Are You Saved?
Dave Andrews • June 5, 2021
Are You Sure You Understand the Gospel?
Many of us in the church would likely be offended if someone second-guessed our salvation, but street evangelist Ray Comfort
presses farther when he encounters someone claiming to be a Christian. He rightly recognizes that titles don’t get us to Heaven, some in the church are not actually saved, and some simply don’t understand salvation. For those that do “get it,” he challenges them to share the Gospel.
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” 1 Cor. 15:3-4
How are you with the Gospel? It’s of first importance. Time for a refresher?
What it is not.
We cannot be saved by being good.
This is one of the biggest lies from the devil, the basis of all other fake religions...and also to this day the most common misconception we are likely to encounter. The Gospel cannot be separated from the topic of sin...we know the standards(His perfection), and none of us can do it. When we stand before the Judge Of All The Earth one day, we are all guilty. The good we have done does not remove our guilt. We need our fine to be paid in court. Jesus paid the fine
for our sins on the cross...so hand yourself over
to the Court for mercy.
We are not saved by simply reciting a prayer.
This is where you may be picking up a rock to stone me as a heretic, because some of us have been taught that we just have to say a prayer and we are saved. Unfortunately, the Sinners Prayer
as we know it is not found in the Bible. Ephesians 2, however, does say that we are saved by faith through grace and not of works. Prayer, can be a great tool...a reflection of our genuine repentance
and faith in Christ, and facilitate confession of Christ as Lord, which are of utmost importance for salvation. But a prayer, "one, done, and go about your business," is not what saves us
in and of itself. To be clear, see below to "What It Is."
We are not saved by faith in the wrong Christ. The person-hood of Jesus is and will always be hotly opposed by the world because the god of this world
knows it is important. You can call anyone or anything “Christ,” but there is only one Messiah, and that is the Jesus
of the Scriptures; those Who knew Him best testified about Him. He is fully God, was also fully man, one of the Trinity, born of a virgin in fulfillment of Scripture, paid the price of our sins
on the cross, and rose again
three days later. He ascended to Heaven and will one day come again. His
Kingdom will rule and reign eternally. If someone says different, they
have the wrong Christ. Scripturally, that is a scary thing.
Choose wisely.
We are not saved by faith in simply “a God.”
We must place our faith in and align with the one and only
Jesus. “There is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
He was the only
one who paid our fine. You must have your sins paid for
and accept the mercy
of the Court. No other
so called god has done what Jesus has, or comes from Who Jesus came from. Again, better choose wisely.
What it is.
Each one of us have sinned and fall short
of God’s standard. Because we fall short, we are all doomed to be punished as the subject of wrath
from a good
and just
God. Jesus died to pay the fine
that we could not pay. But if we place our faith in Christ, and repent, and confess Him as Lord of our life, we will be saved from the justice
that we deserve, eternal punishment. We will go to Heaven
to be with Him eternally
one day, where He will rule and reign. Now we have the power to live for Him because He has made us anew.
If you want to learn more about the Gospel, and how to boldly share it, check out Living Water's excellent channel.
-Dave Andrews
KJOL Station Manager
KJOL has been busy with two web development projects behind the scenes…a lot of it is honestly above and beyond my understand. As manager of KJOL, I have one of those Jack-Of-All-Trades, Master-Of-None type jobs....
We have received a slew of great new songs at KJOL in the last two weeks. Many of them are guaranteed to get your feet tapping and soul singing! Here’s a sample of new songs, which you can hear daily on KJOL. Anne Wilson Who I Am To You So every time The enemy tries me I say get behind me I’m trading his lies for the truth Devil he can’t tell me who I am Cause who I am is who I am to You Danny Gokey Jesus Over Everything I will trust In Your higher ways… Over my future and my plans, Over my need to understand Jesus over everything, Jesus over all Over my weakness and my strength Every loss and every gain Jesus over everything Elevation Worship & Sons of Sunday One More Day --Sons of Sunday is: Steven Furtick (pastor Elevation Church) Chris Brown (Elevation Worship leader) Brandon Lake Chandler Moore (Maverick City Music) Leeland Mooring Pat Barrett You have brought me all this way, To testify of grace What more can I say But hallelujah Thank You Jesus, Thank You Jesus, Thank You Jesus Cause You gave me one more day, One more day Elevation Rhythm Washed --youth worship ministry at Elevation Church I’m clean. Sin was stained on me, Shame was running deep But love was spilled on Calvary, Oh hallelujah I’ve been washed in the water, Washed in the blood I’m as good as new, Oh hallelujah CAIN Living Water I need the living, Only the living, Oh God, I need the living water To fill up my soul And make me whole I need the living water And my thirsty soul Will thirst no more Michael W Smith & Chris Brown Agnus Dei --recorded live for the House of Worship concert featuring 25 worship leaders singing 13 iconic worship songs --Chris Brown is worship leader of Elevation Worship --Michael W Smith wrote Agnus Dei in 1990 for the album "Go West Young Man" --Agnus Dei (pronounced "on-yoos day") means "lamb of God" Presence Music Pick Up That Book --Presence is a band made up of worship leaders from Duluth, Minnesota (named after Psalm 16:11 - "In His presence is fullness of joy") Pick up that book, study all the pages Seal it in your heart, Thats what’s gonna change you There’s no author that is better than the Father The words in red, Will draw you in deeper Flowing through your soul, Like water in the river
