"I never knew you: Depart from me."Can you imagine standing before God and hearing those words? Can you imagine the fear and terror that would grip your heart when you realize that you were never saved after all?
I believe that, sadly, many people will die and will be told those words by God. These people are those who have a false sense of security as far as their salvation in concerned. These people mistakenly thought that they had a "get-out-of-hell-free card," and they were playing a dangerous game when it came to matters of their eternal destination.
What am I talking about? I am talking about those people who somewhere along the way got the notion in their head that to make it into heaven, all they had to do was say some meaningless words.
There is an ad campaign going on from the dairy industry. The campaign's slogan is "got milk?" I think that for many people that slogan pretty much epitomizes their so-called salvation experience. It is as though people believe that all they have to do is recite a few choice words and then presto-chango, now they have "got saved." And then the mentality of these people is, "Hey, I can do whatever I want -- all the fornicating I want, all the lying I want, all the cheating I want, break all of the commandments I want. Why? Because I said the magic words, and I now have 'got saved.'"
Well, being saved is not just having an emotional moment when the preacher gives the altar call. Being saved is not just lifting up your hand at your buddy's funeral when you are feeling your own immortality. Being saved is not something you "get," as though you can pick up a quart of "saved" from the corner market and then just go home and store it away on a shelf for emergency use only.
How can you say, "Jesus, come into my life and be my Savior and Lord," or whatever the words were, and then continue on willfully living a life of sinful rebellion? Friend, if you have zero interest in pleasing the Lord, following the Lord's commands, learning of the Lord, or turning from your sins, you are probably not saved!
Here is an example of how foolish the notion is of believing that some mere words makes all the difference: Let's say I decide to "get married." I go to a church with my partner and exchange vows. We promise to love, honor, and cherish, and end with a hearty "I do." The preacher announces, "You are now man and wife."
Well, after our little ceremony, I then drive back to my little one-bedroom apartment alone. I decide that I don't want to live with my new partner. As a matter of fact, I think I still want to date someone other than my partner. I fornicate and party all day long.
And, hey, I don't care what my partner has to say or about anything. My partner's opinions and directions are unimportant to me. I'm busy doing my own thing.
As a matter of fact, I don't even bother to call my partner. My partner's words are not important to me either.
Now, even though I said those wonderful words at the altar and ended it with a boisterous, "I do," am I really married? In the eyes of human law, the farce that my marriage is could easily be annulled because my so-called marriage is a joke. I said the words, but my actions show that they meant nothing.
So why would someone deceive himself or herself into believing that saying a few quick words at an altar call is any indication that they are saved? Yet many do just that. If you are truly saved, there should be some indication of that in your life.
We cannot add to what Christ did on the cross, but if Christ is your Savior and Lord and the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, that should manifest itself in some way, shape, and form. You should want to do the will of your Heavenly Father. You should love Jesus' name. You should crave His Word. You should hate sin.
You should not see salvation as something that gives you a license to sin. Here are just a few verses that tell you what true salvation is all about:
Matthew 7:21-23, "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. 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."
Luke 13:5, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
1 John 2:4, "He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."
John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
Again, if you have truly been adopted into God's family and the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, there should be some evidence of that in your life. It is not just a matter of meaningless words. My friend, think about those words, "I never knew you: Depart from me."
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" (Hebrews 10:26-27).
We are living in times where the world is trying to change the standards and moral commandments that were set down by God thousands of years ago. But God is holy and just and does not change, and neither will His standards for us change or be shaped by the so-called progressiveness of this sinful world. So the question becomes who will you be obedient to? Whose standards will you follow -- God's or this world's?
The Bible warns us not to believe it when the world tells us that "sex outside of marriage is okay as long as you are practicing safe sex," or that "same-sex unions are normal and they should have the same status as male/female marriages." God's Word warns us not to fall for these man-made standards of living.
In Ephesians 5:6, it says, "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them."
And that verse goes on to say: "For ye were sometime darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:8-11).
If you truly have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you should not still be ruled by your flesh! Your motto should not be "if it feels good, do it." Instead, you should be doing all you can to avoid those people and things that will cause you to stumble and give in to sexual temptations.
Be on alert against the gravest sins you could ever commit in your life. God hates them. They include -- Non-Marital Sex, Homosexuality, Pornography, Abortion, Masturbation.
