Are You Really A Christian?
By David J. Stewart | May 2003 | Updated
July 2015
Since I have
started my online ministry in 2002, I have learned so much about salvation
from e-mails from faithful web visitors, reading books by godly men and
listening to fundamental Baptist preachers. I used to lead people in a
sinner's prayer to be saved, but I don't do that anymore, because salvation
does not require prayer. It's acceptable for a sinner's prayer to accompany
one's faith when receiving Christ, but God does not require a prayer to be
saved. The reason why I don't lead people in a sinner's prayer anymore is
because I've heard too many people say they were saved by praying a prayer. We
are saved by God's imputed righteousness
through faith in Christ.
We are saved by acknowledging our sinful
condition (Romans 3:19) and believing the Gospel (Mark 1:15). We are saved by
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31; Galatians 3:26), believing
that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and that He raised up
bodily from the dead three days later according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. No
human effort is required nor allowed in salvation. Either God does all of the
saving or else you are not saved.
I also used to tell people to invite Jesus into
their heart, but then I realized that you can invite Jesus into your heart all
you want and never be saved at all. In fact, you can make a full surrender to
Christ, forsake the world, give your life to Christ, join a church, tithe,
pray, tell others about Christ, live an upright life, and yet never be saved
at all. We see this evidenced in Acts 10:1-2 in the story of Cornelius, who
was a devout religious man without Christ. Thankfully, Cornelius was saved
later in the chapter, after hearing the apostle Peter preach the gospel. We
are saved by acknowledging our sinful condition in the eyes of a holy God and
receiving the gospel as payment for our sins.
Dr. M.R. DeHaan gives the following excellent
explanation between salvation verses discipleship . . .
"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and
coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer,
while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not
disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the
Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated
service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ;
discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call
for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying
the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it
depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it
depends upon our faithfulness." DeHaan, M. R. Hebrews. Zondervan
Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).
Pastor Hal Lindsey provides the following helpful
and doctrinally correct words . . .
"There are those who, in their zeal to get people to turn from their
sinful ways and receive the Lord, almost put repentance on a par with
believing... Repentance, as it relates to Christ, means to change our
minds about Him, who He is and what He's done to provide forgiveness and
deliverance from our sins. When we place faith in Jesus as having taken
our place personally on the cross and borne the penalty due our sins,
then we're automatically repenting, because we couldn't accept Him in
this way without having had to change our minds in some way concerning
Him." Lindsey, Hal. The Liberation of Planet Earth. Zondervan Publishing
House, 1974 (p. 136, 137).
Here are two more excellent quotes by Charles Ryrie
and Zane Hodges, correctly differentiating between salvation verses discipleship . . .
"It is an inexcusable error to confront sinners with problems that
concern the Christian life and call upon them to make promises regarding
them. An unsaved person is never called upon to surrender himself to
God. The saving act is in no instance represented as our 'giving
ourselves to God'; it is, on the contrary, taking His Son as our
Savior." Ryrie, Charles. Balancing the Christian Life. Moody Press,
Inc., 1969 (p. 170).
"Eternal life is free. Discipleship is immeasurably hard. The former is
attained by faith alone, the latter by a faith that works... the former
brings with it the righteousness of God so that a man is 'justified
freely by his grace' (Romans 3:24). The latter develops a personal
righteousness, based on good deeds, so that a man was also 'justified by
works' (James 2:24). The former constituted the believer God's
workmanship, the latter fulfilled the wonderful purpose for which he had
been created. The former cost man nothing, the latter could cost him
everything, including life itself." Hodges, Zane C. The Hungry Inherit.
Moody Press, Inc., 1972 (p. 114, 115).
