I know I’m a sinner in need of a Savior, but I try every day to do the Lord’s will and better myself. I am born in the Roman Catholic faith. What I would like to know is must I continue to embrace the religion and attend mass knowing what I know now (growing spiritually) or must I stay home and just read the Bible from now on?
I must confess I’m a bit confused by what you say. You say “I know I’m a sinner in need of a Savior” but then you go on to say that you are “growing spiritually.” These two statements are not in agreement with each other, for if you are truly “in need of a Savior” then you still “need to be born again,” and until that happens you can’t be “growing spiritually.” We see this truth confirmed in 1st Peter 2:2, “As NEWBORN BABES, desire the pure milk of the word, that YOU MAY GROW THEREBY” (NKJV).
I feel compelled to talk to you about your “need of a Savior.” When Jesus Christ was here on earth He said, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST” (Luke 19:10). The Apostle Paul spoke of this same truth in 1st Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS.” The main reason the Son of God came into this world and became a Man was to SAVE SINNERS! On another occasion Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but SINNERS, TO REPENTANCE.” What does this mean? First of all it means that He came to CALL EVERYONE TO REPENTANCE for everyone is a sinner! Romans 3:23 declares, “ALL have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” There are no exceptions to this; all men, women, boys and girls have sinned and fall short of God’s standard of absolute perfection. Romans 3:10 puts it this way, “There is NONE RIGHTEOUS, no, not one.” So in “calling sinners to repentance” Jesus is calling each sinner to ACKNOWLEDGE THEY ARE A LOST SINNER.
You say, “I know I’m a sinner” (and that’s good) but then you say, “but I TRY every day TO DO THE LORD’S WILL AND BETTER MYSELF.” Dear friend, if you really see yourself as a “lost sinner,” then you will also see that there is nothing you can do to save yourself. You may TRY to “do the Lord’s will and better yourself” but it will be in vain. As I stated earlier, you will need to be born again before you’re able to “grow spiritually” and live a life that is pleasing to God. Again, it is good that you see yourself as a sinner, but now you need to see how utterly lost you are and incapable of doing anything to merit salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we read, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that NOT OF YOURSELVES; it is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast.” Paul is reminding the believers at Ephesus of how they were saved (by grace…through faith) and how they weren’t saved (not of yourselves…not of works).
Once you come to the point where you know you can’t save yourself, you are ready to see that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”…and that means, “He came to save YOU!” In John 3:1-16 Jesus Christ had a conversation with a very religious man named Nicodemus and He told him, in no uncertain terms, “You must be born again” (verses 3 & 7). He was revealing to him that all his religion and character couldn’t save him; he needed a “new life,” one that would fit him for heaven and give him the ability to live a life to the glory of God. Then Jesus told him what He had to do in order to offer him this new life. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” In order to “save sinners” and to give them a “new life” He had to be lifted up on the cross to suffer for their sins. He took our place in death and judgment (see Romans 6:23 and Hebrews 9:27) and the sinner who truly believes that Jesus did this for him/her HAS ETERNAL LIFE. The moment you “look to Jesus Christ dying for you on the cross” you will have this LIFE, just as the children of Israel, who had been bitten by serpents and were dying, looked at the serpent of brass on a pole and LIVED (see Numbers 21:4-9).
In closing I will add that once you are saved and born again, the Lord will lead you through His Word as to where to go for fellowship with other believers. We see in Acts 2:42 that after 3,000 souls were saved “they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” You will want to find believers who are following this “prescription for fellowship.” We are told in 2nd Timothy 2:20 to “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” But I must emphasize that one can only do these things AFTER THEY ARE BORN AGAIN. If you attempt to do these things BEFORE YOU ARE SAVED you are “trying every day to do the Lord’s will and to better yourself,” and as we have seen this means you are still TRYING TO SAVE YOURSELF and NOT TRUSTING CHRIST TO SAVE YOU. (422.1) (DO)