HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE SAVED?
Fellowship of Believers in Yeshua the Messiah Ministries
Pastors Karl & Rose Ann Lopez
Algood, TN.Luke 10:25-28…."And the lawyer stood up and put Him to the test saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
This is an age old question, "What must I do to be saved, to inherit eternal life?" According to many denominations, they tell you that their organization has the plan to eternal life. They will instruct you according to their hybrid interpretation of the Bible concerning not only the plan of salvation but other Biblical doctrines such as Christmas, Easter, Sabbath etc.
The real question is, "How do we know we are saved?"
1. Is it by joining a church?
2. Is it by shaking hands with a pastor?
3. Is it by getting baptized in some name as Jesus' Name or the Father, Son and Holy Ghost?
4. Is it going to an alter, screaming and crying, with people gathered around you telling you to beg for the Holy Ghost, or to make a promise to God in order to receive the Holy Ghost?Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to beg people to come to an altar to get saved. The early believers never gave alter calls. They taught from the Torah. They preached from the Torah the good news of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and His fulfillment of the sacrificial laws that led to His crucifixion on the tree and resurrection. They taught that our salvation came by grace not works.
These churches that teach that you must come to an altar to be saved need to get rid of their altars and get back to their Hebraic Roots. It is very doubtful that the pastors and teachers of these churches could convince anyone of their need of salvation through the Older Testament. It is very doubtful that they could explain how Yeshua (Jesus) fulfilled the sacrificial laws, nor could they rightly divide the Word in the Older and Newer Testament to convince anyone of their need of salvation. With all of their hybrid teaching of Jesus plus this, or Jesus plus that, it is no wonder that so many precious people are lost. This hybrid, man-made teaching has caused many precious people to be lost because they want nothing to do with the religious man-made system of the world with all of its heavy burdens.
Remember, Yeshua, along with the apostles, were Jewish. They quoted from the Torah. There was no Newer Testament at that time. So back to the question, "How do you know that you are saved?"
Yeshua, in Luke 10, asked the lawyer, "What is written in the law (Torah)? How does it read to you?" The lawyer’s reply was, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and will all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Neither the lawyer nor Yeshua said that you had to be baptized, that you had to speak in tongues, that you had to join a church, don’t cut your hair, don’t do this or don’t do that. The answer to the question was to simply love the Lord your God with all of you heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.
One person may say, "When I read the Bible it says this or that to me and that is all that matters. Sorry, it does matter how you read or interpret the Bible. Eliminate all man-made doctrines and you will find that the plan of salvation is by Grace and filled with simplicity. When you trust in God’s Grace for your salvation, you are not burdened down with a heavy yoke of man-made rules and regulations. Yeshua said my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Hell is going to be full of false teachers and preachers who have twisted the word of God with their hybrid theologies. Through their false teachings they have murdered the souls of those who trust in their teachings and have caused them to be sent to an eternal hell.
In 1st Timothy 2:15 we are encouraged to study the Word of God for ourselves. We as individuals are responsible for our own spiritual warfare. Read 1st Kings 11:14-16. Joab was the general of David’s army. He killed all the males of Moab and allowed the women to escape. He was suppose to destroy everything and everyone. The Torah Anthology relates the account when Joab returned and gave his report to King David. Joab was asked why he had killed only the males and allowed the women to escape? Joab’s answer was, "It is written in the Torah, "wipe out all the males of Amalek." David said, "That is not the correct way to read the verse"! It should be read, "Wipe out the memory of Amalek." Then Joab became very angry at his teacher and said, "Why didn’t you make sure that I learned it correctly? You knew it, but you didn’t pay any attention when I read it wrong and you let me continue in my mistake. It’s all your fault."
This blaming someone else is like when Adam blamed God for giving him the woman (Eve) who caused him to sin. People in churches today want to blame their sins and false teachings that they receive on someone else. But each person is responsible for themself. Just like Joab wanted to blame his teacher and not take the responsibility of searching and studying the Word for himself. Don’t just take the pastor’s word for it, he may be wrong. STUDY FOR YOURSELF!
People are lazy. They don’t want to study. They would rather let someone else tell them whether it is a lie or a truth. Although many of these pastors and teachers are wrong, we cannot put all of the blame on them. We are again responsible for ourselves.
Matthew 7:21-22…."Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles?"
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Fellowship of Believers in Yeshua the Messiah Ministries
Pastors Karl & Rose Ann Lopez
Algood, TN 38506
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