Scripture: Acts 2 v 36 - 39: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
During the forty years of this ministry I have counselled many individual people with a variety of different needs, questions, misunderstandings. One of the most common problems I have encountered is false salvation.
The basis of this is that many have made mental assent to the gospel of Jesus, but it has not led to conversion of heart. To believe in Jesus in your mind is that you understand that Jesus exists and is real, that He can forgive sin, and give eternal life. It can be quite an emotional feeling but it never reaches the heart.
To believe Jesus from the heart means that your eyes have been opened to His love and glory. You have been born again in spirit and water. You overflow with thankfulness and joy to be accepted as a child of Almighty God. Your heart is not referring to the organ beating in your chest but your spirit which was dead in sin and now is alive and can perceive Heaven.
False Salvation is a struggle to keep up with the born again Jones' as they are filled with grace, power and love, while you feel empty and cold, your sins are still a shroud over your heart and causing worry and stress. You say you are a born again Christian but its just frustrating words.
A book blessed me. "The Hand that Drove the Nails" by J. Fletcher Ray. The author was wounded in Italy during WW2 and spent a long time in Rome being rehabilitated. He visited the Museum in Rome so often that he became close friends with the curator. The day before he was due to rejoin the army the curator gave him a very old sealed wooden box as a gift. He posted it back to his home and after the war he opened it.
Inside he found the bones of the severed right hand of a man and in a leather bag a parchment written in old Latin. He sent it off to someone who could translate it and that translation was published in this book. It was the confession of the Roman soldier who had nailed Jesus to the Cross, and became convicted of that sin to the point of cutting off that offending hand and visiting everyone who knew Jesus to learn more about Him.
He was an endangered soul forgiven by God, and he speaks for all of us. The blood that flowed from Jesus is the only substance that cleanses our soul of sin, and removes the false memories brainwashed into our subconscious by Satan, which he uses to control us with fear, lies and pain.
To be truly saved we need the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment:
Sin blocks us from belief in Jesus Christ and needs to be removed by His shed Blood before our hearts can be opened.
Righteousness is knowing there is a right and wrong way of living and being shown the way, the truth and the life through following Jesus.
Judgment is what to expect if you ignore your need to cleanse your heart and live in the righteousness of Jesus. It means eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.
Our God and Jesus went to extreme lengths to ensure true salvation for every soul. Every soul was contested by Satan and the battle to release us from his evil power starts in the womb. Getting us born alive is the first victory.
If our parents are true believers we have an excellent chance of being educated about Jesus from birth onwards. If they are indifferent or worse, atheists, we must find out about God elsewhere. If we are brought up in a cult, its even more difficult to break free as the truth is withheld from us and finding it may mean death.
A cult is formed when the main person or object of worship is not Jesus Christ.
Jim Jones led a cult in Guyana which caused over 900 people to perish through orange juice laced with cyanide because they worshipped him. They thought the suicide death was the Rapture. Major sex sins involved in this cult.
Mormons worship Joseph Smith and Angel Moroni. Smith was a blackballed Freemason who was hung for theft. Each Mormon man that dies gets his own planet populated by 70 virgins. Not sure what his wives get. Major sex sins involved.
Roman Catholics worship Mary, whom they think is the Mother of God, but is a Babylonian witch called Semiramis. Mary was superimposed over her and is called Our Lady, Queen of Heaven. Queen of Heaven is a name given to the goddess Astoreth, aka Semiramis. She elevated her son to the god Baal, then married him to become a goddess. Major sex sins involved to present day in the priesthood.
Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Freemasonry, Jehovah's Witnesses, Scientology, or anything else that does not have Jesus Christ as its centre of worship is a cult. Anything else is idolatry. The Bible tells us so.
There are those who were once born again Christians who have chosen to live under the Jewish Law, keeping Sabbath, all feasts, rituals related to Judaism. Just like the Galatians to whom Paul wrote:
Galatians 3 v 1 - 3: "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"
The Lord has this to say to all who realise they are following the wrong way and need to find the true path:
2 Corinthians 6 v 14 - 18: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
Examine your heart today to ensure you have ticked all the right boxes relating to true salvation. Make sure of your right standing with Our Father and go and sin no more. Our King is coming soon and let us be ready for it because we will be gone in the twinkling of an eye. That leaves no opportunity to make right when the time comes.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us so much that You would sacrifice Your Son for us sinners. Help us Father to never be confused about where we stand and where our eternity will be spent. Lord, Hell and Sin are unpopular preaching messages nowadays but Jesus preached it and I trust that You will bless this word. In Jesus' name. Amen.