That’s a good question, and one that requires some explanation.

Only God can determine who is saved by His grace and who isn’t. However, I think that many churches have not been completely open and honest about what it takes to be a Christian and be “saved”. There are too many people who claim to be Christian who don’t really understand what it means to be saved. They believe that they are Christians because they attend church every Sunday, or because they have stopped doing many of the ungodly things they used to do, or simply because they believe in God. They were taught that if they said a few specific sentences, they are saved and then they can resume their normal life.

Instead, we need to follow God’s plan for salvation. According to Jesus himself, “..only he who does the will of my Father in heaven” will be saved. What is the will of the father? To know Him (as who He really is) and to love Him (have a relationship with Him). The declaration of our faith in Christ is only the culmination of our path to salvation. It starts with hearing the word of God, believing in Him and then receiving His Holy Spirit. Once we receive His Holy Spirit, we’ll also receive spiritual discernment. This is laid out in I Corinthians 2:12-14. But if we do not hear about the entirety of God, His love, His judgement, His proofs and His plan for the future, we can’t know who we are really committing to love. Many Christians have accepted to believe in a god who didn’t create the earth, who isn’t in charge of the whole universe, who never judges, and who they don’t know for certain will return at some point in the future. Unfortunately, that results in many people believing that they are Christians and believe they are saved to an eternity in heaven who possibly are not actually saved.