A host of young new female artists are making an impact on Christian music right now. Here are “thumbnail sketches” for nine of them. Franni Cash --Franni Cash was one of the lead singers of We The Kingdom until she left in 2023 to pursue a solo career. --We The Kingdom includes Franni's father Ed Cash, her brother Martin Cash, and her uncle Scott Cash Madison Watkins --2018 American idol semifinalist --after a successful mainstream music career left her "feeling empty" she "turned to God" and chose Christian music Megan Woods --Massachusetts native, who grew up in an abusive relationship and struggled with her self-worth until a friend convinced her Jesus is real. She went to church, studied the Word, started leading worship. --appeared at Nightvision 2026 Evelyn Cormier --27 yr old who grew up in New Hampshire --began performing in church at age 10 --appeared on Season 17 of American Idol (2019) Chevas Phillips --worship leader at Bethlehem Church in Atlanta. --formerly a singer in bars until she experienced a profound spiritual conversion following her husband's salvation COUNTRY MUSIC ARTISTS Haley Jones --26 year old independent artist from Jacksonville, Florida --performed at Cowboy Up For Christ in Montrose July 25 Holly Brand --country musician from Mississippi with Integrity Music Rachel Purcell --native of Muscle Schoals, Alabama (home of two famous recording studios from the 60s) --she also performs as a country musician under her maiden name Rachel Wammack --signed to Centricity Music, along with Lauren Daigle, Jordan Feliz, Aaron Shust CJ Prather --Georgia singer/songwriter (female) with a "southern rock meets worship" style
Canadian Vineyard worship leader Brian Doerksen died this week after a brief battle with stage 4 cancer. He was 60. Doerksen wrote " Come Now is the Time to Worship , plus Refiner’s Fire and Light the Fire Again among others. Doerksen grew up in British Columbia and joined the staff of Langley Vineyard Christian Fellowship during his early 20s, writing songs for Vineyard Music and later Integrity Music. He wrote his first hit, Come Now Is The Time To Worship , in 1997 after he moved to England . He was barely getting by at a small church when he and his wife learned that both of their children had Fragile X syndrome, a form of mental retardation. Doerksen realized they would need care for the rest of their lives. As he walked through London, he heard the phrase “Come, now is the time to worship.” He ran home and immediately wrote out the song. Within weeks, other churches were singing it, and soon it spread around the world. In 1998, Vineyard and Integrity Music released the live version (featuring Wendy Whitehead) to audiences worldwide, and the income allowed him to move home to Canada and raise his children. You can read the full story in the links above.
New music on KJOL explores themes of failure, redemption, revival, and asking God to shed His grace on thee. America The Beautiful Steven Curtis Chapman Chapman has teamed with Christian country musician Chris Janson for this patriotic classic embellished with Chapman’s original lyrics. Chapman says the song "offers a thoughtful commentary on the state of our nation, and calls for listeners to see beyond the lines that separate us, to listen more, and remember that we’re stronger together. Rooted in hope, gratitude, and the enduring ideals of America, it’s a timely reminder that freedom rings loudest and clearest as we choose to let grace, unity, and kindness guide us." Revival Jeremy Camp This song “continues Camp’s return to his Rock roots, with driving guitars, pounding drums, and Camp’s signature vocal. “Revival” is an anthem about surrender and renewal.” In Spite of Me Colton Dixon Dixon sings: “I hope you find the answers, I hope that you find peace, I'm praying your perspective, Isn't based on what you've seen, 'Cause I am just a sinner, Who has been set free And I hope you find Jesus, In spite of me.” Dixon explains: “What started as an open letter apology to those affected negatively by church people, ‘In Spite of Me’ quickly became my personal prayer for those directly around me. None of us are perfect, including myself. While I try to always do and say the right thing, sometimes I fall short. My hope is that my wife, kids, friends, and every single person I come in contact with find Jesus even in spite of my shortcomings. God I’m Just Grateful Chandler Moore This song has a long and rather complicated history of failure, recovery and redemption. Moore was a founding member of the Maverick City Music collective. But in 2023, he checked into a rehab facility to address his history of struggles with drugs and alcohol. (He says he has been sober since.) But then in 2025, he left Maverick after a dispute with the group’s former manager. He later wrote this song with Elevation Church pastor Steven Furtick and Pat Barrett, among others. It was released by both Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music. Even though I don't deserve it, You did it Even though I couldn't earn it, You give it Who am I that You keep me on Your mind? God, I'm just grateful for You All my life, You've been right here by my side, God, I'm just grateful for You
NOTE: to see the article featuring ALL the Nightvision artists, go here: https://www.kjol.org/meet-the-nightvision-artists-2026 Anne Wilson says being a rebel means choosing God over social pressure. She has just released a book called Rebel: Following Jesus When the World Walks the Other Way . It comes on the heels of her 2024 album, also called Rebel. Wilson burst on the music scene in 2021 with the song “ My Jesus ,” inspired by the death of her 23 year old brother Jacob, who died in a car accident when Anne was just 15. Since then, she has had eight hit singles, most recently “God Story.” She says her book is a way of expanding on the message of her Rebel album. She told the Christian Post: “I realized I had so much more to say than what I could fit into a three-minute song. The whole topic is really about what it means to live as a Christian in today's world, to stand for the Gospel, to be bold in your faith and to take a stand for what you believe in." With her distinct voice, attractive appearance, and catchy songs, she could easily be a successful country music artist. But Wilson says "I'm not going to compromise my faith to fit country, and I'm not going to compromise my sound to fit Christian radio. This is who I am. I love Jesus. I love country music. I'm going to do both." When Anne Wilson takes the stage at Nightvision on Friday, June 5 at the Mesa County Fairgrounds, she hopes her audience will remember one thing: “Living life for Jesus is the best life you could live.” Rebel: Following Jesus When the World Walks the Other Way releases June 9.
