that Maybe You're
7 Subtle
Signs
Not Saved,
After all!
1 You feel perfectly AT HOME,
in this world . . .
Those who are born again and truly
saved don't feel like they're a part of this
present world. The Lord Jesus Christ, addressing
those who are saved, said: "If ye were of the
world, the world would love his own: but
because YE ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, but I
have chosen you out of the world, therefore the
world hateth you." John 15:19How do you view yourself? Are you comfortable
being a part of this world? Is this world the
only home you can conceive? You may be
wondering: What else is there? The answer is
Heaven. "For our conversation [lifestyle] is IN
HEAVEN; from whence also WE LOOK FOR the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil. 3:20
Do you look forward to going home to Heaven
and being with the Lord Jesus Christ, or is He
the last person you'd want to see?The saved of old knew they were going to
Heaven and looked forward to it. They viewed
themselves as "strangers and pilgrims on the
earth." "These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having SEEN THEM
AFAR OFF, and were persuaded of them, and
EMBRACED THEM, and CONFESSED THAT
THEY WERE STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS ON
THE EARTH" (Heb. 11:13). How about you? Do
you consider yourself a stranger, a saved person
trying to follow the Lord in a world that readily
defies Him? Or do you feel right at home here?2 You are NOT PECULIAR . . .
See if you can relate to the following
titles describing a truly born again
Christian: "But ye are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, an holy nation, A PECULIAR
PEOPLE; that ye should show forth the praises
of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light" (1 Pet. 2:9). Are you
peculiar when compared to the rest of the
world? Do you read the Bible, talk about theBible, study the Bible, meditate upon the Bible,
and even carry that Bible to Church? Sound
fanatical? Do you think a newborn baby acts
fanatical because he seeks out his milk? Of
course not! Neither is it fanatical for a "newborn
babe" in Christ to seek out spiritual nourishment
from God's Word. The Bible says to the born
again person: "As newborn babes, DESIRE THE
SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD, that ye may
grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the
Lord is gracious." 1 Pet. 2:2-3Have you been born again? Do you "desire the
sincere milk" of God's Word? Do you have an
insatiable appetite to learn more about the God
who supposedly saved you? Do you have an
obsession with anything pertaining to God? If
you still think all this sounds extreme, maybe
you need to get saved and become a new
creature in Christ: "Therefore if any man be in
Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATURE: old things are
passed away; behold, ALL THINGS ARE
BECOME NEW." 2 Cor. 5:17
Just how "peculiar" are you? Do you try to
blend in with this God-forsaking, God-hating
world? Why try to appease the very world that
hates your heavenly Father? Unless, of course,
He's not your Father in the first place.3 You don't WANT TO separate
from sin . . .
The Bible describes a before and after
when it comes to salvation. One such verse
says: "Which IN TIME PAST WERE NOT a
people, but are NOW THE PEOPLE OF GOD:
which had not obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy." 1 Pet. 2:10
Do you consider yourself one of God's
people? God expects His people to follow His
example. God says: "BE YE HOLY; for I am holy"
(1 Pet. 1:16). Being holy means being separated
from sin. In other words, the Christian is not to
drink booze, smoke, swear, fornicate, tell dirty
jokes, hate others, seek revenge, tell lies, steal
things (even if it's from work), cheat on their
taxes, or anything else God frowns upon.
Many, professing to be saved, don't
strive to be holy at all. Some question
whether practicing holiness is even necessary.
They will often rationalize that lying to protect
someone is honorable, stealing from a thief is
justifiable, cheating on their taxes from a corrupt
government is understandable, and so on.However, the issue is not whether practicing
separation from sin is necessary, but rather, the
real test of salvation is whether the person
WANTS TO separate! Why wouldn't he/she
want to? After all, sin should be an abhorrence
to the new creature in Christ.
The new creature DOES NOT LIKE to wallow
in sin, much less practice it; it goes against their
born again nature. The Bible reminds those who
are saved to, "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to
that which is good" (Rom. 12:9). Is that what
you do, or do you cleave to that which is sinful,
enjoying every minute of it?Those who are constantly trying to justify not
having to separate are merely looking for an
excuse to sin; sin is what they really want to do.
The truly saved person doesn't need a "good
reason" to separate. They separate because
THEY WANT TO. How about you? Is there
something inside of you that feels uncomfortable
sinning? There should be, if you're truly saved!4 You are willing to have a
Saviour, but NOT A LORD . . .
Many will gladly welcome Jesus Christ as their
personal Saviour, recognizing the need to save
their skin from Hell. Yet, often, these same
people will not make Christ their Lord. Oh, they
may call Jesus "Lord." But the Bible says:
"They PROFESS that they know God; BUT IN
WORKS THEY DENY HIM, being abominable,
and DISOBEDIENT, and unto every good work
reprobate." Titus 1:16Jesus once even asked a professing, but
rebellious, group: "And why call ye me, Lord,
Lord, and DO NOT THE THINGS WHICH I SAY?"
