Expert: Eric Christy - 1/22/2009

Question
QUESTION: I was thinking today and it bothered me about my salvation because I am unsure about it.

I said the Sinner's Prayer.

I believe and confessed that Jesus is the Son of the only Living GOD and died for my sins and rose again.

I asked Jesus to forgive me.

I do believe that GOD and Jesus exist.

I did this three times.

I confessed all of it with my mouth.

But I did it because I didn't want to go to hell.

I was also baptized when I was younger.

I never really tried to develop a close relationship with Him though nor have I really wanted to but yet I know that He is trying to have one with me.I'm trying to read my BIBLE and I pray every night but I don't know what you call that.I guess you can call it trying to have a relationship with Him.All of this is tearing me up because I don't know anymore and it would grieve me to the upmost if I have never been saved all of this time.I just don't know if I am really trying to have a relationship with Him.I don't know where I am standing with this.It's not that I do't want one with Him but it's not that I exactly do.I am trying to though.

I used to try and read my Bible and go to church and I do pray to GOD every night.I wish that I had a heart to seek Him more but how do I get that kind of heart?

Am I not saved now?

Oh and in your opinion,do you think that Barack Obama is the antichrist or something?

But every time I find myself wanting to draw closer to GOD.I sometimes feel like I do it still because I don't want to go to hell.As I said,I did what it ays in the BIBLE and when I confessed that I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again and still lives,I meant it very much because I do know that is what happened.But I still don't know if I want a further relationship with GOD.I asked Him to give me a heart to want to seek Him more.Does this mean that I am not saved?



Well when I confessed my beliefs,I meant it but I also did not want to go to hell.I truly do know and believe that Jesus died for my sins and that He rose again.I'm 13 by the way.I'm not confessing it just to be doing it.I got saved in 2002,2008,and 2009 but now I still feel like it is still not enough.If I am not saved then what's the point of living?I am desperately trying to do everything to get saved.And I am still not saved?I've did what it says in the BIBLE to be saved!I do believe what I am saying when I say it.I just feel like I don't get saved in order to seek GOD but all I know is that I do believe that Jesus died for my sins and that GOD raised Him back up from the dead.And I know that Jesus is still alive too!But the truth is that I confessed what I said in the sinner's prayer because I truly do believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again and that He still lives and becaus eI didn't want to go to hell.So what is still wrong?



Someone just told me that if I had to ask if I am Saved then obviously I am not. I go to an Apostolic church but I am really Pentocostal.MY beliefs are that if you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour and ask Him for forgiveness from your sins then you are saved.But of course different denominations have different beliefs on what actually makes you saved so if I went to a non denominational church it might make me confused. So if you don't mind,I will ask my question again.- Well when I was about 8,I asked for God's forgiveness but at the time,I did it because I didn't want to go to hell.I didn't really love GOD because I didn't really know Him that well.So then like 2 years later,I got the Holy Ghost but then I felt that my church was trying to really push me into it so I just all of a sudden shut down.About a year ago or a couple of months ago,I just decided that I didn't want to go to church anymore.I go once in a while but not every Sunday and I feel that if I am just going to make people happy and just to be there then that's a vain reason to go.If you're not there for GOD then there's no point in goingI tried reading my Bible and I started from the first chapter and tried to read the whole book in order.Well that got boring and I didn't understand anything so I stopped that too.So now,the only thing that I will do is pray and majority of the time,it's to ask for things.I'm not really sure if I love GOD because I haven't really got to know Him nor hae I really tried anymore.I know I have really backslided in that area.Does this mean that I am not saved?Or at least anymore now?So now I am not saved?!?!?!?!?!?!?!Now I might as well kill myself.The thing is that I don't know if my heart was into when I was eight,at the time,I Was a little willing to get to know GOD better but now I am hearing this?What are you saying now.Now I am not saved?Yes I do believe that He is the son of GOD and that He died for our sins so that we can be forgiven.I asked Him for forgiveness.At the time,I didn't want to go to hell but at the time,I was young and I wanted to I guess know Him better.But after that,I just drifted off.But now I don't even know if I am saved.Does it sound like I am saved?If I didn't ove GOD when I got saved then does this mean that I am not saved?Do I need to get saved again? I know this is terribly off subject.But now I am in even worse trouble if I am not saved.I feel even worse.They told me that I have to accept Jesus as my master which is what I thought accepting Him as my Saviour meant.It make sme want to commit suicide even more than before.Maybe my life is just going down the drain.I mean,I have everything academically and school-wise going for me.But everything else is just terrible. I live with my mom and she is on welfare and medical cards but yet my dad is rich.I don't live with my dad.But I live with my mom in an apartment building that my dad owns,he owns a lot. I guess you could say that my mom is middle class because we aren't poor.My dad always gives us the money to pay our bills and buy food and all of that stuff. So does this mean that I am poor? There are days when my mom doesn't have money.But we don't starve or don't have clothes but there are some days that there is nothing to eat (which is rare)because I eat up everything and she doesn't have time to go to the store or my dad hasn't given her the money. I am stuggling with my sexuality.I'm not pretty.I have bad thoughts and can not seem to get my mind together.And now I might not be saved?Please respond!







