How To Know If Your Truly Saved

[bigape]

Being saved, is not confusing, but the world, the flesh & the devil, try to make it confusing.

Although one confusing aspect of it, is a person can be very religious and yet not be saved......
John 3:1-3
V.1 ¶ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
V.2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
V.3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus, was more religious than Jesus, yet he needed to be saved.
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How to get saved, is not confusing at all. Yet billions of people today, think that they are saved and they aren’t.

Here is what the Lord said about it........
Matthew 7:21-23
V.21 ¶ 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.
V.22 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? i
V.23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

All of these people, thought that they were saved, because they were either preaching or casting out devils or doing many wonderful works.
But none of them were ever really saved.......
“I never knew you”
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So how can people know “for sure” that they are truly saved?

Well first of all, nobody else can tell you. Salvation is such a deeply personal thing, that “we” are the only ones who can know for sure.

The test of true salvation is not, some religious work we might be doing, but “have we been changed on the inside”.
In fact, Jesus called salvation, being “born again”.
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The way of salvation, is........
➀Knowing that you are a sinner: Romans 3:23
➁Understanding what sin will do to you: Romans 6:23a
➂Realizing that salvation must be given to you as a gift: Romans 6:23b
➃Believing that Jesus died in your place to offer it to you: Romans 5:8
➄Then asking “Jesus” to save you: Romans 10:13

By far, the biggest hurdle that most people run into with this list, is #1, admitting that they are a sinner.
And if you can’t do that, than you can’t be saved.

But my main point here, is going to be explaining, how we can “know for sure”, that we are saved.
Praise the Lord, the Bible is full, of ways we can do that(far too many to fit in this OP).
So I will continue in my next post.
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By the way, for those of you who don’t think that this is something that we aught to be doing, here is what the Bible tells us........
2 Corinthians 13:5
“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?”

All of us, are to be examining ourselves, to make sure that we are truly saved.

 

[Anastacia]

I've been thinking of this very thing myself for a while now. I believe that when people examine themselves to know if they are in the faith... they would be able to identify sins that they have stopped doing. Also, they should be able to identify commands they are obeying and being changed with.


.....I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds. (See Acts 26:20)

 

[bigape]

Hello everyone

Continuing on the subject of how to know if we are truly saved.....

A good place to start, would be the passage immediately following the one in my OP....
Matthew 7:24-27
V.24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
V.25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
V.26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
V.27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Getting saved, is a work of God, not us; We don’t save our selves, God saves us.
(And He doesn’t do anything half way.)

Those individuals who God saves, are really changed, on the inside;
And part of that change that He makes in us, gives us a desire to obey Him.

This is the example we have in Verses 24 & 25........
Those who are really saved, study His Word and obey it; And by doing that we are building our house upon a rock(Christ).

But, those talked about in Verses 26 & 27, know what God’s Word says, but willfully refuse to follow His instructions.
And this results in a house built upon the sand.
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By the way, in 1Corinthians the Bible tells us how to rightly divide the Word of God:
( i.e. Get to the truth of it:)............
1 Corinthians 2:13
“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

The “spiritual things” that we compare, in order to know what God’s Word is teaching us, is the rest of the Bible;
(We are to compare one part of the Bible with the rest of it.)
This is how we come to the truth.

I said that because, this idea that obeying God’s Word, is how we know if we are truly saved, is found all over the Bible.
Here is another example..........
1 John 2:3
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”
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Now somebody might ask...........
“Weren’t those people back in Matthew 7:21, who were preaching and doing good works, obeying his commandments?”

That’s a good question.
And the answer is, if we go about to preach or do some good work “on our own”, without the Lord telling us to, than this is actually disobedience.

There are a lot of things, the Bible tells us that we should do all the time(generally being honest with ourselves and others): But when it comes to ministering; We need to “wait” for the Lord’s instructions.
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Remember in Matthew 7:23, when the Lord said.....
“.....depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The iniquity that these people were doing, was they were trying to “work their way to heaven”, by doing these religious things.

Trying to work our way to heaven, is iniquity and it won’t work.

