Forever Eternally Imperishably Saved

I have for sometime held that most Southern Baptists believe in "Once Saved Always Saved" but really don’t know why. Subsequently, some then reject that teaching. I too, once suffered from the view that a person could in fact reject Christ after having once believed. 

I did not believe any mere sin would cause that, because, as the Psalmist points out, we have been set free as a bird and that the snare has been broken. (Psa 124:7) And yet I still held that a saved person could, for some strange reason, decide he didn’t want to be saved any longer and reject what Christ had done. 

After all, I said, “If God is a Gentleman and won’t force heaven on me before I’m saved, surely He won’t force it on me after I am saved.” Then I learned God is not a gentleman. Being a Gentleman is a tradition born of sinful men trying to elevate manhood to be gallant, noble, and perhaps, 'more Christian'. But it does not begin to compare with Christ. 

C. S. Lewis was closer to the truth when he said that God “is no tame lion.” God is Sovereign Lord of the Universe. He does only as He pleases. The fact that He has grace on anyone is more than we deserve. If He never sent Jesus to die in our place He would have been justified. But since He did, we should be careful not to misunderstand the basis of His Great Salvation. It is all of Grace, not of any human activity lest any man should boast against the saving grace of God in Christ.

Salvation Is Eternally Secure

 John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And

I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man (none!) is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

(Notice, in one sentence, eternal life, never perish, and no man is able to pluck! All in one sentence.)

Many times, faulty beliefs about the eternal nature of salvation spring from faulty views about how salvation occurs. I know that was true in my case. I came from a tradition of believing the old adage “Once saved, always saved.” But I began to see scripture after scripture that seemed to support the idea that one could choose death and choose to reject God, after being born again. And it seemed right, to me, that anyone who thumbed their nose at God and rejected Him after receiving so great a salvation should become “lost” again. But I learned, that is not what God says.

First, what is Salvation? Let’s take a look at some of what salvation entails:

When one is Saved:

One’s name is in the Lamb’s book of Life,[1]

Born Again: A new heart, a new nature, 

and death of the old nature[2]

Union with Christ, (We are “IN” Christ, 

as Christ is One With the Father)

Seated in Heavenly places, [3] Adopted into the 

Family of God, “no longer slaves but sons”[4]

Justified: Declared righteous, past sins forgiven, 

the imputed righteousness of Christ applied to our account,

keeping us righteous,[5]

Sanctified, set apart for God at conversion, 

and increasingly made to be like Christ in this life, 

changed in an instant at glorification,[6]

Baptized, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the “earnest” of 

the Holy Spirit as a promise/guarantee of Heaven,[7]

And, the Perseverance of the Saints guaranteed:

Jn 3:36-he who believes has eternal life,

Rom 8:30-for those who are In Christ, there is no condemnation 

Phil 1:6-He who began a good work...

will bring it to completion in the day of Christ,

1Pe 1:5-Who are kept (from escaping) by the power

of God through faith unto salvation...

Now, with this incomplete list of all God has done for the one who believes in Jesus Christ, can you imagine all that would have to be undone to release a soul from salvation? If God left any of these in place the person who thinks they have rejected Christ and secured damnation would have a rude awakening when they woke up in Heaven one day. 

If God canceled everything else He'd done but left your name in the book of life, you would still be saved.

If He blotted out your name but left the imputed righteousness of Christ on your account, you'd still be saved.

If He took back the imputed righteousness but left you in union with Christ you would go directly to Heaven without “passing Go” because “There is NO CONDEMNATION to those who are IN Christ.” And how could you possible be out of Christ when He promised “I will never ever leave you or forsake you, ever!”(Heb 13:5)

In fact, I think we could fill a whole book as a take off on Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck" concept, but instead have "You might be eternally saved" as the new motif.

If you are robed in the righteousness of Christ, You might be eternally saved.

If you have a new heart, you might be eternally saved!

If you have a love for the Bride of Christ, You just might be Eternally SAVED!!!

OK, you try your hand at that now, and I'll be back with an other installment of Eternal Salvation.

---

[1] Rev_21:27, Lu 10:20.

[2] Eze_36:26, Rom 6:6, 2 Cor 5:17

[3] 1 Cor 1:30, Ep 2:6, 10;

[4] Gal 4:5, Eph 1:5, Jn 8:35

[5] Rom 3:24, Eph 1:7,  Phil 3:9

[6] Rom 8:29-30, 1 Cor 1:2,

[7] 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; 

Are we clear?

