“For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” (John 7:5)
I see them in every church I attend. Sons and daughters of great men and women of God who think their place in heaven is assured because of the faithfulness of those who raised them. They would be offended by any question as to whether they had ever made a public declaration that Jesus is Lord. Yet, the plain truth is some of them have never followed the instructions the Bible provides on salvation.
Jesus tried to explain it in a very simple way. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He said. “No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Even to believers He warned: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
It’s really not a stretch to understand how someone could possibly think he’s saved when he’s not. Our world teaches us that “good” will get us into heaven. Even our next door neighbor defiantly told my wife recently, “My god would never send good people to hell.”
Don’t look in the Bible for the answer. When Jesus was alive, His own brothers didn’t believe He was the Son of God. Take James, for example. Here’s a guy who wrote one of the greatest books in the Bible on practical Christianity. Yet he couldn’t see that his own half brother was the long-promised Messiah until He was dead and gone. In fact, he didn’t come around until Jesus resurrected and appeared to the disciples, an event James witnessed with his own two eyes. I guess seeing really is believing.
Salvation changed James. Interestingly, when he wrote his epistle some 30 years later, his humility is evident in the way he saw himself: “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (James 1:1) He understood that being a brother in Christ was far more important than being a half brother of Christ.
The important message in this story is that James’ place in heaven wasn’t guaranteed because Jesus was his half brother. James, just like the rest of us, had to experience a rebirth in his spirit. That’s why Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
I recently witnessed a man in my own church come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would have bet a weeks pay that he was saved. He sure looked the part, but on the inside, he finally realized he was rotten to the core.
It’s not too late to look around in your own church, perhaps at your own life. The Bible is pretty clear as to how you can be sure if you’re saved. The first verse, and the strongest, comes from the Apostle Paul: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) The second verse is one that my pastor often cites: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
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