DEVIL + EVIL DESIRE = SIN
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” - 1 John 3:8
We are not saved by our works, but when we are saved, our life will certainly reflect that decision by our good works. ("Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" James 2:17.) Do you have total 100% assurance that you possess eternal life, and if someone asked you to prove it to them from a Bible, could you do it?
DO YOU SHOW EVIDENCES OF SPIRITUAL LIFE?
Following are the evidences the true believer in Jesus Christ possesses, all from the epistle of First John. These are what Jonathan Edwards called "holy affections." Please read these and ask yourself how many of these are manifested in your life. If you don't have that kind of evidence and assurance, please seek someone out who can help you.
"But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you ... and things that accompany salvation..." Hebrews 6:9
I. SUBMISSIVE RESPECT
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
Do you respect God? Is your opinion just as important or even more relevant than His? Are God's pronouncements authoritative in your life? Is Jesus Christ your Lord?
II. SCRIPTURE OBEDIENCE
"But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him" (1 John 2:5).
Do you read the Bible daily? Do you read the Scriptures seeking to obey what you find? Are you in rebellion against God's Word or in submission to it? Do you love the Bible?
III. SOCIETAL REJECTION
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" (1 John 2:15).
Do you love the world, your money, and your possessions? Do they mean more to you than Jesus Christ and His approval? Would you be willing to give up all for Christ?
IV. STEADFAST FAITHFULNESS
"They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (1 John 2:19).
Are you faithful in regular fellowship with God's people in a local church? Are you able to be sparse in church attendance for weeks at a time without any real guilt about it? Do you long for fellowship with the saints in the assembly?
V. SECOND COMING ANTICIPATION
"When he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).
Are you living in the daily awareness that Jesus Christ will return for His own? Are you eagerly looking forward to His coming for you? Does your daily life reflect the fact that He may come today? Are you ready to meet Him at any time?
VI. SIN SENSITIVITY
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9).
Does your sin bother you? Do you wish you sinned less than you do? Are you sinning less now than when you first made a profession of faith in Christ? Do you enjoy your sin, or does it affect your happiness? Do you realize God sees all sin?
VII. SIBLING LOVE
"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14).
Do you love other believers in Jesus Christ? Do you enjoy being in their company, or would you rather be with the people of the world? Are Christians your dearest friends?
VIII. SUPPLICATIONS ANSWERED
"And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight" (1 John 3:22).
Do you pray? Can you point to specific answers that could have come from no one but God? Do you find yourself conversing regularly with God as a trusted friend?
IX. SHARP DISCERNMENT
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).
Do you find it easy to sort out the claims of various religions? Do you see all religions as the same? Do you understand the doctrine of Christ? Do you believe Jesus Christ is God?
X. SPIRIT AWARENESS
"Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit" (1 John 4:13).
Do you have a conscious awareness that the Holy Spirit of God lives in you? Does He teach you things from the Scriptures on a regular basis? Does the Holy Spirit convict you when you sin, or can you sin with abandon?
You see, many people pray, 'the sinner's prayer' because they are scared of hell, but they still want to live like Satan. In other words, they are CONVICTED of their sins, but they certainly ain't REPENTED of their sins. That's why they don't show up in church after you 'lead them to Christ'. That's why they don't get baptized. That's why they are still at the night club.
Christ demands repentance and obedience. Today's preaching is minus sacrifice and pain. There is no mention of the blood, fire, and terror of the battlefield. The convert to this humanistic gospel message after a few months, become a statistic. The convert never gets baptized, never goes to Sunday School, he never joins a Bible believing church; he is merely one who enhances the evangelist's or preacher's reputation.
What happened to "take up the cross and follow me"? We must stay away from these evangelistic tricks and high pressure techniques of the modern personal workers and depend on the word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit.
John the Baptist said "Repent" (Matt 3:2) Jesus said "Repent" (Matt 4:17; 9:13; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:42, ), apostles said "Repent" (Mark 6:12) Paul said, "Repent" (2 Cor 7:9) Peter said "Repent" (Acts 2:38) .
Repentance is not lip service. Anybody can say "Lord, I repent." True repentance is marked by some ACTION because you mean it.
John the Baptist said, "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance."
If you want Jesus, you must repent.
Acts 26:20 ...they should repent and TURN TO GOD, AND DO WORKS MEET FOR REPENTANCE.
