Four Things Why You Could Get Lost Forever
Many believers in the truth for these last days will not reach salvation for these four reasons:
1. His interest in eternal things comes second
What is the common theme of most of your thoughts? Do I contemplate through the eyes of faith the eternal inheritance that HeavenHeaven has prepared for me and offers me through the Plan of Redemption? Is it the love of my Heavenly Father that makes my heart leap for joy? It excites me to know that Someone loves me so much that, being my King and Creator, he humbled himself to take my humanity, lead a life of self-sacrifice, carry my sins, and suffer until death on the cross? Honestly, most of the day, I am preoccupied with the worries of this life: What will we eat? What will we wear? And anticipating tomorrow. Perhaps that is also your experience. The Lord Jesus knows that our human nature tends to worry about the material many times before the spiritual, and therefore, he kindly tells us:
Do not worry, therefore, saying: What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear?
Because the Gentiles [those who do not know God] seek all these things, but your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So, do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will bring its worry. Enough for each day its own evil. Matthew 6:31 - 34.
As a believer, I say that I have a Father in HeavenHeaven and that Father loves me and wants the best for me. I believe in Him as my Creator, Savior, and Redeemer but not as my Sustainer. How can I have the faith to believe that he saves me from my sins, but he will not give me daily bread? Why do I doubt that he will supply my needs? Why is it so hard for me to believe?
Let me make a parenthesis here. In no way am I saying that I should not work or strive to earn my bread by the sweat of my brow. That is clearly said in Genesis. And the apostle Paul emphatically said whoever does not work must not eat. So it is not my intention to encourage laziness and abandonment of our responsibilities in this life. Rather, I want to reflect to what extent I am allowing the many contracts to overshadow, to eclipse the most important thing: the preparation required for eternal life.
2. His conversion is superficial
A few years ago, I had the privilege of listening to and translating a series of lectures that allowed me to have a practical experience of conversion. I had belonged to the church for so many years, but I had never heard of such a powerful and important topic. I do not say this because I have necessarily experienced an ecstasy of feelings but because of the depth and solemnity of the most important question in life: What will I do to inherit eternal life?
As you will remember, this question was asked by the rich young ruler. You can read the account in Mark 10:17-30 and Matthew 19:16-26. Jesus knew the heart of the rich young man and knew that he was a sincere person. However, "only one thing" was missing: a new heart where the love of God would reign and not the love of money.
It is possible that at some point in our life, we have given our hearts to God, but let me ask you: Who reigns there today? May I? What I think, what I want, what I reason, etc. Every day I need to renew my conversion vows with the Lord because if not, my selfish heart will want to cling to the throne.
At the heartfelt request that echoes the need expressed through the words of King David in Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me," the Lord pleases to answer: "I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and I will cause you to walk in my statutes, and keep my precepts, and put them to work ". Ezekiel 36:26-28.
Both in the previous point and in this one, the Lord is the one who does the work. I, the human element, need to recognize my need and ask for it through the prayer of faith. And the Lord will honor my obedience and faith.
3. They cannot give an intelligent reason for their faith
Here, many of us like to think about the time of the end and cite the promise that we will be given what to say when the moment xxx arrives, but the Holy Spirit will not bring to our memory and lips anything that we have not previously treasured through conscientious study, of the Word of God.
Furthermore, not only at the time of the end will we be asked to give a reason for our faith. Today, I need words of wisdom to explain to my teenage daughter why we don't dress or act like the world. Today, I need to have intelligent arguments to explain to my boss and co-workers why I don't work on Sabbath Saturday. Today, I need to support or guide my husband through a difficult decision with the certainty of what Jehovah says. Today, I need to be prepared to give an intelligent reason for my faith to anyone the Lord puts in my way. Am I?
If not, what am I doing to prepare? I have the privilege and the duty to study the Bible to have knowledge guided by the Holy Spirit to lead my life according to the will of God and guide others towards Him. I repeat it is my privilege but also my duty.
And studying the Bible is not an activity that can be done on the run. It requires a place and space of time alone, set aside, especially for it. It is important to have a few minutes beforehand for the preparation of the heart [mind] in order to silence so many distracting voices and thoughts. I must also do everything possible to prevent the enemy from distracting me from my purpose, such as turning off or silencing notifications from our electronic devices.
I like to keep a journal in which I take notes on what I have learned. It is very comforting to read later how God answered those prayers with doubts or problems in the past to strengthen my faith in the present and not doubt his help in the future.
4. They have not enlightened or edified others through their experience and knowledge.
I consider myself a shy person, but despite that, my life is full of multiple opportunities to illuminate the path of others and impart practical knowledge of the truth that the Lord has been granting me through the study of His Word and the experiences lived, on the path of the Christian life.
Our mission field begins in our home and then expands to our neighborhood, city, and the world. I can distribute Christian literature and share with others about the Gospel physically as well as through social networks. We can still take advantage of all these mass media to fill them with words of comfort, love, and hope from our Heavenly Father.
Without a doubt, I can say that the greatest manifestation of the truth towards others is my life itself. Maybe I can go to church under the guise of a Christian woman, but I can't fake an experience with the people closest to me, like the members of my household. It is my daughters and my husband who can best say if my representation of Jesus is real or fictitious. Faced with provocation, do I seek the Lord's help in prayer so as not to fall into temptation, or do I take off my mask and respond with harsh and cutting words? I can also attack with merciless silence and ignore the beings I love the most. Whatever my weapon, I am making a clear message; I hope it's salvation.
May the Lord want his life and mine to be illuminated thanks to a true relationship with God and God's love to sprout in his heart to be a blessing wherever we find ourselves.
God bless you!
Arrow of Salvation
“Many who profess to believe the truth for these last days will be found wanting. They have neglected the most important matters. His conversion is superficial, it is not deep, nor fervent nor complete. They don’t know why they believe the truth, and just because others have believed it, they take it for granted that it is the truth. They cannot give any intelligent reason for their faith. Many have allowed their minds to be filled with lesser things, and their eternal interest has taken second place. His own soul is dwarfed and misshapen in his spiritual growth. Others are not enlightened or edified by their experience or by the knowledge that it was their privilege and duty to obtain. The strength and stability is with the sincere.”