Are you truly of Christ?

Are you Truly of Christ?

THAT CHRIST IS THE SAVIOR is a basic Christian tenet. Thus many people profess their faith in and acceptance of the Lord Jesus, assuming that by so doing, they are already counted among those who belong to Him. However, mere acceptance of Christ is not enough to be counted among those who are recognized by Him, as can be gleaned from the following statement of the Savior: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44, New King James Version).

Evidently, Christ only knows those who have been drawn or brought unto Him by the Father, and they are the ones who in turn will be saved by Christ on His return. So even though one may say he has faith in Christ, that he believes He is the Savior, if he is not included among those drawn to Christ by the Father, then he does not truly belong to the Savior and tragically will not attain salvation. This is made all the more evident in Christ's proclamation, as recorded by the apostle Matthew: "On the last day many people will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, we spoke for you, and through you we forced out demons and did many miracles.' Then I will tell them clearly, 'Get away from me, you who do evil. I never knew you'" (Matt. 7:22-23, New Century Version).

In spite of one's religiosity then, even if all he does is done in the name of Christ, if he is not included among those brought to Jesus by God, he will be rejected by Him, with no hope of salvation.

But how does God draw people to Christ? They are called to have fellowship with the Savior: "God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord" (I Cor. 1:9, Today's English Version).

The apostle Paul also reveals the manner by which God calls people to be in union with Christ. It is through the gospel: "God called you to this through the Good News we preached to you; he called you to possess your share of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thess. 2:14, Ibid.).

To assume, however, that because one has heard and believed in the preaching of the gospel, he is now linked to, or has fellowship with Christ is wrong. This is because not all preachers are of God (Rom. 10:15; II Pet. 2:1, 3). So who alone should be heard and listened to for one to gain true fellowship with Christ? The messenger as can be read, thus: "Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent—that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger" (John 6:29, Amplified Bible).

Listening to, and believing in the preaching of a duly commissioned messenger of God can never be overstressed (Mai. 2:7; Luke 10:16) since, in the Christian Era, the ministry and word of reconciliation has been granted unto them (II Cor. 5:18-20). Those who are not messengers of God can never preach the gospel that can lead people to be in fellowship with Christ, since the words of God are in mystery (Rom. 16:25), and only those who are sent—like the apostles—have been given this divine understanding: "And He said to them, 'To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them'" (Mark 4:11-13, NKJV).

A true messenger of God can be distinguished from mere claimants because those sent by God have prophetic proof of their commissioning. Who then would be sent by God in these last days, to preach the true gospel to people to bring them into fellowship with Christ? God reveals the following through the prophecy in Isaiah: "You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and have not cast you away: Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand'" (Isa. 41:9-10, Ibid.).

The righteousness with which God would uphold the messenger chosen at the time "ends of the earth" is none other than the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17). Thus the preaching of this man who would emerge from a far region or place would bring people in union with Christ, just like what was done by the messengers in the first-century Church of Christ (I Cor. 1:9) and thus to salvation: "By his sacrificial death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger!" (Rom. 5:9, TEV).

Thus, we, members of the Iglesia Ni   Cristo   (Church   Of   Christ)   that emerged in the Far East (specifically the Philippines), are the ones who have benefited from the commissioning of Brother Felix Y. Manalo, the Messenger of God sent at the time ends of the earth to bring people to Christ. We are confident in our relationship with Christ, just as the members of the Church at the time of the apostles were, as confirmed by Paul: "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30, NKJV).

So we eagerly look forward to— just as the members of the same Church immediately after the ascension of Christ yearned for—what will take place on the return of the Lord Jesus Christ: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself" (Phil. 3:20-21, Ibid.).

And once our Savior transforms our lowly body into a glorious one like His own, then we can joyfully anticipate the following being fulfilled: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, 'Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.' And the one sitting on the throne said, 'Look, I am making all things new!' And then he said to me, 'Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true'" (Rev. 21:1-5, New Living Translation).

This ultimate and unequalled blessing will be granted to those who are in fellowship with Christ—those who become, and remain faithful members of the Church Of Christ.

By, Donald H Pinnock

(God's Message Issue August 2011 | Vol.63 | No. 8 )