ALL OR NOTHING

 

            Suddenly the floor beneath me heaved and swayed. There was a sound like a rushing wind. “Earthquake!” someone shouted.

            I was in the main post office of Seattle, Washington when it happened. Everyone began running about frantically, but there was no place to hide! If the quake had continued a few seconds longer than it did I am almost certain that stone building would have crumbled.

            A few days later there was a knock on the door of our home. I answered it. There stood a man about 45 years of age finishing a deep draw on his cigarette. He used profanity as he spoke, emphasizing his points by using the name of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.

            He said he had noticed that the recent earthquake had knocked down the top of one of the chimneys on our house. He was a brick laying contractor and said he would like to contract for the job of repairing it. I asked him how much it would cost. When he stated his price I told him it was more than I could afford, and because we were not using that chimney anymore anyway I would most likely get out on top of the roof myself and simply level the chimney off and make it look respectable.

            He was a good salesman and tried to get me to see the value of having it repaired properly, so we talked together several minutes. All during this conversation he continued to swear.

            Finally I told him, “I can't accept your services, but I have something valuable I would like to give you.” I then handed him a copy of a booklet entitled HERE'S HOW. This booklet explains how to get to heaven.

            He accepted the booklet and opened it immediately, wondering what I had given him. When he saw it was a Christian booklet he asked, “What church do you belong to?”

            When I answered he smiled broadly and put out his hand and said, “Well, shake hands, I belong to a church of the same denomination.”

            I looked at him, wondering whether to accept his hand, or not. Finally I reached out my hand and took his. “You may be a church member,” I said, “but you are not a Christian. You need to be born again. You need to be really converted from self to God.”

            “What do you mean I'm not a Christian?” the man challenged.

            “Your conversation tells me what kind of man you are,” I answered. “The way you handle God's name makes it clear to me that you are not a Christian.”

            “The way I speak or live has nothing to do with my being a Christian,” he returned. “We are saved by faith in Christ and not by any good works we do. God has promised eternal life to us as a gift because of what Christ has done. You don't work for a gift.”

            “Yes,” I agreed, “but God has laid down certain conditions which must be met in order for us to receive His gift of life. Just because you might not demand any conditions to be met by the one to whom you offer a gift does not mean that God does not make demands. The Bible clearly teaches that there are conditions to be met by the one who would receive everlasting life.”

            We talked further but neither of us had the time to go fully into the matter just then. But let's you and me consider just what is involved in receiving God's gift of everlasting life. The greatest possession you have is life. And the greatest possession you can have above the life you now have is to obtain everlasting life. To be mistaken about how one receives everlasting life is the most tragic mistake one can make.

            We look at the heathen and think how tragic it is that they have such false religions in which they put their trust. But the greatest tragedy is that millions who claim to be Christians, claiming to possess everlasting life through Christ the Savior, are still lost!

            We were warned centuries ago by the apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 that “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Sinful man welcomes anyone who can “handle the word of God deceitfully” to prove to him that he can continue in his sins and still be saved, as long as he trusts in Christ as Savior.

            This warning is to you, and to me. Are you really converted from a selfish, sinful life to true faith and obedience to Christ?

            What does the Bible actually teach about obtaining everlasting life? First let me give some foundation facts with which you may be acquainted, but which will be new to some.

            Man was perfect when God created him. A wonderful thing we read in the Bible is that God created man in His own image. He created us to be like Himself. He is therefore our father in a much more real sense than our earthly fathers. The future of the sons of God is absolutely out of this world.

            However, we read in Genesis, the first book in the Bible, that mankind did not remain in the perfect state in which God had created him. As our Father and our Creator it is both God's right and His duty to expect us to honor and to obey Him. But from the first man, Adam, down to every one of us we have gone in our own way instead of in God's way.

            We have all as much as said, “I'm not going to have God telling me what to do. I'm going to live my life the way I please. I have certain desires and ambitions and I'm going to see that they are fulfilled.” You may not have said this in so many words, but you have said it nevertheless.

            We have the same as said, “I'll not have God to be the King of my life. I'll be the king and ruler of my own life.” We have therefore dethroned the rightful King of our lives, which is HIGH TREASON. We have usurped the throne which belongs to God!

