The Truth

Do you have a friend who you can trust to tell you the truth? Maybe you do. But will he or she tell you the absolute truth even when it’s super hard? At any cost, because they truly care about you?

If you don’t have a friend like that, then let me be that friend to you.

Some things are easier to be real about than others. And I’m about to get the realest with you right now.

I’m talking like emergency-situation-real. Truly life and death realness right here, friend.

My question for you is, are you ready for some straight truth? Because I’m talking hard-hitting truth today, just to you.

You might not like it, it might not be easy, and it might not be the most fun thing you’ll ever hear, but it’s the biggest, most important thing in your life—EVER.

The truth is that you are loved!

First, let me start by asking you this. Do you know how precious you are, friend? Do you know how loved you are?

If you haven’t known this before this very moment, then let me make it crystal clear right now. You. Are. Loved. You are loved! I love you, dear friend. It’s true!

And that is why I have to share this life-or-death thing with you right now. If I never told you the truth, what kind of friend would I be?

The truth is that you’re loved. That’s the easy truth, for most of us anyway. Even if by no one else, I love you and care about you.

You are precious, you’re worthy, and whatever you’re going through, please know that you are here for a purpose! You have a purpose in life, and you are no accident, you are here for a reason.

And you’re meant to hear this today.

And because I care about you, I absolutely have to get down to the whole truth. The part that’s less easy on the ears. But it’s necessary. More than anything else in the whole world, ever.

It might feel like a hard truth, but take heart—good news is coming!

And that truth is this. Someday the things we’ve done in this life will be held up for us to give an account for.

Every thought we’ve had, every word we’ve ever spoken, everything we’ve ever done.

I will have to face the judge of all mankind, our almighty creator God. And you will have to face Him, too.

He’ll ask me about the lie I told in fifth grade that sent another student to the principal’s office.

And what will I say? I mean, we’ve all done little things like that, it’s no biggie… Right?

What about when He asks about that extra cookie you stole back in second grade when you thought no one was looking?

Well hey, it was just a cookie, and you were a kid! Everybody’s done something like that so no worries… Right?

Maybe you’ve had sex out of marriage.

Maybe you’ve done drugs.

Maybe you’ve hurt someone, physically or emotionally.

Maybe you’ve hurt yourself.

Or maybe you’ve never actually done any of those things, but you’ve thought about doing them.

Here’s the truth, friend. The Bible says that anyone who’s even thought of doing sinful things? They’ve done it in their heart already:

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. | Matthew 5:28, NKJV

Regardless of our age, our intent, and whether we act on our thoughts or not, sin has already entered our hearts.

My friend, God is the ultimate judge, and His law stands. And the truth is that we’ve all broken His law.

Let’s say you appear before a judge for stealing $1,000. You say, “I’m so sorry, I won’t do it again, please forgive me, don’t send me to jail!”

Will the judge say, “Oh, okay. You’re sorry so that’s good enough. Case dismissed!”

We both know that’s not how it works. Someone has to pay for the crime that was committed, regardless of how sorry you are.

And so it is with God’s perfect law.

You see, God is perfect; He’s complete. But we’re imperfect and broken.

We need help.

We need someone to save us. Someone to take the punishment in our place, to pay for our crimes. If no one is willing, then we must pay.

But, someone WAS willing!

God sent His son Jesus into the world. Jesus put on flesh and lived a blameless, perfect life, a life without sin. And He offered to take the punishment for our sins at the cross.

So if you accept Him as your Savior and Lord, your sins are forgiven, once for all. Seriously?

I’m deadly serious. This is the literal gospel truth.

You see, God is a just God, and He cannot forgive sin any more than a judge can let a guilty person go free. But He is also a loving Father God, and this is where His mercy comes in.

He sent His only son whom He loved so much to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. And Jesus loves us so much too that He agreed to come and do it.

He was sinless and yet He took our sins upon Himself and died in our place, paying the price that we could never pay. He took our sin so that we can have His righteousness, and He took our guilt so that we can have His forgiveness.

But there’s more to this truth.

The truth about hell

If you decide to reject Jesus and choose to remain in your sins, you will go to hell. That is not a judgment from me by any means, it’s a plain and simple fact from the very word of God.

The Bible says that hell is a place where there is wailing, gnashing of teeth, unquenchable fire, and utter darkness. And the torment is eternal, with no chance to change your mind.

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. | Matthew 13:41-42, NKJV

Where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ | Mark 9:44, NKJV

And the truth is, if you say to yourself, “Well, I don’t know if I’m ready to make that decision.” My precious friend, here is more of that hard truth: if you do not choose Jesus? You’re choosing an eternity in hell.

It’s a fact and I cannot NOT tell you.

You can read all this today and say, “Okay. I believe that. I know I’m a sinner and I believe that Jesus is God’s son and that he came and lived a blameless life and died on the cross for the sins of the world.”

But friend, the truth again. The truth is that you can believe that and still go to hell.

You have to put your own personal trust in it. Jesus died for YOU. Here’s something that will blow your mind when you realize it:

Jesus would’ve died on the cross for you if you’d been the only person in the whole world for all time.

He loves you so!

All you have to do is accept Him.

It’s like this. Let’s say the two of us are in an airplane 30,000 feet in the air, and there is trouble. The plane is going down fast, and it is NOT pretty.

Friend, I’ve got my parachute on and I am ready.

I hand you a parachute and tell you to put that bad boy on NOW, but you say, “Well I don’t know about that, I mean, yeah I believe parachutes can be lifesaving, but it’s enough just to know that. I don’t need to put it on or anything.”

