In America the polls show that around 80% of the population claim to be Christians but are they really? I mean that there are many people who truly claim and believe that they are Christians. But…what if it came down to a life or death scenario where your faith would be the deciding factor of whether you lived another day? Would you still hold to your faith in Jesus or would you choose to follow another man claiming to be “god”?
It is a tough question and it isn’t one which very many people have even considered in their lifetime. Some of them may not even know that the gospel and Jesus’ sacrifice for their sins is even contained in the Bible! There are many in the so-called “Bible belt” who have been in church ever since they could walk or even before then. Those who fit in this group think that they are Christians because they have been in church all of their lives.
Jesus told His disciples that “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?
Belief in Jesus and doing many works in His name are great things to do but if you don’t have a relationship with Him so that you know Him and He knows you, then He will say “Depart from Me because I never knew you“.
Knowing about Jesus and being on the “roll” of the church does nothing to bring you righteousness. Belief in Who He is and having faith in Him for your salvation begins a relationship with Him that should last for the rest of your life on Earth and into eternity! Going through the motions and sitting in the pew every Sunday does nothing for your eternal salvation except it exposes you to the teaching of God’s Word, if you attend a Bible teaching church. If you don’t then you are likely hearing the “wisdom” of a man with a few religious sounding words thrown in.
As Paul wrote, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”. Many churches are like that today. Their “preachers” teach them more of man’s wisdom than they do from God’s Word. This is the reason that there will be many on that day who will think they are saved but they will find that their “salvation” is false and hollow…but it will be too late.
I pray that many who read this will search Jesus out and find a Bible teaching church so that they can learn from God’s Word directly and not hear the foolish wisdom of a man.
The Living Message of Christ 