So you think you're a Christian?

By: Ray Burton

What could be more tragic than finding out on Judgment Day that you were not in fact a Christian when all through life you had thought you were? This will be a terrible reality for many, many people. Matt7:13-15. Will it happen to you?

In this article I will highlight some of the misconceptions that can arise and deceive you.

First of all, what is a Christian? The simplest definition is, "a follower of Christ". However, while that is true, it is much too broad to deal with the "tragedy" under consideration. I will therefore narrow down our consideration to "your personal day of judgment and its outcome". Refer Heb 9:27.

Only God knows your heart, your history and every factor regarding your life. Therefore no man can judge you in this regard. However, God has made a number of things very clear in the Bible that you must heed if His decision about you on "your judgment day" is be in your favor. Let's take a look at some misconceptions first of all.

I'm a good person

The most common would be, "I'm a good person, I've never done anyone any harm". Or similarly, "I'm a good person, I've always done good things for my fellowman". While moral values and good works are indeed virtues to be applauded, that is not God's criteria for whether you'll spend eternity with Him. These "moral values and good works" can even be quite religious and include speaking prophetically, delivering people of evil spirits and working miracles. However if this is your only basis for your eternal salvation and being a Christian, then the Lord will say, "I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS." Refer to Matt 7:22-23.

There will be no bartering or negotiating. The important point here is that it is the Lord who has the last word. After all, He is the Judge! His judgments will be by His standards and not yours. We have a tendency to want to play God in life because of the gift He gave us called freedom of choice, which is often lead by selfish desires for power or some other personal desire. This freedom allows you to do good and practice good works to others. However when you believe that our perceived goodness is good enough for your eternal destiny, you will in fact find it will always fall a long way short of the perfect standards of a holy and pure God. Which is the reason He sent His son Jesus to be our savior.

Can you begin to see the seriousness of the situation and your need to get a full understanding of the truth?

I'm from a Christian home. I go to church

Let's look at another misconception. Many believe because they grew up in a Christian home and have always gone to church, that they're "OK" with God and their eternity is going to be a good one with Him. But is that what the Bible teaches us? Definitely not.

A very religious man during the time Jesus walked the earth, who went to the same temple as Jesus, was a teacher in that temple and carefully practiced every aspect of the law, once had a similar conversation with Jesus. You can find it in John 3:1-12. Let's take a look at it.

The man, named Nicodemus, was a Pharisee and he approached Jesus by night. He said he understood that Jesus was a teacher sent by God because of the signs he had done. Jesus responded however by beginning to direct Nicodemus to the truth of the kingdom of God. His words, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God", have now become famous and have been spoken multitudes of times in an effort to bring man to the point of salvation.

Nicodemus however began to question the possibility of man being born again. He confused the spiritual birth Jesus was referring to with physical birth. Jesus then clearly elaborates the need for the Holy Spirit to do a work of new birth within a person, mentioning the Spirit 3 times in the following 4 verses. However, Nicodemus continues to question and asks, "How can these things be?" Jesus responded by giving Nicodemus a gentle chastisement for being a teacher while not understanding this most important truth.

The outcome however, even with teaching directly from Jesus and the insight he gained, was that Nicodemus still needed to be born again!

You must understand Jesus was leading Nicodemus to a place he had not yet reached. Just like Nicodemus you can have a very religious background and experience of going to church, mass, baptism (infant or adult), confirmation, communion and prayers, raised in a Christian home yet still miss out on a personal level on "your personal day of judgment". When you take away religion with all its traditions, pomp and ceremony, is there a personal relationship with God left? That is what matters. The account of Nicodemus also shows us that it doesn't matter how studious and qualified you are, the need remains the same: to be born again.

I pray

The disciples asked Jesus about prayer and He taught them the Lord's prayer. This begins, "Our Father who art in heaven......" The question that matters is, "Is He your Father?" The act of praying does not make Him so, until that becomes your first prayer! Remember that prayer is simply talking to God. If we talk to a king on earth we don't suddenly become princes or princesses, so it is with God. Just talking to Him does not make you a child of God, until you respond to Him and ask Him to make you so.

