...contd
THE BIG DEAL
Now let us get down to the main thing in all these.
The most important reason anyone will be cast into eternal damnation is simply because his or her name is not found in the lamb’s book of life.
“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev 20:18
This is the safety that we have in life – to be in Christ Jesus. That is how your name will get written in the book of life. God will NEVER send into eternal damnation anyone whose name is found in the book of life. All true Christians have their names in the lamb’s book of life and so no true Christian, none, is going to hell or will be cast into the lake of fire.
“HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM IS NOT JUDGED; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.” John 3:18-20
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24
Faith in Jesus and attachment to Him (Jn 8:31) is what gets your name written into the Lamb’s book of life. Once you are a true disciple of Jesus, weave-on or no weave-on, your name is written is God’s book of life.
Faith in Jesus is the security. All the deeds of those who do not believe are only reflections of the fact that they do not believe. The real thing that God judges is refusal to accept His forgiveness.
Truly, forgiveness is in the name of Jesus and not in our own works. By our own labour we cannot please God or walk above sin. That is why God brought forgiveness in His blood.
“…the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Col 1:12-14 NKJV
God, in Christ, is the one keeping us, and will never let us go into eternal damnation once we hold on to the faith that we have in Him.
CAN A CHRISTIAN EVER GO INTO ETERNAL DAMNATION?
Can a Christian ever lose his salvation and be cast into the lake of fire?
That a Christian’s name can be erased from the book of life is clear from the following verse.
“He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments; and I WILL NOT ERASE HIS NAME FROM THE BOOK OF LIFE, and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.” Rev 3:5
This implies that the possibility exists. Also see this!
“Some people once had God's light. They experienced the heavenly gift and shared in the Holy Spirit. They experienced the goodness of God's word and the powers of the world to come. Yet, THEY HAVE DESERTED CHRIST. They are crucifying the Son of God again and publicly disgracing him. Therefore, they cannot be led a second time to God.” Heb 6:4-6 GOD'S WORD Translation.
“For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God's light; they tasted heaven's gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit; they knew from experience that God's word is good, and they had felt the powers of the coming age. And THEN THEY ABANDONED THEIR FAITH!...” Heb 6:4-6 TEV
So we see clearly that it is possible for a Christian to walk away from his or her faith. That is what is called apostasy – a Christian who denies the Lordship of Jesus and begins to walk in sin as if he never knew the Lord Jesus. That person loses his safety in Christ and yes, that kind of person will go into eternal damnation. Otherwise, a true Christian is not going to hell!
We are not going to heaven because of our own works but because of the work of Jesus which we receive by faith. Our lives of righteousness are just manifestations of true faith.
What if a Christian sins one way or the other but hasn’t denied the faith or the Lord Jesus?
If a Christian sins but has the faith of Jesus still in his or her heart, such a person should confess his sin and forgiveness is guaranteed.
“But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light… the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:7-9
A single act of sin is not what God uses to send people to hell, but a life that is basically one of disobedience. If God sends people to hell because of every little thing that is done wrong, then NOBODY, apart from the Lord Jesus, will ever get to heaven.
“If you kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned? But you forgive us, so that we should stand in awe of you.” Ps 130:3-4 TEV
This is not to say a Christian should make sinning a habit because God forgives. Anyone who is like that, who thinks that because God forgives he or she can go on sinning, such a one is NOT a true Christian. Such a person is condemned already!
“What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase? Certainly not! We have died to sin — how then can we go on living in it?” Rom 6:1-3 TEV
A true Christian does not enjoy sin; it is a problem to him. He hates doing it and may only fall into temptation. Falling into temptation is not the same as being a sinner. A sinner has sin as a habit because deep inside his or her heart there is no love for Christ. He may be born with good behaviour but basically in his heart Christ is absent. A Christian on the other hand loves God and is always trying to live a life of righteousness before God.
WHO IS A TRUE CHRISTIAN?
The fact today is that many who call themselves Christians are not so in reality. Christianity has become a social identity. Going to church is a popular thing these days in most parts of Africa, and for this reason many go. Many come to church for all kinds of needs in their lives to be met – they want husbands, children, prosperity, etc. – and they never really gave their lives to Christ. Interestingly, many of them are serious church members and may even become leaders. God may help them but He doesn’t own them.
It is possible to be in church or working in ministry and not be a true Christian. If we take the followers of Jesus in the days of His flesh as Christians (without splitting hairs over whether there were Christian before His death and resurrection); then we can confidently say Judas was never a Christian. He was one of the close associates – one of the twelve, used to also go out to preach and must have been involved in the working of miracles. Yet he was never a Christian in the sense of how the others were. I know because Jesus said as much.
“Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?" Now He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot…” John 6:70-71
The Lord also warned about false Christians and disciples.
"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Matt 7:22-23
Please notice that they couldn’t have been attempting to lie to Him on that day when they claimed to have done things in His name. They actually thought that they were safe because they were doing some work for God, but it is clear that being in ministry doesn’t even make someone a Christian—the Lord never knew them.
So, who is a true Christian?
A true Christian is not one who was born into a Christian or good family. A Christian is not a man who obeys laws, even the laws of Moses given by God. No! A Christian is one who has deliberately given his or life to Christ. It is someone who has repented of his former life and has said to Jesus, “take my life and work in it.” He is one who heard the gospel preached, believed it intelligently and made a personal commitment to faith in Jesus. Being baptized as a child or being dedicated in church as a child does not make you a Christian; it may only prove that your parents were Christians when you were born. That is all!
The life of a true Christian is characterised by love for the word of God. A true believer wants his or her life to conform to the word of God.
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NLT
A true Christian is not trying to get from God or following Him for the miracles promised. Rather a true Christian is one who follows God because he or she wants to become like Christ. The true Christian is following after righteousness.
A true believer in Christ is the one who the blood of Jesus has washed, and continues to wash. His righteousness is by faith, and is a gift of God.
Are you are true Christian? Have you indeed made a commitment to live every day for Jesus and not yourself?
If your answer is ‘Yes,’ then believe me; you will NOT go to hell. You can’t because you do not belong there.
Make-up, trousers, hair attachment, jewellery, and such things do not send anybody to hell; disregard any vision or dream that says otherwise since such cannot be of God!
*Unless where otherwise marked, all Bible verses quoted are NASB
0 comments:
Post a Comment