Article
Salvation: what Christ has done
6 min read
The need
We pray for the lost because the need is real. Scripture does not treat distance from God as a small thing. Sin is not only the wrong we do; it is a break in relationship with the One who made us.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
The gift
God does not wait for us to climb up to him. In Jesus he came down. The cross is not God asking for a better effort. It is God giving his Son so that sinners can be forgiven and made new.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
By grace, through faith
Salvation is not a prize for the already-religious. It is mercy for the undeserving. That is why you can pray with hope for a friend who seems far away: the door is grace, and the way in is trust in Jesus.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast.”
A living response
The gospel calls for an answer: to confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. As you pray, ask that your loved one would hear this clearly, understand it truly, and receive it with a willing heart.
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”