In this video, we’re going to look at what Scripture says about the rapture – who will be taken and who will be left behind. Just recently, I received two emails on my website, OnceSaved.org, from people who said they were Christians, but they were terrified that they would be left behind at the rapture because of sins they committed as Christians. They feared that they would not be counted as worthy for the rapture and would be left behind to go through the terrible 7-year tribulation period of God’s judgment on this Earth that’s about to start. As Christians, do we need to fear being left behind or are we secure? Our topic for today is the rapture, who will be taken and who will be left behind. Let’s look into it.

If we look at Scripture as to who will be taken in the rapture and who will be left behind, we find that there is no ambiguity in the Word of God. The Apostle Paul wrote about the rapture in two main passages, and he was very clear about who will be raptured. 

The word “rapture” comes from the Latin word “raptus,” meaning “a carrying off.” In modern English, “rapture” means “a feeling of intense joy or bliss.” Scripturally, it refers to the event where Christ will return, not to Earth directly, but in the clouds to retrieve His Church, to take us off the earth, where we will meet the Lord in the air, be given our eternal bodies and forever be with the Lord. The dead in Christ will be raised first, then we who are still alive and in Christ will follow.

The word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. In the Greek, it is the word, “harpazo” (Ancient Greek: ἁρπάζω), which means “to snatch away” or “to seize,” signifying how believers in Jesus Christ will be snatched away from earth into the air in a split second to be with the Lord.

The rapture is the third great transformation that takes place in the life of every believer. Before we placed our faith in Christ, we were not saved from God’s wrath on account of sin, and we had no righteousness whatsoever before God.

Then came the first great transformation: salvation itself. Salvation is a free gift from God that is given when you place your faith in Christ, believing that He is God’s Son Who died to pay for your sins, was buried and rose again the third day. He died in your place to pay your debt of sin before God. Salvation is by faith alone. It is not something we earn through good works or obedience. It comes by trusting on Christ to save you.

According to John 5:24, the very moment we placed our faith in Christ, we have eternal life. Eternal life isn’t something we’re waiting for. It begins the moment we believe in Jesus.

“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 KJV)

At the very moment we believe, the penalty of sin is removed, meaning we will never come into condemnation. We are already passed from death unto life. We’re given a new identity in Christ where God declares us to be 100% just, righteous, holy, sanctified, not because of anything we did, but because of what Christ did for us, so much so, that we are even adopted into God’s family. We become children of God.

The second great transformation is discipleship, where we learn to live like Jesus. After we’re saved, we no longer have that old sin nature that drove us to sin. Romans 8 says that we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. And 1 Corinthians 5:17 says that if any man be in Christ, the old is passed away and that all things are become new, which means the old sin nature we had is gone.

When we sin as believers, that’s not the old sin nature acting up. We don’t have an old sin nature. What we do have is an old mind that hasn’t been trained in the way of righteousness. The moment we’re saved, our minds still think much like they did before, the way the world does. That’s why Romans 12:1-2 says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We renew our minds by reading, meditating and memorizing the Word of God. The more we can put God’s Word in our minds, the more we start to think like He does. We become transformed to be like Jesus. As we transform our minds with God’s help and leading through the indwelling Holy Spirit, our behavior follows and begins to transform to where we stop sinning. The practice of sin is removed as we learn to walk in our new identity. Do you struggle with sin? Start a Bible memorization program and it will transform your behavior. We’ll never be perfect in this life, living at 100% righteousness, but our goal should be to become more and more, ever increasing to be like Jesus. 

Then comes the third great transformation and it happens at the rapture, when we’re given our eternal bodies, bodies that are made perfect so that we can live with God forever. At that moment, not only is the penalty of sin removed, and the practice of sin removed, but now also the very presence of sin is removed. We will be given bodies that will be incapable of sinning. Jesus said that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom and, on the sermon on the mount, that we are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Our new bodies, given at the rapture, will be perfect, eternal, sinless bodies that are suitable for living with God forever.

So, let’s examine this event called the rapture and I first want to place the rapture in the context of a timeline, showing when the rapture will occur relative to other end time events foretold in Scripture.

