Someone said to me: "I know that if you sin after you become a Christian you can have forgiveness (1 John 1:9). What about a person who continues to sin and does not repent? If he were to die, would he be lost?"

I replied by asking, "What saved and put you in Christ?" Very clearly, the gospel saves a person (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 1:16). Salvation comes from believing that Christ died for your sins and rose the third day. A person is saved by putting his complete trust in Christ's death and resurrection. His eternal relationship with God is established when he trusts the finished work of Christ on the cross. One is never saved as long as he is trusting in his own efforts.

There is only one reason why God should allow anyone into heaven. It is not because of any human effort, but rather because Christ has finished the work (John 17:4; 19:30). In the belly of the great fish, the prophet Jonah was totally helpless for his salvation (deliverance), and he cried out, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).

If this truth is not firmly planted in your thinking, Satan will look for opportunities to cause you to doubt. He will persuade you to think that salvation is based on what you do. Each time the doubts come, go back to God's Word which says "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8,9). Remember that salvation is not based upon how you feel at any given moment but upon what God says (1 John 5:11-13) concerning faith in Christ and what He has done.

What about a person who continues to sin and shows no desire to serve and obey God? Christ talked about those who are only professors, not possessors. In His famous parable on the soils (Matthew 13:1-8), Christ spoke of those who have only a shallow emotional experience—they soon whither under the scorching sun of life. He spoke of others who were choked out by the cares and riches of the world. Those involved in both cases did not trust in Christ as Saviour. Though they made a profession, they were never truly saved.

Some very sobering words are to be found in Matthew 7:22,23. Even the working of mighty miracles is not enough. Christ must know you. This happens only by a personal faith in Him, not by great religious deeds.

When a person dies, the issue between him and the Lord never involves sins that were not repented of, for Christ died for our sins before we knew Him (Romans 5:8). The issue is whether he ever placed his faith in Christ as his Saviour.

—M.R. Dahlquist

Reprinted by permission of the Incorporated Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press, P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland OH 44101.