SOME THINGS FOR YOU TO CONSIDER - 11
Do You Know If You Are Saved? Paul’s “I Am” Statements. Profanity.
DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE SAVED?
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5, KJV).
Loved ones, shall we let the most important question of our entire life be left to dark uncertainty? A beloved brother in the Lord teamed up with a fellow Christian to go into a certain area unknown to them to knock on doors. When the person dwelling in the house came to the door, they would ask him/her a simple question, "If you should die today, would you go to Heaven?"
Somewhat astonishingly, most did not know. This question and their reply became a fruitful field in which to set up a Bible study. As a result, eighteen (18) precious souls were taught and baptized into Christ. Then the fresh new converts were given further instruction on how to live the Christian life, making their salvation sure (cf. 2 Peter 1:5-11).
Is it possible for one to know whether or not he is in a saved condition with God? Is it possible for one to know that if he should die today that he would go to Heaven? Let us see what God's sacred Word, sacred says.
God's Word Is Urgent
When Paul and Silas persuaded the frightened Philippian jailor following the earthquake and the cell doors flying open, that they were all there so that he need not take his life, they urged in answer to his tremulous question, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? " — "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31).
Faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son, always comes before any additional command, as we see here: "And he (the jailor) took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes (fruits of repentance); and was baptized (to be saved), he and all his, straightway" (v. 33; Mark 16:16).
After Saul of Tarsus had seen the glorified Lord, he was given the urgent command, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
For some reason, nobody ever ate a bite, drank a drop, nor slept a wink once they believed on Jesus, before they hastened to be baptized. It was here in water baptism where their sins would be washed away by the blood of Jesus (Acts 2:38; Matthew 26:28; Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5). It was here they would become a child of God as they entered Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). It was here the Lord Himself would add them to His church (Acts 2:47). It was here their names would be enrolled in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:12), and the Holy Spirit would take lodging in their hearts (Acts 2:38-39; 5:32; Romans 5:5; Ephesians 1:13; etc.).
After faith in Jesus (John 20:30-31), repentance from sins (Acts 3:19; 17:30), open confession of faith in Jesus (Romans 10:9-10), and immersion into Christ (Romans 6:3-4), one is completely forgiven of all past sins (Acts 22:16); he is saved (1 Peter 3:21).
Things That Follow
On Pentecost, after about 3,000 obeyed the Gospel (repenting and being baptized), these early church of Christ members "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). All newly born-again souls (John 3:3-5) are to do the same.
They are commanded to assemble every Lord's Day (Hebrews 10:25), partake of the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7), sing and pray (Colossians 3:16), grow and draw closer to God while feeding on the Spirit-filled Word (John 6:63; et al), and to keep oneself unspotted from the world (James 2:27).
What If I Sin?
Once I become a member of the Lord's body, His church, Jesus Himself becomes my High Priest and I obtain forgiveness of sins as I repent of them and make confession (Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 1:9; 2:1-2). As a little stream flows beside the highway, the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing me: "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). By these, I can know I am saved.
Our Lord does not want our salvation to rest in uncertainty, but absolute certainty, and we can only have this certainty by knowing and obeying the sacred Scriptures themselves (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Acts 17:11).
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PAUL’S “I AM” STATEMENTS
“14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:14-16, KJV).
Loved ones, when we think of "I am" statements made in the Bible, no doubt we think of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the "I Am's" of Jesus, He states that He is the bread of life (John 6:35), the light of the world (8:12), the door of the sheepfold (10:7), the good shepherd (10:11), the resurrection and the life (11:25), the way, truth, and life (14:6), and the true vine (15:1).
Not only do these "I Am's" of Jesus equate Him with Jehovah (cf. Exodus 3:14), but it also shows our Lord to be a man of action. He did not say "I was," nor did He say "I will be." He said, "I am." The church has too many "has been's" and too many "will be's" and not enough "I am's." We certainly could learn from Paul's example regarding his readiness and willingness to work.
In our text from the book of Romans, we find the "I Am's" of Paul. What do these teach us about Paul, and what can we learn that might help us to be more diligent servants of our Lord?
