Lie # 40 “No one can be sure they are saved until they die.”
Not true. The apostle John offers believers (all those who have been reborn of God according to what Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-13) the assurance that they have God’s own eternal life within them. “I am writing this to you, who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Having eternal life is salvation because “having eternal life” is having Jesus by being one with Him. Again, all those in Christ are already seated in heavenly places where He sits, according to Ephesians 2:6. See Chapters Eighteen and Nineteen of the “Elephant book” for more specifics.
Lie #41 “I get closer to God by doing good things instead of bad things.”
This might seem true mentally but it is not true spiritually for a reborn saint. You are either in Adam and therefore, dead to God spiritually, or in Christ and, therefore, one spirit with the Father-God, according to 1 Corinthians 6:17. Union with Christ Jesus is not based on your behavior but based on believing in Jesus’ performance and accepting the gift of His divine exchange. It is impossible to earn or maintain the gift of salvation and fellowship by your works. How can you get “closer” than “oneness?” Being in Christ means that you are one with Him, spirit to spirit, not “drawing closer” until you die physically.
If you are inside your car, how can you “get closer” to it. That notion comes from works-based, religious thinking. Your outer man may be “far away from God” in thought and/or behavior, but the real you, believer, your new creation self, is never apart from Father-God because you are in Christ, by definition, and one with the Father in spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). The more that you grasp this revelation, the more you will reflect that unity in your behavior out of love (not duty) for your loving heavenly Father. Don’t let your natural mind, emotions or conscience trick you into thinking or feeling carnally that you live a yo-yo life with Christ Jesus. He is your rock and stability.
Coming Next Week on totalgrace.net — Lies # 42, # 43 and # 44 that often confuse many Christians. REMEMBER: Wrong believing which leads to wrong living. Conversely, right believing leads to right and prosperous living in Christ. Contact me (below) with any comments or questions about the content of this Blog. Lenny
life, that is, Jesus himself.