Chapter 13.13
Maybe Saved
Maybe
I’m Saved and Maybe I’m not – How can I tell? – What defines a Christian?
When
there’s No Fruit, there’s No Root - Christianity is a form of “Fire Insurance”
First Word
There
were two beggars sitting on a bench overlooking a pond. The first beggar said, “I haven’t eaten in
two days and I think I’m going to die”.
The other beggar said “I can tell you about a place that has some food
and it’s free”. The first beggar said, “FOOD! What can YOU tell me about
food? You’re just a dirty, rotten, lowdown, scumbag sinner,
“Look, I’m just a beggar, trying to show
another beggar where to find bread.”
And
that’s where I am.
In the beginning
In the beginning was “God the Son”
and he became flesh, made in the image of man and lived among us[1]…
He was before Abraham[2]…
He was present at the creation[3] … The
fullness of God resides in the Him.[4]
Readers Digest/Cliff Notes - SIN
Further back that your mind
can wrap around, God created an awesome angel named Lucifer and he was
in charge of the earth. Angels are
created immortal, they will never die. At some point Satan rebelled and wanted to be
like God.
A bunch of other angels followed him; God gave Satan and his boys’ eons
of time to repent, but they didn’t. God
prepared a place called Hell and the burning Lake of Fire for
Satan’s demise and the angels that followed him.[5]
God destroys the earth in a flood
and starts all over with Adam. Satan strikes back at God by tricking Man, His
greatest creation into sinning. God knew
that he would; and already had the plan of salvation
in effect. (If you sin, you cannot be immortal, you will die)
Man is now a sinner and the penalty for sin is death. He is doomed to destruction in Hell and the
burning Lake of fire along with Satan and his gang. Did you see it? You don’t burn up…it’s never over… its torment
forever and worse than that, you are separated forever from God.[6]
This torment goes on day and night, forever and ever,[7] you
are out of the presence of God; there will be darkness, weeping and grinding of
teeth.[8] It’s not God’s desire that any should perish,
so he sent His Son, Jesus Christ to pay the
price of sin, which is death; His death.
Jesus died on the cross and his blood paid the price for man to be
saved.
He
did not die for all men,
He died only for those that were drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit.
Dying to go
The
preacher said “everybody that wants to go to heaven, raise your
hand”. Everyone raised their hand except
one young man. The preacher said to him,
“Don’t you
want to go to heaven”? The
young man said “Yes
I do, but I thought you were trying to get up a bus load to go TODAY”.
Most folks want to go to heaven, but are “not
dying” to go today.
Some Scary Stuff
Some
“SAY” they are Christians just so they
won’t go to Hell, they just want “fire insurance;”[9] but God will tell them “I never knew you”. There are TWO kingdoms of God; the NOW and the NOT
YET… You must be a member
of the Kingdom of God NOW in order to be a member of the Kingdom YET
to come. Christianity is
about “the
Kingdom of God” living in you
Not everyone that says “Praise the Lord”
will enter the kingdom of God;[10]
but just those that DO THE WILL of God the Father. The fact that you are reading this indicates
that God has a call on your life. God
said many
are called, but “few are chosen”.[11] He said the road to life is narrow[12] and
“few find it”.[13]
He says that Jesus Christ is the only way
to enter into the ”Kingdom of God” and no one can come unless the
Holy Spirit “enables”
them.[14] Then He said; we don’t choose Him, He chooses
us;[15] Salvation
is His gift.[16] In fact we are told that we are DEAD in our sins[17]
and do not have the ability to come to Him.
There is not one good person at all, not
one;[18] all
are corrupt[19]
with thoughts continually on evil and wickedness;[20] all have sinned
and fall short of God’s glorious standard.[21]
God says that we can’t do anything to earn
our salvation[22]
therefore our Salvation does not depend on our desire or effort, but upon God's
mercy. We can give to charities, go to
church, feed the poor and volunteer at the hospital, but without the Spirit of
God in us, it’s all in vain.[23]
He will say, “I never knew you”.
