I thank God Almighty a million x a million-million-million10th for granting me sonship in His forever family. Do you? Think about it. I am bound for a heavenly home. “This world is not my home, I’m just a passin’ through.” 1
I am so grateful. According to Jesus’ gospel, I stand before you, and God, and all His angels all around me, with a decree by God Himself, sealed in His Book of Life, granting me eternal, un-revokable status in His Kingdom —— as His own child. I have been legally adopted into His forever family. I am so amazed whenever I contemplate the matter. Wow wow wow! Wow!
God keeps His word. And His word tells me my sonship is un-revokable. No repeal possible, no annulment, never to be retracted, never cancelled, never recalled, never to be taken back, never rescinded, never repealed, never dismantled, never-never ever… reversed, abrogated, voided, countermanded, counter-ordered, abjured, recanted, invalidated. Ever.
But, what about my sins after that moment in time when I accepted Christ?
What would you think if I sang out of tune,
Would you stand up and walk out on me. 2
The Beatles knew that some might cancel-out on someone for …whatever, but God will not walk-out on us. God will never change his tune. He is unchangeable, holy, and just. His Word is forever the same. And He has promised to save. He will never walk out on me!
1Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39
What has God declared about us?
- God has condemned us all to an eternity without His goodness, forever punished to be with Satan in Hell.
- God has prepared a way to legally forgive each one of us, individually, and declare us His forgiven children. All that is necessary is to bow the knee and acknowledge Him as Lord, repent of our sins, ask Him to forgive us – and follow Him.
- God has declared me forever forgiven of all my sins, forgiven from His just condemnation, freed from the decree of judgement against me – because I have accepted Him as my Savior, confessed/repented/and followed Him. I need never fear losing His Sonship, because He is the One that holds me in His hands, not I who clings desperately to Him in fear of sin and condemnation, death and damnation.
- I cannot fool God. He knows my heart. He knows my thoughts. He knows me better than I know myself. How could I ever deceive God into believing I was sincere in my repentance – when actually I was not sincere? Totally not possible!
19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands,
having this seal,
“The Lord knows
those who are His,”
and,
“Everyone who names the name of the Lord
is to abstain from wickedness.”
– 2 Timothy 2:19
We are secure in Christ’s salvation. But the question has to be asked: Are you really saved? Are you truly following Christ? Or are you following your own version of what YOU think?
You cannot fool God. But you can deceive yourself. You can be that perverse. But it will not work with God. He knows your heart. Look at yourself and ask yourself: What about me is not what God supports?
7 Do not be deceived,
God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh
will from the flesh reap corruption,
but the one who sows to the Spirit
will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
– Galatians 6:7-8
…I am He who searches the minds and hearts;
and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
– Revelation 2:23
Come to God. At the very least – draw near to Him. 3 Seek Him with all of your heart. He will honor that – and draw near to you. He will speak to your heart. Then, repent of your sinfulness, accept Jesus as God-come-in-the-flesh, confess your rottenness, ask Him to forgive you and make you brand new, and then …start following Jesus with all that you are: all your heart, soul, strength, mind and spirit. 4 That is called being “born again” by God.
You must be born again. (v7) – John 3:1-21
You cannot be truly born again, saved by God and made His heir — and then not follow Him. Not possible. James said, “…faith without works is dead.” See: James 2:14-26
26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead,
so also faith without works is dead.
Don’t “say” you are a Christian (definition: one who is born-again and obediently following Christ’s gospel) just because you go to a church, or because one day you raised your hand to “accept Christ”, or because as a child you prayed a prayer to God.
With God it is more important than ever that you “do” what you “say” you “believe”. Without the doing, there really was no saving done! Without the doing, the following… there really was not the faith to save you. Don’t be deceived. For “faith without works is dead”. (James 2:26)
if anyone competes as an athlete,
he [b]does not win the prize
unless he competes
according to the rules.
– 2 Timothy 2: 5
What you do is who you are. God has called us to repent from evil. But if we follow-after evil, we are most certainly not following-after Righteous God. Make sense? Sure as Hell it does!
So ask yourself about yourself:
What about who I am, is not what God wants?
or
What about who I am, is not even close to what God is all about?
What about me,
who I am, what I do, what I practice, what I support….
What in me – is not rightly aligned with the truths in Scripture? Scripture was given to us by God in order to know what He finds acceptable or not. It’s not up to us! It’s all about Him. He determines what is right.
He shows us plainly in the Bible – what it is in this life which is displeasing to Him. Do you know the difference? Have you searched for the truth about your practices and God’s revealed word about them? Ask yourself:
What do I support in my life, that is contrary to what God supports?
What do I do?
What do I believe?
What are my actions?
What do I support?
What do I vote for?
Who do I vote for?
What do I donate towards?
Where do my feet go?
Am I like Jesus? or at least trying to be like Jesus?
Do you tolerate evil? Are you okay with the evil in others? God is not okay with evil.
and that you cannot tolerate evil men,
and you put to the test
those who call themselves apostles, and they are not,
and you found them to be false
– Revelation 2:2
IF JESUS IS NOT PLEASED
If Jesus is not pleased with YOU, your lifestyle, your practices, your statements, that which you support with your votes and with your donations, with your beliefs, and where your feet go… then can it truly be said that you are really following Him? I think not.
Born-again Christians do sin, of course, and they do make mistakes, and often do think very badly. But if sins and thinking contrary to God is a pattern, if that is your practice, then Scripture says you have not been born-again.
There is a huge difference between the sin of a born-again believer, and the practice of sin by a person living in sin. If sin is a normal accepted thing in your life, and/or if you give hearty approval to the practice of what Scripture condemns, then, according to the Bible, “… we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those….”
Romans 1:32
and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Romans 2:1-3
Therefore you have no excuse, [a]everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 And we know that the judgment of God [b]rightly falls upon those who practice such things. 3 But do you suppose this, O man, [c]when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Both the Old and the New Testaments tell us to “test” ourselves to make sure we are truly in the faith. Think that makes it important to do? Sure as hell it does! God will not put much credence in your testimony alone on That Day. Rather, it is your life’s record as He has seen it that will be revealed against you, if you are not truly born again.
Of course only God is the final Judge. But, we are to judge ourselves now. Remember this ditty?
…if it looks like, if it smells like… then it must be!
Look at yourself:
5 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 [e]fail the test?
– 2 Corinthians 13:5
But a man must examine himself…
– 1 Corinthians 11:28
Don’t be a fool, thinking that your evil is okay. 5 If you support evil: are you truly following Christ? Would Christ support what you support? …what you practice? …what your lifestyle follows? Scripture says: NOT.
SALVATION IS IN CHRIST – FOR THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM
…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes,
resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek;
for the same Lord is Lord of all,
abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
– Romans 10:9-13
Footnotes:
- Jim Reeves’ song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ndMZqT6i4I. Lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jimreeves/thisworldisnotmyhome.html
- Beatles song: https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+what+would+you+do+if+i+sang+out+of+tune&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
- “Draw near to God…” – James 4:8; Hebrews 7:25; Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Following Jesus with all that you are: Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, Acts 8:37.
-
Don’t be a fool – self-deceived: Ecclesiastes 5:1[ Your Attitude Toward God ] “Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.”
FOR MORE:
Why Believe Such Stupididiotic Things?!
All Ways Lead To God…a nonsensical philosophy of wannabees
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