Many people that attend Church now and tithe regularly or that attended Church in the past claim to have been saved and profess to be believers of Christ but are they truly redeemed? They profess to be Christians but are they mistaken? There are several that when they became a professing believer in Christ many years ago never had an inner spiritual transformation. They never absolutely repented of their sins. Before they claimed to have become saved, they lived for and loved the desires of the world and continued sinning and loving the desires of the world after professing to be redeemed. For these, there was no inward self-transformation or renewing of the mind to live for Jesus and to live like Christ. Many professing Christians today claim to be saved by Jesus but resemble the same behavior, actions, and environment as the unbelievers or lost souls by living in sin, following the world, seeking lustful desires of the world, not praying, not reading their bible, ashamed of Jesus, etc. God gives every one of us a free will to choose – live for Him or live for ourselves – Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Matthew 6:24, Luke 12:31, Romans 10:9-10, Revelations 21:8, Revelation 22:17. He does not force us to love Him and if He did how would that be true love? Jesus, as our good shepherd, indicated that His sheep (born-again believers) would hear His voice and would follow Him and He would know us as we read in John 10:27-28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” This means we must have a relationship with Jesus by truly following Him. To follow Him, we must deny ourselves and give up the desires of the world by praying and reading His word daily. We cannot love anyone more than or put anything ahead of Jesus as stated in Matthew 10:37-39, “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” We are to walk in the Spirit by faith and not in the flesh as the apostle Paul commands us to do in Galatians 5:16-17, “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” We are to examine and test ourselves according to the scriptures as to whether we are in the faith and to ensure Christ does indeed live inside of us – 2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Corinthians 7:9-11. This is a very touchy and sensitive topic of discussion for many and is revealed here to ensure your salvation is secure in Jesus. This is not to bring judgement upon you but to reveal God’s biblical truth. Your spiritual walk and salvation authenticity is between you and God through His Son Jesus our Lord and Savior. It’s extremely important to ensure your salvation is genuine for if not, many will be in for a rude awakening as Jesus reveals in Matthew 8:11-12, “I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many will come to Jesus thinking they will be granted into the kingdom of heaven but will be sadly mistaken as Jesus explains in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 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?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ”
How do you know if you are truly saved? To be completely saved, you must repent and turn away from your sinful ways by turning a 180-degree stance from the world to follow Jesus. Jesus said those that give up their worldly lives and lustful desires for His sake by following Him will be saved as we read in Matthew 16:24-27, “…If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.” We must deny ourselves to humbly follow Him. This free gift of salvation is from God and is by His unconditional love and grace. No one can boast about being redeemed due to one’s own self-righteousness since salvation alone is through Jesus and only through Him. – Ephesians 2:4-10, Romans 3:24-26, Romans 5:8-11. The spiritual transformation that is experienced when we are redeemed can be viewed like the metamorphosis transformation of a caterpillar that changes into a beautiful and glorious butterfly. When we are a wicked sinner, we must (A) acknowledge that we are sinners and are drowning in our own sin where we desperately need of a savior. – Romans 3:23. Our wicked spirit before being redeemed was on its way to death, hell, and destruction. – Romans 6:23, Romans 8:13-17. (B) We must wholeheartedly believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for us and was resurrected in the Spirit by overcoming death. We are saved by the shedding of His blood and must (C) confess this with our lips in faith. – John 3:16-21, Romans 10:9-10. When we pray to God, repent of our sinful ways, and ask Jesus to save us and ask Him to live in our heart, He saves us where we become changed on the inside – Romans 10:11-13. At this instance we are saved and given a new Spirit, baptized with the Spirit of God, to live inside of us – John 3:5, Luke 11:11-13, Acts 1:4-8, Acts 8:14-17, Acts 10:44-48. Our inner self goes through a major transformation from being like a caterpillar to a beautiful and glorious butterfly. We become a new creature in Christ for His purpose and for His