Truly Saved or Self-Deceived?

Even Christians need the gospel. We need its reminders. We need its encouragement. We need its teaching of who God is and who we are. It’s the most precious message on the face of the planet. Nothing - absolutely nothing - matters more than getting it right, believing it fully, and faithfully proclaiming it properly.

As a point of continual conviction for me upon returning to the gospel, is that what seems to regularly go missing in our own understanding of the gospel today is how absolutely glorious, highly exalted and holy God almighty is. Because we still contend with the flesh, we can so easily forget the very reason Christ was nailed to the cross - our sin. By doing so, we often slip into just casually living out our sinful desires while claiming God’s grace rather than pursuing holiness according to what God has revealed His gospel to be.

Scripture is clear that we are not saved by anything we do, but only by what Christ has done. We’re not saved whatsoever by works, but what is also clearly taught is that a true understanding of Christ’s sacrifice and the holiness of God will yield a continually renewed mind and a heart that is being sanctified. Not perfection, but a definitive course change in desire that looks more like Christ over time.

In other words, if we’re really saved, we will be more and more like Jesus as we grow. If we aren’t becoming more like Him, we should re-examine what we believe and make sure it’s the true gospel. We need to make sure we’re planted in the good soil, and not just playing games. Jesus is the root of our salvation, and holiness and works is the fruit. One of the ways we know we’re saved is that we will be less like us and more like Him. A lack of repentance or ambivalence toward our sin is ultimately pride - a heart that is not broken about the things Christ died for.

Many today feel that talking this way is legalism, but it’s all through the New Testament! The book of James teaches us that if there is no holiness, what we call faith is actually just dead. If the grace won by Jesus on the cross is seen by us as a license to sin rather than the catalyst that compels us to walk in holiness, we have misunderstood, misrepresented, and disbelieved it in its entirety.

I preach this today, first and foremost, to me.

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“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” James 2:19-20