 

[aspen]

Umm...you did a nice job of describing how to know you are saved and how some people do not know - and how some people believe they are saved, but are really not. You even mention a few of the things that happen when you are saved, but I didn't see anything about how to be saved or why it is important to be saved....

 

[bigape]

Umm...you did a nice job of describing how to know you are saved and how some people do not know - and how some people believe they are saved, but are really not. You even mention a few of the things that happen when you are saved, but I didn't see anything about how to be saved or why it is important to be saved....

The way of salvation, is........
➀Knowing that you are a sinner: Romans 3:23
➁Understanding what sin will do to you: Romans 6:23a
➂Realizing that salvation must be given to you as a gift: Romans 6:23b
➃Believing that Jesus died in your place to offer it to you: Romans 5:8
➄Then asking “Jesus” to save you: Romans 10:13

 

[aspen]

The way of salvation, is........
➀Knowing that you are a sinner: Romans 3:23
➁Understanding what sin will do to you: Romans 6:23a
➂Realizing that salvation must be given to you as a gift: Romans 6:23b
➃Believing that Jesus died in your place to offer it to you: Romans 5:8
➄Then asking “Jesus” to save you: Romans 10:13

I stand corrected! Great post

 

[BritGuy]

The way of salvation, is........
➀Knowing that you are a sinner: Romans 3:23
➁Understanding what sin will do to you: Romans 6:23a
➂Realizing that salvation must be given to you as a gift: Romans 6:23b
➃Believing that Jesus died in your place to offer it to you: Romans 5:8
➄Then asking “Jesus” to save you: Romans 10:13

6) understand that he saves by giving you his Life, when you receive His Spirit (become "born again") - Titus 3:5-6,
you should also accept thay you are dead in sin until this happens, shown by being baptuised in water unto Jesus' death.

7) ask for (crave, thirst, accept your need for) His Spirit and EXPECT to speak in tongues like ALL Jesus disciples (Jew and Gentile).
Luke 11:5-13, Acts 2:4, 33-39

There is only one gospel so it must be the same today.
You quote from Romans, but the Romans Paul was writing to had all done (6) & (7) - see Romans 6:3-4, 8:15-16, 26.

 

[a3m24ie]

Knowing saved from unsaved is the same as knowing a peach tree from an apple tree--by it's fruit.

John 15:1-11

 

[bigape]

Knowing saved from unsaved is the same as knowing a peach tree from an apple tree--by it's fruit.

John 15:1-11

I agree.
But the point of this thread, is how can those that are unsaved, come to that knowledge.

There are a lot of professing Christians I am acquainted with, that I know “are not saved”:
(And any of us that know Christ can see it as plain as day:)

But they do not realize it.

 

[a3m24ie]

Well in that case:

1) Realize you have broken God's perfect standard (aka the 10 commandments) we are not any better off than Saddam Hussein, Hitler, Osama Bin Laden... we have ALL sinned and ALL deserve Hell.. and are headed there without salvation..

2) Know and believe that Jesus payed the punishment for all those who would accept it.

3) Thank God by turning from ALL sin through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us :)


that's all: Trust Jesus and Repent!

 

[bigape]

I hope that it is clear by now, that God wants us to know that we are saved, so that we can have the joy of our salvation.
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One thing that I haven’t talked about yet, is the fact that when a person gets saved, they should know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are saved, because of the way it changes our life.

I recall the day that I was saved, I was at work during lunch in the cab of my pickup, listing to a preacher on the radio, who presented the gospel to me, then challenged me to ask Jesus for salvation.
I bowed my head, and asked for salvation, and a second later, I was born again.

I remember opening my eye, expecting to “feel” a difference, but I didn’t.
But over the next few days, I and everyone I worked with saw the difference.

The first thing that God dealt with me about was my cussing, so that was the first thing to go, and the first change that people noticed.
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I have said all of this to make it clear, that true salvation will change you.
If you don’t experience a series of changes, in your life, you most likely are not saved.

When God saves us, He changes us..........
2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
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Another proof, that true salvation brings about in a person, has to do with God’s Word(the Bible):
When a person is truly saved, they will immediately get interested in the Bible.......
1 Peter 2:2
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”

Now with a lot of people, these changes I have talked about and this interest in the Bible, kind of cools down, even though it shouldn’t.

