THE PROBLEM: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven… Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord… And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.” Matthew 7:21-23
THE SOLUTION: “Repent ye therefore and be converted” Acts 3:19a “…repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” Acts 20:21.
THE DIFFERENCE: Through intellectual learning and persuasion, a person can be led to make a profession of faith in any god. But it takes the work of the Holy Spirit to convict a sinner’s heart, unto genuine repentance and receiving Christ into their heart, with a willing heart upon hearing the truth.
THE DELUSION: The quick and easy method of pronouncing someone to be saved (which bypasses the matter of real repentance and personal acceptance), much like salesmanship, begins by asking a series of questions where a person must answer yes. Then, after repeatedly answering yes, they are much more likely to answer yes when asked if they are willing to trust Christ as their Saviour. With the correct answer, they are pronounced “saved”. Another example: an assistant pastor of one of the largest churches in America at the time, told the people to which he was teaching soul winning, to get a profession from the sinner, because any profession was better than no profession. Multitudes have been led in false professions and many end up going to hell depending on their false profession.
One college president warned his students not to stay more than five minutes in any home while soul-winning, because the sinner should always be won to Christ within that brief period, and if not, move on. (From the Plains Baptist Challenger)
THE NEEDED DEPTH: “Ye must be born again” John 3:3. A person can believe in the historical record of Christ and intellectually claim Him as their God and Saviour without ever being born again. I did, and I could also tell you how to be saved, even knowing it was the right way before I was saved! But it wasn’t until I repented and personally received Christ into my heart of my own volition, that Jesus saved me.
The example Christ used to show how to be born again (in John 3:14-15) was Numbers 21:4-9. In this example, the people repented of their sin, due to their own conviction and guilt, and called upon God to deliver them, putting their faith and trust in God’s provision for their deliverance. They were not just accosted by someone who was seeking to get people to make professions of faith through a scripted question and answer session. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:12 “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness” Romans 10:10.
SHARING