I don't feel good.I'm not alright.This makes me want to do something drastic.Like suicide!I asked Him into my heart but at the time,it was because I didn't want to go to hell or anything.Am I not saved then?Do I need to get saved again or something?







Also I am wondering if I have blaspemed.Sometimes when I say the word gay or something similar,I suddenly look at a picture of Jesus even though I wasn't talking about Him.Sometimes when I say the word gay or something similar,I suddenly look at a picture of Jesus even though I wasn't particulary talking about Him.And sometimes I think things that are blasphemous.I don't mean to think that way.And if I think,I don't say it.But after I do all of this,I ask for forgiveness.But it says that real Christians don't commit blasphemy so that means that I am not a true Christian and that I was never saved.But that means that I have to get saved all over again and I am getting sick of doing it over and over and over!I don't want to blasphemy either because I know what happens to people that do.So what do I do?Am I not saved or a Christian?And sometimes I think about blaspemy.I don't think that I really mean it if I have ever said or else I wouldn't want His forgiveness.I wouldn't even care for that matter.But I do care.I certainly don't curse GOD outloud habitatly.I do have bad thoughts but I ask for forgiveness right after them because I know that I don't mean to even think them,they just pop in my head.If I have ever said anything against GOD or Jesus,I haven't ever meant it,that's for sure.But it just bothers me.So now I might not even be a Christian?"

I also wonder if I have sold my soul.I sometimes think about selling it.And sometimes I say "If I don't do this then my soul is....."



I don't want to say the rest.I don't know if I have bet on my soul but yet I think that I have but I ask for forgiveness after it.I ask God to forgive me for it.But I don't want to sell my soul.Does this mean that I have?"


ANSWER: Hello CGLLR,

You are asking questions most of us ask as we're growing in our spirituality. Your questions show that you are thinking deeply about your spiritual health. So I would say you're more healthy than not. If you were not concerned about your spiritual health, if these questions and doubts you are having did not bother you, and cause you to seek help, then you would be in spiritual danger.

A consistent theme running throughout your questions is whether you are saved or not. I can't answer that. I can, however, lead you to the one who can. Let me begin by answering your question with another question: If God isn't as close as He used to be, guess who moved? You mentioned that you are reading the Bible but the feeling I get from you is that you are not reading it regularly. You can consider the Bible to be your spiritual food. Imagine how physically starved you would be if you ate once a week. Imagine how spiritually starved you would be if you read your Bible once a week (or less). My own spiritual experience taught me how IMPORTANT feeding my spiritual body is with good food. I cut out going to bad movies, watching moronic TV programs with all their sexual innudendo, and stopped reading trash magazines. I replaced these loser activities with winning activities like reading my Bible more and going to church to get involved with people of like mind (Bible study groups) and started to work out to get my body in shape.

