An audio file about works that can either get God's attention or that can get God to ignore.  We have been doing some podcasts from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus on how to get God's Attention

30-Day Challenges

 I have been utilizing some small incremental changes in my life using 30-Day Challenges.  I started my first challenge in June with the 30-day cold shower challenge.  I had a few reasons for taking this challenge, but the most significant was an aid to waking up early in the morning.  With the cold shower I would get up at about 4:30 and take my shower.  After I took my shower, I would have my daily Bible devotion.  For some strange reason it really worked.  The cold shower was extremely uncomfortable, and I had to work my way into it from starting at lukewarm, to having the last 20 seconds of the shower on full cold, to having the entire shower on cold. This only took a few days.  I do not know if I am a glutton for punishment, but the cold shower was crazy enough to cause me to get up when the alarm went off.  

Some people think that the way to get yourself to wake up earlier is to "go to bed earlier", but I have found that this simply does not work.  If you want to wake up earlier, you simply need to get up earlier regardless of what time you get to bed the night before. What happens is that the next night you will be tired enough that your body will signal "it is time to go to bed".  It is at that time that you need to go to bed and then you will be able to wake up easier the next morning.  So, in order to start this habit, you have to "eat the frog" and force yourself to get up then your body will start to adjust.  The cold shower really helped wake me up even when I felt half asleep.  The cold shower worked so well that after the 30 days I decided to keep the habit.  It is now October, and I am still getting up at about 4:30 and taking a cold shower (it is still uncomfortable).  Along with that is my Bible reading and devotions.  I have only missed two days and one was intentional and the other was due to being a guest at someone else's house.  

For July I decided to do an Intermittent Fasting Challenge.  I ate One Meal a Day (OMAD), or on some days did a 20 hour fast with a 4-hour eating window for 30-days.  I lost about 12 pounds for the month of July.  I found the fasting to be fairly easy and simple without having to count calories.  There were a lot of other benefits that I experienced as well such as more energy, less brain fog, and lower blood pressure just to name a few.  Again, this 30-day challenge worked so well that I decided to continue through the months of August and September.  As of today, I have lost 35 lbs.  

For August I went on a special prayer challenge of thirty minutes of silence on my knees for thirty days.  I did not make this challenge.  I went about 10 days and decided to quit as it is almost impossible to sit there and try to be silent by not thinking anything.  I do not see this as a failure because I learned some things through this challenge. With this challenge I have been able to come with some other ideas that I might try in the future for prayer.  

For September I went on a 100 push-ups a day challenge.   I only did these four days per week to give myself time to recover.  I did 10 sets of 10 push-ups.  This went really well as I did them throughout the day. Any time that I had free to do a set, I would do them.  What I learned from this was that I can increase my activity level by doing something during the times where there is not much going on.  I spend a lot of time working in front of a computer or reading, so it is good to take quick exercise breaks throughout the day. 

My 30-day challenge in October is a 30-Day Reach Out Challenge.  This challenge is where I contact people every day to see how they are doing.  I start out in the first week with one person a day and increase each week with another person so that by week 4 I am reaching out to 4 people a day.  A rule is that calling the same person in the same day does not count as two, but as only one.  I can contact the same person multiple times a week and it counts, but only counts as one for that day.  At this time, I do not know how easy or difficult this will be, but I know that I will learn something by the end of October.  It will probably become more challenging as I get through the list of available people.  My hope is that it will stretch me to actively look for people to care for.  

I have ideas for other months that I will share as the year unfolds, but I really like the 30-day challenge idea for several reasons.  They say it takes about 21 days to form a new habit.  Thirty days allows enough time to form a habit and clinch it with the additional days.  Thirty days allows for short-terms wins that can be celebrated.  With these wins a person can gain a bit of traction towards making small changes in their life that can bring significant benefits.             

Eternal Security: What about Judas?

“Judas is proof that a man can lose their standing with God—what about him?”

