What is it with our obsession to constantly be trying to reassure ‘believers’ that they are really “saved”…even admonishing them over and over to ‘not doubt their salvation’?

And why do so many sincere church members continue to struggle with those very doubts? You know who you are…those quiet whispers that ‘nudge’ you with a gnawing sense that something is ‘not right’.

Or maybe those whispers are not so quiet after you fall on your face, again…in sin… for the umpteenth time, leaving you with a condemning sense of failure as to why you can’t seem to overcome that sin of anger, for example, that blows up at the worse times with people you love the most. Maybe it is the grip of lust that sucks you down that dark hole of temporal euphoria before the crashing waves of guilt pound you. “Am I even saved?!”, you yell out in frustration.

For many others, it doesn’t even have to be ‘obvious lapse in behavior’, … you just sense not all is well within. And there is no shortage of those quiet words of affirmation we tell ourselves that of course we are ‘saved’! I mean look at all our years of dedicated church services and financial offerings and let’s not forget that you are ‘not like those other sinners’. (Luke 18:11-12)

I have been making the case all along that we are asking the wrong question as to are we ‘saved’ or not. The more important question is: “Are you abiding in Him?” IF…you are abiding in, then it’s safe to say that you need not be concerned as to whether you are ‘saved’. IF you are abiding in Him, you could not be in a better place.

But for the sake of discussion and our bible study here today, let’s ask a few other questions like: Do you know what you are even ‘saved from’?

“Sin”, you say? How so? How is one ‘saved from sin’?

Many might think they are ‘saved from the consequences of sin’. In other words, because they made a profession of faith and joined a church, they have been led to believe that they are immune from those consequences because Jesus took our punishment for all ‘past, present, and future sins.’ They somehow think that faith in Jesus gives them a ‘carte blanche’ and they need not worry about all the continuous sins they will continue to commit; you know…sort of like the local judge’s reckless 17 year-old who thinks he will never get another traffic ticket because, well …you know, his dad is the judge and will ‘take care of it’.

Friends, I can assure you that in this walk of faith and abiding in Jesus, that should you stumble …and sin, we do indeed have an ‘advocate with the Father’ who forgives us of our sin when we confess it to Him. But please remember this: John wrote “IF…we sin…”, not ‘when’. (1 John 2:1)

We tend to overlook those other verses that assure us that the ‘soul that sins shall surely die’ (Ezek. 18:20), and ‘the wages of sin is death’ (Rom. 6:23). Or how about ‘those who continue to live according to the flesh will die’, (Rom. 8:13), later backed up by Paul’s warning of “those who continue to practice these things (works of the flesh) will NOT inherit the kingdom of God’. (Gal. 5:21). And then there is that other warning by Jesus who told the man whom He had healed to “go and sin no more lest something worse comes upon you’. (John 5:14)

Yesterday, we talked about how many would be misled and deceived to believe in lies, and false teachings and ‘other gospels’ that would arise. It would be pride that prompts you to dismiss the idea that you could ever be deceived. I also made the point that without getting overly dramatic here, I will continue to sound the alarm that God is sending to ‘wake up His sleeping virgins’. (Matt. 25:6,10-11). It really is a serious matter here.

So if someone asked you – ‘How is one saved from their sins’, what might be your response?

Let me assure you now, from scripture, that what we are ‘saved from’ is the ‘wrath’ of God that was on each and every one of us who was born in to this world. (John 3:36) given we were all sinners separated from God. We were in fact, ‘children of wrath’. (Eph. 2:3). We were all condemned.(John 3:18) And it is the wrath of God that Jesus came to save us from. (Rom. 5:9)

So that should lead to our next two questions: “What is the wrath of God” and “How are we saved from it?” If you cannot answer those two questions nor adequately explain the answer to them to anyone else who might ask you the same questions, then I hesitate to warn you that you might be in a bit of a spot yourself and it would be wise to tune out some of the other distractions out there and spend some time searching your Bible for yourself…as if your soul depends on it; Because it does.

Now this is where most church people get all cross-wise and divided when we start exploring this idea as to what it means to be ‘saved’ and how one ‘gets saved’. You can see why the waters would get muddy here if many don’t even know what it is they are saved from. For multitudes, the gospel has been boiled down or reduced to simply two words: “Just Believe”.

What…in the name of all that is decent and common…does that even mean – ‘just believe’? We are told that ‘the devils believe and they tremble’. (James 2:19)

“Salvation has nothing to do with us but all with Him for it is by grace through faith that we are saved, and not of ourselves”, we are reminded from Eph. 2:8. Many will ‘plant their flag’ on Romans 10:9 that says “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. Why they might even throw in Acts 16:31 for ‘icing on the cake’ where a jailer was told “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”. Notice both statements use the word ‘will’…be saved.

So if it is indeed ‘all Him’ (which I am not arguing with), then what happens if a person does not…’confess with their mouth’? Can they not be ‘saved’? Because saying some words and making a profession of faith after praying would certainly involve some action or response on your part, would it not?

Some time back, I was asked by a person whom I would consider to be well versed in the bible if I no longer believed that salvation comes by ‘grace alone through faith in Jesus’. I assured them that I had never been more convinced that it is all…by His grace for sure. But, I added that we might differ on our concept of what ‘grace’ actually is. And this is where I think so many have been deceived.

Yesterday, I started to present a ‘what if’ scenario for you to consider and how it might change the focus and direction of your heart when it comes to this idea of what it means to believe in and follow Jesus.

What if…there really is more to this walk of faith than what you were led to believe; even if it was seemingly sincere people who misled you. I mean, are we not creatures of habit that do lots of things because that is the way we’ve always done them? (or taught/believed?)

It seems those early church fathers who left us the writings of the Bible (inspired by the Holy Spirit 2 Tim. 3:16-17) were continuously admonishing believers to ‘work out their salvation with fear and trembling’ (Phil. 2:12) and to ‘exhort one another daily while it is called ‘today’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin”. (Heb. 2:13). Paul admonished us that ‘since we have these promises, let us cleansed ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God’. (2 Cor. 7:1).

What did they all seem to know that somehow escapes much of the modern church world today? What if…this whole idea of being ‘saved’ depended on our abiding in Him, as in remaining or continuing to follow and obey Him? (Heb. 5:9)…as in ‘enduring to the end that we might be saved’? (Matt. 24:13). Seems one have to come to Jesus with their ‘whole heart’ and surrender to His Lordship if they are indeed in search of eternal life like that rich man ‘professed’ to be in Matt. 19. As I heard someone say one time about that young man…’he came forward, but he did not get saved’.

I will tell you as simply as I know how…multitudes have been led to believe that because they ‘did such and such’, that their ‘ticket was punched’ and nothing…can ever change their eternal destination (heaven). Nothing…could be further from the truth. And those dismayed souls we read about in Matt. 7:21-23 might have something to contribute to this conversation as well. I bet they wished someone had challenged them to ‘examine themselves’ (2 Cor. 13:5) to avoid being deceived that Jesus Himself warned would happen. They were led to trust in a ‘false security ‘ or ‘false peace’ that Paul warns us about in 1 Thess. 5:1-6.

I know…this sounds so ‘out there’ for this lone voice uttering such words on a Facebook/Blog page, especially when you don’t hear this in most ‘popular’ places; and I can do nothing other than continue to put His word out there for any and all to read for themselves and then trust God to open eyes and stir hearts. I have been doing this now for over two years, on a daily basis. And I will continue to do so despite different time zones and all…as long as He continues to compel me.

And do you know why I am being compelled to sharing these? 2 Peter 3:9 will give you some insight.

 Happy Thanksgiving :- )