Christ KillersSample

Day 6: Walking With the Hero:

At the heart of Christianity is a truth that offends human pride but liberates the soul: you cannot save yourself.

We like to believe that with enough effort, knowledge, or discipline, we can fix what’s broken. But Scripture paints a different picture. Our problem isn’t just that we’ve made mistakes. It’s that we’re spiritually dead apart from Christ—and dead people don’t fix themselves.

We weren’t just off track—we were without hope, without direction, and unable to make ourselves right with God. Real salvation doesn’t come through willpower. It comes through surrender.

Jesus said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him” (John 12:26, ESV).

To follow Jesus is to die to self. It’s not a casual decision or a Sunday habit—it’s a total reorientation of life. But the beautiful irony is this: when you lose your life to follow Him, you find it. That’s the starting point of salvation. Not performance, but surrender. Not effort, but mercy.

“He saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy” (Titus 3:5, CSB).

You don’t need a spiritual to-do list—you need a Savior. God didn’t wait until you cleaned yourself up. He stepped into your mess. The cross was not a response to your potential; it was a response to your desperation. That’s how deep His love goes.

But without the resurrection, none of this matters. Without it, Jesus is just another dead teacher, and our faith is nothing more than wishful thinking.

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:17-19, NIV).

This is where Christianity separates itself from every other belief system: Jesus didn’t stay dead. The tomb is empty. And that changes everything. If Christ is risen, then death is defeated—and so is every attempt to save ourselves.

But this new life doesn’t happen automatically. It requires a rebirth.

“Jesus replied, ‘Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (John 3:3, CSB).

Being born again means receiving a new heart, a new spirit, and a new identity. It means turning away from your old life and stepping into the life only Jesus can give. That’s what repentance is—not just saying “I’m sorry,” but saying “I’m done doing it my way.”

Maybe you’ve tried to fix yourself. Maybe you’ve tried to be good enough, faithful enough, consistent enough. But the truth is, Jesus already did what you never could. He lived the perfect life. He died your death. He rose to give you His life.

So let go of your efforts. Let go of your pride. And grab hold of grace. You can’t save yourself. But Jesus can. And He already has.

Today is the day to respond. Repent. Believe. Be born again. And step into the kind of life that only resurrection makes possible—with the Hero.