The Burglar Alarm

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 6
 
DETECTIVE KOLT was just half a block from the First National Bank when the burglar alarm went off. As its shrill siren sounded out, he saw two young men running from the bank. Another young man, in a car which had been cruising around the block, slowed down. The young men hopped in and off they went. It looked like a successful crime.
The detective, alerted by the alarm, drew his gun and stopped the car as three more squad cars screamed up. In the car were three scared young men and $210.00 in cash. All three young men were promptly taken down to headquarters. As they arrived they received a report from the bank: their burglar alarm had gone off by accident, and they quickly verified that one of the young men had just withdrawn $210.00 from his account.
The police apologized for their error, and the young men went on their way. So you see—everything is not always what it seems to be. Circumstantial evidence has wrongly convicted many.
The opposite may be true. For instance, you see a young man respond to a preacher's invitation to "join the church." He shakes the preacher's hand, answers all questions intelligently, and is then received into the church. According to form and ceremony, and to all appearances, he is now a Christian.
But wait a minute. The outward evidence is that he is a Christian but is he really one in truth? If he realizes his lost condition, confesses his need to God, puts his trust in the work of Christ on the cross, and receives the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior, then he is born again. He is in the family of God, and he is a real Christian. But unless he truly believes on the Son of God he is not really a Christian, no matter how many preacher's hands he has shaken or how many churches he has "joined".
How do you stand in this matter? Did you just join some religious organization? Or have you been saved by His grace? Can you tell?
He that believeth on the Son [of God] hath everlasting life—have you believed?
The Lord Jesus said: Whosoever... shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven—have you confessed Him?
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom. 10:1010For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10).)
And: If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9).)