, then your future is easy to tell:
you die in an unsaved condition,
you go to hell.
you appear before God at the judgement
when your name is not found written in the Lamb's book of life, you are cast (THROWN, HURLED) alive into the lake of fire where you will be forever in eternal torment.
when that happens, that is the end of the story for you, because you WILL NEVER LEAVE IT!
On the other hand, if you choose to be wise and accept Jesus, then you are reborn. You gain the right to stand blameless before God. And on judgement day, He will welcome you home:
Matthew 25:21, "His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
So which would you rather have? Heaven or hell?
Deuteronomy 30:19, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:"
God has left the choice up to each one of us. He has given us the choices, and because He loves us He recomends that we choose life and blessing, but if you are fool enough to choose death and cursing, then you can have the second death if you want it.
If you would like to choose life and accept Jesus, then pray. Speak to God, out loud so that you can hear it with your own ears. Admit to Him that you have been and are a sinner, and that you know that your own righteousness or goodness is not pure enough to get you into heaven. Tell Him that you accept the gift of having your sin washed away by the blood of Jesus. Thank Him for loving you enough to make it possible for you to escape the condemnation of hell and the lake of fire. Ask Him to fill you and guide you with His Holy Spirit. Then get a Bible and read it. Find good solid Bible teaching and learn who you are in Jesus The Anointed One and His Anointing. Pray and study, learn the will of God for your life and then go do it.
