Do the Gospel

No, this isn't some new dance craze. I'm referring to the proof of salvation. So many churchgoers have never surrendered their lives to Christ. How can we recognize them? Here's how.

James 1:22 (BBE) exhorts us not to be listeners to the gospel, "But be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas."

And here's how we recognize somebody who's truly born again. James 2:14 to 17(BBE) directs, "What use is it, my brothers, for a man to say that he has faith, if he does nothing? will such a faith give him salvation? If a brother or a sister is without clothing and in need of the day's food, And one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warm and full of food;' but you do not give them the things of which their bodies have need, what profit is there in this? Even so faith without works is dead."

I need to point out here that works won't save a person. Only the grace of God through Christ does that. Christ likened actions to fruit. He said in Matthew 7:15 to 17 (BBE), "Be on the watch for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inside they are cruel wolves. By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree gives good fruit; but the bad tree gives evil fruit."

We also see the effects of salvation in Luke 19:8 and 9 (BBE). "And Zacchaeus, waiting before him, said to the Lord, 'See, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone wrongly, I give him back four times as much.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, for even he is a son of Abraham.'" Christ meant he became a child of faith.

But some people who claim to be Christians will actually end up in hell. Ponder what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 (BBE). "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven."

John 6:28 and 29  (BBE) answers the next logical question. "Then they said to him, 'How may we do the works of God?' Jesus, answering, said to them, 'This is to do the work of God: to have faith in him whom God has sent.'"

Some folks might say that this is too easy. Why should it be a hard thing to believe how easy it is? I'll be answering that question in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? On Saturday, I'll post about the joys of going home and the ultimate destination of Christ's followers.