            What happens on earth when a subject rebels against his king and sets himself up as king? The answer of course is that the rightful king uses all power at his command to put down the rebellion. And when the insurgent is captured he is usually given the death sentence. That is exactly what has happened concerning you and me in our relationship to God. We have rebelled against God. And God says that because of this we shall be punished with death. What would happen in God's heavenly kingdom if He should allow those in rebellion to Him to enter there? The answer is obvious, His entire kingdom would be in danger if He allowed this.

            God is wise, powerful and righteous. He has therefore pronounced the death sentence upon all sinners. “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” In these and in many other words God has decreed death to those who have rebelled against Him as their King and Lord.

            An earthly king can be overthrown and a new king take his place, but such is not the case with God. He allows the rebellious to live for a certain time, to seek their reconciliation. Besides being a God of wisdom, of power and of righteousness, He is a God of love. God our Father loves those whom He has created in His image. He wants all His children to be true sons of His, sons whom He can bless with everlasting life. Whereas lost mankind is under condemnation, God has provided a way by which lost men can be saved.

            Here's what God has done to save us. He sent His Son, Jesus, from the courts of heaven to take upon Himself the likeness of man. God's plan for this was prophesied hundreds of years before it happened, in writings of the Old Testament portion of the Bible.

            It came to pass when Jesus Christ was miraculously born of a virgin in Bethlehem in Israel almost two thousand years ago now. God sent His Son, whom He knew would not rebel against Him. He sent the One who had been faithful to Him through ages past.

            We read that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” but Jesus Christ was the exception. We read this concerning Christ, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth.”

            God sent His Son here to live a life which would be a blessing to mankind, and which would be a testimony to His faithfulness to God the Father. Then God allowed wicked men to crucify His Son upon the cross. He was nailed to a wooden cross, and there He shed His blood, the sinless one dying for the sins of others. We have in John 3:16 in the New Testament part of the Bible the words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus Christ the Son of God gave His life in suffering and in death for your sins and for mine.

            God promises to accept this sacrifice by His Son in the place of following through in the death sentence which He has pronounced upon you as a sinner, if you will accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and as your Lord. We want to emphasize the fact that you must receive Him as your Lord as well as your Savior. There are many today who want Christ as their Savior, but they are unwilling to surrender to Him as their Lord.

            God does not promise forgiveness through Jesus Christ to those who are unwilling to turn from their rebellion against Him. The condition upon which God offers forgiveness is that the sinner surrender himself to His God and be willing to return to obedience and to honor Him as his Lord and as his Ruler.

            There are two theological words which describe the two things necessary. I will give you those two words and then explain in a simple manner what they mean. The two words are justification and regeneration.

            The word justification is the noun form of the word justify. To justify someone means to prove or show that this one is just, that he is free from guilt or blame. It also has the same meaning as the word absolve, which means to set free, or release, as from some obligation or from the consequences of guilt.

            Because God the Son, through whom God the Father created all things, took upon Himself the form of man and suffered on the cross as God's sin offering for our sins, it is now possible for God to justify us, to declare us free from guilt, because another has suffered in our place.

            The sacrifice of Christ on the cross also justifies God in setting our penalty aside and forgiving us. It makes it possible for God to forgive us and to be righteous in His performing this act of forgiveness.

            There is absolutely no work on our part which can add to the work which Christ perfected for us in suffering for our sins on the cross. He said, “It is finished.” The sacrifice and work that was necessary on the part of our Savior was finished once and for all over 1900 years ago as Christ hung on the cross. There is nothing you or I can do to add to what Christ has already done for our justification.

            You may answer then, “Sure, all that os left for us to do is to believe and trust in Him for forgiveness.”

            This is where many fall short of receiving God's forgiveness because they do not realize that there is one more matter which must be cared for before God is justified in forgiving our sins, even though Christ has died as our sin offering.

            The thing which is necessary is a change of mind and heart on the part of the rebel who has enthroned himself as king in place of the Rightful King. That rebel, which is you, must repent and step down from the throne of his life and ask his Creator and Father to take the throne and rule supreme in his life.

