According to National polls, 80% of American’s claim the religion of Christianity, and yet the Bible is clear that the ones that find the path to Heaven are ‘few.’ It is the story of the wide and narrow gates found in my favorite book of the Bible, Matthew.
Now don’t you think, that if 80% of people REALLY WERE Christian, the world would be so much better? If 80% were truly saved, then Christianity would be POPULAR. Woah, what an idea! Instead, Christians are persecuted daily for their faith. Yes, even here in America.
I’m going to challenge your thinking today. I’m going to propose the idea that 80% of America is NOT Christian. The signs are there. I’m going to propose that the Bible is right…
When I was 8 years old, I accepted Jesus into my heart and got baptized. I grew up thinking that if i died today, I’d go to be with the Lord.
Was I saved? Absolutely not.
Because being a Christian is more than just saying a prayer, reading some bible verses and being baptized. You have to really mean it. And I didn’t. I did it to make my mom happy. She didn’t seem to like me, and I desperately wanted her to.
You see, when you come to Christ, you come on His terms, not your own.
Sadly, if I would have died before I truly gave my life to the Lord years ago, I would have been wrong. Don’t be wrong, okay? Many are fooled just like I was, but the Bible is true, and it says FEW find the path. This doesn’t really match up with 80%. Few is not the majority.
Below are a few questions to consider that act as a self-test to know for sure if you’re saved or not:
1. Do you have a hunger for God’s Word?
2. Do you WANT to obey Him?
3. Do your good works prove your heart’s attitude?
4. When you sin, does it upset you?
5. Have you given up everything and everyone in your life to God?
6. Do you long for Heaven or do you hope to be around here for a while?
7. Do you feel the Holy Spirit working inside of you? Training you daily to be more and more like Jesus Christ?
8. Do you love to be around fellow believers?
9. Has your life radically changed since becoming a Christian or do you still blend in with the world pretty easily?
10. Have you been persecuted? If you’re Christian, the Bible says you will be. The only variable is the level of degree of persecution.
11. Do you find this excitement in yourself to tell everyone about Jesus?
12. Are you willing to put God ahead of yourself?
13. Are you willing to do absolutely anything for the Lord, no matter what, in order to follow Him?
14. Do you have a head knowledge of God, maybe you’re even an elder in your church, but you do not know God experientially. You’ve never genuinely given your life and everything in it to Him. You’re prideful and it’s all about rules and regulations to you and living up to those rules that make you a “good person”, a leader.
15. Are you submissive to the will of God?
16. Do you have a genuine love of other believers in the family of God?
17. Do you believe you’re the only one who’s gotten salvation right and everyone else is doing it wrong?
18. Do you think you’re better than your sisters and brothers in Christ?
19. Do you have a love for others (both saved and non-saved) or do you quickly dismiss them and their needs?
While this list isn’t an exclusive yes or no list, do this your saved, don’t do it, you’re not saved; it CAN be used as a guideline to reveal our hearts to ourselves.
👉 We are so easily fooled, and we so desperately want to believe the best in ourselves and others. But does our lives, the things we do every day, match up to the Word of God? No one else can know your heart except you and God, and the Bible, for very good reasons, asks us to continually be searching our own hearts for hidden sins.
This post hits home to me more than you know. Not only do I regret not coming to faith in Christ sooner in my life, but I also see it in my kids. As of right now, they DON’T have those qualities and they are not saved, which is sad.
Which side are YOU on?
Do you have peace?
Are you 100% SURE that if you died today, God would allow you into Heaven? Why?
If He asked you why He should let you in, what would your answer be? Matthew 7:21-23
On what basis do you have security in your mind that you’re a genuine believer?
After I gave my life to the Lord, I asked Him to show me if I was saved or not so I could be SURE. Since I was deceived before, I wanted to be so sure this time that I wasn’t just deceiving myself again.
A situation occurred in which I acted in a way contrary to myself. The Holy Spirit took over my actions and I behaved in a way that SARAH would not have. I knew it was of the Lord and NOT ME.
It couldn’t have been ME. It was HIM.
It was proof of the Holy Spirit living inside of me.
Couple that with a completely changed heart, mind, and life for over a decade now. A soul on fire for God, running for Him as fast as I possibly can every day of my life, as a pattern of my life, and I know that I’m genuinely saved.
There’s proof in my walk.
I’ve given up everything for Him many times (giving up my husband and this last time, giving up everything and becoming homeless for Him) and would do it all again in a heartbeat if He asked me to.
What is YOUR proof?
Have you seen the Holy Spirit work in your life? Have you felt His presence in your heart? Do you truly know your Savior experientially, or just know ABOUT Him? Believing in God isn’t enough to save you. Even the demons do that (James 2:19).
For most people, pride gets in the way. They are prideful and think they are good people, have kept His commands, go to church every Sunday, but it’s not about legalism or keeping some Pharisaical laws.
It’s about a genuine relationship with the Lord God Almighty, the One who created the entire universe and everything in it.
Is He pleased with you? How do you know for sure?
If you’re unsure about your salvation or if you’re reading this and have any doubts of whether or not you’re saved, you’re most likely not saved. True believers are sure. They know. There’s been proof.
Ask God to show you the TRUTH, and be willing to hear that truth, no matter what the answer is.
His answer to this question of whether or not you’re genuinely saved is the difference between you spending eternity with Him or you spending eternity with the devil in a literal place called Hell.
It’s not a question to be wrong on. Take a ton of time and really, REALLY figure it out.