Sometimes if we are around the wrong kinds of Christians, they will discourage us from totally committing our life to Christ, and suggest that we “take it easy”.....
This is what is called the “cold water committee”, that a lot of Churches have.

Some old fuddy duddies, that don’t want to change, so they are always discouraging anyone else from committing their lives to the LORD.
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But even if the “cold water committee”, puts out your fire for the Lord, there is something else that salvation gives you, that noone can take away.

A real understanding of the Bible...........
1 Corinthians 2:6-16
V.6 ¶ Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
There is a higher wisdom, than that of “this world’s wisdom”:

V.7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
i.e.“God’s wisdom”: Which is hidden in God’s Word, that you can now understand.

V.8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But noone that is unsaved, will be able to truly understand the Bible.

V.9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The Bible is a sealed book, that only born again Christians, can understand.

V.10 But God hath revealed [them] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
And the reason we can understand it, is because we have God’s indwelling Spirit.

V.11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Just as we can’t read another person’s mind, because we don’t have his spirit:
Before we were saved, we were unable to understand God’s mind(The Bible)!

V.12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
The moment we are saved, God’s Spirit comes within us, enabling us
to understand the deep things of God and God’s Word.

V.13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
The way the Holy Spirit teaches us truth in God’s Word, is by allowing us to see
that all 66 books of the Bible, are connected in a special way.

V.14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.
Those that are unsaved, are called “natural”, and they can not understand the Bible.
And this is where all these off the wall ideas, that are all over the net, come from:
Some individual, who thinks that they are saved, tries to “teach the Bible”.

V.15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
God’s Spirit within the Believer, will give him “all the answers”:
When he is faithful to regularly study God’s Word.

V.16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
I see it all the time: These unsaved Bible scholars, “correcting God’s Word”:
They have to correct it, because they don’t have the capacity to understand it.


Being able to understand the deep parts of God’s Word, is proof that a person is saved.

 

[bigape]

Next, we come to the Lord’s favorite proof of our salvation;
“Love”.

Our love for him and for those in the world and for each other.
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Now I know, that I keep saying that I am not talking about examining others, for proof of their salvation, but this first Scripture, is talking about just that........
John 13:35
“By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

The relationship that truly born again Christians have toward one another is special.

(That relationship may be hard to see on a forum like this, but when we meet face to face in the world, it is clear that we are brothers and sisters, regardless of our denominational affiliation.)
Provided, it’s a denomination that preaches the right Gospel.
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But sure enough, this love is also a proof to us, that we are saved....
1 John 3:14
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death.”

Of all the proofs that I have previously listed, this one may be useless to some people.
Because this love, is hard to describe, yet it has to be described, in order for someone, to determine if they have it.

It’s not a feeling; It’s more like a decision.
The Lord tells us to love one another, so we do(if we are saved).

Here is a classic example: Lets say, there is a Christians you know, who rubs you the wrong way; It’s not clear why, but you just don’t like them.
(This has happened to me many times.)

Now, as a Christian, you know that the Lord has told you to love them, so you go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to help you to love them.
Well, this is all it takes for me. Within a few days or week, what ever it was that was bothering me about that other Christian, doesn’t bother me any more.

This happens because God honors our obedience, and He knows our heart.
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Now this thread, is aimed at all those professing Christians, that are not really saved;
And the experience that I have just described, should be totally alien to you.

You may be the nicest person in the world, that loves everybody, but let me assure you, that if your not saved, you don’t have this kind of love.
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Another passage that may confuse the issue even more is this........
1 John 4:19-21
V.19 We love him, because he first loved us.
V.20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
V.21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

There you have it: Loving one another, is a commandment, therefore it really isn’t the our “love” for Christians that proves anything, but our “willingness to love them”.

And if we hate any other Christian, than that is proof, that we are not saved!
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My old preacher used to say, that you can tell who loves Christians, by who shows up for Church.
“If a person loves to swim, than you are going to find them at the pool, all the time, therefore if a person loves Christians, than you will be able to find them at Church, every time the doors are open.”
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The Lord is allowing me to continue this thread, because He is still on the throne and the fact is, if your not really saved, and you take the time to read this thread, the Lord himself will let you know, that you need to get saved.

