A FAITH THAT LASTS FOREVER |
What could be more controversial and challenging than a look at
the salvation experience God's Word promises to all who believe?
Oddly enough, the one thing all Christians should be in agreement
with, finds itself the center of differing interpretations. Therefore,
the subject I've chosen today to talk to you about is the "Eternal
Security of the believer in Christ."
Now, I realize that such a topic can bring fear and worse anger
in the hearts of some who either detest it or deny its reality.
So let me say at the onset, that I recognize those who oppose
this doctrinal teaching in the Christian world, that many do so
in all sincerity and devotion to purity of life among believers,
and that to disbelieve in this doctrine from Scripture in no way
positively identifies one who is not a Christian. However, I am
convinced that those who stubbornly disbelieve, err, for the teaching
of the security of the believer in Christ is firmly established
in the Scriptures. But, before I give you some solid Biblical
reasons for such hope, help and comfort, let's pause again and
listen to this…
… Did you know that one of the most beautiful teachings found
in the Scriptures is also the most difficult to comprehend? It's
not that God has made it hard for us, rather He has revealed to
us the complexity of His nature and being in and through His eternal
plans and purpose. What is that plan and purpose? Why the divine
salvation of sinful fallen men, whom God created in His very own
image. Yes, the doctrine or teaching of salvation is indeed a
complex and wondrous truth the Bible reveals. However, in revealing
it, many have misunderstood it and what God intended it to render
to us. For instance, before we talk about the security of the
believer in Christ, we must talk about the work of salvation itself.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament says,
Heb 2:3 (NIV) "how shall we escape
if we ignore such a great salvation?
This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed
to us by those who heard him."
Why is salvation so great? The answer is its complexity and fullness as the Scripture reveals. You see this confusion comes from the differing terms the Bible says about our salvation.
For instance we read in the Scriptures about salvation these
unique terms and distinct descriptions,
Rom 13:11 (NIV) "And do this,
understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake
up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer
now than when we first believed."
Phil 2:12 (NIV) "Therefore, my
dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence,
but now much more in my absence--continue to work out
your salvation with fear and trembling,"
2 Tim 1:9 (NIV) "who
has saved us and called us to a holy life--not
because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose
and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
beginning of time,"
Now reading these verses surely brings an element of confusion
because each verse says something different about our salvation
in Christ. Such confusion is cleared away though when we understand
that these verses are not describing three different salvations,
but rather three aspects of only one salvation that God has provided
for individuals in our lost humanity. Now, further study of this
subject of divine salvation lead us to understand that the work
of saving sinners is a complex process that reveals it to be first
of all
(1) AN ACCOMPLISHED FACT, [Luke 7:50]
(2) A PRESENT ON GOING PROCESS, [1 Cor. 1:18]
(3) A FUTURE PROSPECT TOO [Heb. 1:4].
So in understanding what the whole Bible has to say about saving
men from their sins, we find that divine salvation teaches us
that it is a work of God where every genuine Christian has been
already saved, is now being fully saved, and will yet be finally
saved.
Now with that in mind, we come to what the Bible has to say about
this great salvation once received. Can a person lose it? Can
a believer fall from God's grace and be lost? Some believe the
Bible teaches that, others do not, and herein is the controversy.
However today may I submit to you, I too early on in my Christian
faith firmly supported and believed that salvation was not a faith
that lasts forever, unless I or any individual kept it as such.
Yet in time, I came to fully understand God's complex and great
plan of salvation really and truly provided a "faith that
lasts forever." May I share with you what led me to this
most comforting and purifying decision.
Well, it all began when I chose to embark on an in-depth study
the Gospel of John. My "Damascus Road," experience came
when along the Bible road I was arrested by the Lord Jesus Christ
when I heard these words. Listen as I read them to you,
John 10:27-30 (NIV) "My sheep
listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch
them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one.""
Here I came across the "great assurance," passage that
is comfort for many and annoyance for others. Yet, this is one
of the most precious passages for the true believer in Christ.