Those are some
excellent quotes, doing a good job of showing why Lordship Salvation is a
heresy. Any one who teaches that salvation is not easy; but also that say—you
must forsake all, cease from sinful bad habits, commit your life to follow
Jesus and confess Him before men—They have corrupted the simplicity that is in
Christ Jesus (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). They are teaching a false plan of
salvation, which does not produce the new birth. We are saved by faith alone
in Christ's death on the cross for our sins, His burial and bodily
resurrection (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
I am not saved by
any human effort or self-righteousness of my own; but rather, I am saved by
completely resting in Christ because of what He did to pay for my sins on the
cross. Jesus promises to save anyone who comes to Him for forgiveness (John
6.37). Believe and the work is done! Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance TOWARD
GOD.” The Word of God NEVER teaches repentance FROM sin to be saved; BUT,
rather, repentance TOWARD GOD. Repentance is a change of mind, a change of
mind from what you want to do to get to Heaven to what God says you must do to
get to Heaven—concerning sin and the Savior. Childlike faith is all that is
required for salvation. If a person knows they are a guilty sinner, bound for
Hellfire, and turns in faith to Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and save
them—that person has repented.
The Saved, Crucified, Risen and Ascended
Life
I recently heard a
precious MP3 sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles, titled “STEPS
TO SANCTIFICATION (or the root of all heresy).” In the sermon Brother
Hyles explains that we are saved solely by trusting Jesus as our Savior
(Ephesians 2:8-9). And then as a new believer, God wants us to be crucified
with Christ, crucified to the lusts and desires of the flesh (Galatians 2:20).
But that's not all, God wants us to raise up with Christ to live for others
(Philippians 2:4-5). But that's not all, then God wants us to ascend with
Jesus into Heaven by walking with Him in sweet fellowship (Colossians 3:1-2).
Dr. Hyles explains how heresy happens when preachers confuse and mix the
crucified life with the saved life, or the risen life with the saved life, et
cetera. Please listen to this edifying sermon by Dr. Jack Hyles in its
entirety.
So we have two
popular doctrinal extremes in our churches today concerning salvation, which
are both heresy:
-
On the one hand
you've got preachers who are sick and tired of shallow Christianity, barely
outside the gate, so yet saved as by fire, so they corrupt the gospel by
adding the requirement to crucify the sinful desires and old life.
Biblically, we don't have to give up anything to be saved, because Jesus
gave His life and died on the cross for our sins. Eternal life is a free
gift that is free for the taking, no strings or obligations attached. Our
part in salvation is simply to completely rest in the finished work of
Christ. Adding any human effort to God's plan of salvation is heresy!
-
On the other
hand there are preachers who are tired of heretics adding human effort
(works) to the gospel, so they merely tell people to “trust Jesus” to be
saved, and leave off the sin question all together. This also is heresy.
Ladies and gentlemen, NO ONE ever got saved who didn't know that he is a
sinner! You've got to know that you are a sinner. You've got to know what
you're being saved from.
So we see two
extreme positions here, and BOTH are wrong. In the preceding sermon link, Dr.
Hyles graciously admits that he has been wrong at times by holding both
positions, as nearly every preacher has done, and so have I at times. It is
tempting while preaching to say that those who are living in deliberate sin
are not saved. This is simply not accurate and I am against all forms of
Lordship Salvation. The truth is that if a homosexual has placed his or her
trust in Christ alone for eternal life, acknowledging their sinnership, they
are very much saved. Brother Hyles rightly concludes that the correct position
is somewhere between these two extremes; that is, you must acknowledge that
you are a sinner in order to be saved. It is not optional.
Again, here is the
life-changing MP3 sermon, STEPS TO SANCTIFICATION, or as I like to title it .
. .
The Saved, Crucified, Resurrected And Ascended Life
(awesome MP3 sermon by Dr. Hyles!)
To be saved, as
Dr. Hyles rightly teaches, you MUST address the SIN QUESTION and the SON
QUESTION. It's not enough to admit you're a sinner and turn over a new leaf.
That's mere reformation. You must trust upon the Lord Who died on the cross
for your sins, was buried, and believe that He raised up from the dead three
days later. Likewise, it's not enough to trust in the Lord. You must come for
salvation upon the basis that you are a condemned sinner in God's eyes (Romans
3:19). Romans 4:5 teaches that Christ saves THE UNGODLY, and that's the only
type of people which God saves. Those who are still holding onto their
self-righteousness cannot be saved, because they first need to repent of their
DEAD WORKS (Hebrews 6:1). We are saved by completely resting in Christ, Who is
our Sabbath today (Hebrews 4:10-11).
Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen correctly explains Biblical
repentance...
“Repent, as Christ meant it
to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from
trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He
can do for you.”
SOURCE: Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from
the awesome book, “I NEVER
NEW YOU” (Page 114)
Ray Comfort and John MacArthur frequently lift
Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon's words out of context, attempting to bolster
up their straw-man of Lordship Salvation; but if you read the entire sermon,
titled “REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE,” you'll find the following quote (which you'll
never hear from Mr. Comfort or Mr. MacArthur because it totally contradicts
their teachings) . . .
“'Repentance' is a grace.
Some people preach it as a condition of salvation. Condition of nonsense!
There are no conditions of salvation.”
—Charles Spurgeon
SOURCE:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0044.htm (Charles
Spurgeon, from a sermon titled, REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE, preached at the
New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, on Sept. 23, 1855)
Spurgeon is not
saying that repentance (metanoeo, that is, a change of mind) is not
necessary for salvation; but rather,
metamellomai, which means “to care afterwards, that is, regret, a
changed life” is not required for salvation. The change of mind is whatever
was previously keeping you from coming to Christ, which the Bible says is sin
in John 3:20. When a man repents, he now sees himself as a guilty sinner and
therefore comes to Christ to be forgiven and cleansed of his sins (Romans
3:19-20; Galatians 2:24-26). We are saved immediately by trusting Christ, but
sanctification is a lifetime process. We are saved immediately by trusting
Christ, but it takes a lifetime to become Christlike.
The question is,
are you really a Christian? The question is not if you are a church member.
The question is not if you've been water baptized. The question is not if
you've committed your life to serving God. The question is not if you are
religious. I ask you, are you really a Christian?
Have you been
born-again by the Spirit of God? Are you saved? Has there been a time in
your life when you were convicted by the Holy Spirit of God about your sins,
realizing that you are a sinner? God's plan of salvation is very simple. YOU
ARE A SINNER! Unless you receive Christ's payment for your sins, you will
spend eternity burning in the fires of Hell. No human effort is required nor
allowed for salvation. You are a Christian if you have received Christ's
payment for your sins by faith in the gospel, that is, by faith in Christ's
death on the cross, His burial and His bodily resurrection from the dead three
days later. This is the gospel (good news) according to 1st Corinthians
15:1-4. Believe and the work is done!!!
Am I Going To Heaven?
Fortunately, a person who is living in such
gross sin (and all sin is gross to God) can become saved... “Whosoever
will” may come! “...and him that cometh to me
I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT”
(John 6:37). What a wonderful promise from Jesus Christ, our God and
Savior! Anyone, no matter how deep they’ve gone into sin, can come to Christ
for salvation. We read in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord: though your SINS BE AS SCARLET, they shall be AS WHITE AS SNOW;
though they be RED LIKE CRIMSON,
they shall be AS WOOL.”
It’s interesting that the word “crimson” in Hebrew means “worm.” It was a worm
used in the making of dyes for clothing. Stains are hard to get out! Perhaps
you feel that your life has been permanently stained with sin and there is no
hope for you. Oh, yes there is! The blood of Jesus can wash away the toughest
stains which sin may leave on your soul! “...Unto Him that loved us, and
WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN
BLOOD” (Revelation 1:5). Jesus saves!
Many Will
Seek To Enter into Heaven, But Few Will Be Able
When Jesus was
asked by His disciples if there were many people saved, the Lord said that
many people are deceived, having a false hope. Luke
13:23-24, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he
said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto
you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.”
I have spoken with countless religious people
throughout my life concerning God, the Bible and salvation. Sadly, ninety-five
of them thought they are going to Heaven, but they were bound in their sins
for Hell. Religion is a curse upon the world, offering people false hope. I am
frustrated at the subtlety of Satan and how he deceives so many people with
false beliefs. A man with no hope is far better off than a man with false
hope, because the man with no hope is still searching.