God doesn’t want anybody to die and go to hell.

If you have the courage to read this thread, and all he Scripture it’s filled with, one of two things will happen.
➀ The Lord will either give you an assurance of your salvation:
➁ Or, the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, righteousness and judgement:
(Your sin, His righteousness and your judgement to come.)

 

[[email protected]]

Next, we come to the Lord’s favorite proof of our salvation;
“Love”.

Our love for him and for those in the world and for each other.
--------------------------------------------------
Now I know, that I keep saying that I am not talking about examining others, for proof of their salvation, but this first Scripture, is talking about just that........
John 13:35
“By this shall all [men] know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

The relationship that truly born again Christians have toward one another is special.

(That relationship may be hard to see on a forum like this, but when we meet face to face in the world, it is clear that we are brothers and sisters, regardless of our denominational affiliation.)
Provided, it’s a denomination that preaches the right Gospel.
--------------------------------------------------
But sure enough, this love is also a proof to us, that we are saved....
1 John 3:14
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death.”

Of all the proofs that I have previously listed, this one may be useless to some people.
Because this love, is hard to describe, yet it has to be described, in order for someone, to determine if they have it.

It’s not a feeling; It’s more like a decision.
The Lord tells us to love one another, so we do(if we are saved).

Here is a classic example: Lets say, there is a Christians you know, who rubs you the wrong way; It’s not clear why, but you just don’t like them.
(This has happened to me many times.)

Now, as a Christian, you know that the Lord has told you to love them, so you go to Him in prayer, and ask Him to help you to love them.
Well, this is all it takes for me. Within a few days or week, what ever it was that was bothering me about that other Christian, doesn’t bother me any more.

This happens because God honors our obedience, and He knows our heart.
--------------------------------------------------
Now this thread, is aimed at all those professing Christians, that are not really saved;
And the experience that I have just described, should be totally alien to you.

You may be the nicest person in the world, that loves everybody, but let me assure you, that if your not saved, you don’t have this kind of love.
--------------------------------------------------
Another passage that may confuse the issue even more is this........
1 John 4:19-21
V.19 We love him, because he first loved us.
V.20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
V.21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

There you have it: Loving one another, is a commandment, therefore it really isn’t the our “love” for Christians that proves anything, but our “willingness to love them”.

And if we hate any other Christian, than that is proof, that we are not saved!
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My old preacher used to say, that you can tell who loves Christians, by who shows up for Church.
“If a person loves to swim, than you are going to find them at the pool, all the time, therefore if a person loves Christians, than you will be able to find them at Church, every time the doors are open.”
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The Lord is allowing me to continue this thread, because He is still on the throne and the fact is, if your not really saved, and you take the time to read this thread, the Lord himself will let you know, that you need to get saved.

God doesn’t want anybody to die and go to hell.

If you have the courage to read this thread, and all he Scripture it’s filled with, one of two things will happen.
➀ The Lord will either give you an assurance of your salvation:
➁ Or, the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, righteousness and judgement:
(Your sin, His righteousness and your judgement to come.)

I don't mean to pop your pretty balloon, but love is not the benchmark for salvation.
It is a sign of salvation, as a fever is of an infection. It is not the ultimate measure.

The problem I have with your pretty words is that the logical extension of them is universal acceptance and salvation, all of which is bogus.
Nowhere in the Bible is there a context of such a thing.

Love is the fruit of salvation, but as all of us are imperfect and working toward perfection so is our love.
Much is written here and elsewhere of broken and disappointed hearts in the congregation of the saints.
The tales are legion.

Does this mean that we are all a bunch of hypocrits or that we are unsaved?
yes and no

What it means is that the Holy Spirit is doing a perfect work within many of us which cannot be seen; perfectly.
What it means is that the just are mingled with the unjust, as in the parable of the sower of seeds.

“If a person loves to swim, than you are going to find them at the pool, all the time, therefore if a person loves Christians, than you will be able to find them at Church, every time the doors are open.”

These words may be true in some instances, but what your old preacher did not know is that there will be no swimming in a desert.
Neither will there be a joyful loving assembly of the saints in places where God is merely an afterthought of the meeting.

