Page 10 - Inside Report - 4Q 2016

Bible Answers

Q.

What part does choice play in salvation?

A.
“If it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom
you will serve. . But as for me and my house, we will serve the L” (Joshua
ORD
24:15). Not only is the freedom of choice an important value to God, it is a major key to

success in our Christian walk. God wants everyone to be saved. (See 1 Timothy 2:3, 4.) Yet
the Lord still permits everyone to have free choice.“I call heaven and earth as witnesses

today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore

choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Over and over in the Bible, we ind that God gave others the freedom to accept
or reject Him. He permitted Satan to choose to rebel against Him. He also permitted

Adam and Eve to choose disobedience. Cain and Abel were free to reject God’s sacriicial

system, and Cain eventually turned from the Lord. The apostle Paul understood this

innate freedom when he wrote: “I discipline my body . lest, when I have preached to
others, I myself should become disqualiied” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Righteousness is never a locked-in, programmed provision that takes us to heaven

no matter how we live and if we really don’t want to go. Choice means we’re always free
to change our mind. That’s why Jesus asks you to choose Him and to reafirm your

choice every single day.

Q.
Is it possible for someone to be

lost who truly thinks he is saved?

A.
“Not everyone who says to Me,‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but

he who does the will of My Father” (Matthew 7:21). Have you ever been driving

down the freeway enjoying a beautiful day when you notice lashing red and blue lights
behindyou?Yourirstthoughtmightbe,“Ohno!WasIspeeding?”Youglancedownand,

sure enough, you’re going ifteen miles an hour over the speed limit. What would the

highway patrol oficer say to you if you told him,“But I didn’t mean to speed!”
The fact is—you still broke the law.

Likewise, Jesus warns us that some people may think they are going down the road

to heaven, enjoying themselves, but what they think does not change God’s expectations.

Christ said you can know that you are on the path to eternal life if you are seeking to do
“the will of My Father in heaven.” Truth is not shaped by our feelings or hopes. It stands

solid, regardless of what we might think. So how do we know we are doing God’s will?

We know we are going in the right direction when there is an intimate connection

between ourselves and Him. It’s more than just doing the “right” technical things.
“Many will say to Me in that day,‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast

out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ” (Matthew 7:22).

Tune in to Bible Answers Live, These are all good things, but there is something more—something that goes deeper
Amazing Facts’ live, nationwide call- than the outward actions.

in radio program, and listen to Pastor Jesus explained to outward doers of the law,“I never knew you; depart from Me,
Doug give biblical, straightforward
you who practice lawlessness!”(verse 23).When we try to carry out God’s law without
answers to dificult Bible questions.
a changed heart, the actions are worthless. People who have the assurance of salvation
To get times and stations in your area, experience lives of service motivated by unselish love.
or to listen to answers online, visit

www.amazingfacts.org.

10
Inside Report 4Q 2016