One man I used to work with said that he was a
saved Christian and I began to rejoice with him in his faith. A few statements
later he said, “I go to church every Saturday to get salvation.” Immediately a
warning flag went up in my mind and I sincerely doubted the man’s salvation!
Why? It's because you don’t obtain salvation every Saturday! This man doesn’t
understand the Holy Scriptures. I proceeded to explain to him that “Salvation
is not of works, but of faith”! Salvation is not found in any religion, but in
a person; namely, the LORD JESUS CHRIST! You get saved only ONE TIME!
In John 3:7 Jesus told Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again,” not born again and again and again. You can only be born ONCE
physically; likewise, ONCE spiritually. This is because once you've
been born of the Holy Spirit of God, He will never leave nor forsake you. If
saved, always saved!
Another
gentleman I spoke with said that he had grown up a Catholic, then became a
Seventh-Day Adventist and then a Methodist. He spoke of Jesus as “our Lord” so
I felt strongly that he might be a Christian. A month later he made the
statement, “My problem with all the religions in the world is that they all
say something different and cannot agree.” Again, this was a warning flag to
me that he may not be a true believer. Why? It's because he is looking to
religion, not Jesus. He has “Churchianity” without “Christianity!” Most of
the people I speak with concerning salvation have “a form of godliness, but
[deny] the power thereof: from such turn away” (2nd Timothy 3:12).
Religion wants to fit us with glasses, but the Lord wants to open our eyes.
Another
person I spoke with told me that he was a strict Catholic. He said that he
believed in “having faith in Christ,” but he also said he believed “works were
necessary” for salvation. He said “I believe in faith and works!” I kindly and
quickly pointed out Romans 11:6 to him... “And
IF BY GRACE THEN IT IS NO MORE OF WORKS:
otherwise grace is no more grace. But
IF IT BE OF WORKS, THEN IT IS NO MORE GRACE:
otherwise work is no more work.” Clearly, salvation is either “BY GRACE
THROUGH FAITH” in Jesus Christ alone OR you are doing what Cain
did—offering your WORKS to God. It CANNOT BE BOTH! God rejected Cain’s
offering and he will reject your efforts as well. Abel demonstrated his faith
in the coming Savior through a blood sacrifice. God was pleased by his faith.
Cain had no faith, but misunderstood and tried to please God in his own
SINCERE but foolish efforts, just as countless millions do today! Cain
went to Hell, Abel went to Heaven!
Have You
Personally Been Born Again?
May
I say, if you’re a true Believer, you should KNOW how you became a true
believer! If you’re a genuine Christian, then you have the Holy
Spirit of God inside (Romans 8:9) and you can KNOW beyond any shadow of any
doubt that you are saved (1st John 5:13). You might have some doubts or
concerns about your own salvation, which is normal, but you should at least be
able to explain to someone what it means to be saved. If you can’t tell
someone else how to be saved, you had better examine your own heart and make
sure you are really a Christian! If you know how you were saved, then you
should be able to tell someone else how to get saved. Now maybe you don’t know
all the Scriptures, but at least you should be able to tell someone the
Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Can you do this? Do you know how
you got saved? Do you know why God saved you?
Salvation
is so simple! We are saved by believing the Gospel. The Gospel means
“Good News.” The Bible defines the “Gospel” as Christ's death on the cross
for our sins, His burial, and His bodily resurrection. The
Gospel is the good news that God sent His only begotten Son into the world,
Who lived a sinless life and went to the cross to be crucified, Who shed His
blood and die for our sins. All you need to do to be saved is to BELIEVE the
Gospel, that's it. To “believe” simply means to rely upon. If you will right
this moment receive Christ's sacrifice upon the cross as full-payment for your
sins, you will immediately be born-again by God's Holy Spirit. Salvation is
not rehabilitation, nor is it education, nor is it reformation; but rather, it
is regeneration. We are regenerated by the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, this
very moment that we acknowledge our sinnership and believe the Gospel. No man
ever got saved who didn't know that he is a sinner. You've got to know what
you're being saved from.
