"There is none righteous, no, not one;there is none who understands;there is none who seeks after God.They have all turned aside;they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.” (Rom 3:10-12)
Or are you the exception?
So there are none righteous except you? Well you'd better consider that for a second...
Have you ever told a lie? That's the 9th commandment and the Bible says all liars will have their part in the lake of fire! God is Holy and cannot tolerate sin; his standards are much higher than ours. He sees hatred as murder and lust as adultery.
Take a closer look at the rest of the Ten Commandments for a rough idea of God's standard:
You shall have no other Gods before me.
You shall not make any idols.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath Day.
Honor your father and mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not lie.
You shall not covet.
(Exodus 20:1-17)
Reflect on this for a moment. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Have you done that? He said the second greatest was to love your neighbor as yourself. Have you done that? These two commandments sum up the entire Bible and if you kept them perfectly for your entire life, then you are perfect and don't need to be reconciled to God.
If you are not perfect then you are at enmity with God, "for whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For he who said 'Do not commit adultery' also said, 'Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law." (James 2:10-11) Further along in his epistle James makes the point that even when we know the good that we should do and don't do it, even then we sin.
Do you honestly think you will be innocent when you stand before God? God knows all our thoughts, every word we've ever spoken and everything we've done openly and in secret. When we stand before God, those things which were done in the dark will be made known in the light and we will be called to account for them.
God won't just let it go either. He will no more let it go then a judge residing in a court of law. If you're sorry (which you should be), you are still guilty. God is a god of justice. If you stand before God by yourself, entrenched in your sins you will be fairly judged as sinner who has been storing up God's wrath for the Day of Judgment. It is a terrible thing to come under the wrath of God.
How then can you be saved?
This is the good and glorious news. God is also a merciful and loving God. God sent his son to be born and live perfectly as a human man. God in flesh, Jesus lived a sinless life. He always loved God with his entire being, always submitted to God's will, always loved his neighbor as himself, and kept God's law perfectly. He did what we could not do. Then he gave himself to be crucified and take the full extent of God's wrath for sinners so that we can be reconciled to God. To show that his sacrifice was effective he rose from the dead on the third day just like he had prophesied.
How can you receive this pardon?
You can be freed of your debt of sin through Jesus Christ’s death. You must repent and trust in Jesus for your salvation. It's important that you understand that repentance is more that saying sorry because you know you're caught, it's more than being sorry for the consequences. Repenting means that you understand that you are completely sinful, that you aren't doing anything right and you want to be free from sin’s power over you. You will no longer love sin, and plan sin. You are bought with a price so you are a slave of Jesus, God is your master. You will no longer make your decisions based on what you want, but on what God wants as revealed in the Bible. Trusting in Jesus is more than just saying "yeah God won't send me to hell because Jesus died in my place, so now I'm good to live my life how I want", no. If you trust in Jesus, you trust that, yes God will forgive you on account of Jesus, but you also trust that what God wants for you is better than what you want for you. You trust that God will change you to make you more like Jesus. It's a practical trust which becomes visible in the way you live, your actions, words and thoughts. Repentance and trusting in Jesus are not one time things, you must continue to repent and trust Jesus throughout the remainder of your life, because if you are saved God will sustain you throughout your whole life.
Are you now repentant? Do you now trust in Jesus?
Allow me to give you some valuable advice:
#1 Get a bible and read it! It’s God’s word, through it we can come to know God more and it is a means that God uses to sanctify us. If you don’t know where to get a Bible or can’t afford one contact me and I’ll make sure you get one. Don't just learn it, but do what it says.
#2 Pray. You can learn how by using the prayer Jesus gave his apostles and us as a guide. Once you are reconciled to God, you are adopted into God’s family and treated like a child. Some things to pray for: daily needs, sanctification, wisdom… the list goes on, there are many prayers that God will grant, to know better you can read in your Bible.
#3 Find other Christians. In the Bible we’re told to meet together with other believers. This is both for our encouragement and as a means of sanctification. If you’re not sure of what to look for in a group of believers, the main thing is the Bible. When they meet together is the Bible read, is the teaching of the Bible the main focus of the meeting? If you’d like more help with this you can contact me.
#4 Get Baptized. In the Bible we are commanded to be baptized. Don’t put it off.
#5 Tell others. Jesus gave us the commission to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. This should begin with your family and friends. This shouldn’t be too hard since good news is easy to share.