And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, Ephesians 2:1 HCSB

Have you ever had a really awesome or terrifying or funny experience and tried to explain it to someone only to find they couldn’t comprehend what you went through? Sometimes we can understand something in theory, but we can’t fully comprehend it until we experience it for ourselves.

Charles Spurgeon explains salvation and faith in this way. I watched my mom and my paternal grandmother live in faith and enjoy the peace and joy that comes from living a life in Christ all my life. But, I would have to surrender my life to Christ to experience it for myself. I wouldn’t truly understand what it meant to live for the Lord until I did it myself. I wouldn’t understand the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) until I surrendered it all to Him. I wouldn’t know what everlasting joy (Isaiah 35:10) was like until my joy was found in Jesus Christ alone.

Paul goes on to say that when we were dead in our transgressions and sins, we walked according to the ways of the world. Charles Spurgeon explained that one cannot understand regeneration until they are born again. He said to understand faith we must believe. Paul said in Ephesians 2:4, “But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us made us alive with Christ, even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!”

This is what sometimes makes it hard to witness to those who are dead in sin and transgressions. While we were all there and certainly can identify, it’s hard to explain to someone who is still there how to enter into the salvation that Christ offers. It’s hard to help them to understand God’s great mercy. It’s hard to help them understand faith until they have truly trusted in God.

We must realize, as Christians, that sometimes we are as close as someone is going to come to understanding living a life with Christ. I thank God for those in my life who showed me what that looked like. They set an example for how I should live and showed me the results of living that way.

I also understand that the more book smarts a person has, the harder it may be for them to believe in a God they have never seen. But they can believe in the universe He created. They can see how He worked everything together to so perfectly.

I get that believing can be hard. I get that having faith is really hard to do in tough situations. But I also know that these are the things God calls us to do. I also know that He’s not going to accept any excuses for not believing in Him.

We are told in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His divine power and divine nature, have been clearly understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Paul continues on to say that if we don’t glorify God, we will be given over to our evil desires. That is a scary thing to consider. I don’t want to go there.

I could spend lots of time telling you of all the times I was facing what seemed to be impossible odds and God worked it out for my good. I could tell you of the times He lifted me up out of the pits I had fallen into. But you would have to be there.

Maybe you are. Maybe you are facing some impossible odds. Maybe you have stumbled and fallen into a pit. Maybe you have strayed in your walk with Him. You may not understand salvation and faith, but you can get there. You have to be there to truly understand it. James 4:7 tells us to submit to God, resist the devil and He will flee from us. Then in verse 8, he tells us if we draw near to God, God will draw near to us.

If you want to experience true salvation and you want to experience the awesomeness of His power, draw near to Him. Trust in Him and you will come to understand true faith.

Have a great day!