October 7, 2024
Once upon a time, the renowned 18th Century English preacher George Whitfield was getting the people of Edinburgh, Scotland out of bed at 5:00 am to come hear him speak. On one occasion, a man on his way to a service was surprised when he met up with David Hume, the Scottish philosopher and skeptic. “I thought you did not believe in the gospel,” the man said. “I don’t, but he does,” responded Hume.
My question for you today is, “Are you a believer?” “Of course,” you say. “ I’m on the roll over at First Church, where I attend fairly regularly. I joined and was baptized at 11. In fact, my grandparents were charter members there.” That’s great, but not what I asked. What I mean is, “Do you believe that Jesus lived, died on the cross, and rose from the grave three days later to save you from your sins … and are you living in light of that truth?”
“Easy believism” is a term from previous generations that you don’t hear much anymore. Basically, it says, you can claim a commitment to Christ and then go and live as you please — in other words, talking the talk without walking the walk. This helps explain why a large percentage of church members are lost and on their way to hell.
I was part of that statistic, a lost church member for 14 years, until at 23, I ran across a little tract titled, “Are You Born Again?” I was feeling pretty good about myself until I came upon this verse, “No one who has been born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him” (1 John 3:9, NASB). That is not to say a Christian never sins. Of course we do. Yet we should not make a regular practice of it, or grow comfortable with it.
Fortunately for me at that time, I became a part of a loving congregation where the Bible was preached and the focus was on Jesus. Falling under conviction, I righted the ship, became a true believer and have been faithfully following the Lord ever since.
Note the second half of the verse from 1 John: “His seed remains in him.”
By seed, I believe John is referring to the presence of the Holy Spirit, whom the word says comes to live in us when we are saved. Paul writes, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Romans 8:9 NASB). That said, if we are truly saved, the Holy Spirit within us will convict us when we fall into sin.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21 NASB). This in no way implies that we can achieve salvation on our own merit. What it does say, however, is that if we truly belong to Him, with the Spirit living in us and our names having been recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life, we’ll bear the fruit of a believer. As Jesus said in this same sermon, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:20 NASB).
Years ago, a traveling entertainer known as “The Human Fly” would climb tall buildings without ropes or safety nets. One day, during one of his performances, he paused for a moment, unsure of his next move. Soon, he reached for a piece of mortar in order to lift himself. Unfortunately, instead of moving higher, he fell screaming to his death on the pavement below. When authorities pried his right hand open, they discovered something unusual. What the Fly thought was a secure piece of mortar turned out to be cobwebs instead.
Make sure you’re reaching out to Jesus the Rock for abundant and eternal life instead of the cobwebs of human effort and an empty profession. You don’t want to be among those crying out, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” only to hear Jesus say, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matthew 7:22,23).
I write in this way, not to get you to doubt your salvation, but rather to confirm it. You should not have to wonder whether you will go to Heaven when you die. Salvation is something you can know for sure about. As Scripture says, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NASB).
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Rev. Gaddis has been a pastor for over 34 years, 25 of those in Georgia. He lives in Athens and can be reached at jtoddgadis@gmail.com.
