Bible Believer's Church - Biblische Gemeinde
Fortune City

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SEVEN STEPS TO CHRIST

In the tenth chapter of Mark's Gospel, the story of the blind Bartimaeus is told in seven verses, and in theses verses we see the steps by which a sinner may come to the Saviour and find salvation and satisfaction in Him. This is how the record reads:
"And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, [thou] Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, [Thou] Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." (Mark 10.46-52)
Our Lord's miracle in the life of Bartimaeus is an illustration of his own words - "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8.12)

What are the steps to Christ? How does a sinner come to the Saviour? How must you come?

1. You must come to Him in the consciousness of your need.
Bartimaeus had two very great needs in his life: first he was blind, and second, he was poor. He could not work like other men, so he had to sit by the wayside day by day and depend upon the charity of the passers-by. Blind and poor! - and these two words describe exactly the deep spiritual need of every soul who has never come to Christ. blind and poor! We are all spiritually blind until the Lord Jesus opens our eyes, and how poor we are! One of our hymns rightly describes our condition in the words "poor, wretched and blind."
Bartimaeus was like that, and he knew it. And you are like that also, if you are not a Christian. Did you realise that?
On one occasion a lady went to the minister of her Church and said: "I've been coming to Church for fifty years, but I've only just realised that I'm a sinner needing a Saviour. I've heard you and other preachers speak to sinners in the Church, and I've always wondered whoever could be present! But now I see I'm the sinner whom Jesus came to save."
You see, the preacher's first job is to show people their need of Christ; then they will want to come to Him, as Bartimaeus did. Do you acknowledge that you are spiritually blind and poor and that Jesus alone can open your eyes and enrich your life with His great salvation? This is the first step you must take if you would come to Christ: you must come in the consciousness of your own deep personal need.

2. You must come to him just as you are.
There was absolutely nothing Bartimaeus could do to improve his condition, but, he did not need to try to improve his condition. All he needed to do was to come to Jesus just as he was.
Many people believe that before they can come to Christ they must reform and try to improve their condition as otherwise He cannot receive them. But this is wrong! The lord Jesus invites us to come to Him just as we are - in our blindness and in our poverty, in our sin and in our shame, with our problems and with our perplexities - with our deepest need, whatever that may be. Perhaps you say, "But I'm a very great sinner!" Well, let me tell you this: Jesus is a very great Saviour, and if only you will come to Him He will fully meet your need.
The story is told of an artist who wanted an unkempt beggar to sit for him for a special picture he was painting. He searched the city until he found just the man - a poor fellow who was unshaven and dirty. He asked the man to come to his studio on the following day, and he paid he a little money in advance. The man went straight to the public baths and cleaned himself up; he shaved the stubble of his chin, combed his hair and brushed up his clothes, and when he presented himself at the artist's studio the painter was aghast. "But wanted you just as you were!" he said. And that is exactly how God wants us to come to Him - just as we are, as Charlotte Elliott reminds us in her hymn:

"Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot;
To Thee Whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come!"

Of course, when we come to Him just as we are, we do not stay as we are. He transforms our whole life - "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). So, the second step to Christ is: you must come to Him just as you are.

3. You must come to Him in spite of every discouragement.
Mark tells us that when Bartimaeus cried out for the Lord for help, some of the people nearby "charged him that he should hold his peace". But did he? No, he was too desperately needy, and he was too much in earnest to be silenced. We are told, that he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" Fancy those people suggesting that Jesus was too busy or too important to listen to the cry of a needy soul! But there are many today who will try to discourage you from coming to Jesus. They will tell you that you do not need a Saviour, that so long as you lead a good life and do your best that is all that is required of you. They may even tell you that all you need to do is to go to church, at any rate occasionally. Even your loved ones may tell you that. But do not be discouraged or misled by anyone who would try to stop you from coming to Him, because you need pardon, and He is the only One Who can say to you, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." You need purity, and there is only one fountain open for sin and for uncleanness - "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." You need power, and you only can have real power for daily living as you come to Christ and trust him, and only then will you be able to say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." You need His presence every passing hour, and it is only to those that belong to Him that He says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13.5)
. And so, if you will come to Christ: you must come to Him in spite of every discouragement.

