I was listening to American Family Radio several years ago when I heard a young man speaking about growing up as a missionary kid. He said he honestly believed he had been saved as a child, but as he grew up, he didn’t really walk with Jesus; he lived something of a double life.
That may be correct. This young man may genuinely have been saved as a child. After all, Matthew 18:3-4 says, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." But I can tell you from my personal experience and from years of observing my own children and others … many childhood “salvation experiences” may not be authentic.
It may be the VBS group action (peer pressure?) in response to a leader saying, “Please raise your hand if you want to be saved.” It could be the fearful reaction to a sermon about the reality of Hell. Or maybe it is the desire to go to Heaven after the death of a godly loved one. But whatever the reason, many children who make professions of faith do not actually submit their lives to the lordship of Christ. They simply say some words and get wet.
Unfortunately, that is a common occurrence among kids who grow up in the church.
As the young man on the radio continued with his testimony, he said a phrase that I have heard and uttered numerous times myself: “Jesus died for sinners like me.” For some reason, as I listened that day, those two little words at the end – “like me” – hit me with a new realization.
If I know a person who is truly kind and giving and simply loves serving people “like me,” does that mean that I have personally been affected and impacted by that person's acts of service?
Or if I said I had given millions of dollars to people “like you” (TOTALLY a fictional proposition!), has that money specifically paid any of your bills or bought you a meal?
And here is the one that really made me think: If your spouse says that he/she loves someone “like you,” how are you going to react? I mean, if my husband said that to me, I would want to know the name of that person who is “like me” that he actually loves! That would probably not be a very romantic or loving conversation!
I know that seems a little silly … but think about the implications when you put it into the context of Jesus dying for sinners “like me.”
What do we mean by this saying? As I mentioned, I have used it too many times to remember, and it was always my intention to include myself as one of the many sinners that Jesus died to save. But what came to mind when I heard those words on that day was, have we employed this phrase as a device to distance ourselves from the price that Jesus paid on the cross?
When we say that Jesus died for “sinners like me,” maybe it becomes a little easier to think about the sacrifice He made without taking responsibility for it. If Jesus died for folks “like” me, then I don't have to look at the part I played in putting Him on that cross. If He died for “sinners like me,” then I may not actually be responsible – and maybe I am not really all that bad either.
I think we have so many church-going children who grow up to be unsaved adults because they never got “lost enough” to see their desperate need for a Savior – specifically Jesus. These kids know the Sunday School answers to Bible questions. A lot of them participate in Bible drills. They are involved in every department or youth group event – mission trip, discipleship group, choir … Whatever is happening, they are in the middle of it. As a general rule, they don’t steal … they don’t lie … they don’t smart off to their parents (at least, not much anyway) … they don’t smoke, drink, or swear … You know, they are simply good kids!
But you know what the Bible says about how good we humans are, don’t you?
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:2-3, ESV)
Being a good kid (or adult, for that matter) is not enough; being obedient to your parents is not enough; standing up for the bullied, making good grades, driving the speed limit, going to church every time the doors are open, giving 50% of every dime you make, reading the Bible for two hours every day and praying for three hours every single day, walking an aisle and getting baptized – none of that is enough! Nothing you can do will merit salvation and nothing you can do will make you good enough to reach heaven!
The only thing that will make a way for any person to gain entrance into heaven is to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and to accept that His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary is the only payment sufficient to cover the penalty of sin.
But before we can fully accept that truth, we must recognize our own sinfulness and our personal need for the salvation Jesus offers through the sacrifice He paid. That is the only way we can be saved; it is the only way anyone can be saved – including our “good” church kids. When people truly come to realize their lost condition and embrace Jesus as Savior, they will do many of the good works I mentioned earlier – but not in the futile attempt to be “good enough.” Instead, it will be the outgrowth of their love for Jesus, their gratitude for the sacrifice He made, and their desire to follow Him.
So I think we should just lose that single word “like” when we are talking about salvation. We cannot distance ourselves from the fact that Jesus died because of the sinfulness of man in general, and we cannot distance ourselves from the fact that each person’s sin required the death of a blameless, perfect sacrifice.
I got baptized when I was in first grade, but I did not realize I was lost until I was 15 years old. How about you? Have you been lost enough yet to need Jesus?
Understand that Jesus died not just for someone like me or someone like you. Jesus died for me! And Jesus died for you! I pray that you are following Him.
If not, will you surrender your life to Him? He has already done the hardest part.
