Few Will Enter

Cody, are you "truly" saved? How do you know?

 

You believe that you know right? I mean that is what you believe.

 

So Cody what's going to happen to you if you stop believing and stop living your life for Christ? Are you going to lose your salvation or is that going to prove that you really were never saved in the first place? I mean because you "know" you are saved right now.

 

My question was "How do you know if you are "truly" saved", (I should have specified) - as opposed to just saved?


I think you are on to something in your studies, don't get me wrong, with the "few will enter" thing but i think you need to consider that most of the Bible is not telling an unbeliever how to be saved, a "false-believer" how to be "truly saved", or a "false believer with less works than Cody" how to be "Really-truly-really really . . .truly saved.

Most of the NT is directed at the "already-done-been-once-saved-always-saved" saved, and is telling them how to live and why? In my studies I had to take off the "salvation-colored glasses" and begin to just check and see if the "narrow gate Christians" and the "broad-gate Christians" are not ALL saved but that the "broad-gate" ones are in danger of very severe chastening by their eternal Father if they don't start minding Him.

 

And what if they believe the samething you do, how do you know? You can't possibly know about a person and know what they beelive and feel, if they are convicted or not, or what God may use them in service for that you didn't see.

 

Stay with it cody and live as close as you can to the Lord and He will bless you for it. Let others do as they may, but for you, just serve the Lord. We don't have time for the darkness of the world.

BBob,

 

Well there's probably a number of different reasons, but the biggest one would be a lack of discipleship. Modern-day evangelism says once you get your ticket to heaven it's just a waiting game until the train arrives to take you home.

Modern-day evangelism says get saved and what you do until you die is up to you.

Then you have the totally opposite extreme which says if you are saved and you have your ticket to heaven and you are living for self you must have gotten a counterfit ticket at the window.

Both are wrong.

But Hebrews tells us we have to accept the child-training.

Yes. Just look at the prodigal son. Just look at the majority of Israel when Christ came. He came to the lost "sheep" of the house of Israel, but only a small number (as compared to the whole) accepted His message and stuck with it.

It is ABSOLUTELY scary and it can be quite disgusting at times. However we should not let "our" emotions lead us to bad doctrine because of what we "see."

Absolutely there is something wrong! But more than likely it doesn't have anything to do with them not being saved at some point. Now it could.

Here's I guess what I would say. If you are unsure where a person is just ask them how they got saved and what they think about Jesus Christ as it pertains to everlasting life.

If they say they believe He died in their place because they were a sinner or something along those lines then the Bible says they are saved and we should from that point on treat them as a brother or sister in Christ no matter what their lifestyle. Now that doesn't mean you continue to fellowship with them in their sin, but you challenge them and encourage them and you disciple them.

 

Cody you are right on track. Be very discerning about some of the doctrines you see.

 

Well, my kid brother says God, like a shepherd, will hook you with the hook of His staff, and if you still keep wandering off, He will whack your butt, and if you will still keep wandering off, He will break one of your legs, bind it, and then carry you close to Him, until your leg heals, and then you will not want to stray away from Him.
Not exactly the kind of God I see in the Bible, if you ask me.
And, oh, by the way, my kid brother is just like you, so ...on fire....so ....looking at himself in comparison to others....so...well, judgmental.
Well, last I heard, he's back to drinking, smoking, cussin', fighting with his wife, his kids, and just everybody else who crosses him.
And him being 6 feet, 260 lbs, I'm the only one he won't easily fight with.
I don't know if he still feels saved, though.
I don't know if he still thinks he's heaven-bound.
What do you think.
Yeah.
That's the thing with this fallen world, and with forgetting that we were all at one time fallen creatures, dead in sin and trespasses.

Caring about the word of God comes about with proper teaching, correct doctrine (at least, doctrine as close to the Bible's as you can get), examples (from other Christians, but most especially from those charged with leading the flock), and patience, lots and lots and lots of patience.

If you look at Christ and how He had been patient with those whom God drew to Him and put under His care, you will know what I mean.

He walked on water, pulled Peter out of the water, raised Lazarus from the dead, fed thousands with a few loaves of bread and a few pieces of fish with plenty left over, knew their names before they knew His, healed the sick, made the lame walk, healed withered hands, cleansed lepers, preached as someone having authority, spoke with God in front of them, spoke with Moses and Elijah, and above all, FORGAVE SINS !!

Yet they had their doubts, they quarelled about petty things, John the Baptist sent and asked, "are you really, really, REALLY, the One ?", Thomas would not believe. One mother stonefacedly asked that He give her sons positions and seats of authority in His kingdom.

Did He simply throw up His hands and say: I give up. I'm outta here. Ya'll ain't who yal'll say ya'll are. I's stahtin' 'nother group. Ya'll git outta my face.

No, sir, He washed their feet, prayed for them, brake bread with them, sang hymns with them, loved them, corrected them. And after all the cruelty of the world and God's wrath was heaped on Him, He sought them out first minute outta the grave.

Know of any greater love than that ?

Well, it's not for you, nor me, to look for convictions for their sins, leave that up to the Holy Spirit, that's His job, not yours. not mine.

Our job is to pray to the Father for them, to open up Scripture to them, to rebuke them in a loving way, and accept them as they are, and leave the rest to God.

Our job is to look at ourselves, and make sure we are convicted of sin that is daily in our lives.