Good question!
Throughout the Bible, God tells us to do good and stay away from wickedness. We know that we cannot do this on our own, because we are all sinful.
So Jesus came to die for us on the cross so that imperfect as we are and sinful as we are, all our sins are forgiven if we believe in Jesus’ atonement for us. Because our good deeds can never nullify our bad deeds, Jesus paid for our debts to God so that by His perfection, we can also be made perfect.
Now given God the Father’s great sacrifice and God the Son’s immense suffering, how should we live as Christians who have believed?
The parable of the ten virgins talks about Christians who are true to Jesus versus those who are lip-service false “Christians”.
Christians who are true to Jesus would not wickedly use Jesus’ blood as a license to sin. It is incorrect to say: “Oh since Jesus died for me, I can push all my sins to Him and live any way I want. I’m saved anyway. I can sin like the devil. Just ask for forgiveness afterwards, because Jesus paid for it all.”
Therefore, Jesus says: “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). He also says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
People who treat sin casually or practice lawlessness haven’t truly believed. “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6)
People who truly believe are those who believe with their heart and act like they believe. Just like if you won a great prize, if you believe you won, you’d act like a winner. You’d celebrate, tell others, and do things in keeping with your belief that you won.
So also we, who have salvation by believing in Jesus’ atonement for us, should act like we believe. It is not that we are saved by obeying commandments. On the contrary, no one is saved by works so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Good works cannot cancel out any bad deeds we have done. So if we rely on our deeds, one bad deed would send us to eternal punishment no matter how many good deeds we do.
Therefore, salvation is by Jesus’ blood alone. If we believe this, we are saved. But if we believe, we would also repent of our sins and try to follow Jesus from now on.
If we fall short, we can ask for God’s forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
But at least we should not knowingly behave like hypocrites. This is the bare minimum. To repent (this means to turn away from sins and with prayer and reliance on God, work together with Him to overcome sins and do His will).
The apostle Paul summarized his preaching by saying: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21)
Many Christians forget that we need to repent and don’t understand what true repentance means. True repentance is a decision to turn away from sins and follow Christ.
So if you’ve decided to follow Christ and are working with God to obey the Bible, then you are a true Christian.
The Bible says: “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19). If we say we believe but act like the devil or demons, then we haven’t truly believed. Demons know God exists, but they practice evil continually. We should not be like them.
Believing is having faith in Jesus and learning to be faithful to Him. “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” (2 Timothy 2:19)
Then we can be children of God without shame. Wouldn’t you say this standard of God is reasonable?
This standard is the same standard God has for us regarding the rapture too.
God’s standard for those in the church who will be raptured is for those who are prepared. Who are the prepared but the ones who are following Jesus in their personal lives (and not just doing lip-service only)?
This same standard is in Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins – that those virgins who are prepared for His coming will go in with Him to escape the Tribulation (Matthew 25:1-13). There isn’t one standard for Israel and another one for the church.
This same standard is what Jesus means when He said: “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:34-36)
God is not mocked. God will judge people who use Jesus’ blood as a license to sin, and if they continue in their ways without repenting, they are not true believers and will not be raptured.
“But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:48-51)
It is very dangerous that some people have simplified the gospel in such a way so as to take out the original meaning. But God’s intent has always been the same. He wants us to believe and to repent.
As the day draws near for Jesus’ coming again, let us be sober in spirit, waiting and watching for His coming. And let us encourage one another to be prepared for it.
“…Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light” (Colossians 1:10-12).