Ask Your Preacher
Faith is a Lifestyle
Monday, November 04, 2019Many passages like Romans 10:13 say that whoever accepts Jesus as Savior will automatically be saved. But what about passages that say that not all christians will enter God’s kingdom? Matthew 7:21-23 states that Jesus said that not everyone who calls His name will enter God’s kingdom. Luke 13:23-27 states that people will do anything just to get qualified to enter God’s kingdom, but not all will succeed. Most interesting of all is Matthew 25:32-46 where some of those who thought they were sheep were actually goats. So what guarantee is there that we will be saved and be in the presence of God?
Sincerely,
Needing A Guarantee
Dear Needing A Guarantee,
The guarantee is when we continually live faithful lives to God until the day we die. Accepting Jesus as our Savior is more than just a singular act; it is a lifestyle. The apostle Paul said it clearest when he wrote, "Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Php 3:12-14).
Notice the language he uses. Paul says that he hasn't already obtained and that he must "press on" to the goal. Faith is a lifestyle of hearing God's Word and living by it (Rom 10:17). Rom 10:13 is often taken out of context and used to say that all we must do to be saved is call upon the Lord's name, but we must remember that it is the sum of God's Word that gives us the truth (Ps 119:160). There are many verses (like those you mentioned) which state that calling on the Lord's name is only part of what it takes to get to heaven. SB