     Of all the people from the scriptures that we could point to as having lost his salvation, it would be Judas.  He was one of the 12 disciples that Jesus hand-picked.  He had a front row seat to Jesus’ ministry of healing and teaching, and he was also sent out two times to do ministry in Christ’s name.  The first time it was with the 12 and the second time was with the 70 (Luke Chapters 9 and 10).  In both cases Judas was paired with another disciple, and they were given authority to preach, to heal and to cast out demons in Jesus’ name.  If any of us had seen Judas he would have looked like a genuine follower (he, in fact was) of Christ as he worked miracles and preached the messages that Jesus instructed him.  And yet, Judas had a false faith, he was a follower but not a believer.  Notice what the scriptures say about him in John 6:70-72…

Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve?  And yet one of you is a devil. He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray Him.

            Notice also what it says a few verses earlier…in verse 64

…But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.)

According to this passage Judas was an unbeliever!  Therefore, we cannot say that Judas was once a believer that lost his status as a believer, because these verses suggest that he was an unbeliever from the beginning.  Judas was among the twelve and doing the works along with the 12 and yet he was a “devil” the whole time.  His true colors finally came out, and so Judas was a disciple of Jesus and yet not a believer.  

 Wrestling with God.

Genesis 32:24,26,28b

Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak...then he said unto Jacob, "Let me go for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me"... (The angel said)"you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed."

Sometimes God requires us to wrestle with Him to get the blessing that we desperately need.  Consider that Jacob was driven by his desperation.  This is important for us to notice as he already had assurances in the past from God that He was going to return him safely home.  Nevertheless, we find Jacob wrestling here to get an assurance of God's blessing.

There are times where we need to allow our desperation to seek God.  We can feel the restriction that God has placed upon us.  Why the barrier, the limit, or the hardship?  We can get that sense that God is neutral--neither for us nor against, but "Where is He?" It is in that time where we must allow our desperation to drive us into seeking Him.  We must have His presence so we will cling to Him until we get it.  It is such a time where He might be calling us into deeper level of submission and consecration.  

Many resort to other things such as their own material things, relationships, or activities.  They will pacify themselves with these substitutes and so they will not get rewarded.  They will not allow their desperation to drive them to seek the Lord.  So, they content themselves to live without His blessings or power upon their lives.  They are not content, but they get used to going without.  

Like Jacob, God by His grace gives a vision or taste of Himself of His activity in our lives.  The angels ascending and descending the ladder in Jacob's vision indicates their assignments from Heaven over Jacob's life.  God had by His Grace elected to set His activity over Jacob's life.  Therefore, Jacob commits to the Lord, and we see that over the years the Lord had protected Jacob's interests and blessed Him in spite of Jacob's conniving Uncle Laban.  Jacob was well aware of God's hand of blessing upon his life.  So, we see that God pursued Jacob, but it was in this moment Jacob's turn to pursue God.  Jacob was blessed as a result.

There are a few examples in the scriptures of those that had been blessed but failed to pursue God and so missed out and were actually rejected.  Do you remember King Saul?  In 1 Samuel 11 King Saul had been infused with the presence and power of God in his life in a radical way.  We also have the story in 1 Samuel 2 of the Eli the priest and his sons who were blessed to serve in God's service.  In the New Testament we have the Church of Laodicea in Revelation 3.  All of these cases are those who have been blessed and pursued by God and when it came time for them to pursue God they failed.  Each case God had rejected them.  All of these could have sought God and wrestled with Him to try to reverse the curse, but alas, they didn't.  In contrast, do you remember Jonah and Ninevah.  Ninevah was cursed and marked for destruction.  When they found out they decided to fast and pray hoping that perhaps God would have mercy and change His mind.  They had no promise or assurance that God would, but they decided to wrestle with it because they were desperate.  God heard their prayer and changed His mind about destroying them.  

So it is that when we sense God's hand is palm down upon us and His face is turned away that we need to all the more for His blessing.  The worst thing that we can do is cope with it and settle ourselves with other things.    

What do you have going on right now that you need to wrestle with God about?

     

Eternal Security: Hanging By a Thread? Or Standing on the Rock!

 

A Bible Study on Eternal Security 

Eternal Security or “Once Saved, Always Saved” teaches that a person genuinely “saved” or “born again” cannot lose their Salvation.  The historical term used for eternal security is “perseverance of the saints,” which taught that those who are genuinely saved will “persevere” to the end by the power of God.

