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ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE?

A Skunk Can Claim To Be A Duck, But Tie The Feet Of Both, Throw Them Into The Water, And The One Who Stinks Will Sink!

“Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?” 2 Cor.13:5 (Amplified Bible, emphasis mine).

There is not a more comforting and reassuring knowledge a person can have than to understand the Holy Spirit of God is present within them and that He is not only directing their lives, but exerting His supernatural influence upon others through them. And any experience or profession of faith that falls short of that standard is foreign to what the Bible says is the genuine salvation provided by Jesus Christ.

In other words, do your feet match up with your mouth? Do you both “walk the walk and talk the talk” as a daily demonstration of what you profess?

If the Holy Spirit is within the individual, His presence will not be “hidden under a bushel” (Matt.5:15), never to be seen by others. Even in the most carnal and backslidden believer, there will be glimpses of God’s “light” shining through them to demonstrate the fact that they are His. And if that light is never seen in one who professes Christ, the odds are great that they are counterfeit.

That is precisely the reason why the Cutting Edge Salvation Page has 12 “tests” at the very beginning. We put them there to help people comply with the exhortation of 2 Corinthians 13:5, cited above. And if upon self examination they find those things are not true in their life, they should stop putting on an act by claiming to be a Christian.

Mere belief without proper confirmation is, sad to say, the rule rather than the exception within Christendom today. Because what so many fail to understand is that intellectual agreement with the message of the Gospel does not in and of itself result in salvation. It is quite possible for one to believe everything the Bible says, but never experience a spiritual rebirth. And the reason is found in the fact that belief and absolute trust are two different things. God knows our heart and unless we come to the point of genuine repentance for our sin and actually receive the Holy Spirit into our lives, a profession of faith is meaningless.

To repent is not merely an expression of sorrow for wrongdoing on our part. The kind of repentance that is an integral part of salvation is marked by a change in direction that only God can bring about when one becomes a new creation in Christ. Afterwards the old life will gradually fall away as one grows in grace and knowledge of Him. Sin will continue to be a fact of life and trouble us to the extent we allow it, but those who are genuine will never again be able to sin and enjoy it for long! The Holy Spirit will not allow one of His own to engage in that type of behavior and be comfortable with it.

Do you find yourself talking about spiritual things with others? If you truly have love and devotion for Jesus Christ in your heart, even casual conversations will often be punctuated by references to Him or what He has done for you. The reason is that if you have a loving relationship with someone, thoughts of them will come to mind constantly. But for a person to be engaged and never mention their fiancé is similar to “believers” who never talk about the things of God! And it is a tragic fact that such is the rule rather than the exception where most professions of faith are concerned. They go through life thinking they are a Christian, but their lives are obviously a contradiction.

Then when honest “professors but not possessors” admit to having very serious doubts about the validity of their faith, more often than not they will be inordinately reassured by believing friends, their pastors, etc. And I know this is true because I have been guilty of it myself. Those who are born again have a tremendous desire that everyone be saved—so when a person appears to be slipping away into unbelief, it is a knee-jerk reaction to try to “keep them saved.” But believers must avoid making that mistake. Helping someone to know they are lost is obviously preferable to helping them go through life as a deluded hypocrite adversely affecting others.

There is another “test” for a genuine believer that was not included in the 12 on the Salvation Page. And it has to do with a peace of heart and mind that often defies reason:

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Phil.4:7 (KJV, emphasis mine).

If you have been born into the family of God and are growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Pet.3:18), the chances are really good that you are not overly troubled inside about what tomorrow may bring. Everyone possessing even minimal awareness knows this world is in a terrible mess and headed for disaster. But I do not see many of God’s people wringing their hands and worrying about it. While on the other hand, the unregenerate masses are, like “Henny Penny,” convinced “the sky is falling.” Radical environmentalism has most of them believing global warming is upon us and that extreme measures must be taken immediately to save planet Earth. But in actual point of fact, the straw that will break the camel’s back is lurking within Christendom. The Word of God tells us very plainly that at some point there is going to be a mass exodus from the faith:

“Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), 4 Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God” 2 Thess.2:3-4 (Amplified Bible).

Note that the great falling away will be made up of those who have professed to be Christians. The professors but not possessors will, in a cataclysmic movement, come out of the closet en masse and the preachers who contributed to their delusional charade will be out of a job! Most churches will be empty and genuine believers may face persecution on a scale not seen since Rome during the Early Church Age. But in the midst of such things God’s people have always taken refuge in this fact:

“We are assured and know that [ God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose” Romans 8:28 (Amplified Bible).

Over the past few months we have been seeing a steady stream of television programming and movies that are clearly Gnostic in their message and aimed at unregenerate Christendom. Those who have been exposed to the basic beliefs of the Christian Church but have no foundation in Christ are easy prey for seemingly plausible theories about how they have been misled concerning those beliefs. And I know from personal research that occult organizations are stepping up their efforts to discredit Christianity. For millennia Satan has been working under the guise of “the Church” to set it up for the kill and the coming apostasy will have every appearance of a victory for him. But that “victory” will be short lived. And when the Lord Jesus Christ gets through cleaning house, the devil and his disciples will be consigned to the lake of fire forever.

Ultimate victory will be enjoyed by the redeemed because it is guaranteed by the Lord Himself. Therefore, we should not be overly concerned about what might happen tomorrow. Our fate is, and has always been, in His merciful and infinitely capable hands. So just continue to lean on the everlasting arms.

“Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]” John 14:27 (Amplified Bible).

If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.

If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.

We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order Kingdom of Antichrist in their daily news.

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Finally, we would love to hear from you. You can write us at:
Cutting Edge Ministries, C/O Pastor Ron Riffe
P.O. Box 26
Gordo, AL 35466

You can also E-Mail  Pastor Ronald Riffe  regarding questions or comments about this article.

God bless you