Everyone Needs Jesus – Greg Laurie Devotion – June 26, 2026

Biblical Context

The book of Titus is a letter written by the apostle Paul to Titus, a young leader Paul left on the island of Crete. Titus’s job was to organize the churches there, appoint elders, and teach sound doctrine. Paul wrote this letter to help Titus in his work, giving him practical advice on leadership, church order, and how believers should live. The letter emphasizes the importance of good works springing from true faith and God’s grace, not as a way to earn salvation. It’s a guide for maintaining order and truth in a new Christian community, making sure they understand what God has done for them and how they should respond.

Key Word Study

Let’s look at the word Mercy from our main scripture. In Greek, the word used here is eleos (ἔλεος). This isn’t just about pity; it’s a deep, active compassion that leads to help. It’s about seeing someone in a tough spot and acting to relieve their distress. When the Bible says God saved us because of his mercy, it means He saw us in our helplessness, caught in sin, and didn’t just feel sorry for us. He stepped in with saving action, freely giving us what we don’t deserve but desperately need, out of His deep, active love for us. It’s a love that does something about our problems.

The Illusion of Self-Righteousness

We’re talking about something important today. There’s this idea that some people don’t think they need forgiveness. These are what we call self-righteous people. They honestly believe they don’t need Jesus. You might hear a self-righteous person say something like, “You can preach that gospel in the prisons and on the streets. Go talk to the criminals. But don’t bother with me. I’m an educated and intelligent person. I’m a moral person. I don’t need it.” It’s a common thought, a way we sometimes try to justify ourselves.

But the Bible, God’s Word, sees things differently. The apostle Paul, a man who knew a lot about human weakness and God’s power, wrote it plain and clear:

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” (Titus 3:4–7 NLT)

You see, it’s not about what we do. It’s about what God has done.

Good People Still Need Jesus

Self-righteous people aren’t like what you might call regular sinners. These are often genuinely kind people. They’re considerate people. They volunteer their time and help wherever they’re needed. They do really good, benevolent things. We all know people like this, don’t we? In fact, I’ve met some non-Christians who are nicer than some Christians I know. It’s true!

It isn’t wrong to say that there are some relatively “good” people from a worldly perspective, because there are. The Bible acknowledges that, in a human sense, some people appear more moral than others. They pay their taxes, they help their neighbors, they live what most would call a good life. But the Bible also says that no one is good enough to get to Heaven. We don’t get to Heaven based on niceness. Heaven is not a place for near-perfect people; it’s a place for forgiven people.

Everyone Shares the Same Need

We see classic examples of this truth in John’s Gospel. You remember John chapter 3? We’re introduced to Nicodemus. He was an upstanding, respected, religious, moral guy. By all human standards, he was a good person. He was a leader among his people.

Then, in John chapter 4, we’re introduced to a Samaritan woman. She was an immoral person who was living in sin, someone looked down upon by society. She had a scandalous past and present.

What do these two completely different people have in common? This is what’s amazing: They both encountered Jesus. And they both were confronted with their need for Him. Nicodemus, the moral one, needed a new birth. The Samaritan woman, the immoral one, needed living water. Their encounters remind us that everyone needs Jesus—both the moral and the immoral, both the down-and-outer and the up-and-outer. That message is at the center of why we do what we do at Harvest Crusades. It’s why we share the gospel.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It

Take a moment and look around at the people in your life. Every single one of them who hasn’t received Christ as Savior and Lord needs Him, whether they realize it or not. It doesn’t matter how good they are, or how many good deeds they’ve done. Their goodness can’t save them. Only Jesus can.

So, what’s your role in all this? Your mission is to help them recognize that need and then lead them to the One who can fulfill it. It’s not about making them feel bad; it’s about showing them the incredible kindness and love of God, the mercy that Paul talks about in Titus. It’s about letting them know that Heaven isn’t for the perfect, but for the forgiven. It’s a mission of love and grace.

Will you accept that mission? How can you convince an unbeliever of their need for Jesus? It starts with prayer, living out your faith, and being ready to share the simple truth: God’s kindness, love, and mercy are for everyone, not because of what we’ve done, but because of who He is and what Jesus did for us.