Have you ever felt like you just aren’t “worthy” to be saved? Maybe you look at your past, your current struggles, or those failures you hope no one ever finds out about, and you’ve concluded that you’re just too “dirty” for a holy God. You might be waiting until you can prove your worth or reach a certain level of morality before you even try to approach Him. If that’s where you are tonight, I want you to know that the Bible tells a very different story about you.
You Don’t Have to “Clean Up” First
You may have heard people tell you that you need to “turn from your sins” or be willing to give everything up before God will accept you. This is often called “Lordship Salvation,” and it’s a heavy burden to carry. For example, if you are struggling with an addiction, some might tell you that you have to put down the needle or prove you can stay sober before God will grant him salvation. They are essentially telling you that you must make yourself worthy of the gift before you can have it.
But if that were true, salvation would be a reward for your hard work, not a rescue for your soul. I want to show you that God doesn’t wait for you to get “good” before He saves you. In fact, He wants to save you while you are at your absolute worst.
God Justifies the Ungodly
Look closely at what God says to you in His Word:
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5, KJV)
Notice who God justifies: **the ungodly**. He isn’t looking for the “reformed” version of you or the “worthy” version of you. He justifies you while you are still ungodly. If you are in the middle of an addiction (or any other sin), at your lowest point, and you simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God counts your faith as righteousness right then and there. He doesn’t demand that you get clean first; He saves you exactly where you are. As the Scripture says:
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, KJV)
The Shepherd is Looking for You
Jesus described His heart for you through the story of the lost sheep. He doesn’t sit back and wait for the sheep to find its own way home or “clean itself up” in the woods. He goes out and finds it.
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” (Luke 15:4, KJV)
The sheep is saved for one reason: the Shepherd found it and carried it home. The sheep’s only “contribution” was being lost. In the same way, your only qualification for salvation is your need for a Savior. You don’t get clean to come to the fountain; you come to the fountain to get clean.
It’s Time to Stop Waiting
If you are waiting until you feel “worthy” to be saved, you will be waiting forever. The Gospel isn’t a reward for the righteous; it is a gift for the guilty. Jesus Christ didn’t come to call the “worthy,” He came to seek and to save **you** while you are lost.
Stop trying to settle a debt you can’t pay. Trust in His finished sacrifice for you today. He justifies the ungodly—and that includes you.
Related Article: The Thief on the Cross: Salvation for the ‘Unworthy’