Works without FAITH is a dead work. Faith without WORKS is a dead Faith.[24]
Here’s where we are
The Bible says we are
all sinners[25]
and because of sin, we are all separated from God.[26] This makes us the object of His wrath.[27] The penalty for this sin is death;[28] we
are doomed to be out of the presence of God and into everlasting destruction.[29] The only way to escape the wrath of God is to
embrace Christ and be identified by His work on
the cross.[30] Jesus bore our sins in His righteous body so
that our body would “die to sin”.[31]
The Law
The Bible is an instruction manual written for
believers; those that have been drawn by the Holy Spirit,[32] God
gave us the laws of scripture to guide us; to make us aware of
our need for a savior. But for the unbeliever, these instructions; the
written laws of God are just foolishness.[33]
Keeping the Ten Commandments and the other laws cannot save man. Man can do nothing to remove his own sin. If the law could save, then Jesus would have died for nothing.[34] We were once the objects of God’s wrath;[35] and
all our good works were counted as nothing; as just filthy rags; (a sanitary napkin),[36] but,
the blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross made us righteous before God
The Wheel Error Teaching
Jesus went to cross
and bore our sins that we might be redeemed from destruction.[37] The scoffer says
that ALL THE SPOKES IN A WHEEL LEAD TO
THE SAME HUB;
there are many paths and many ways to god, just with different names. However; the Bible says there is ONLY ONE WAY;[38] Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life[39] and
no one comes to “God the Father” except through Him; no one can come to God
on his own; the Holy Spirit must draw him.[40]
There is no other name under heaven upon which man can be saved.[41]
Maybe Saved
Embracing
Jesus Christ… Better count the cost first… It can cost you your family and friends.[42]
ü
Have you confessed that you are sinner? Have you
repented and changed your ways?
ü
Have you confessed with your mouth before
other men that Jesus is your Lord?[43]
ü
Have you believed in your heart that Jesus was
raised from the dead?
ü
Do you believe He will come again and receive you
to Himself and you will dwell with Him?[44]
Done Deal
With
the child of God, there is no “Ifs or Maybes”, it’s a done deal.[45] You can
know for sure that you are His. ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED. Nothing
can take you out of His hand,[46] not
even sin; Jesus Christ died for ALL your sins past,
present and future.
The work of Jesus on the cross was
sufficient; there is nothing more man can add to it.[47]
Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. [48] It’s
in the Book
When you receive Christ, you receive the
Holy Spirit; you now have direct access to the throne of Grace. Your prayers ascend directly to Him… the Holy
Spirit helps you to pray the will of the Father.[49]
No longer do you say “I hope I’m saved”; that’s doubt. You now say; “I know I’m saved”, that’s faith.
You no longer “hope to just get into heaven”,
but look forward to seeing the sights, seeing other believers and finding out what
you are going to be doing. SELAH
For the believer, as soon as you die, your
Spirit is present with the Lord; the body is in the grave, but the spirit is in
heaven.[50] Because of Christ you have already been
judged righteous. IT’S A DONE
DEAL.
The
Great Pretender - NO FRUIT; NO
ROOT.
Sunday Christian: A follower of Jesus
Christ can go to Sunday School and Church, sing the songs of praise, enter into
prayer, be a part of laying hands on the sick, see the Holy Spirit at work in
healings and miracles, taste the sweetness of communion with the other saints; but still not be a part of the Faith.
How can that be; the Bible teaches that once you are saved you are always saved. As Jesus taught His followers, they
experienced the miracles of healings; the casting out of demons; the feeding of
thousands and tasted the power of the Holy Spirit;
but at some point some could not spiritually
discern His teachings which
caused a number of them to WALK AWAY.[51]
IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE for someone like
this with
their own ability and power to come back to the
Faith;[52]
except by the GRACE
of Jesus Christ; as we know that with Him all things are made possible.[53]
According to Scripture the rain waters all the soil, some good and some
not so good. Some brings forth good vegetation and some brings up worthless
thorns and thistles; but both got the same water.[54]
A True
Believer will not leave the Faith; a MAKE-BELIEVER WILL; this proves
that they were never a part of the Faith to begin with.[55] How can you know if you are saved? God said, you will know them by their FRUITS’; their actions.[56] NO FRUIT; NO ROOT.
Take a close look at your “check book”; your speech, your SONGS
and your activities; do they honor God or bring shame?
The Fruit of
the Spirit has nine expressions; but all nine of them are
exhibited as just ONE fruit; Love, Joy,
Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.[57] They are utilized along with the Gifts of the Spirit for the perfecting of the Saints and the building up of the
Church body.[58]
Does your ACTIONS build up the Church and strive for the perfection that is
offered through Jesus Christ? NO FRUIT; NO ROOT.
Adam and Eve were not kicked
out of the
Garden because of their sin;
they were kicked out because they DID NOT
CONFESS their
sin and
seek
forgiveness. Instead they
blamed each other as well as God for their actions. Obedience brings Mercy and Blessings; Disobedience brings Judgment.
LIP SERVICE; are you just going through the motions,
having only “a form of Godliness”?[59] Is
God’s word spoken through your mouth, but not spoken in your actions? NO FRUIT; NO
ROOT.
We are told to examine ourselves before we
take part in communion,[60]
to confess our sins. Do you have
unconfessed sin? Do you need a “COURSE
CORRECTION” in your life? NO FRUIT; NO ROOT.
God does not have any STEP CHILDREN; only
Children. You are not a child of God
because your Mama is. NO FRUIT; NO ROOT. You must be rooted in the vine of Jesus
Christ.
