Introduction.
Scripture teaches us that without Christ all of humankind is unworthy of coming into God’s Kingdom – because they do not meet up to the standard of His Holiness.
In our realms, you know how swift the judgment is upon a child bringing a gun on campus, right? That is an understandable standard, you think?… that guns cannot be tolerated in the backpacks of children at school? Is the school principal an ogre for condemning such a child? That kid certainly thinks so!
God Almighty is, like, the “principal” of the universe! He has established the standards of His Universal Campus, and as it turns-out… we are that kid with the Uzzi in his backpack! It is totally understandable that The Principal of the Universe would bring judgment down upon us.
But God is not exactly like that principal. He has provided a very specific justice system to clear our name and our well-deserved verdict of “Guilty”. He has deemed that through faith in Jesus Christ – the sacrifice of His Son can make us worthy. Have you been declared “worthy”, or are you still “guilty” before The Creator?
Are you a God-damned “believer”? 1 Or has God’s damnation been removed from over your head? There is no greater question. [Does it ever bother you that heathens take the “harsh” biblical words and use them constantly, and then, the actual followers of The Way (us Christians) start using those terms less? We should be using these biblical words more!… hell, damnation.]
There are many two-sided coins in life.
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Life and Death.
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Right and Wrong.
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Good and Bad.
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Easy Believism and Salvation in Christ.
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On the other side of the coin of ¨easy believism¨ is the question: ¨Am I really saved?¨ or, on Judgement Day – will God say to me ¨Depart from me, I never knew you.¨ [Matt 7:20-23]?
This is a must-see video, Matthew 7:13-27 – Paul Washer Sermon. [Also at the Christ Community Church video site.] Go see it! (All of it.) Very moving! It deals with the issues of your eternity, such as:
- what God expects of us
- what are God’s conditions under which God will receive you, a sinner, into His Kingdom?
- why should God accept you, while rejecting that ¨Christian¨ next to you in the pew?
It is a weighty responsibility to be a Bible teacher. I do not want to be responsible for someone standing before the Throne of God saying – ¨Ya but, Keith said I was saved¨! I am afraid, very afraid, that we might hear many “Ya but’s” at the Throne.
It has weighed on my heart a lot, after seeing that video. I am so concerned for ¨believers¨ who are not really saved. It is THE scariest scenario in our world: to arrive before God after death, and hear Him declare you guilty, ¨I never knew you.¨
It makes me tremble, and re-examine my own heart, as Paul himself said to do: ¨…Examine yourselves to see if you be in the faith…¨ [2 Corinthians 13:5] Our heart is ¨…deceitful and exceedingly wicked…¨, says God.
[See all 5 references together or alone: Jeremiah 17:9, Ephesians 4:14, Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19, 1 Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 3:13.]
Are you one of the deceived?
Who am I to be any less deceived than the other guy?! 2 So I am examining Scripture to be very clear about what God has shown us in His Word. How about you? Are you sure about this – what God has determined as His way? Do you really want to be right with God? I do.
It does not take a lot – to be deceived.3 Scripture advises us to examine ourselves:
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test? – 2 Corinthians 13:5
It is too easy to just do what we think is “okay” – a la Judges 21:25.
In those days there was no king in Israel;
everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
– Judges 21:25
In that final day, no one will stand before God and argue. Now is the time to do all the arguing and investigating – and be assured of our righteous standing before God. After death – it is all too late. He gives us this one shot, here on earth, during this period of frail humanity – to either
- bow our knee before Him and follow Him in obedience, or
- continue in our sin, disobedient to the end.
According to Scripture, there are many of us “believers” who “…continue in our sin, disobedient to the end.” Are you one of them? A friend said to me recently,
¨There are a lot of churches filled with people who are good people, happy to be in church, but who never REALLY have established a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There are mosques full of sincerely convinced “believers” equally deceived. Muslims believe in their salvation (through Islam), some even more passionately than the complacent, would-be Christians do. Neither of them has put their faith in the one true Way, which is Jesus Christ.¨
It is Scripture that MUST be the final authority on any questions of faith. Are you looking to the Word of God as your rule of life? (Or do you plan to argue pitifully with God when you stand before Him!?)
Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
– Acts 17:11
What does Scripture say about who will NOT be allowed into God’s Kingdom?
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do any of these describe you? And you still think you are “saved”? Scripture is so clear about this. But we humans are so good at the “ya but” rethink. Would it be advisable for you to re-rethink? Eternity is at stake. Yours!
Are you following God?
There are many voices to listen to these days. It is so easy to miss His voice, which is the Truth. [See all three or: 2 Timothy 4:4, Hebrews 5:11, Zechariah 7:11]. Don’t be deceived by other enticing belief systems. Only one stairway to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way….”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father but through Me. [John 14:6]
There is no second chance at the Great White Throne Judgement. We either are:
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His – forgiven and secure in Him,
or we are
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Lost – damned in our sin and rejection of His merciful plan of salvation.