We begin our timeline at the cross, Jesus’ first coming to earth, where He lived a perfect life under the Law, offered Himself as our perfect sacrifice on the cross, died, was buried and rose again three days later. That’s the Gospel message, the good news, that Jesus paid our debt of sin before a perfectly holy God with His life and was raised again. Jesus said,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47 KJV)

The period of time after the cross up until the present time is Church Age, also called the Age of Grace, where God is giving people time to turn to Him to be saved, freely pouring out His complete forgiveness of sins to those who place their faith in Christ. 

For nearly 2,000 years, we’ve been waiting for Jesus to return to earth, also called the second coming. Let’s place ourselves on this timeline just prior to this event, using a red star. This timeline is obviously not drawn to scale, or we would be a lot closer to the second coming event. But I’ve left room for a few important end time events that have to happen before Jesus returns.

I believe the next big prophetic event is our topic for today, the rapture. 

Now, there are those who say that the rapture is nowhere in Scripture and was a concept invented by John Darby in the 1800s. Those who say such things have never really investigated it because it’s so easy to disprove that lie. Just Google it.

For example, we have the period of the Early Church up until about the 5th century. During this period, there are historical records of Christian leaders who held and taught about a pre-tribulation rapture. A notable example of this is Irenaeus of Lyon (120-202). He was a pre-tribulationist, a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the apostle John. So, Iranaeus was just one generation, one person, removed for the Apostle John. Iraneous wrote, “…in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this (world), it is said, ‘There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be’ (Mat 24:21).”

There was also Syrian church father Pseudo-Ephraem (fourth to sixth century), who wrote – “For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins.” He obviously believed and taught a pre-tribulation rapture.

After the Early Church came the Middle Ages. Not a lot was written about the rapture, or most any other Biblical topic, during this period because people didn’t have access to the Word of God. It was tightly controlled by the Roman Catholic Church and was a period of darkness for the Church. But even then, there was evidence of Christian leaders holding a pre-tribulation rapture position. 

For example, there was the leader of Apostolic Brethren, Brother Dolcino (1316) – In a treatise called The History of Brother Dolcino, he believed that he and his followers would be taken to heaven and protected from the actions of the Antichrist before later descending back to earth. In other words, there would be a pre-tribulation Rapture.

Then, in the 15th century, we entered the Latter Church period where things really took off, mainly because of the first mass printing of the Gutenberg Bible. Suddenly, people had access to the Word of God and were able to see what the Bible actually said about salvation, the second coming and the rapture of the Church. 

William Sherwin (1607-1687, minister at Wallington) wrote, “The Saints … at the sounding of that last Trumpet at the end of the world shall be changed in a moment, at the twinkling of an eye … rapt up to meet Christ in the air.” William Sherwin lived 200 years before John Darby was born.

My point in all this is that there is strong evidence that the rapture was taught from the very first century, from the time of the Apostles, to the present. The rapture is not a new concept developed in the 1800s by John Darby. Many of the early church fathers did differ in whether they though the rapture would occur before or after the final great tribulation. But, especially early church fathers who were under severe persecution, many of them thought that they were already in the tribulation, so take any post-tribulation writings with that in mind. I’ll show you here why I think it has to be pre-trib and is the next big event on God’s timeline.

God never wanted us to be in the dark about this. Jesus said, 

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3 KJV)

God intends to remove His bride, the Church, from the earth before He deals in judgment with Israel and the nations in a 7-year period called the Tribulation. This final 7-year tribulation is spoken of by Daniel, Jesus, Jeremiah and others:

“And he (THE ANTICHRIST) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7 YEARS): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

“For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:21 KJV)

“Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jeremiah 30:7 KJV)

The Tribulation is referred to as the time of Jacob’s trouble. It is never referred to as the time of the Church’s trouble because we won’t be here for it. God will spare us so that we will be saved from His wrath. Paul was very clear on this:

“Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:9 KJV)

“And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10 KJV

Did you get that? Jesus has already delivered us (past tense) from the coming wrath. We’re not going to be here on earth to witness it.

And for those of you who think the rapture doesn’t occur until after the tribulation because of Matthew 24, you may want to reconsider that. Matthew 24 describes an event that sounds a lot like the rapture, but it’s not. Jesus was speaking of His second coming, when He said:

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. ” (Matthew 24:37-41 KJV)

That sure sounds like the rapture. There’s even a trumpet blown in verse 31, where He says: 

“And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matthew 24:31 KJV)

That sure sounds like the rapture. But it’s not. Look again at verses 37-41, where Jesus compares this event to the time of Noah. He says, “they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away…” Who was taken away by the flood, the righteous? No, not the righteous. The people taken away were the ones being judged. God used the flood to remove them from the earth. The people taken were taken away for judgment. They were put to death. Jesus said, so it will be at His return.

