Have You Missed Christ

I believe there's a lot of people in hell. I believe there's a lot of people going to hell. And I also believe, friends, that there are some good church folks who are on their way to hell.

In 1 John, chapter 5, and in verses 11 through 12, we read, And this is the record that God hath given to us, the eternal life. And this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

That's an important statement, friends. And it's a very clear statement on salvation from the Apostle John. He doesn't say, he who has accepted Jesus as their personal Savior has eternal life.

He doesn't say, he who has done a physical act, like walking an aisle or repeating a prayer, has eternal life. He doesn't say, those who have made a decision to become a Christian through a mental flip for Jesus have eternal life. I actually heard a Baptist pastor tell his congregation that all you had to do to be saved was to believe John 3.16. That's what that seminary-trained pastor said.

But believing a text won't save you, friend. It just makes your pastor a liar. John tells us that he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life.

Herein lies the great divide between heaven and hell. Have you found Christ? Have you gotten savingly to Christ Jesus for forgiveness of sin? Are you born from above and washed in the blood by being in a vital union with the living Lord? Or have you missed Christ? And that's the tale of my message today, friends. Have you missed Christ? What are some ways you can miss Christ? You can miss Christ by resting your hope of heaven on an empty religious profession.

You can miss Christ by resting upon the rotten foundation of a good opinion of yourself and a long track record of service. You can miss Christ by missing repentance. You can't have Christ and not repent, no matter what modern theologians tell you.

The only believed gospel that's gained prominence in the last 60 years won't save you from the penalty of sin. It will only damn you to a devil's hell. If you miss repentance, you miss faith.

Acts 20.21 demonstrates that repentance and faith go hand in hand in salvation, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. So if you've missed repentance, then you've missed saving faith.

And if you've missed faith, then you've missed Christ. A mere mental flip for Jesus won't cut the mustard, friends, when it comes to you standing before God on Judgment Day. You see, friend, when Jesus was here in His earthly ministry, as He passed through towns and villages, those who encountered Him experienced change.

Have you ever been awake until you lost condition? Have you ever been brought under conviction of sin? Have you ever experienced change through the new birth whereby God works grace upon your heart through the supernatural act of regeneration? Have you ever been born again, He that hath the Son, hath life? Do you have eternal life? Or do you just have a good reputation at church? Have you just done what your pastor told you to do and called that salvation, yet you missed Christ? If you missed Christ, friend, you would die on your sins and spend eternity in a region of outer darkness called hell because He that hath not the Son of God, hath not life. Repent before it's too late.