To think that certain ones I love have put their faith in ¨having raised their hand¨ or ¨prayed the sinner’s prayer for salvation¨… and yet NOT have truly been saved by God – is horrendous. A Friday the 13th horror multiplied 100 billion in magnitude. Unthinkable. But we must. Think about it. 4
Scripture does say we can know we are saved.
“These things I have written
to you who believe
in the name of the Son of God,
so that you may know
that you have eternal life.”
– 1 John 5:13
But however ¨secure¨ salvation is in Christ, that security does not save you. You must first be saved to then be secure in the Hands of God. So, what is it, to be “saved”?
God’ s say in the matter. 5
The greatest question in the universe is: How can I be put right with God Almighty? By God – how is that determined? Not “by man”, your reasonings – but rather: How does God Himself determine that you may enter into His Kingdom?
Do you not think He has the right to set his own conditions for entry?! See:
* 2 Timothy 4:4 “…will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
* Hebrews 5:11 “Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”
* Zechariah 7:11-12 “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets…”
As Dante´s Inferno reveals, and Jonathan Edwards expressed – there is no scarier thought than to be in the hands of an Angry God. God alone is He who holds eternity in His grasp, He who will give or will withhold His eternal acceptance or infernal damnation.
It is no slight thing to say, ¨Oh yes, I am saved.¨ Oh, are you, really? 6
What does God´s Word say about this? Don’t listen to mere men. Do not even allow “the church” to tell you. What if they are wrong? Check it out yourself. Read the Bible.
As to how God will determine your status before Him – THAT we must be sure of. Are you sure? 7
Without Christ in you, “the hope of glory,” you are just another God-damned believer. Make sure God will say to you in that day, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Make sure. Be sure as heaven.
-FIN-
FOR MORE:
In English:
Practicing Sin – Not Following Christ
Sinner’s Prayer Recall Notice – Batch: ALL
There is a broad road that says Heaven but goes to Hell
Video: How do I know if I am a Worldly Christian being deceived? – Biblical Assurance (Paul Washer)
En Español:
Video: Paul Washer (en español/in Spanish): Recursos por Paul Washer – en Español
*All Scripture quoted is in the NASB version.
Footnotes
- Lindy B. Scott said:
“Jesus frequently taught about the reality of hell and the damnable end of many people. If Jesus was right when He said:“wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt 7:14),
then it is likely that the majority of North Americans will not be eternally blessed, in spite of our great religiosity, missionary fervor, and doctrinal orthodoxy.
I am quite tempted to place myself in the category of the few who are walking along the road of life, but I am becoming increasingly aware of the many ways that I fail our God.
Sin is not a common topic these days in our churches or in our society, but it is all too prevalent in our lives.” – Quote by Lindy Scott in the article, Is “God Bless America” Biblical?
- Interesting testimony about how this “believer” was deceived by false doctrine: http://www.letusreason.org/testim.htm. Also see: About False Teachings of today
- False Conversion… YouTube video.
- In a message dated 5/28/2009 5:54:04 AM Pacific Standard Time, prophetic@revivalschool.com writes:
MOST VITAL MESSAGE I’ve HEARD in YEARS
Most of us think we know basically what is meant by the “Gospel of the Kingdom”. It is pretty important because Jesus says in Matt 24 that “This GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM will be preached in all the earth… and then the end will come.” So it is specifically the ‘Gospel of the Kingdom’ that must be preached worldwide in the last days before Jesus will return.Personally I thought I had a basic handle on this topic – like a lot of us. But recently I heard a teaching by my friend Alex Tinson that finally brought me to a full understanding of what the “Gospel of the Kingdom” really is. And I believe it will surprise a lot of people – and bring things into a much sharper focus. -A truly vital message.
Here is the audio link. PLEASE take a listen-“WHAT is THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM? – Surprising!” by Alex Tinson (UK), and here: Here is the link- http://www.churcheditmedia.co.uk/media/1/1-1242579926.mp3.
- Outside Comments on this article:
¨The title [God Damned “Believers”] is not harsh at all. Certainly a topic that all Bible teachers need to examine. And all who profess to be believers need to consider also.
“Easy believism” does make people complacent in their possibly false belief that they took care of the question when they were young or when they raised their hand in a service, etc. The evidence of a changed life is absent.
One CAN certainly truly accept Christ as Savior and Lord in one’s youth – even childhood – and at the time of raising one’s hand in response to God’s moving in a service. The test, is “Do You Love Me?” , as Jesus asked Peter. And in John 14 and 15 Jesus repeats “If you Love Me, you will Obey Me.” -Anonymous One
¨There are a lot of churches filled with people who are good people, happy to be in church, but who never REALLY have established a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
There are mosques full of sincerely convinced “believers” equally deceived. Muslims believe in their salvation (through Islam), some even more passionately than the complacent, would-be Christians do.
Neither of them has put their faith in the one true Way, which is Jesus Christ.¨ -Anonymous Two.
- Tamara Lowe gives a huge call to salvation in Christ, in an “almost rap” talk – at Christ Fellowship. A got-to-see-it video… http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=WUQYJ77qa50.
- See Paul Washer – Shocking Message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuabITeO4l8
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