Mike Gendron from Proclaiming the Gospel website wrote an excellent article that challenges us all to search not only our hearts, but our lives – according to the Bible.
Read full article here: The Most Terrifying Words You Could Ever Hear
Excerpt:
The most terrifying words a professing Christian could ever hear would be Jesus saying, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matt. 7:21-23). The Lord Jesus will declare those horrifying words to many, not a few, who will boast in the many works they did in His Name. They called Him Lord but did not obey His first command to “Repent and believe the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).
Who are the “many” who will be turned away on Judgment Day? They are those who thought they could merit eternal life by the works they were doing instead of trusting in the work Christ had done . They also never turned from their sin to follow Jesus Christ in faith. Since they never obeyed the Gospel of Christ, they will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess . 1:9).Tragically, when Jesus declares to them, “Depart from Me,” there will be no second chance, no excuses, and no blaming the false teachers who deceived them.
The Lord Jesus also referred to the “many” when He spoke of the two paths to eternity. Many will travel the broad road to destruction instead of the narrow road to eternal life (Matt. 7:13-14). Rather than striving to enter the narrow gate by testing every man’s teaching, they foolishly follow false teachers, who are wolves disguised in sheep’s clothing (Luke 13:24; Matt. 7:15).
It is a sobering thought to realize that 83% of Americans profess faith in Christ, but only a few of them show evidence of being born again as new creatures in Christ. According to the research, many of them cannot even communicate the Gospel that has the power to save souls. Part of the blame must be placed on man-centered methods of evangelism such as making a decision to “accept” Christ, or repeating a sinner’s prayer, or asking Jesus into your heart, or coming forward for salvation. None of these methods are found in the Bible. The only saving response to the Gospel of Grace is to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31). Part of the blame can also be placed on those who compromise the Gospel to make it more inclusive and less offensive (Gal. 1:6-10).
With so many false converts, the church has become a mission field. Many professors of Christ are not really possessors of Christ! They are strangers to the new birth. They have never passed from death unto life. They remain condemned because they have not been justified. They remain enemies of God even though they profess to be His friends! They remain enslaved to sin because they have never been set free. They profess the Savior with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him. They deceive other people with their external righteousness, but they cannot deceive God! They are unaware of their pending peril, because they have never examined themselves to see if their faith is genuine (2 Cor. 13:5) . . . . . . . (end of excerpt)
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We believe in the inerrancy and sufficiency of the Scriptures. Jesus said, “Thy Word is truth.” And so we not only believe it, we also base our worldview upon it.