In the last days, it is our greatest hope to receive the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. To help all the people who yearn for God’s appearance to welcome the return of the Lord Jesus Christ soon, our blog will update the latest message on the return of the Lord.
Regarding salvation, many brothers and sisters say with confidence: “The Bible says: ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:9–10). We have received salvation at the cross of the Lord Jesus and if we only believe in our hearts and confess our sin with our mouths, we will be forgiven—we are already saved, so we have full salvation and when the Lord comes, we will definitely enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is this viewpoint of ours actually correct? Does having our sins forgiven and being saved really mean we have full salvation? We really need to communicate this issue clearly, because it is directly connected to our entering the kingdom of heaven, a great matter.
Some Christians think that they are no longer sinners, but are justified by believing in the Lord Jesus, and that they will be taken into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord returns. It is written in the Bible, “Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus” (Romans 3:25-26). So they consider that, with Jesus Christ acting as their sin offering, as long as they repent to the Lord, their sins can be forgiven, and thus they can be justified through the redemption of Jesus. However, whether or not we have ever thought: It is true that our sins have been forgiven through our faith in the Lord Jesus, but does this mean that we are righteous men and are no longer of sin?
First, we might as well see what the apostle John said about this, “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7). The apostle John warned us not to be enticed by people’s exteriors, and that without doing righteousness, a preacher of righteousness isn’t necessarily righteous only by promoting righteousness, whereas the one doing righteousness as well is sure to be righteous. It is perceived that neither promoting righteousness nor doing righteousness can be absent. However, with neglecting to put righteousness into practice, we only think, as long as we endure to the end, we will be justified by faith and will not be counted as sinners, and also we will surely enter the kingdom of heaven. This viewpoint above doesn’t accord with God’s will, nor is there any proof in the Bible.
Next, looking at us, believers in the Lord Jesus today: Although we have some good deeds outwardly after accepting the redemption of the Lord Jesus, such as giving alms and helping others, yet these deeds are still far from proving that we are doing righteousness—merely standing for a good behavior, which can still not correspond to the Lord Jesus. It is because that we, having many corrupt dispositions within, can’t avoid committing sins and resisting God yet. For instance, when we encounter things in our real life, we can’t walk in God’s way or live out His words, filled with selfishness and baseness, crookedness and craftiness, but often reveal corrupt dispositions of arrogance and self-conceit without a heart of reverence for God; when we shepherd the church and suffer hardships to do some work for the Lord’s sake, we can exalt and testify ourselves to be venerated and looked up to; when we serve God, we can attack against each other and raise jealousy and strife between one another to compete for status; in addition, when our labor and sacrifice beget no God’s blessings, we can complain about and misunderstand God; when God’s work is not in accord with our notions, we can judge God; and so on. Aren’t these manifestations above the revelation of corrupt dispositions?
With so many sins existing within us, can we be called the righteous? Let’s see what is written in the Bible, “If so be that you have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:21-24). These verses also tell us: Since we have accepted the way of the Lord, we must cast off our former corrupt behaviors, live out the likeness of a new man, and ought not to do abominations any more. We should know the ones God finally will get are those who can live out God’s words and righteousness from the inside out, instead of those who only have a few good behaviors on the surface but are still bound by sins within. We, however, have lots of corrupt satanic dispositions, full of sins. How can we be called righteous people for this reason? It is also recorded in the Bible, “But when the righteous turns away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All his righteousness that he has done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24). As can be seen from the verse, although we can be justified because of the redemption of the Lord Jesus and our faith in Him, nevertheless this does simply mean that we get an opportunity of being justified from the Lord, rather than represent that we are righteous people. If we can’t seize this opportunity to do righteousness, but live in sin and give free rein to the spread of sin, then how can we become righteous? So faith is inseparable from practice. If we only have faith but no living out in our behaviors, then we can’t receive God’s approval. Thus, the saying of being justified by faith is invalid.