These are the days of the Great Apostacy and the rules your old preacher lived by no longer apply.

The true reason for the assembly of the saints is not love; it is that the spirit of God brings us together.

 

[bigape]

Hello rjp34652

You said........

“I don't mean to pop your pretty balloon, but love is not the benchmark for salvation.
It is a sign of salvation, as a fever is of an infection. It is not the ultimate measure.”

I have no balloon to pop and I never said that it was a “benchmark”.
But just as a person can know, if they have a fever, they can know if they are saved.
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Next you said.........

“The problem I have with your pretty words is that the logical extension of them is universal acceptance and salvation, all of which is bogus.
Nowhere in the Bible is there a context of such a thing.”

I would like to respond to this, but I don’t understand what you are getting at.
But thanks for calling my words pretty.
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You also said......

“Love is the fruit of salvation, but as all of us are imperfect and working toward perfection so is our love.”

I can kind of agree with that. As young Christians our love is imperfect.
But as we grow in Christ, our love for one another improves........
1 John 4:17-18
V.17 ¶ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
V.18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
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You asked..........

“Much is written here and elsewhere of broken and disappointed hearts in the congregation of the saints. The tales are legion.
Does this mean that we are all a bunch of hypocrits or that we are unsaved?”

Life is tough. We have all been hurt and disappointed by other so-called believers, but that does not truly tarnish the Lord or His people.
Yes, you will find some hypocrites in almost every Church, and yes some of them are unsaved, but you need to get over it and draw nigh to the Lord.

When we stand before the Lord, we will not be able to say, “Lord I would have gone to Church and learned to follow you, but it had all those hypocrites...”.
Or a lost person, standing before the Lord at the great white throne, won’t be able to use any of these excuses either.
This is no excuse for disobedience

Those of us that are saved, need to decide, that we are going to faithfully follow the Lord’s instructions, no matter what anybody else does or doesn’t do.
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Then you answer your own question..........

“yes and no
What it means is that the Holy Spirit is doing a perfect work within many of us which cannot be seen; perfectly.
What it means is that the just are mingled with the unjust, as in the parable of the sower of seeds.”

I can agree with that.
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Then you quote me saying...........

“If a person loves to swim, than you are going to find them at the pool, all the time, therefore if a person loves Christians, than you will be able to find them at Church, every time the doors are open.”

And you said...........

“These words may be true in some instances, but what your old preacher did not know is that there will be no swimming in a desert.
Neither will there be a joyful loving assembly of the saints in places where God is merely an afterthought of the meeting.”

I also agree with this statement. Every day it is getting harder and harder to find a good Bible believing Church.
But as I have said before, God is still on His throne and He loves His children.
Today a believer, needs to toughen up and persevere, fervently praying while they look for a good Church.

My Church is in a rural location, but about 75 miles away, is a large metropolis of about 900,000 people. I have had kids grow up in my Church and move to this city to go to college and they have had a terrible time finding a good Church.

I have been here for almost 18 years, and to my knowledge, of the thousands of Churches in that city, there are only about 2 that still preach the Bible.
(But these kids found them.)

You may have to attend a different Church each Sunday for years, until you find one that truly preaches the Word and were the Lord is showing up.
And when you find it, the Lord will let you know.

This is kind of what I am talking about..........
Matthew 10:11-13
V.11 And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.
V.12 And when ye come into an house, salute it.
V.13 And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

The Lord will give you a peace, when you find the right Church.
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You concluded with.......

“These are the days of the Great Apostacy and the rules your old preacher lived by no longer apply.
The true reason for the assembly of the saints is not love; it is that the spirit of God brings us together.”

For one, these words of his, were nothing to live by;
They were simply saying, that if someone is saved, than will they love other Christians, and will desire to be in Church.

As for “the spirit of God bringing us together”, this isn’t talking about here on the internet.
A believer, can not fulfill his obligation to assemble with the saints, by logging in.
He must do the work, of finding a Church, where he can truly grow in Christ.

 

[John1]

BigApe

But the point of this thread, is how can those that are unsaved, come to that knowledge.

It is the act of God.

