The Danger of a False Profession

No one ever intentionally makes a false profession of Salvation nor are people intentionally mislead. Yet I fear there are thousands who have professed to becoming Christians who may have at some point in their life had a profound spiritual experience that changed their lives. Possibly worst of all is many have not had this required live changing experience and need to personally come to Christ. This episode gives some examples of how this could occur and gives an example of a pastor who came to this revelation.

This ministry is sponsored by “Words of Hope”.

Contact us at wordsofsalvationtn@gmail.com

Transcript

Ricky: 0:01

Welcome to Words of Salvation, a ministry dedicated to sharing what it means to have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. The title of this episode is The Danger of a False Profession. The shocking reality is many have made such professions one well-known publication gives a stark reminder of how this can happen. A minister from approximately a hundred years ago gives his testimony and just to summarize, LR Shelton professed to becoming a Christian at a young age. He became a church member, later made the decision to go into ministry he attended seminary, he graduated, went into the mission field, and later became a pastor of a local church. He states that one year an evangelist came to their church to preach revival, but there was something different. He was speaking of the need of a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and then something extraordinary happened. The Holy Spirit began to work. And by the second week of the revival church members, yes, church members began to get saved, professing a true work of the Holy Spirit had occurred in their soul in a way they had never experienced before. And by the end of the revival. Shelton took the pulpit and stated, I can no longer be your pastor for I am lost. He took his seat among the crowd. He gives his story of agonizing over his condition and trying to reason with God to no avail, trying to reason with the word praying. And after exhausting every effort to be saved, he professes that sitting in a pew on Sunday night, he finally surrenders to God and simply says, God, I cannot do this. But at that moment, God gloriously saved his soul. He found a peace he had never known before, and he realized that he had just. Met the master. I can give you dozens of similar stories, even in my own family who have made professions only later to realize that they were not saved. And I don't think anyone intentionally makes a false profession, as I've already stated, and I don't think people are intentionally trying to guide people into making false professions, but our enemy is great, and I just want you to have the assurance that you have a true, genuine, born again relationship with Jesus Christ. Have you truly been born again? Now I'd like to deal with the scripture of what I believe are some passages grossly misused in Christianity. While well intended, I feel these scriptures are redirecting the object of faith from Christ to just a few misused Bible passages. So let's look at the scriptures themself. Romans chapter 10, verse nine, otherwise known as the Roman Road, says that if thou shall confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus Christ, and shall believe in thy heart, God raised him from the dead. Thou shall be saved for what? The heart man believeth under righteousness and with the mouth confession is made in the salvation for the scripture sayeth. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. And I believe these scriptures to be true, but as I've already stated, they're often misused. Some call these the ABCs of. Salvation, accept, believe, and confess. But there's more to it than that. Now, fear, it is just not that simple. It takes more than a mental belief and a confession of the mouth to be saved. Paul writing here to the Roman says, for with the heart, man believes unto righteousness, and then he is able to confess his salvation. And then he says, that person shall not be ashamed or will not be disappointed. Let us talk about saving faith. Faith must come from the heart and not just the mind. You see, that's the difference I've experienced. Heartfelt salvation, and I pray that you have too, that the Holy Spirit has awakened your soul and that you have had a divine encounter with God. Someone made the statement that America's religion is 3000 miles wide, but only three inches deep, and a statement is having reference to the belief in the mind versus believing in your heart. You see, only God can do a work. In your heart, the English language and modern Christianity have perverted the definition of the word believe or belief. They've substituted its meaning, which in the Greek means to have a total trust. In essence, faith in Jesus Christ. True saving faith is an unconditional trust, and it's a 100% reliance on Christ for salvation and not just mere confession. I said the title of our episode was The Danger of a False Profession, and only you can know for sure whether or not you're saved and God is the one through the Holy Spirit that reveals that unto you. There's a type of faith produced in this world that does not honor God. It's called faith, but it's not true saving faith. It's an intellectual acceptance or perception. It's convincing yourself, that's your say, making a false profession. It is very similar to what the Pharisees practice in the Bible. And what was wrong with the Pharisees religion. Their object of faith was wrong. They were trusting in something other than Jesus Christ for their salvation. And I believe that's the way these passages of scripture are used. The Roman road is a common practice by which people put their faith in the scripture or they're influenced in some way but merely asking someone if they believe the scripture misses the point of true saving faith in Jesus Christ. You see then christ must be our object of faith. The Bible is the divinely inspired word of God, but it is not God. God is a spirit, and salvation is a spiritual experience