Expert: Phillip Senn - 10/10/2008

Question
i've seen numerous verses where Jesus warns ppl...
"i never knew you"
or verses that say
such & such... shall not inherit the kingdom of god
or
"will be thrown in the lake of fire"

bcuz the general 'belief' around the christians and pastors i know is, that once your saved your always saved.
just say the sinners prayer and all will be fine...
or
the insinuation that if u come 2 church, serve and tithe, and you'll be ok in the sight of God. his grace is sufficient. bcuz bible says "call upon the name of the lord & be saved", "and john 3:16

but in the bible, i see a different message that kinda contradicts those verses. like "narrow is the gate and few enter in"

what do u think about this?

Answer
Victor,

Every one that believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, HAS ETERNAL LIFE. That means that they are eternally secure in Christ. There is no way that they can perish, as Christ has paid their sin debt, forgiven them of their sins, and has secured for them a place in Heaven.

I had prayed the "sinner's prayer" when I was 6 years old. I prayed it again at age 11. But in neither of those times was my faith in Christ. My faith was in the fact that I was praying a prayer, and trying to live a life that was pleasing to God, so I could get to Heaven when I died.

When a person places their faith in Christ Jesus our Lord, they are placing their eternal destiny into the safe keeping of Christ. They are trusting totally in the finished work of Christ, and not in their ability to be good enough, or faithful enough to Him. They are receiving the free gift of Eternal Life through faith in Him. When they receive Christ through faith, God sees their faith and counts it to them as righteousness. Thus, when God sees those of us that have trusted in Christ's full atonement of our sins, by His own blood, He sees us as perfectly righteous.

Some of the passages you mentioned are often taken out of context to prove that one can "lose their salvation". For instance, the passage that refers to those that will say, "Lord, Lord..." on that day, are those that He clearly also says to them that, "I never knew you." Now He doesn't say that He once knew them, and now no longer knows them. Rather, He makes it clear that He NEVER KNEW THEM.

Most people will indeed be in Hell, rather than in Heaven. The reason is simple... Most people are too prideful to admit that they can not be good enough to get to Heaven. They will try everything to get good enough. God's righteousness is counted to those that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Those that are "justified by the law" are not those that are justified by faith. The Scriptures make it clear, "the law is not of faith".

It is not a mixture of faith and works, as some suppose. Paul makes that point when he declares, "If it is of works, then it is no more of grace... and if it is of grace, then it is no more of works..." It has to be one or the other, but not both.

I hope this answer has been helpful.

With Love In Christ,
Phillip Senn