In this article I intend to present the Biblical Evidence for this teaching.  I have other booklets that I intend to publish that deal with the various aspects (practical implication, false converts, etc.) and the various objections (proof texts, points from Hebrews, etc.) to Eternal Security. 

The reader may not agree with the ideas presented here, but I hope that the reader may seek to understand this teaching before making any decisions about it.  It is one thing to disagree with something that you understand, but quite another to disagree with something that you do not. 

My concern is that people have turned away from the Gospel and have embraced a different one for seeking a right standing with God.  Such a Gospel will fail.  Additionally, that people aren’t truly trusting in Jesus for their salvation and instead are trusting in a mixture of their own works and Christ’s works.  This false faith is a dangerous and a damnable one as hopefully we will see in this study.

My hope and prayer is that God may give the reader a clearer understanding in this matter so that he/she may truly rest upon the promise of God rather than their own self.

I propose to you the reader that the best evidence for eternal security comes through a thorough understanding of what salvation is.  So, in this study we will explore five areas regarding Salvation. 

 

These five areas are: 

1) Grace and Faith—The Basis of Salvation,

2) Understanding the Meaning of Justification,

3) The Irreversible Nature of Regeneration,

4) The Place of Sanctification, and

5) The Hope of Glorification. 

 

If these seem a bit heavy please bear with me, I will do my best to explain these concepts.  There are other topics that that could be brought out such as Redemption, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Sealed, Saving Faith, Atonement, or Propitiation, but these five may be prove sufficient to make the point.  If you have any questions or comments about any of these points feel free to email me at wrferguson31@hotmail.com or visit William's Corner Blog (williamscornerblog.blogspot.com).  May God open the eyes of our understanding so that we may be able to comprehend the great depths of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God bless you…Pastor Will.  

The Basis of Salvation—Grace and Faith

An Olympic Gymnast will win a gold medal based on their performance of certain criteria.  A panel of judges will grant them points by how well they perform the criteria and will deduct points in areas where they performed poorly.  Just as performance is the determining factor in winning for an athlete, so we ask, what is the determining factor or basis for a person to get to heaven (salvation)?  So what does God the Judge look at in determining our eternal fate?  Let’s start with Ephesians 2:8-9 for the answer to this question…

 

For by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works so that no one can boast. 

 

Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved…in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:3b-5,7

 

There are two determining factors mentioned in these verses on how we acquire salvation, the first factor is God’s Grace.  God’s grace means God’s merit or beauty.    The “grace” in these verses is a virtue that God possesses.  We are not saved by our own grace or virtue (performance), but by the virtue and beauty of God.  Notice that it says that we were “dead in transgressions”. 

There was no beauty in us but the beauty was in God’s good pleasure to show kindness.  Therefore, Salvation is based upon God’s performance, not our performance.    

Have you ever done something good for someone just because you felt like doing it?  It didn’t matter if they deserved it or not…you just felt like doing good.  When that happens, you do it by your grace (virtue). 

For example:  I was in a restaurant one day and noticed that the service was slow.  The waitress was clearly having a bad day.  She was in over her head.  The restaurant was understaffed for the amount of business they were having.  In spite of her hard work, it was never enough.  The customers were impatient with her and some let her know about it.  It took a long time for me to get my food and it was cold when it finally came.  A big part of me did not want to give her a tip, but seeing that she was in an unfair situation I was moved with compassion on her and left her a very sizable tip. 

She did nothing to deserve the tip, yet because of her situation love compelled me to move.  This is the way it is with God.  God is good and loving and He overflows with a kindness that must be expressed.  We have become the targets of His grace and love. 

Therefore, when we talk about God’s grace, we are talking about His goodness instead of ours.  This love was displayed in His Son when He sent Him to die for us—God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

The second factor is our Faith in God’s provision.  Through Jesus’ death God paid for the sins of every single person of the world, however, that provision isn’t applied to a person until they have faith in that provision.  They must receive this gift individually by faith because it is not distributed automatically by default.  So, I receive this gift by believing that Jesus died on the cross as provision for my sin-debt to God. 

Believing means that I trust in God’s provision and surrender my worry to Him.  I have peace and I rest in the fact that Jesus died in my place so that I won’t have to go to hell.  I thank God and trust the shed blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of all my sin(s). 

Consider the testimony of the great preacher George Whitfield. 

