I don't know about the rest of you, but this scripture really gnaws at me. I keep thinking to myself, am I truly saved? If so, what is my walk producing?
I believe that salvation can be given up. I truly believe that if you want to walk away from God back to your old way of life and disown Him, you are free to do so. God will not stop you. He may urge you not to, but He has given us freewill to choose for ourselves which road we want to travel.
See, I know many people who claim to be Christian, they speak it, but their words and life do not exhibit the life changing aspects that come with following Jesus. One person particular springs to mind. 20 years ago when I knew them, they were going to church, getting their life straighten out, working, raising a family and doing pretty good. Then one day it all changed. Today, this person is a drug addict, alcohol addicted, self proclaimed bi-sexual satanist and yet asks me to "pray" for them. Talk about WOW.
I put them in line with this scripture. They may say "Lord, Lord" but I do not think they truly are saved. Hey, I could be wrong, but when you call Satan your master, I'm pretty sure Jesus is no longer sitting on the throne of their heart.
Still there are others who attends church regular but the second they are out of it, they hit the bottle hard, really mistreats their spouses and cuss like a sailors. Are they truly saved?
James 3:10 "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be."
And then I look at my own life. How do I know for certain that I am saved. I have no document to prove it.I have not had an angelic vision congratulating me on my choice. Other than believing I am saved through Faith, there is no real tangible proof I am or is there.
Now, I am not bragging on myself. I am using me as an example because I do not wish to belittle anyone. And I'm not saying I am Sister Super Christian, I am just putting my life under the microscope to be examine.
2 Cor 13:5 "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"
"The Bible never verifies anyone's salvation by the past but by the present. If there is no evidence of salvation in your life now, you need to face the fact that you may not be a Christian." John MacArthur Jr.
Now those are strong words, but they ring truth. The question is: How does my life or yours for that matter measure up with WHAT JESUS SAID in His WORD.
Now I know there are lots of verses to choose from,but for my measurement I will use Galatians 5:22-26 which reads:
22 But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. 26 We can’t allow ourselves to act arrogantly and to provoke or envy each other.
Okay, so being that this is a blog and not a book, I will keep this on the shorter side...
How does my life show these fruits of the spirit?
Do I treat other people like I want to be treated. Do I go out of my way to be good to them, even those who hurt me? Do I pray for them? Would Jesus approve of how I treat people, especially behind closed doors? Am I joyful? Trustworthy, faithful? Or am I mean nasty lemon sucking squishy face jerk?
Honestly ladies, I do have issues I am dealing with in my own life, because being a Christian is not an over night change but a day by day life changing experience. Can I possibly do all these things on my own? Nope! I can not! That is where Jesus comes in. Religion isn't going to change me, nor will going to church...but Jesus can and He does it one step at a time, from the inside out. THERE'S HOPE FOR ME NOW!
Girls, I am not perfect, and after 34 years of being saved, I still examine my walk with Jesus because I know there is always room for improvement. I am striving hard to meet His standards slowly. Now I doubt I will meet perfection such as Christ did...and get this, He was perfect through His teen years!!!! There is hope for me! But for now I will strive for Holiness!
1 Peter 1:13-21
13 Wherefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
See, perfection is hard, but holiness is obtainable and forgiveness is given! Faith in God plays a huge roll in Holiness. See it is through our Faith we are saved. We were made the Righteousness of God in Christ! See, unlike God's choosen people the Jews, we gained God's approval by faith. We were not under the Mosaic law, so we didn't have to measure up, we just believed in faith in Jesus. That alone is sufficient to make us righteous and put us on the path to holiness. He measured up more then we could ever even dare to conceive.
When we put God's will before our own, and work towards Holiness, our whole way of living is completely changed. That is the outward expression of an inward change. We start to treat people different.We talk different. We change from the inside out! We lose interest in the things of this world and focus on God. That's the key! When your life is in Christ and you are walking in His way, then you know that you are made righteous before YHWH!
Righteousness is a right relationship with God through the sacrifice of Jesus, in faith.
Romans
1:16-17 -The gospel is the power of God for salvation because a
righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith
from first to last.
To receive this gift of
righteousness is to be justified -found innocent- by faith! And those
who receive the gift then are to live as righteous people, devoted to
the service of what God declares to be right.
Lets boil this thought to the bare bones...Is how you are living bring glory to God?Or is how you are living more representing of the world.
If you answered more to the latter part of the question, perhaps it's time to rethink what's going on and perhaps it's time to either commit to God or walk away once and for all. Although, I really don't understand why anyone would want to go back to their old life once they've experienced Jesus...unless they never truly did.
Search your heart girls. Are you 100% sold out for Jesus or are you flirting with the world.
If you want to get back with God, just stop and talk to Him. He's always with you, even when you don't think He is.
PRAYER:
Father, I just want to come before you and humbly give my life back over to you. I want to ask you for your forgiveness and ask you to fill me with the true saving knowledge of Jesus your son again. Forgive me for walking away from you. Help me Jesus. Help me draw close to you! Help me focus my eyes on what you want for me and not on what the world is trying to deceive me with. Guide me in your right way and make me righteous in you again.
In Jesus Mighty and Holy Name
Amen
Lets boil this thought to the bare bones...Is how you are living bring glory to God?Or is how you are living more representing of the world.
If you answered more to the latter part of the question, perhaps it's time to rethink what's going on and perhaps it's time to either commit to God or walk away once and for all. Although, I really don't understand why anyone would want to go back to their old life once they've experienced Jesus...unless they never truly did.
Search your heart girls. Are you 100% sold out for Jesus or are you flirting with the world.
If you want to get back with God, just stop and talk to Him. He's always with you, even when you don't think He is.
PRAYER:
Father, I just want to come before you and humbly give my life back over to you. I want to ask you for your forgiveness and ask you to fill me with the true saving knowledge of Jesus your son again. Forgive me for walking away from you. Help me Jesus. Help me draw close to you! Help me focus my eyes on what you want for me and not on what the world is trying to deceive me with. Guide me in your right way and make me righteous in you again.
In Jesus Mighty and Holy Name
Amen