            This act involves the other theological term we mentioned, the word regeneration. In other words, we must be regenerated, be “born again”as Christ stated. We must be converted from a life lived for self to a life lived in the will of God.

            However, even the work which results in our regeneration is done by God. But the actual decision to surrender to Him can be made only by us individually. No other being in Heaven or on earth can make your decision for you. It is upon your sincere decision to surrender to Him that God forgives and grants you justification through Christ. Everlasting life is then yours “if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” (Colossians 1:23).

            Christ had much to say about this when He was here on earth. Let's notice what He said at one time. The instance I would like to call to your attention is recorded in the book of Mark in the New Testament portion of the Bible, in the eighth chapter, beginning with verse 34. Let's read just three verses here:

 

34. “And when be had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

35. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it.

36. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

 

            Christ said these words to the mixed crowd and also to His disciples, His followers. He is as much as saying, “Whoever of you wishes to be a follower of mine, here's what he must do. He must first of all deny himself.”

            You and I have ascended the throne in our respective lives, but Christ is saying here that we must deny ourselves this right. We must abdicate the throne and allow the Rightful Ruler to ascend the throne in our life and rule there.

            However, this is not an easy thing for any of us to do. We all want our own way. Therefore, something drastic must happen. And Christ shows what that drastic thing must be. He says, “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” What does He mean by us being willing to take up our cross?

            Most folks have a wrong idea about what Christ means here. Someone says, “I have a physical problem which cannot be cured. But I guess this is the cross I must bear.” That physical problem is not a cross. You did not take it up. That physical problem is an infirmity.

            Another person says, “I'm in a terrible fix financially, but I guess this is the cross I must bear.” No, you didn't willingly take up that financial problem.

            There are many other problems and difficulties which come upon us which persons have misunderstood as being the cross they are asked to bear.

            He is not speaking here of physical death. He is speaking of the death of your own stubborn will. He is showing by these words that the one who has dethroned the Rightful King in your life and has seized the throne himself must be dethroned. He must be so severely dealt with that Christ likens it to being nailed to a cross and committed to death.

            This inferior king has caused you nothing but trouble. Your Rightful King has a far better plan for your life than you have. And He wants you to have His best. He is all-wise. Therefore, He knows what is best. He is also all-loving. He will therefore do for you what is best. Surely you can trust such a wonderful, wise and loving Ruler. No one has ever loved you more deeply. Not for one moment has He forgotten you, even while you have lived in rebellion.

            In the next verse here He says, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Christ is saying here that if you are determined to save your life for your own pleasure and purpose you will surely lose it. But He says, whoever is willing to lose his life for the sake of his Rightful Master and for the wonderful message He has for the world, this one will save his life for eternity.

            Someone reading this may claim that this verse is speaking of rewards which Christians will have in God's eternity. Some claim that those who live their lives as Christians for themselves, will have no rewards. But those who live for the Lord will be rewarded. However, the very next verse shows that Christ is definitely not speaking of rewards. This matter of surrendering to the Lord is a matter of life or death! In the very next verse be says “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

            Would you dare twist these words of God to mean anything but what they clearly state?

            You may say that you still believe we are saved by faith alone, and that our works have absolutely nothing to do with our salvation. In that case let's look at some other words given by our Lord in this connection. Let's look at some words from Christ in the sermon on the mount. We find these words recorded in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, beginning with verse 21. Listen to this:

            “Not every one 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.” He is very plainly stating here that it is not those who are trusting only in their faith in Christ who will be saved, but those whose faith is the kind which results in obedience to His Father which is in heaven.

            We receive forgiveness from God because of the suffering and death Christ experienced for us. However, God clearly shows that this forgiveness does not apply unless there is true repentance and a surrender of one's will to the Lord. The faith you have in Christ must be a faith which believes in Him as Lord as well as Savior. Only then do you receive God's forgiveness and the assurance of everlasting life.

            Listen further to what Christ said here, in His sermon on the mount, “Many will say to me on 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.”

