Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Why I Believe In Eternal Security. (part 4) Holy Spirit


Recently in a couple of settings I have been asked why I believe in eternal security.  This is a fourth installment dealing with principles that answer or address that question.  We have looked at the concepts of adoption, the work of God in my salvation, and the “past” tense statements of Paul in Romans 5.  Today I want to take a look at the concept of the Holy Spirit within the believer.  , Romans 5:5 (ESV) 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. When we are justified by faith the Holy Spirit is given to us. He begins to dwell within us.  Paul makes this point even clearer in  1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV) where he said,
“19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 

In this passage Paul gives us the confidence that for true believers the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us.  He does not say that the Holy Spirit leaves or that he would like to dwell.  In fact, these Corinthians were dealing with a lot of sin in the church and Paul was addressing that sin and telling them to forsake it or flee from it.  In this chapter it was sexual immorality.  The reason for fleeing was not to keep from losing their salvation, but rather to treat the temple of God as is fitting for the Lord Almighty.

He could have said that God wants to use your body as a temple or that he was using your body as a temple, but his statement was a positive “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own.”  Why are we no longer our own to do as we please.

Paul continues, “You were bought with a price.”  That price for the believer was the price paid on the cross for our redemption.  This position as a temple of the Holy Spirit was past tense.  The purchase has already been made. The price of that redemption has already been applied to our lives.

This then is our motivation for Holy Living.  We are no longer our own since Christ paid the price of our redemption and we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  For these reasons, we are to glorify God in our body because God has taken over ownership and we need to glorify Him first and foremost.

  I hope that all listening have placed their faith in Christ for salvation that they too might have the privilege of being the dwelling place of God.

To see the video version of this go to www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton   FW # 83.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Why Do You Believe in Eternal Security? part 3


This is the third segment in which I am sharing some reasons why I believe in Eternal Security.

Recently my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the court proceedings that involved a couple in our church and the two children they were adopting.  As the end of the procedure approached the judge asked the father the following question, “Do you understand that if I grant this adoption that these children will have all rights of inheritance as any other child?”  The father answered, “Yes”. 

Later I found out that many states have a law that an adopted child cannot be written out of a will or inheritance.  They get all the rights of a natural born child, and they cannot be revoked.

John 1:12 states, “But as many as received Him to them gave He the right to become children of God even to those who believe on His name.” (NKJV)

When we by God’s grace place our faith in Jesus Christ for salvation we become the children of God.  Ephesians 1:5 says that he “predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.”  This was a plan from before the foundation of the world for all those who would trust Him.

This concept is clarified in Galatians 4:4–7 (ESV)  4But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba! Father! 7So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”   The fact that we were redeemed by Christ in our salvation gives us a privileged state as a son, an heir through God.  What a privilege we have to be God’s children and joint heirs through Christ.  Paul also spoke to this concept in Romans 8:14–17 (ESV) “14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! 16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”

The promise of adoption and being a joint heir with Christ is further encouragement to me when I consider  whether my salvation is eternal or is relying upon my being good enough to maintain it.

I hope that you too have trusted Christ as Savior and are walking in confidence as one of His children.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton FW # 81

Monday, February 27, 2012

Why Do You Believe in Eternal Security? part 2


I was recently asked why I believed in “eternal security”.  Yesterday I shared that based upon the promise in Phil . 1:6 that “He who began a good work in your will be faithful to complete it” and the statements in Eph. 2 that it was God who had “made alive” myself and anyone that believes that we might have faith, I am trusting God to keep that promise for we are told that God cannot lie (Tit. 1:2).

Today we will begin with Romans 4:5 “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.”  We have here the promise that “faith” justifies.  It puts me in good standing with God.  I am declared righteous because of faith, the faith that God gave me (Eph. 2:8-9).

Paul makes it clear in Romans 5:1 that this is a done deal.  He begins saying, “Therefore, having been justified by faith.”  Having been is past tense.  It has already taken place.  My legal standing before God has been settled.   He goes on declaring, “we have peace with God”.  This is a change in status.  When I was made alive and put my faith in Jesus Christ, I was declared righteous and put at peace with God.  I am, therefore, no longer His enemy.

In verse 9, Paul continues, “Much more then having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him.”  In other words, my present justification, which took place when I put my faith in Christ, guarantees my being saved from the wrath.  “Shall be” is a promise once again of God’s future work on my account because of Christ’s past work in redeeming me and the work of the Holy Spirit regenerating me so that I might have faith in Jesus Christ.

