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If a man gets caught driving without insurance, and comes before the judge to plead his case with evidence of what a good man he is, what do you think the outcome would be?
He says, "Your honor, I may be guilty in this one area but I have never littered, in fact, I have even been known to pick up other peoples garbage from time to time. I let little old ladies go first in line at Wal-Mart (if they only have a few things), and I always return my shopping cart to the cart coral. Don't you see how unfair it would be to punish me for this one minor infraction? I know that you are a good, kind, and loving man. Couldn't you find it in your heart to just let this one slide?"
How do you think this scenario would end?
My mind plays out his response going something like this.
"Yes, I am a good man, and that is precisely why I am going to do the job that was given me, that is to judge crime. You are clearly guilty of driving without insurance. None of the other acts of kindness done throughout your life can change that fact any more than if a murderer were to jump into a river and save a drowning man could change the fact that he had killed the first."
I see a gavel coming down and a hefty fine being laid on the shoulders of the law breaker.
But what if someone from the back of the room stood up and said, "I'll pay his fine." How would this man respond? would it be logical for him to ignore the judge, ignore the generous man in the back and walk out of that court room to continue on in his life as if it had never happened? Would his stubbornness change the fact that his days of roaming the streets a free man where numbered?
God cannot be perfectly merciful and perfectly just without the biblical plan of salvation.
I had my day in court, accepted the offer to have my fine paid, and have walked through the doors to eternity free and clear.
Where are you?
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
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Romans 13:11
Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
How real this verse feels to me these days. He is near. I can feel it down to my bones. It is almost time to go home. I used to have a slight tinge of fear at the prospect of leaving all that I have ever known, but there is none of that left. There is only excitement, ears waiting in great anticipation for the sound of the trumpet.
"Lord my God, your long suffering has kept us in this world for what has seemed to us like an eternity. Help me Lord, to gain just a small fraction of that patience as the Day of the Lord draws near. Keep me always in fervent prayer for those souls we are all waiting for. But even so, come quickly Lord."
How real this verse feels to me these days. He is near. I can feel it down to my bones. It is almost time to go home. I used to have a slight tinge of fear at the prospect of leaving all that I have ever known, but there is none of that left. There is only excitement, ears waiting in great anticipation for the sound of the trumpet.
"Lord my God, your long suffering has kept us in this world for what has seemed to us like an eternity. Help me Lord, to gain just a small fraction of that patience as the Day of the Lord draws near. Keep me always in fervent prayer for those souls we are all waiting for. But even so, come quickly Lord."
Monday, August 06, 2007
Eternal Security
I wrote the following blog in responce to those who may think I implied a salvation that can be lost by my previous blog concering the carnal Christian.
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
I guess the debate here is between the proponents of eternal security and, what I have only recently learned is called conditional security. I believe the Bible contains both doctrines but not in the way man has twisted them.
Here are the two main positions of man as I know them to be. There may be differences here and there but I think this is the jist of it.
New converts usually fall into one of four categories. One grows in Christ. You can see evidence that he is a spirit walking man. His change comes from a regenerate heart. This person, I'm sure all would agree, is truly saved. Then there is the one who "grows" and shows all the outward signs but all of the change is from the outside in. They have not truly accepted Christ crucified and are continuing on in a works faith in hopes to earn salvation. It might be hard from the outside to tell the difference between these first two, but if we could, I think most would say he is not saved. Next would be someone who at first professes a faith in Jesus but eventually changes his mind and rejects the faith all together. The, eternal security people would say, these were never truly converts. The conditional security people would say they lost their salvation. The last person would be the carnal Christian who was the subject of my last blog. Always professes a faith in Jesus Christ but rarely shows evidence of a regenerate heart. The conditional security people would say this person also at one time was a true convert but lost his salvation through a life of sin. While the eternal security people would say he's saved and going to heaven, he'll just get in with no reward and the smell of smoke on his clothes. My previous blog focused on the latter view so this time I will spend my time on the conditional security doctrine.
I think it is obvious from the opening passage of this blog that the assurance of our salvation is possible and something God wants for us. So I do believe in eternal security. But while I believe that salvation is an unconditional free gift, I also believe that your security of that gift is conditional.
As I stated in the carnal Christian blog, Matthew 7 shows us that many will come to Christ who thought they were secure. Christ's response to them is that their lack of evidence, lawlessness, proved that they were never born again. He says He never knew them. He does not say He knew them at one time and then they were lost, He says they were never at one point in their lives a part of His family.
I don't believe that we can tell by looking at the outside works who these people are, because there is no way to know what is working in their hearts. But from what I read in the scripture, we are never to assume a person is saved because of a profession and we are certainly never supposed to tell them they can be sure of anything. The bible says to examine yourself for the evidence of a regenerate heart. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am on my way to heaven. Is this a prideful statement? No, because my confidence is in Christ. On the contrary, if I were to stand here and say I could, at some point in my future, lose my salvation that would be just another way of saying my own righteousness has kept me from losing it thus far. How could I lose something I never earned to begin with.
