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I have people in my family who profess to be saved. They say, going to church is not necessary for salvation, so there is no need to go. My stepdaughter chooses to live a sinful lifestyle with no plans of changing. She said, "I got baptized, so I am saved. Since I cannot lose your salvation, I am not going to change. I will do as I please with my life." She feels as though there is nothing to worry about, when she dies, she believes she will be in heaven.
This brings up a good question, since we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, does it matter what we do? After all the Bible is clear, all who believe on the Lord Jesus, will be saved. It is also a true fact that one need not do anything to get saved except receive the free gift of salvation. So why must I change the way I live my life? The reason is because Jesus also said that "unless you repent you will like wise perish." (See Luke 13:3) Yes, this may be confusing, if you believe, then you are saved. If you don't repent, then you will perish.
The statements above by my family members are actually a testimony of disbelief, not belief. The thing is, saving faith will produce change. What I believe or put my faith in will affect the decisions I make and the things I do. It is like this, suppose you are staying in a cabin in the forest. One morning you wake up surrounded by a raging forest fire. Everywhere you look, there is fire. Someone comes to you saying, "Follow me, and I will lead you to safety." If you believed him you would follow him. If you felt you were safe, or knew better than him, you would not follow him, now would you? The same way with Jesus, if you belie Him, you will follow Him.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (John 10:27-28 NKJV)
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeletebeautifully put. Jesus is the Word of God, the Bread of life. Just the same as if we do not eat the physical food we would die physically, so too if we do not EAT the spiritual food we shall die spiritually. Food has no benefit if we just look at it. God bless you.
Brenda, thank you for adding your thoughts and you make an excellent point. May God bless you
DeleteOh Ken, this is such a thoughtful discussion. I believe that if we have truly accepted Christ in our hearts and through our entire body then we have this desire to do His will and do our best to live Godly lives. Because of His amazing grace, He forgives us when we slip up and fall into sinful desires and actions, but because we are genuinely saved, we are remorseful and repent. This is His free gift of salvation...to those that truly believe. I could go on and on.....LOL!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thoughtful and inspiring message! I hope it touches many hearts!
Blessings my friend,
Denise
Denise, when we get saved we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. So how is it that someone can stay the same? Thank you for sharing your thoughts and may God bless you
DeleteThat is a great analogy Ken.
ReplyDeleteI recently heard a sermon where the Pastor compared being changed by Jesus to being hit by a mack truck...God is bigger than a mack truck...so to experience no change after meeting the Savior is impossible...Some believers do struggle with certain things like church attendance and tithing, etc..I believe salvation will not be affected, but reward and victorious living will.
It's important to point out the two-fold position Christ holds in our lives...that of Savior, and that of Lord...Savior guarantees salvation, but it is not redeemed until we die...Lord is how He lives in and through us now...and you are right Jesus commands repentance in order to accept the free gift of salvation.
It is like a person who hands you the gift...You must make the next move by accepting (reaching out)..but in this case you acknowledge that you do not deserve it because of your sin. It is at that point that you realize you are willing to turn away from sin in order to give something back to the giver of the gift (Jesus).
I know you understand this Ken, but I am talking to your step-daughter here. If she believes that her salvation was won by her baptism then Jesus' sacrifice was not enough...His work...not hers will save her, Likewise, Jesus said whoever believes in their heart will be saved...I believed in my head at first, but it wasn't until I believed in my heart and saw the ugliness of sin (my own and others) was I truley repentant, and truly saved!
Never Forsaken, I have pondered many times, how can someone have an encounter with the Son of the living God and not be changed. Maybe it is because they have not actually had that encounter. Thank you Lisa for sharing your insights and may God bless you
DeleteWith salvation is transformation..Good post Ken...It is a reminder that we all know and have friends and loved one's who believe this way :(
ReplyDeleteThank you Dee for your comment. Lets keep in prayer for our friends and loved one's who do not know the Lord. May God bless you
DeleteHi Ken,
ReplyDeleteWe had a pastor and youth pastor in our church that believed that they were free in Christ so they had the freedom to sin. :s These two did not stay in our church very long. The youth pastor quit then soon after the pastor quit. It is very sad and troubles my spirit deeply knowing Christians think like this. These new teachers and preachers are not following the Word of the Lord and they are leading many astray.
I am praying for your family Ken as I have been praying for all of my friends and their families on blogger. There are many Christians that are deluded by the evil one but the one that repents of the old self and feeds on the Word of God, like Brenda said, will grow in Him and will be saved.
Blessings brother,
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Thank you Child of God for your comment. It is sad to see pastors who are not faithful to the Word of God. We must keep them in our prayers. Over the years I have heard a few testimonies of pastors who came to realize that they were not saved, then got saved and lived Godly lives faithfully teaching His Word.
DeleteThank you for your prayers, they are certainly appreciated. I keep you and your family in my prayers too. May God bless you
I agree Ken- it's not just the believing part that saves us, it's the willingness to let Him into our hearts to change our lives and behavior. We can't do it alone or we'd be self-righteous ding dongs lol. Great post- thought provoking. I'll say a prayer for your step-daughter. She's missing out on all the fun.
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen for your comment and for your prayers for my step-daughter, they are much appreciated. I got a smile out of the "self-righteous ding dongs..." Being a self-righteous ding dong sure would not be good. May God bless you,
DeleteKen
We are told in Scripture that the fact that we are saved does NOT give us the license to sin freely. Though we are saved by grace alone, we must live that faith or it means nothing.
ReplyDeleteI think of it like being married. My husband and I got married - so legally I am a wife. But, it's a whole other thing to live and love like a wife. It's a daily thing, just like faith.
That being said, I trust God to judge the heart. And I join you in praying for people who seem to say "Lord, Lord" with their mouths, but then don't live like it.
GOD BLESS!
Thank you Sharon for your comment and awesome analogy with marriage and faith. May we all love like we are His. Have a blessed day.
DeletePraying with you for family members who need to KNOW the Savior.
ReplyDeleteThank you Karen for your comment and your prayers. The prayers are much appreciated. May God bless
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