I believe there's a lot of people in
hell.
I believe there's a lot of people going
to hell.
And I also believe, friends, that there are
some good church folks who are on their
way to hell.
In 1 John, chapter 5, and in verses
11 through 12, we read, And this is
the record that God hath given to us,
the eternal life.
And this life is in His Son.
He that hath the Son hath life, and
he that hath not the Son of God
hath not life.
That's an important statement, friends.
And it's a very clear statement on salvation
from the Apostle John.
He doesn't say, he who has accepted Jesus
as their personal Savior has eternal life.
He doesn't say, he who has done a
physical act, like walking an aisle or repeating
a prayer, has eternal life.
He doesn't say, those who have made a
decision to become a Christian through a mental
flip for Jesus have eternal life.
I actually heard a Baptist pastor tell his
congregation that all you had to do to
be saved was to believe John 3.16.
That's what that seminary-trained pastor said.
But believing a text won't save you, friend.
It just makes your pastor a liar.
John tells us that he that hath the
Son hath life, and he that hath not
the Son hath not life.
Herein lies the great divide between heaven and
hell.
Have you found Christ?
Have you gotten savingly to Christ Jesus for
forgiveness of sin?
Are you born from above and washed in
the blood by being in a vital union
with the living Lord?
Or have you missed Christ?
And that's the tale of my message today,
friends.
Have you missed Christ?
What are some ways you can miss Christ?
You can miss Christ by resting your hope
of heaven on an empty religious profession.
You can miss Christ by resting upon the
rotten foundation of a good opinion of yourself
and a long track record of service.
You can miss Christ by missing repentance.
You can't have Christ and not repent, no
matter what modern theologians tell you.
The only believed gospel that's gained prominence in
the last 60 years won't save you from
the penalty of sin.
It will only damn you to a devil's
hell.
If you miss repentance, you miss faith.
Acts 20.21 demonstrates that repentance and faith
go hand in hand in salvation, testifying both
to the Jews and also to the Greeks.
Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ.
So if you've missed repentance, then you've missed
saving faith.
And if you've missed faith, then you've missed
Christ.
A mere mental flip for Jesus won't cut
the mustard, friends, when it comes to you
standing before God on Judgment Day.
You see, friend, when Jesus was here in
His earthly ministry, as He passed through towns
and villages, those who encountered Him experienced change.
Have you ever been awake until you lost
condition?
Have you ever been brought under conviction of
sin?
Have you ever experienced change through the new
birth whereby God works grace upon your heart
through the supernatural act of regeneration?
Have you ever been born again, He that
hath the Son, hath life?
Do you have eternal life?
Or do you just have a good reputation
at church?
Have you just done what your pastor told
you to do and called that salvation, yet
you missed Christ?
If you missed Christ, friend, you would die
on your sins and spend eternity in a
region of outer darkness called hell because He
that hath not the Son of God, hath
not life.
Repent before it's too late.