Many in this world believe that they are “saved” when they merely “believe” in Christ. They take one of the most, if not the most popular Scripture in the Bible, John 3:16, and justify themselves by simply reading it, thinking that this is all one needs to do in order to be saved and have everlasting life. They fail to recognize the true meaning behind that verse and ignore the other vast amounts of Scriptures in the Bible. Does the world love Christ? Do they keep His commandments? We can only love Christ if we keep His commandments–EVERYTHING that Christ commands (John 14:15, 21-24).
We are to be followers and doers of what He requires, and this involves action. We will not be saved and have everlasting life if we only “believe” in Him. To have any part of Christ, we first of all need to repent, believe, be baptized and receive God’s Holy Spirit. Without this process, it is impossible to have everlasting life and to be in the Kingdom of God, for Christ says in John 3:5: “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
We must also understand that no one can come to Christ, unless that person has been called to the truth by the Father (compare John 6:44,65). So are we then automatically saved and have we obtained eternal life when we were properly baptized and were given the Holy Spirit? Of course, as long as God’s Spirit lives within us, we have the guarantee of eternal life. But can we lose it again?
James 2:14-17 says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Hebrews 5:9 also points out that Christ “became the author of eternal salvation to all who OBEY Him.”
Are we obeying with living faith?
We must continue to work at perfecting ourselves, by using the gift that has been granted to us by our Father through His Holy Spirit. We are commanded to keep His commandments, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, to live a righteous and godly life. God expects that from us and He expects us to obey Him! He has called us out of this world to give us the opportunity to be among the first to enter His Kingdom and to receive everlasting life. This is still our choice. It is no guarantee. Revelation 3:11 tells us to “hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” And in Revelation 2:10 Christ tells us to “be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
What is given to us can also be taken away. When we turn back, we will lose what had been offered to us. Only when we overcome until the end, will we be saved (Matthew 24:13; Revelation 2:26). This is a lifelong process that God requires of us: to be faithful continuously, to pray continuously, to be vigilant and strong continuously, to give comfort and love to one another continuously, to put ALL trust and confidence in Him continuously, and to obey Him continuously. When we continue to do all of that until the end, then we will be saved.