I believe in God

So does the devil! The main questions here are what and how do you believe? If your belief stops at the acknowledgment that He exists then what benefit is that to you on your personal day of judgment? Jesus said, "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." Refer John 8:24.

We need to understand what Jesus meant when He said, 'I am He'. The context was in a conversation about His coming down from heaven as the sent One out of His love relationship with His Father who He desired to please. Jesus went on to say to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He..." and later in that passage, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free".

The whole emphasis is on relationships and abiding in them. It is from a believing relationship with God, that you come into freedom. This is much deeper than mere acknowledgment.

I've been baptized

Why? Baptism is an act of obedience for believers following repentance. A spiritual act which God requires of us and essential to living a victorious Christian life. However, if the act was done out of a religious, church or family tradition without any repentance or relationship first, its value will be worthless on your, 'personal day of judgment'.

This view point is seen clearly in the dialog of John the Baptist himself. Refer Matt3:8 Speaking to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming for baptism he said to them, "You brood of vipers,who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with your repentance...." Clearly John believed baptism was a matter of the heart and repentance and not some religious act.

I've been confirmed

Confirmation is a Christian rite that follows baptism. It was defined by Augustine as a "visible word" or an "outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace." Many churches have variations on this rite which is meant to lead to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.

While all this maybe very religious and to a certain degree scriptural, the issue is were you a believer when this took place? If not, it is meaningless and certainly will not be of any value on your "personal day of judgment." It is difficult to give a supporting scripture on this view because this rite only came about in the Middle Ages, although the laying on of hands was a practice of the early church.

The point is that it has nothing to do with salvation and your eternal destiny. It is only related to the belief structures of your church, your personal expression of faith and in some cases a measure of power to work while you are on this earth.

I have Christian parents

Rather like the second point a serious misconception is that because a person's parents are Christians they too will be saved on their "personal day of judgement." Paul's letter to the church at Corinth tells us,"For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, whether good or bad." Refer 2Cor5:10 This is clearly a personal matter not a family matter!

I have a Christian spouse

Exactly the same principle applies here to that of coming from a Christian family. You will be judged on your own merits. It is being a part of the bride of Christ, not the bride or groom of anyone else that will give you salvation on your personal judgement day. This requires that you repent and not rely on the repentance of anyone else. The whole weight of scripture is based on your personal relationship to God, personal choices, personal motivations and judgments and not that of your spouse, partner, children or any other relationship. Hebs 9:27 ...it is destined that men die only once, and after that comes the judgment....

I went to Sunday School

Going to Sunday School or a Christian School was a tremendous blessing for you, but where did it get you? These places where to, "train you up in the way you should go" Refer Prov22:6 They were not the destination or the vehicle themselves. They were meant to teach you values and direction. They were also hopefully meant to direct you to Jesus, the one in who there is eternal life, if you accept and receive Him.

I went to a Christian school

This is exactly the same point as the previous one. Did you research the scriptures for yourself and decide to repent and put your faith in Jesus resulting in a heart relationship with Him, or did you simply intellectually accept or reject it?

I give money to charities and good causes

The Bible has a lot to say about money, not trusting in it, the importance of giving, tithing and God's provision. Nowhere however does it ever say or imply that you can directly or indirectly buy your way into heaven.

Central to the gospel message is that Jesus was sent to us freely, but at a huge price to God, the sacrificial death of Jesus for our sins. No amount of money could ever replace the cost of Jesus the Son of God. In fact it would be deeply offensive to God if you would consider any aspect of your relationship or destiny with Him could be purchased with money or the giving of it to others.

An good illustration is found in Acts8:14-24. In this account The apostles were in Samaria praying for the new believers to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. However a new believer named Simon offered Peter money to have the same authority they had shown. Peter's response was, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity."

Peter didn't pull his punches. He spoke about the central issue; the heart of Simon.

I've never done anything that's seriously wrong

Do you think that because you have never committed murder, rape or any serious crime or theft, that you are good enough to go into the presence of a holy and pure God? I may never of met you, but I can assure you that without a doubt the answer is no.