            We see from this that there are even going to be some folks who have prophesied, that is, they have preached, or supposedly spoken by God's Spirit. They have even cast out demons and have done many wonderful things in the name of Christ, but they have continued to live for themselves, to satisfy the desires of their own mind and heart. Christ says that they are workers of iniquity. They are still living in rebellion against Him, even though they are trying to ease their own consciences by working for the Lord, while at the same time they are living for themselves.

            Someone may be saying in his heart right now, “I still believe that all one needs to do is put his faith in Christ for salvation. Christ is the rock on which I stand.”

            Well, what does it mean to stand, or to build, on Christ the rock. The very next words here in the sermon on the mount from Christ tell us what He meant. Let's read them:

            “Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” Do you notice that it is the person who listens to Christ's words and obeys Him who is likened to the man who builds his house upon a rock. Christ is the rock of your salvation if you have abdicated the throne of your heart and have invited Him to assume the throne and to rule your life. But if, instead, you are continuing to do your own will instead of doing the will of Christ you are still living in rebellion against Him, and you have no promise in God's word that Christ is likening your life to a life which is built upon a rock.

            Further on in these same verses He says this of the one who is not obeying Him, “And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Yes, the terrible and great fall of such a person is that his soul will be lost!

            The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Rome. Listen to what he says about this subject in the sixth chapter of this letter, as recorded in the New Testament part of your Bible. We will use the Laubach translation, which makes it very simple and understandable. This translation is published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, and is used here with their permission.

            Paul is writing this to show the error of believing that it will be to God's greater glory if He can show more mercy and grace by forgiving us even if we continue in sin. He says,

 

“Shall we then continue in sin in order that there may be more grace? Can we say that? Certainly not! We died to sin. Therefore, how can we go on living in sin? Don't you realize that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? In our baptism we died and were buried with Him. And just as He was raised from the dead through the Father's glory, we too are to live a new kind of life like His.

 

“We have been united with Him by dying as He died. That is why we are sure to be united with Him by rising from the dead as He rose. Our old self was nailed to the cross with Him, to put our old sinning body to death. Now we are no longer slaves to sin.

 

“Any one who has died is freed from sin. So then, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Christ. Christ has been raised from the dead and will never die again. Death has lost all its power over Him. When He died He was once and for all dead to sin. The life He lives He lives to God. Because you are united to Christ Jesus you must consider yourselves also dead to the call of sin and alive to the call of God.

 

“So do not let sin rule your bodies, which are going to die. Do not let sin make you obey the body's passions. Do not yield to sin with any part of your body to make it a tool of evil. You have been brought from death to life, so yield yourselves to God. Yield all parts of your body to God, as tools of what is right. Sin must have no power over you. You are not under the law of Moses, but you are under the grace of God.

 

“What does that mean? Are we allowed to sin because we are not under law but under God's grace? Certainly not! Do you not see that if you yield yourselves to any one you are his slaves? Either you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or you obey God, which leads to the good life. I thank God that though you were once slaves of sin, yet now you obey from your hearts the higher way of living. This is the higher standard which we taught you to obey. That is how you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves only of what is right.

 

“I must use very common words because your weak natures need plain talk. You once yielded parts of your body to sex vice and other sins. Now yield all parts of your body only to what is good, so that you may become holy.

 

“When you were slaves of sin, you felt that you were free from right living. But what did you get from living in sin? The end of such things was death. You are ashamed of them now. But since you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, see what you get in return! You are made holy, and in the end you get everlasting life.

 

“Sin pays death as its wages, but God gives us the free gift of everlasting life if we take Jesus Christ as our Lord.”

            In the eighth chapter of this letter to the Romans Paul says, in verses 12-14, “So then, brothers, we do not owe a duty to the flesh. We are not to obey the call of the flesh. If you live for the flesh you will die. But if you are led by the Spirit, and put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all those who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons.”

            Gypsy Smith, the great evangelist, had this to say about the absolute necessity for repentance, and what it meant:

 

“If you have been trying to live a Christian life and have no joy in it, and no victory in it, and no song in it - I  know the reason. It is that you have never repented. You have started wrong.

