My dearest sisters struggling with legalism, please listen closely.
You cannot save yourself from hell.
Your kindness, your nice deeds, your good lifestyle, and even your lack of “really bad things” don’t save you either.
Knowing about Jesus, agreeing that He once existed, once did some good things, and acknowledging God is real also doesn’t save you.
Going to church every Sunday, paying tithe, helping others, and going on mission trips, believe it or not, won’t save your soul from hell either.
How do I know?
Because Jesus Himself says,
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the Will of my Father who is in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not PROPHESY in Your Name and in Your Name DRIVE OUT DEMONS, and in Your Name PERFORM MANY MIRACLES?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me you evildoers!’”
Matthew 7:21-23 (emphasis added)
Did you catch that?
Even some of those who are out there “doing good”, having the “appearance of godliness”, “helping others”, and claiming “Lord, Lord!” will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Even typing this gives me chills.
You cannot save yourself.
You cannot deny Jesus as Lord and expect to live eternally with Him.
“But Jacquelyn! I don’t deny Jesus is Lord! I just don’t follow Him like you do.”
There is no such thing as a “partial Jesus”. It’s all Him or none of Him. You’re either hot or cold.
“But Jacquelyn! I am a nice person!”
I know you are, which is why it hurts me even worse to know your eternity will be spent apart from God. You’re niceness apart from Jesus is in vain, which is sin. Oh my longing for your kind heart to be spent storing up treasures in Heaven instead of living kindly in vain on earth.
I have met several “Christians” who have avoided certain Scriptures simply because they know it will expose the sin they’ve been living in for years. This doesn’t make me mad, it makes me sad. I know what the Bible says, I know it’s hard to surrender every sinful desire to the Cross to receive His life. I’ve been there. I avoided hard verses and hard Scriptures in the Bible for the same reasons.
I know it may seem like you are “giving up” a lifestyle you love for one that convicts you of the sins you are enjoying. But I promise, the trek through the refining fires of Jesus is more than “giving up”… it’s “gaining everything”. Everything you once thought was strict, boring, and hyper-sensitive now becomes the most liberating, exciting, and joyful life you’ve ever experienced.
But remember, you cannot save yourself.
But Jesus can.
And He will.
You have to be willing to start the trek and not stop until you reach the finish line.
Where do you start?
You start by admitting you cannot save yourself. That you cannot set yourself free from the bondage and control of sin. Tell Jesus you no longer want to keep living in vain, but want to live eternally for Him and with Him, no matter how long it will take to get there.
You may start the journey scared, timid, and empty of everything you once found fulfillment from… but from someone who has made the trek with Jesus through the very hard seasons, trust me, you have everything to gain in this life. And it’ll be beyond anything you could ever imagine.🔥