Brazil for Christ

Jon Nelson

I grew up knowing who Jesus was and that He died on the cross to save me but had never realized the power of forgiveness or that the gift of salvation was not based on the good deeds I accomplished. It wasn’t until my freshman year in college while I was attending Association Free Lutheran Bible School when I realized that only Christ’s death on the cross as a sacrificial lamb was what forgave my sins and that up until that point I had been denying Christ in my lifestyle where I lived openly in sin. I was in my dorm room when I realized that by his death my sins were forgiven and I was given a new life, a life where I have been able to serve the one and only true King.

Of course I’ve had struggles, struggles that the devil used in my life to make my Christian walk much more difficult but I know the truth. I know that the lifestyle that I had been living was not honoring to God and by continuing in it I would ultimately die spiritually, damning me to an eternal separation from God. I read James 2:10 which says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” My ignorance was no longer an excuse and I could no longer say that one sin was greater than another, for if I fell in one area I was accountable for the whole law.

So then I began asking “How is it that a Christian should live?” Turning to scripture I began reading in the Gospel of Matthew when Christ was teaching about being like children and humbling ourselves like a child. Christ said, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” These verses made me realize that if what I do causes a believer to sin it’s better for me to drown in the sea! I needed to live my life without causing anyone to stumble or without sinning. What did God want from me, perfection? According to Matthew 5:48, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” the answer is yes.

I lost countless hours of sleep over these thoughts and began to wonder how being a Christian was even possible! My question was answered by Paul’s first letter to Timothy where he had been talking about himself being a blasphemer, persecutor, and opponent to the Gospel. Paul says, “I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”

I was overjoyed when I read this passage! I realized that I am also this sinner that Christ came to save and that through Him, and only Him, not through good works or anything that I can do, I will be saved. Through reading of scripture and prayer I began to realize what life is truly about. We don’t go through life and when we die that’s all there is, life is an opportunity that Christ has given us to live for Him and Him alone! Everything we do affects people so why not live as Christ lived and show people the love that Christ has for all of us and that our faith and love in Christ is what gives us as Christians hope?

The knowledge of Christ’s forgiveness for my many sins and the love that he freely gives to everyone of us is what keeps me going. I want the world to know what God has done in my life and what He can do in your life. The gift of an eternal life with Christ is on the table, are you going to accept it? I pray that you realize Christ’s love for you and desire to live only for Him.