A similar promise is made in Romans 5:10.  “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”  Because of my new standing before God, the fact that I am no longer His enemy, I am promised that we are saved by Christ’s life!   This should be enough to make anyone shout “Hallelujah”.   Paul indeed confirms that “we rejoice in God through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

Our rejoicing can continue because “reconciliation” is a done deal.  It is now received. 

In summary, faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross has placed me in  a new standing with Christ.  I am “justified”, and will remain justified.  I am reconciled and will remain reconciled.  And through this justification and reconciliation I am promised salvation, that is eternal life.

I hope that you too have put your faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone for salvation so that you too might rest assured and rejoice in your position in Christ.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 81

Friday, February 24, 2012

Why Do You Believe in Eternal Security? part 1


Recently I have been asked in a couple of ways why I believe in eternal security.  I do not have time in these short daily devotionals to cover every reason why, but in the next couple of days I will share some of the reasons I have for believing my salvation is secure or that once a believer is saved they are always saved.

Rather than just offering a proof text such as John 10:29 that assures us that no one is able to “snatch them out of my Father’s hand”, which I believe is a legitimate verse to use in the teaching of eternal security, I want to look at Salvation and how it takes place.

Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this very thing that He who has begun a good work in you will complete until the day of Jesus Christ.” I have always understood that the “He who began the good work” was and is God.  The translators of the King James and the New King James seemed to agree because they capitalized the pronoun “He”. 

But just how did God begin this work of salvation in me?  Ephesians 2 says, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, …But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

How dead were we?  Romans 3:10ff help us to understand our deadness, Romans 3:10–18 (ESV) 10as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;
11no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
13“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15“Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16in their paths are ruin and misery, 17and the way of peace they have not known.” 18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”   As one man asked, “what can a dead man do?”  The answer is “nothing”, as a spiritually dead man I could not understand or seek after God.  I could not even look to Him for salvation because I could not understand the need.  I was dead.

But God in His rich mercy and grace “made me alive”.   He regenerated me and gave me the faith to believe.  Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV) 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

So in summary the first reason for my belief in eternal salvation is because of God’s promise regarding the process of salvation.  God began the work in me by giving me faith to believe in Jesus Christ.  This leaves me no reason for boasting or bragging because without His act of grace upon me I would still be a dead man lost in my sin.

Thank you for joining us at “First Word”.  Our prayer is that you too may come to faith in Christ as your Savior.

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 80  

Is Grandma an Angel Now?


A common statement heard near the death of a loved one is that “heaven has a new angel.”  Is this correct?  Are the angels in heaven simply humans who have passed from earth?

Today I will in the next few minutes share with you why I don’t believe grandma is an angel now.

The first thing to understand is that angels and humans were two distinct creations of God.  Job 38:1-7 gives the impression that the angels “morning stars” were already created when God laid the foundation of the world.  Genesis 1-2 make it clear that man was a special creation made in the “image of God” on the sixth day.

At some point between creation and man’s rebellion in Genesis 3, Satan in pride rebelled with some of the angels following him. (cf. Ezekiel 28; Isa. 14).  The rest of the angels remained faithful to God as His servants.  God has never provided a way of redemption for the angels.  They were all individually created for we are told that they are not given in marriage and don’t procreate with one another. (Mt. 22:30; Mk. 12:25)

Though man was created in the “image of God”, he followed the temptation of Satan in Genesis 3 and rebelled against God.  This put all of mankind at odds with a Holy God.  Romans 5 says clearly that because of our sin we are enemies of God.  “But God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Rom. 5:8)  That love was demonstrated in sending Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of sin on the cross at Calvary.   Christ’s death in turn made salvation available to all that respond in faith trusting in His shed blood to cleanse their sins.  Romans 5:1-2 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

That access and hope are possible because we are adopted children of God. (John 1:12; Rom. 8:15, Eph. 1:15; Gal. 4:5)  This hope is clarified in II Cor. 5 where we are reminded that to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ.   Not only will we have the privilege of access and be in the presence of Christ, but II Timothy 2:12 assures us that those who are faithful will reign with Christ.  A believer at death can look forward to wonderful things beyond any of our imaginations because of our privileged status before God as “joint heirs in Christ.” (Rom. 8:17)

The angels on the other hand that remained faithful to God are “ministering spirits” (Heb. 1:7-14).  Throughout Scripture we see angels watching over believers and Israel, acting as messengers of God, fulfilling the judgment of God, and ministering or worshipping before the throne.

So in a summary statement I don’t believe scripture teaches that my grandma is now an angel, she rather has a much more privileged position.  She is an adopted child of God who will one day reign with Christ, not simply a minister or servant fulfilling God’s bidding!  What hope we have as believers!

The video version of this is available at www.youtube.com/user/churchoflittleton  FW # 79