Saved? Are you sure? In a world with so much change and instability, it’s sometimes difficult to have confidence in anything. Even in spiritual matters, our faith often fails to provide us with any real confidence in our eternity. The promise of salvation is certain and secure, but are you sure you’re saved? If you’re not sure, why not? If you are, how do you know?
Tag: Obedience
I thought it was a divine revelation, a visitation from the Holy Spirit. A skeptic challenged me and a long conversation ensued. I found myself saying things I had never put into words and a rapid shift in perception occurred. I had this certainty, the Lord was moving me to a higher plane. It seemed to have been from the Lord. . . until I started reading the Bible and found out differently.
In II Samuel 6 David makes preparations to bring the Ark back from Baale Judah to the Temple, where it belonged. David, accompanied by thirty thousand men, went down to the house of Abinadab and set the Ark on a new cart to transport it. Steering the Ox cart were two men, Uzzah and Ahio (the sons of Abinadab). Ahio went in front of the Ark, and Uzzah followed behind the Ark. This large procession sang and danced, joyfully carrying the Ark back to its proper place. However, along the way (at Nachon’s threshing floor), the oxen stumbled. In an attempt to steady the Ark and make sure it would not fall, Uzzah reached out and put his hand on the Ark. Immediately God’s anger was aroused against Uzzah and God struck him dead.
In Revelation 5:3-4, John recalls how he wept because, “…no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was …found worth to open and read the scroll, or to look at it.” Then in verse 5 John is told not to weep.
From age to age God has dealt with his creation in the same manner. He has framed his interaction and conveyed his wishes through the vehicle of a covenant. The beauty of God’s interaction can be seen in the uniform simplicity of the format of His message. This concept of a covenant is so integral to the Bible that the two major divisions are named the Old and New Testaments.
“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works Can faith save him?” James 2:14
This question presented in the Scriptures nearly 2,000 years ago remains for many Bible students a point of confusion and contention. What does God really require of those that seek to serve Him? Is my faith enough, or is there something more? Should I simply trust in God’s ability to save, or do the works of my life affect whether or not the Lord will redeem me by his grace?
In a world of so much change and instability, the uncertainties of this life can be overwhelming and completely debilitating.Sometimes it seems nothing is a sure thing. Our bodies fail us, friends forsake us, family members pass away, we lose our jobs, our hearts are broken and our endurance is tested over and over again. We can never be certain that tomorrow will be anything like today.When our world is falling apart all around us, what can we hold on to? What can we trust to never change and never fail us?
From the beginning of time God has expected obedience from us. In Genesis the second chapter beginning in verse fifteen it reads, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Adam and Eve’s life in the Garden was predicated on their obedience to this one command. They disobeyed the command of God and subsequently were removed from the Garden of Eden. God has not left us to our own devices. He expects complete obedience to his will. Like Adam and Eve the fate of our eternal life is balanced against our compliance with the will of God.
49 days after Jesus’s resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples as they assembled together on the Lord’s day. (Acts 2) The tremendous sound of a great, rushing wind sparked public curiosity: as they gathered to investigate, they heard the disciples speaking in 15 or more languages. Accused of drunkenness, Peter declares this display a fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32. Included in this prophecy was a promise God extended to Israel first and the Gentiles second: “‘AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT WHOEVER CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED.'” (Act 2:21)