Now that we can’t truly be justified by faith, how can we be justified then? In fact, the Lord Jesus has already set the standard of righteous people. It is said in Revelation 19:7-8, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” From this we see that what God says about the standard of righteous people is based on whether we can do righteousness, in other words, it depends on whether we can live out holiness and the image of a just man. Supposing that we fail to do it, then we will not be justified by God. But, as for us, having many Satan’s corrupt dispositions within, we have not changed our life dispositions, full of sins in our living out, so we cannot glorify and manifest God at all, nor can we live out His words. Then how can we act out righteousness? Therefore, we must get rid of our corruption, not living in sin any longer, so that we can become the ones who accept God’s inspection in everything, follow His will and practice according to His words, have a heart of loving and obeying God in all our actions, achieve changes in our disposition, and finally fear God and shun evil. Such people are righteous ones of whom God approves. Just like Job, in all his life he conducted himself in conformity with the Lord’s way, and had a heart of fearing God and shunning evil in everything. Whether trials of hardships or refinements, he could obey God’s orchestration and arrangement without complaints, without his own choices or demands, and could still praise God’s name. So, Job is the one who truly lived out the image of a righteous man and became a perfect man in God’s eyes.
We think a man can be justified by faith. In that case, we can weigh whether what we do is the living out of a righteous man. For example, since we believe in and follow God today, whether we have changes in our disposition, whether we still live by the old satanic nature, and whether we have tolerance, patience and love to others on the basis of understanding the principles of the truth; on the other hand, whether we act strictly as words said by God without mixture of our own will, notions and imaginations, and whether all we do can be in accordance with Christ? How many, mentioned above, have we lived out? If we would like to be justified, we must remove our corruption, not living by satanic corrupt disposition any more. Only by breaking away from sin to carry out righteous acts can we get the Lord’s approval. Just like the words in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “But as he which has called you is holy, so be you holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be you holy; for I am holy.” as well as in Hebrews 12:14, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” We all know that God is holy. So, God does not allow any filthy and corrupt things to exist in His kingdom. Only the ones who are purified and saved by God can enter God’s kingdom.
Regarding salvation, many brothers and sisters say with confidence: “The Bible says: ‘That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation’ (Romans 10:9–10). We have received salvation at the cross of the Lord Jesus and if we only believe in our hearts and confess our sin with our mouths, we will be forgiven—we are already saved, so we have full salvation and when the Lord comes, we will definitely enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is this viewpoint of ours actually correct? Does having our sins forgiven and being saved really mean we have full salvation? We really need to communicate this issue clearly, because it is directly connected to our entering the kingdom of heaven, a great matter.
First, we need to recognize the fact that we have undeniably received the redemption of the Lord Jesus; however, has our sinful nature been resolved? Does God forgiving our sins mean that we are now purified? As for us, if we take a look at ourselves and how most of our brothers and sisters around us live out their lives, we see that the vast majority of us follow the ways of the world; when we encounter an issue we lack tolerance and patience, and are unable to put the words of the Lord into practice. We live our old lives of sinning by day and confessing by night. Can those of us who sin so frequently really already be fully saved? Will we really get into the kingdom of heaven in the future? In the Bible, it has been recorded: “Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant stays not in the house for ever: but the Son stays ever” (John 8:34–35). “For I am Jehovah your God: you shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44). “Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). From these verses we see that God is holy, His kingdom is holy and God will not allow unclean people to enter His kingdom. Even though our sins are forgiven, our sinful nature is still within us and we are not free from the bondage of sin. We live within a vicious cycle of sinning and confessing and are not at all purified. Frequent sinning makes us servants of sin. How could a servant of sin enter the kingdom of God? Therefore, the argument that having our sins forgiven means attaining full salvation and getting into the kingdom of heaven does not hold up.
What does “being saved” mean here? We all know that under the Age of Law, God issued the law and the commandments through Moses to lead the Israelites in their life on earth. In those days, the Israelites only had to keep the law and commandments and they would not be condemned. Any offenders had to offer a sacrifice to atone for their sin, or they would be punished. Therefore, the people of those days abided scrupulously by the law and no one dared to violate it. Toward the end of the Age of Law, people sinned more and more as their corruption by Satan grew deeper and deeper. There were no longer enough sacrifices to atone for their sins and everyone was at risk of being put to death in accordance with the law. God could not bear to see the people He had created so devoured by Satan, so God became flesh and came to earth to act as man’s sin offering by being nailed to the cross, thus rescuing man out from living under the law. Since then, if we only believe in the Lord Jesus our sins can be forgiven. We no longer suffer condemnation for failing to uphold the law; that is, we are saved by the Lord’s redemption. It is clear, then, that “being saved” is us believing in the Lord Jesus, being forgiven of our sins by repenting before the Lord, and no longer being subject to being put to death by the law. Not only that, but it also means being able to enjoy the peace, joy and abundant grace bestowed upon us by the Lord Jesus. This is what we commonly refer to as the true meaning of “being saved” by faith.
