Crisis

[A_Thinker]

One can "sincerely" pray a sinner's prayer. But so what? That does not mean their heart has now really become right with God. It is a matter of superficial commitment vs. deep commitment; shallow soil vs. deep soil. I rarely think I am deep soil. Most of the time, I think I am shallow.

Take heart ... you WILL GET what you truly desire.

If you truly desire Christ, you WILL receive Him.

If not, then no ...

 

[Bob8102]

Considering that I am still in doubt about me being saved, and in light of A_Thinker's last three posts, I am realizing I may still need to find Jesus.

 

[Bob8102]

What if Someone paid for you those entrance requirements? Jesus said after teaching the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) that we all need to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is Perfect (Matthew 5:48). So that tells me our 'best efforts' at perfection to enter the Kingdom of God is not going to be that narrow path.

Yet there is One Who did meet this Perfection standard. Yes, Jesus Christ. It is through Him, in Him and with Him that we have salvation unto eternal life. It is His Work of taking our due punishment on the cross, suffering and dying a horrible death in His Royal Blood that we have salvation. He took all of our sins on His shoulders and took them far away washing us clean. It was His Perfect Obedience and Righteousness which God reckons (imputes) to us which gives us access to the narrow way and the Kingdom of God. It is His Resurrection from the Dead which justifies us before a Holy God and grants us eternal life as Jesus Christ conquered death. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts of the Apostles 4:12)

We cannot take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ until we come to the foot of the very Cross He was nailed to, shed His Blood for us and died for us. We come to His Cross and Empty Tomb (Resurrection) for Redemption. When God calls us He regenerates us, meaning we are dead in our sins and trespasses but God then makes us alive (Regeneration) makes us alive together with Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10):

Ephesians 2: NASB

1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.​

A good way to get to know Gods Full Provision of Salvation and His Love for us is through what is called "Roman's Road" from the apostle Paul's epistle to the church at Rome (1st century AD).

The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:8 declares, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins - and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, "for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What is the Romans Road to salvation?​

I appreciate yoour post, especially the delineating of the Romans Road. I have often tried to follow the steps of this road, only to doubt my salvation, shortly afterward. When it comes to the fourth stop, the sinner's response to the gospel, I try to do that. But then I always doubt I was for real. What if I am only fooling myself when I think I repent and turn to the Lord? So, I go back and seek some more.

 

[Hazelelponi]

I appreciate yoour post, especially the delineating of the Romans Road. I have often tried to follow the steps of this road, only to doubt my salvation, shortly afterward. When it comes to the fourth stop, the sinner's response to the gospel, I try to do that. But then I always doubt I was for real. What if I am only fooling myself when I think I repent and turn to the Lord? So, I go back and seek some more.

Honestly since you mentioned mental illness, I think some of your problem is stemming from that.

Something we all need to do is daily submit our will to God, daily to consciously place our trust in Him.

I think it would be good for you to every morning when you pray, make sure your making a conscious decision to trust in Christ for your salvation. You might find it helpful, since mental illness can contribute to doubt.

That, and make sure your getting your illness adequately treated. I've been praying for you and will continue.

 

[Bob8102]

Honestly since you mentioned mental illness, I think some of your problem is stemming from that.

Something we all need to do is daily submit our will to God, daily to consciously place our trust in Him.

I think it would be good for you to every morning when you pray, make sure your making a conscious decision to trust in Christ for your salvation. You might find it helpful, since mental illness can contribute to doubt.

That, and make sure your getting your illness adequately treated. I've been praying for you and will continue.

Thank you! And I periodically pray for everybody on this forum.