John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This “whoever” includes you and every other person in the world regardless of their religion. Every human being is born in a certain religion but until and unless they accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, one cannot be reconciled with God. (We have already discussed why this is the case in the previous articles)
Does that mean every Christian is saved by default? No. Mere birth into a Christian family does not confer automatic salvation upon an individual. Neither does praying or following the spiritual disciplines of the church save a person. They are even more deserving of hell because being born into a Christian family allows them to know God better than others, but they ignore it. How disastrous!
Unless and until a person (whether Christian or not) confesses that he is a sinner in need of a saviour, trusts in the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, is born again, and continues to live a Holy Life, he is not saved.
Believing is not merely believing, but living a life of righteousness is a WORK to be done. Being saved and living in sin is direct contradiction. You cannot serve two masters ,God and sin. Faith without works is dead. True faith in Christ automatically produces good work.
So EVERY person who admits his sin and accepts Jesus as his Lord and Saviour is saved. He then seeks to live a Holy Life, focusing on the Lord and eternity while avoiding the world's corruptions. This is true salvation.
It's worth noting that it makes no distinctions based on religion, caste, or ethnicity. Every human being is a sinner who needs a saviour. So, simply being born into a Christian family does not ensure salvation.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'
23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' (Matthew 7:21-23, ESV)
Even those who prophesied and cast out demons would be thrown into hell. Simply calling upon Jesus in their earthly lives (Lord, Lord) does not guarantee eternal life. You are only saved if you have a relationship with Him, similar to that of a father and a son. These people who prophesied and cast out demons had no relationship with God, despite the fact that they had spiritual gifts and blessings. They run behind miracles and blessings. Christ said, "I never knew you" to these people. He didn't know them, and neither have they known him. As some theologian said this is the scariest verse in the Bible.
He makes the sun rise on both the evil and the good and sends rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:45)
God blesses both believers and unbelivers. God does not show partiality. But salvation is only for those who accept Christ as Lord and Saviour. (When you are truly saved, then alone you would understand the truths about blessings and miracles; until then you have a worldly understanding of these things) I love how Charles Spurgeon phrased it,
“The gospel which they so greatly needed they would not have; the miracles which Jesus did not always choose to give, they eagerly demanded.”
Every person must think, “God has blessed me so much” or perhaps “Is there a God?”; then probably, “If there is a God, I should make an effort to know who this God is. Is He the God of my religion, an energy, the universe..which one is it?” That's how a person's spiritual journey starts. The sad reality is,
10 as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; NO ONE SEEKS FOR GOD. (Romans 3:10-11, ESV)
If a person genuinely seeks God, which is what gives life purpose, the true God (Jesus) will reveal Himself to them as,
God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. (Psalms 53:2, ESV)
That's exactly how Christ revealed Himself to so many people from various religions and nations, why? The answer is they sincerely seeked God. And if a person sincerely seeks God; the true God, that is Christ, will respond as there is none other. Christ is waiting with open arms for all of mankind to return home, much like the Father in the parable of The Prodigal Son does.
But keep in mind that Christ said that the path to salvation is narrow, and only a few people find it, which implies that many people will hear Christ say, "I never knew you." You must determine whether you would go through the narrow gate and hear, "WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT", or through the broad one and hear, "I NEVER KNEW YOU". Christianity is not a religion per se. It is more of a relationship between us and God. So, what does this mean? You might be receiving blessings or spiritual gifts, but this does not guarantee your salvation.
So, glory to God, if you are born into a Christian family, you have an upper hand over others, but this also entails an added responsibility to get right with God, by grace through faith, as the Bible mentions, taking the Word of God more seriously as well as doing your part in spreading the Gospel, to those who haven't heard it. If not, you will be judged more harshly than others since, despite receiving an additional revelation, you did not come to the real faith in Christ.
You gotta understand the gravity of the situation. Think about it and get right with God asap.
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