6 Words That Will Change Your LifeSample

Ask the typical person who believes in some sort of God what it takes to get to heaven, and they’ll likely say something like “be good” or “keep the Ten Commandments” or something similar. But what that person probably doesn’t realize is that the standard the Commandments hold us to is keeping them all the time. 

For the Ten Commandments to “work,” they must be obeyed consistently, comprehensively and carefully. 

1. They must be obeyed consistently - without fail!  
2. They must be obeyed comprehensively - without compromise!  
3. They must be obeyed carefully - without selfishness!  

According to Francis Schaeffer in True Spirituality, “The climax of the Ten Commandments is the Tenth Commandment – ‘Thou shalt not covet’—this commandment is an entirely inward thing.  Actually, we break this commandment before we break any of the others.  Paul states very clearly in Romans 7:7-8 that this was the commandment which gave him a ‘sense of being sinful.’” 

I once went to the dentist to get some work done on my teeth. As usual, she asked me the inevitable question, “Have you been brushing and flossing?” I told her that I’d been brushing and flossing some. Then she said words that sent a shiver down my spine, “Well, we’re about to find out. I’m going to put some blue dye on your teeth. It will expose every area where you’ve not been taking good care of your teeth. And Greg, the dye don’t lie.” 

As she applied the dye to my teeth, turned on the light and made me look in the mirror and smile, I was horrified. There were blue stains everywhere, and I was caught red handed and blue teethed…a sinner in the hands of an angry dentist. 

In a similar way, the law is like a dye that shows us how far we fall short. The dye couldn’t clean my teeth, it just exposed my plaque. In the same way, the law can’t cleanse us from our sin, but it clearly exposes it. 

As God brings opportunities our way to share our faith and talk to people about the reality that “our sins separate us from God,” we must never hesitate to admit that we’re sinners, too.  

There’s a simple approach to sharing your faith called “Ask – Admire – Admit.”  

• ASK the person you’re talking to questions about what they believe.  
• ADMIRE everything you can about what they believe in order to help them open up.  
• ADMIT that the reason you are a Christian is that you know you’ve fallen short and need someone to rescue you. That someone is Jesus.  

As you ask honest questions, admire what you can about what others believe and admit your own need for Jesus, their guard will drop and you can begin to engage them in a real conversation about the good news of the gospel.