Help, I Am Not Sure I Believe On Christ Alone

By David J. Stewart | August 2018

Ecclesiastes, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.”

       I received the following important question from a web visitor. I thought the question was so important that I decided to save the question and answer for the benefit of many others. ..

Hi, i know that the only way to Heaven is through faith alone in the blood of Christ. I live a wicked sinful lifestyle and i believe the lord is taking away my peace. I’m not sure if i believe on Christ alone for salvation but i want to. I always do the Just in case prayer, just in case I’m not saved. I just want to rely on Him alone. Please help?

Gods graces, Keegan

Here is my Biblical response:

Hello Keegan,

I can help you! First, thank you for visiting my website ministry. It is my privilege and blessing to help others in the Lord, and I am so glad that you wrote to me with your question.

To answer your question, there is a story in the Holy Bible about a man whose son was afflicted by demons and frequently threw himself in the fire, suicidal. The father came to the Lord for help. ...

Mark 9:21-24, "And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."

I shared this precious Scripture passage with you, because you mentioned some doubts. This man, like you my friend, said he believed, but he also had some unbelief. The truth is that there can be no faith without doubt, otherwise it would be knowledge. If we know something to be true, then it does not require faith to accept it. The reason why we need to place our FAITH (TRUST) in the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, buried and bodily resurrected three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), is because we don't KNOW for certain if these things are facts. The Bible confirms this truth in Romans 8:24, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?"

So your doubts are perfectly normal and acceptable! I wrote an article years ago about a chair illustration, which highlights the Biblical truth I am sharing with you...

http://www.jesusisprecious.org/articles/chair_illustration.htm

The lack of peace you are feeling is called "religious scrupulosity." How's that for a big word? I had never heard the term until a web visitor one day asked me about it. So i wrote an article about it...

http://www.jesusisprecious.org/articles/religious_scrupulosity.htm

Since we are all still horrible sinners as believers, we ALL experience some degree of religious scrupulosity. You are not the only Christian who struggles with sin. The apostle Paul, one of the greatest Christians who ever lived, said he continually did the sinful things that he didn't want to do, and likewise failed to do the things that he knew that he should be doing (Romans 7:14-25). God only had one Child without sin, but He never had a child without temptation (Hebrews 4:14-16). God never had a child without suffering (Romans 8:17).

When we sin as believers (and we ALL do every day), we fall IN GRACE, never FROM GRACE. Romans 5:20, "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." We could never out-sin God's grace! Granted, we ought not deliberately sin as God's children (Romans 3:31). Hebrews 12:6-8 warns that God is not an absent Father, and He will chastise and scourge His children when we disobey. Every believer experiences God's hand of discipline at times! That is because we all go astray sometimes (Psalms 119:67, 71).

Proverbs 3:12, "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." NO ONE has God's approval or permission to commit sin. So I am not make light of sin, God forbid. Albeit, the matter of man's eternal redemption has absolutely nothing to do with our human performance. Salvation is received, not achieved. Eternal life is a TAKE proposition, not a GIVE proposition. It is the free gift of God (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10). A gift need merely be accepted; in the case of eternal life, by childlike faith (confidence) in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He became the sacrifice (our sin payment) on the cross. That is all God requires to be saved. Romans 8:24a, "For we are saved by hope..." Titus 1:2, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." In hope there is an element of doubt, because we don't KNOW for certain.

Now, we can KNOW that we are saved according to 1st John 5:13, by the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God (1st John 3:24). Yet, our total hope is predicated on the belief that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God (1st Peter 1:23; Luke 8:11). Most people refuse to believe on the dear Savior (John 5:40). Jesus didn't say they cannot come, He said they WILL NOT come. Salvation is a supernatural miracle of God in response to a person's faith in the Good News of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen (John 1:12-13; Romans 1:16).

I highly recommend reading a very helpful book by Michael P. Bowen titled, "I Never Knew You: The Horror Of The Coming Great White Throne Judgment And How You Can Avoid It!" ...

https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/i_never_knew_you-excerpts.htm

https://www.jesus-is-savior.com/BTP/i_never_knew_you.pdf

Also, I recommend reading a book by my dear friend, Pastor Max D. Younce titled, "Salvation And The Public Invitation," which helped me greatly...

https://heritagebbc.com/library/salvationandthepublicinvitationweb-pdf

https://heritagebbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/salvationandthepublicinvitationweb.pdf

An excellent MP3 sermon by Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008) is called, "How Permanent Is Your Salvation," the sermon which inspired Michael P. Bowen to author the preceding book I mentioned. ...

http://www.jesusisprecious.org/sermons/audio/hank_lindstrom/how_permanent_is_your_salvation.mp3

One of my favorite preachers is Pastor Ralph "Yankee" Arnold. Here are many of his MP3 sermons, many of which clarify the simplicity of the Gospel, which I am confident will help you greatly. ...

https://www.soulwinning.info/sermons/pastor_ralph_yankee_arnold.htm

By God's grace I am here to help others in the Lord. If you have any questions, please keep asking until you have the 100% assurance that you are saved certain.

Remember that we are saved because of God's faithfulness, and not our faithfulness. Much of the confusion in the churches today is caused by well-meaning ignorant preachers who mix discipleship (Christian service) with sonship (salvation). Discipleship depends upon our faithfulness, but salvation is entirely of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Discipleship as a believer is a matter of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1st Corinthians 3:11-15; 2nd Corinthians 5:9-11), but salvation is a sole matter of trusting in the precious blood of Jesus that washes our sins away (1st Peter 1:18-19; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:7).