Believing that he had to go out and find a strategy for uniting his soul with God and forming Christ within himself by his own efforts, Whitefield began an agonizing months-long search for this state of holiness.  His quest began with the idea of healthy self-discipline but quickly led him to a series of increasingly severe acts of self-denial.

(After some time) He was sick and mostly confined to bed for seven weeks.  During this time he attempted to continue his reading and prayer but was forced to stop abusing his body.  Shortly after Easter, in a state of utter exhaustion and nearly complete spiritual despair, Whitefield cast himself upon the mercy of God, and “a full assurance of faith broke in upon my disconsolate soul!” (Fish, 32-34)

Whitfield struggled to live up to the demands of the 10 commandments and his conscience.  He would go on long bouts of fasting and prayer in order to gain acceptance with God.  His soul was greatly troubled until he finally trusted God with his salvation through the works of Jesus.  There was a great deal of peace that came upon his heart.

The testimony of Martin Luther is similar in that he “served” God and yet was in agony until he learned that the bible requires faith in Jesus Christ and in Him alone for salvation.  When Luther placed his fears of his own salvation upon Jesus he had great peace about his soul.  This was what motivated him in his ministry that sparked the great Protestant Reformation. 

All those who are truly saved come to a place in their life where they wrestle in great fear about their salvation and seek God until He gives them peace.  There are those who made a “decision” for Jesus but not resulting from true saving faith.  They  are going through the motions and hoping that it is enough.  There is no salvation without conversion and there is absolutely no conversion without real saving faith.  Please do not trust in your efforts toward salvation.  You may go to church, read the bible, pray, do good things; but if you are relying on those things you need to repent and turn from self and trust in Christ.  There are many “Christians” today that are trying to settle their peace with God apart from absolute faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Consider what the scripture says about Abraham’s faith.  If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.  What does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:2-3) Observe what Romans 4:16 says, “Therefore, the promise comes by FAITH, so that it may be by grace”.  According to these verses, faith requires a promise to believe and that promise to us is the perfect work of atonement that Christ has completed in his death, burial and resurrection (God’s beauty, performance—grace).   

These verses emphasize that our works or virtue is not the basis of how we get saved—"not by works so that no one can boast.”  We are saved through faith alone in the finished work of Christ on the cross.  There is nothing that we can add to it.  Therefore, if works was not the basis for how I got saved, then how can works be the basis for how I lose it?  God doesn’t look at my works for approval with Him, but He looks at my faith in His works toward me.

The scriptures specifically say in at least four different places that “the just shall live by faith.”  If there is no faith…there is no salvation.  Let the reader take heed and examine whether they are truly trusting in Christ or in themselves for approval with God.

But what about “Faith without Works” in the passage of James 2:17,20?  Even so, faith, if it has no works is dead, being alone...But will you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  I will deal with this in greater detail in another section but for now I will make the point that these verses do not nullify the idea of “saving faith,” but rather enhances it.

James distinguishes between the person who says they have faith and the one who displays a genuine faith.  He uses the example of Abraham offering his son on the altar.  Abraham’s obedience showed that he trusted God.  By faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac…accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17,19)  Abraham wasn’t afraid to obey God because he had faith in God’s promise.  His action was showing that he was resting in God’s promise and so, he obeyed.  It was Abraham’s faith that was being tested, not His obedience.  It is almost as if God was saying to Abraham, “Do you really trust me?  Will you put me first and let me worry about fulfilling my promises?”

With regard to Salvation if we truly believe the promise of Salvation we will rest, “For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.  Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience” Hebrews 4:10-11.  If I am obeying Christ’s commands out of fear of being judged, I am not obeying out of faith (I John 4:17-18). 

In fact, works that results from fear show that I do not have faith.  What if someone gave you a promise that they were going to pay all your real estate taxes this year?  How would you evidence your faith in that promise?  Doubt would cause you to go to the courthouse and check to see if it is getting paid.  Doubt would cause you to put the amount in the bank “just in case” they didn’t pay.  If you believe what they say, you would rejoice and not worry (rest) about it. 

Your rejoicing and resting would be the “works” that James is talking about (Romans 5:2).  Again, I will deal with this in much greater depth and detail.  In that section I will show that there is a type of work that shows we have faith and a work that shows that we don’t have faith. 

