ARE YOU REALLY SAVED? WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA? WHAT ARE THE PROOFS?

In 1995 I had a near death experience following being burned in a gas explosion caused by a faulty heater in our home. Greater detail about that is given in the book, "The Ultimate Question." One critical point from that experience is that historically about 97.5% of the general population goes to hell when they die.  Given that professing Christians make up about 25% of the general population, it means that only approximately 10% of those are actually among the redeemed. So, on average, only 1 in 10 of those attending a given church will actually go to heaven, and no non-Christian will at all!

I had a glimpse of hell that showed me it is an incomparably terrible place that is to be avoided at all costs! This is entirely avoidable due to God's grace through faith in Christ and therefore all the more tragic. What really rankles me is that the institutional Christian church is supposed to be preparing people for eternity and is failing miserably at this.  (Perhaps that is why the early church primarily met in homes: Romans 16:5, I Corinthians16:19, Colossian 4:15, Philemon 1:2.) One of the central failures of the organized church is the widespread acceptance and promotion within the church of an evil lie from hell that all a person needs to do to be saved is pray the "sinner's prayer" and that "once saved always saved."

For example, in early 2014 I attended Lakewood Church in Houston to hear Joel Osteen preach in person. (With about 50,000 members, it was the largest single non-denominational congregation in the U.S. at the time.) The facilities were impressive and the attendance was huge.  Mr. Osteen was a persuasive and entertaining speaker and the music and other effects significantly enhanced the experience.  However, I came away saddened because the message of salvation was fatally compromised. After the service I tried to meet with Joel to tell him my thoughts, but due to the heavy security and large crowds around him there was no clear opportunity to just walk up and speak to him.  So, I wrote him a letter later that week.  In the letter I addressed the eight points that the Scriptures tell us are necessary for salvation:

THE CRITERIA

1. Belief in God (I Kings 8:33, Habakkuk 2:4, Luke 7:50)

2. Confession of sin (Leviticus 5:5, 26:40, James 5:16, 1 John 1:19)

3. Repentance of sin (Exodus 23:21, Acts 2:38, James 2:17, 2:22, 2:26)

4. Restitution for wrongs (Number 5:7, Matthew 5:22,23)

5. Forgiving others (Mark 11:25, Matthew 6:14,15, 18:35, Luke 6:37, 11:4, 2 Corinthians 2:10, Colossians 3:13)

6. Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 22:16, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:21,22)

7. Taking communion (John 6:53-58)

8. Enduring to the end (Matthew 24:13)

To date I have not received an answer to that letter.

[If you have studied logic and language, it should be clear that necessary is different from sufficient.  Each of these points is necessary, but all eight of them are required to be sufficient - especially point 8. For example, a person professes Christ at one point in their life but renounces Him later is lost and even worse off than if they had never called on Him for salvation! (Hebrews 6:4-6) A typical comment on such a situation is "Well, they were never really saved." To this I answer, I cite the plain answer from the Maid of Orleans:

Question at Trial: “Do you know if you are in the grace of God?”

“If I am not, may God place me there; if I am, may God so keep me. I should be the saddest in all the world if I knew that I were not in the grace of God.” – Joan of Arc

That is, only God determines who is saved or not. However, He promised that all who call on the name of Christ will be saved (Romans 10:13); and those who deny Him will be damned (Matthew 10:33).  The logic seems clear to me.]