Also, Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001) preached a wonderful MP3 sermon called, "How To Be Right With God." Pastor Hyles explains the difference between being right with God POSITIONALLY (saved) verses CONDITIONALLY (discipleship). ...

http://www.jesusisprecious.org/sermons/audio/jack_hyles/how_to_be_right_with_god.mp3

We will always struggle with sin as believers until God takes us home to Heaven. We don't want to be ashamed when the Lord returns. Ephesians 2:10 says that God saved us by grace "UNTO GOOD WORKS." The Lord saved us so we wouldn't live in open sin anymore, but we all still falter. Proverbs 24:16, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Carefully notice that a just (i.e., righteous, or saved) falls seven times. In the Scriptures, seven is the number of perfection, or perpetuity. In the context of Proverbs 24:16 it refers to falling innumerable times.

That is why Jesus told Peter that we are not only expected to forgive seven times, but 7 times 70. Peter took the number seven literally, but Jesus enlightened him as to the true meaning of the use of that number. A saved man will fall again and again, because he or she is still in the flesh, a sinner. However, notice the beautiful next part of the verse... "AND RISETH UP AGAIN"! When we sin as believers, God's Holy Spirit deals with our heart. In the Old Testament, David commit adultery and murder, and for several months was in denial about what he had done. So God needed to send David a wake-up call, by sending Nathan the prophet to confront him.

David repented right away, but their were lifetime consequences. The unintended child died. David suffered much household conflict, broken family, adult children sinning and betraying him, deaths and defeat. David was forgiven, but suffering for his sins. Likewise, even though God will forgive the vilest sinner on earth (Isaiah 1:18), that cannot spare us from the earthly consequences of our bad decisions and sins. On earth, people define us by our lifetime highlights (usually the sins and mistakes we've made); but God, Who is omniscient, defines and judges us by our entire life lived (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

If your only hope of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is in Jesus Christ, because of what He did on the cross to pay for your sins, believing that He resurrected bodily from the dead three days later, you are saved. You can never lose your salvation. Once saved, always saved. The second (spiritual) birth is as irreversible as the first (physical) birth. Salvation is not a prayer. ...

http://www.jesusisprecious.org/books/i_never_knew_you.htm

We can lose our love, happiness, peace and freedom, but we can never lose God's salvation.

God bless you Keegan!

Kindest regards,
David

END OF ARTICLE


NOBODY IS LAUGHING IN HELL!!!

Did you know that you don't have to ask Jesus to save you? God has already told you how to be saved, that is, by simply believing that His Son died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and raised up from the dead three days later. Christ raised up from the dead, which means that God the Father accepted His Son's payment for the sins of the world. Christ suffered on the cross so that we wouldn't have to suffer in a literal Hell forever. Amen! You don't have to bow your head to be saved. You don't have to pray. You don't have to do anything except believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, and make that your only hope for Heaven!

Nothing Can Replace The Holy Bible!

“You cannot be saved from corrupted Scripture!”
 —a quote by Pastor Steven Anderson from the awesome MP3 sermon, “Saved By The Word.”

“Lies don't save you!”
 —a quote by Pastor Steven Anderson from the awesome MP3 sermon, “Saved By The Word.”

“Only the Word of God can make you a man of God!”
—a quote by Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold from the awesome sermon, “The Sure Word of Prophecy.”

". . . ye have PERVERTED the words of the living God. . ."
Jeremiah 23:36

Give Me Jesus!
(video sermon by Pastor Danny Castle - You don't want to keep your eye on others, because they'll let you down. They'll hurt you.
And you don't want to keep your eyes on yourself, because you'll feel inadequate, like a loser and a failure. Keep your eyes on Jesus!)

Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith.

God will not save anyone who is trying to be saved, He will only save those who are trusting to be saved.

Religion is man trying to reach God through human effort, but Christianity is
God trying to reach man by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross.

Luke 11:28, “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

“You can sit there and say, 'Oh, well, you just took it too far. You just took King James onlyism too far!' Well, you know what brother, you can't take it far enough, when they're pushing all these false versions, and all the bookstores, and the Christian bookstores, and all of your big name preachers are all preaching false versions! You know, we need to stand our ground on this issue!!!” —a quote by Pastor Steven Anderson from the awesome MP3 sermon, “Saved By The Word.”

“Only the Word of God can make you a man of God!”
—a quote by Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold from the awesome sermon, “The Sure Word of Prophecy.”

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can.
At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”
―John Wesley

"Just keep on keepin' on!" —Evangelist Lester Roloff

Redeeming The Time


Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

“Nothing in my future can ever affect the salvation that I have... Once you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are eternally secure!” —Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?

“Salvation is based upon purely what Jesus Christ has done. And if you've trusted Jesus Christ here, you're saved forever! Nothing in your life, nothing in your death, angels, principalities, nothing—nothing in your future—could ever undo that relationship that has been made when you trusted Jesus Christ as Savior. And there are many people who are confused over this whole thing.”
—Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?”

“There are many people who name the name of Jesus Christ, who are not saved, because they're trusting in living the Christian life, or in their works, or in some efforts that they're doing, in order to obtain their salvation.”
—Pastor Hank Lindstrom (1940-2008), a quote from the classic MP3 sermon titled, “How Permanent Is Your Salvation?


Souls Are Dying!

How Permanent Is Your Salvation?
(an excellent MP3 sermon by Pastor Hank Lindstrom, 1940-2008)

Mark 1:15: “...repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

“The mark of the child of God is that he loves everybody!”
(a quote from Pastor Jack Hyles' classic MP3 sermon, “FORGIVENESS”)

Mark 11:22, And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.


Ye Must Be Born Again! | You Need HIS Righteousness!