As for selling your soul, we are all born damned. You cannot sell your soul because Satan already owns it. What you can do, however, is to choose to trade ownership by letting Jesus take back from Satan what Satan currently owns. You see, before sin entered into the world (the fall of Adam and Eve) God had ownership of humanity. But when Adam and Eve chose to sin, that ownership was transfered to Satan. Then when Jesus came, He gives each person the choice of who retains ownership. We can choose Jesus (if we're smart) or we can choose Satan (dumb). You, me, everyone has to make that choice. If we choose not to make that choice, Satan keeps what he already owns. The only way to get out from Satan's ownership is to ACTIVELY seek Jesus Christ as your savior. Jesus promises to accept everyone who seeks Him with their whole heart. And this is KEY: Seek Him with your whole heart. Do not be half-hearted about it. So, how do you seek Him with your whole heart? You seek Him with your whole heart by choice. Choosing to do the things that put you in spiritual contact with Him. And that means to read your Bible daily, praying daily to have Jesus become your savior, and requesting Him to make it CLEAR to you that He has accepted you. He will do this for you because He did this for me. The Bible does state that Jesus accepts all who call upon Him, but the requirement is that you call upon Him with your whole heart. You cannot be lazy or half-hearted about this. Remember, your eternal destiny depends on your choice here. You go to heaven if you are sincere toward God and Jesus, and you go to hell if you are not. It's your choice. We are put here on earth to make that choice, among other things. Choose wisely.

Make it your priority to study the Bible daily and to pray that God gives you wisdom to understand it. And I would add, that if you make yourself to praise God daily (even when you do not feel like praising Him) and be thankfull for what you do have, you will find that over time you will enjoy living more and that God will be more real for you. Practice praising God. The Bible states that "God inhabits the praises of His people". Let that one verse sink into your mind. He inhabits you when you praise Him. The more He inhabits you, the less the Devil inhabits you. You can CHOOSE to kick the Devil out of your life by CHOOSING to insert God into your life. You insert God by reading your Bible, praying for things, and praising God and thanking God for what He has done and what He has given you and what He wants to do for you in your future. This is what is meant when you hear people talking about "practicing the presence of God".

If you do these things, God will guide you in your life to what you need to take care of to protect your salvation and to give you the life God wants for you to have.

Eric

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I also got saved because I was interested in getting saved.But I didn't want to go to hell eithe rbut I didn't do it to form a relationship with GOD but now I am trying to form one with Him.No one made me get saved either.I decided to but I wonder if I did that because I didn't want to go to hell.Did I get saved for the wrong reasons and am I not saved?
Are you saying that I am not saved now?

Answer
Hi CGLLR,

Just like you, I first accepted Jesus Christ as my savior because I did not want to go to hell. That's a pretty normal reason, don't you think. Later, after I gained in my knowledge of the Bible and prayer, I began to fall in love with Jesus and God. But when I first got saved, I did so from a very powerful fear of hell. That's normal. It's a perfectly good reason to accept Jesus as your savior. And in fact, it is the BEST reason, the most IMPORTANT reason to accept Him. The Bible doesn't call Him the savior for nothing. Calling Jesus the savior indicates we need SAVING. Saving from what? Saving from Hell. So accepting Jesus as your savior is a very good reason to accept Him, and is, in fact, the best reason. Later on, as you grow in your knowledge of Him by reading your Bible and prayer and fellowship with other Christians, you start to see the many other good reasons to accept Him.

I too was heavily involved with Pentecostal churches. I left them because of the ridiculous push on having to speak in tongues as evidence of the Holy Spirit. I am not a Catholic, but they at least value taking an intelligent approach to growing in one's faith. The Pentecostals flee anything requiring intelligence. If Catholics are the brains of Christianity, Pentecostals are the ass. They're so full of spiritual bullshit, I finally had to leave them to maintain my spiritual health. Their emphasis on speaking in tongues is one of their main problems. While speaking in tongues is a legitimate gift of the Holy Spirit, most who claimed to have this gift, didn't. They were fooling themselves, as was I, until I got real HONEST about it and realized I was lying about having this gift. If you haven't already, I would leave all Pentecostal churches and get into study of your Bible and prayer and find a good Bible-based church that doesn't require you to speak in tongues. Truth is more important than tongues. Learn the truth about the Bible. I'm here to help if you want to learn, as are many other solid Christians.

As for your salvation, it is not for me to say if you're saved or not. Be honest with yourself, and ask God to guide you. Doubting your faith, your salvation is a normal aspect of spiritual growth. If you didn't doubt, THEN I'D BE WORRIED. Doubt leads one to ask the important questions and indicates that you are thinking about your faith.

Eric