I do not intend to address every possible difference someone may have with this list, but as an example they might object that this is excessive because Christ said to the thief on the cross who called Him "Lord" "...Truly I say to you, Today you will be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43  ESV. As read apart from any other context, it appears the second thief crucified with Christ received eternal salvation by a profession of faith alone, without any of the above required actions.  In the passage, the thief only did three things:

1. he rebuked the other thief for mocking Christ

2. he confessed his sin and the righteousness of his judgement

3. he acknowledged Christ as Savior and asked to be remembered in the Kingdom of Heaven

The other five points are not explicitly addressed.  It may be presumed he was paying for his crime by being crucified (4) and he maintained his hope until he died (8). That still leaves points 5, 6 and 7 open. That Christ assured him he would be in Paradise indicated He was satisfied with the thief's faith and intent. We do not know the thief's past, and he may have been baptized as most of the Israelites in that region were in the time of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:5, Mark 1:5). He may have broken bread with other believers at one of the feedings of the thousands (5,000: Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14) & 4,000: Matthew 15:32-39, Mark 8:1-9) or with the disciples of Christ.  We do not know any of this for certain given the bare facts above.  However, generally to interpret scripture I would first apply the nine canons of biblical interpretation as stated by Ivan Panin:

Canon 1. The Bible alone is the Final Authority for its own Data

Canon 1I. The Old Testament text adopted as the basis of discussion is that

of the Hebrew Masoretes, of the present Hebrew copies, of which the

Protestant Versions are translations.

Canon III. The present Hebrew Text to be firmly held to, and abandoned

only where a copyist's error is proved from the Bible itself; the correction,

moreover, to be made only from the Bible itself.

Canon IV. A clear Statement in one part of the Bible to be held to against

others not so clear in other parts. The light from the clear to be thrown on

the obscure, rather than the obscure to darken the light. A mere difficulty

is not to annul a certainty.

Canon V. The Terms of the original Bible Languages are to be strictly

Adhered to in Translation: Keeping specially to the Distinction between

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers, and heeding the different Methods of

using Chronological Terms.

Canon VI. The Dictionary Meaning of the Terms used is to be strictly

Adhered to, and Departed from only when the ordinary Meaning is made

Impossible by other Established Facts. Canon VII. The Reconciliation of

what are apparently Discrepancies in the Bible Data must be along the

lines laid down in Canons.

Canon VII. The Reconciliation of what are apparently Discrepancies in

the Bible Data must be along the Lines laid down in Canons I-VI; and any

attempted Harmonisation on other lines stands Self-Condemned.

Canon Vlll. In the Solution of Bible Difficulties that which covers an

entire Class of Cases Stands as against those dealing with their individual

Cases separately. The Simple solution stands against the Complex.

Canon IX. In Matters Biblical the Notions of “Unlikely, Improbable, Hard

to Believe, Incredible, Inconceivable,” and their like, are not to be

Entertained so as to make the Bible Statements Void. Only what is

demonstrably Irrational, or declared in the Bible itself to be Impossible, is

to be allowed to Call in question Bible Statements.

In short, Canon IV applies.  What is clearly stated elsewhere in the scriptures is not voided by a less explicit passage. So, it may be presumed that the second thief met the minimum requirements for salvation as explicitly stated elsewhere, or Christ sovereignly waived the criteria that obviously could not be met due to circumstances beyond the man's control. It is the intent of the heart that ultimately matters and God (who knows our heart) is our ultimate judge.

That does not excuse others for compromising due to circumstances. In my NDE I saw the timeline of all people throughout history and saw clearly that most of them, including pastors, priests, regular church members and very religious or charitable people were going to hell in astonishingly large numbers!  This shocked and frightened me.  To me, in that divine encounter, Christ expressed deep sorrow about this too. None of them would have gone to hell if they had met God's requirements, which in simple terms is a loving relationship where they love selflessly and unconditionally and obey Him. 

We should also apply the scriptural principle the Apostle Peter wrote about of invoking the Holy Spirit to give us His intended meaning and  interpretation of any Scripture we want to understand. 

"...and we have the more established prophetic Word, in which you do well to take heed, as to a lamp shining in a murky place, until day dawns and the Light-bearing One rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that every prophecy of Scripture did not come into being of its own interpretation; for prophecy was not at any time borne by the will of man, but being borne along by the Holy Spirit, holy men of God spoke." II Peter 1:19-21 ESV

In my own studies, after asking for the help of Holy Spirt, I came to the above conclusions regarding salvation. So, I would expect anyone else being led by Holy Spirit to arrive at a similar understanding.

