ARE YOU SURE OR JUST SATISFIED?
By Jim Sasser


     When the salvation of one's soul is at stake, every precaution should
be taken.  I suppose that all of the 537 million church members in the
world are satisfied with their religious status, but can everyone of them
be sure that he has even been saved and that he is right?

     Just because one is satisfied with what he has done religiously does
not mean that he has done the right things nor that he has been saved
from his past sins.  Evidently there has never been a more satisfied man
than Saul of Tarsus because he said he lived in all good conscience before
God until even after he became a Christian. (Acts
23:1).  In spite of his satisfied state, he said that during the time that
he
was a follower of the Jewish religion that he thought within himself to do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. (Acts 26:;9).
On different occasions he severely persecuted the followers of Jesus.
He was in need of conversion and his sins had not been washed away
until after he was converted. (Acts 22:16).

     Evidently, the Ephesians who had been baptized under the preach-
ing of someone, possibly Apollos, with the baptism of John were com-
pletely satisfied with what they had done until Paul came along and
preached to them and convinced them that they had not been baptized
with the Lord's baptism and then they were re-baptized. (Acts 19:1-5)

     Actually, in all of the cases of conversion in the New Testament the
ones who were converted had, prior to their conversion, been perfectly
satisfied with their status until they learned that they were wrong.  By the
very fact that God foretold that there would be false teachers, it is evi-
dent that there are such today.  Yet, the followers of such teachers are
perfectly satisfied with what they are hearing and with what they have
obeyed.

     The truth of the matter is that everyone ought to be dissatisfied with
his religion until he can take his Bible and thoroughly study it in search
of every doctrine that he has believed.  THERE SHOULD BE NO SATISFACTION
UNTIL THERE IS A SURENESS FROM THE BIBLE
THAT GOD APPROVES THE ACTIONS OF MY CONVERSION AND
MY LIFE.  ARE YOU SURE OR ARE YOU JUST SATISFIED?