Have You Believed in Vain?

There were some professing Christians out here last week giving out free hugs. They were no different from the atheists that do the same thing downtown; they also hold up signs that say free hugs. If you received a hug last week, how would you know that it was from a professing Christian or a professing atheist? You wouldn’t. There is no difference. A free hug sign is a free hug sign and a hug from a stranger is a hug from a stranger – Christian or atheist. 

We also hear statistics that up to 80% of college students that were Christians, fall away from their faith. This statistic is horribly off. The 80% of you that they claim have fallen away have actually not fallen away from your faith in Jesus because you never had saving faith in Jesus. Oh, you may have repeated a little one-time prayer or you may have had some type of religious moment, but you were never a follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said they went out from us because they were never a part of us. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us (1 John 2:19).

I’m bringing up the free huggers and the false converts because of the following Bible verses. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 says: Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scripture.

Please pay close attention to: unless you have believed in vain. Unless you have believed in vain. How many people do you think live right here in the Ozarks, in the Bible Belt, are counting on a little one-time prayer to keep them out of Hell? How many professing Christians right here on this campus have believed in vain? How many people in Springfield, MO? How many professing Christians do you think there are in America that are counting on some sort of religious experience to get them to Heaven after they die and the whole time they have believed in vain? How many people do you think there are around the world who have heard about Jesus or some perverted version of the Gospel and these folks have believed in vain? How many false converts do you think there are in the whole world? I used to be one myself, so I know there are others. The numbers must be staggering.

Have you believed in vain? Oh are you saved? Have you repented and surrendered your life to Jesus? Are you born again? Are you truly a follower of Jesus? Are you one of His disciples? Have you forsaken the world and given your life, your all to Jesus? Have you given up the pleasures of the flesh, the pleasures of the world and your selfish pride? Have you surrendered all to Jesus? Have you bowed your knee to the One who paid it all? Jesus paid it all. He is the only Savior. Is He your Savior? Do you know Him? Are you His? Does He know you? Or have you believed in vain?

Professing Christian: how do you know that your belief is not in vain? First of all, Paul says I declare the Gospel to you. He says it is the same Gospel that I have preached to you before. You see, Paul wasn’t worried about being relevant with the culture. He wasn’t worried about what people would think about him talking about the Savior that rose from the grave. He’s reminding them that he’s not talking about some strange new doctrine; no, he’s telling the same precious Gospel that he has shared with them before.  He’s reminding them that he’s preached the Gospel before and that they have heard it. That they have received the Gospel loud and clear when he shared it with them before. Then he tells them not only have you heard it before, but you now also stand on this same Gospel. You are standing on the Rock. You are standing on the only solid ground that there is; the solid Rock of Jesus.

Paul then tells them, by which ye are saved. If you have been born again, you are standing on the Rock. You are standing firm in your faith. If you are truly a child of God’s, then nothing can stop you. Nothing can deter you. Nothing can take away your salvation. You won’t be swayed by the latest religious fad. Nothing can take away your belief in Jesus Christ our Lord. Nothing can stand against the blood of Jesus that has washed away your sins. If you are saved beyond a shadow of a doubt, then nothing can sway you. A true follower of Jesus is triple sealed. The Holy Spirit lives inside you. Jesus is holding you in His hand and then the Father’s hand is wrapped around that. You are triple sealed, if Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.

If you are a true child of God then you will stand firm to the very end, no matter what the world does to you and no matter how many firey darts Satan hurls at you; you cannot be moved. The devil can kill the body, but he can’t touch your soul. So you will stand firm. Is this you today? Can you say with 100% certainty that you are saved? Have you been born again? Are you standing firm on the Rock of your salvation?  Jesus said that those who come to Him, He will in no wise cast out. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).

The apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that they had received the Gospel. Receiving the glorious Gospel is more than just knowing the Gospel. Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9) and it’s by His mercy that we are saved. Romans 1:7 says: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. 1 Timothy 1:15-16 states: This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) – Ephesians 2:1-5.

Not only is salvation offered by God’s grace and mercy, it is also a free gift. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) – Romans 5:15-17.

Please don’t miss this. Adam sinned in the garden of Eden and all of us mere humans have sinned since then. Adam brought death, condemnation and judgment upon mankind. But Jesus Christ came to this earth a little over 2,000 years ago. He was fully God and fully man. He was born of the Holy Ghost and the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless, perfect life. Think about this for a minute. Jesus never sinned. He never even thought one wicked thought. He never returned evil for evil. He never reviled those who reviled Him. He never told a lie, let alone a white lie or a fib. He never lusted. He never hated. He was never angry outside of righteous anger. (By the way, righteous anger isn’t when someone has done you wrong; no righteous anger is when you are angry over God being wronged). Jesus never sinned one time.  Not once. He perfectly kept the demands of God’s Holy and righteous Law – the 10 Commandments.

