There’s an ad on social media that tries to say that everyone who believes they are saved really isn’t. It is offering a study guide, and all during the ad, there’s a stopwatch counting down from about 3 minutes. It states that unless you purchase their product before time runs out, you won’t be able to get a copy, and you’ll very likely be lost forever. It’s insinuating that everyone who thinks they are heaven-bound actually isn’t. Reference the stopwatch countdown; it’s on social media just about every day. (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
God created all humans, and He is well aware of our sin nature. From the first sin in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3, the Father could have turned his back on us and declared we aren’t worthy of His time. However, we have a God full of Love, and He wants no one to be condemned (2 Peter 3:9).
Romans 3:10 gives a very definite fact: “As it is written, none is righteous, no not one.” Going further to Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Then in Romans 6:23, we see some daylight: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.”
I will totally agree that on our own, we could never be saved and “earn” a place in Heaven. However, Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
There is no argument that more souls will be lost due to earthly desires than will be saved by receiving and accepting Jesus as Savior. Jesus stated that fact in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
The hard part is believing there isn’t more we have to do to have an eternal Home in Heaven with Jesus. No amount of so-called religious works or monetary donations can ever earn us one minute in Heaven. Anyone who believes false teachers who say we don’t need Jesus to be saved but can do so on our own is actually calling God a liar.
Look at 1 John 1:8-10: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
For those who are falsely teaching that there are many ways to Heaven without Jesus, and that what actions God has called sin in the Bible no longer applies, will someday have a very rude awakening.
Numbers 23:19: “God is not man that He should lie, or a son of man that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not fulfill it?”
Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Romans 8:1 & 6: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus….For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
Satan goes out of his way to pull souls away from eternal Salvation. He and his demons -fallen angels- have no pathway to forgiveness as all of us humans do. They had been in the presence of our Heavenly Father, yet when Satan turned against the Father through destructive self-pride, he was removed as an archangel. Verses that refer to this are: Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:13-19; 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude 1:6, to name a few.
Then, Revelation 12:9: “And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, and the deceiver of the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
Jesus tells of their final destiny in Matthew 25:41: “Then He will say to those on His left [all unsaved souls], depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
We are given the A-B-Cs of Salvation in Romans 10:9-13: “because if you confess [Admit] with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and Believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For Scripture says everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who Call on Him. For all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Also see Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21.)
Some people who are mute may be discouraged because of the statement “confess with your mouth.” However, our Father can read our every thought as if spoken out loud.
For the “many ways” people, Peter stated in Acts 2:21, “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” He also stated in Acts 4:12: “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Up until the Savior came out of the grave after His crucifixion, His apostles had not totally put their faith and trust in Him that He was actually a part of our Triune Godhead. Once He made His appearances after His resurrection, the apostles became bold in their sermons even when they themselves faced martyrdom. This included a persecutor of the church turned apostle by the name of Paul.
Jesus stated in John 14:6: “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”
For the advertisement to state they have a “good product,” this may very well be accurate. It could be a good study guide, but to infer that we can only be saved if we purchase that product is an insult.
The A-B-Cs given earlier is the only pathway to Our Savior, and He is never too busy to accept anyone who truly calls out to Him to be their Savior. The main stipulation is to do so before taking our last breath on this earth. Appearing at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15 with the excuse that you intended to ask Jesus to be your Savior will be too late.
We are not guaranteed another day here before this era ends, or if we take our last breath in death. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus stated, “But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the angels of Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Some may say this proves Jesus was not a part of the Godhead, but we must remember He allowed Himself to be just lower than the angels while He was here (Hebrews 2:7&9).
Luke 21:28: “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because our redemption is drawing near.”
Jesus, Paul, John, Peter, and numerous others in the Old and New Testaments gave signs of what will be happening just before the 7-year tribulation. Those signs started about a decade ago and are becoming more obvious every day. God’s timing is perfect, and He knows the exact day and hour and even second that we will be taken up to meet Jesus in the air (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
God will force no one to accept or reject the offer of eternal life, as He leaves it up to each of us to decide for ourselves. Today would not be too early to call out and ask Jesus to be your Savior. Tomorrow could be too late.
Thank You, Jesus, for giving us the only means of being with You forever. Amen.