Before Jesus begins His Millennial Kingdom reign on earth, two things happen at the second coming, as told in Matthew 24: First, the trumpet is blown and Jews who are still scattered around the world will be regathered back to Israel, as foretold in the Old Testament. The Old Testament uses the word “elect” to describe Jews. In the context of chapter 24, “elect” doesn’t mean the Church. Jesus was speaking to the Jews about Jews, the chosen people of God.

Then the second big event is that the unrighteous people who survived the tribulation but never placed their faith in Christ are removed from the planet. One will be taken (the unrighteous), while the other (the righteous) is left to enter the Millennial Kingdom. The unrighteous, those who never placed their faith in Christ, are removed from the earth for judgment, just like in the days of Noah, while the righteous, those who have placed their faith in Christ and are still alive at the end of the tribulation, will enter Christ’s Millennial Kingdom on earth. Matthew 24 does not describe in any way the rapture of the Church. Matthew 24 is about Israel.

If you are still not sure about Matthew 24 or would like to go deeper on this, I did a video on Matthew 24, proving that it’s not talking about the rapture. I’ll include a link to that teaching at the end of this video.

But let’s get back to the rapture of the church and why it must occur before the tribulation. It is because, while this 7-year tribulation is transpiring on earth, we see two big events happening in heaven with the Church, prior to the second coming.

First, immediately after the rapture comes the Judgment Seat of Christ, where all believers will stand before Jesus and be evaluated in terms of how they used their lives and their gifts on earth to serve Christ. 

“For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV)

Only those who are saved, who have placed their faith in Jesus, will appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ. The Judgment Seat of Christ is NOT an examination of sin in our lives as believers, because sin has forever been dealt with on the cross.  What will be examined is our works as disciples of Christ. Did we use the gifts God gave us to serve Christ and further the coming Kingdom of God? Or, did we waste our time and lived selfishly?

Paul wrote about the Judgment seat of Christ in 1 Corinthians 3:

“Now if any man build upon this foundation (the foundation that Christ Himself laid, that is, the Gospel) gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (What we do on earth will amount to either gold, silver, precious stones in Christ’s eyes or worthless wood, hay and stubble). “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-15 KJV)

The Judgment Seat of Christ is where Jesus rewards us for our faithfulness in serving Him in this life. Those who were faithful will be given rewards. By rewards, Paul was not speaking of salvation, which is not a reward. Salvation is a free gift that is received through faith in Christ. Rewards, on the other hand, refer to crowns and privileges that will be given to those who proved themselves faithful, such as being given authority to reign and rule with Christ. Even our eternal bodies will emanate a brighter light depending on how faithful we were, as spoken of in Daniel chapter 12. 

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who lived faithfully for Christ will be rewarded. But those who believed in Him but did not live faithfully and instead squandered their gifts and their time on earth will suffer loss. It says that our works will be tried with fire. This is not the fire of hell. This is the fire of having to stand directly in front of Jesus as He examines your life. At that moment, I believe God will show us the many times He wanted to use us but we weren’t ready. He’ll show us the rewards we could have had. But instead, because we weren’t ready and living for Him, He had to choose someone else to use and, therefore, the reward we could have had will go to them.

I did a teaching called “Don’t let sin or anything else steal your rewards,” where I go through the different types of rewards that will be handed out by Christ. I’ll include a link to that at the end of this video.

But notice at the end, Paul clearly says that no one loses their salvation at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He says of the unfaithful Christian that “he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

Even the most unfaithful Christian will still be saved, because salvation is a free gift. It is not something we earn through our own obedience. 

In the Greek, the Judgment Seat of Christ is referred to as the Bema seat. It was the word that was used in the first century to describe a small platform that winners of the Olympics would stand on to receive their victory prize. All of us will experience some loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ, for none of us have lived in perfect faithfulness to God. But make no mistake, the Judgment Seat of Christ is a victory party, where Christ rejoices over us.

