I find it interesting that so
many elected politicians who are in office and/or running for
office don’t say
much about their “religion” until they are seeking election or re-election.
One in our fair state (sorry,
commonwealth) states that her faith (and she states the religious organization she
is affiliated with) has taught her the value of public service, and that’s what
she hopes to bring to office.
Another says that he was
baptized at the age of eight and still has the saddlebags of his great
grandfather who used to be a circuit-riding preacher.
Other than that, I’ve never
heard a peep any other time from either about where they stand with God. Now
I’m certainly not attempting to judge their hearts in respect to their position
with the Lord God. That is between them and God, but isn’t it interesting that
most politicians have little regard for God until they are running for some
office? I sincerely pray that they have put their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ and not their religious organization, public service or saddlebags.
Since I’ve brought it up,
here is something else to ponder. How many of us, who are not politicians, do
the same thing? I have lived, so far, over 67 years and from my many
associations with people over these many years, I find that we are no
different, generally speaking. Far, far too many of us point to something other
than Jesus Christ when professing our position with God. Or, we point to Jesus
plus something else.
The Bible makes two facts (among
others) about us and God, crystal clear. So why do we keep muddying the waters?
Fact Number One:
The first fact is that
salvation comes through Jesus Christ and Him only. Period. There is no other
way to God, but through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(John 14:6)
“Neither is there salvation
in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
Mankind uses three options in
an attempt to find the road to God.
1.
He attempts to
ride on someone else’s coattails and hope his good works will get him in
Heaven. Many have tried this and still do. It doesn’t work!
2.
He hopes his good
deeds outweigh his bad deeds and God will let him in. This too has been tried,
and many still believe this lie. It doesn’t work!
3.
The third option
is the only one that works. There is only one door to the Father’s abode; i.e.
Heaven. That door is Jesus Christ His Son.
“I am the door: by me if any
man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
(John 10:9)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(John 14:6)
Our Mamma may have been the
sweetest Christian of her time, but if we don’t put our faith in Jesus as she
did, we will enter hell upon our death. At the White Throne Judgment, she will
be standing by her Lord and Savior while we are being judged by the same Jesus we
rejected. After judgment we will be cast into the Lake of Fire and live out
eternity apart from God.
We may be the most upright
citizen of our day, the greatest son, daughter, husband, wife, dad or mom, an
honest and hard-working employee, but those good deeds are all filthy rags in
God’s sight. Our eternal home will be the Lake of Fire because we decided to do
it our way.
On the other hand we may be
one of millions who have recognized that we will never be good enough to stand
in the presence of a Holy God. Upon realizing this, we put our total faith in
His Son Jesus to fulfill everything He said He would do if we would just trust
Him. He said He would save us and provide a home for us in His Father’s house. We
believed, and we will face eternity living forever with our Savior and Lord.
Unfortunately, only a few of
us will choose Jesus. Most will choose the broad road of destruction.
“Enter ye in at the strait
gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat: Because
strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Don’t let Satan make a fool
of you. Put your faith in Jesus, and stand with Him.
Fact Number Two:
If we cannot save ourselves,
we certainly cannot keep ourselves saved. If Jesus is the only one who can save
us from God’s judgment, then obviously He is the only one who can guarantee
that our salvation is permanent.
If we can truly be classified
a Christian in the eyes of God, then it is obvious that at some point in our
lives we realized that salvation comes through Jesus Christ, 100%, and through
no other means or method. We realized that only He can save us.
But yet, there are those who
think that now they’re saved, it is up to them to keep it. Folks, that just
doesn’t make any sense. It’s insane. If we aren’t good enough to get it, we
certainly aren’t good enough to keep it.
Now I’m sure there will be
some feathers ruffled from those who just hate the thought of God being able to
keep us. We commonly call this “once saved always saved (OSAS).”
One of several articles I
wrote on this subject (OSAS) was called, “Secure In The Arms Of God,” and it
can be found at Pre-Rapture Commentary on the Internet, and also on Rapture Ready.
Therefore, I am not reiterating all the Scripture verses that have already been
explained in the past. I will mention only two references.
“And I give unto them eternal
life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one.” (John 10:28-30)
“Now it is God who makes both
us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on
us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to
come.” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV)
Let us open our eyes and see
that it is God who saves and it is He who keeps us.
Pride was Lucifer’s downfall,
and pride blinds us to the truth. A penitent heart knows that all power rests
in our God and we are just so thankful that He is totally in control. When we
reject OSAS we claim that power, but it is not ours to have.
I rest my salvation upon the
work of Jesus Christ, and I trust Him exclusively that I am safe in His arms.
How about you?
If we can’t trust Jesus to
keep us (OSAS), how can we trust Him to save us?
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