kingdom as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Our outward appearance and physical bodies are still the same. If we were overweight and gray headed with wrinkles before being saved, then we are still overweight, and gray headed with wrinkles after being redeemed. The change is on the inside where our hearts have changed and our minds have been renewed, where our actions and behavior are transformed to the likeness of Christ driving us to follow Christ instead of the world. (D) We live for Him and continue to be transformed to the likeliness of Christ by one degree of glory to another – 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 6:1-14. This transformation reveals the fruits of the Spirit that reside within us as we read in Galatians 5:22-26, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” If you did not experience this miraculous transformation, then there may be a strong chance that you are not truly saved due to not experiencing the Holy Spirit living inside of you. As a result, you have not genuinely repented of your sins and have continued to love and serve the world by performing spiritual adultery against God through idolatry. – 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, 1 Corinthians 10:14-21, 2 Corinthians 6:14-16, James 4:4-6. If we are living in the desires of the world then God is NOT in us and we do NOT know Him as we read in 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Jesus also explained the kingdom of heaven in the parable of a wedding feast where a king had arranged a wedding for his son with some tough words given towards the end as explained in Matthew 22:11-14, “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.’ ”
Ask yourself these questions: Are you ashamed of or do you deny Jesus daily? Do you NOT take up for Jesus when He is being mocked or blasphemed by others? Do you serve the world and seek the same desires as the unbelievers and lost people? Are all or the majority of your friends that you fellowship with unbelievers? When you wake up in the morning each day are you distracted by worldly things and events, where you rarely have time for God the Father and Jesus the Son? Do you choose to NOT pray and read the word daily or do you forget to pray and read your bible every day? When you hear messages about the soon return of Jesus or the rapture, do you walk away or quickly tune these out? Do you avoid or refrain from spreading the gospel of Jesus to others? Chances are, if you truthfully answered yes to all these questions, then you more than likely were never saved and did NOT experience the new creation transformation by the Holy Spirit. We must be born-again believers by His Holy Spirit as Jesus stated in John 3:5, “…Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Thank and praise God at this very moment that He has given you another opportunity and you are reading this for that very purpose – TO BECOME TRULY SAVED! Do NOT hesitate since you may not get another chance! When we are truly saved and have the Spirit of God living in us, we will NOT deny Jesus and will NOT be ashamed of Him – 2 Timothy 2:10-13. If we are ashamed of Him and the gospel, Jesus tells us He will be ashamed of us as stated in Luke 9:26, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Jesus also teaches us that we cannot serve two masters. We must choose either God or the world of whom we will serve – Matthew 6:24, Joshua 24:15, 1 Corinthians 10:21. When we are genuinely redeemed, we will also reject the cares of the world to serve God through Jesus. Jesus gave us the most important commandment to follow and if we follow through with it wholeheartedly then everything else will line up in its proper place for His will and glory as we read in Mark 12:30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” If we carry out this command, then our hearts and minds will always be thinking about and seeking God our Father and His Son Jesus our Savior – Matthew 6:33. We will hunger and thirst for Christ daily by praying to Him and reading His word daily. We will be doers of His word by living out His instructions in our lives and doing our part as the body of Christ by becoming the salt and light of the world for sharing His gospel to the lost throughout the entire world – Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 6:47-49, Luke 24:47-48, James 1:19-27. As born-again believers, we will be actively seeking the rapture and soon return of Jesus – Luke 21:34-36, Titus 2:11-13, Mark 13:33-37. For our true citizenship is not on earth but is in heaven with our Lord and Savior. – Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:1-3. For when Jesus taught us how to pray by stating the Lord’s prayer, He taught us by saying in Matthew 6:9-10, “…Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” Jesus taught us that it is His kingdom that will come, and His will that is to be done on earth and in heaven. Its NOT our will or our kingdom or any other, but His and for His purpose and glory.
