“A Message of utmost importance about salvation.” Author and Writer Ronald Nelson

Most people assume that anyone who “believes in Jesus” is automatically saved…

but Jesus Himself said the opposite. He warned that there are fake believers — people who look Christian, talk Christian, act Christian…but on Judgment Day, they will be exposed.

And the terrifying part?

These aren’t just atheists.

These aren’t just people who rejected God.

These are people who served, prayed, worshiped, and genuinely believed they were saved.

People who confidently call Him “Lord.”

People who think their relationship with God is solid.

People who feel close to Jesus — but don’t actually know Him the way Scripture requires.

Jesus said MANY of these people will hear the most devastating words ever spoken:

“I never knew you.”

Matthew 7:23; “And then I (Jesus) will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Think about that for a moment. They believed they were saved. They believed that God accepted them. They believed they were going to Heaven. Yet their confidence was built on a foundation of misunderstanding. The truth is uncomfortable, but unavoidable:

Most Christians today cannot explain the gospel.

Most Christians never studied what Jesus said about true salvation.

Most Christians follow tradition and emotion — not Scripture.

Most Christians assume they are safe… without checking.

And this is exactly what creates fake believers. Jesus didn’t warn about fake followers to scare atheists, He warned believers so they wouldn’t deceive themselves. Ask yourself honestly:

Do you know what Jesus actually taught about salvation?

Are you following the Jesus of the Bible… or the Jesus of culture? This is a question that most people don’t understand. Are you following the Bible or are you following religion? They are extremely contrary in many ways. Will Jesus recognize you, or will He only recognize your religion? Is your faith built on truth… or assumption?

Because on that day, your sincerity won’t save you. Your emotions won’t save you. Your church won’t save you. Only truth, the truth Jesus Himself taught us.

Before you continue assuming you’re “good”, before you trust that your feelings equal salvation, take a moment and see what Jesus actually warned His followers about.

You might be shocked by how different it is from what modern Christianity teaches.

Here is the question that we all need to ponder. "Can you explain what the Gospel is?"

93% Of Christians Cannot Answer this question.

But, What if the answer to this one question determines whether you're actually saved or not? Side note; Knowing and understanding the bible does not save you. But, if you are truly saved, then I have to believe that you would read and understand the Bible.  If you have no desire to read and understand the Bible, (Gods Word) then I would definitely question your salvation.

Ephesians 2:8; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” (Knowledge does not save you.)

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 

"It's not about being a good person and going to heaven." The Bible teaches that no one is inherently "good enough" on their own to earn heaven, as God's standard is perfect righteousness, which humans fall short of; We read in; Romans 3:23; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” 

Isaiah 64:6; “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness’s are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” If you read this in its original text, “filthy rags” means used menstrual clothes. Pretty graphic but true.

Salvation comes through God's grace by trusting in Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross. Its not by human effort or "works," though good works should follow as a result of this saving faith and a transformed life, reflecting Christ's righteousness imputed to believers. Key passages emphasize that salvation is a gift received through faith, not earning it through perfection, as perfection is impossible for humans. 

Here's what the Bible says:

God's Standard is Perfection: Jesus stated in " Matthew 5:48; “You, therefore, must be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Can anyone make that claim?)

We all Fall Short as we read in; Romans 3:23; "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Good Works Aren't Enough: Our "righteous acts are like filthy rags"  as we read in; Isaiah 64:6; when compared to God's perfect standard, meaning we can't earn salvation through good works. If you are being told otherwise, get into the Word of God and let the Holy Spirit guide you through truth.

Salvation is by Grace Through Faith: Ephesians 2:8-9; states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast".

Jesus Fulfilled the Standard: Jesus met the standard of perfection for us.

Good Deeds Follow Salvation: Believers do good works as a grateful response to God's grace, but not to earn their way to heaven; it’s because they are already saved by accepting Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and becoming born again into the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:10; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them".

This verse highlights that believers are God's special creation, designed specifically in Christ to do good deeds that God planned in advance, emphasizing purpose and divine artistry in believers' lives. 

The "Wedding Garment": The parable in; Matthew 22: 2-3; “s The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,  and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.”

This parable speaks of a wedding garment, representing Christ's righteousness, which is needed for His banquet, not our own. 

If you say, "It's the story of Jesus." As your explanation to the Gospel, That is a pretty week  explanation.

