Come to Jesus…Right Now!

Perhaps you have heard the gospel before. But you have not yet come to Jesus or believed in him to save you. What can you do? First, hear the gospel again and be sure you understand who Jesus is, what he has done to deliver sinners, and how you must respond to be rescued. Speak to a true follower of Christ who can clearly explain these things. 

In addition to that, a valuable question to ask yourself is, “Why not?” If you are serious about becoming a disciple of Jesus, this will help you identify and remove hindrances to your faith. Below, I have listed some common reasons people give for not repenting and coming to Jesus in faith. See if any, or a combination, of them represent your thinking, and consider the answers provided. They may be what the Spirit of God uses to move you from unbelief to faith in Christ.  

1. “I’m not sure if God is willing to save me.”

Scripture says that God desires all kinds of people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Jesus said he will not reject anyone who comes to him on his terms, but will receive and save him (John 6:37). God gave his Son on the cross to save sinners like you. He is willing to forgive all your sins, whatever kind or degree. Are you willing to believe him and come to Christ? 

2. “I’m not sure if Jesus is able to save me.”

The New Testament testifies that Jesus saved the chief of sinners, Saul of Tarsus (1 Timothy 1:15). He can save you, too. Scripture says he is able to deliver all those who draw near to God through him (Hebrews 7:25). He is an almighty Savior, whose tidal wave of grace can cover the hill of your sins. His blood can cleanse you from all your sins (1 John 1:9). Will you depend on Christ to do it?

3. “I’ll do it later. Just not now.” 

There are many people in hell now who said they would believe in Jesus later. What makes you so sure that you will want to come to him later? Some people have planned to turn to Jesus in the future, but the passage of time hardened their hearts away from the Lord and beyond remedy, to the point where the opportunity to repent and believe had passed them by (Isaiah 55:6-7). Don’t let this happen to you.

4. “I am not sure I am one of the elect.”

It is devilish, carnal logic to say, “I need to figure out whether I’m elect or not before I come to Jesus.” The gospel call to you is not “If you are elect, repent and believe.” The gospel call to you is simply, “Repent and believe.” Election is God’s business. Your responsibility is to come to Jesus. 

5. “I am waiting for some special experience or feeling, like a stronger conviction over my sin or a greater sense of my need for Jesus, to show me God is working to save me.” 

You are looking for additional grounds to come to Jesus. But you don’t need any more grounds. God has sent his Son to die on the cross, and he raised him from the dead. He commands you to repent and believe in Jesus. And he promises that if you do, he will wipe away your sins and give you eternal life. Those are all the grounds you need. So rather than delay, come to Christ now. 

6. “I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I’m waiting until I’m ready to be a sincere Christian.”

First, you assume that you can change your own heart apart from faith in Jesus. But that is impossible, as only Jesus can give you a new heart. Second, you misunderstand the nature of salvation. When Jesus rescues a sinner, he not only frees him from the guilt of sin but also from its power and keeps him from becoming a hypocrite (Romans 6:1-14). 

7. “I am trying to come to Jesus, but God isn’t saving me. I’ve asked him to give me the gifts of repentance and faith, but he hasn’t yet.” 

Don’t ask God and don’t wait on God to do for you what he commands you to do. Instead, do what he commands. God does not command you to ask him for the gifts of repentance and faith. He commands you to repent and believe in Jesus. And he promises to save you if you do. So repent and believe.

8. “Repenting and believing are too confusing. I don’t understand how it works.” 

Maybe your issue is that you are unwilling to believe that you are a helpless sinner who cannot contribute anything to your salvation and must entirely rely on God to save you through Christ (cf. John 3:11-12; 5:43). Have you considered the possibility that the gospel is not too hard for you to understand but too difficult for you to accept because of your pride?

9. “My heart is so hard, and I am so enslaved to my sin that I cannot come.”

Many people cannot believe because they will not believe (John 12:36-39). They are like a child who is incapable of obeying his father’s instructions because he refuses to do so. Some of Jesus’ hearers would not believe because they loved their sins, and others because of their pride (John 3:18-20; 5:40-44). If this is you, let go of those things and embrace Jesus, that you may live.