Detective Kolt was just half a block from the First National Bank when the siren of the bank’s alarm system went off. As its shrill blast sounded out, he saw two young men run from the bank and jump into a car which had been cruising slowly around the bank. It looked like a perfect getaway!
The detective sprinted forward and drew his gun just as the car was moving away. In the car were three scared young men and $210 in cash. At that moment, three more squad cars screamed up, and the three young men were all rushed to headquarters. Just as they arrived, a report came in from the First National Bank canceling the alarm-it had gone off by accident. Then one of the young men was able to show that he had just withdrawn the $210 from his own account.
The police apologized for their error, and three relieved young men went on their way. Things are not always what they seem!
This is also true in spiritual matters. For instance, you see a young man respond to a preacher’s invitation to “join the church.” He shakes the preacher’s hand and answers all the questions intelligently and is then “received into the church.” To all appearances, he is now a Christian, but wait a moment...
If he has realized he is lost and confessed his need to God, if he has put his trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross and received the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior-he is born again. He is now in the family of God, and he is a real Christian.
If this is not true of him, he is not really a Christian, no matter how many preachers’ hands he has shaken or how many churches he may have joined.
And how do you stand in this matter? Have you been saved by His grace and born again by the power of God? Or did you just join some religious organization? How can a person tell?
“If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:1717Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)). When you are born into the family of God, you receive a new nature. Have you been “born again”? Have you received Christ Jesus into your heart? The Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:2020Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)). What a promise!