If you say, "It's believing in God that saves you" Even demons believe in God, James 2:19; “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble!” 

Every religion believes in some god. There is only one God in three personages. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sin has to be paid for. Buddha didn’t pay for your sins; Mohammed didn’t pay for your sins nor did any other so-called god of any other religion. If you do not receive Jesus’s payment for your sins, you will perish in hell with all those that rejected the truth, including Buddha and Mohammed.

If you say, The Gospel is about love and forgiveness, that is a good gesture, but not good enough.” Jesus Christ certainly was all about love and forgiveness, but loving people and forgiving them does not save you. It is  something that should happen automatically when you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and become born again into the Holy Spirit.

John 3:3; “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

A survey was taken and out of thirty people that were asked this question,  people who all called themselves Christians, only two could actually explain the gospel clearly. I’m surprised that it was even that many.  I would place a wager that one out of a hundred would not be able to explain the Gospel.

Two out of thirty is 93% who couldn't answer correctly. And these weren't just cultural Christians. These were people who prayed, who went to church (some of them), who read Christian books, who posted Bible verses on Facebook and shared messages on other Christian outlets. They called themselves Christians, but they couldn't explain the most fundamental truth of Christianity.

And here are a few verses that should make you tremble in fear. Jesus Himself said;

Matthew 7:21-23; “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Read that again and let it sink in. This includes many pastors and priests that teach from the pulpits every week, but do not know Jesus personally. They, themselves have never been born again which is a command from Jesus Christ Himself.

These also include People who called Jesus "Lord." People who did miracles in His name. And Jesus said, "I NEVER KNEW YOU." This is positive proof that good works cannot save you. The words “I never knew you” will be the scariest words that you will ever hear if you do not know Jesus Christ personally.

The Terrifying Statistics About People Who Call Themselves "Christian"

I started researching statistics on this topic. What I found horrified me:

70% of Americans call themselves "Christian" But:

60% can't name 5 of the Ten Commandments

58% can't name the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)

48% don't know who delivered the Sermon on the Mount (it was Jesus)

45% think "God helps those who help themselves" is in the Bible (it's not in the Bible)

Even more terrifying:

Only 37% of self-identified Christians say they read the Bible once a week or more

Fewer than 20% have ever read the entire Bible cover to cover. I would bet it would be a lot less. Less than 10% could pass a basic test on Bible knowledge. Again, I believe it would be a lot less. Todays world is falling away from the truth of the Gospel, (Just as it was prophesied to happen) so less people are reading the Bible on their own.

We call ourselves Christians. We say we believe. We claim Jesus as Lord. But most of us don't actually know what we're claiming to believe. We don't know God's Word. We don't understand the gospel. We're just, using a label. A label that is using Gods name in vane if you are not a true born again believer. If you call yourself a Christian and live a questionable life style, you are deceiving many into thinking they can live the same lifestyle and be saved. You will be held accountable for all those that were lost because of you. Jesus will not look very favorably on you at the “White Throne Judgement’ where you will be judged and sentenced to eternity in the lake of burning fire.  

And Jesus said in; John 8:31-32: “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

“IF” you abide in My word. “IF” Not "if you call yourself a Christian." Not "if you believe in God." Not "if you're a good person." “If You Abide In My Word.” Then, and only then, are you truly His disciple. Most of us are not abiding in His Word. We're just, existing with a Christian label we inherited or adopted but never actually investigated.

What If You've Been Calling Yourself Christian But You Don't Actually Know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

Let me ask you something. And I want you to be brutally honest with yourself. If you died tonight and stood before God, and He asked you, "Why should I let you into My heaven?"... what would you say? In all honesty, if you are standing before God at the “White Throne Judgement” your destination has already been determined because you failed to know that answer before you ended up there.

Jesus said in; John 17:3: "This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Again, read the words very carefully, Not just knowing About Him, But Know Him personally. We all know who the present of the USA is, but do we know him personally. Not likely, so if he was going to have a party, would you be invited. No way, he doesn’t know you. In the same way Jesus will not invite you to the marriage supper of the Lamb because He doesn’t know you. Of course, He knows who you are, but He doesn’t have a close relationship with you because to never reached out to Him in faith. It is necessary to have a personal relationship with Jesus to be saved. I know a lot of people by name, but they don’t know me because they never reached out to me in friendship. I hope this message is becoming clearer.

