Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Saved and Lost?
Jan 11th, 2020
CommentaryArt Sadlier
Categories: Exhortation

Eternal Security

Can a believer lose his or her salvation? That is a question that troubles a lot of Christians, the answer can give great peace and stability to a true child of God.

We need to understand that the word of God teaches that God alone can provide salvation. Man has no part to play in his salvation, it is all of God. Only a Divine human Savior could go to the cross and pay the price of sin and only God by His Spirit could apply that salvation to an individual. The scripture says that we are saved by grace through faith. Grace is God providing salvation; faith moves the hand of God to provide it.  

Salvation is the gift of God, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Once the gift has been received only the giver can take it away and He has promised never to do that.

“For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.” (Psalm 37:28). “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39).God has promised that salvation is forever and He cannot lie or break His promise.

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

You can't have everlasting life for a few years and then lose it, once you have it you have it is forever, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40), in this verse the outcome rests entirely on God and His promise.

We need to understand also what happens at salvation; Peter said that when a person is saved he or she becomes a partaker of the divine nature. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:4). We actually become a partaker of the very nature of God, we are born again. Paul said we become new creatures in Christ. John said that our new nature cannot sin. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18).

Though we know that the old sin nature is ever present until we are glorified, yet we have a divine nature that cannot sin. A Christian has no sin in him, that is in his new divine nature though until his glorification he has sin on him, that is on his old sin nature. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth 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" (1 John 3:2).

The Christian has a new nature that canot sin and he has an old nature that cannot produce righteousness. "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit" (Romans 8:4-5).

This new nature is a divine nature that cannot sin, could not turn away from the Lord, it can never go back, it could never reject what it has already received, it can never be lost.

If a true believer were to be cast into hell God would be cast into hell with him. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and becontent with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).  

Other verses give assurance of a salvation that can never be lost.
“But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.” (John 10:26-29).                                         

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35).                                                                                                                                                                                                                             “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

We need to understand that many people think they are saved and they are not. False profession is a major problem in this issue.

We see this in Matthew 13:20-22, “But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."

We see the gospel being spread in the same way a farmer sows the seed, some respond and make a profession of faith and they look good for a while but time proves that they never had the root of the matter, they had never been saved, Verse 6, "they had no root".

Notice they were self-deceived into believing that they were saved and they were not. It's not that they had been saved and lost their salvation, Jesus said to them, "I never knew you", they were deceived into thinking they were believers but they were never saved.

We see the contrast in verse 23, "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

That is the curse of New Evangelicalism that plagues the evangelical church today, they preach easy-believe-ism, you don't need to repent, you don't need to change, look at us we are so much like the world you can hardly tell the difference, just name the name of Jesus and you are in. The end result is a disaster, the disaster of Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

 A church full of pseudo believers is a catastrophe. Jesus said, "....Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5).

Paul said, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith...." (2 Cor. 13:5).

We need not be in doubt, 1 John 5:13  "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life...."

It's not saved and lost, it's lost because they were never really saved in the first place. “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Tim. 2:19).

MARKS OF A GENUINE CHRISTIAN

These things do not help you to obtain salvation (with the exception of numbers 1 & 2) but are the evidence that salvation has taken place.

1-  A true understanding of who Christ is and what He has done.

2-  A recognition of our sin and rebellion against God which is accompanied by repentance and faith in Christ as your savior.

3-  An obedience to the words and commands of Christ which is accompanied by a hunger to know God's word.   1 John 2:3, 4   ! John 3:24   John 14:21   Jeremiah 15:16.

4-  Love for our brothers in Christ.  "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him" (I John 2:9-11).   "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (1 John 3:14).   "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

5-  Fellowship with other Christians.   "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowshipis with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3).  "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching" (Hebrews 10;25).   "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:42,46,47).

6-  Prayer -  a genuine relationship with Christ will involve communication with Him.  "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. " (John 15:7).    "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full"  (John 16:24).

