“ . . . receiving the end of your belief—the salvation of your souls.”
What is the “end” of one’s belief? (btw: “belief” and “faith” are synonymous)
Having grown up in christianity, being formally educated in it, and being in it for five decades, if I had a nickel for every “altar call” or “invitation” I’ve endured, I’d probably be able to buy every copy of “Just As I Am” on the planet (yes, the one with 87 verses—LOL!).
Why is it that in the whole of scripture, we never see a single altar call, or anybody ever preaching that all someone needs to do is make a decision, or pray a prayer, and they’re saved? It is because the entire “invitation” construct is a lie premised on the false teaching that belief IS salvation, and that man can decide to be saved.
The problem with christianity’s counterfeit of salvation is that scripture refutes it every step of the way. You see, christianity says that one’s belief IS salvation—that all one has to do is believe (present tense), and he IS saved (present tense). That is an abject perversion of the true path to salvation we are shown throughout the entirety of scripture.
The Passover journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai to receive the physical covenant is a foreshadow—a picture—of Messiah’s bride receiving the spiritual covenant. That same journey is mirrored in the way of the tabernacle—the priestly progression from the Outer Courtyard (belief), through the Holy Place (enduring in belief), and then into the Holy of Holies (receiving the covenant).
The lie that christianity tells—that if one believes, he IS saved—is thoroughly refuted by everything we are told about salvation in the scriptures (as long as one understands what is said within the contexts of what was written). Yes, all who believe (present tense) SHALL BE SAVED (future tense). That means that belief and being saved are not the same thing, but are two separate matters.
Satan and his demons believe. They are not saved.
That is why Messiah Yahoshua said in Luke 8:13 that some will believe with all joy for awhile, but will eventually fall away during their time of testing that all must endure (James 1), because they have no root (they never receive the source of life, who is the Holy Spirit).
It’s also why we’re told in Hebrews 10:39 about those who refused to “shrink back” from their belief, but who believed all the way to the saving of their souls. If belief is salvation, as so many in christianity falsely peddle, then why would one need not to shrink back from belief, but believe all the way to the saving of his soul?
It’s because there is a PATH TO SALVATION, not merely a single action. And, it is not man who declares himself to be saved—man can only declare his belief. It is the Father who chooses to give the covenant to someone who has believed, and He does that in HIS TIME ALONE.
So, what Peter was saying in 1 Peter 1:9 is that salvation is the END (outcome, goal, result) of one’s belief. That is wholly contrary to what so many in christianity teach—that salvation happens at the moment one chooses, or decides, to believe, which would be the BEGINNING of belief.
I don’t know how many folks have stated to me over the years that they received the Holy Spirit at the moment they “accepted Christ.” That is not only stated NOWHERE in scripture, it is wholly contrary to what we ARE told. There is nothing in scripture that states that at the moment someone makes a decision, he receives the Holy Spirit, because that is NOT how salvation works.
In Acts 8:14-17, we see Samaritans who had believed and who had then been dunked in water, but, according to what we’re told in Romans 8:9, they were not yet saved, but began to receive the Holy Spirit AFTER Peter and John had prayed that they would. So, clearly, human belief is NOT salvation.
The Israelites identified with the Passover lamb by spreading its blood on their doorposts. That signified their belief—their identification with the sacrifice that would save them. They were then led out of Egypt (a type of the world), through the Red Sea (baptismal cleansing), and then through the wilderness being led by the Holy Spirit (pillars of cloud and fire) until they came to the mountain.
Once they reached the mountain by the leading of the Spirit, they still had to await the giving of the covenant. Some decided to choose their own truth, and they devised a form of vain worship unacceptable to the Father—the golden calf. Those who did not repent of that false worship were put to death because of it. Those who repented of their self-willed worship were given the covenant.
That same journey is exactly what is shown in the way of the tabernacle. Why do you think the Father duplicated that journey in a way that it would be repeated over and over again for people to see and understand? It’s because it shows a picture of the bride’s PATH TO SALVATION!
Then, along came christianity, a counterfeit of the true faith that was invented after the New Testament writers had all died, and wasn’t codified until the 4th century. And, how was it devised? Well, because of their bitter hatred of the physical Jews (remember: Messiah Yahoshua is a Jew), they stripped the faith of the Father’s traditions He had given to the Jewish people, through whom the Gospel of Messiah Yahoshua came.
In those traditions are found the physical details that illustrate many doctrinal truths. If one abolishes that which expounds the details, then one can change the details to be whatever he wants them to be, which is how christianity’s counterfeit of salvation was invented.
Man does not have the power or authority to declare himself saved, which is what christianity’s false salvation is—a self-declaration of salvation, which is nothing. In fact, it is exactly what those unsaved christians we see in Matthew 7:21-23 had believed. But, after appealing to Messiah Yahoshua about what they had wrongly believed was salvation, He says, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
Believe in Messiah Yahoshua (which is repentance from unbelief—the ONLY repentance tied to salvation), and confess Him before others, regardless of the relational consequences of doing so. Often, it is one’s most religious christian friends and family who will rail against those who stand for the actual truths of Yahoshua’s Gospel—the truths the Holy Spirit reveals to those He leads.
Those who endure in their belief through all the testing that will come by way of doubt, ridicule, mocking, condemnation, and ultimately separation, SHALL BE SAVED. That is why the Book of James begins with an exhortation to endurance that, after one’s belief is tested, he will be made “perfect and complete, lacking nothing,” which is to be made spiritually whole by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
According to christianity’s false salvation, there is no endurance necessary, for all one has to do is to make a decision (and really, really mean it), and he IS saved. Those who trust in that lie are who we see in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:24.
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Many will seek to enter AND WILL NOT BE ABLE. Do you understand what Messiah said there? All those folks who think they are just fine because they made a decision are those who seek to enter, but will not be able. They trusted in their own declaration of salvation without ever actually receiving salvation and being confirmed directly by the Holy Spirit that they have been made children of Yah.
Those who are redeemed (which means they are Messiah’s bride) are TOLD by the Holy Spirit that they are Yah’s children. Only those who have received that confirmation (John 1:12, 1 Corinthians 1:6-8) are His legitimate children. They are the only ones who are Messiah’s bride.
Those who think they are saved because they made a decision, prayed a prayer, “accepted Christ,” or changed their lifestyles, are the ones who will hear “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” It is sad indeed how vehemently so many who are lost in christianity will fight against these truths of the Holy Spirit, and try to prove that their false beliefs are true.
Talk about weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. That day for them will be horrific and tragic beyond imagination.
For more information: Between Belief and Salvation