The only way to truly know Him is through His Word. Not through sermons you heard. Not through Christian books or podcasts. Not through vague feelings or childhood memories of Sunday School. Only through His Word and studying and understanding the Bible. But here's the problem most of us face: We've never actually read the Bible. Many people have tried to read the Bible, but it was to confusing to them. If you are reading the Bible without any help, you will never understand anything in Gods Word. You need to invite the Holy Spirit into your heart and ask Him to guide you through the truth of the scriptures. It is the only way to understand the Bible. Let He who inspired every Word teach you.

There are 66 different books, written by forty different authors, to different audiences, for different purposes, over thousands of years. You have to understand the CONTEXT in which it is written or you'll get very confused.

"But how are we supposed to know all that?"  "You need to understand five things about every book before you read it, "Who wrote it. Why they wrote it. For Whom they wrote it to. What the Main Themes are, and what the Key Symbols mean. Once you have that framework, the Bible goes from confusing to crystal clear."

Let’s look at these five questions that pertain to a quite a few New Testament books.

Who wrote them? Paul, a former Pharisee who encountered Jesus.

Why did he write them? To explain how both Jews and Gentiles are saved by grace through faith, not by following laws.

For Whom did he write them? To the churches in Asia minor, a mix of Jewish and Gentile believers arguing about whether you had to follow Jewish law to be saved.

Main Themes: Justification by faith. Grace vs. law. Unity in Christ.

Key Symbols: Adam vs. Christ. Old covenant vs. New Covenant. Suddenly, the New Testament makes sense.

It wasn't random theology. It was Paul answering specific questions for specific people in a specific situation.

God did the same thing with the book of Leviticus.

Who wrote it? Moses.

Why did he write it? To give priests instructions on maintaining holiness.

For Whom did he write? The Levitical priests.

Main Themes: Holiness, sacrifice, atonement.

Key Symbols: Blood sacrifice pointing forward to Jesus.

When you understand all this, Suddenly, the book Leviticus isn’t so boring. It shows  why Jesus had to die.

Why His sacrifice mattered.

Why we call Him the "Lamb of God."

The biggest problem in today’s churches is they do not teach through the Bible. They take certain verses out of the scriptures and make a sermon. They don’t have a clue what the verses are really teaching. Because they have not been born again, they take the verses of the Bible out of context and teach them as truth. The truth is not being taught in todays churches. It’s a shame that so many are being deceived in todays world because they do not read the Bible for themselves, they trust others to teach the truth. When you stand before Jesus Christ in judgment, you will not have any excuses as to why you didn’t read the Bible for yourself. Those that are teaching false doctrine will be judged more harshly than those that believed this false doctrine, but you will still be held accountable for what you believe regardless of who taught you. Trusting man over Gods word is as foolish as you can get.

Psalm 37:3; “Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.”

Psalm 9:10; “And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You

Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Here is the Gospel in a nutshell;

According to Scripture, Jesus died by crucifixion at Golgotha after being condemned by Pontius Pilate, following accusations from Jewish leaders; He was mocked, flogged, nailed to the cross between two thieves, and cried out, "It is finished," and then "gave up his spirit" John 19:30 with supernatural events like temple veil tearing and earthquakes marking His death, fulfilling prophecy as the atoning sacrifice for sins:

John 19:30; records Jesus' final words on the cross: "It is finished!" after receiving sour wine, signifying the completion of his redemptive work, paying the price for sin, fulfilling prophecy, and defeating death, leading him to bow his head and give up his spirit. This declaration, in Greek "Tetelestai," means "paid in full," marking the end of his suffering and the beginning of salvation's promise. 

1 Corinthians 15:3-8; “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  and last of all he appeared to me (Paul) also, as to one abnormally born.”

This my friends is the Gospel in a nutshell. Now, if someone asks you to explain the Gospel, you should have no reason for refusing to share the good news of the Gospel with them. You can always keep this blog near you so you can at least read it to them.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

"The grass withers and the flowers fade" is a poignant phrase from the Bible, specifically Isaiah 40:8, highlighting the temporary nature of earthly life and beauty, contrasting it with the eternal, enduring nature of God's Word, which provides lasting hope and truth amidst life's fleeting realities. It's a powerful call to find stability in God's promises rather than in temporary worldly things, emphasizing that while humans and nature pass away, God's promises remain steadfast.  Amen