ANB # 7, Are you Saved? “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in you heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (from hell and by extension any form of hell on this earth). For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10 “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms his salvation.” Romans 10:8-10 (Amplified text) “For the scripture saith, ‘Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed.’ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek (non-Jew): for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him (generously bestowing His riches on all who call upon Him).” Romans 10:11 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:12. Today the Lord wants you to know that you can go to Heaven (and by extension, have the right standing to get Heaven on this earth) no matter who you are or what you have done, all you have to do is acknowledge His son Jesus Christ as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead. It is God’s greatest desire that all should be saved, that all would call upon Him and obtain the free gift that is access to Heaven. You see, the old Jewish law made salvation and a right relationship with God contingent upon a Jew’s performance of the law (see the book of Deuteronomy). But Jesus came and fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17), by His perfection and sacrifice the law has been fulfilled for us all. All we have to do is believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and is Lord, and Jesus lets us in on the right relationship with God His perfection established. So this means our righteousness (this right relationship with God, which allows us to have a relationship with God and eventually enter Heaven) won’t be based on our works (which would never work for we are sinful) but on faith in Jesus. As the book of Romans says, this is Jesus’ free gift to us, not a gift we must obtain through our works (Romans 5). While salvation from hell should be reason enough for us all to believe on Jesus, faith in Jesus not only saves us from hell, it saves us from this world. While you are in this world our adversary the devil seeks to destroy you. He wants to break you and take your hope, to make you think life is so terrible that there could be no God. (I Peter 5:8). But Jesus defeated the devil, and that defeat exists today for all who have faith in Jesus. When you are in Jesus, “No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.” (Isaiah 54:17).
The devils other great trick is to make people think that they don’t need God, that they can get by just fine without Him. Don’t get me wrong, if you are a happy person I rejoice with you and am happy for you. But you are deceived if you think you could ever be perfectly happy without God. This is what the devil wants you to believe, that perfect happiness can be achieved without God. There is a place in all our lives that only God can fill. How and when does God fill it, God comes into you when you accept His Son Jesus as the Lord and Savior of your life. (John 14:23). So when you accept Jesus you really get two things 1) a ticket to Heaven for when you die and 2) a part in Jesus victory over sin and death and therefore access to the right relationship with God that Jesus established. “(paraphrasing) By Jesus all things were reconciled to God, even us.” (Colossians 1:13-29). I used to believe that we would all go to Heaven, that God loved us so much that He wouldn’t let any of us go to hell. But the only thing that limits what God can do is the Bible, and the Bible clearly says some will go to Heaven and some will go to hell. “But the fearful, and unbelieving . . . shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8). The fearful are (at least) those who feared what a life in God would do to their worldly lives, who feared the loss of their sin greater than the wrath of God. The unbelieving are those who would not believe in God’s son Jesus. But God wants you all to know that “God so loved (insert your name here), that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). If you don’t know that if you died right now you would go directly to Heaven, I want you to pray this prayer out loud with me right now (remember, with the heart one believes and with the mouth one “confirms His salvation”). “Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus, Your Word says, ‘Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ I am calling on You, I pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life according to Romans 10:9-10. Right now I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is Your Son. I believe that He was perfect, and even so He died for my sins, then You raised Him from the dead. By doing so you gave me access to His righteousness which is Your righteousness, and I am now righteous because your Word says I am. And this righteousness has given me not only access to Heaven, but also a life with a right relationship with you while I’m here on this earth. I now repent of my sins, for I want to honor You. Show me how to live a life for You. Thank You for sending Your son for me, and thank You for all You do for me. I love you Lord. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.” If you prayed that prayer and meant it with your heart you are going to Heaven. Don’t ever let your mind or anyone else tell you otherwise. What does your heart say? We will all be together with God in paradise.
If you would like you can tell me about your decision and I’ll see about getting you some literature on how to start your new life in Christ. Be open and positive about it. The Bible says if we deny Jesus before men He will deny us before the Father. (Matthew 10:33). So be strong, I guarantee you’ll have an opportunity to tell someone about your decision very soon. Praise God. God and the angels are rejoicing over you in Heaven right now.