Let’s read a couple of passages together: “A sinner such as you, who has just been redeemed, and has not been changed, or been perfected by God, can you be after God’s heart? For you, you who are still of your old self, it is true that you were saved by Jesus, and that you are not counted as a sinner because of the salvation of God, but this does not prove that you are not sinful, and are not impure. How can you be saintly if you have not been changed? Within, you are beset by impurity, selfish and mean, yet you still wish to descend with Jesus—you should be so lucky! You have missed a step in your belief in God: You have merely been redeemed, but you have not been changed. For you to be after God’s heart, God must personally do the work of changing and cleansing you; if you are only redeemed, you will be incapable of attaining sanctity. In this way you will be unqualified to share in the good blessings of God, for you have missed out a step in God’s work of managing man, which is the key step of changing and perfecting. You, a sinner who has just been redeemed, are therefore incapable of directly inheriting God’s inheritance.”
“The sins of man were forgiven through the agency of the incarnate God, but this did not mean that man no longer had sin within him. The sins of man could be forgiven through the sin offering, but as for just how man can be made to sin no more, and how his sinful nature may be extirpated completely and transformed, he has no way of solving this problem. The sins of man were forgiven, and this is because of the work of God’s crucifixion, but man continued to live within his corrupt satanic disposition of old. This being so, man must be completely saved from his corrupt satanic disposition, so that his sinful nature may be completely extirpated, never to develop again, thus enabling the disposition of man to be transformed.”
From these two passages, we can see that we are indeed saved by the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus, but this salvation only means our sins are forgiven. It does not mean we are free from the bondage and control of sin. Since our sinful nature still exists, we often go against the teachings of the Lord and follow the lusts of the flesh and commit sins. It’s just as Paul once said: “For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Romans 7:18–20). Paul’s words convey the inner voice of every brother and sister. We are often dominated by sin, manifesting all sorts of corrupt satanic dispositions. For instance, the Lord requires us to be honest people, but we often lie, deceive and cheat for our own advantage. In our interpersonal dealings, we plot against each other for personal gain. When we suffer through trials, we still misunderstand and blame God, even distancing ourselves from Him or betraying Him. When God’s work does not conform to our notions, we judge and condemn God at will. We follow God yet follow and adore man at the same time…. It is hard to free ourselves from this vicious cycle of sinning and then confessing. We are never able to break free from the bondage of sin, neither can we ever absolutely submit to God and be compatible with Him. How can this be called full salvation?
Do we still have hope of attaining full salvation and entering the kingdom of God? There are actually some verses in the Bible that have already revealed this to us. Let’s take a look. It is recorded in the Bible that: “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come” (John 16:12–13). “He that rejects Me, and receives not My words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). “Who are kept by the power of God through faith to salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5). “Behold, the judge stands before the door” (James 5:9). We can see from these verses that the Lord Jesus will come again in the last days and express the truth, doing a stage of work to judge and purify mankind, thoroughly saving us from sin, allowing us to escape the bondage of sin, and ultimately making us compatible with God. We will become people who fear God and submit to Him. Achieving such an outcome must be accomplished by God’s work of judgment in the last days. Only through the judgment and revelation of the word of God can we understand the truth of our corruption by Satan as well as our natures and essences; only then can we understand God’s righteousness, majesty and inviolable disposition. Only then can we have true remorse and repentance, and have the resolve to despise the flesh and forsake Satan. We can then develop God-fearing heart; we can break away completely from the evil influence of Satan, fully turn to God and be gained by God. As our understanding of the truth deepens, we will submit more and more to God and practice the truth more and more. This way, before we even realize, we will entirely cast off sin and be purified. Only then can we attain full salvation and enter the kingdom of God. It is clear that only when we accept the judgment and chastisement of God’s words in the last days can we understand the truth, know God, fully break free from Satan’s influence and throw off Satan’s corrupt disposition. Then we can live by the truth and by the word of God—this is the true meaning of full salvation. This requires us to pray more regarding welcoming the Lord’s return, to seek it with humility and to attentively heed “what the Spirit says to the churches.” Only then can we welcome God’s appearance, experience God’s work of judgment in the last days, be purified and be fully saved. Thank the Lord—may the Lord’s salvation in the last days come to us soon!