We need to make certain therefore, that our works show that we believe rather than doubt the promise of God.  Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest any of you should seem to come short of it.  For unto us the gospel was preached, as well as to them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Hebrews 4:1-2). 

Consider, again, if works is not the basis for receiving salvation but “saving faith,” how can works be the basis for losing salvation?  What about your trust?  “Do you fully trust in His grace this hour?  Are you truly washed in the Blood of the Lamb?” 

The Meaning of Justification

In understanding Justification it will become clear how God accepts the ungodly.

 

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  (Romans 5:1-2)

 

“Justification” is the act of “making right” something that is wrong.  A great way to illustrate “Justification” can be found in the way they use to set the type for the printing press and the way it is done on our computers today. 

 

Left justification is where the type set to the left side of the page.  All of the characters are spaced just right so that there is a straight line that goes down along the left side of the page.

 

Right justification is where the type is set to the right side of the page.  All of the characters are spaced just right so that there is a straight line that goes down along the right side of the page.

 

Full justification is where the type is set to both sides of the page.  All of the characters are spaced just right so that there are straight lines running along both sides of the page. 

In the days of the printing press they would use what is called “linotype machines” that would set the type like this.  The machine would use little wedges that would go between the characters so that there was the proper spacing in each line.  This process is called “justifying the text.”

The meaning of justification is that Jesus fills in what is lacking (which we lack 100%) in our own righteousness to cause us to meet the righteous standard of God.  Romans 5:1 stresses that this comes by faith. 

In order for a person to get to Heaven, he must be perfect as God is perfect.  No one meets this standard but Jesus.  When God “justifies” a person he causes them to meet that righteous standard through His Son.  Notice what 2 Corinthians 5:19-21 has to say.

To wit (that) God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.  Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.  For he has made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

There are a couple of concepts out of this passage that are important to notice.  The first concept is reconciliation.  “Reconcile” means to settle a quarrel, to make compatible or to bring into harmony.  God works to bring compatibility and harmony between His creation and Himself.  Before we come to Christ, we are considered enemies of God, and yet Jesus died for us.  “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled we shall be saved by His life.” (Rom. 5:10)

The second term is “impute.”  It means “to attribute to another” or “to ascribe (good or evil) to a person as coming from another.”  In this passage sin was imputed to Christ while righteousness was imputed to the believer.  Notice that even though Jesus did not sin…He became sin. My sin was “imputed” to Christ, so His righteousness was “imputed” (given) to me.  He stood condemned because of my sin, while I stand acquitted because of His work.  As the judgment of God was poured out on Jesus as a sinner so likewise the blessing of God is poured out on me as a son.  So thus, this passage provides how God caused us to meet His righteous requirements through Jesus.

With justification, God no longer deals with us as sinners, but as sons.  “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death for what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.  And so He condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4).  All of this is ours through what Jesus did. 

How are we justified?  It is by faith.  Consider what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:9 “and be found in Him (Jesus), not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”  If I have been made righteous by what Christ has done then I cannot lose it.  I would have to “unimpute” His righteousness off of myself as well as take my curse off of Him.  I would have to pay a penalty that was already paid.  This clearly cannot happen.  The scripture speaks to those who have “saving faith” in Christ are saved as if it is a done deal…and it is (note Colossians 3:1-3).  Therefore, our salvation is built upon the solid foundation of Christ’s righteousness and atonement and not upon the shaky foundation of self-righteousness.  We can take refuge in it if we will only believe.

 

Hebrews 6:17-20

When God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of promise the unchangeable character of His purpose, He guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Irreversible Nature of Regeneration

 

Regeneration means “born again” or rebirth.  This concept points out that a person is saved not by a mere commitment, but by a real spiritual change that has taken place. 

 

And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in your trespasses and sins…even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, hath quickened us together with Christ.  (Ephesians 2:1,5)

 

According to Ephesians 2:1,5, everyone (everyone with the exception of Adam and Eve, and Jesus) came into this world spiritually dead.  Romans 5:12-19 reveals to us that we are dead because of Adam’s sin.  We inherited a dead spirit from our great grandfather Adam.  A person who experiences true conversion is a person who at one moment was spiritually dead and then the next moment is brought back to life by the Holy Spirit. 

