Sunday 3 February 2019

2 Quotes

2 Quotes
Leonard Ravenhill the English/American evangelist said,
“The sinner's prayer has sent more people to hell 
than all the taverns in America.” 
                                                     Leonard Ravenhill
He also noted,
I doubt if 5% of professing Christians in America are born again
and that's true of England! 
                                       Leonard Ravenhill
Jesus said,
“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:22,23.
Sadly I believe Ravenhill’s statements. There are many who may think they are going to heaven that are not. They believe because they have said the “sinners prayer” it is if you will their ticket to heaven.
The sinners prayer is not found in Scripture and some Christian scholars and Pastors have questioned it’s effectiveness. Some see it as giving a false sense of security.
The bottom line is that Christian’s believe you are saved by your faith in God and the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus. The apostle Paul stating,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
Saying a prayer of any kind does not guarantee you getting to heaven. The only guarantee of getting to heaven is as I said above truly having faith in God and the Salvation that comes through Christ Jesus.
No one can tell if you are truly saved. Salvation is a deeply personal thing between the individual and God.
Part of the problem in North America and particularly in the United States is going to church is part of the culture. You go to church because your family has always gone. Your friends go so you go.
A pastor I knew who’d come to Canada from the mid west states, the so called Bible Belt, in the United States to set up a church was quite shocked.
He’d lived all of his life in the United States and always thought Canada was like the States. To make matters more confusing for him at first, was the fact that he had decided to start the church in one of the most ethnically diverse areas of Canada.
As he told me where he came from even if individuals only go to church only at Easter and Christmas they considered themselves good church goers. And most have Bibles in their homes. Christianity in the area he came from in the States was very much cultural. Not so in Canada.
It is when Christianity and belief in God becomes part of the culture that people may think they are going to heaven when they are not.
I believe it is therefor the duty of those who truly believe in God. To look around them in there church congregations in particular and see if there are any lost souls. People who know all the right things to say and do in church but are not truly saved.
Thus my questions become
If you attend church are you personally absolutely certain that should you pass into eternity to day that you will get to heaven?
Please think about it. 

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