Here Jesus Christ, the Creator God Himself answers two important
questions on the mind of every Christian: (1) What is the mark
of a true believer in Christ? (2) Can a true believer ever lose
his or her salvation in Christ? As we look now at this most important
passage, let us remember who is speaking in it. It is the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. In verse 27 He says, "My sheep [hear]
listen to My voice." The Lord God says those who are
truly His by rebirth, by experience of His salvation are those
who will long for, and surely seek to hear Him speaking.
Now where does God speak? He speaks to us from the Bible, God's
Word. So true believers, Jesus says, are those who hunger for,
desire greatly, and will faithfully come to hear God's Word to
feed their hearts and souls. But notice what else Jesus says,
"I know them and they follow Me." Jesus says
those who are truly saved, those who are true children of God
will when they come to listen to God's Word, they will be assured
of their family relationship to God, and will undoubtedly yield
themselves to God's teachings found in the Scripture. The true
believer Jesus says, will follow and obey the Word of God.
Now why do true believers follow God's Word and love to hear God
speak through it? The next verse tells us,
John 10:28a (NIV) "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish …"
We are drawn to Christ because He has promised and fully provided
all His sheep what is called, "Eternal Life." Now Greek
scholars tell us that in the original languages this statement
is found in the "present indicative tense," which means
when Jesus spoke these words He literally was saying, "I
keep on giving them eternal life, that is continuously, again
and again, a never stopping overflow upon overflow with no interruption
or end." Then to be sure we do not misunderstand
this Jesus added - "and they shall never perish!"
You see my friend, God reveals this to His sheep or His children
more exactly because He knows it will be the quality that attracts
and comforts true followers of the Lamb. Thus the security of
the believer in Christ is not a presumptuous doctrine, nor is
it something that produces pride or license to sin, nay, it is
a doctrine that humbles those who truly accept it, who truly are
Christ's sheep. But let's not stop yet, Jesus had more to say.
We read,
John 10:28-29 (NIV) "I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them
out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater
than all ; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."
Now Jesus answers the second question. "Can a true believer ever slip away from
Christ and be lost?" The answer Jesus gives is no! You see
eternal life is God's very life, a quality of existence that is
eternal, non-ending. Jesus was saying as long as I live you shall
live also. And to assure all who are His true sheep that thay
have already been given this, Jesus said, I want you to know who
is guarding it, who is protecting and guaranteeing it is yours
to keep forever and ever. Who is the guardian? The Bible answers
God Himself! This of course answers many other verses of Scripture
which tell us this. Listen to what else the Bible says about our
security in Christ,
John 3:36 (NIV) "Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath
remains on him.""
Rom 8:35 (NIV) "Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
Rom 8:37-39 (NIV) "No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved
us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,
nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
John 6:39-40 (NIV) "And this
is the will of him [Father] who sent me, that I [Jesus] shall
lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the
last day. 40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to
the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will
raise him up at the last day.""
God the Father says, God the Son Says, and the Spirit of God says
we who are truly Christ's own can have, should have, must have
the assurance that we shall persevere in the faith because of
God's faithfulness and promises to all who come to Him as a poor
lost and helpless sinner, that God will keep us, as Paul the apostle
sums it up in,
Phil 1:6 (NIV) "being confident
of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on
to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Now I realize that there are some Christians today who say,"
but you don't understand. Our free will has enabled us to at any
time say to God, I want to be let go, I want to walk away from
your presence." However, I ask you, "where in all of
Scripture can you find that?" The answer is nowhere -- you
must read into the Bible such teachings that one can lose his
or her salvation. Yes my friend, I've read and studied all the
Scriptures that some say speak of believers falling away. But
if you read the context in which they are found, you will find
that the subject is not speaking about salvation.
