Are You Saved?

YouTube: Are You Saved?

This subject is prompted by a couple of contacts I’ve had over the last few weeks. One came through YouTube comments correcting all of my errors concerning the end times. The other was a phone call from a concerned woman from Arizona who discovered the church website and felt the need to bring me into alignment with the Bible, at least as she understood it. I love responding to those who are genuinely interested in what we teach. The moment I discover the questions are being used as a setup for answers they already have, the conversation ends.

Why would someone bother to reach out to a complete stranger, especially a minister, and begin questioning their religious beliefs? Their intentions are good, for they’ve been taught that a soul on the wrong religious track is a soul in danger of eternal damnation. However, the thought of spending an eternity surrounded by a bunch of self-righteous Bible thumpers isn’t exactly my idea of a heavenly reward.

Fear, guilt, and shame represent the holy trinity of controlling features incorporated in our religious upbringing. The sin and punishment model has been put forward for so long and from such authority that many accept it as a given. On one hand we’re told that God is love, and the grace of God is our hope. On the other hand, as my caller suggested, those who do not walk in accordance with the Word of God will find that things do not work out so well in the long run.

Somewhere in the middle of Kansas there is a billboard that asks this question: “If you died today, where would you spend eternity?”

It’s a great question worth serious consideration, and a drive through Kansas certainly offers ample time to think about it. Those asking the question assume there are but two answers. You know you are making spiritual progress when you reserve the right to consider alternatives. As for me, I’ll be here, in the presence of God, just like I have always been. I don’t think God would have it any other way.