Scripture is clear on this matter.  John 6:44 says, "No one can come to Me (Jesus) unless the Father (God) who sent Me draws him; ..."  and in Matthew 11:27 Jesus says, "All things have been handed over to Me (Jesus) by My Father (God); and no one knows the Son (Jesus) except the Father (God); nor does anyone know the Father (God) except the Son (Jesus) and anyone to whom the Son (Jesus) wills to reveal Him (God).

You can't come to Jesus unless the God the Father draws you, and you can't know God the Father unless Jesus reveals Him to you.

This leaves man with a big problem in trying to achieve salvation through his own actions.

Still we find that the typical testimony of the false convert is all about what they have done and what they have accomplished.  It usually begins with what "I did", what "I believe", and always includes "I know what I meant".

It usually goes something like this:
"I remember how hard it was for me to take that first step, but I did it."
"I stepped out and walked down the aisle and I took the preacher by his hand and I repeated a prayer, and shortly after that I was baptized."

A lot of I's , but not a word about Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Yet again, it seems that the false convert's testimony is boasting in what they have done. ("I,I,I")  Many unawaringly have put their faith in a past act - a dead act (walking the aisle, repeating a prayer, baptism, etc.) and a past period of time (when I was 9 years old, etc.) instead of putting their faith in the living Christ.  The problem is many have walked an aisle with a wish list instead of a broken heart over their sin, or a desperate desire to repent of their sin, let alone any evidence or an eagerness to surrender and submit their lives to the authority of Lord Jesus. They were motivated primarily out of a love of self, rather than a love of the Father. There was little or no appreciation for the great price that was paid to make a way of salvation: the shed blood of God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus was only seen as a means to an end. Their lone purpose for walking the aisle was to avoid hell while they continue to live in open rebellion or to say the least - indifference toward the One they call their Savior. The false convert rarely refers to Jesus as their Lord, only their Savior.  They do not call Jesus, Lord, because they did not come looking for a Lord, only a Savior - a doormat (someone they can walk on) and a butler (to be at their beck and call).  1 Peter 2:7 says that Jesus is precious to those who believe in Him.  Yet, they (false converts) say they love God, but they have no problem neglecting Him, His Word or His House and yet, they are quick to tell you they are saved and there are more than a handful of preachers who will assure them of their salvation by the corrupt message they preach.

The true gospel has been adulterated to the point that it is no longer the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but the gospel of Satan.  Sadly, this gospel is being preached on a weekly basis by good-hearted and sincere men, but who are spineless because they would rather preach to the highways and to the hedgerows instead of those God has placed before them.  They preach about everyone and everything, but never direct the message to those that God has placed before them because their calling has become a job to protect. 

The pulpit has become a stage for their personal agendas, political crusades and comedy routines.  They preach a message of a dethroned Christ with no right to rule and without any mention of sin, repentance, denial of self, cross bearing, or a submitted and surrendered life to Christ Jesus as Lord because congregations will not tolerate the hard teachings of Jesus Christ. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)   To congregations, a man with a quick wit has become more important than a man with a calling from God.  They want entertainment directors; funny men who are always ready with a good joke to keep the mood light.

That in my opinion is a large part of the problem.  In an effort to modernize the church and fill the pews, the gospel message of Jesus Christ has had its stinger removed and the result is conviction being replaced by comedy. But it is no laughing matter when because of this corrupt message so many will hear Jesus say to them on the day of judgment, "Depart from me, I never knew you.." because they have been deceived into thinking they are on the narrow path (on their way to heaven) when they are actually on the broad path, which leads to hell. 

Congregations are so often told that all they must do is "just believe" (head knowledge), without ever being confronted with the essence of true belief.

Just believe that Jesus is God who took on the flesh of a man, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life fulfilling all the prophecies of the Old Testament, and through His earthly ministry He raised men from the dead, healed blinded eyes and broken bodies all while preaching and teaching the ways of God.  You can believe that Jesus was betrayed with a kiss for thirty pieces of silver, was taken in chains and beaten and spit upon, had a crown of thorns driven upon His head, was paraded through the city while being mocked and insulted, all while carrying a cross upon His back, to the place of the skull (Golgatha) where He was nailed to that cross between two criminals who further mocked and insulted Him.  You can believe that Jesus had a sign nailed above His head that read, "Jesus of Nazareth The King of the Jews", that the Roman soldiers gambled for His cloak and that He later died upon the cross then was taken down and laid in a borrowed tomb where three days later he defeated death by being resurrected from the dead and was seen by more than 500 different witnesses on at least ten different occasions.  You can believe that Jesus ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, ever making intercession for those the Father has given to Him and that He will  one day return upon the clouds of the sky with power and glory to gather His people - those who belong to Him -  from every corner of the earth.

You can believe that Jesus suffered all these things to make for you a way of salvation, a way of escape from eternity in hell. And yet, it is still possible to believe all this and still spend eternity in hell with Satan and his demons. Everything that you may say you believe, the demons know and they tremble.

In a day and time when so many are putting so much faith in what they have done, and so little emphasis is being placed on the work of Christ, many are often surprised to learn that the Bible ever speaks of Christ not committing to someone.

John 2:23-25 speaks of those who believed in Jesus but He did not commit to them because He knew the hearts of all men.


John 2:23-25
Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

To "believe" is always used as a verb in the Bible.  It is a practicing belief - a belief in action.  True belief is reflected in a surrendered, submitted, and committed life to Christ Jesus. 

If you simply walked the aisle, shook the preacher's hand, repeated a prayer, and went through the waters of baptism and then basically went on with your life as before, My friend, you are a Judas.  You make a mockery of Jesus and you betray Him with the life you live.

What I mean by this is that like Judas, you came to Jesus for what He could do for you.  Like Judas, you put on a show of allegiance to Jesus, but you have never really committed to Him.

B.B.Warfield said "We cannot be said to believe that which we distrust too much to commit ourselves to it."

Christ commits to those whose belief has resulted in a commitment to Him.  A saving relationship is two committed parties.  You committed to Christ and Christ committed to you.
(John 15:4,5) Jesus said: Abide in Me and I in you ...

You may say you have Jesus, but the question I want to ask is - Does Jesus have you?


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