GOOD WORKS GET YOU INTO HEAVEN
This is one of the most common misconceptions in religion today. So many people believe that if they are good enough – if their good outweighs their bad – they will be allowed into heaven. This is simply not the case. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9. The Bible also says in Titus 3:5a, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”
JESUS HATES BAD PEOPLE
Many people today believe that they are too bad to be saved. They think that they’ve done so many wrong things that God could never love people like them. Romans 5:8 states, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, it doesn’t matter to God what your personality is, what you look like, or what sins you’ve committed. God loves each and every person equally.
YOU CAN LOSE YOUR SALVATION
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” John 10:28. God won’t allow anyone or anything to remove a person from His hand, to take away that person’s salvation. That includes you. You can’t even do anything to cause Him to let you go. Ephesians 4:30b promises, “…whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
GOD CHOOSES WHO IS SAVED
Some people in certain religious circles believe that each person is predestined to be saved before he or she is ever born. They think that God picks certain people, based on no exact requirement, who can go to heaven and others who will go to hell. The Bible clearly says that “[W]hosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” Romans 10:13. The Bible also proclaims in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Salvation is a free gift to all who accept it. Notice the phrase “whosoever shall call.” Whosoever means anyone. It means YOU! You can call upon the Lord and accept Him as your Savior.
WHEN JESUS WILL RETURN
Many so-called “scholars” have tried to discern the “secrets” thought to be within the Bible about the return of Christ. For decades people have made various “numerical discoveries” in an attempt to claim the knowledge that God has never revealed, much less hidden: the time when Jesus will return. Never believe someone who purports to know the day Christ will come back to earth. Mark 13:32 declares, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.” No one knows. No one ever will. What we need to concern ourselves with is, are we ready? When Jesus does decide to return, will He be coming for us? for you?
Article by Josh Berg Josh serves on the Media team at Valley Forge Baptist. Previously he was Youth Director in Maryland. He additionally has a Bachelors in Religious Education from West Coast Baptist College.
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