Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).

These two verses summarize everything the New Testament has to say about life after salvation. Once we’re saved, God sees us as a new creation. Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained. We don’t make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation. It’s not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice. It’s not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. It has already happened. Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord’s once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)

Ephesians 1:13-14 says this took place at the moment we believed, and the seal of the Holy Spirit was given to us at that time to guarantee our inheritance. 2 Cor.1:21-22 adds that from then on it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

This is an expansion of 1 Cor. 5:19-20, where Paul said we are not our own, but have been bought at a price. It means our destiny is no longer under our own control but has been taken over by God Himself.  If we try to wander off, He will hunt us down and bring us back, just like a shepherd brings back the sheep who wander off. Sheep don’t decide their own destiny. The owner determines that, and it’s the shepherd’s responsibility to make sure it happens. Read again what Jesus said about this.

I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39).

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:3-6).

Don’t get the idea from this that I think God decides who will be saved and who won’t. That goes against Scripture (1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9). Remember, we don’t become sheep until we choose to become believers.

As believers, we’re part of the Good Shepherd’s flock. The destiny He has determined for us will come to pass and believe me when I say it defies description. He has been working for 2,000 years preparing the place where we’ll live with Him forever. The primary building materials for our new home are pure gold and precious gems (Rev. 21:18-20). At a time that is unknowable in advance, except that it will precede the coming end times judgments, He will call us up to meet him in the air and take us there, after which we’ll always be with Him (John 14:1-3, 1 Thes. 4:16-17).

All this is well known to long time followers of gracethrufaith.com, and is repeated here for review, to refresh our memories. The point of this study is to focus on our life as believers between now and when He takes us to our new home. If Jesus has done everything, and God has taken ownership of us to make our destiny certain, what is there for us to do?

Becoming What We Already Are.

This is where the second reference I quoted above comes in. In Phil 3:16 Paul wrote, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” Once again, note the past perfect tense in the phrase “we have already attained.” We don’t have to work to get this. We have already attained it. So what is it we’ve already attained?

In Galatians 4:4-7 Paul said Jesus came to redeem us so we could receive the full rights of sons. This confirms John 1:12-13 which says,

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Paul went on to say that since God has accepted us as His children, He has also made us His heirs. And that’s not all. After telling us we were formerly objects of God’s wrath, Paul wrote the following in Ephesians 2:4-7;

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

And again, please notice the past tense of these verbs. He made us alive, He raised us up with Christ. He seated us with Him. From God’s perspective these things have already been accomplished.

By saying that God seated us with Christ, Paul was making reference to Ephesians 1:20-21 where he said,

“He raised Christ from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

So that’s what we’ve already attained. We’ve become God’s children and His heirs, and we’ve been seated with Christ at His right hand, above every authority, every power, and every name.

As members of God’s royal family, we’ve been set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). But such freedom carries great responsibility. In 1 Cor. 10:23 Paul wrote,

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible, but not everything is constructive.

Then he said, “Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others” (1 Cor 10:24).

As part of the royal family, we’re admonished to set the standard for appropriate behavior, but not because we have to protect our status. Our status has been guaranteed by God Himself. We do this as representatives of our Lord, who put the good of others above His own to the ultimate extreme. Paul said although He was God Himself, He didn’t demand to be treated as God’s equal. Instead He became the humblest of men, a servant to others, and was obedient even to death on a cross (Phil. 2:6-8).

Contrast that with the attitude of some men, who can never be God but demand to be treated as if they are. The anti-Christ is the Bible’s ultimate model of that behavior, exalting himself above everything that is called God or is worshiped, setting himself up in God’s Temple proclaiming himself to be God (2 Thes. 2:4).

What If I Don’t Do It?

Now before you get the idea I’m trying to guilt you in to cleaning up your act, let me state clearly that in the ultimate sense there’s no penalty for neglecting to live up to what you’ve already attained. You may live an unfruitful life here, but there is no power in Heaven or on Earth that can ever take away your status as a child of God. Paul said even if every thing you ever do as a believer is burned up in the fires of judgment, you’ll still be saved (1 Cor. 3:15).