Some people who made the commitment to follow Christ in the past may have been truly saved and had a spiritual transformation but over several years of trials and temptations while giving into the desires of the world have had a fallen away or lost your first love, Jesus. Or you may have experienced some suffering in your life like Job and have become incredibly angry with God where you have abandoned His Son Jesus, rejected the Church, and have welcomed fellowship with the world, the lost and unbelievers. – Hebrews 3:7-15. Or you have fallen away by desiring the wealth and riches of this world as revealed in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” These people have become like the unfruitful seed plants where the seed fell among the rocky ground or among the soil with thorns as stated in Matthew 13:20-22, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” If this is you, then you need to get right with God through Jesus before it’s too late. – Psalms 40:4, Psalms 125:5, Ezekiel 18:24, Luke 12:47-48, John 15:1-2, Romans 11:16-24, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:12-15, Hebrews 6:4-8, Hebrews 12:1-17, James 1:2-8, James 1:21-27, James 2:14-20, Galatians 6:1-5, Galatians 6:7-10, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Titus 3:10-11, 1 Timothy 4:16. This is easier said than done, but you need to repent and answer the calling of the Holy Spirit to come back to Christ. For we are not to grieve or quench the Spirit. – Ephesians 4:30, 1 Thessalonians 5:19. The scriptures give us a dire warning after knowing the truth and continuing in sin as revealed in Hebrews 10:26-27, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” The bible tells the body of Christ, brothers and sisters in Christ, to help bring those wandering sheep back that have fallen away from the truth as explained in James 5:19-20, “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” Jesus calls us to be fruitful branches and gives us a harsh warning if we are NOT fruitful in His Father’s eyes as we read in John 15:1-6, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does NOT bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
Satan came after Simon Peter, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, to grind him like wheat where Jesus warned Peter and prayed for him that he would not lose his faith and would return to Jesus as explained in Luke 22:31-34, “ ‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ Peter said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with You both to prison and to death.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know Me.’ ” When we experience a great falling away from the faith, Peter gives us a severe warning to get us back on track with Christ as revealed in 2 Peter 2:20-21, “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.” The apostle John further explains this from the instructions of Jesus to those of the dead Church, Sardis, in Revelation 3:3-5, “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” We are to persevere in this relationship and walk with God through Jesus our Messiah. For the enemy lurks about trying to hinder our walk and relationship with Jesus, ultimately attempting to cause us to stumble and fall away from the faith. The evil one is busy sowing tares among the wheat. – Matthew 13:24-30. We must put on the whole armor of God to withstand the wicked schemes of the devil. – Ephesians 6:10-18. For we are in a spiritual battle daily against the forces of darkness. Jesus disciplines us, His sheep, through His Holy Spirit in order to keep us walking with Him in faith as we read in Revelation 3:19-21, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
If we persist and endure in this walk with Christ in love and faith, we will remain faithful and fruitful for His kingdom as Peter reveals in 2 Peter 1:5-10, “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.” Jesus is the only way to heaven and the only access to God the Father as He stated in John 14:6, “…I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is the true doorway to salvation and eternal life in heaven – John 10:9. The enemy and our adversary, Satan, deceives us and wants us to believe the lies and deceit that there are many paths to heaven and that Jesus is NOT the true way. He also deceives us into doubting the authenticity of the bible by thinking it’s made up of several fictional stories and fairy tales. The enemy wants us to exalt ourselves above all by being prideful into becoming lovers of our own selves and becoming like gods. Satan is a murderer and the father of all lies. – John 8:44. He seeks to devour us like a roaring lion since he came to steal, kill, and destroy. – John 10:10, 1 Peter 5:8. Jesus speaks of the parable of the lost sheep of how He will leave the 99 righteous to go save the one that has gone astray to where there will be a great rejoicing in heaven as explained in Luke 15:4-7, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” What about the great rejoicing and celebration that Jesus talks about in the parable of the lost son when the prodigal son returns back home to his Father? – Luke 15:11-32.
Jesus also tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like entering a narrow gate that is difficult and hard to find where only a few will enter. The wide gate is easy to find, and many will enter where it leads to hell and destruction as stated in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Let this be a wake-up call for those that think they are saved but may have been misled by the enemy into thinking they are redeemed. Also, let this be a call to action for those that have fallen away from the faith that need to return to Christ. – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Hebrews 6:4-6, 1 Timothy 4:1-2.
Watch this inspiring video by Servants for Jesus Christ – What Does Believe Truly Mean? Watch another inspiring video by Servants for Jesus Christ – Be Filled With The Holy Spirit. Watch another inspiring video by Servants for Jesus Christ – We Are In The Last Days!
Do you know where you will spend eternity after you die on earth? Will Jesus be your Lord and Savior or your eternal judge – John 3:15-21, Romans 2:16, 2 Timothy 4:1? Jesus says He is the narrow gate to heaven where it is difficult to find and only a few will enter by it where many will enter the easy, wide and broad gate that leads to Hell and destruction – Matthew 7:13-14. Will you experience the second eternal death (spiritual death) – Revelation 2:11, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 21:8? Do you know for sure that you are written in the eternal Lamb’s Book of Life – Revelation 3:5, Revelation 20:12-15? The place called Hell is NOT a myth and is very real and an extremely scary place – Watch this Video!
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