Admit, To God, Your Depravity And Need For A Savior!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3

If someone were to ask me, “What is the first step to being saved?”, I would reply, “Admitting that you need saving.” People who don’t see their spiritual need are not in a position to humble themselves and receive salvation from God through faith in Jesus Christ. In order for us to be saved, we first have to recognize our depravity and our need for a Savior. This is what Jesus is saying in Matthew 5:3. The “poor in spirit” are those who recognize their spiritual poverty and depravity. Apart from Christ, no human soul will be received into heaven. It’s really that simple.

So what keeps people from this first step to eternal salvation, admitting their depravity and need for a Savior? I can think of five groups of people that, perhaps, meet the criteria of failing to see their own spiritual depravity and need for salvation. 

#1 The Agnostic Heart

The first of these groups would be the agnostic heart. The word “agnostic” comes from the Greek “gnosis.” Gnosis means “to know something or someone.” So, put an “a” in front of it and you have agnostic…to not know. Agnostic literally means, “I don’t know.” So when we encounter an agnostic heart, we are dealing with someone who doesn’t know if there is a God or not. And while some agnostics can be quite open to discussing the possibilities of God’s existence, most of them seem to play in the atheistic end of the pool. In fact, atheists are really agnostics whether they realize it or not. In order to definitively declare that God doesn’t exist, one would have to possess all of the knowledge, available to us, in the universe. Most reasonable people will admit, there are things that we know and things that we don’t. An intellectually honest atheist would have to admit the possibility of God in the stack of information labeled, “things that I don’t know.” Therefore, atheists are really agnostics. And that leads us to another important “A” word…”acknowledging.” 

Before we can admit our spiritual depravity and need for a Savior, we have to acknowledge that God not only exists but we have to correctly identify Him for who He is. This is where the agnostic falls short. We can’t call on a God that we are not even convinced exists in the first place. The Bible has something to say about fallen humanity, all of us, in our sinful state. Consider the following:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 

  Romans 1:18-19

The wrath of God will come upon all of humanity who “suppress the truth.” Notice that the agenda of those who fit this description is to live lives of depravity, ungodliness, and unrighteousness. If it’s holy, pure, good, and of God, they want no part of it. And while they attempt to suppress the truth by their unrighteous lives, within them is the knowledge of God, whether they acknowledge Him or not. “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” Every human being has evidence of God within them. Why? Answer: because God has made it evident to them. Paul is not talking about born again believers in Jesus Christ, he is describing the unbelieving world at large. So how does God make evident His existence to mankind? Consider this:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

    Romans 1:20

God’s invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature can be observed through creation. The mountains, rivers, forests, beaches, and quiet wooded paths all speak of God. The sunrise, sunset, and stars in the night sky all speak of the existence of God (Psalm 19:1-2). And because the creation speaks for God, all humanity is “without excuse.” This means that when we stand before Almighty God, we will not have an excuse as to why we rejected Him, Jesus Christ, and the gracious offer of salvation. So, the agnostic heart fails to admit their need for salvation, having not even come to the conclusion that God exists, although the evidence is all around them and even resides “within them.”

 #2 Religion Without Spiritual Transformation

Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote…

        Isaiah 29:13

The above passage was God’s indictment on the people under the old covenant. And that brings us to our second group of people that might fail to admit their depravity and need for a Savior. It is possible to be religious yet not have eternal life. For the people under the old covenant, they had grown cold in their relationships with God. Oh, they did the things that they were taught from childhood to do religiously, but God said that they had removed their hearts far from Him. We can attend church, sing the songs, tell the pastor that he preached a great sermon, and then go back to our lives where Monday through Saturday are lived no differently than the rest of the world. This is what religion without conversion can do. The reverence for God of the people of Israel consisted of tradition learned by rote. Have you ever experienced this kind of religion? Recitation of a creed along with other religious motion can be accomplished without any spiritual transformation. It happens all of the time. 

There are actually two separate groups of the religious that have yet to be saved. We should distinguish between them because they both might fail to admit their depravity and need for a Savior but for different reasons. First are those caught in false religions, denying the Lordship of Christ. Any religious system doing such is a false religion. These people can be labeled “religious” but have never been born again, rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ for a religious system that will not live up to the promises made in the doctrines of such a philosophy. 

