Well, I'm officially a uni student! I started yesterday, and after much panic the day before, I seem to be surviving thus far. =P
Dad had his birthday this week too, so I'll just post here: Happy 50th Birthday Dad! Love you lots. :)
As I have been reading God's Word and listening to sermons - both at church and online - over the last few weeks, I’ve been noticing a common thread through all of them. I’m not sure how it happens. I can only imagine that it’s God’s doing, but often there will be several weeks where everything I read or hear from the Bible seems to be on one particular topic. Maybe He’s got something in particular for me to learn. =]
Anyway, I digress. These last weeks, I’ve been thinking a lot about these verses:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
“But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” James 2:20-22
That first verse (Mat 7:21) has always scared me, to some degree. I mean, imagine it: those people believed they were saved. They thought they were, but they weren’t. I suppose you could say they were self-deceived. I always wondered, what made them different? What did they do wrong?
I guess I never linked up the first and the second halves of the verses, and that with the rest of the chapter. Maybe because of how I was taught earlier. I mean, I’ve been told all my life that all one has to do to be saved is to say a prayer, believe, and that’s about it. That never sat right with me really, but I never really knew why. Then this week, it sort of struck me; “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
These people thought they were saved. They believed. They said the little prayer, they ‘signed the dotted line’ so to speak. But the one thing that hindered their entry into paradise was what they did (or should I say, didn’t) do.
But that can’t be right. You can’t be saved by works. Doesn’t the Bible say, “…the just shall live by faith”? (Romans 1:17) And, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3:5)
This is true. I believe we can by no means earn our salvation. But does this mean that all we do is say a prayer, and then we’re saved, with no change in our lives or outward evidences that Christ dwells in us?
Examine these verses:
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine [Jesus], and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. Matthew 7:24-27
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 1 John 2:3
“If ye love me [Jesus], keep my commandments.” John 14:15
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1 John 3:23-24
So I must conclude, unless one has visible good ‘fruit’ (Ye shall know them by their fruits; Matthew 7:16), an outward sign of what’s inside, then perhaps one needs to think about the validity of one’s salvation. You can’t just do as you please as a Christian. There are certain standards that God has, and it is our job to find out what He wants. Take the Sermon on the Mount for instance. There are some guidelines there that explain just that. Perhaps some of us (myself certainly included!) need to get up off our laurels, find out what He wishes, and do something instead of focusing on our plans or our problems. (Don’t get me wrong. We all sin, and always will this side of eternity. God forgives as we repent. But I don’t think that gives excuse to sit around doing our own will)
I’d better sign off now, but I’ll leave this verse for you to muse on.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee." 1 Timothy 4:16