“Repentance is the most neglected teaching in the New Testament and the most unpopular. People do not like to be called to repentance and you do not often hear it preached. And yet the Bible is a handbook of repentance. It enforces it, commands it, and so demands it that NO SUBSTITUTE CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR IT.

“Over sixty times the Scriptures enforce it, and all the Epistles are written to show men how to repent, so that no one need be in a fog as to what repentance means, yet multitudes of people are.

“A counterfeit repentance means a counterfeit Christian life. And the reason many churchgoers have no real joy and peace in the Lord is because they have not obeyed the Scripture - 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel' (Mark 1: 15).

“What is it to repent? It is turning from sin to God!

“Repentance is getting hold of that which is your curse by the hair of its head and tearing it out by the roots. Pride, lust, selfrighteousness, hypocrisy, double-dealing – the sin in your life which enslaves you, let it go! Kill it – and all other things in your life that are wrong will slink away like so many whipped curs.

“What is repentance then? It is the moral response of the awakened soul to the call of God, the hope of the soul. Have you repented? Have you turned from sin unto God?”

 

            As Gypsy Smith said, usually there is one sin in your life which has enslaved you. What is the sin which is dragging you to Hell? Is it dishonesty, greed and covetous grasping, trickery and sharp dealings; fornication, adultery, unfaithfulness, immodesty, or other sexual sins; vulgarity, pride, hypocrisy, twofacedness, pretense, impatience and reviling, cursing, swearing, lying by word or action, thievery, drunkenness or other things harmful to your body and morals; evil thinking; love of money, love of ease or material things? Surrender that evil thing to the Lord or it will be your death and destruction!

            When that besetting sin is surrendered the rest can be surrendered with comparative ease. It is God who will do the full work of regeneration in your life, but the part of surrender is yours.

            Evangelist R. A. Torry has stated,

“No one can be saved unless he is born again by the power of God's Spirit. Christ says, in John 3:7, ‘Ye must be born again.’ The necessity is absolute - ye must be born again. You can be orthodox on every doctrine and yet be lost forever. You must be changed, down to the deepest depths of your being.

           

“When you take Christ into your heart He transforms you through and through in a moment. I care not how worldly you are, I care not how sinful you are, I care not how hard you are – anyone today who will throw his heart open and let Jesus come in to rule and reign, will be made a new creature in a moment by God Himself.”

           

            A moment ago I mentioned the fact that the regeneration of our minds and hearts is accomplished by God Himself. You might ask, How can we have anything to do with our lives being regenerated if it is God who does the work of regeneration? Let me explain to you what the Bible says about how the new birth is brought about.

            The apostle John in speaking of the new birth stated, “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Throughout the New Testament you find such phrases as born of God, born of the Spirit, born of Him, etc.

            The apostle Peter gives further light on this by stating, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God.” The apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians speaks of “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” In many other places in the New Testament we see that the words of God have a very definite part in our conversion. This is not contradictory with the words which state that we are born of God, etc., because, it is God who is doing the work, but He does it through His words. He uses the truth of His word to convict the sinner of his sin and to convince him that only terrible judgment awaits him. Then He also uses words to tell of His love for the sinner and the fact that if he will repent he will be forgiven through His Son Jesus Christ who died for him.

            Besides using words God many times uses circumstances in His endeavor to awaken the sinner to his need. The circumstances may be sickness, an accident, the death of some friend, neighbor or loved one. God uses various means to convince us of our need of getting right with Him.

            The apostle Paul states that he travailed in birth for certain persons to be born again. Yes, God has limited himself to us human beings to give His word to one another. But it is God who blesses His word and causes it to pierce the heart and mind of the sinner.

            So by this you can understand something about how God is endeavoring to bring about the new birth in your life. But you can also see that He has left the decision up to you. God will plead and convince, even using drastic means at times to make you realize how brief and uncertain life is, and how close you are to facing His judgment, unless you repent. Then, when you are convinced, God will accept only unconditional surrender. That is your part.

            God told the Israelites, “Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” It is absolute, unconditional surrender that God demands. The condition is that you give Him all your heart. He will not tolerate your holding back any little dark corner for yourself and your sin. Anything less than “all” is to continue in rebellion.