I used to not get it. When the preacher said we weren't supposed to only act saved on Sundays, I'd smile and say "yeah, thats right!" Then I would do what I'm not supposed to do.

When we *truly* surrender our lives to Christ, we are taking up His Cross and we're making it our cross. Jesus told us to take up our cross. Paul said he picked his up and implied every day.

I love that scene in A League Of Their Own, you know, the movie about the ladies baseball league back in the 40's. (Some of you may not have watched it because Madonna is in it.) Tom Hanks cries out. "Crying? There's no crying in baseball!" Sometimes, when I'm looking in the mirror of God's word I say to myself, "Laying your cross down? There is no laying your cross down. Jesus didn't lay His cross down. He never said, 'take it up and lay down, what-EVER.' No He said take it up and follow Me!"

OK, its true, I talk to myself more than is probably normal, but sometimes you just have to tell yourself what to do!

I usually don't like pictures of Jesus, something about the second commandment strikes me as important. But in this instance, it's not meant as an object of veneration, its just meant to make a point. And I think I'm OK with that. (He really ought to be darker and more middle-eastern looking.-But I digress.)

What I like is how you can plug so many things into the sentence where the word 'Twitter' is. Lets face it, most people are not on Twitter. So how about these possibilities:

No I'm not talking about just Sundays.

No I'm not talking about just Bible Study.

No I'm not talking about by email.

No I'm not talking about Facebook. (had to get that one in there)

No I'm not talking about following me 'in spirit'

No I'm not talking about when people are watching.

No I'm not talking about just to hang out.

No I'm not talking about when everything is going well.

No I'm not talking about _______________ . (You fill in the blank.)

Jesus made it very clear, "If ANYONE wants to come after Me, Let him take up his cross and follow Me."

Through the cross is the only way.

Oh but what a glorious way it is. Scary? Sure! He's asking you to come and die. But if you're seeking your life you'll lose it. You have to give it to Him to find it. 

Counterintuitive? You Betcha! 

True? You Betcha!

It's in losing our lives that we find it; Grace Abundant, Mercies Galore, God's riches in ridiculous amounts. 

When we seek pleasure we find death.(Rom 3:23) When we seek death in Christ, we find pleasures beyond belief.(Psa 11)

Jesus really meant "Follow Me."

I get it now!

We're clear!

The Gospel in Post-Christian America

So, is this post-Christian America? That right there will bother some people. Fewer and fewer attend church, or say they are believers in Christ. Recently I heard a British Evangelist named Pethers share a story from the UK. About a Vicar who was giving a class from public school a tour of his church building. They knew almost nothing about church so he was teaching them words like pulpit, pew, baptismal and every time they walked by a large crucifix on the wall one boy tried to get his attention. Finally he turned to the boy and asked him to ask his question again. The boy pointed to the crucifix and said who's the bloke on the wall.
Some say that's the USA in 50 years, Pethers said we're only about 20 years behind them.
Christianity is a forgotten religion to the present generations.

So, how do we share a gospel in a world that has no respect for scripture, no knowledge of man's bent toward sinning, Hell, Heaven, or whether they should even be concerned. Its not that they have chosen not to care, they don't know they SHOULD care. They don't know there is anything to care about.

They like Christmas for the materialism and family traditions. Easter is probably an enigma except for Rabbit eggs. The baby in the manger is irrelevant and they don't even know who is on the cross.

Pethers suggested something I like, he said, what if we made it our goal, not so much to share "The plan of salvation" with people, but we just bring them a little closer to thinking rightly about God. Everyone is in a different place. When you interact (build relationships) with them try to leave them a little closer to God than when you found them. Put in a nice word about what Jesus has done for you. Why Jesus came to earth. Maybe why salvation is even necessary. Don't assume ANYTHING.

