Rather than measuring the power of our conversion story based upon our degree of sinfulness before we became a Christian, we should base it upon the cost Jesus paid to bring us back to God. How should this understanding impact the way we view our conversion story in comparison with others?

Some have experienced greater sinfulness than others by the depravity of their lives but we are all sinners. None of us is as good as God. None of us by our good lives or good works can save ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-10). We all must depend on the grace of God in Christ to forgive our sins and put us in a covenant relationship with God (Titus 3:3-5). Each of us must recognize that we are sinners and deserve the wrath of God against sin. We contemplate the death of Jesus and say, “Jesus died for me. He died for my sins. God loves me so much. God raised Jesus from the dead and made him Lord of the universe so that I can be in a relationship with God. I am saved by the grace of God. I now confess him as my savior and Lord and live with him in humble submission and obedience to his will.”

We do not compare ourselves with others who have sinned more or less than we have. We are all sinners and no sin can enter into heaven. All sin, whether great or small, must be forgiven by the grace of God in Christ or we will be lost forever without God. God does not evaluate or grade us on the amount of sin we have committed. All sin is against God and places us under the wrath of God. If one person murders, another commits fornication or adultery, another tells lies, another lusts in his or her heart, another is greedy and curses, another refuses to do what he or she knows is right, and still another is self-righteous trusting in his or her own goodness, they are all sinners and stand condemned by a holy and righteous God. No one is as good as God. If they are to be saved, they are all saved the same way by the same Jesus who died on the cross for their sins so that they all can be in a relationship with God.

We do not compare our sins with others because we are all sinners and none of us deserves to be saved. What we all do is praise the God of grace and mercy who saved us. We do not glory in our past by bragging how good or evil we once were. Instead, we praise our Lord who has made it possible for us to be saved, whatever our past might have been. There is no value in parading our sins and beating ourselves up over our past lives. We are now in Christ Jesus where we “have no condemnation” (Romans 8:1). We enjoy all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1:3).