Good morning. I pray you have felt God’s hand on you and that you have a clear direction on what God desires of your life. There is no better feeling than being in God’s will and allowing Him to use us to accomplish His tasks.
Today’s topic is another tough one. It seems like God has been sending a lot of these to me for some reason lately, so I will continue to follow His lead. Why is it, that we can plan an outdoor event according to a weatherman’s prediction, but we always try to make the Bible a book of gray areas?
Specifically today, I want to address the most important issue we face, (salvation) and what the Bible says about it. Too many want to twist the words, or add to them or take away, to the point of trying to make enough gray area to allow all entrance into heaven. Let’s look at some scripture.
Romans 3:23 says, “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 6:23 says, “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Acts 4:10-12 says, “ 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Romans 10:13 says, “13 For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Revelations 3:15 says, “15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.” Matthew 7:22-23 says, “22 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Romans 11:29 says, “29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”.
I know there is a lot of scripture this week, but if you will read it and re-read it, I believe it clears any gray areas that men come up with. First we see, “all have sinned”. No one is good enough nor can they do enough works to earn a place in heaven. Second we see that the “wages of sin is death”. It only takes one sin to separate us from God. Third, we are told that “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”. Look at it like this. Heaven is God’s house, and just as you would not allow someone breaking your rules to be in your house, God requires our obedience to come to His house.
Forth, we read, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved”. There is no limit to age, color, sex or area of town you live in. God says whoever calls on His name “shall be saved”. Next we read that God knows our works and that He says we are to either be “hot, or cold”. If a real salvation, life changing experience has happened, you will be on fire for God and in His will. If you walked some isle somewhere to please a friend or a parent or spouse or something and did not mean it in your heart, then you still have business to do with God. Why do I say this? Because the next scripture makes it clear when Jesus says to the “actors”, “I never knew you, depart from Me”. Finally, if there was a real life altering salvation experience, then here comes the guarantee. In Romans 6:23 we are told that the “gift of God, is eternal life” and in Romans 11:29 we are told “for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. IRREVOCABLE.
If you are truly saved, you cannot lose your salvation. You can backslide, you can be out of God’s will, but you will not go to hell. There is no gray area. When we die, and we all will someday, unless Jesus comes back first, we will spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. To get to heaven, you MUST be saved and go by God’s rules. To get to hell is to dismiss all of what has been said here, to believe as the world does that “if it feels good do it, you only live once”. There will be those who say I’m crazy, a fanatic or I don’t know what I am talking about, but wouldn’t you rather try it God’s way and die and find out I am right, than to die and wake up in hell?
Remember: Ephesians 4:13-15 says, “13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--“ It is as simple as Black or White.
Until next time, please pray for each other as I as I continue to pray you. Love in CHRIST,
Brian Hanvey
Associate Pastor
Bethel Baptist Church
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