But I believed...

As some of y'all know, I belong to an online group called the Omega Letter. I've done a few of my more serious posts with some of the articles my friend Jack has written.

One of our non-forum members asked this question about Saturday's briefing:

Comments:
"This REALLY bothers me: "Believing that Jesus died and rose again -- by itself -- is simply an acknowledgment of fact. Satan knows that Jesus died and he certainly knows that Jesus rose again. And he just as certainly isn’t saved by that knowledge. Neither is anybody else." I was always told that that was the crux of salvation - Satan knows it but I believe it. By faith, I believe it, because I was not there to witness it as Satan was. Satan has no faith, only facts. Now you are telling me my faith that Jesus died for my sins will not save me!?!?!?! I'm hoping I missed the point you were trying to make!"

My reply was this:

"Believing it happened in and of itself won't save you, accepting Jesus as your Savior is what saves you. That's where the pitfall lies in so many who think they're Christians. One can believe the Resurrection all they want, they can believe that Jesus was born, lived a perfect, sinless life and died for their sins, but until they accept that Jesus is Lord, the Son of God and repent of their sins, ask for forgiveness and ask for Him to save them from their sins and be their Savior...that's where their salvation lies. Not in the belief of the Resurrection or the belief that Jesus lived and is who He said he was. Does that make it a little more understandable?"

As I mentioned above that IS where the pitfall lies with so many who consider themselves to be Christians. You can ask 100 people if they believe in the Resurrection and in Jesus and you can have 100% of them say absolutely, "yes". You ask those same people if they have personally realized their need to be saved from their sin, come before Jesus and repented of their sins and asked for forgiveness and asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, if they can pinpoint that defining moment in their lives, and probably 25 or 30 of those polled might raise their hands and the rest start to huff and puff about it and make noise trying to make excuses and justify themselves.

You have Christians who don't believe that the Bible is the word of God or that Jesus is the Son of God who lived a perfect, sinless life, who believe that he was just a good man, a good teacher.

Either the Bible IS the Word of God and Jesus IS who He said He was or it's all a lie and God isn't really real, just come capricious cosmic jokester pranking us all. You either believe everything IS as God says it is or you're gravely in error.

There is absolutely ZERO piecemeal Christianity. You can't pick and choose the parts you want. It's all or nothing and it is with your whole heart, mind, body and soul.

As my friend Jack, and several others, have stated before, you can be sincere about something and, yet, be sincerely wrong! I can be sincere about my belief in Christ, but unless I have taken that step to actually BECOME a Christian, then I will be sincerely wrong when Jesus comes back for those who have acted on their belief and I will be left behind and be bewildered and say, "But I believed..."

I guess that's what we should be asking others who say they "believe".

"Yes, you believe, but have you acted upon that belief and turned your life over to Christ and accepted Him as your Savior?"

There is a vast difference between believing and doing something about that belief. An entire eternity of difference.