7-  Witnessing - A readiness to witness to others as to what Christ has done for you.   "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature"  (Mark 16:15).    "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

8-  Baptism - Baptism by immersion is not an option for a true believer. Though it has no part in salvation, it is a command of Christ.  "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19).    "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38).

These are the eight marks of true salvation, if your faith in Christ is genuine saving faith, these marks will be found in your life in the coming days.  2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Fellowship With Your Maker
Jan 11th, 2020
Looking into the WordArt Sadlier
Categories: Topical Study;Exhortation

Man was created the object of God’s love with the intention that God would be the object of man’s love. It was God’s intent that man would live in fellowship with Him and govern the earth on His behalf. The design was for a sweet intimate relationship between God and man.

To make this relationship possible both men and angels required a free will, robots could never have a loving relationship with God. What man or woman among us would want to marry a robot? It is obvious that God foresaw the results of bestowing on man a free will and counted the benefit worth the pain that would be suffered by both God and man. God desired this intimate relationship with man and determined that He would work to establish it. If God so values such a relationship with us we ought to value it intensely and cultivate it, “Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you....” (James 4:8).

In the garden of Eden Adam was tested on behalf of the entire human race. Would man decide to obey and trust God and live in righteousness and have fellowship with God? God is intrinsically holy and only those who are absolutely holy can have fellowship with God. Adam would exercise his God given free will, but how would he exercise it?

We know the tragic answer to that question. On behalf of the whole human race Adam chose to disobey the Lord and rebel against Him. In the loins of Adam the whole human race died. The moment Adam sinned he was cut off from a Holy God. He now had a sin nature and he immediately died spiritually and began the process of dying physically.

The sovereign all Knowing God foresaw Adams fall from His grace, it was God’s grace that placed Adam in fellowship with God in a state of untried righteousness. God was not taken by surprise by Adam’s sin. He foreknew it and He had planned a way to restore man to Himself and a way by which man could live in righteousness and fellowship with God.

That plan is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s Son would come to earth, God incarnate as a man, a second Adam. He would live a perfect sinless life, a life that would prove His qualification to die in the place of others. He would go to Calvary and the Father would place on Him the sins of the whole world of men and women. The Father would then pour out His wrath against those sins upon His Son.

We read about that event from the perspective of the Father, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin..... He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:10-11).

The Father offers to all men everywhere salvation full and free on the basis of the sacrifice of His Son for sin on the cross of Calvary. This precious gospel is so simple, yet so profound. Free to all and yet it means surrendering all to the Lord, the surrendering of the will, the heart and the life. It is like a marriage, in marriage, as God intended it; each one gives his or her life to live exclusively for the other. His or her desires are set aside to please the marriage partner. [By the way, that is why so many marriages are failing today; we live in a selfish generation that knows nothing of selfless living.]

When a person comes to Christ in repentance and faith, the old inherited fallen sin nature is put to death, identified with Christ’s death on the cross, and replaced with a new divine nature in a process called regeneration. Jesus said, “....except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John3:3). Paul describes regeneration in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Peter in talking about the promise of the gospel said in 2 Peter 1:4, “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”

We need to remind ourselves that the purpose for which we have been saved is to fellowship with God. Do not be confused about this purpose. We must not lose sight of this central issue, to do so is to be confused and end up on rabbit trails, chasing after the wrong things.

There are two issues involved in fellowship with God.

First we have the issue of our Eternal Position before God.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.....” (Acts 3:19a). At the moment of salvation our sins are blotted out forever, we will never face them again. Paul said, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus....” (Romans 8:1a). There will never be condemnation on them that are saved, not now or ever.

Until salvation takes place there can be no relationship or fellowship with God.

At the judgment seat of Christ we will not face our sins; the issue will be rewards on the basis of our faithfulness or loss of rewards.

Second we have the issue of our Fellowship with the Lord.