that comes from God when you repent and have faith. In him, he must be our object of faith. The Pharisees saw no need of faith because they had the law of Moses. That was their object of faith. They had the birthright of Abraham. They were chosen of God, and they did not realize they were blind and needed to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as their savior. There was no repentance because they were self-righteous. They felt their good deeds showed their relationship with God. And they only acted to be seen and admired by others and not to please God. They were proud, self-seeking, desired to be prominent and exalted above others. Faith is the true way to God and if we get that wrong, nothing else matters. Repenting of our sins, realizing that we are lost and trusting only in Jesus Christ for salvation, so counterfeit faith is a false profession and a lot of people will make that profession and their lives are never changed, and they're just as empty inwardly as they were before they made a profession. You see, it's not just a simple intellectual decision. But an experience with Christ is a life changing event. And if you're doubting your salvation, search your heart. Can you go back to a time and a place where you met God, where there was a divine change in your heart that changed your life? The scriptures in Romans says, for what the heart man believes unto righteousness. Faith that does not bring spiritual life is not of God. There must be a change. And Paul says, if any man being Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, and behold all things become new. The new birth is the breath of God breathing on your soul and your soul coming alive, being sensitive unto God, having a relationship, being able to commune with Christ through the Holy Spirit. When you enter into a relationship with Christ, you will know that you have had a divine encounter with God. Again, faith that is just a mere intellectual acceptance does not saved. No one can be saved by simply accepting the principles of Christianity taught in the Bible. Christ is our object of faith. Put your trust in Christ, the one who is worthy of all honor and glory and praise, and I make this statement again. Faith that is a mere intellectual acceptance does not save. It was his sacrifice on the cross that redeems us, and we must put our faith and trust in Christ alone. And yes, he died for our sins as a way that we can be saved. The word of God is a roadmap that simply points us to Jesus. The kind of deception I'm talking about is like blind presumption. It's like offering a hungry man imaginary bread. It does not feed his soul. The Bible says that even the demons believe there's a God, but they're not saved. A historical theologian by the name of EY Mullens said, saving faith expresses all human faculties intellect, emotion and will. In other words, you must give your all to God through faith and there will be a divine encounter that occurs in your life. Repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. And the results of counterfeit faith are utter separation from God. All definitions come short of genuine saving faith in God. It's an unquestioning belief. It's a 100% assurance. It's trusting in the unseen, not the unknown. It's confidence in God when all human reasoning fails. So many people try to reason out their salvation intellectually, and that just does not work. It takes a divine intervention from God. The Bible says, for by grace, are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift of God. Salvation is a gift, but God must grant us the faith when we seek him and when we repent. We cannot do it by ourselves. It's not just a decision. It's not based on our good deeds. It's surrendering our will. It's surrendering our all to Christ with a complete trust and confidence that he will do the work of salvation and that is hard for us to grasp with our intellectual minds. To recap, Christ must be our object of faith and the Holy Spirit is the true witness of saving faith. Paul says, if a man does not have the spirit of Christ abiding in him, he is none of his. Now, I believe children are covered until they come to an age of accountability but once the gospel is shared, once we realize our loss condition, we then become accountable unto God. Then after we're saved, after we have experienced Christ, the word of God will cause our faith to grow. And the Bible does say faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But true saving faith must be clothed with humility and repentance. Do you recall the example of the Pharisee and the public that were praying publicly? The Pharisees prayer was arrogant. He said, I'm thankful I'm not like this man. But the public hid himself on the chest and he could not even lift up his eyes toward heaven, but he said, God, be merciful unto me a sinner. Jesus said that this man went down to his house, justified. Maybe you are spiritually empty. We're uncertain. If you have a relationship with God, you can know with full confidence whether you're saved or lost, and only God can reveal that to you. Trust Jesus. Call out to the master. Seek God. Until you find him, you must go directly to him. Putting aside any notions of religion or any other distractions that would keep you from Christ, Christ alone can reveal directly to your soul where you stand with him, and when you enter that relationship, there will be such a glorious spiritual witness. There will be no doubt that you have been in the presence of a Holy God. I've heard so many people who have been through religious ceremony or. People who thought they were saved, but then later have had a divine encounter with God that changes their lives. That is true salvation. When you experience Christ on a personal level, if you do not have it, seek God until he answers. Thank you for listening to Words of Salvation Today. This ministry is sponsored by Words of Hope. If you'd like to contact us. Feel free to email us at any time at words of salvation, tn@gmail.com. That's words of salvation. The letter T, the letter n@gmail.com. God bless you is our prayer.