According to Romans 12:1, living up to what we’ve already attained is a voluntary act of worship, an expression of our gratitude for the mercy God has shown to us. Through all of Paul’s instructions on how to live a Christian life, there’s never a threat that failure to behave in a certain way will cause us to be kicked out of God’s family. We can’t ever lose our royal status. By offering His body in payment for our sins the Lord was performing a voluntary act of service to His Father (Psalm 40:7-8). Had He refused to do so, He would still be the Son of God.  In the same way, offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, is our spiritual act of worship. If we refuse to do it we’ll still be one of His Children.

I can’t tell you how much I wish this had become the predominate teaching of the Church in regards to Christian living, instead of the hell fire and brimstone rants so many of us grew up hearing every Sunday. To hear them talk, it seems like God loved us enough to die for our sins while we still hated Him, but as soon as we declared our love for Him, He became determined to make us toe the mark and pay for every sin we ever committed afterward. And if we didn’t we would be disowned.

Maybe some of you are thinking of verses you’ve heard that appear to refute this idea of freedom in Christ. But if they did, the word of God would be contradicting itself, something that’s impossible for God to do. We’re not saved by grace, then kept by our own works. As soon as you add work to the equation, grace is canceled out. If our behavior could be good enough to keep us saved, it would have been good enough to save us in the first place, and God would not have had to send His Son to die for us.

Why Did He Do That?

Jesus didn’t die to make bad men good. He died so dead men could live. And He didn’t just get us started on the road to eternal life and then leave the rest to us. He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).

Some would have us believe that the presence of the Holy Spirit within us makes it impossible for us to ever sin again. But all we have to do is observe the Christians around us to see that’s not true. The truth is that the Holy Spirit came to restore our power of choice. Unbelievers have no choice about their behavior because they’re only getting input from their sin nature. Believers get input from both their sin nature and the Holy Spirit and can choose which to accept.

But even then it’s not a level playing field, because our sin nature’s input is our default choice. It’s what will always feel most natural to us. We have to consciously choose to over ride the sin nature’s input to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s why some call following the Holy Spirit’s input making a “contrary-to-feelings” choice. It’s not natural to us. Sometimes we forget to consider our choices before acting and other times our natural inclination carries such strong feelings that we ignore the Holy Spirit’s counsel. This is when we sin.

Afterwards the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin, we’ll feel remorse, and we’ll ask the Lord to forgive us. If we confess our sins, the Lord is just and faithful and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). The sin will immediately be forgiven and forgotten. God can do this because His son has already paid the penalty for it.

Listen to Paul’s testimony of his own experience with sin. “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sin nature. For I have the desire to do what is good but I can’t carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do – this is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (Romans 7:18-20).

Paul said it was as if his spirit and his body were at war. One delighted in God’s law, while the other made him a prisoner of the law of sin. After admitting what a wretched man he was because of this conflict, He concluded by expressing his thanks to God for rescuing him from his body of death through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 7:21-25). You can feel the emotions behind his words shifting from extreme frustration to extreme gratitude.

This is a remarkable testimony and explains why being saved does not mean we are no longer able to sin. Being saved means when we do sin, God no longer counts it against us. He is able to separate the believer from the behavior. He sees the believer (us) as a new creation, free from sin, and attributes the behavior to our sin nature, which is not part of the new creation. Earlier in his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that King David understood this would be the case a thousand years before the Lord came to earth. Quoting Psalm 32:1-2 he wrote,

Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him (Romans 4:7-8).

When Paul admonished us to live up to what we’ve already attained, he was telling us to stop and think before we act and listen to the counsel of the Holy Spirit. From his own experience he knew we couldn’t completely rid our lives of sin, but he also knew that living in a manner that’s pleasing to God is the very best way of expressing our gratitude to Him for making us a new creation and giving us the incredible gift of eternal life. Selah 04-06-13

I’m frequently asked why I believe we should continue confessing our sins after being born again, since all our sins are already forgiven. People who ask point out that 1 John 1:9 is the only place this is mentioned and if it was so important wouldn’t Jesus have taught it?

Well it turns out 1 John 1:9 isn’t the only place confession is mentioned for believers and as a matter of fact Jesus did teach it. But before we get into that, let’s review what I call the two sided nature of our relationship with the Lord so you can see where the idea came from in the first place.

