One Way To Be A Loser

     Yes, there is one way,and only one way, you can make yourself a loser in the end.  But it won't be because your list of bad deeds is longer than your list of good ones.  Compare these two scriptures:
     "Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life"  John 5:40.
     "There is therefore  now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit" Romans 8:1.
     Do you see?  Those who are lost at last will be lost because they refused to come to Jesus, not because He played 'hide and seek' or 'hard to get'. Salvation is not something we attain by trying hard enough to be good.  Rather it is something we receive because He is so very good as to offer it to us before we even know how to be good. We can't earn it, because He's already given it.  In Jesus our salvation is an accomplished reality.  If we say yes, it becomes our personal reality. If we persist in a course that says 'no' we will ultimately judge ourselves unworthy of eternal life. Though it ill grieve Him terribly, and though he longs for our redemption with springs of love as deep as eternity, He will honor our choice by concurring with our own judgment.
     There is of course a brighter option.  Those who come to Jesus find in Him eager acceptance with absolutely no condemnation.  Th judgment for these glad individuals will mean the final declaration of their acquittal before the onlooking universe.For them the judgment really is good news.  As Jesus taught, they will not be condemned in the judgment.
    "Verily verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation: but is passed from death unto life"  John 5:24
     Some people believe that Jesus saves them initially by His free grace through faith, but will ultimately expect them to stand on the merits of their obedience in the judgment.
     Make no mistake about it, those who come to Jesus are made more than conquerors through Him who loved them.  Victory over sin is the ultimate experience of every truly saved child of Christ.  But also know that their final pardon in the judgment is as much a gift of free grace as was their initial pardon the day they first came to Jesus as helpless sinners. The plan of salvation is the same yesterday, today and forever....and in the judgment.  We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, not adding one particle of merit by anything good we have done.

   (Isn't that good news?  The gospel always shares 'good news' doesn't it?  Only let Jesus do your saving for you.   That is His plan, not ours.  Grandma Joan)