People say that they are saved by grace and all they have to do is believe in their heart, confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. That is truth, but not all the truth. They are right in saying they are saved by grace, but getting saved and staying saved is a biblical concept overlooked.
There is still work to be done on our part. The price was high that was paid for us and we should not expect not to have to do anything in return. When we are saved by grace, it doesn’t qualify us to continue living like the devil. After repeating my friend in prayer for salvation, I asked, “Is that all I have to do?” She replied, “That is just the beginning.” At that time, I did not understand what she meant, but after just a few months serving the Lord, it was clear that I had many changes to go through. I still needed training in living the life I professed for Jesus. Now I needed to understand what the biblical concepts were for this new life. Jesus repeats himself when He gives the parables of the ten virgins, the three servants and the goats and sheep. He later says that those that remained faithful in doing what He said, they would be with Him in heaven. To the others He said, get away from me, I never knew you, and they would enter a place where there was gnashing of teeth. That would mean that there are requirements to continue in the life He wanted for them. Jesus showed us several examples on how to live out the word of God, even when no one is watching.
Though individuals thought they were saved, they discovered they were not meeting the expectations for Kingdom living. There are people who have known Him. They were not strangers. They were the ones who followed Him, talked with Him, had fellowship with Him, saw Him, believed Him, sat by Him, watched Him, received from Him.
The devil does not give us up that easy. The enemy fights us with the same tactics he did to the believers before us. He waits for us to just give in a little to his way and pow, bang, boom; you do not know what hit you. Keep in mind, some of the instances were not parables like the episode that happened to the Sons of Sceva in the book of Acts. Do we have to go through such torment before we change our way and serve the Lord with all our heart? Will the enemy find the house empty because we did not continue to seek the Word of Truth?
Some have fallen back into sin because their foundation was shaken up when they did not work on the foundation. Others get just enough to get by, but when the testing came, they found out it was too late, they did not get enough to get by, and are counted with the others. There is still another group of believers.
They have stood the test of time, trials, and tribulations because their foundation was strong. They could not be shaken when the enemy tried to knock them off their feet.
They are the ones who truly testify about the salvation of the Lord.