‘Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.’ When you realise that: salvation is not by works; it is by having a heart that loves God with all your strength and being, and is one hundred percent for God.
Maybe you are in this position. ‘I long to be accepted by God. I need his salvation. I see the point concerning Christ, his atonement. I desire these things.’ You are not far away. That is a very encouraging word and it also tells us this – you are not there, you have not arrived. We are not told this but we believe that in due time he entered into the kingdom of God by repentance and trust in Christ and the yielding of his life to God unreservedly. He brings you under conviction, and then takes you all the way through to the new birth.