Jesus spoke about this to Nicodemus in John 3 when He told him “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  A person who is spiritually dead cannot even see the kingdom of God much less enter it. 

Jesus is not speaking of a water baptism here, but a spiritual rebirth as he clarified this point in verse 6 by saying “that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  Being born of water refers to natural child birth.  All those born in natural child birth are born with a dead spirit which is why the Spiritual rebirth is necessary. 

Nicodemus had a lot of scriptural knowledge, but he wasn’t spiritually alive.  Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:24 that “God is Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” When someone says that they are “born again” they are meaning that they used to be spiritually dead and now they have been made spiritually alive by the power of God. 

            When a person is “born again” the change that takes place inside begins to show itself.  They begin to take an interest in the things of God.  In fact, they hunger for it.  They want to pray whereas before they couldn’t stand the thought of praying.  They start to notice changes in their behavior from what they would normally do in the past.  The things that would have set them off in anger no longer do.  They sense a peace in their life.  They also have an awareness of God and His presence.  Others around them can tell that there is something different but they can’t quite identify what it is. 

            What does this have to do with Eternal Security?  A person who is born again has been changed by God.  They were changed from death to life (John 4:24).  For a person to lose their salvation they would have to “unbirth” themselves or undo what God has done.  It is like trying to unfry an egg.  Once you fry an egg, that egg is changed.  You cannot bring it back to its previous state. 

            Consider Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden.  The moment before they ate the fruit they had no curse (they were innocent), but the moment after they ate…they were changed.  Their spirits died.  Their condition changed and they could do nothing of themselves to undo what they had done.  They couldn’t say the next day that they choose to lose their curse.  They could not go and do a bunch of good things to change their spiritual condition.  The decision to eat the forbidden fruit cursed them and their children after them.  So, they were unable change back to their former condition by their own power. 

            In the same way when a person is born again that person is changed.  This is a change that a person has no power to undo.  Consider 1 Peter 1:23 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.”  This rebirth is “incorruptible” or “imperishable.”  We think of the difference between perishable food and imperishable as that of canned goods verses items like milk and bread.  Milk and bread have the tendency to spoil and rot, it doesn’t have much of a shelf-life.  Those who are born again do not have the danger of spoiling and rotting.  This Salvation will endure unchanged like the word of God that stands forever.

The Place of Sanctification

            What is Sanctification?  Sanctification is the process of becoming in experience what God has declared for me in position.  In Christ I have positional holiness, meaning that as I stand before God, He sees the righteousness of His Son and therefore accepts me.  However, my experience in how I live day by day shows that I don’t live perfectly.  There are those sins that I do which I shouldn’t do such as lying, hating, stealing, etc; and there are those sins of omission, the things that I should be doing such as loving, telling the truth, worship, etc that I don’t do. 

Based upon what we shared before that a person is not made acceptable before God’s eyes, we have a dilemma with living righteous.  If God sees Jesus’ righteousness on me no matter what I do and I can stay saved, then why would I want to live righteous?

I believe that this point is the major reason why people have problems affirming this teaching of Eternal Security.  Let me pause to say that this is a valid question and good criticism.  For the scripture clearly states as in Titus 2:11-12,15 that “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world…these things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority.”   Here and in other passages we learn that grace teaches and causes us to forsake sin and not embrace it. 

But isn’t this what the teaching about Eternal Security does?  Why would anyone want live righteous if they thought that they could embrace sin and at the same time stay saved?  But this question brings us back to the “works salvation” type of scenario again.  Basically; it goes like this, “If I am to stay saved it will be by working to keep it.” 

Yet the verse in Titus tells us that it is the grace of God that teaches me to forsake unrighteousness not the grace of myself.  If a person strives for holiness in their life to gain God’s acceptance for salvation, he isn’t doing it out of an understanding of the grace of God but under the obligation to keep the law (trusting in their own performance).

Consider what Paul says to the Galatians 2:16-17,

A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found to be sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin?  God forbid.

Take notice of the question in the passage above “is Christ the minister of sin?” takes place after salvation by God’s grace is explained.  What does this question mean?  In rephrasing this question it would basically go something like this “Does Jesus save us so that we can sin?” It is asking whether or not Christ helps us sin. 

