If You Read This, You Will Know....
Updated: Nov 28, 2020
We have become a society so offended by truth that we will believe any lie as long as it is pleasant to our ears and doesn’t require us to change our lives, take a stand, or otherwise be uncomfortable. Here is the truth: God is real. The Bible is true. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. And Jesus is the ONLY WAY. None of this has changed because society and what society accepts has changed. None of this has changed because we read watered down versions of the Bible that make us feel good or go to watered down churches that are more social clubs than anything else. There will come a day that we will ALL stand before God. There are many who think they are ready that will be told on that day to depart from Him (Matthew 7: 21-23). How does that happen? How do you think that you are ready to meet Him and you are not? 1. You have a head knowledge/you are a good person. You believe that there is a God, you believe He sent His son, you believe all this “Bible stuff”. That’s great, but unless you believe it in your heart, you have a real relationship with Jesus, there was a moment when you asked His forgiveness, trusted Him with your heart/soul/life, all you have is a head knowledge. Even the devils of hell believe that (James 2:19). It will not get you into heaven.
2. You acted on emotion/someone told you that you were/you didn’t have follow through. This is what happened to me the first time I went to the altar and thought I was saved. The Spirit was moving and some of the other young people of the church were saved and I responded to the “emotion” of the moment. Don’t get me wrong, it can be an emotional moment. But God was not calling me at that moment. My sister went to the altar the first time and had someone tell her she was saved, so even though she wasn’t at peace yet, she felt this seasoned church member understood more than she did. It’s good to pray with someone, but ONLY as the Holy Spirit guides you. DON”T interfere with what God is doing.
3. You get baptized/go to church regularly. Baptism isn’t salvation. It’s an outward demonstration of the inward cleansing that has ALREADY taken place. I see a lot of people post baptism pictures on social media because they’re so excited about themselves or their loved one making this decision to be baptized. This is good, but some of them concern me because they do not talk about the important decision that needed to be made before baptism. I posted my son’s baptism pictures a few years ago and I was excited too! I was excited because he was born again. That was the exciting part. Following through with baptism was obedience and a symbol to the world of his decision. But he was heaven bound the moment he gave his heart to Christ, baptism had no effect on that. And without that, all the baptisms in the world wouldn’t get him to Heaven. Only by the blood of Christ. (I Peter 1:19)
4. You believe there are alternate ways to Heaven. There are not and the Bible says anyone who tries to get in through any other way is a thief and a robber. (John 10:1)
You may not like me or the way I’ve presented it. You may think this is just my opinion, but I’ve added Scripture for you to look up. You read what God’s Word says. It’s clear that many that think that they will make Heaven their home will not. A lot of these will sadly go to hell straight out of the church they are actively working in. But not all of them. Some think they are saved and don’t even pretend to serve Him.
Church attendance will not save you. Living a moral life acceptable to Christ will not save you. I’ve already made those things clear. But the obedience required of a saved person will bring you to those decisions.
I love David’s story in the Bible. Why? Because of how human he was. I am also human, and I have failed God many times. We all will. Rather your sin is just something between you and God or if you, like myself and David, hugely get out of His will at some point; salvation will not make you perfect and no matter how small or big or how often, you will mess up. And if you are a prodigal child right now, come home. Your Father is waiting to run to you… do you get that? RUN to you.
I do not know your story. You who are reading this, I don’t know. Saved and dedicated Christian? Someone who has never accepted? Someone who professes salvation but doesn’t really possess it? Was there was a conscious moment in your life… you may not remember exact dates or many details, but you remember that it happened… that you accepted the call of salvation… you can’t be saved because you want to, you must be called by God (John 6:44)... and there was change in your life….even if you strayed away at some point? If you can’t answer yes, please examine your heart before it’s too late. And if you can answer yes, but you know you have strayed away, your Father is waiting.
I know that there is a chance all of my loved ones won’t be in Heaven with me. The Bible speaks of our tears being wiped away. I don’t believe Heaven could be Heaven to me if I had the realization that I was there without a child, a spouse, a parent, a sibling or niece/nephew. I don’t know how my tears will be wiped away, but in my human understanding, I think I will be that I not know those people existed anymore. But I believe they will know of my existence and because of the torment, the absolute absence of peace, in hell, they will hate me. So if you believe that all that matters is that you get saved even if it’s at the last minute (don’t take that chance) or if you don’t live your life in a way to be a witness to others ( a disobedient life will make you miserable), think on the effect your life has on your loved ones. How heartbreaking to not only see your child, spouse, parent go to hell because you never told them, you never lead a life in front of them that showed them. And then to know this person that you would die for on this earth, will probably spend eternity hating you ? It’s troubling how many people seem unconcerned with their loved one’s eternal fate? If someone you loved had an accident or a heart attack, wouldn’t you rush them to get help? How can you, if you are truly saved and truly understand the things written here, not rush to get them to Jesus?