But secondly, are those who are involved in religious motion, incorporating the name of Jesus, yet this motion doesn’t require repentance, spiritual transformation, and a receiving of the Holy Spirit. Go back and look at God’s indictment on the people of Israel in Isaiah. There are three criteria mentioned for God’s disapproval. (1) Their reverence for God was based on tradition. Let’s be honest…there are people who religiously do what they do and believe what they believe for no other reason than, “that’s the way I was raised.” Tradition can be deeply rooted in a person’s life but just because it’s “tradition” doesn’t mean that it is spiritually true. God wants a relationship with us, not going through traditional motion that can, quite frankly, be accomplished without a born again relationship with Christ. (2) God was not pleased because the people were engaging in religious motion “learned by rote.” This goes back to religion based on tradition. The question isn’t, “How were you raised?” rather the question that needs asking is, “Do you have a Spirit-filled, born again relationship with Jesus Christ?” We can recite all of the creeds we choose and perform all of the traditional motion that we are comfortable with and not be saved. We need not be religious, we need to be saved. (3) But lastly, God was not pleased with these people because they had removed their hearts far from Him. This passage is proof that we can do the outwardly without any change inwardly. If we are not changed from the inside out, affecting our thoughts, words, deeds, attitudes, motives, priorities, and how we live, rejecting the world and embracing Christ with all of our heart, then we are probably just religious but spiritually dead. 

One religious group denies the Lordship of Christ therefore they don’t admit their depravity and need for a Savior, since they do not even recognize the Savior…similar to the agnostic heart. The other religious group may have some semblance of acknowledging Jesus but all of their religious activity involves tradition and things “learned by rote.” These people often miss salvation because they believe that what they are doing will bring them eternal life, something only a born again, spiritually transforming, saving experience in Christ can accomplish. 

#3 Making Up A God That Suits Our Own Desires

Let’s face it, many people reject the gospel of Jesus Christ because they want to live life on their own terms…something that God allows us to do if we so choose. For these people, they make up a god that suits their own desires. This usually happens when people are void of studying scripture, some, perhaps, even dedicated to never opening the book. But the Bible is living and active and is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the human heart (Hebrews 4:12) perhaps the reason why so many people, in this category, ignore it. The Bible is also God-breathed, meaning that everything we read from Genesis to Revelation is designed to reveal to us who God is, who we are in light of our depravity, and point us to the way of life, eternal and abundant life in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:16). Yet again, so many ignore this God-breathed book, desiring, instead, to create their own philosophies, allowing them to succeed in their ultimate goal, to live life on their own terms, pursuing what they desire. The major problem with this is that we were created for a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Living apart from this life-giving relationship is to miss out on everything that this life is all about. 

#4 Falling For The “I’m A Good Person” Philosophy

If you believe that you have lived a good enough life to be accepted by God when you die, let me lovingly tell you, “you haven’t.” No one goes to heaven because they are nice or kind or a “good person.” Yes, as Christians, we should be kind and respectful to others, treating them the way that we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12) but that kind of congeniality has no saving power. Only faith in what Christ did for us on the cross can accomplish the spiritually transforming power, moving us from vile sinners and enemies of God to sons and daughters and fellow heirs with Christ (James 4:4, Romans 8:16-17). Consider the following:

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

  Ecclesiastes 7:20

…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

  Romans 3:23

All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

    Isaiah 53:6

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

        James 2:10

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men (mankind), even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men (mankind).

      Romans 5:18

All of these verses point to one thing…you and I are sinners in need of a Savior. And the good news? Jesus Christ is that Savior! We are not good in the eyes of God apart from Christ but when we position ourselves in Him, we move from rejected to accepted, spiritually dead to spiritually alive, and void of the Spirit to filled with the Spirit!

#5 Human Pride

Lastly, what keeps throngs of people out of heaven is simply human pride. In order for us to receive the salvation of our souls, we have to humble ourselves and come to God as children. This cuts against human pride and the self-sufficiency philosophy so often preached in our modern culture. Consider the following:

God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

          1 Peter 5:5a-7

…and (Jesus) said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

                      Matthew 18:3-4

Human pride works against salvation. Spiritual transformation, receiving the Spirit of God and eternal salvation require a humbling of ourselves. I like to call this “coming to the end of ourselves.” When we come to the end of ourselves and surrender everything, our entire lives, over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we find eternal life. Anything short of that and we’re just playing games. Humility and coming to God as a child is essential for us to admit our depravity and declare our need for salvation. 

The Good News!

God loves everyone, including the people who fall into these five groups. God loves you and I and Christ died for all of us but we have receive this glorious salvation. Our parents cannot do it for us nor can our spouse, not even the pastor can cause us to be saved. It is a personal decision, a spiritual transaction between a human being and the Lord, and it becomes possible when we humble ourselves and admit our depravity and need for a Savior. No amount of religion or being a “good person” will make you acceptable to God or get you to heaven. But when we repent (change our mind), admit our need, and run to the cross, Jesus receives us just the way we are and then begins the process of perfecting us for that day when we will live with Him forever!