Repentance is necessary for salvation, but
“repentance” does not mean what many people think it means. Biblically,
repentance unto life is defined simply as “change of mind,” not a change of
lifestyle. If you changed your life as a requirement to be saved, you didn't
get saved. Salvation is the free gift of God, paid for in full by Jesus'
broken body and shed blood. Jesus died on the cross as our LAMB, and then
three days later He miraculously raised up as our HIGH PRIEST. If Christ died
on the cross but did not rise, then we have a sacrifice without a Highpriest.
Praise God, Jesus is risen, ascended into Heaven and now intercedes for the
saints on the Father's right-hand. Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” What an awesome
Savior!!!
Remember, ONLY
Jesus paid for your sins on the cross, so ONLY Jesus can forgive those
sins and save your soul from Hell. In short, It’s Jesus or Hell! Rich people
are filled with sinful pride and refuse to humble themselves to admit before
God that they cannot save themselves. It is not easy for wealthy people to
humbly admit that they need a Savior. This is why God chose the poor of the
world rich in faith. God made salvation in such a way that you must humble
yourself to admit you are a wretched sinner who cannot save yourself. You need
a Savior! Thank God, we have One, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God slain for the
sins of the world. John 1:29, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto
him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world.”
My heart's desire is for you to be saved friend. I want
to present as many Biblical truths to help you understand how to be saved. It
is so simple. One of my favorite Scripture passages is Hebrews 4:10-11,
“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any
man fall after the same example of unbelief.” Just as God ceased from His
works after 6-days of creation, and then rested on the 7th day; likewise we
are saved by ceasing from our own self-righteous dead works, and completely
resting in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Any plan of salvation that demands a change of
lifestyle on the part of the sinner is a false Gospel. A changed life is the
FRUIT of genuine repentance, and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith; yet,
you cannot mandate that FRUIT for salvation, otherwise you've corrupted the
simplicity that is in Christ. We've got a bunch of fruit-inspectors running
around in our churches today, deciding who is saved and who is not saved based
upon their works. That is a false plan of salvation. Biblical salvation is a
free gift which is freely received WITHOUT WORKS. Romans 4:5, “But to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness.” That means there may never be
any outward works, but if there is inner faith, there is salvation. To teach
otherwise is to place a stipulation upon the free gift of God.
The Devil has many sugar substitutes in the churches
today, offering a religious package from the cradle-to-the-casket, but Jesus
said “Ye Must Be Born Again!” (John 3:7). Our churches are saturated with
cotton-candy religion today, which dissolves into nothing when bitten into.
Religion is dead. Only the Holy Spirit of God gives spiritual life to those
who acknowledge their sinnership and believe the Gospel.
Are you really a Christian? Have you been born-again? Being a church member
won't help you get to Heaven. Getting water baptized will get you wet, but it
cannot help save you. You've got to be born anew by the Holy Spirit of God.
If you do not have the
Holy Spirit living inside your body, convicting you about the sins in your
life, then you are not saved. The Holy Spirit is God in us. It was that very
truth that compelled me to get saved when I was 13-years-old. When the pastor
said that you've got to have the Holy Spirit to be saved, I knew that I
didn't. Praise the Lord, I do today, and the blessed Holy Spirit has been with
me since the day I was saved. Looking back, it was like a light switch being
flipped on. There's no spiritual memory before I was saved, nothing, just
darkness; ah, but the presence of the Holy Spirit has been very real to me
since the moment I got saved, shining the light of Jesus Christ in my soul,
because the Godhead indwells my body in the form of the Holy Spirit. 1st
Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Please make sure you're really saved.
Table of Contents
Life-Changing Resources . . .
The Goodness Of God Leadeth To Repentance (MP3, Dr. Hyles; true
Biblical repentance defined)
THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES
REPENTANCE
(Dr. Ironside; awesome stuff on real repentance!)
REPENTANCE AND FAITH (you don't repent first, and then have
faith. They are inseparable!)
Why So Many Preachers Are Being Misled Concerning Repentance Unto
Salvation (the purpose of God's law)
