You Can Count On Jesus
“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him
SHALL
NOT BE ASHAMED” (Romans 10:11). I have heard some preachers on the radio say, “a person who is ashamed
of Jesus is not saved.” This
is heresy my friend—Don’t you believe that garbage for one moment. Romans 10:11 is a quote from the Old Testament... “...he
that believeth SHALL NOT
MAKE HASTE” (Isaiah 28:16). Psalms
34:22, “The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that
trust in him shall be desolate.”
In other words, whosoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will not be disappointed. Jesus will NOT let us down. We will not have to run in shame or hide on the Day of judgment. Jesus will make good on His promise to us. Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). What a blessed promise from God!!!
So many people have foolishly misunderstood Romans 10:11. Just because a person is ashamed of Jesus does not mean they are not a Believer. Was not Peter ashamed when he denied Christ three times and cursed the name of Jesus? Were not all the disciples scared when they forsook Christ while he was being scourged and crucified? Was not Joseph of Arimathaea a secret Believer? “And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). He feared for his life. Yes, they were all afraid and ashamed. They didn’t dare tell anyone who they were for fear of being crucified themselves.
People who fear embarrassment, harassment or rejection by their
co-workers, family and friends usually are reluctant to bring up the name of
Jesus. It is the same type of fear
as the disciples dealt with. However,
does this mean they were not saved? Of
course not—they were still saved! Peter
didn’t lose his salvation when he cursed and denied Christ, he simply lost his
inner peace. Later Peter bitterly
wept and asked God to forgive him. Of course, he was instantly forgiven. God knows that we are only human, “For HE KNOWETH
OUR FRAME;
HE
REMEMBERETH THAT WE ARE DUST” (Psalm
103:14). What a wonderful truth!!! God never forgets that I am made of the dust of the earth, He is patient
and longsuffering. He knows me
better than I could possibly ever know myself. How foolish it would be for me or anyone else not to trust God
wholeheartedly. If God is
longsuffering with the unsaved, how much more is He patient with His own?—very
much so.
Do you see my friend? We are not able to live perfect as long as we dwell in this earthly tent (body). We will always be at war with the sinful flesh. Every Believer has three primary enemies: Satan, the world and the flesh. We can only defeat these enemies in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. We must pray and ask God to keep us from temptation. But when we do fall, we must understand that we are only human beings incapable of being perfect. The key is to identify our weaknesses and focus our Bible study and prayer in those areas. On the contrary, this certainly does not give us God's permission to sin. We are to strive to be perfect while at the same time realizing that we will never be perfect in this life.
Someone put it this way, “Do your best and put the rest into God’s hands.” Surely, it is a sin for us to disobey the leading of the Holy Spirit; however, we are sinners and will falter at times. This is the great dilemma in the Believer’s life, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:19). These were the words of the mighty Apostle Paul, the great defender of the faith. He doesn’t sound too much in control does he? He says he’s prone to do the opposite of what he wants to do. Sound familiar? If you’re a Believer it should.
Listen to Paul again in Romans 7:24, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Paul doesn’t sound too confident does he? Compare this to the health, wealth and prosperity preachers that have infected our TV and radio channels everywhere. Paul asks the question, “who shall deliver me?” The Apostle Paul answers his own question in Romans 7:25, “I thank God THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” This is a life-long battle and only Jesus can deliver us from our self. Jesus said, “...the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). We must not forget this.
In conclusion, it is silly for anyone to say that a person is not truly saved simply because they may sin or deny the Lord at a particular moment or time in their life. John the Baptist became so discouraged while in prison that he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He were really the Christ. Matthew 11:2,3, “Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?”
We all go through the
valleys of life. This does not make
it right but it surely does not mean where not saved either. Salvation is of God, not man. We
don’t obtain salvation by works and we don’t keep it by works. I made a decision to trust Christ as Savior when I was just in grade
School. I asked Jesus to forgive my
sins and He did. I have been saved
ever since. Though I am far from
perfect, I know that Jesus will NOT let me down because I am trusting upon Him.