            When speaking to a group of persons on this subject a true Christian friend said to me, “When I became a Christian I simply trusted Christ for forgiveness. I knew nothing about the need for repentance and surrender to God. But through faith in Him I have been born again. I am a new person.”

            My answer was, “That is true with many. But at the time you trusted Christ for forgiveness you realized you had displeased Him and your subconscious desire now was to please Him and surrender your will to Him. Your heart attitude was right, whether you knew the need for it or not. Because of this God did forgive you and He reigns in your life.

            “However,” I said, “this is not true with all who simply believe and ask forgiveness through Christ. You were honest with God, whether you knew it or not, but many are relying on their trust in Christ while still living in actual rebellion to God. These are the persons who need to be awakened to their lost condition.”

            “What about the Christian who comes to realize he has been doing something that is wrong, but he never considered it wrong before?” you may ask. “Would you consider this person as having not been a Christian because he was living in sin?”

            No, God does not hold us responsible for what we do not know. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). God asks for a surrendered heart. Upon surrender that person is converted and born-again. Then Christian growth begins, as we read His word and are taught in various ways by His Spirit.

            It may be that you have believed in Christ for many years. It may be that you have put your trust in Him for salvation. But have you ever been really converted to Him? Are you converted to Him now? Without conversion there is no salvation.

            You may even be a Sunday School teacher, a deacon or an elder in your church, or even the minister, or priest, but are you truly converted? Have you truly turned your life over to Him? Are you seeking to obey Him in everything? Are you asking Him just how He wants you to use your life for His glory? Are you seeking to work where He wants you to work? Are you wanting to go anywhere that He wants you to go? Are you doing, or abstaining from doing, as He wills? Is it your desire that your children follow the Lord, all the way wherever He leads? Are you leading them in His way, by example as well as by word?

            Are you reading His word daily that you may know His will, and do it?

            The New Testament is filled with commands from Christ and commands given by the Holy Spirit through the Lord's apostles. What is your attitude toward these commands of our Lord? Have you come to Him in absolute unconditional surrender, willing to trust Him with your life as well as with your soul for eternity?

            Or are you constantly going your own rebellious way, even though you consider your rebellion to be in little and unimportant matters? ANY REBELLION IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF OBEDIENCE! You may talk about being born again. You may know all the right language, but ARE you born again?

            It has been said, “If He is not Lord of all He is not Lord at all.” It can also be said that if you wish Christ as your Savior you must also receive Him as your Lord.

            Our world today is concerned about Godless Communism. God has allowed Godless Communism to take over where there has been dead Christianity and other types of heathenism. It can happen here! A cheap believism is being preached in many of our churches, and so-called Christians have been lulled into false security while they continue to live as they please. Are you one of these? God will not recognize such to be Christianity. Christ said that we would be judged by His words. And God's judgment for you may be sooner than you think.

            If this message has jarred you, it will be a simple matter for you to find plenty of preachers or priests today who will assure you that you are all right. But what does our Lord say about leaders who refuse to accept the full truth? As recorded in Matthew 15:14, Christ said, “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”

            But is that what you want - simply to have your conscience eased? Think of the consequences! If you are not sure I am right go to your Bible. Read especially the New Testament, and ask the Lord to reveal the truth to you. If you have been brought up in the easy believism teaching of today it may not be easy for you to believe that you have been wrong all this time. But let God be the judge. Come to Him with an honest desire to know the full truth, and He will teach you from His word.

            However, if God has already convinced you of the truths we have presented here, will you then seek His pardon in full surrender to Him. You may wish to make the following your own sincere prayer to God.

            “O Lord, this is for me! I realize I am a rebellious sinner. I have lived my life as I have pleased. Forgive me! Ascend the throne of my heart, dear Lord, and reign there supreme. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins. I accept you as my Savior. And I truly surrender to you as my Lord. Help me to live from this day forth in your will and for your glory.”

