Expert: Pastor Don Carpenter - 11/9/2006

Question
I want to give my heart to the lord, but some how it's to hard for me.  I keep thinking about all the things I will have to give up.  Would it be wrong if I do all the things I want to do first before I give my heart to the lord?

Answer
Hi Melissa,

Thank you for this great question.  I am very sorry for my late response.  I have several things for you to consider:

1.  Jesus does not offer a dull, boring life, but rather a life of freedom and rest.  You can finally be free from guilt, free from the dread of death and Hell, free from the slavery to sin, freedom from depression and despair!

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Psalm 40:1-3


1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
1  I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

2.  You are not guaranteed one more day or even one more breath.  There is a story of a man who just wanted to do more before He got right with God... here is how the story goes:

Luke 12:16-20
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

3.  God does not require that you come to Him once you become sinlessly perfect.  He requires that you confess that you are a sinner, bound for Hell , and that you believe that Jesus died in your place.  Ask Him to save you know, believing what He did on the cross for you, and He will!

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Romans 10:9-10,13
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

Melissa, there is no sin, no pleasure on earth that will compare to the joy of salvation.  There is no sin that is worth an eternity in Hell because when you tell God,"wait" you are actually telling Him "no" for now.

I hope that this helps you.

In Christ,
Pastor Don