Are YOU saved? Are you SURE?

As I finished the three-part series about the fast-approaching Rapture of the Saved, it dawned on me that there's something many of my readers may not have a firm grasp on that is of FUNDAMENTAL importance here...

How does one know he or she is saved? Well, the most prevalent passage is the one from Romans, chapter 10, verse 9:

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

The latter phrase means that you believe He is God. The former means that you are admitting that Jesus is your Lord, and if you believe He is your Lord, that means you are treating Him as your Master. That implies that you obey His commands. Do you? If you don't follow His teaching like you are His slave, then you almost certainly are NOT saved, because you haven't truly done what Romans 10:9 says you must.

So, what if you use John 3:36, or Acts 16:31, where all it requires is "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, you and your family." - "See? All I have to do is believe that He existed!

No. That's not it. Let's read all of John 3:36 and understand what's really being said here. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."

Notice that the opposite of "believes in the Son" is "does not obey the Son". To the writers of the Gospels, John and Luke (who also wrote Acts), to believe is to obey. Do you obey?

But all I have to do is LOVE God, right? I don't have to actually have to obey everything - all I have to do is LOVE Jesus!

That's fine. Keep lowering your standards. It won't help. Read John 14:15...

"If you love Me, you will obey My commandments."  

Do you?
Do you obey?

If you don't obey His teaching, you are not saved. Words alone don't cut it. Apologizing isn't repenting - repenting means to change your behavior, in addition to feeling "sorry" for your sins. Saying you're sorry only works for so long if you keep doing the sin without changing - after a while, not even God believes you're sincere in your apology. You don't have to be perfect, but you DO have to TRY!!

Do you?