We cannot be content to only hear about the glorious Christ, be stirred by His message, or say He is glorious. We must know Him and be saved by Him through union with Him, or else we will forever be where none delight in His glory. If you realize you are lost or if you struggle concerning your salvation, you may have several questions.

“Can He save me?”⤒🔗

The glorious Savior took the whole work of salvation into His hands and accounted for everything wrong with sin­ners. Are you under God’s curse? He became a curse to give God’s blessing to cursed ones. Are you full of unrighteousness? His righteousness is a perfect covering. Are you filthy? His blood cleanses from all sin. Are you separated from God? He reconciles the ungodly to God. Are you blind? He gives sight. Are you full of unbelief? He gives faith. Are you helpless? He gives strength. Are you enslaved to sin and Satan? He sets prisoners free. Is your heart full of enmity against God? His love melts such hearts. Are you dead in sins? He is the life. Christ Jesus does all the work of saving sinners to glorify the fullness of God’s grace. What glory is in our full Savior!

“Why would He save me?”←⤒🔗

If God has exposed a little of your depravity, you will wonder why Christ would ever save you. You have no worthiness or attractiveness to move Him to do so. He has every right to condemn you. But ask yourself, has He ever saved a worthy person? Has He ever saved someone because He liked what He saw in him or her? Never! He is moved to save because of His incomprehensible love for His enemies. His tender bowels of compassion reach for the ungodly; they are chosen for no reason in them. Those whom He saves are not in any way better than those in hell right now. The “friend of publicans and sinners” saves to glorify the loving good pleasure of the triune God. What glory is in our free Savior!

“How can I be saved by Him?”←⤒🔗

If He saves fully and freely, nothing is left for us to con­tribute to our salvation. Too often, we struggle because we think salvation is just difficult and we don’t bow for the truth that it is actually impossible (Mark 10:27). The Pharisee left the temple unjustified not because he was too sinful, but too self-righteous. Nothing we work up in ourselves can qualify us for salvation. Not even our tears, brokenness, or resolutions can merit anything. In fact, the more God breaks our hearts, the more we feel the hard­ness of our hearts.

If Christ saves, we need do nothing. We may give up all our own efforts and sink onto His faithful Word: “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). Lost by ourselves, we may be assured that “the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). In faith (Eph 2:8; Heb. 12:2), Luther says, “we work nothing, we render nothing unto God, but we only receive, and let another work in us.” By faith, we learn how faithful Christ is in fulfilling His promise:

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; he shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.John 3:36; 5:24

What glory is in the faithful Savior!

“What glorifies Him?”←⤒🔗

True faith is not a dry reasoning; it binds you to Christ and leads you to glory in Him alone. When He saves you, you cannot glory in anything of yourself. You cannot even take any credit for your praying, seeking, turning, or believing. You can only glorify the Savior for what He has done for and in you. His glory fills you with an awed amazement that makes you say amen to the exhortation, “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31).

Christ is glorified in saving sinners fully, freely, and faithfully. Though your sins be strong, follow Luther’s advice:

let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.

Then Christ will be glorified in your salvation.