THE PROOFS

The bottom line is we need to know whether we are saved or not before we leave this world. It is far too late at that point to change things. So, how can we know if we have this ultimately important question answered correctly?  The scriptures state:

"The one believing and being baptized will be saved. And the one not believing will be condemned. And miraculous signs will follow to those believing these things: they will cast out demons in My name; they will speak new languages;  they will take up snakes; and if they drink anything deadly, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will be well." Mark 16:16-18 ESV

As a sensible precaution, I do not recommend handling venomous snakes or drinking poison to test or demonstrate your state of salvation. (If you are not saved, the consequences will be doubly tragic. If you are saved, there are safer, equally valid ways to prove the point.) Only one point is necessary to demonstrate the supernatural in your life, so speaking in new tongues, casting out demons or healing the sick in Christ's name is a good indicator of your condition. All three of those are quite involved subjects, so do not depend on a superficial experience with any of those for absolute confirmation. A personal prophesy from a validated prophetic minister is also an option; but one cannot prescribe what God may speak through them on any given occasion.

So, reader, are you in love with God? Do you love your fellow man? (Matthew 22:34-40) Can you say you meet all the criteria above?  Do the true signs of salvation manifest in your life?  If not, you may be deceived into thinking you are saved when you are really not.  This is the most important question for you to answer, so please get it right. I hope to see you in heaven some day, for both our sakes!

(1) From Ivan Panin's Bible Chronology, part I, page 2

MERRY CHRISTMAS! THOUGHTS ON "CHRISTMAS TREES"

When I was growing up some of the most memorable Christmases were the ones our family spent at my maternal grandparent's home in Willoughby, Ohio. There my grandparents had built a fine home on nine acres that included meadows, an orchard, a stand of maple trees (with a maple sugar shack!) a large garden, sheds full of interesting things and even a merry-go-round!  It was an ideal place for a grandchild to visit. 

While both were born American citizens, my grandmother was an ethnic German and my grandfather an ethnic Brit.  So a firm tradition in the family was to set up a "Tannenbaum" or "Christmas tree". There was a stand of pines near the front of the property where my grandfather would cut one of suitable size each year and my grandmother would decorate it with tinsel (some of it real antique tin!) and ornaments (some antique hand blown glass) that had been passed down in the family for generations.  There were even pictures in the family photo album of such trees lit up with wax candles ablaze with real (very dangerous) flames! As a child I was excited to awake on Christmas morning to find a huge pile of presents stashed under the tree like an offering, and search through the pile for those with my name on it. My mother told us stories about large family gatherings in her childhood where an uncle would dress like Santa Claus and visit the home with a sack of presents. Grandma would prepare a bountiful Christmas dinner for all. She called this "killing the fatted calf." Those were happy memories for me.

In 1975, the year after my grandfather died of cancer, we were visiting my grandmother at the beautiful house in Ohio.  There was a fresh snowfall on the ground and the scene was set for another traditional family Christmas. My grandmother handed me a bow saw and asked me to go outside and cut a tree like my grandfather did, then bring it back to the house. In the pine grove I found a tree of suitable size had grown from the stump of a tree my grandfather had cut years before. I felt bad about harming this particular tree twice, but all the others were far too large.  So, I cut it and dragged it back to the house.  I helped my grandmother set it up and decorate it. However my heart was heavy with the recent loss of my grandfather. Generally the mood in the household was not as festive as it had been in past years. 

In 1978 I gave my life to God and chose Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It was then that I began attending church regularly and studying the scriptures. I lacked a formal study plan, so I just started in Genesis and read through to the end, like I would any other book. As I read through the Old Testament, I came across numerous passages condemning idolatry, in particular Asherah worship. Later I went back and educated myself more thoroughly on the ancient subject of tree worship that was new to me. One passage that was particularly impressed on me was II Kings chapter 21.

