? Deeply Religious Believes in God & Jesus A Man of Prayer Moral Life – God- Fearing Man His Family = Religious Like Him Good Natured: Benevolent Meet Steve:

Deeply Religious – “a devout man” Believes in God A Man of Prayer - “prayed to God always” Moral Life - “feared God” His Family = Religious Like Him – “with all his household” Good Natured: Benevolent – “gave alms generously to the people” Meet Cornelius (Acts 10:2):

Yet Cornelius Was NOT Saved! Angel: Send for Peter “He will tell you what you must do.” - Acts 10:5-6 Meet Cornelius (Acts 10:2):

Yet Cornelius Was NOT Saved! already believed in God! already believed in God! was already religious! was already religious! Already prayed! Already prayed! Already a “good,” benevolent person! Already a “good,” benevolent person! If saved, why was he required to do anything further? Cornelius (Acts 10:2)

Yet Cornelius Was NOT Saved! Peter: “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” - Acts 10: Meet Cornelius (Acts 10:2):

Is Presumptuous (Only God Knows the Heart of a Man) (1 Chronicles 28:9) "…the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever. (NKJV)

Is Presumptuous (Only God Knows the Heart of a Man) We are assuming God’s role for ourselves. Psalm 98:9 “…With righteousness He shall judge the world, And the peoples with equity.”

Is Presumptuous (Only God Knows the Heart of a Man) We are assuming God’s role for ourselves. It is an insult to the Christian faith! It is in opposition to what the scriptures teach.

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” Romans 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10 “There is none righteous, no, not one.”

James 2:19 “even the demons believe and tremble”

(Matthew 7:22-23) "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!'

(Luke 6:46) “why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?”

(Jn. 4:23-24) “…the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 17:17) "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

Eph. 2:8 We“…have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Rom. 10:17 “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

OUR OWN FAITH (BASED UPON THE WORD OF GOD) Is the Faith That Saves! (Matthew 10:34-37) "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. "For I have come to 'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; "and 'a man's enemies will be those of his own household.' "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”

OUR OWN FAITH (BASED UPON THE WORD OF GOD) Is the Faith That Saves (Phil. 2:12) “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

OUR OWN FAITH (BASED UPON THE WORD OF GOD) Is the Faith That Saves Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”

The Majority: Faith NOT Based Upon God’s Word According to a recent survey: – 78.4% of Americans identify themselves as Christians. – 92% of Americans own a Bible – The average home has owns approximately 3-4 Bibles.

The Majority: Faith NOT Based Upon God’s Word A Recent Gallup poll survey found : – Only 59% read the Bible even occasionally – Only 37% read it at least once per week and women are more likely to read it (42%) than men (32%) – Only one in seven Americans report an involvement that goes beyond just reading the Bible. – Only 14% of Americans belong to a Bible study group.

The Majority: Faith NOT Based Upon God’s Word Atheist/Agnostic 20.9

The Majority: Faith NOT Based Upon God’s Word A Recent Survey found : – Only 50% of Americans surveyed could name any one of the four gospels – Only 37% could name all four gospels – Only 42% could name as many as 5/10 of the Ten Commandments – Only 42% could identify who delivered the sermon on the mount

The Majority: Faith NOT Based Upon God’s Word A Recent Survey found : – 38% thought the ENTIRE Bible was written several decades after the death of Christ – 12% Believed that Noah’s wife was Joan of Ark – 49% believed MONEY is the root of all evil (rather than the love of it) – 75% thought that “God helps those who help themselves” is a phrase taught in the Bible.

Do you take time to study the Bible? Average life expectancy of a U.S. citizen: 78.3 There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. Reading one chapter takes about 1½ min. to read If you didn’t read 1 scripture until you were 20 and read 1 chapter of the Bible/day until 78 yrs old you’d have read the Bible through cover to 18 times!

Do you take time to study the Bible? Average life expectancy of a U.S. citizen: 78.3 There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. Reading one chapter takes about 1½ min. to read Read the Bible for just 15 minutes/day until you were 78 years old, you could have read it through almost 180 in your lifetime!

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) FEW people will go to Heaven. FEW people will go to Heaven.

1 Cor. 6:9-10 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

Lk. 13:3 “unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” 2 Corinthians 7:10 “godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.” Mat. 7:20 “…by their fruits you will know them.”

(Ac. 2:37) “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

Peter answered: (Ac. 2:38) “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” What was the “gift”? Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 John 2:2 Christ is “…is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”