Have you ever lost something of great value?
I was recently sharing with our church family about a man named James Howells from Wales. In 2013, he cleaned his office and accidentally threw away a hard drive containing 8,000 bitcoins. At the time, it was worth $1 million. Today? $500 million. Despite using AI drones and various technologies, he still hasn’t found it—his lost treasure buried somewhere in years of garbage.
As I reflected on his story, I couldn’t help but think about our own lives. We too have lost something of immense value. Something we can’t recover on our own.
The Starting Point: We Are Lost
Our journey begins with an uncomfortable truth—we are lost. John Wesley, founder of the Wesleyan movement, would describe this as the “natural state of man.” Our souls are in a deep sleep, unaware of our spiritual realities, our brokenness, and our distance from God.
Paul puts it plainly in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
This is our starting point. Every single one of us begins here—fallen and sinful, broken and separated from God. The Greek word for “fallen short” comes from archery—it’s like drawing a bow, firing an arrow, and missing the mark. Every single one of us has missed the mark of who God created us to be.
And the consequences are severe. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death.” It’s not a mistake that Paul uses the word “wages”—this is what we’ve earned through our brokenness and sinfulness.
Understanding our starting point is crucial because it helps us grasp the significance of what comes next. Just as I can’t give you directions to a destination without knowing where you’re starting, we can’t fully appreciate salvation without acknowledging our fallen state.
The Gift: Jesus Offers What We Lost
But the story doesn’t end there. Paul continues in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Notice the contrast. We earned death through our sin, but God offers us eternal life as a gift. This isn’t something we deserve or can achieve through our own efforts. It’s as if Jesus has gone to the dump for us, retrieved the hard drive of our souls, and is now holding it out to us—a free, unearned gift.
Romans 5:8 makes this even more personal: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
I remember going to my dad’s work Christmas party as a kid. There were two piles of gifts—one for boys, one for girls. I received my gift but noticed my name wasn’t on it. It felt generic.
But God’s gift of salvation isn’t generic. It has your name on it. It was meant specifically for you. Jesus gave up His life with you in mind.
Take a moment and personalize Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates his own love for [YOUR NAME] in this: While [YOUR NAME] was still a sinner, Christ died for [YOUR NAME].”
This isn’t a distant story we watch unfold—it’s our story, one Jesus wants to incorporate into His story.
The Response: Faith Changes Everything
So we understand we’re lost. We understand Jesus offers us this incredible gift. Now what?
Paul writes in Romans 10:9-10: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
This is where transformation happens—where we move from intellectual understanding to allowing God to change our lives. Paul talks about both heart belief and mouth confession, and both are essential.
The Greek word for “heart” is “kardia,” which refers to our inner self—our will, mind, desires, and intellect. It’s never used for the physical heart, but always for our inner being. When Paul talks about believing with our heart, he’s saying our entire being shifts in response to the truth of Jesus.
This is repentance—turning away from our old selves and turning toward Christ. It’s dying to our sinful nature and being raised to new life in Him.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He also emphasizes the importance of declaring with our mouth that “Jesus is Lord.” Our faith cannot remain private or personal—there must always be a connection between the faith in our heart and the profession of our mouth.
The Acts 2 Model: Repent, Be Baptized, Receive
We also see this pattern in Acts 2. After Peter preaches the gospel on the day of Pentecost, people are “cut to the heart” and ask, “What shall we do?” Peter’s response is clear: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
First, repent—have a change of heart. Turn from sin and toward Jesus.
Second, be baptized—publicly profess your faith. At our church, whenever we baptize someone, we ask questions about their faith journey, and I always end with, “Who do you believe in?” I want to hear them profess verbally, “I believe in Jesus.”
Third, receive the Holy Spirit—this is the mark of a saved person. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us when we’re saved.
Jesus himself emphasized the importance of public profession in Matthew 10:32-33: “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”
These are strong words from the One who died for our sins, who overcame death to overcome death in our lives, who dug through years of garbage in our lives to present us with the gift we could not find on our own.
Where Are You on the Journey?
I don’t know where you are on this journey today.
Maybe you’re just coming to terms with the fact that you’re lost and broken.
Maybe you’ve discovered there’s a gift being offered, but you haven’t personalized it yet—you need to embrace that this gift has your name on it.
Maybe you’re struggling with the faith piece because of difficult experiences in your life. I want you to know: you don’t have to have it all figured out to believe. Having faith doesn’t mean you don’t have questions or struggles. It means your heart is transformed and you’re choosing to turn from sin and pursue Jesus.
Or maybe you believe in your heart but haven’t yet professed your faith publicly through baptism or sharing your testimony.
Wherever you are, Romans 10:13 offers this promise: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Salvation: The Doorway, Not the Destination
I want to clarify something important: salvation is not the destination; it’s the doorway. Our goal as followers of Jesus isn’t just to “get saved” but to become holy—to be transformed more and more into Christ’s likeness.
Salvation is the entry point into a relationship with Jesus, not where we’re supposed to land. If we enter into a relationship with Jesus but never progress in our holiness, we have to ask whether we’re truly saved at all.
The Treasure Can Be Yours
James Howells continues his unsuccessful search for that hard drive worth $500 million. But your story can be different.
Right now, at this very moment, God is offering you a gift with your name on it. When you place your faith and trust in Him, when you profess with your mouth that you’ve decided to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will be saved.
The treasure you’ve been looking for, the thing that you lost, can be given to you right now because all are saved who decide with their hearts and profess with their lives.
I don’t know what your next step is. The Holy Spirit knows, and I think deep down, you know too. The question is: are you ready to take that step?
If you’re wrestling with questions about salvation or want to take your next step of faith (whether that’s accepting Christ or being baptized), I’d love to talk with you. Reach out to me or any of our pastoral team—we’re here to walk alongside you on this journey.
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