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Eternity Is Too Long To Be Wrong!

“Repeat after me, ‘I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.’  Now, there you have it, you are now saved.”  How often have you heard this said?  How often have you said it yourself?  This thinking expresses, “only believe and you will be saved.”  There are several problems with this type of thinking.  A. W. Tozer once said, it requires that Jesus would “stand hat-in-hand awaiting our verdict on Him, instead of kneeling with troubled hearts awaiting his verdict on us.”  The picture here depicts Jesus standing before you, the judge, having looked at all the evidence, and waiting (and hoping) that you will give the verdict, “I believe.  I accept.”  Man is like that; he always wants to be in control.  Yes, we have been given the freedom to make our own decisions, but it is God who is in control.  Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you...”  (John 15:16) He later said, “...but I have chosen you out of the world...”  (John 15:19)  It is God who will judge us.  Paul said that the Lord is the “Righteous Judge.” (2 Timothy 4:8)  “...The Lord shall judge his people.  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31) 

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.” (Hebrews 9:27)

A missionary was trying to translate the Bible into one of the local dialects.  He was working on the Book of John and was confused on how to translate the word “believe.”  He asked a national working with him on the translation team.  They finally came up with the solution.  The word that was given meant “the heat in my heart.”  This “heat in your heart” will cause you to do something.  The word “believe” in many cases in the Bible is an action word  (verb).  It is speaking about action.

In James 2 we find an entire chapter on faith (believing) producing action (works).  James reveals that true faith is evidenced by obeying the Word of God (James 1); by action (James 2); and by words (James 3).  James 2:19 reveals a surprise believer.  “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

Do you think that the devils’ believing will make salvation for them?  The devils will not be saved and will be cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:10)  However, the devils believe more than some of us.

They are doing as much as some churches say it takes to get saved.  They just believe.

The devil knows that we like to have everything “the easy way” so he would like us to believe part of the truth and leave the rest.  Daniel Mena in, There is More To Being Saved Than Easy Believism states that a “half-truth is more dangerous that an outright lie.  Only the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth will save a man or woman from sin.”  He later counsels, “Eternity is too long to be wrong!”

E. L. Cole in his book, Strong Men In Tough Times, states “a person’s beliefs hold the greatest potential for good or harm in life.  What is believed about God holds the potential for death or life everlasting.”  He admonishes us that “…we must be taught not only to believe but to believe right...belief is the basis for conduct, character and destiny.  Wrong conduct is based on wrong believing.”  This is because believing produces action.  A person who steals believes that he will not get caught.  A person who always involves himself in fornication believes that he will not get AIDS.

To “believe” is to commit ourselves to Jesus Christ, considering that he is worthy of our trust and can be counted on to keep his promises.  John said, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31)  This Scripture comes immediately following Doubting Thomas meeting with Jesus Christ.  Jesus tells him, “...be not faithless, but believing.”  (John 20:27)  Thomas responded, “My Lord and my God.”  (John 20:28)

When we believe, we entrust and commit ourselves totally to Jesus Christ.  It involves a total commitment on our part. “...For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”        (2 Timothy 1:12)

“If you are what you have always been, you are not a Christian.  A Christian is a new creation.”