But I want to add to that. There is a place, still, for sharing the "Gospel" if not jumping right into the "Plan of salvation." Because, after all, they aren't the same thing. The "Plan of salvation" is NOT the power of God unto salvation, the GOSPEL IS! (Romans 1:16-17) The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ. But Good News needs a context; That requires the Bad News. While Jonathan Edwards preached to a very different crowd than exists today, his emphasis on the reality of Hell, and man's incredibly awful predicament as sinners hanging by a thread over a fiery pit, is still not a bad idea. As Janet Denison said in her blog, talking about Heaven is much more socially acceptable than talking about Hell. Heaven is just a nicer subject all around. But as terrible as it is to talk about about Hell, Janet points out, "I don't want to go around scaring people with the existence of hell.  But there is a worse thought.  I don't want them to go there." (http://www.janetdenison.com/blog/19-highway-2012-heaven-or-hell)

So what do we do? How do we present the good news? How do we keep the USA from this downward spiral of unbelief? Well, First of all, we can't keep that from happening. God can, we can't, lets be honest. But we can be faithful witnesses of A) our own testimony of what Christ has done for us, B) proclaiming the Good News in light of the Bad News, and C) build relationships with people and bring them closer to understanding the gospel; Little by little. A seed is pretty small, but it can bring forth a lot. A little watering of the seed and prayer for the seed are both in order.

But in the final analysis we have to trust that God knew what He was doing when he told us to go make disciples, and that the good news of Jesus Christ is the only thing that will break a man or woman's heart; even today in 21st Century America; this post-modern, post-Christian era of biblical apathy.

          

One Anothering

I didn't invent that phrase. It has apparently been used for years. The first time I recall hearing it is when I heard pastor Al Meredith speaking to a group of ministers in Fort Worth. Al is pastor of Wedgwood Baptist,which, in 1999, was the site of multiple shootings by a lone gunman during an evening youth rally. As you can imagine, that shakes a church up.
One of the things they needed to do was love one another in a more genuine fashion than they ever had. The shallow form of loving one another most church members do wasn't going to cut it when a tragedy like that struck the church body.
But do we have to wait for tragedy?
Actually tragedies often cause us to do many things. Increase our sense of security by installing an alarm system on the house or motion sensor lighting. We remind our selves to be more thankful and treasure the days God gives us. We try to remember not to take people for granted. We try to not hold things too tightly lest the Lord take them away from us and at the same time to love more deeply while we have the chance. All in all tragedy is a real bummer, but it has a silver lining.
So, in light of all that, maybe it will help to return to the simple command of Christ; "Love one another." Simple? Yes. Fun? Maybe. Easy? Not really. But a command just the same.
There are a dozen or so verses in the New Testament where we are told to love one another. Jesus said it several times, as did Paul, John, and Peter. Seems like an important teaching of the New Testament, eh?


So how do we do that?
Let me suggest some other "One Another" verses in the Bible and let you look down the list to see which of these you are doing. If "loving" is "doing" then these ought to get the love flowing. Feel free to check off the things you've done in the last couple months.

Wash one another's feet.

in love serve one another.

In honour preferring one another;

receive ye one another,

Salute one another

Greet ye one another with an holy kiss. (2x)

Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity.

Be kind one to another,

forgive one another,

Bear ye one another's burdens,

forbearing one another in love;

Forbearing … and forgiving one another,

comfort one another with these words.

teaching and admonishing one another

admonish one another.

edify one another,

exhort one another

exhorting one another:

and,

consider one another to provoke unto love.

So, how did you make out? Are you One Anothering?

Think its time to start? Or step it up a notch?

Maybe you're doing well. Maybe all your checkmarks are in the teach, admonish, exhort category. If so, work on the "Be Kind and forgiving" group.

Consider this training for Heaven. After eons of worship, praise and celebration we all have to live together for eternity! 

Can't wait, can you?

God Bless you all, Bro. Clark

Joh_13:14  Gal_5:13 Rom_12:10  Rom_15:7  Rom_16:16  1Co_16:20  2Co_13:12  1Pe_5:14  Eph_4:32 Gal_6:2  Eph_4:2  Col_3:13  1Th_4:18  Col_3:16  Rom_15:14  1Th_5:11  Heb_3:13  Heb_10:25  Heb_10:24  

The Boy Who Loved Jesus

Long long ago in a land far far away, there was a young married couple who had a little boy. We’ll call him Nicky. His mom and dad loved him very much and took him to church with them and told them the stories about Jesus in the Bible. In fact when he was 5 years old he could tell the stories and he learned that to be like Jesus meant that you did good things for people and helped people. I think his folks really must have loved Jesus and taught little Nicky to love Jesus, too.

But then something bad happened. Well Nicky was a little older, like a teenager maybe, when his mom and dad died in a bad accident. I don’t know what happened to them, but Nicky’s uncle took him in and Nicky found out something about his mom and dad. They had been very wealthy and now all of that money and land and houses belonged to Nicky!

