There used to be Holy Spirit filled preachers that preached against sin and warned of the judgment to come and the hell to shun. The messages were powerful and anointed by the Holy Spirit, and God used those messages to convict the hearts of lost people. But today it seems that many claim to be Christians who I doubt even know what it really is to be a true Christian. The consensus among the lost people in today’s society is that everybody is OK and needs nothing from a god. Many are not even sure if there is a heaven or hell, but are convinced that they will go to heaven if there is one. No one will go to hell in their estimation because, as they would say, “God loves everybody and will not send a person to hell fire for eternity”. I would even go so far as to say that few of today’s professing Christians even know God or His dear Son, Jesus Christ.

There are so many good verses in the Bible that are great and speak to our hearts, but I must say that my favorite Bible verse is found in John chapter 17, verse 3, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” That verse says it all; you must “know” the Father and the Son in order to have eternal life. You cannot be saved until and unless you “know God and His Son, Jesus Christ,” who died on an old, rugged tree to pay for our sins. Ah, but there is the rub…the word sin is virtually non-existent in today’s vocabulary. Nobody ever talks about sin, nor do they even have a full idea of what sin really is, let alone the need for their sins to be forgiven. The Bible says that sin is the transgression of God’s law. Sin is all acts that the Bible declares are an abomination to God or laws that God has laid out for us to live by, but the greatest sin is the sin of unbelief. What I am saying is that most people today who are confessing to be Christians, do not live like they are Christians. They seldom if ever go to Church or read the Bible. If they are Christians, then the definition of a child of God has changed from what the Bible says it is. If I say that I love my Mother and Father, but I never go to see them, never check in on them, never call them, and never write to them, then most people would say I am a liar and do not love my Father and Mother. The same goes for today’s so-called Christians. Their lives just do not bear out their claims of Christian faith. Many live wickedly, day after day and never think about what God thinks of their sinful acts. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:15-20, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”. So, it is not the professors, but the possessors that are true Christians. You must be born again, not just say you are.

Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity”. This verse is one of the saddest scriptures in the Bible. Imagine the Son of God telling you that he never knew you. Do you know Him as Savior or rather, does He know you as one of His children?

This is a real problem today and I am convinced that it is the fault of well-meaning preachers who have been telling people that all you must do to be saved is just come forward and sign a card and be baptized and join the Church. Many times, they just ask you to hold up your hand if you want to go to heaven, and then say that since you held up your hand, you are saved. That is what has become known today as “easy believism”. I am convinced that multiple millions of people have been convinced by modern day preachers and so-called soul winners, that they are saved and going to heaven just because they “made a decision”. That is just not what salvation is all about. That is not how you become a Christian. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again”. The Apostle Peter said in 2nd Peter 1:10 – “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:”

I hate to say it, but I believe that in the judgment day, many preachers, ministers, soul-winners, and denominationalists will stand before a just God and be told to depart from Him because He never knew them. You must receive the “call of God” by the Holy Spirit; you cannot be saved just whenever and however you choose. God will begin to work a work in you that He will finish in salvation. That is the Bible way of salvation. Philippians 1:6 gives us this promise, “Being confident of this very thing, that He (God) which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” When God, through the Holy Spirit, begins to deal with your heart unto salvation, He will bring you through to victory and salvation. He promised that He would. If He begins it, you will be brought to sonship with Him. He promises to seal us too. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, “Now He which stablisheth (establishes) us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”. So, you see, when God saves us, He also seals us and gives to us the earnest, or down payment, of the Holy Spirit to live within us. Before Jesus left this world, He promised that He would not leave us comfortless, but would leave us a Comforter. Jesus promised in John 14:15-17 “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, (the Holy Spirit) that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you”. That is the promise of the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit that lives in the heart of every believer.