SALVATION EXAM – PART 1

AM I LOST? (AM I HEADED FOR HELL?)

salvation exam real false genuine Christian

“Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat” [Matthew 7:13]

Regarding salvation, regarding who is going to heaven and who is going to hell, the Bible refers to two classes of people: the saved and the unsaved, the redeemed and the damned, the sheep and the goats.

Characteristics of people who are lost:

The number 1 characteristic of people who are lost is that they often think that there is something they DO that prepares them for heaven or prepares them for some higher level of consciousness.

Those religious, spiritual or moral things people DO to attempt to earn heaven include:

church membership, attending church services
reciting prayers – the Rosary, a mantra, etc.
meditating, doing penance, fasting, suffering
being a ‘good’ person, doing good deeds
praying to dead people – saints, ancestors, etc.
using holy water, owning religious statues wearing religious medallions, robes, etc.
lighting candles, burning incense
bowing down to statues or towards a ‘holy’ city
christenings, baptisms, initiation ceremonies
communion, confirmation, last rites
becoming a priest, nun, pastor, guru, etc.
confession of sins to a priest or any other man
preaching or teaching religion
being born into some (any) religion
trying to keep 10 commandments or other rules
involvement in special ministries or causes
donating money to charity, helping the poor
prayers from others for your departed soul
suffering somewhere temporarily after death
going on pilgrimages to ‘holy’ places
dying for someone or for ‘your’ religion
doing more good deeds than bad deeds
achieving some higher state of consciousness
ANY OTHER HUMAN EFFORT

Additional characteristics of people who are lost:

They are uncomfortable around people who like to talk about how Jesus Christ has changed their life and saved them from Hell.
They think there are many valid ways to heaven or that when you die you cease to exist.
They think that hell does not exist or that it is only for very bad people (bad according to their definition). They think that it is narrow minded to think there is only one way to heaven.
They think that to get to heaven you need to be a member of their particular religious organization on earth. They usually change the station when they hear a preacher or Gospel music on the radio.
They may only go to church for weddings, funerals, and baptisms and maybe religious holidays or they may think that they deserve to go to heaven if they go to church faithfully.
They rarely if ever read the Bible to find out how God expects them to live. They don’t realize that they are here on Earth to serve God and get ready to spend eternity with Him.
They don’t realize or care that they will be accountable to God for every thought, word, & deed.
They enjoy doing the things that God calls sin and can’t understand how someone could enjoy living life any other way.
They are preoccupied with the things of this world: money, possessions, self-gratification, people’s approval rather than God’s approval.
They don’t realize that they are their brother’s keeper.
When confronted with what the Bible says about God’s requirements for mankind, they try to discredit the authority and accuracy of the Bible.

“They measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” [2 Corinthians 10:12]

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” [Proverbs 14:12]

“We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” [Isaiah 64:6]

SALVATION EXAM – PART 2

AM I SAVED? (AM I HEADED FOR HEAVEN?)

“Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” [Matthew 7:14]

Characteristics of people who are saved:

They realize, by the grace of God, that salvation is not earnable by anything whatsoever that a person does.
They realize that if not for the intervention of God, no one at all would be saved – everyone would end up in hell.
They realize that even the best person in the eyes of sinful mankind is nothing more than a lost hell-deserving sinner in the eyes of God.
They realize that God is infinitely holy and cannot fellowship with sinful mankind until something is done to remove all the sin from those who will someday fellowship with God.
They realize that no one deserves to go to heaven, God does not owe it to anyone no matter how good a life someone supposedly lived.
They realize that only eternal God could pay the penalty of eternal damnation for a person’s sins.
They realize that Christ had to be eternal God in order to be able to undergo the terrible punishment owed by all of God’s people.
They realize that salvation is not found in a religious organization or in good deeds or religious rituals or rules, but in the finished work of Christ at Calvary and nothing else.
They enjoy talking about how Jesus Christ has changed their life and saved them from Hell.
They like to listen to preachers and Gospel music in church, on the radio, etc.
They fellowship with other Bible-believing Christians on a regular basis and consider it a matter of necessity for their spiritual health.
They read the Bible daily to find out how God expects them to live.
They realize that they are here on Earth to serve God and to get ready to spend eternity with Him.
They realize that God is very holy and that they will be accountable to God for their actions.
They hate doing the things that God calls sin and can’t thank God enough for delivering them from a former life of bad habits, self-centeredness & sin.
They are preoccupied with getting ready for the next life and warning people to flee God’s wrath in Hell.
They act like they are their brother’s keeper.
When confronted with what the Bible says about God’s requirements for mankind, they sincerely try to be obedient to what it says, with God’s help.

“The Son of Man is come to seek and save that which was lost” [Luke 19:10]

“Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” [Romans 10:9]

“Hell and destruction are never full” [Proverbs 27:20]