            If this is truly the prayer of your heart, then make it yours by praying it to the Lord. You may wish to add more words of your own. Open your heart to Him, and He will enter your life and grant you forgiveness and everlasting life. John 14:23 records that Jesus said, “If a person really loves me, he will keep my word (obey my teaching); and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”(Amplified Version)

            You notice that His coming is conditional upon your willingness to obey Him. Consider what meaning this gives to 1 John 5:12, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” He cannot enter your life until you have surrendered to Him. And if He has not entered you do not have life.

            The only time you can be sure you can be saved is right now. You have no promise of another day. You have everything to lose and nothing to gain by waiting. God may foreclose on your life tonight. Accept His offer under His conditions and all of eternity is yours.

            Following your acceptance of Christ as your Lord and Savior be sure to tell somebody the good news as soon as possible. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED. For with the heart man believeth UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS; and with the mouth confession is made UNTO SALVATION.” Romans 10:9-10.

            One test God makes of your sincerity is the test of your willingness and desire to speak up for Him, without shame, just as you would speak up and own your earthly father or mother.

            Another test of your sincerity is your willingness to be identified with Christ in His death for you. He died because of your sin. If you have been converted to Him you have also taken your cross and have died to sin. As Lord, our Savior has commanded each believer in Him to testify to His death for us and to our death to sin by being baptized in water. As the sixth chapter of Romans states, which we quoted in full previously, baptism symbolizes our death with Christ to sin. It also symbolizes the burial of our old life and our resurrection to live a new life.

            This may be contrary to what you have been taught, but again we ask you to honestly study your Bible. The book of Acts has many references to baptism. Look up Acts 2:38, 41; 8: 12, 38; 10:47-48; 16:15; 18:8; 22:16. Every convert mentioned in the book of Acts was baptized.

            Is baptism important? Of course it is. Every command of Christ is important! To be disobedient to any command of His is to live in rebellion. Some Israelites may have thought it unnecessary to splash blood on the door posts of their homes. What would have happened if they had ignored the command? By obeying they openly identified themselves as God's people, and thereby escaped His judgment. (Exodus, chapters 11 and 12).

            Follow Him all the way, and you will then have the JOYFUL ASSURANCE that you are His, and that His promise of forgiveness and everlasting life is yours.

            As you live for the Lord there may be times when you realize you have failed Him. Don't allow the devil to use that failure as a whip over you. But go to God immediately in prayer and ask His forgiveness. A baby learning to walk many times stumbles and falls. But he doesn't stay there, he gets up and walks again.

            As one Christian writer has stated, “The true Christian is not one who has lost his ability to sin, ­but his desire and willingness to do so. A Christian may not be perfect in his actions, but he must be in his intentions.”

            Discouragements and disappointments may come your way even while you are sincerely living for the Lord. But let me remind you that “All things work together for good to them that love God.” All things. That disappointment, the loss of one you love, even when you are misunderstood, and even the saddest experience in your life – all things – are working together for your good if you truly love God.

            There are several things you should consider in living an effective life now for your Lord.

            First of all, you need spiritual food and drink. This you receive by reading the Bible, God's word to you.

            In the second place you need loving fellowship with your Lord and your God. This you receive through prayer and praise to Him. One thing that God has against the ungodly is that “They are unthankful” (2 Timothy 3:2). God's love flows to you, and yours to Him, as you spend time with Him in prayer and praise.

            Then you need spiritual fresh air and sunshine. This you receive through fellowship with other true Christians. How wonderful it is to talk with other Christians about things that are real, and wonderful, and everlasting. The temporary things of this life become so insignificant when you consider the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. By attending a church where the true word of God is preached and lived you receive all of these, but you need to experience them even outside of your church fellowship. These are spiritual requirements for every day of the year.

            Consider that life is just now beginning as far as you are concerned. Live in the present, not in the sinful memory of the past.

            Build your life anew! Let the sad experiences of the past make you just that much stronger for the present. If ambition has died, revive it. Achieve once more, and this time in the things that are everlasting.

            I have endeavored with the apostle Paul to “not shun to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Will you be as faithful to others? Directions which give only half the truth result in stumblings - and death.

            Allow me to encourage you to read the message of this booklet again, and then still again. May the truths here truly grip your soul and send down roots which shall go deep into your heart and bring forth fruit everlasting.

 

-Ray W. Johnson