4. You must come to Him directly He calls you.
Here is a wonderful thing. Bartimaeus, who was very conscious of his need an who believed that only Jesus could meet his need, cried out, "Jesus, have mercy on me!" And what happened? "And Jesus stood still, and he commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee." You see, Jesus was not too busy to hear the urgent, earnest cry of a poor blind beggar. The One Who had come to earth to save sinners, and Who had come to shed His blood for their redemption, stopped the procession and commanded Bartimaeus to be brought to him. How vital it was that Bartimaeus should come at once, without any hesitation or delay! Jesus was passing by. He was going to the Cross where He would die for us all, and never again would Bartimaeus have an opportunity like this of coming to Christ.
That may be true of you as you read this message. The Lord calls you to come to come to Him now, and you m"ust rise up at once and come, "Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart... See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh (Hebrews 3.7-8 and 12.25) Now is the time! "Boast not thyself for tomorrow: for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" (Proverbs 27.1).
So the fourth step to Christ is: you must come to Him directly He calls you.

5. You must come to Him abandoning all hindrances.
When Jesus called Bartimaeus we read that "he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus." That is a picture of true conversion. Bartimaeus cast away his loose outer garment, and he came to Jesus - and this symbolises repentance and faith. God calls us to turn from everything which would hinder us - our sin, our pride, our respectability and our fear of what others will say about us. He calls us to turn from all these, and from every hindrance of every kind, to Christ Himself. That is the way to become a Christian: that is the way to be saved; that is the way to gain assurance of salvation. Cast away every "garment", every hindrance, and come to Jesus. Will you do that just now?
If you are being hindered from coming to Him by the garment of some secret sin, He will cleanse you from that sin and deliver you from its power. If it is the garment of pride or of fear, He will enable you to cast away this garment.
So the fifth step is: you must come to Him abandoning all hindrances.

6. You must come to Him and ask him to save you.
Jesus said to Bartimaeus: "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The blind man said to Him, "Lord, that I might receive my sight!" What a sacred interview that was! Jesus alone with Bartimaeus, Jesus wanting to meet the need of Bartimaeus, and Bartimaeus longing to have his deep need met. So what did Bartimaeus do? He simply asked the Lord to do for him what he needed to have done and what he could not do himself. He said, "Lord, that I might receive my sight!"
Have you ever got alone in the presence of Jesus and asked Him to save you, to forgive you, to cleanse you and to make you His own? Here is the promise - "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10.13). You can call upon Him now, at this very moment, and He will hear you and answer you. "Lord, save me! Lord, make me Thine! Lord, I come to Thee now and trust Thee as my own personal Saviour and Friend!
" So, the sixth step to Christ is: you must come to Him and ask Him to save you. When you have done this there is one more step you must take.

7. You must come to Him and accept His great salvation by faith and follow Jesus in the way.
Notice how Mark concludes his story - "And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way." That is sudden conversion! If you will come to Jesus now in simple faith, and if you will call upon Him and commit yourself to Him, He will save you now, at this very moment.
Some years ago a friend of mine, who held an important position in a firm in London, was visited by two of his workmen in his private office. For some reason, which my friend could not understand at first, both these men seemed almost too shy to speak. Then one of them plucked courage. "Sir," he said, "we both want to be converted, and please can we have it done now?" My friend took out his Bible and explained God's way of salvation to these two seekers, as I have tried to explain it in this message, and a few moments later the three men were on their knees together, and one was pointing the other two to Christ.

My dear friend, whoever you are and wherever you are, I have tried to lead you step by step so that you may really come to the Lord Jesus and trust Him as your Saviour. He died for you and He lives and waits to save you; and the wonderful thing is that you can "have it done now!" You can come to Him at this very moment. Will you come to Him and put your whole trust in Him for salvation, for time and for eternity?

"Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come."

This message by Francis W. Dixon was printed as small booklet by:
Words of life ministries
Eastbourne
England

Dear reader, maybe you have not already read my testimony "A pusher's change". May I invite you to read what the Lord Jesus Christ did in my life? 
Hanspeter Künzle