Would you say that? Of course not! You would grab that parachute and put it on as fast as you could like your life depended on it.

So I’m saying to you right now, friend: put on the Lord Jesus.

The plane that is your life will eventually run out of fuel, and your only parachute is Jesus.

Put your trust in Him now. You can’t put a parachute on after the crash.

Because the Bible tells us that it’s appointed unto each person once to die, and then the judgment:

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. | Hebrews 9:27-28, NKJV

Friend, put your trust in the Lord Jesus right this minute.

Trust in Him like you would a parachute or a life vest. Because this is the most important decision you will ever make, and it truly is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. And your immortal spirit is way more important than your mortal body.

Here is how you can accept Jesus and be sure of salvation in Him. It’s simple but powerful, and it’s forever, and it’s free. Because He loves you that much.

The truth is that Jesus Christ is our one sure hope!

Before someone can accept a savior, they have to realize that they need saving. It’d be like a doctor trying to convince a patient to take a cure without explaining that they have a disease.

Let’s be honest. I know I’m a sinner. You know you’re a sinner. Maybe you make no bones about it and freely admit to it.

Or maybe you’re uneasy in dealing with this truth, but you know it deep down in your heart. The Bible says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23, NLT).

But God doesn’t leave us without hope as He goes on to tell us in His Word how to find salvation—that there is no other way but through Christ Jesus:

There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. | Acts 4:12, NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." | John 14:6, NLT

The Truth.

THAT is the truth, my friend.

Jesus is the Truth.

He is the life. He is the way.

Jesus Christ is The Truth.

If you realize you’ve broken God’s perfect law and that makes you a sinner…

If you understand that you’ve been appointed a time to die, and then the judgment…

If you realize that hell is a real place of eternal death, suffering, and separation from God, from which you can never escape…

If you understand that Jesus Christ is the only name by which you can be saved…

Then go to the Lord God in prayer right now. But please know this, it’s so important: simply repeating certain words will not save you.

It is Jesus alone who saves, and you must trust and believe in your heart that He is Lord.

Not quite sure how to pray? Well, praying is simply coming to God and humbly talking to Him. He loves you more than you know, and He only wants you to come to Him as you are.

Think about this: perfect people do not need forgiveness, only imperfect people qualify for the forgiveness found in Jesus.

So don’t worry about trying to get your life together and clean yourself up before you come to Jesus—Jesus IS the cleansing. 💛

If you’re ready to leave your sins behind and trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him, here’s an example of a prayer you can pray. Just be genuine and make it your own:

Jesus, I know I’m a sinner, and I can’t make myself clean. I want to make you Lord of my life and follow you from now on.
I believe you are the son of God, and I believe you died in my place on the cross. I believe you did this for me personally, and I accept you as my Savior. You paid for all my sins at the cross, and I thank you.
I believe you rose from the dead, and by trusting in you, I have forgiveness with God and the promise of eternal life.
Please guide my life and give me understanding as I study the Bible. Thank you for loving me, thank you for saving me!

If you said this prayer in sincerity, then allow me to introduce myself to you now as more than just a friend, but also as your sister in Christ.

If you want to be doubly sure of your salvation, take a look at this:

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. | Romans 10:9-10, NKJV

I encourage you to read the rest of the book of Romans here to learn more about your loving Savior and be assured of your salvation in Him once for all.

If you’ve decided to repent and follow Jesus, start reading the Bible daily and ask God for understanding as you meditate on His Word.

Also ask Him to lead you to a Bible-believing church in your area, and start searching for churches to visit.

Be sure to check out more steps to follow as you begin your new journey with Jesus here.

The truth about assurance of salvation

My friend, if you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, you’ve been born again, and I am beyond thrilled for you! It is the best decision you will ever make in your whole life. Just think, nothing will ever be as monumental as the decision you just faced.

As you begin living your new life for Christ Jesus, know that things will not magically become perfect in your life.

God is our Holy Creator, not a wish-granting genie, and He must be greatly revered. The Bible tells us we can even expect hard times to come because of our faith in Christ, but He has promised to never leave us.

Once we’ve accepted Jesus as Lord, we have the Holy Spirit living inside us. And while we’re still living in this world, we are no longer of this world. We must continually choose to obey God above men and our own temptations.

We have to make the choice to submit our lives to God each day and to walk in step with the Holy Spirit as He guides us. We learn to do this by talking to God in prayer, listening to Him through studying the Bible, and spending time with other believers.

If you placed your faith in Christ but you’re not sure if you’re supposed to have a special feeling that proves you’re saved, this video from In Touch Ministries will help!

Remember that our salvation in Christ isn’t based on feelings, just like the truth isn’t based on feelings. And while Jesus never promised an easy life for believers, He did promise to be with us every step of the way and to never leave us.

"Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” | Matthew 28:20, NLT

If you just “put on” the Lord Jesus by sincerely praying to accept Him as your Lord and Savior, be sure to tell others in your life about your exciting decision! And I would love to be the first to know. Email me at liv@livbygrace.com and say, “I just accepted Jesus as Lord!” It will be a privilege to pray for you as you start your new life in Christ. 💛

xo, Liv

Curious about how I came to know the Lord? Check out my testimony here.

Whether you decide to repent and trust Jesus or not, I’d love to have you join my email community and learn more about who Christ is and what He’s done for us. Sign up below and I’ll start sending you emails every Thursday. 💛