you are saved?
Salvation is not earned but it is a gift from God, you don't have to do anything to get it, no work, you get it by faith. But authentic and sincere faith is needed, as it is described in the Bible!
For by grace you have been saved, by fede; and that not of yourselves:; it is the gift of God. It is not by works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:9
The gospel is being preached to everyone by now, but it is not accepted by everyone. This is what will determine a person's future, eternal life and salvation.
In theology we define the external call and the inner call. They are very different from each other.
The external call it affects everyone without distinction, it is the moment in which the gospel is presented to a person and the message of salvation. Receiving the external call does not mean being saved and becoming a Christian. Just because we have heard the story of Christ and his resurrection does not mean that we will be saved, the interior call is also needed, and it doesn't always happen to everyone. For the external call, God entrusts the task to his disciples who are committed by vocation to the ministry of evangelization. If a person does not accept the call, it makes an affront to God himself and only increases his own guilt. It is also the established means by which God gathers the elect from all the nations of the earth. The external call can occur several times in a person's life.
The inner call instead, it occurs only once in a lifetime, and it is that which determines the becoming a Christian and the salvation by faith; is the time when, inside us, God speaks to us and enlightens us, and makes us understand that we have become his children. It will no longer cause us to doubt because we will suddenly be filled with the Holy Spirit. The next step after the outward call is repentance (sincere and authentic because God reads in our hearts) of sins before the crucified Christ and the request for forgiveness. Since that time, from that moment in which “you will be born again” as a new Christian, you WILL BE SAVED. You will promise, directly to Him, to always walk in the ways of the Lord.
And it will come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (proceedings 2:21)
How to understand if the inner call has been received?
There are no logical ways to explain, every person who receives it realizes it from mystical experience of communion with God and has no doubts about this.
I am dealing with the outer calling, that is, of evangelization and of presenting the gospel to the people, for the interior one you have to entrust yourself to God and turn to Him, only He can enlighten you, make you understand everything that now seems absurd to you, and save you.
My greatest wish is that you, you are now reading this page, can experience the same experience, the same that millions of believers have with the inner call, and your life will be completely changed for the better.
Hi, this is my first time commenting on a post, even though I have been reading your articles for some time. I have many doubts on many issues but this doesn't seem like the right post to talk about it. If I can, volevo porre solo una domanda che già da tempo mi è venuta in mente e ritengo sia pertinente all'articolo. I wanted to ask what is the fate of all those who have not been able to hear or read the Word of God? Penso che appartengono ad un'altra cultura e che per forza di cose non hanno mai avuto un contatto con la Bibbia. Or even the Aboriginal populations who are totally isolated from the "civilized" world. I am aware that the question may seem silly, but it's a curiosity that as I said before, it suddenly came to me.
P.S. I also take this opportunity to compliment you on your blog, truly enlightening on many aspects of evangelical Christian culture and religion.
Hello Joseph,
thanks for commenting.
No, It's absolutely not a silly question and is completely legitimate!
Jesus said to go and preach the Gospel throughout the world precisely to spread the Good News and bring salvation to God's elect. Ma c'è un ma. Siccome la Bibbia parla dell'elezione dei credenti, that is, God is sovereign and would have chosen from the beginning who to save and who not, He will ensure that the preaching reaches the lost people whom he had chosen for salvation. Everything here. E' God who chooses, decides and guides us, and the elect of God are believers, prove that you are chosen and saved, it is your inner calling, while the external one means nothing.
Se vuoi approfondire l'elezione clicca sulla categoria "Dottrine della Grazia" where you can find articles that explain this concept with biblical foundations.
Preaching is only a means to salvation, it is the means by which God saves the believers chosen by Him.
This is why I endure everything for the sake of the elect, affinché anch'essi conseguano la salvezza che è in Cristo Gesù, together with eternal glory.2Timothy 2:10
But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you to salvation through sanctification in the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2Thessalonians 2:13
Now we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, which are named according to his design. Because those he foreknew, li ha pure predestinati a essere conformi all'immagine del Figlio suo, that he may be the firstborn among many brothers;
and those whom he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
In fact the Bible says, regarding the trobulation that is to come, that God is waiting for all the elect to be presented with the Gospel:
If those days hadn't been shortened, no one would escape; but, because of the elect, those days will be shortened.Matthew 24:22
Hello and thanks for replying.
As always, very clear answers and with a solid biblical foundation.
Leggerò sicuramente l'argomento indicato, as well as the many articles still waiting to be read.
I also thank you on behalf of all those who are in confusion like me, and that in this blog they can certainly find solid points of reference to question what the Catholic Church and Catholic Christians propose.
See you soon.
Giuseppe
Hi ChristianFaith. Io ho gia ricevuto la chiamata esteriore e l'ho accettata, but I don't know if I also received the interior call. But since I accepted the external call I feel a profound spiritual peace within me, I feel different: I love God more, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, I understand the Holy Bible more and always have the desire to read it, I want to pray and talk to Jesus much more, etc. In short, from a spiritual point of view I feel good. All this pushed me to attend the Waldensian Evangelical Church. According to you I received the inner call? Thank you for the reply.
May God's blessing be upon you and your family
Hi Alessio, If I were you I wouldn't worry so much, the important thing is, as you say, that you have accepted the external call and that you feel good because you have faith. Things will come by themselves.
The fact that you have accepted the outer call (anche se questa accettazione non viene da te ma da Dio che ti ha aperto il cuore all'amore per la verità) it is a sign of your election to salvation.
There are two things: o l'hai ricevuta e non ancora lo capisci, or it has yet to arrive, and rest assured it will come, it can even take years. But God always fulfills his promises and you need not fear!
But as I said, unmistakable signs of the inner call, I am your sudden repentance, that is, you realize that you are a sinner and that you need a savior, and your confession in humility before God, your asking him for forgiveness for your state of sinner in submissive prayer and your consequent new birth. From that moment you feel spiritually reborn!
If you have had this episode you have had the inner calling, and it's you who needs to know. If you're still not sure, maybe it's yet to come. But believe me, quando arriva sai cos'è e non te ne dimentichierai mai per il resto della tua vita, because in that precise moment you entered into communion with Jesus and God redeemed you and you received salvation, that you will never lose.
Continue praying and reading the Bible, everything will come by itself, our Lord will do everything, because none of this depends on us, we can only watch what happens with submission and gratitude.
Blessings to you too 🙂
Thanks ChristianFaith, your response is truly enlightening as is your blog, continue like this you give glory to God, to Christ and the truth!