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You do not have to wait until you have quit sinning to come to Yahuwah. Come now. Just as you are because He receives sinners!
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I have the best news for you! Want to hear it? You ready?
You’re sure you’re ready?
Well, the good news is … you’re a sinner!
That’s probably not what you were expecting to hear. But truly! It is good news because, through Yahushua, Yahuwah accepts sinners!
The good news of the gospel is that, while the wages of sin is death, the gift of Yah is eternal life through the gift of Yahushua. (See Romans 6:23.) Yah wants everyone to be saved but the truth is, Yahushua died for sinners only. Every Christian knows that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of Yah. Therefore, we tend to assume he died for everyone. In a sense, though, Yahushua died only for sinners.
This may seem redundant, but it’s not. The Pharisees of Christ’s day took great pride in their self-proclaimed righteousness. After Yahushua called Matthew to be a disciple, Matthew gave a feast for the Saviour to which he invited many other publicans and social outcasts.
The Pharisees were appalled, complaining:
“Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
Yahushua answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (See Luke 5:30-32.)
In other words, Christ was saying, “If you do not need me, know that I did not come for you. I came for sinners.”
Christians today freely admit to being sinners. But how many people truly mean it? How many say it just because it is expected of them? The truth is, many Christians compare themselves to others, finding everyone else lacking. “Sure,” they admit, “I may be a sinner, but I’m not as bad off as … that person over there. I’m careful of my diet: I don’t eat too much sugar, I never touch caffeine, and pork has never passed my lips. I may watch movies, but the movies I watch don’t have a lot of violence, and I never watch movies that show nudity. I’m doing pretty well in my Christian walk!”
And by comparing themselves to others, they decide their own sin is really not that bad.
Yahushua died to save sinners. Yahuwah would like to save those who deny their sinfulness, but they won’t accept Christ. Only sinners can come to Christ. Self-righteous people cannot because to accept Christ’s righteousness, they must first acknowledge that they are sinners in need of a Saviour. A self-righteous person thinks he has no sin, so from what should he repent? It is only the person who acknowledges he cannot save himself who can, with faith, rely upon Yahushua’s merits for salvation. This is why, although Yahushua died for all, Yah only receives sinners.
No one likes acknowledging how depraved his inner thoughts are or admitting how many times she has repented, only to commit the same sin over and over again. But if you are a sinner, this is good news! If Yahuwah receives sinners, He will receive you, too! Yahuwah doesn’t receive those who simply give lip service to being a sinner just because it is expected of them. But to all who are actual sinners, who feel hopeless and lost, He will receive them.
To encourage sinners to come to Yah for salvation, Yahushua told a parable that illustrates well the conditions of being received.
Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘Yah, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘Yah, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (See Luke 18:9-14.)
You may be filled with fear. You may think you have fallen too far, or repeated the same sin too many times to be forgiven. But if this is so, you are the very one Yah is calling! You do not need to stay away from Yahuwah until you have overcome sin in your life. You do not need to wait to come to Yah until you have successfully resisted temptation X-number of times. You can come, just as you are, and He will accept you.
Yah’s invitation to you is: “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.” (Jeremiah 3:22, NKJV) The lower and more helpless you know yourself to be, the more confident you can be that He will accept you because He said that He would: “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” (John 6:37, NKJV)
Do not wait to come to Yahuwah. The desire you have to come to Yah, He Himself planted in your heart. You can have every confidence that Yahuwah will accept you precisely because He has already accepted so many others before you: the drunk, Noah; the incestuous father, Lot; the murderer, Moses; the harlot, Rahab; the adulterer and murderer, David … all found forgiveness and acceptance in Yahushua.
You can be confident that Yahuwah will accept you because Yahushua would not die for you, only to let you perish.
We do not like to feel our unworthiness. We do not like to feel our sinfulness. But the good news is, Yahushua died to save sinners. That means, if you are a sinner, he died for you!
The Pharisees complained, “This man receives sinners.” (Luke 15:2)
Are you a sinner? Then know he died for you. Do not try to diminish your sinfulness. Admit it. It is your acknowledgment that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour that guarantees your acceptance by Yahuwah.
Do not stay away from the Saviour because you are a sinner. Do not stay away because you are not a Bible scholar. Do not stay away because you are ashamed that, after Yah has forgiven you, you have gone and made the same mistakes all over again. Come to the Father just as you are.
There is no limit on the amount of sinning you may have done yet Yah will still accept and forgive you. Yah’s love and grace are limitless!
Are you struggling under a burden of guilt? Is Satan pressing on you an awareness of your unworthiness? Praise Yah for that because you are the very one for which He gave His only begotten son.
There is nothing you have done or ever can do to cause Yahuwah to turn His back on you. The only thing that could ever stand in the way is your own personal choice. So make the choice! Reach out the hand of faith and grasp the promise! Salvation is yours. All you have to do is accept it by faith.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17, KJV)