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
Michael W. Smith is getting ready to release his first new studio album since 2018. Smith says “This whole record starts out with a bang... I don’t think I’ve had this many upbeat songs on any record that I’ve ever done. Those are really sort of hard to write.” But Michael says it’s not all “pop stuff.” I have a song about communion. I don’t think we have enough communion songs. And there’s a couple worship moments that are pretty powerful, too. The first three singles may remind you of his earlier sound from the 1990s, which some of us consider a good thing! The first single, “ Arms Around The World ,” features Jesus on the drums! Well, it’s Jonathan Roumie, to be precise, the actor who plays Jesus in “The Chosen” series! Michael says his “musical hero” is movie composer John Williams . I went and saw Raiders Of The Lost Ark 28 times in 1981 and it changed my life. I went “Why do I keep coming back?” And it was the music. That was the year I began to write cinematic music. That cinematic flare is included in his second single, “ Your Love Is A Flood ,” which has a 30-second counter-melody that sounds like it could be from “Jurassic Park.” That same cinema sound also opens his third single is “ Kingdom Come ,” which Michael says is his personal prayer . This one is so close to my heart, born out of the prayer I’ve prayed daily: ‘Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ It’s a bold anthem of hope, healing, and God’s presence breaking into our lives. Michael told the Christian Post : My identity is not being Michael W. Smith the artist. The things that are near and dear and more important to me are, first and foremost, my relationship with Lord. Then my family, my wife, my kids, my grandkids, my friends that I walk through life with. Your craft can't be your identity. If it is, it will consume you, and not in a good way. At the end of November, Smith will join Amy Grant and CeCe Winans for a nine city tour, followed by his Christmas tour in December with special guest Riley Clemmons. But unlike Laura Story (who will be in Grand Junction for a free Christmas concert, courtesy of KJOL), you’ll have to go to Florida to catch Michael’s Christmas tour .
Forrest Frank has been everywhere this year. He even broke his back and wrote a song about it ( God's Got My Back ) while lying on his back! But one place Forrest Frank won't be this year is the Dove Awards . He announced that he will no longer attend any of the awards shows, including the Doves and the Grammys. “As Christians, it’s hard to know where the line in the sand is between being in the world and not of the world,” he said . Pondering where to draw the line between being in the world but not of the world, he said, “I’m convicted, personally, that a line that I can draw is that I will not receive a trophy for something that is from Jesus and for Jesus.” Frank added, “I was wrestling with this last year. I even said that on stage at the Dove Awards. I said, ‘I’m still struggling with the concept of receiving this award, but all glory to Jesus, every name will fade away, including mine, except for one name.’” So he decided "to go even a step further and say, ‘I don’t know if I even want to step on the stage. I don’t know if I want to step in the room.’ So I will not be attending the Doves and the Grammys.” “I hope to be an example to the youth that the trophy is our salvation ,” he added. “The trophy is that my name is listed in the Book of Life and I get to have eternal life . What good is a piece of metal going to do compared to that?” His absence at the Dove awards will no doubt be a problem for them. He’s nominated for four major awards: Song of the Year (Composer): Good Day Recorded Song of the Year: Your Way's Better Album of the Year: Child Of God Artist of the Year He is almost certain to win at least one of those awards. UPDATE : The Dove ceremony was broadcast Friday, October 10. Forrest Frank won three major awards! Artist of the Year Album of the Year (Child of God) Recorded Song of the Year (Your Way's Better)
We are so blessed to have a number of new listeners lately; and we are blessed to have some listeners who have been with us since the very start! If you were a listener during “the old days” before the KJOL radio network was sold...
Laura Story never set out to be a songwriter . She didn’t even know she could sing until she was in college. In 1996, while a student at Columbia International University in South Carolina, she met Shane Williams from the band “Silers Bald.” (Silers Bald is a mountain peak in Tennessee. It’s called a “bald” because it is not covered in trees.) Shane recruited Laura to join the band – as the band’s bass player! Then she began writing songs, and in 2002, she recorded her first album, Indescribable . But it was Chris Tomlin who made the song “ Indescribable ” a huge hit when he recorded it in 2004. Laura remained largely unknown until she released Great God Who Saves in 2008. Besides the title track, it included “ Mighty to Save ,” “ Bless The Lord ” and “ Immortal Invisible .” In 2011, she released the album “ Blessings .” The title song was born out of the difficult circumstances surrounding her husband Martin’s brain tumor (a story for another time). “Blessings” won a Grammy and a Dove for Best Contemporary Song. Most recently, Laura Story joined the Keith & Kristyn Getty Worship Conference, where she performed her latest song, “ Psalm 27 (The Lord Is My Light) ”.
Our August drawing is of course over, but congratulations to our three winners of couples registrations to the Weekend To Remember Conferences. If you missed out, I want to let you know, that underway through September 15th, the Family Life Today Weekend to Remember Getaways are half off…so be sure to use the group nam
Big Daddy Weave released their new album “Let It Begin” in May. It was their first album in six years. There’s a reason for that. Most bands release new albums every two or three years, but on January 2, 2022, Jay Weaver died from COVID. He was Mike Weaver’s younger brother (hence the “Weave” in the band’s name). They spent the next three years processing the loss and putting their grief into song. In 2023, they released the duet with Katy Nichole, “ God Is In This Story .” God is in this story, God is in the details Even in the broken parts, He holds my heart, He never fails Later that year, Big Daddy Weave released “ Heaven Changes Everything .” In the light of eternity I have this hope Thank You, Jesus, Heaven changes everything In 2024, they released “ Let It Begin .” Mike Weaver said he had been intensely grieving the death of his brother and would cry every time he told the story on stage, until one night the healing began. Meanwhile, Matt Maher had written this song without knowing that Weaver's healing that had started. Mike remembered, “He reached out to me and was just like, ‘Man, I’ve had this song that has been on my heart for you guys.’ I read the lyrics, and it’s what I couldn’t say.” If my wounds could tell one story, Let it be a testimony That You don’t leave me where I’ve been. If this is healing, let it begin Their new single is “ I’ve Just Seen Too Much .” Listen for it on KJOL. Some days it feels like I’ve been losing more than I have found I won’t tell you that I’ve got it all together, If you know me, then You know my faith has wavered If you ask me why I trust Him When it feels like everything has come undone All I can tell you is, I’ve just seen too much
