Many churchgoers wrongly
believe that they are saved. Therefore, others wonder, “Perhaps I too am
self-deceived. How then can I have the assurance that I am saved?” The
Scriptures assure us:
·
For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call
on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans
10:12–13)
Sounds straightforward, but this doesn’t give us the
assurance we want in view of those who are self-deceived to mistakenly believe
they are saved (if they really do believe this). However, our Lord assures us
that if we are heading in the wrong direction, God will reveal this to us:
·
Let those of us who are mature think this way,
and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. (Philippians
3:15)
God had been faithful to continually reveal this to His
people through His prophets:
·
Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every
prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my
commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded
your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.” But they
would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not
believe in the LORD their God. They despised his statutes and his covenant that
he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after
false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around
them, concerning whom the LORD had commanded them that they should not do like
them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made
for themselves metal images of two calves; and they made an Asherah and
worshiped all the host of heaven and served Baal. And they burned their sons
and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold
themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. (2
Kings 17:13–17)
What does this have to do with our assurance that we are
saved? If our Lord was willing to show such patience with those who had
stubbornly rejected Him and had sacrificed their children to demons, how much
more patience will He have for those who are trying to trust in Him!
Over 100 years later, God had concluded the books of Chronicles
with a similar explanation for His wrath:
·
The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent
persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people
and on his dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, persistently
to them by his messengers, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people,
until there was no remedy., because he had compassion on his people and on his
dwelling place. But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his
words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against
his people, until there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:15–16)
Wouldn’t our Lord consistently also warn us if we weren’t
trusting in Him! He had also made it easy for His people to return to Him even
after a lifetime of rejecting Him:
·
Go, and proclaim these words toward the north,
and say, “ ‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look
on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry
forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your
God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that
you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:12–13)
Simple enough, right! For more than 100 years, God had
persistently sent His Prophets to warn Judah. However, they also rejected God’s
Word and scoffed at His prophets. How much more then will God be patient with
us who long for His Word and fellowship!
·
God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified
by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if
while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans
5:8–10)
If God had loved us
so much while we were His enemies, how much more now that we have become His
friends! Will not He also want to maximize His investment on the Cross by
saving any who are willing to come and do whatever it would take to keep
us!
What of those who are deluded into thinking that they are
saved? I am reluctant to judge the hearts of others. However, I suspect
that they stubbornly chose to believe what is clearly opposed to the Gospel:
·
There are many ways to be saved.
·
I am a good and deserving person.
·
Eventually, all will be saved.
·
The final judgment is just a scare tactic.
·
God loves me just the way I am. I don’t need to
change!
To believe these any of these things is a refusal to believe
the Gospel. They reject the Scriptures and God’s promise of the one way through
the mercy bought by the death of Jesus. They are like the Israelites who had
repeatedly been warned but rejected their God. God had wanted all of them to come to salvation (2 Peter 3:9) and warned Israel that He had done all that He could for them. But they hardened their hearts against His pleadings.
If we want our
Savior, we will simply confess our sins and sincerely ask God to examine and correct us
(Psalm 139:23-24), the very thing that He wants:
My sheep hear
my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and
they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (John
10:27–28)
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