How can I be so sure? Simply because God the Father sent his Son Jesus to die in your place so that you would be able to enter into His presence! Do you think that would of happened if it was not necessary? Think about that for a moment. Why would the Son of God hang on a cross for your eternal salvation if He didn't need to?

Just in case you think you might be an exception to this requirement, let's take a look at Roms3:22-23. It clearly says,"...even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". The good news however is in the following verse which says,"being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;...."

I am a pillar of society and respected by many

By following the teachings of Jesus and scripture it is very possible and likely that you will achieve success in the secular world. This may have resulted in a great deal of respect and stature by your peers. This is something that glorifies God.

However the benefit of this respect for you is a totally temporal thing. It has no eternal value. You will be rewarded for the good deeds you have done in obedience to Christ, if you enter into eternity based on a relationship of repentance and faith in Him. Your good works however will profit you nothing if you do not enter into an eternity with Him because you never had that relationship.

The issue that matters

What then are the issues relating to your, "personal judgment day and its outcome"? There is only one issue: How did you respond to God's love expressed in the giving of His Son Jesus?

Before we look at response, we need to look at Jesus. Here's a simple outline of the life of Jesus.

God created man for communion with himself. Man however was rebellious and disobeyed God, resulting in sin. This caused a separation to take place and man was no longer able to have an intimate relationship with God. Man's corrupt and fallen state could not enter into the presence of a pure and holy God.

Because of His love for mankind, God desired to change things. However His perfect moral justice would not allow man's disobedience to go unpunished. That's primarily where Jesus steps into the picture, at least as far as human history goes. God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price of man's sin. John records it in his gospel by saying, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him. Refer John 3:16-17

Because Jesus was a perfect sinless sacrifice, the justice of God was met. However that does not mean that you will all go to heaven as an outcome, on "your personal day of judgment". As I said earlier it all depends on our response to this incredible expression of His love for us. So what will He be looking for in your response?

Our response

He will look for faith and repentance. Both of these are required for you to be "born again" and also to walk in your salvation. Let's take a brief look at these in relation to "your personal judgment day".

Whether or not we get into heaven and spend eternity with God depends on whether we have been born again with a saving faith. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians wrote, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Refer Eph 2:8-9.

This faith means believing and receiving the gift of Jesus on a personal level into your heart. Faith is belief in action. It is, "Calling upon the name of the Lord" refer Romans 10:13, it's "receiving the gifts of grace and righteousness" refer Roms 5:17, and it is "confessing with your lips what you believe in your heart" Refer Romans 10:9-10.

Repentance is acknowledging your need for salvation because you are heading in the wrong direction and turning from it by humbly expressing yourself and that need to God.

Faith and repentance on these levels determine your eternal destiny. However both are also actively required in your continued walk of salvation with the Lord. You must never have the attitude that since you are saved you can do whatever you like. That is to have an unrepentant heart. You must always walk by faith for that is what pleases God and enables you to live in the fullness of life by His Spirit.

Your walk in life

The important thing in regard to the "tragedy" we spoke of initially, is that you do not try to walk a life that you think will "get you into heaven", but rather acknowledge you can't walk such a life and indeed need a Savior. Your walk is to be in the Spirit living a life that pleases God by faith and aims to fulfill the desires of God's heart for your life.

Heavens gates are open to the family of God. You are born again in Christ and into the family of God the Father. Roms 8:14, tells us, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Salvation is primarily about what you become by being born again, which is a child of God, rather than anything you do either before or after this new birth occurs.

Paul sums up the crux of the matter in his second letter to the Corinthian church. Chapter 13:5 reads, "Test yourself to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?"

In conclusion then, to be assured of eternal salvation on "your personal day of judgment", you must throw aside everything you have ever done as being of no value to your salvation and ask yourself, "Have I responded to what Christ has done for me and accepted His gift and grace by becoming born again into Christ and the family of God?"

© R. Burton 2006.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Ray is the Founder and Chairperson of Valley Ministries Charitable Trust in New Zealand. More of his work and the work of the Trust can be found at: www.valleyministriesnz.org

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