The prophet Amos said, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria” (Amos 6:1). Amos was prophesying of the coming judgment against the nation of Israel. Despite the warnings, the people felt at ease. They believed they were safe and that nothing could happen to them. Yet they were not safe. They had a false sense of security.
Just before this he spoke of the “day of the Lord” (Amos 5:18). Throughout Scripture, this phrase is used to denote judgment – punishment of the wicked and reward of the righteous. Those who were “at ease” and felt “secure” (Amos 6:1) would look forward to this day. The righteous should always look forward to the day of the Lord. Yet these people had no reason to look forward to it.
“Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18-20).
These people thought they were safe, but they stood condemned and faced punishment at the day of the Lord.
Many today are like those about whom that Amos prophesied. They believe they are saved and are living faithfully when they are not. Jesus spoke of those who would be surprised to find that they are not pleasing God:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
Jesus described “many” who believed they were right, believed in the Lord, and were religious. Yet they were told to “depart.” They may have felt sure of their salvation, but they were lost.
On one occasion, Jesus spoke to those who did not believe in Him and mentioned various witnesses that testified to who He was – the Messiah, the Son of God (John 5:32-39). One witness He mentioned was Scripture. He told them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39). The word of God was there to show them the truth. The Law was a “tutor to lead [them] to Christ” (Galatians 3:24). Yet they rejected Jesus. All the while, they thought that their “eternal life” was based in the teaching of Scripture. Unfortunately, they misinterpreted and misapplied the Scriptures and were left with a false sense of security.
Today, many have this false sense of security as well. They believe they are saved but they are not. They base their confidence in the word of God; but like the Jews of Jesus’ day, they have misinterpreted and misapplied the Scriptures. Let us notice some examples of this in an effort to direct people to the truth so they might be saved and have a real sense of security.
- Saved by faith alone – This teaching has been described as “a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort” (The Articles of Religion of the United Methodist Church, Article IX). Those who believe they are saved by faith alone believe this is what the Bible teaches. They turn to passages like John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Romans 5:1 says we are “justified by faith.” Yet these verses do not say we are saved by simply believing or by faith alone. In fact, James 2:24 says, “You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.” One cannot be saved by mere faith alone. Those who believe they will be have a false sense of security.
- Calling on the name of the Lord – Romans 10:13 plainly states, “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? Many will use their own definition for calling on the name of the Lord and then claim that this verse supports their belief. A common idea is that this is a verbal call – that we have to vocally cry out to the Lord to save us. But it does not matter what we say it means to call on the name of the Lord. What matters is how it is defined in Scripture. Ananias told Saul, “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16). How do we call on the name of the Lord? We do so by being obedient to Him – which includes submitting to baptism – not by simply speaking His name.
- Praying the sinner’s prayer – A common thought in religion is that one must pray the “sinner’s prayer” to be saved. But where is this practice – that one may pray to God in order to receive salvation – found in Scripture? Some point to Luke 18:13 where the tax collector prayed, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” But this was simply a parable designed to show that we must be humble (Luke 18:9), not an instruction about what one must do to be saved. In addition to that, this was before Jesus died on the cross and the new covenant was in force. Even if this was talking about praying for salvation, it does not teach that we can do this today. We would need an example or instruction that occurs after the cross. But there is not one. In fact, after the Lord appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus, Saul went into the city and spent three days praying and fasting (Acts 9:9, 11). Yet for all of his praying, he had not been forgiven of his sins when Ananias arrived. He had to be baptized to have his sins washed away (Acts 22:16). Those who believe they are saved because they have prayed a “sinner’s prayer” have been deceived. They might feel secure. But they are still in their sins.
When Jesus told the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me” (John 5:39), He was not rebuking them for looking to the Scriptures to find the way of eternal life. They were looking to the right source. Their problem was not where they were looking, but that they did not accept all that the Scriptures taught. Likewise, we need to accept all that the Scriptures teach today if we want to know what to do to be saved.
So what do the Scriptures teach as being necessary in order to be saved? Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24). In another place, He told the people, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). When He gave His apostles the Great Commission, He told them, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16). When the Jews on the day of Pentecost were convicted by Peter’s sermon and asked what they needed to do, Peter answered, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Acts 2:37-38). Paul wrote to the saints in Rome, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
The psalmist said of God’s word, “The sum of Your word is truth” (Psalm 119:160). To be saved, we need to do all that the word of God says is necessary in order to be saved. We need to believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 3:16; 8:24), repent of our sins (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 17:30), confess our belief in Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21). If we do those things and remain faithful to Him (Revelation 2:10), we can have a true sense of security and look forward with confidence toward His return.
