The Pastor’s Piece – Pastor Kevin Cernek, FCFI Chaplain

FCFI

April 19, 2026

The point of preaching is never to make Christ acceptable. But in a man-centered era, this is automatically thought to be the task of the preacher – to somehow make God acceptable to man. The problem that confronts us in the Bible is actually quite different. The real problem is one of sin, and how to make sinful man acceptable to a holy God. The solution, which made even the angels look on in wonder, was the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection. That is how sinners are made acceptable to God.

A question that often confronts us is when is a person truly saved? It’s not a new question. For generations, Christians have wrestled with the tension between a single moment of faith and a lifetime that proves it. Is salvation something that happens instantly, or something that is revealed over time?

The words of Jesus in Matthew 16:24 bring clarity, but also weight. Jesus said: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Faith, in this sense, is not merely spoken, it is lived. It involves surrender, not just sentiment. This truth comes into sharper focus in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 3.

There, the example of Israel stands as a cautionary lesson to all of us. They witnessed extraordinary displays of God’s power daily – miracles like manna in the wilderness every morning. Provision like fresh drinking water from a big rock in the middle of the desert. Guidance like a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day, where they knew God was present. When the pillar or the cloud moved, they packed up and moved with it, because God was leading them. These things were present every single day of their lives. Yet out of millions of people (some scholars estimate over 2 million) only two from that generation ever entered the Promised Land, (Joshua and Caleb). Why didn’t the rest enter? Because of unbelief. Their lives then reveal a difficult truth for us now: It is possible to be close to the things of God, even to experience them, and still not truly trust Him.

This is why Scripture warns against an unbelieving heart. Salvation is not simply a one-time emotional response; it is a living, enduring faith. A person’s faith is not only seen in how they begin, but in whether they continue, whether they trust, follow, and persevere. This does not mean that obedience earns salvation. Rather, obedience reveals it. Genuine faith produces action. And when someone ultimately refuses to follow God, it exposes something deeper: a faith that was never truly real to begin with.

Hebrews 6 deepens this understanding. It describes people who have encountered the reality of God in profound ways, who have been enlightened, tasted His goodness, and even shared in the work of the Spirit, yet still fall away. The issue is not lack of knowledge, but lack of response. Like Israel before them, they reach a point of decision and choose not to surrender. Over time, that resistance hardens the heart. The danger is not that God is unwilling to restore, but that a person can become so resistant to truth that they no longer respond to it at all. In rejecting obedience, they close themselves off to the very purpose of the cross. And eventually, God turns them over to their sin, (Romans 1).

The message is clear, it is not enough to experience truth, you must respond to it. And the question remains for each of us: Is there evidence of real faith in your life? Are you growing, acting, and continuing, or are you settled into something weak and stagnant? Real faith is not perfect, but it is active. It shows itself in obedience – a desire and willingness to live and act upon a Biblical worldview. And it shows itself in perseverance. It does not remain where it began; it moves forward, matures, and deepens over time. The call is not simply to know more, but to live out what we already know. Because in the end, the difference is not in what we have heard, but in whether we have put into action what we have heard. Experiencing truth is not the same as embracing it. Real faith responds, surrenders, follows, and endures.