John 3:16 says the saved are given "everlasting life" Other passages say eternal. These words do not leave room for this gift to be taken away. If I give you something eternal and you lose it, it was never eternal.
Ephesians 1:13 says that after we are saved we are sealed until the day of our physical redemption. Sealed, sphragizo, to put a mark on an object to show possession, authority, identity, or security.
John 10:27-28, "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." See that, no man, not a single man on the face of this earth including ourselves.
Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him" The old man is crucified. This concept is said over and over. If our old man is crucified, how can he rise up again?
1 Corinthians 1: 8 says Christ will confirm us to the end.
Romans 8:38-39, "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."
God does not start what He will not finish. "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6, (this verse could also be used to dispute the carnal Christian. If God brings about rebirth in someone and they never grow, doesn't that make this verse a lie?)
I know there are some verses that on the surface look like they may say we can lose our salvation but when we read the bible we need to be careful to not grow our doctrine on the obscure passages while ignoring the clear messages of the rest of the Bible. Paul and James were originally thought to be teaching separate gospels over this very subject of sin and the Christian life because Paul was focusing heavily on our grace while James' focus was the evidence of our faith. Paul cleared things up. With this verse he showed that he too believe that the evidence of a changed heart will show. Our grace does not come by works, but works are a product of our grace.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
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
I guess the debate here is between the proponents of eternal security and, what I have only recently learned is called conditional security. I believe the Bible contains both doctrines but not in the way man has twisted them.
Here are the two main positions of man as I know them to be. There may be differences here and there but I think this is the jist of it.
New converts usually fall into one of four categories. One grows in Christ. You can see evidence that he is a spirit walking man. His change comes from a regenerate heart. This person, I'm sure all would agree, is truly saved. Then there is the one who "grows" and shows all the outward signs but all of the change is from the outside in. They have not truly accepted Christ crucified and are continuing on in a works faith in hopes to earn salvation. It might be hard from the outside to tell the difference between these first two, but if we could, I think most would say he is not saved. Next would be someone who at first professes a faith in Jesus but eventually changes his mind and rejects the faith all together. The, eternal security people would say, these were never truly converts. The conditional security people would say they lost their salvation. The last person would be the carnal Christian who was the subject of my last blog. Always professes a faith in Jesus Christ but rarely shows evidence of a regenerate heart. The conditional security people would say this person also at one time was a true convert but lost his salvation through a life of sin. While the eternal security people would say he's saved and going to heaven, he'll just get in with no reward and the smell of smoke on his clothes. My previous blog focused on the latter view so this time I will spend my time on the conditional security doctrine.
I think it is obvious from the opening passage of this blog that the assurance of our salvation is possible and something God wants for us. So I do believe in eternal security. But while I believe that salvation is an unconditional free gift, I also believe that your security of that gift is conditional.
As I stated in the carnal Christian blog, Matthew 7 shows us that many will come to Christ who thought they were secure. Christ's response to them is that their lack of evidence, lawlessness, proved that they were never born again. He says He never knew them. He does not say He knew them at one time and then they were lost, He says they were never at one point in their lives a part of His family.
I don't believe that we can tell by looking at the outside works who these people are, because there is no way to know what is working in their hearts. But from what I read in the scripture, we are never to assume a person is saved because of a profession and we are certainly never supposed to tell them they can be sure of anything. The bible says to examine yourself for the evidence of a regenerate heart. "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am on my way to heaven. Is this a prideful statement? No, because my confidence is in Christ. On the contrary, if I were to stand here and say I could, at some point in my future, lose my salvation that would be just another way of saying my own righteousness has kept me from losing it thus far. How could I lose something I never earned to begin with.
John 3:16 says the saved are given "everlasting life" Other passages say eternal. These words do not leave room for this gift to be taken away. If I give you something eternal and you lose it, it was never eternal.
Ephesians 1:13 says that after we are saved we are sealed until the day of our physical redemption. Sealed, sphragizo, to put a mark on an object to show possession, authority, identity, or security.
John 10:27-28, "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." See that, no man, not a single man on the face of this earth including ourselves.
Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him" The old man is crucified. This concept is said over and over. If our old man is crucified, how can he rise up again?
1 Corinthians 1: 8 says Christ will confirm us to the end.
Romans 8:38-39, "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."
God does not start what He will not finish. "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" Philippians 1:6, (this verse could also be used to dispute the carnal Christian. If God brings about rebirth in someone and they never grow, doesn't that make this verse a lie?)
I know there are some verses that on the surface look like they may say we can lose our salvation but when we read the bible we need to be careful to not grow our doctrine on the obscure passages while ignoring the clear messages of the rest of the Bible. Paul and James were originally thought to be teaching separate gospels over this very subject of sin and the Christian life because Paul was focusing heavily on our grace while James' focus was the evidence of our faith. Paul cleared things up. With this verse he showed that he too believe that the evidence of a changed heart will show. Our grace does not come by works, but works are a product of our grace.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
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