Our sin as a believer does not change our relationship with God. We are sons and we will always be sons. Our sin as a believer does break our fellowship with the Lord. We compare it with our relationship to our earthly fathers. If we offend our father it does not change our relationship, nothing can change that. But if we offend out father it does affect our fellowship with him. That is not hard to understand.

Why does our sin affect our fellowship with God if all of our sins were cleansed from us at salvation?  God is intrinsically and absolutely holy or entirely separate from sin. God cannot allow those who knowingly have sin that is not confessed to have fellowship with Him, He must condemn it or He would be condoning it, confession must be made.

This may seem difficult to grasp, but it is the guilt that is on our hearts because of our sin that robs us of fellowship with our heavenly Father. And in turn our heavenly Father knows that we have not admitted our sin to Him. It is our failure to recognize our sin that grieves the Father. Confession is that which relieves the guilt, satisfies the Father and restores fellowship. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Remember our Saviour High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost (from beginning to the end) that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). He not only makes us clean positionally at salvation, but He keeps on cleansing us daily. God has provided for us so that we can walk in white with Him all through our lives.

My desire is to have a heart and soul that is absolutely pure and holy so that in that quiet secret place I may have sweet, intimate communion and fellowship with the sovereign holy Lord of the universe. I can then hear His voice in His Word, and can pour out my heart to Him. That is the highest experience, the greatest joy and the ultimate purpose of life, the purpose for which God created us.

God has made a way for us to experience in this life the purpose for which we were created. The above mentioned ultimate experience will satisfy our deepest longings and desires which nothing else can do.

When that is my experience, that inner holiness and righteousness will be seen in my life. That righteousness is a righteousness that is imparted to me and worked out in my life by the power of the Holy Spirit of God in cooperation with my new nature.

Then out of that experience I can go forth to serve the Lord. Out of that relationship I have the desire and the power to know and to do the will of God.

All of this is true though our sins are blotted out forever. The issue is the sin of the believer after salvation, sin that is already forgiven, sin that is already blotted out forever. When we sin, even though that sin is under the blood of Christ, our fellowship with a Holy God is broken. That is a momentous loss for us. We temporarily lose the purpose for which we were saved.

But God has provided a remedy for those sins we commit as believers, sin that has been forgiven but breaks our fellowship with Him. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Verse 4 reveals that this is written to believers. Provision has been made for the sin of the believer, sin that breaks fellowship with our Lord.

Jesus deals with this issue in John 13. After the Passover supper the Lord began to wash his disciple’s feet. When He came to Peter, Peter said to the Lord, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” At this point Jesus begins to teach the lesson that disciples with dirty feet cannot have fellowship with Him. Jesus replies to Peter, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part (fellowship) with me.” Sin in the life of the believer, though it be forgiven sin, prevents fellowship with the Lord, even though it does not affect His standing before God.

We read Peter’s reply in verse 9, “Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hand and my head.”  Then our Lord teaches the difference between positional, once and for all, cleansing from sin and daily cleansing from sin that is already forgiven.

Verse 10, “Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all (referring to Judas).” Our Lord is simply saying, when you are saved you are washed in the blood once and for all. All that remains is a daily foot washing. The picture is the attendance at a wedding feast. Before you leave home you have a bath and your whole body is clean. This is an analogy of salvation. As you travel to the wedding feast (an analogy of our life here on earth prior to the marriage supper of the Lamb) our feet become contaminated (the sins that daily beset us) by the dusty roadway. As the guests arrive at the feast they have their feet washed by the host of the feast. That is necessary in order to have fellowship with the Bridegroom.

 In order for the believer to enjoy fellowship with his lord he must continually recognize his sin and confess it.

We are warned in 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 that sin in the life of the believer that is not confessed can have some severe affects. “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves (recognize our sin and confess it), we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” Sin not confessed in the believer’s life will bring chastening, but even that does not involve the loss of salvation.