At the mention of overcomers, we will think of the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, “And I looked, and, see, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1), “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). Here, the 144,000 prophesied in the scripture are the overcomers whom God wishes to make. They are the ones who stand testimony during the great tribulation, and who are approved by God and qualified to enter the kingdom of heaven. Becoming an overcomer is something that every believer in the Lord longs for, and it is the goal we seek. Many brothers and sisters believe this: We’ve followed the Lord for many years, during which we’ve toiled, given things up, expended ourselves, preached the gospel and shepherded the church and, throughout this time, we have suffered mockery and slander from worldly people and the misunderstanding of our relatives; and despite being persecuted and arrested by our own government, we never retreat. As long as we follow the Lord in this way to the end, we will be the overcomers.
Some Christians believe that as long as they accept the Lord Jesus’ salvation of the cross, verbally acknowledge the Lord and believe in Him in their hearts, then they are saved and will be able to enter the heavenly kingdom. There is also a biblical basis for this belief, which is: “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:9–10). They therefore believe even more strongly that those who are saved by faith can enter into the heavenly kingdom. But there are some Christians who remain confused, and they think that, seeing as we are capable of becoming hot-headed and losing our tempers at people every day, so much so that we are not even able to show our family members tolerance and patience, and we are capable of telling lies to deceive others in our everyday lives, can people such as this who live in sin enter into the kingdom of God? Let’s fellowship about this topic today.
“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:9-10). I believe that most of us believers in God are not strangers to these verses. Many people think these verses mean that we shall be saved as long as we call on the name of the Lord and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in our heart, and that salvation is once and for all. Thus, there’s no need to accept any other salvation. Now then, is our such viewpoint compatible with the fact of God’s work? Can we really always be saved once we are saved?
After reading the verse in the Scripture, “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Rom 10:9), many brothers and sisters in the Lord then think: The Lord Jesus was crucified as a sin offering to redeem us, so we have already been saved because of our belief in Him. Therefore, there’s no need to receive any other salvation. And we’ll be raptured into the kingdom of heaven when the Lord comes. Is this viewpoint correct? Have we been truly saved by accepting the Lord Jesus’ redemption? And what exactly is being truly saved? If we are unclear about this question, we will easily miss the opportunity of being saved by God.
Editor’s Note: Many Christians believe that we have received the salvation of the cross and it means that we have been completely obtained by God, and so when the Lord returns we will be directly raptured into the kingdom of heaven. But have we ever considered whether our receiving the salvation of the cross means that our sinful nature has been completely eliminated and that we have been completely gained by God?
Look back at the two sinful cities recorded in the Bible: Sodom and Nineveh. At that time, the people in these two cities had no place at all for God in their hearts. Their wickedness and corruption had already reached a degree detestable to both man and God. Thereby, they all were the objects that God decided to destroy. However, their different attitudes toward God’s warning brought them different fates and endings. The people of Sodom openly competed with God and did not have the slightest heart to repent to God. Their stubborn attitude of opposing God provoked God’s disposition, leading to their eternal destruction by God. On the contrary, after hearing the news from Jonah that God was going to destroy them in forty days, all of the people of Nineveh, from the king to the commoners, immediately wore sackcloth and ashes, repented and confessed their sins before God, and stopped doing evil things that oppose God. Their attitude of fearing God gained God’s mercy and forgiveness, so all the people of Nineveh survived because of their confession and repentance to God. From the different endings of Sodom and Nineveh, we can see that when we face God’s warning and work, whether we fear God and whether we have true repentance determine whether we can obtain God’s mercy and salvation.
Welcome the Lord Jesus Christ's Return 