Paul writes, "I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise" (Romans 1:14). Paul felt an indebtedness to all men from every walk of life. He had come to know the grace of God in the forgiveness of his past sins (Acts 22:16; 1 Timothy 1:15), and in being allowed to preach the Gospel (Ephesians 3:8).
Paul desired to share the good news with all men, and his life reflects not only that desire, but his willingness to go into all the world with the message of salvation. Would to God that we in the church of Christ today felt the same debt of responsibility to the lost! We owe them the right and privilege of hearing the soul-saving Gospel! We march under the same orders as did Paul and the other apostles (Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-20). Someone took the time to teach us the Gospel. Should we not do the same for the lost around us?
Paul further writes, "So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also" (Romans 1:15). His feeling of indebtedness to the lost did not cause him to despair at the magnitude of the task. He prepared himself to meet the responsibility he had to every soul he met. He was ready to preach. He was ready to declare the only message that can save the soul (James 1:21).
So many times we realize our God-given responsibilities, but we fail to prepare ourselves to meet these challenges. We know we must go into all nations and teach the Gospel (Luke 24:47), but are we ready to do so? Let us realize our mission and prepare ourselves to carry it out!
Paul then writes, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16). Some assume that Paul was saved on the road to Damascus, or that he was saved through a direct operation of the Holy Spirit, or various other surmisings. It was only after Paul heard and obeyed the Gospel in baptism that he was saved (Acts 22:16), and that process is the same for every soul for all time.
Paul was fully convicted of the saving power of the Gospel, for he had seen it work in his own life. Until we are fully convinced that the Gospel, and the Gospel alone, is God's means of saving man, we will never be ready to convert the lost! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is man's only hope! If we keep quiet about it, then souls will never have the opportunity to be saved (cf. 2 Kings 7:9ff; 2 Corinthians 4:3-7), and we will be lost for refusing the command of our Lord.
“17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. 18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand” (Ezekiel 3:17-18).
Are you faithfully doing the work of the Lord? Don't say, "I was" or "I will be." Get busy so that you can honestly answer, "I am!"
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PROFANITY
“36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgment. 37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37, KJV).
Loved ones, the power of speech is a marvelous thing. The compassionate heart beats sympathetically for those who are unable to communicate with the spoken word. Their loved ones have felt the warmth of their embrace, but have never heard their expressions of love and affection.
Profanity is a vile and odious abuse of speech. It is man's stupidity on exhibition. There are about 400,000 words in the English language. What a reflection upon one's intelligence that he cannot choose enough of these to express himself without cursing! It is evidence of a heart whose arteries run black with sin, "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matthew 12:34).
There is nothing "big" about cursing. Filthy speech cannot add one inch to a man's stature. A tongue bred in a gutter provides no basis for boasting. Cursing is an act of cowardice. It takes courage to buck the tide, but those who curse "follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2).
The commonality of cursing has drained the words of their shock value, and they really don’t mean much anymore. Not only does swearing become a habit, but the words become used as “filler” words for when someone has nothing else to say. They just come out like any other word, and the reactions from others, especially from friends, are minimal, if not nonexistent, due to how frequently they are said.
Some bless God's name in prayers on Sunday and take His name in vain on Monday. "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing" (James 3:10). Such people have a "church house" religion. They put on their Sunday speech to match their Sunday dress while hastening to change both by Monday.
Profanity is as common as the cold. In the home, school, and factory, at work and play, the repulsive sound of vile speech permeates the air. In the use thereof, many have graduated from amateur to professional status. They are proficient in sin.
Profane speech is a manifestation of wickedness. It is the wicked that are "full of cursing" (Proverbs 10:7). Those characterized by such speech shall be ushered into a Christless eternity, for one with a tongue that is "set on fire of hell" (James 3:6) cannot be an heir of heaven.
Paul wrote: "But now ye also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth" (Colossians 3:8).
Again, “Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear” (Ephesians 4:29). The term rendered “corrupt” is the Greek “sapros,” akin to sepo (“to rot”). It denotes that which provides no good service.
Our words in the presence of others ought to be such as build men up rather than debasing them (cf. Job 4:4). Clothe your tongue with speech that will promote righteousness, encourage man, and be fit for the ear of God.
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35) – 29 September 2026