Jesus never sinned but He was willing to suffer and die as if He were a guilty sinner. He took my place on that old rugged cross. He took your place on that cross. He didn’t deserve to be punished. Each and every one of us deserves that punishment. But He bore our sorrows. He bore our griefs. By His stripes we are healed. Jesus not only suffered unimaginable physical pain, but He also bore God’s anger over our sins while He suffered, bled and died on the cross. The Bible says that Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. But I dare say the punishment He suffered through God’s anger over our sins was an even worse punishment. Jesus took that punishment on our behalf. He died on that cross, was buried and rose from the grave three days later.

Jesus defeated sin, death, Hell and Satan and God offers eternal life to each and every person who believes on the Lord Jesus. He offers the free gift of salvation to all who repent and put their faith in the living Son of God. This is the Good News. This is the Gospel. But remember the apostle Paul said that you have to receive it. You must receive this most amazing gift of all time. It’s not just a matter of believing some facts. You can truly believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and still go to Hell when you die. I dare say Hell is full of professing Christians who thought they were saved because they said the sinner’s prayer or they had some type of emotional religious moment. Just believing facts won’t save you. Only the shed blood of Jesus can save you.

Salvation is total and utter surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord. He is Lord of all, but to be saved, you have to surrender your life to Him. You must step down off the throne of your life and give place to Him. You must bow down to Jesus, the One who has earned the right to sit on the throne. You must surrender your life to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Oh you must receive salvation. You must receive the gift of salvation. Have you done this? Are you a child of God? Have you received everlasting life? Are you saved? If you died today, would you go to Heaven? Are you sure? A saved life is a changed life. Has God soundly saved you? Are you a changed person? Not by your own power, but by God; through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I’m asking you these questions because the part of Paul’s message in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 that I can’t get out of my mind is: unless you have believed in vain. Unless you have believed in vain! I believe Paul says these haunting words because he knew some would believe in vain. Oh, search yourself today. Professing Christian, ask yourself: am I really saved? Am I a blood bought child of God? Has God changed my life? Has He given me a new heart? Have I truly repented and put my trust in Jesus? Or God forbid, have I believed in vain? Have you believed in vain?

Oh, how I wish I could make you understand the seriousness of this question. My fear is that each and every one of you who profess to be a Christian will walk on by, believing that you are alright with God. Some of you may be. But there’s probably many of you that think you are saved, but you really aren’t. What if it’s you? What if you are the one who is foolishly counting on the sinners prayer to get you to Heaven, but you are really lost? Maybe you are still spiritually dead in your trespasses and sins.

I’m pleading with you to examine yourself to see if you are in the faith? I wish I could make you snap out of it. I wish I could shake you awake. Not very often, but sometimes my wife has a nightmare. When she does, I shake her and wake her up and tell her that it’s just a dream’ that she’s alright. I shake her awake. Oh if I could walk up to each and every one of you today and grab you by the collar and shake you to spiritual life, I would do it – right now! But that’s not how it works. No man comes to the Father unless He draws you to Himself. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44). So I can’t physically shake you to spiritual life. But God can bring you to life. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead with a loud voice. God gives spiritually dead people life. Is God working on your conscience? Is God speaking to you with a loud voice? Is God saying “Awake o sleeper?”

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5:3-14)

Professing Christian: do these verses describe you? Are you a new creature in Christ? Are you saved? Have you been born again? Or are you still an unrepentant sinner? Are you a fornicator or an unclean person? Do you bless God and curse men with the same mouth? Are you a whoremonger, covetous person or idolater? Are you still rebelling against God? If so, do you understand that you will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Have you believed in vain? If so, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Awake o sleeper! Come to the Light. Come to the one and only Savior. Repent and put your trust in Jesus. Oh, if there’s anyone here at MSU that has believed in vain, my hope, my prayer is that God will continue speaking to you with a loud voice, that He will continue convicting you that you are lost, that He keeps pleading with you to awake o sleeper until you just can’t take it anymore. That He will keep after you until you have no choice but to admit that you have believed in vain and then you will cry out Lord have mercy on me a sinner. This is my prayer for any and all of you who have believed in vain.

(This message was proclaimed at Missouri State University on February 3, 2016)