Moreover, it is usually talking about a believers rewards in Heaven
which surely can be lost because of sin, or it might be speaking
about the false believers who for awhile walk and talk like a
Christian who later decide it's not worth it and depart. Or the
Scriptures thought to teach one can lose their salvation are simply
warnings of what will happen to any who are believers if they
willfully fight against God's power to keep them. The more we
would struggle for God to let go, the more He will hold on to
us and if necessary, discipline us in the process for it. Now
I realize most of us have either met or know someone who once
talked the faith. Why they may have even gone to Bible school,
even taught Christianity, but one day they departed. How can we
answer that? Well I can't, but God's Word can! John the aged apostle
of the Lord, saw the same situation in his day, and by divine
leading wrote,
1 John 2:19 (NIV) "They went
out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they
had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their
going showed that none of them belonged to us."
You see the perseverance of the saints is also a mark of those
who truly believe. If anyone departs from the faith for whatever
reason, it only proves they were really not Christ's sheep. Only
those who fully surrender their hearts to the Lordship and Savior-hood
of Christ - they alone become God's children. Now this Lordship
of Christ I'm talking about is not absolute and complete surrender
of every facet of our heart and life. That my friend is a life
process, but it is a commitment of the will to say I recognize
Jesus Christ as my Creator God and as a result I grant Him the
right to rule and guide my life. And, as much as possible, my
new source of direction will come from God, His Word and the Spirit
who now indwells me as a believer. I will follow Him because I
now love Him as my Savior from my sins.
So, Lordship simply means final obedience and surrender will rule
out in the ongoing eruptions of the sin nature in every true believer.
Accordingly, being eternally secure in Christ does not grant
anyone license to sin. For God has also warned that He is a God
of consuming fire, a holy God of judgment who "will by no
means clear the guilty." Yes, God chastens sinning believers,
and warns us we can lose our future rewards to be given out in
Heaven, as well as even lose our physical life because of stubborn
habitual unrepentant disobedience to the Spirit's leading in being
conformed to the righteousness of Christ. Listen to these stern
warnings from God,
1 Cor 9:24-27 (NIV) "Do you not
know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the
prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who
competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to
get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that
will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running
aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I
[discipline] my body and make it my slave so that after I have
preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the
prize."
1 John 5:16 (NIV) "… There
is a sin that leads to death….."
Heb 12:11 (NIV) "No discipline
seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have
been trained by it."
Rev 3:19 (NIV) "Those whom I
love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent."
Yes, the security of Christ's sheep is assured to us because it
is a part of God's plan to redeem a lost world. And, all who are
redeemed by the instrument of faith in who God is and what He
says He has done for us through Christ's death on the cross, are
immediate recipients of that "forever salvation" and
are granted a faith that lasts forever! The Lord Jesus Himself
said, "of all that the Father shall give me, I shall lose
none. I am the good shepherd who cares for His sheep…I and
the Father are One."
Remember friend, the security of a true believer in Christ is
not based on what we do, but what God has planned and accomplished
even before the world began. It's the grace of God, the plan of
God, the purpose of God, the promise of God and the power of God
that grant us who are His sheep, eternal life and accordingly
promises us, we shall never perish!
I trust friend, that you are resting in the finished work of Christ
for your salvation, and if there's anyone listening who is not
sure they're Christ's sheep, then today, right now, call upon
the Lord to save you. Confess your sins and need of Christ, tell
Him you believe He died for you and that you are willing to commit
your life to Him now and for eternity. Jesus said He will receive
every sinner who comes to Him trusting Him to forgive them all
their sins and to keep them for all eternity. Now may God grant
the fullness of the salvation experience, and the blessing of
assurance of life eternal -- may both be your portion through Christ Jesus
our Lord. Amen.
The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request.These weekly radio commentaries can be heard in selected areas around the nation. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for 16 years, and serves as General Director. These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of all messages is available upon request also.
For further information, reprints, or a listing of all topics, please write to our speaker,
Dennis L. Finnan(wwyfin@sparc.isl.net), or visit our webpage at [ http://www.isl.net/wwyweb.html ].