Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
As Christians, we talk about being saved. What does that mean?
Revelation 20:12 says, “I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life, and the dead were judged according to their works which were written in the book.” Verse 15 says, “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”
When we are saved our names are written in the Book of Life. Is your name written in the Book of Life? Are you truly saved?
The next question is one my pastor often asks, “If you are saved, what are you saved from?” Salvation alters the way we think and the way we live our lives. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Are you denying yourself and taking up your cross daily?
As Christians who have accepted the Salvation God freely offers through His Son, Jesus Christ, we must look radically different from the rest of the world. We live in a world of degradation, evil, and chaos. We must separate ourselves from that. We must not conform.
To do so, we must stay focused on God (Matthew 6:33). We must love Him with all our hearts and love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). We must not lose focus but keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and eternal life.
We must live our lives in a way that is not only radically different but in a way that may even be offensive to some people. We are not to believe the lies we’re being told about how we are to be accepting of sinful behavior. We are to love the sinners but hate the sin. To be tolerant of their sin is to encourage them to spend eternity in hell.
Many like to quote Matthew 7:1-2 which warns us against judging but don’t stop there. Jesus goes on to tell us not to be hypocritical. We are to first look at our own sin before we judge someone else’s. He goes on to say don’t give to dogs what is holy or toss your pearls before pigs. We must be able to discern.
He warns also that many people who believe they are saved, are not and will not go to heaven in v. 14 when He refers to the narrow gate saying, “few will find it”. He says in vv. 15-19 that we must inspect a person’s fruit. In verse 20, He says, “You will recognize them by their fruit.”
We must not tolerate false teachers and false teachings. We must not tolerate sinful behavior and we certainly should not participate in sinful behavior.
The scariest part is when he says in Matthew 7:21-25 that many who believe they are saved will be turned away from heaven. He will announce that He never knew them. This means many falsely believe they are saved.
Are you saved? If you claim to be saved, what are you saved from? Have you been saved from your past sinful behavior? Are you a new creation? Have you been transformed?
Or are you just the same except you have walked the aisle and been baptized? Baptizing doesn’t save us. Making a public profession of faith doesn’t save us. Only Jesus saves and with that salvation comes a radical change in the way we live our lives.
Salvation looks like this, we put Him first and others second. We put ourselves last. We obey His commands because of our great love for Him (John 14:15). We will no longer want to sin. We will strive to please Him and not ourselves or others.
The day is coming, and I believe it’s coming soon when we will stand in judgment. Will He say to you, “Well done my good and faithful servant” or “Depart from me I never knew you”?
James 4:8 tells us if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Surrender your life to Him today. Ask Him to come into your heart and make some radical changes in your life. Ask Him to transform you and make you into a new creation. You will be so glad you did.
Have a great day!