This question is made in anticipation of the thoughts of the hearers.  Paul is explaining salvation by grace through faith in Jesus.  If what I am hearing causes me to ask the question of whether or not Christ is the minister of sin, it shows that I understand correctly what is being taught.  This question affirms that a proper understanding of salvation by grace would causes us to ask “Does Jesus save us so that we can sin” or something like it such as “if Jesus saves us like this, why would we want to live righteous?” 

If this wasn’t the intended meaning, then it would have been restated in favor of maintaining salvation through works, but we see that it doesn’t. 

Before we look at the following verses in Galatians let us look at a couple of other places where similar questions are asked resulting from an understanding of God’s grace.

 

Moreover, the law entered that the offence may abound.  But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound…What shall we say then? Shall we sin, that grace may abound? Rom. 5:20,6:1

Ye are not under law, but under grace.  What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Rom. 6:14b-15

 

All three passages (the two in Romans and the one in Galatians) involve the basic question which is “does grace free us to sin?”  All three cases have the same answer—"God Forbid”.  Notice that in each case it doesn’t say, “God forbid, you will lose your salvation!”  If it were possible to lose our salvation the opportunity to state it would certainly be in these places. 

They merely state “God forbid” and in each case goes on to explain the reality of the union with Him in the death, burial, and resurrection.  Galatians 2:19 says that “I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.” 

Grace doesn’t free us to sin…it frees us from sin…it frees us to righteousness.  Galatians 2:20 gives us the answer of why a person would want to live righteous;

 

I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live: yet not I, but Christ lives in me:  and the life which I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Why would anyone want to live righteous?  The answer is that Jesus is living inside that person giving them the motivation and the ability to please God.  This is a life of faith that the Christ who lives inside performs that which the believer cannot.  The focus is not on self’s ability to live righteous but in Christ’s ability to live through that person. 

What does this have to do with eternal security?  Sanctification, or our living holy as God is holy, is not a prerequisite to being saved, but is rather part of package of being saved. 

In the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit indwells the believer and enables them to know God’s will and perform it.  The evidence of having received Salvation is a life being transformed into the image of Jesus.  This is a work and promise of God to those who place their faith in Jesus. 

Salvation involves the past, the present and the future.  We have been delivered from the penalty of sin (hell) in our position before God in Justification, we are being delivered from the power of sin (our daily experience) in our experience in this life through Sanctification and we shall be delivered from the presence of sin (this present evil world) in Glorification at the 2^nd coming of Jesus.            

The Secure Hope of Glorification

            Glorification is described in 1 John 3:2

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him: for we shall see Him as He is. 

At the second coming of Christ we are we shall changed and made like Him.  We shall have glory like Jesus.  There is the objection by many that “God won’t allow sin to enter into His Heaven;” this statement is true!  He won’t!

Glorification reveals that the redeemed will be changed to sinless perfection at the 2^nd coming of Jesus.  So then, if we aren’t perfect now, (I John 1:8-10) we will be when Jesus returns.  Focusing on this hope motivates believers to live holy.  That destiny brings encouragement despite the present struggles, and the redeemed will make it by God’s promise of glorification.  “Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (I John 3:3)

Conclusion

 

If God gives us a second chance, we will mess it up.  A third chance, we will mess it up.  If God were to give us unlimited chances we would be sure to mess them up.  History with the Israelites has proven that mankind will mess up God’s gracious offers at second chances.  God set salvation up so it would not hand on the fragile thread of human abilities.  Why would God risk the blood of His own Son given the track record of human failure?  God made His investment secure so that His bringing many sons to glory be based on solid rock.

This brings us to the warning of this writing.  The gospel is trusting in God’s promise of redemption through the blood of His Son Jesus.  If you are living in fear and trusting in your own works, you aren’t saved.  You might be “playing it safe” but seeking refuge in yourself is not sufficient.  It is only through faith in Jesus that we can be safe and secure.  Are you “Hanging by a Thread or Standing on the Rock!” (Phrase used by permission from Paul Collinson)

 

My sermon Love bears, believes, hopes and endures all things from my podcast.

Love bears, believes, hopes and endures all things.