There are a lot of professing Christians I am acquainted with, that I know “are not saved”:

That is a dangerous statement. Is it our place to judge who is saved and who isn't?

NewGuy

 

[BritGuy]

It is the act of God.

That is a dangerous statement. Is it our place to judge who is saved and who isn't?

NewGuy

Well, the church in the bible were perfectly willing to say
1) that believers had not received God's Spirit, and they were able to say precisely when they did receive!

Important note: They also taught that you are not saved until you receive the Spirit: - Titus 3:5-6, John 3:3-5, Romans 8:8-9.

Acts 8:14: Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
:15: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
:16: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)...Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given

- so, these Samarians believed, as far as they had heard and understood, but had not yet received

10:44: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

15:8 God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us (Acts 2)

19:6: And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them

2Tm:1:9: Who hath saved us,

Jude:1:19: These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.

It seems this revelation has been lost so people are calling themselves "Christians" because they (or someone else) judges their heart ... that is dangerous!

 

[bigape]

Hello newguy and welcome.

You said.....

“That is a dangerous statement. Is it our place to judge who is saved and who isn't?”

First of all, let me say it once again: This thread has nothing to do with “judging if other people are saved”!!
It is about “judging ourselves”, to make sure that we are truly saved.
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But let me go ahead and address your statement.

No, it’s not really that dangerous of a statement at all;
And yes, it is “our place”, to point out those who are not saved..........
Romans 16:17
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

This is just one of many Scriptures, that tell us that it is "our place".
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The thing to remember is, we can’t determine if someone else is not saved, by any sins, they may be committing.
(Because even true believers, can sin.)

The only way to categorically state that someone is not saved, is by the Gospel they preach or believe.

If a person believes, that they must be baptized in water, or be the member of a Church, or do some good work, or anything else, to go to heaven, that person CAN NOT BE SAVED.

 

[Templar81]

How on earth can a professing Christian not be saved and how can you possibly know if they are or arn't. As far as I can see Jesus said "all who believe in me will not perish but have eternal life," so how can a professing Christian not be saved? And don't say they don't believe in their hearts because you cannot see into their hearts. God looks into everyone's hearts and thier secrets are laid open before him and it is for God and God alone to determine who is and who is not saved.

You ahve to work on your attitude!

 

[bigape]

Hello Templar81

I think you were responding to me.

You asked........

“How on earth can a professing Christian not be saved..”

That’s a good question, but it does happen........
Matthew 7:21-23
V.21 ¶ 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.
V.22 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?
V.23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
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You also asked........

“and how can you possibly know if they are or arn't......”

As I said above, “by the Gospel they preach”..........
Galatians 1:8-9
V.8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
V.9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

There is only one way to get to heaven and it’s not by good works.
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Next you ask..........

“As far as I can see Jesus said "all who believe in me will not perish but have eternal life," so how can a professing Christian not be saved?”

Because they don’t truly believe.
They are lied to be some religion, and believe a false Gospel, and die and go to hell.
(All because they refuse to go to the Bible, to check it out for themselves!)
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Your next statement........

“And don't say they don't believe in their hearts because you cannot see into their hearts.”

I don’t have to; They openly reveal what is in their heart..........
Matthew 15:18
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”
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Next you said........

“God looks into everyone's hearts and thier secrets are laid open before him and it is for God and God alone to determine who is and who is not saved.”

You are right: And that is the purpose of this thread.
To get people open to the possibility that they might not be saved, so that they will listen to the LORD when He convicts them of it.
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Lastly you say........

“You ahve to work on your attitude!”

You mean, just sit by while people die and go to hell.
I don’t think so.

I love people enough, to tell them the truth......
Proverbs 27:5
“Open rebuke [is] better than secret love.”

 

[Templar81]

Are you telling me you avoid doing good works?

Look those peopel who say LOrd Lord are denied Heaven because they were not Christians in life and faced with reality, that is to say the final judgement, they realise the truth but can do nothing aobut it as it is too late for them.

If someone has Jesus in their heart and I mean truly in their heart then they won't go to Hell.

Now about this false Gospel, what are they reading if they're not getting it from the Bible? Gnostic Mark perhaps? Phillip? Thomas? Peter? Nicodemus? Mary Magdalain?