Could it be that you are just NOT SAVED;
when there’s NO FRUIT there’s NO ROOT.
[1] John 1:14 – God the Son
became flesh and lived with us.
[2] John 8:58 – Jesus was
before Abraham
[3] John 1:1 – Jesus was in
the beginning
[4] Colossians 2:9 – The fullness of the Deity lives in Jesus
[5] Matthew 25:41 – The Lake of fire was prepared for Satan and his followers
[6] 2 Thessalonians 1:9 – The
un-redeemed is shut out of the presence of God
forever
[7] Revelation 20:10 – The
un-redeemed will be tormented day and night
forever
[8] Matthew 8:12 – On the
Lords Day there will be darkness, weeping and grinding
of teeth.
[9] Exodus 3:3 – In hell
nothing burns up; better get Fire Insurance
[10] Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone that says “Praise the Lord” is saved.
[11] Matthew 22:14 – Few are chosen
[12] Matthew 7:13-14 – Few find the road to life
[13] John 14:6 – I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
[14] John 6:65 – It’s the Holy Spirit that ENABLES YOU to come
[15] John 15:16 – I chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that
will last.
[16] Ephesians 2:8 – By grace
you have been saved, through faith Salvation is a
gift from God
[17] Ephesians 2:1-2 – We are DEAD in our sins.
[18] Romans 3:12 – There is not one good person, not one
[19] Psalm 53:3 – Everyone is corrupt.
[20] Genesis 6:5 – Man’s
thoughts are evil and wicked;
every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
[21] Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and fall short of
God’s standard
[22] Romans 9:16 – You can’t
do anything to EARN
God’s mercy and grace
[23] Matthew 7:22-23 – Many
only think they are saved
[24] James 2:26 – Faith without works is a dead
faith
[25] Romans 3:23 – We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
[26] Isaiah 59:2 – Sin
separates us from God
[27] Ephesians 2:3 – Our
Sinful nature made us the objects of Gods wrath
[28] Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death
[29] 2 Thessalonians 1:9 – The
un-redeemed will be out of the presence of God and will endure everlasting
destruction
[30] Romans 3:10-11 – No one
seeks God on his own not even one; no one is righteous, not one who understands
[31] 1 Peter 2:24 – Jesus bore
ALL our sins on the cross; they
are forgiven PAST, PRESENT and
FUTURE
[33] 1 Corenthians 2:14 – The Bible is foolishness to the perishing
[34] Galatians 2:21 – If the law saves, then Jesus died for nothing
[35] Ephesians 2:3 – Once we
were objects of God’s wrath.
[36] Isaiah 64:6 – All our good works are like filthy
rags.
[37] 1 Peter 2:24 – He bore
our sins that we might die to sin
[38] John 14:6 – Jesus is the
only way to the Father God
[39] John 14:6 – Jesus is The Way, The Truth, The Life
[40] John 6:65 – The Holy Spirit must ENABLE YOU to come
[41] Acts 4:12 – There is no
other name under heaven by which we can be saved
[42] Luke 14:28 – It will cost
you to confess Christ
[43] Romans 10:9-10 - Confess with your mouth and Believe
in your heart
[44] John 14:2-3 – He will
come again and get the believer.
[45] John 18:9 – Jesus has not
lost one soul that was given to Him
[46] John 10:27-30 – No one
can take you out of God’s hand
[47] Ecclesiastes 3:14 –
Nothing can be added to it.
[48] Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing
can separate you from Christ
[49] Romans 8:26 – The Holy
Spirit helps us to pray the will of God
[50] 2 Corenthians 5:8 – When
the Believer is absent from his body; he is present with the Lord.
[51] John 6:66 – Many DISCIPLES
left the Faith.
[52] Hebrews 6:4-6 – For in the case of those who have ONCE BEEN
ENLIGHTENED and
have TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT and HAVE BEEN MADE PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT, and
have TASTED THE GOOD WORD OF GOD and the powers of the age to come, and THEN HAVE FALLEN
AWAY, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify
to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.
[53] Matthew 19:25-26 - With God all things are
possible
[54] Hebrews 6:7-8 – The Rain waters all; Some
vegetation is Useful, Some is Worthless and is
burned
[55] 1 John 2:19 – The left because they were MAKE BELIEVERS; they went out from us, but they did
not really belong to us
[56] Matthew 7:16 – You will know them by their FRUIT
[57] Galatians 5:22-23 – FRUIT OF
THE SPIRIT; Love, Joy, Peace, Patience,
Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness,
Gentleness and Self-Control
[58] Ephesians 4:12 – SPIRITUAL GIFTS are for the PERFECTING of the saints
[59] 2 Timothy 3:2-5 Make-Believers have only a
form of Godliness
[60] 1 Corinthians 11:27-28 – EXAMINE
YOURSELF before
eating the bread and drinking the cup of communion
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