Union And Fellowship

I call one side Union. It’s eternal and unconditional, based only on our belief in the Lord. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn. We’re His forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption to guarantee that.  2 Cor. 1:21-22 is even clearer, saying it’s God who makes us stand, and that he’s put His mark of ownership on us as well as sealing His Spirit in our hearts.  In 1 Cor. 6:19-20 Paul wrote, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” God purchased us with the blood of Jesus and then He put His mark on us. You could say after He bought us He branded us, like a rancher brands his cattle, as proof of ownership.  We’re His forever. We’ve covered these verses many times in support of the Bible’s promise of eternal security.

I call the other side Fellowship and it’s a bit more complicated. Fellowship is that state of closeness to God that enables Him to bless us in our daily lives in the here and now, both by protecting us from enemy attacks and by making good things happen for us (Romans 8:28). It’s like He’s taken our side to give us a supernatural advantage.

Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:8-9 as being both earthly and conditional upon our behavior. Even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin (Romans 7:18-20).  Since God can’t abide the presence of sin (Habakkuk 1:13), our unconfessed sins can interrupt our earthly relationship with Him and deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. Because of our Union with God we’ll still be saved in the eternal sense, but here on Earth we’ll be out of Fellowship.  And when we’re out of Fellowship, we have to make it on our own while being legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief. The remedy is to confess when we sin so we can be restored.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are raptured. They don’t realize that they still need regular confession to stay in Fellowship here in the mean time.

Now by defeated lives, I mean they lack the spiritual success all Christians are promised (John 10:10). They might be doing all right from a worldly perspective, although many are deprived even of that, but their lives do not reflect the Spiritual well being for which there is no substitute in worldly living. Nor do they feel the sense of peace and satisfaction that we all desire.

Where Did This Idea Come From?

Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas. Consider the plight of Job, a man of God and the main character in the oldest book of the Bible. He was such a good man that God bragged to Satan about him. But he was not perfect. His sin was self-righteousness and what he said to his friends  proves it.

 “Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.” (Job 9:21).

(Speaking to God) “Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands … though you know that I am not guilty?” Job 10:3,7

(To his friends again)“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he answered— a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!” (Job 12:4).

I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live. (Job 27:6).

In addition all 41 verses of Job 31 are devoted to Job giving evidence of his righteousness.

Because he wouldn’t confess his sin, he was out of fellowship. When asked to do so, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses. Once Job confessed (Job 42:1-6), he was restored (Job 42:10-17).  Even though he was the most righteous man on Earth, Job still had to confess to be restored to fellowship with God.

Later, in Old Covenant times, the priests had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people. Even though God was dwelling among them and providing for all their needs, the Israelites still had to perform a twice daily sacrifice for sin to stay in His good graces.

1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

This verse was written for believers who are forever saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship because of their sins. When we confess in faith, we’re immediately forgiven and purified from all unrighteousness.

This is the real underlying issue of Hebrews 6:4-6. We know this because in the preceding verses the writer said he was leaving elementary teachings about Christ and going on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, etc (Hebrews 6:1-3). This alone tells us he wasn’t talking about our salvation in verses 4-6.

The key is the phrase “renew again to repentance” in verse 6.  Jewish believers were being pressured into keeping the law, especially where it concerned the sacrifice for sin. Those who relied on sacrificial lambs instead of confessing directly to God were in effect crucifying the Lord all over again, since He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The daily sacrifice was a foreshadowing of Him, and when He came the shadow gave way to the reality. The old way was no longer sufficient to restore them to fellowship.  All a believer needs to do now is offer a prayer of confession to be purified from  his or her unrighteousness.

What Did Jesus Say?

The Lord had quite a bit to say about this. For example, at the end of His teaching on the Lord’s prayer, He said,  “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14-15).  In Matt. 6:9 Jesus said to begin our prayers with the salutation “Our Father” and in verses 14 and 15 He called God “your heavenly father” and “your father”.

John 1:12-13 says only we who receive the Lord and believe in His name have the authority to become children of God, and therefore to call Him Father.  Romans 8:15-16 and Galatians 4:4-6 confirm this.  That makes the Lord’s Prayer a prayer for believers only.  But if we’re believers we’ve already been forgiven, so how could Jesus warn us that  our Father would not forgive our sins unless we forgive everyone who sins against us?  No where in Scripture are we commanded to forgive everyone else before we can ask for our own salvation.  We have only to believe we’re sinners and that the Lord died for our sins and rose again to ask for and receive eternal life.