"Manasseh Reigns in Judah

"Manasseh was a son of twelve years when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty five years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Hephzibah. And he did the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, according to the idolatries of the nations that Jehovah expelled from before the sons of Israel. And he built again the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed, and raised up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab the king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of the heavens, and served them. And he built altars in the house of Jehovah, of which Jehovah had said, In Jerusalem I will put My name. And he built altars for all the host of the heavens in the two courts of Jehovah's house. And he made his son to pass through the fire, used magic, and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spirit-knowers. He expanded to work the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger. And he set a graven image of the Asherah that he had made in the house of which Jehovah had said to David and to his son Solomon, In this house, and in Jerusalem, that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever.  And I will not again make the feet of Israel wander any more out of the land which I gave their fathers; only if they observe to do all that I commanded them, and to all the Law that My servant Moses commanded them. But they did not listen, and Manasseh caused them to be led astray above the nations that Jehovah had destroyed from before the sons of Israel. 

"Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced

"And Jehovah spoke by His servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh the king of Judah has done these abominations, doing more wickedly than all that the Amorites did before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore so says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing evil on Jerusalem and Judah, so that whoever hears of it, his two ears shall tingle. And I will stretch out over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and shall wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish (he wipes and turns it on its face).  And I will forsake the remnant of My inheritance, and give them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall be for a prey and for a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done evil in My eyes, and have provoked Me to anger from the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day. And also Manasseh has shed very much innocent blood, till he has filled Jerusalem from mouth to mouth; apart from his sin that he caused Judah to sin, to do evil in the eyes of Jehovah. And the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and all that he did, and his sin that he sinned, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Judah?" II Kings 21:1-17 ESV

It was through this self study and prayer for wisdom that I connected the family tradition of the Tanenbaum with Asherah worship. Webster's Dictionary defines it as: "Definition of Asherah: a sacred wooden post, pole, or pillar that stood near the altar in various Canaanite high places and that symbolized the goddess Asherah." (1)When I realized the potential catastrophic consequences for having a "Christmas tree", I repented for what I and my family had been doing for generations and decided never to do it again. I researched the subject to be better informed and able to give an answer for my decision and warn others. 

One salient fact I learned was that the Tannenbaum comes from a Teutonic pagan tradition that was introduced to the British by the house of Windsor. Some sources credit Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, with introducing the Christmas tree into England in 1840. However, it was more likely Queen Charlotte, the German Lutheran wife of George III, who set up the first known English "Christmas tree" at Queen’s Lodge at Windsor in 1800. 

Over the years I have met with stiff opposition and strident criticism for refusing to have an Asherah in my home, especially from immediate family. The debate about "Christmas trees" still sputters along in social media without any major players taking a firm stance against it. I still wonder why nothing overtly catastrophic has apparently happened to our family over the generations of those who did have Christmas trees in their homes. I also have wondered why my particular household has suffered an unusual  level of hardships disproportionate relative to those other families I knew, despite being faithful to God's Word.  

I know in my heart of hearts that God is always right and the Scriptures are true. So, I conclude that my relative hardships are attacks from the devil to make me give up on matters of faith. His strategy is obviously to make me commit greater sins so I will be exposed to worse attacks from him. God is also allowing me to be tested so, when I have passed the tests, He can bless me with greater rewards.  For a catastrophe is not always when obvious bad things happen. It is also when great opportunities are missed too.(Luke 19:44)  These things only make me more confirmed in the decision I have made and kept for over 40 years. I believe God has a vast and lasting reward for my faithfulness, and I do not want to miss that for myself or my posterity.

In particular I hope for a promise from God like that in the book of Jeremiah, "...Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not have a man cut off from standing before Me all the days." Jeremiah 35:19b ESV

How about you reader?  What is more important to you? Continuing a pleasant but questionable family tradition, or honoring God and receiving a divine reward for that from Him?

(1) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Asherah