Well, Nicky had a lot more than he needed to live on, so he started to do what his mom and dad had taught him to do. He started to help people. But he didn’t want lots of people to make a big fuss about it so he decided to do it secretly.

First, he heard about a man who had lost all his money. Maybe his barn and burned down and all of his corn and grain that he had stored for the winter. And now here this man was with no money and he had three daughters and he was running out of food too. He didn’t know what to do.

And the man with the 3 daughters had another problem, there were people he owed money too and they wanted their money. They took his land but that wasn’t enough. Then they said, we’re going to take your little daughters away and sell them as slaves!

They could do that back in those days. It was a terrible thing.

So, on the night before the oldest daughter was going to be taken away and sold, she washed her only pair of socks and hung them by the fireplace overnight to dry and be warm for in the morning. When she got up the next day and went to get her socks she found a lump inside. In fact, several lumps. And when she reached in she found out it was coins, Gold coins!

She was so excite she ran to tell daddy and he was amazed and said now we can buy food and have enough to keep you from becoming a slave!

Guess what. The next morning there was another small bag on the floor with money in it to buy more food and keep the next daughter from becoming a slave.

Then the daddy said, I’m going to stay awake tonight so if they leave something else I can find out who it is. So he sat up and waited and waited and waited. Then he fell asleep. A little later there was a thump! He looked and there was a little bag on the floor under and open window. He jumped up and ran outside just in time to see… do you know who he saw? Yep, it was young Nicky.

The father said, “Nicky, is that you?” Nicky turned and came back and the father said, “How can I ever thank you for these wonderful gifts? You have saved my family.” Nicky said, “Just give thanks to Jesus Christ for hearing your prayers, and please don’t tell anybody I am the one who did this.” The father agreed and kept his secret a long time.

Over the years Nicky did many things to help people out secretly and he told people all over about Jesus. He talked about Jesus so much and lived such a good life that one day the town asked him to be their preacher. Mr. Nick was almost out of money himself, because he had given almost all of his money away, and he said yes and became not little Nicky, or even Mr. Nick. He became Pastor Nicholas.

And he became quite well known as a pastor. But then something really bad happened. When pastor Nicky was starting to get old, a mean and evil King came to the throne. He was emperor of all of Europe and his name was Diocletian. He didn’t like Christians and he didn’t like Jesus and he started beating Christians and throwing them in prison.

Some of the people would ‘recant.” They would say “OK I won’t worship or talk about Jesus anymore.” So they wouldn’t be beaten or put in prison. But pastor Nicholas wouldn’t do this. He kept on talking about Jesus and telling others and so Diocletian had him put in prison for a long time.

Then one day Diocletian died and a new King came into power. The new King was Constantine. He was good to the Christians. In fact, his mother was a Christian. So he let all the Christians out of prison.

Well when pastor Nicholas got home his town treated him like a hero. Now they called him something new; not little Nicky or pastor Nicholas, they called him Nicholas the Confessor. Because no matter what happened to him he confessed Jesus as the Lord. He became so well know that over 400 churches all over Europe were name after Nicholas. But these folks began to call him something else. They didn’t call him Nicholas the Confessor, they called him Saint Nicholas. They called him a saint because he was such a good Christian and loved Jesus! 

Well way up in the country of Holland where the Dutch people live, they didn’t say Saitn Nicholas like we do, in their language he was called Sinter Klass. Which, over the years, became Santa Claus. So little Nicky grew up to be Santa Claus. All because he loved Jesus and tried to be like Him!

You see Santa Claus knew that Christmas was all about Jesus, not about him. He wanted people to know about Jesus not about him. He wanted people to thank Jesus for answering their prayers not to thank him for anything. That’s the kind of man Saint Nicholas becme.

And that’s why we celebrate Jesus, not Santa Claus, at Christmas!

Just thought you'd like to know Santa Claus fits in to all of this!

Brother Clark

http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=36780

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/real-santa/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/nick.html

PS. By the way, among all the stories that grew up about Nicky in later years comes the story that after Nick got out of prison, he contended with the Arian controversy. Arius had claimed that Jesus was not truly divine like God the father. It is said that Nick traveled to Nicea for the council of 307 and argued with Arius there. He got so upset he slapped Arius across the face. The other Bishops were so outraged that they defrocked him. Then Mary and Jesus appeared next to him so they recanted and reinstated him as a Bishop. So, you don’t want to get on Santa’s Naughty List!