The answer can be found in Matt. 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.   It’s about a king who, in the process of settling his accounts with his servants, discovered a servant  who owed more than he could possibly pay. The King ordered that the servant, his wife and children and everything they owned be sold to pay off the debt. The servant begged for mercy and for the time he would need to find a way to pay everything back. The king took pity on him and canceled the debt entirely.

As the servant was leaving he came across a fellow servant who owed him a few dollars. He immediately demanded payment.  When the fellow servant begged for patience, he refused and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay off the full amount.

Other servants heard about this and told the king what had happened. The king was enraged because he had forgiven his servant everything, and now the servant refused to forgive a fellow servant even a little thing.  He had the forgiven servant turned over to the jailer to be tortured until he could pay off his debt to the king.

Jesus ended the parable by saying, “This is how My Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:35).

Parables have been called heavenly stories placed in an earthly context.  They’re meant to teach a divine truth in a way that earth bound humans can understand it.  Every character and major component of the parable is symbolic of something else.  In this parable the King represents the Lord, the servants are you and me, the debt is our accumulated sin, and the jailer is Satan.

We’ve been forgiven everything, but when we refuse to forgive each other even a little thing it creates a debt of sin that suspends our relationship with the Lord until we repay the debt. We don’t stop being one of His children (the servant wasn’t discharged or sold) but during that time we’re out of fellowship with the Lord.  We may not receive blessings that would otherwise be ours and like Job we can even be open to attack.  But thanks to what the Lord has done for us, we can repay the debt by confessing our sin.  Sincere confession purifies us from all unrighteousness and restores us to Fellowship.

Now let’s look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Seeking a life of independence from his father, the Prodigal Son left his father’s house and struck out on his own. He had soon squandered his wealth in wild living and would have happily traded places with one of his father’s hired hands. Swallowing his pride, he returned to his father’s house where he confessed and was immediately restored. While He was away, he never stopped being his father’s son (Union), but during that time there was no communication and he didn’t receive any of the blessings that might have been his had he remained in his father’s house (Fellowship).

Like the Prodigal Son, we still belong to our Father’s family while we’re out of Fellowship with Him, but there won’t be any communication and we won’t receive the blessings we might have otherwise had.  And like the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

Since Paul clearly taught that our salvation is guaranteed from the moment we believe, we also have to understand that all his teaching on proper Christian living was to help us stay in fellowship with God and was not meant to imply that keeping our salvation requires that we maintain a certain standard of behavior.   This thought is beautifully summarized in Phil. 3:16 where he said, “Let us live up to what we have already attained.”

Why Do We Resist?

Since the penalty for all the sins of our life is already paid (Colossians 2:13-14) and therefore there is no more condemnation for us (Romans 8:1), why do many believers resist the idea of confessing when they sin? Don’t they know forgiveness is automatic? What’s the problem?

One reason is lack of knowledge. Most people have never been taught about this.  They’ve learned how to be saved, which brings Union with God, but they haven’t learned about the importance of staying in Fellowship with Him.  Paul taught that becoming a believer is only step one in achieving an intimate relationship with God.  It’s what qualifies us to become one of His children, but many, many more blessings are available to those who go on to live victorious lives (1 Cor. 9:24-27).  Along the way we stumble repeatedly, and when we do confession wipes the slate clean again and it’s like our stumbling never happened.

But there’s also a fair amount of pride contained in our fallen human state. Having to repeatedly admit to being a sinner can be embarrassing even when we’re only admitting it to God who already knows all about us and saved us anyway. That pride itself is a sin that interrupts our fellowship.

And finally, at least in the US, there are still many believers who have it too good to even realize they’re out of fellowship. They judge themselves the way others judge them, by worldly standards, and think they’re OK. They never stop to consider their lack of spiritual wealth.

Jesus was warning us about being out of fellowship when He said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He said if we don’t remain in Him, we’ll be like a withered branch, unfruitful, no matter what we think we’ve accomplished.  At the Bema Seat judgment believers like this will discover that whatever worldly success they achieved is meaningless in the Kingdom, and their life as a believer is mostly devoid of eternal value.

What’s The Point?

Because of our unbreakable Union with God we never have to worry about losing our salvation. Nor do we have to wonder if we’ll be included in the rapture. But to make our relationship with Him here on Earth as good as it can be and to accomplish all that He desires of us requires that we confess when we sin so that we never find ourselves out of Fellowship with Him.

