Saved, Settled, and Sure
Ike T. Sidebottom
Is
it possible for us to know that we are saved and that we never can be lost?
Is
every saved person complete in Christ without membership in any Church
organization and without the practice of any of the Church ordinances?
Do
we go immediately to Heaven or Hell when we leave this world?
If
there ever was a time the Church needed to give a positive, clear ringing
testimony in answer to these questions, that time is today. The world is in
confusion because of "Wars and rumors of wars." The Church is
hopelessly divided in "mind and judgment," because of
denominationalism; and desperately sick because of the improper diet prescribed
by Church leaders and rationed out to the multitudes by hirelings.
The
individual sinner has a desire to be saved, but he doesn't often hear the plain
scriptural plan of salvation given from the pulpit, over the air, or from the
printed page. The babe in Christ has a desire to grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, but when he goes to the
meeting place for food from the precious Word of God, he usually gets a
sermonette on churchanity and must return home with a hungry heart.
We May Know
that
we are saved, because God has said so in His infallible Word.
"And
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of
the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may
believe on the name of the Son of God." (1 John 5:11)
This
is God's record that all who have His Son are in possession of His own eternal
life. He wrote these things in order that those who "believe" may
"know."
Dear
Reader, If you are in doubt about your salvation or if you feel that you are
now saved, but fear that some day you may lose your salvation, will you not get
your Bible and read the above passage on your knees before the God of glory.
Read and re-read this, His own testimony, which He has borne concerning His Son
and the eternal life given through Him.
If
you are among those who "believe on the name of the Son of God," you
have the scriptural right to know that you have eternal life.
In
connection with this comforting certainty, I suggest that you read and meditate
upon the following kindred passages—Ecclesiastes 3:14; John 3:16-18; 10:27-29;
Colossians 3:3; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6; Romans 8:35-39 and 2
Timothy 1:12.
In
these closing days of the Church Age, things are terribly unsettled. The
unsaved man looks about him for something that is substantial and sure. All he
can see in the world is change and decay. Oh, that we who are really saved
might bear a sound, solid, positive testimony concerning the eternal life which
God has given to us in His Son. How refreshing it is to hear a believer say,
"I know I'm saved."
Remember,
my dear friends, when we testify to the fact that we are saved and sure of our
salvation, we are not bragging on ourselves but we are boasting in our Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the One who saved us! He is the One who keeps us! He is the
One who will carry us safely through to glory, without the loss of one! To Him
belongeth all the praise.
Church Joining
is
a very popular movement in these days, spoken of by the Apostle Paul as
"perilous times." The idea of forming church organizations and
promoting church-joining programs originated with man and not with God. The
proud flesh of churchmen cries out for manpower when the real need of the
church is God-power.
The
children of Noah said, "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose
top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name" (Genesis 11:4). The
modern church program of today is built on this same foundation, hence the
confusion and scattering of the church members into more than four hundred
different sects and creeds. Just as the organized effort at the Tower of Babel
failed (Genesis 11:5-9), so the organized efforts of churchanity are doomed to
confusion and failure.
Paul
describes the conditions in the professing Church at the close of this age in 2
Timothy 3:1-5:
"This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away."
It
is very easy for the majority of God's faithful children to see that the above
quotation applies directly to organized churches. However, it is painfully
difficult and extremely hard on the flesh for us to apply the last four words
of verse five in a practical way. If every child of God would obey this
imperative command—"From such turn away"—the religious system would
be forced to cease their commercialism in the name of Jesus Christ.
Independent Churches
are
springing up everywhere. Just as the conscientious Protestants in the days of
Martin Luther organized themselves into churches like unto the Catholic system
from whence they came, so are the independent Fundamentalists of today
organizing themselves after the fashion of denominational systems. It seems
that preachers and church leaders refuse to be satisfied with the church and
its doctrine, as set forth by the Holy Spirit through the writings of Paul.
They insist upon enlisting the members of the body of Christ in a competitive
work of building churches.
The
moment a group of believers give themselves any other name than that which
designates them as an assembly at a given address, they mark themselves as another
sectarian group. Usually a second step is taken immediately after the church
name is selected. This second step is a doctrinal statement including a part of
the Bible and emphasizing one Biblical doctrine above that of another. A third
step usually follows, which binds the members of the assembly into an
organization with voting power to control the policies of the said
organization. Such doctrines of men can never be fitted in to the order of God
as laid down in Ephesians 4:11-16.
The Biblical Church
of
this dispensation is spoken of in Ephesians 1:22-23 as "The church, which
is the body of Christ." Christ is the one head of this church, and every
saved person on the face of the earth is included in its membership. "We
are all baptized by one spirit into one body." The baptism here referred
to is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The body is the "Body of
Christ."
"There
is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)
If
you are a member of the church which is Christ's body, you are "complete
in Him" (Colossians 2:10). It is just as unscriptural for a believer to be
dissatisfied with the church membership which God gives him as it is for him to
be dissatisfied with the salvation which God offers. We do not need man's work
added to God's plan of salvation; neither do we need the touch of man-made
organizations for everyday service in God's church. If you are satisfied with
your salvation, you should be satisfied with your position in Christ.
Our Hope of Glory
will
be realized when our Saviour returns from heaven to "change our vile body,
that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body" (Philippians
3:20-21). If we who are members of the body of Christ die before He returns for
His church, we are immediately "Absent from the body, and present with the
Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). The body goes back to dust, but the spirit goes
to be with the Lord. We may expect the return of the Lord for His church at any
moment, and at His coming the bodies of those who have fallen asleep in Christ
will be raised and joined with their spirits that are now present with the
Lord, and the living saints will be changed and caught up into glory with the
resurrected ones. At this time the church which is the body of Christ, will be
presented to Christ, the Head, according to Ephesians 5:25-27.
All
who die without the Lord Jesus Christ go immediately into the flames of
torment. This truth is illustrated in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man of this
passage actually lived on the earth, died as other men die, and then lifted up
his eyes, "being in torments," and recognized his terrible condition.
All Unbelievers
must
either meet the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary and accept Him as
their personal Saviour, or else they must take their place in the flames of
torment when this life is over.
"He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:36)
(A 10 Minute Video)
How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
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