Being Saved and Being Lost
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus stated that, some preach in God’s name, cast out devils, and do mighty miracles yet they will not be saved. The Scriptures show that even the performance of miracles is not evidence that divine power is in operation. The greatest proof of salvation is a life transformed according to the divine likeness. When there is no change in the life. There is sin. To sinners Jesus will say, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. The workers of iniquity are “lawless” because they have refused to pattern their lives after God’s law and “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
Faith alone in God must accompany actions for “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17). And works unaccompanied by a sincere and living faith are also “dead” (Hebrews 11:6). Being saved means profession alone is worthless. He who pretends to know God and yet disobeys His commandments “is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).
When we try to keep God’s law without a changed heart, our actions are not accepted by God for He looks at our motives. People who are truly saved live lives of service motivated by unselfish love. Those who do not have the chance to know the will of God are not held accountable for it (Luke 12:47, 48), but those who have heard God’s voice speaking to their hearts and yet continue in their own ways “have no cloke for their sin” (John 15:22) and they deceive themselves.
Therefore, those who want to have the assurance of being saved must allow God’s Spirit to produce good works motivated by love in their lives “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). God’s commandments can be shown in different ways—as loving God with all the heart and one’s neighbor as oneself (Luke 10:27), or believing on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and loving one’s brethren (1 John 3:23), or keeping the Ten Commandments.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