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25 KJV)

Notice two things: First, that it is God Who keeps us from falling. We don’t keep ourselves from falling through our own obedience. That is why we can never lose our salvation. And second, it is God Who presents us before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.

Christ will rejoice over us at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There will be some loss, but the purpose is to reward us and to rejoice over us. I tell you this to encourage you to use whatever time you have left to live faithfully for Him. We’ve all blown it many times where we should have lived more faithfully. But today, make the decision to end your life well by living for Christ from here on out. If you are breathing, there’s still time to end well for Christ.

 The Judgment Seat of Christ is where the Church, the Bride of Christ, is made ready for the second great event that happens in heaven with the Church while the tribulation is happening on earth. That second great event in heaven is the Marriage of the Lamb, in Revelation 19.

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” (Revelation 19:7-8 KJV)

The Marriage of the Lamb is where we are forever joined with Christ as His bride. The interesting thing about it with respect to the rapture of the church is that, according to Scripture, the Marriage of the Lamb occurs in heaven BEFORE the return of Christ to earth. In other words, here’s proof that the Church is already in heaven, removed from the earth, well before Christ returns to set foot on earth. The Church is not on earth during the final 7-year tribulation.

For it isn’t until later, in that same chapter 19 of Revelation, that we see Christ return to earth:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. … And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. … And He hath on his vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11, 14, 16 KJV)

This is the Second Coming. Notice that the armies which follow Him are wearing the same clothes as the bride in the Marriage of the Lamb – clothed in fine linen, white and clean. This is the Bride of Christ, the Church, returning with the Lord to earth. We will be in heaven during the 7-year tribulation and we will return with Christ as His Bride at the Second Coming.

Or as Paul put it in Colossians 3:4:

“When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4 KJV)

For us to be with Him when He appears means we have to be removed from this earth in the rapture before that 2nd Coming event happens. 

After that, to complete our timeline, what follows is the Millennial Kingdom, where Christ, aided by His Bride, will reign on earth for 1,000 years.

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6 KJV)

At the end of the Millennial Kingdom will come the Great White Throne Judgment, where all those who rejected Christ will be forever condemned. Only the lost will appear at the Great White Thone Judgment.

“And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. … And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11, 15 KJV)

There are no second chances at the Great White Throne Judgment. Your chance to be saved is here in this life. Either you choose to believe on Christ to save you or you don’t. Those who don’t will not be given a second chance but will be cast away from God’s presence forever.

After that comes the grand finale: a new heaven and a new earth, where God will dwell with saved mankind forever.

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. … And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:1, 3 KJV)

This is our prophetic timeline. It is in this context where we can see the relative timing of when the rapture must take place, why it must happen before the 7-year tribulation, and what happens to the Church immediately after the rapture.

Let’s now focus on the rapture itself, who will be taken and who will be left behind.

There are two main passages from the Apostle Paul that describe the rapture: One from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and the other from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, Paul wrote:

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall ALL be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 KJV)

The rapture will happen in a moment, a twinkling of an eye. Our mortal bodies will be instantly transformed into our eternal bodies that will not have even the presence of sin to corrupt us. 

How many does Paul say will be taken in the rapture? Will only a few be taken, only those who have proven themselves worthy through obedience, while other believers will be left behind to endure the terrors of the 7-year tribulation? No. Paul says, “we shall ALL be changed.” “All” means every single Christian.

He wrote this directly to the Corinthian church, a church that was plagued with sin, so much so that in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul gave one of its members over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (not the destruction of his salvation, but the destruction of his flesh). The Corinthian church had many sins and shortcomings before God. Yet, Paul told them, “We shall ALL be changed.”

But how can that be when some Christians are committing sins and practicing unrighteousness? Will God rapture the unrighteous? No, God will not rapture or save the unrighteous. Only the righteous will be raptured and saved.

Where many people stumble over this is by thinking that our righteousness before God comes from our behavior, our obedience to laws and commandments, through which we prove ourselves worthy and righteous before God so that He then raptures and saves us. But what does Scripture say about righteousness? It says that our righteousness before God does not come from our behavior or obedience but through our faith in Christ. Or as Paul put it, he said his goal was to:

“… be found in Him (Christ), not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law (through obedience), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:9 KJV)

Paul said that he was NOT trying to establish his own righteousness before God through his own obedience. He said that righteousness comes through faith in Christ, “the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

The moment we place our faith in Christ, legally we are declared by God to be forever righteous, not because of anything we’ve done but because of what Christ did. He was the One Who was obedient. He was the One Who was righteous.  

