Have you?

  Have you?

The Psalmist writes,

"Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long." Psalm 25:4,5.

Is this your prayer? Do you ask God to show you His ways? To guide you in His paths?

Is God truly your Saviour?

When I ask is God your Saviour I’m not asking have you prayed the sinners prayer. 

The Late evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said,

“The sinners prayer has sent more people to hell than all the bars in” America Leonard Ravenhill.

The sinners prayer can give a false sense of security. 

What I’m asking you here is; if you were to die today would God accept you into heaven? 

Are you absolutely certain that you will go to heaven?

We all have doubts from time to time as to whether we are good enough to go to heaven. We all question our faith in Christ Jesus. That can be a good thing if it spurs us on to read the Bible, pray and draw closer to God.

The apostle Paul tells us,

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:9-13.

Thus my question to you; Do you truly believe in Jesus Christ? Have you called on the name of the Lord?

Please think about it.

Do you truly?

 Do you truly?

The apostle Peter wrote,

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you” 1Peter 1:3-4.

Do you have the new birth Peter is talking about? When I’m asking that, I mean do you truly believe and follow Jesus Christ? I don’t mean have you simply said the sinners prayer.

The sinners prayer is not in the bible. It’s origins are from outside the bible. While the prayer in itself is fine. Sadly many churches here in North America sometimes tend to use it almost as a magic coverall prayer to get people saved. That results many times in false hope. 

The late evangelist Leonard Ravenhill said.

“The sinners prayer has sent more people to hell than all the bars in America.” Leonard Ravenhill.

Many people who say the sinners prayer have the attitude that they say the prayer and it give them an automatic ticket into heaven.

To get into heaven we must have true, unadulterated faith in God in all circumstances. Our faith should spur us on to do good works.

James the half brother of Jesus wrote,

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:14-20.

So I ask the question do you truly believe in God and the salvation He offers through His One and Only Son Jesus Christ?

Please think about it.

2 quotes

2 Quotes
Leonard Ravenhill the English/American evangelist said,

“The sinner's prayer has sent more people to hell 

than all the taverns in America.” 

                                                     Leonard Ravenhill

He also noted,

I doubt if 5% of professing Christians in America are born again

and that's true of England! 

                                       Leonard Ravenhill

Jesus said,
“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22,23.
Sadly I believe Ravenhill’s statements. There are many who may think they are going to heaven that are not. They believe because they have said the “sinners prayer” it is if you will their ticket to heaven.
The sinners prayer is not found in Scripture and some Christian scholars and Pastors have questioned it’s effectiveness. Some see it as giving a false sense of security.
The bottom line is that Christian’s believe you are saved by your faith in God and the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul stating,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
Saying a prayer of any kind does not guarantee you getting to heaven. The only guarantee of getting to heaven is as I said above truly having faith in God and the Salvation that comes through Christ Jesus.
No one can tell if you are truly saved. Salvation is a deeply personal thing between the individual and God.
Part of the problem in North America and particularly in the United States is going to church is part of the culture. You go to church because your family has always gone. Your friends go so you go.
A pastor I knew who’d come to Canada from the mid west states, the so called Bible Belt, in the United States to set up a church was quite shocked.
He’d lived all of his life in the United States and always thought Canada was like the States. To make matters more confusing for him at first, was the fact that he had decided to start the church in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Canada.
As he told me where he came from even if individuals only go to church only at Easter and Christmas they considered themselves good church goers. And most have Bibles in their homes. Christianity in the area he came from in the States was very much cultural. Not so in Canada.
It is when Christianity and belief in God becomes part of the culture that people may think they are going to heaven when they are not.
I believe it is therefor the duty of those who truly believe in God. To look around them in there church congregations in particular and see if there are any lost souls. People who know all the right things to say and do in church but are not truly saved.
Thus my questions become
If you attend church are you personally absolutely certain that should you pass into eternity to day that you will get to heaven?
Please think about it.