Are You Sure That You're Sure You're Sure?

God has placed a burden upon my heart for people who think that they are Christians, are saved from hell and going to heaven, when in fact they are only being deceived by Satan. I can relate to this group of folks as I was once in their numbers. I had just enough religion to convince me that I was saved but I did not have a relationship with God. I talked to God but He never talked back. I thought you could accept Christ as your Savior, similar to a fire escape from hell, and continue to live your life any way you wanted. I thought there was a special class of religious folks "church goers" who were just more devout than me. Going to church bored me to tears. I was uncomfortable (a.k.a. convicted) when I was able to focus on the sermon. Satan is in church every Sunday, there to distract Christians and the lost alike. He will throw some interesting thoughts your way when you are sitting in a pew, believe me.

So what does all this have to do with you? Well, I have friends who think that they are Christians but there is no evidence there has been a change by looking at their lifestyles. There has not been a turn from their sinfulness. There was no repentance. Jesus said that we would know Christians by their fruits. (Matthew 7:16)

The Bible gives you a list of the sinful nature, saying they are obvious:

• sexual immorality
• impurity
• debauchery
• idolatry and witchcraft
• hatred
• discord
• jealousy
• fits of rage
• selfish ambition
• dissensions
• factions
• envy
• drunkenness
• orgies
• and the like

Then Paul says "I warn you...that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21) So you might say "sometimes I might get jealous." But do you embrace it and think there is nothing wrong with it? What about envy? Drunkenness? These are symptoms of one big disease - unrepentantlostness (like that big word - all illnesses seem to have long, complicated words). So if you embrace these acts of the sinful nature, if they mark your lifestyle, then chances are you are not a Christian.

You may ask "Why do you care?" God puts into every Christian's heart a love for others and with that love comes the absolute certainty that you do not want anyone you love to go to hell. For that matter, I don't want anyone I don't love to go to hell. I don't want anyone to go to hell. That's how God feels. He doesn't "send us to hell" by the way. We send ourselves. He spends our entire lifetime trying to convince us that we need Him and His salvation. Some of us deliberately ignore Him and some are misled into thinking they are worshipping a god but it is a man-made god and there are a lot of those out there. Not everyone who says they believe in God is worshipping Jesus Christ and Jehovah God. The demons believe in God and they are going to hell. So believing there is a god won't get you to heaven.

God's plan of salvation is so simple that we try to make it complicated. Jesus said we must become like children because it is so simple. First, we confess we are sinners. A preacher I know once said in this area of the world, the hardest part is convincing people they are lost before you can lead them to Christ. Those of us living in the "Bible belt" have been exposed to just enough religion to make us think we are Christians. There will be more people going to hell from a church pew than a bar stool. (A Charles Swindoll or Max Lucado quote.)

Once we realize we need help, the next step is easy...ask God to save us, to come into our heart and save our souls. Believe with your heart and confess it with your mouth - speaking it is important. Asking Jesus into your heart out loud is powerful and a requirement. Repentance leads to salvation. Your name is instantly written down in the Lamb's book of life in permanent ink. But your habits don't instantly change. You have to ask God to help you change. God doesn't expect us to change overnight but others might. If you sincerely give your heart to God it will show in your lifestyle. As Christians, we are all still works-in-progress until we get to heaven:)

The next step is in the New Testament but some people refuse to acknowledge it. You are to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This signifies to the world that you are a follower of Christ. This also allows you to take Communion with Christ. Most denominations will not allow people to partake in Communion without some type of baptism.

I am a Baptist therefore I believe that you should be baptized after you become a Christian but baptism is not what gets you to heaven. If you have a problem with baptism after salvation, that's between you and God. Jesus commands us to do it so I did it:)

Now if while you are taking any of these steps you were thinking "Shew, this will get me to heaven and I can avoid hell, but I am not following all those religious rules or going to church." Then you might have a problem. Becoming a Christian changes you from the inside out. You may still think the same way but God will put a desire in your heart to change. And you'll want to please God for one simple reason: God loved you enough to send His only Son to die in your place so that you can spend eternity with Him. The Christian life is the best thing going in this world. You don't skip through life without any problems, but you have someone with you who is the number one Problem Solver.

Here is the fruit of the Spirit:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

(Gal. 5:22-23)

Now doesn't that sound nice?