When you place your faith in Christ, you are forever righteous, not unrighteous, in God’s sight. The unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom. But in Christ, we are forever righteous in God’s sight, not because we’re so good and obedient, but because He is so good and obedient.

Hebrews 10:10, 14 and 17 tell us:

“…we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. …And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 17 KJV)

The moment you place your faith in Christ, you are sanctified, which means “set apart,” “made holy,” in God’s sight. Notice that it says here that Christ has “perfected forever them that are sanctified.” If Christ has perfected us forever from the moment we place our faith in Him and become sanctified, then we cannot become unclean, unsanctified, unjustified. That means we are forever righteous in God’s sight because of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says,

“For He (God the Father) hath made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (in Christ).” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

This says Jesus took on our sin (past, present and future) and paid for it all on the cross. In exchange, He credits to us His own righteousness. That’s called “imputed righteousness,” righteousness that is not our own but is given to us, imputed to us. Our righteousness is a gift from God, not something we earn through our obedience. Our obedience is merely the outward working of the righteousness God has already given us by His grace through faith in Christ. 

The point is this: God will not rapture or save an unrighteous person. But once we are born again through faith in Christ, we stand forever in His righteousness, not our own. Therefore, from God’s legal perspective, we are forever righteous in His sight. We now stand by faith in the very righteousness of God. 

Therefore, Paul says, “We shall not all sleep, but we shall ALL be changed…” We will all be raptured.

Paul’s second great passage on the rapture is 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17: 

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (GO BEFORE) them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air…” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 KJV)

What’s the one condition that Paul lists for being taken in the rapture?

THE ONE AND ONLY ONE CONDITION FOR BEING RAPTURED IS THIS: BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.  (1 Thessalonians 4:14 KJV)

ALL WHO BELIEVE THE GOSPEL WILL BE RAPTURED!

WHO WILL THEN BE LEFT BEHIND? ALL WHO DO NOT BELIEVE THE GOSPEL!

There is a false belief in our churches that you must prove yourself to be worthy to be raptured through your obedience and if you are not found worthy, you will be left behind. But that’s not what Scripture says, is it?

Scripture says, “if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,” “we shall all be changed.

Those who believe you must be proven worthy to be saved (or raptured) through their own obedience are NOT believing the Gospel that Christ truly saved them. They think it’s still up to them to prove themselves righteous.

Paul wrote about such people and how our righteousness before God does not come through our own obedience but through faith:

“For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” (Romans 10:3-4 KJV)

It is Christ’s obedience that counts for salvation and righteousness, not ours:

“For as by one man’s disobedience (ADAM) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One (CHRIST) shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19 KJV)

You are not the one whose obedience makes you righteous. It is Christ’s obedience that makes us righteous through faith in Him. God gives us His righteousness when we believe in Christ. Scripture calls that imputed righteous:

“But for us also, to whom it (God’s Righteousness) shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;” (Romans 4:24 KJV)

So, who will be taken in the rapture? All who believe the Gospel (the righteous)

Who will be left behind? All who do not believe the Gospel (the unrighteous).

The only thing that counts for being raptured and being saved is to believe the Gospel, that

Salvation = God’s Grace Alone Through Faith Alone In Christ Alone

Believing the Gospel means placing your entire trust in Christ for your salvation, believing that He:

1. Died for our sins
2. Was buried 
3. Rose from the dead

As it says in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

Nothing more. Nothing less. There are no other requirements to be saved than to believe in Jesus. Once you place your faith in Christ for your salvation, you are born again, and you are forever a child of God. Our Father is a good Father Who will never abandon you but will preserve you in the faith and never let you go. 

If you are not certain about your salvation, time is getting very late. Don’t take the chance of missing out on God. 

Making Sure You Are Saved Is As Easy As ABC

Admit to God that you have sinned.

Believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to pay for
your sins 100%, was buried and rose from the dead.

Call upon Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

If you make that decision to call upon Him, God gives you this assurance:

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 KJV)

Thank you for watching.