Posts tagged beliefs

"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." I John 2:3-4

INTRODUCTION

I’ve pondered Matthew 7:21 more than once and I know that these will be terrifying words for those to whom they are spoken. Jesus says,

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

In this verse, Jesus does not say that a few misguided souls have a false hope of heaven. He says MANY. He is talking to people who think they are Christians.

Nowadays there are a lot of people who say that they are Christians who will not enter heaven. These are people who think that they are going to make it in to glory on their lip service. But when they stand before the King and Judge, they will be rejected.

When Jesus says "Depart" you can’t appeal and try to get a second chance, you got to go. I KNOW they will be terrified. Included here? All those who choose to "worship" God according to their own beliefs and not God’s word. This includes, cultists who claim a Jesus/gospel different from the Bible, e.g., Catholics, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, hypocrites along with every Protestant denomination follower who puts their trust in their denomination, and church attendance.

To be a Christian, you must repent of your sins and believe on the Lord Jesus.

REPENT means saying, "I’m sick of sin and living my own way. I want to live under God’s commands!"

BELIEVE means believing that Jesus died for your sins, was buried and rose on the third day and accepting His sacrifice for you. It means saying "Yes Lord! I love you! I want to serve you!"

James says the devils believe and tremble–saving belief is more than acknowledging that the claims of Christ are true. Many people think getting saved means saying, "the sinner’s prayer"–that is a lie. They believe some mystical thing happens at reciting some words. No! The prayer is a confession of belief on the Lord. Romans 10:9 says,

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, AND shalt
BELIEVE in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.

Jesus said "Repent ye and believe the gospel." Throughout the whole Bible, we see God telling people, in essence,

"Turn from your wicked ways unto me and live." (e.g., Ezekiel 33:11)

This is repentance–forsaking the sin lifestyle and saying "Yes, I’ll submit to God’s ways".

Doing some good deeds is not repentance. That’s trying to be good enough and that ain’t gonna work–Isaiah 64:6 says that even our righteousness outside of God are as filthy rags. Saying some words is not repentance. The Bible says, "By the works of the flesh shall no man be justified," so the act of speaking don’t do it.

If you are a true believer, your life will demonstrate it and the Bible tells us that over and over again. For us Christians, I believe that in our zeal to stem the cults, we emphasize faith and do not put like proper emphasis on the evidences of saving faith which is a life of holiness. I can say, "I really want to go to Harvard." But if I skip school, don’t do my homework, and go to sleep in class, do I really want to go?

NO WAY! Anybody could see that because my actions betray my confession. It is no different in confessing Jesus.

People say, "I believe Jesus is Lord," yet they curse without abandon, don’t go to church, love everything this wicked world has to offer, don’t feel convicted of sin, and are uninterested in the things of God.

Does this person believe to the saving of the soul? Good chance that the answer is no. Is this a matter of trying to be God and determine who will make it in? No! It is a question of life and death and telling people the truth!

Saving faith will manifest itself in good works. Just read James, Hebrews, I John, Romans–the gospels. If no change occurs in a person’s life, we have plenty of scriptures to let us know that there is a VERY good chance true conversion never took place to begin with. Works do not save, but a saving faith will cause good works.

Another analogy–apples do not make an apple tree an apple tree. Before any fruit appeared it was an apple tree. With time, sunshine, water and other factors, the precious fruit cometh forth. Same thing with a saved person. They have Jesus Christ within. With the word of God, working of the Holy Ghost, the brethren and time, good works will come forth like fine treasure hidden from within an earthen vessel.

The following is excerpted from the book, "How Can I Except Some Man Should Guide Me? A Plan and Program for Bringing Children to Faith in Jesus Christ," Pastor Kerry James Allen, Copyright 1996, Fox River Baptist Church, Box 1094, Oswego, IL. 60543. This gives some good, solid evidences of a person who has been born again.

Jesus said, "By their fruits shall ye know them." Examine yourself against these criteria. The article on this site Who are You? is devoted to this same topic. God does not leave us out in the dark on this thing.

We are not saved by our works, but when we are saved, our life will certainly reflect that decision by our good works. ("Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" James 2:17.)

Do you have total 100% assurance that you possess eternal life,
and if someone asked you to prove it to them from a Bible, could you do it?

Still not sure? Go here…