(Luke 6:46). Is Jesus Christ your Lord? Do you
constantly seek to DO HIS WILL? Or, do you do
your own thing, calling upon Christ for help only
when it suits YOUR plans and YOUR self-will?5 YOU GET OFFENDED if
someone implies you might not
be truly saved . . .
Have you ever heard of a "false profession"?
Can you conceive the possibility that someone
could profess to know Christ and yet not truly
be saved? Many today find such a scenario hard
to believe. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ warned
that, on Judgment Day, many would be in for
the shock of their lives: "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." Mat. 7:21-23Tragically, many professing Christians today
assume that a false profession is virtually
impossible. Consequently, they never question
whether they are saved. However, God's Word
says: "EXAMINE YOURSELVES, WHETHER YE
BE IN THE FAITH; prove your own selves. Know
ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ
is in you, except ye be reprobates?" 2 Cor. 13:5A truly saved person will not get offended if
someone questions his/her salvation. A truly
saved person realizes it's easy to make a false
profession if one calls upon Christ, WITHOUT
REPENTING. For example, Acts 8:13-23
describes Simon, a person who "believed" but
didn't repent. The Bible says: "Simon himself
believed," but a few verses later we find out he
still wasn't saved. Peter said to Simon: "Thy
money PERISH WITH THEE....thy heart is not
right in the sight of God. REPENT THEREFORE of
this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps
the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
For I perceive that thou art in the gall of
bitterness, and in THE BOND OF INIQUITY."False professions are very common because of
the absence of repentance. Many call upon
Christ, willing to believe, but not willing to
repent. Yet, Jesus commanded: "The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:
REPENT ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15Many call upon Christ because they don't want
to go to Hell; yet, they are not willing to repent
and submit to God's rule over their lives. They
don't want to follow Christ; they just want to
save their skin!
What about you? Did you repent when you
called upon Christ? Who's the real Lord of your
life, you or Jesus Christ? Whose "will" do you
regularly follow, God's or your own? Jesus
warned: "I tell you, Nay: but, EXCEPT YE
REPENT, ye shall all likewise perish." Luke 13:36 You think it depends solely on
YOU KNOWING HIM . . .
So many today will claim they know Jesus
Christ, but the real question is: DOES HE KNOW
YOU? Again, referring to Matt. 7:21-23, Jesus
Christ says in the end: "And then will I profess
unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity."
Those poor souls described on Judgment Day
will argue that they know Christ, but their real
problem will be that Christ never knew them.
How about you? Does Christ know you? If you
are not sure, that's a strong indication Hedoesn't know you. Jesus said: "My sheep HEAR
MY VOICE, and I KNOW THEM, and THEY
FOLLOW ME." John 10:277 You are never REBUKED when
you're alone . . .
The Bible says of those who are truly saved:
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if
so be that THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELL IN YOU.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, HE
IS NONE OF HIS." Rom. 8:9
Every truly saved person has the Holy Spirit
living inside of them. The Spirit is not "just there
for the ride." One of His jobs is to rebuke God's
child whenever he/she sins --the same way an
earthly father rebukes and disciplines his child.
As God's children, the Bible says: "My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor
faint when thou art REBUKED OF HIM: For
whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth
[disciplines], and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth
with you as with sons; for what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without
chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are
ye bastards, and not sons." Heb. 12:5-8God doesn't just sit around and allow His
children to get away with sinning all they want.
He rebukes them; His rebuke comes from within
--through that indwelling Spirit mentioned in
Rom. 8:9.
God's rebuke often comes in the form of
conviction. You may fall under conviction when
your sin is mentioned during a sermon, but how
about when you sin, and you're all alone? Who
convicts you then? Can you sin without being
rebuked by God? Is there any conviction at all?
There should be if you're saved. "But if ye be
without chastisement [rebuke], whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and NOT
SONS."
IF you were to die today, are you 100% SURE
you would go to Heaven? The Bible says
YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13).BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps you
from going to Heaven are your sins, because:
"...your iniquities [sins] have separated
between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2.
In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For
all have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23.SECONDLY, you must realize that there is
NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn
Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
man should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9) Baptism, good
deeds, church membership, self-righteousness are
all examples of good works that cannot save you,
because, "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he [Christ] saved
us," Titus 3:5.THE ONLY WAY you can get saved is through
Jesus Christ. He said: "I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) THAT'S
WHY: "...while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us." Romans 5:8-9THEREFORE: You must REPENT (change your
mind); admit that you are a Hell deserving sinner
and can't save yourself. And call upon Christ, and
Him alone, to save you. "if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [REPENT], and
shalt believe in thine heart [TRUST] that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved." Romans 10:9SEND THE LIGHT
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