Confessing when we sin is like apologizing to a loved one. You know you’ll be forgiven but you feel bad about disappointing someone you love and want to make sure you’ve restored the relationship to its previous condition. Confession. It really is good for the soul. Selah 10-06-12

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. (1 Samuel 18:3-4)

The making of a covenant was serious business. It was the strongest bond known to men, and had both business and personal applications that extended even to the descendants of the two parties involved. A covenant was typically solemnized by great ceremony and ritual, some of which is mentioned in the passage above. All in all it went like this.

First, several animals were cut in half and arranged along a path. Their purpose was to symbolize the penalty for breaking the covenant. The two men entering into a covenant relationship walked between and around the animal parts in a figure eight. (An eight on its side is the symbol for infinity.) This was to show that they understood and accepted the penalty and that the agreement committed them forever. (When God entered into His covenant with Abraham, promising him an heir and giving him the Promised Land, He was the only one who walked between the animals. This meant that only He was bound to the terms. There was nothing Abraham had to do. In fact, God put him to sleep so he couldn’t participate. The land was given to Abraham and his descendants unconditionally and in perpetuity (Gen.15:9-21).

Seven Symbolic Steps

Then they performed up to seven ceremonial acts; each also designed to underscore the seriousness and permanence of the relationship they were entering. In the passage above, we see David and Jonathan formalizing their covenant with the first two of these.

1. Each man handed his outer garment to the other, symbolizing that everything belonging to one also belonged to the other.

2. Exchanging sword, bow, and other weapons indicated that each was pledging himself to the other’s defense; placing his power, as it were, at the other’s disposal.

3. They each cut themselves in the wrist to make their blood flow and then joined their right hands and forearms together in a gesture from which we get the modern handshake. The idea here was that the blood from one was now mixed with the blood from the other. The two had become one. In some cultures a bride and groom still cut themselves this way and mingle their blood during their wedding ceremony, and the American Indian notion of becoming “blood brothers” is also derived from this. (The Hebrew word translated covenant comes from a root that means to cut. It could apply to the animals, the men, or both.)

We ofter hear the phrase, “blood is thicker than water.” It usually refers to the strength of family relationships, but its original intent was different. It meant that the blood of the covenant surpassed the birth waters. As Jonathan’s actions toward David demonstrate, covenant relationships exceeded family ties in strength and durability (1 Samuel 19:1-3).

4. They let the cut heal in such a way as to leave a visible scar on their wrist. This was to alert people that they were stronger than they appeared to be, since others stood behind them pledged to their defense.

5. They shared a ceremonial meal, usually of bread and wine. It was another way of uniting them since to this day middle-Easterners believe that sharing from the same loaf of bread or the same flask of wine binds the participants together. In the first Biblical mention of this, Melchizedek and Abraham shared such a meal (Genesis 14:18).

6. Still another way was for each to take a portion of the other’s name, similar to the way the bride takes the name of the groom in Western culture. (When God entered into a covenant with Abram He changed his name to Abraham, requiring us to exhale when we speak his name. The exhaled breath symbolizes the Ruach Elohim or Spirit of God.)

7. And finally they built a monument or memorial to the ceremony. This could be something as simple as a pile of stones or as complex as a forest or a flock of animals, such as when Jacob and Laban formed their covenant (Genesis 30:25-36).

They went through such ceremony because their lives depended on their covenant partners. There could be no doubt in their minds as to each other’s reliability.

A Hypothetical Example

A shepherd had to get his wool into the hands of the merchants. But they lived in the cities and his sheep had to stay in the mountains. He couldn’t just leave them and go off to sell his wool, the sheep would be gone when he returned. Still, he needed the things he could only buy with the money he got from selling the wool. So he entered into a covenant with a wool broker. The broker took his wool into the city and sold it to the merchants. With the money he got, he purchased the things the shepherd needed and brought them back to him.

The shepherd had to trust that the broker would guard the wool with his life, and get the best price possible for it at the market. He also had to believe that the broker would pay as little as necessary for the goods he brought back, protecting them all the way as if they were his own. The broker had to trust that the shepherd would care for his flock and maximize his wool production so that when he came back there would be another crop to sell. It was an inter-dependent relationship built on trust.

And One From Real Life … 2 Samuel 9

Some time after David and Jonathan formed their covenant, Jonathan was killed in the Battle of Beth Shean (1 Sam. 31:2), while David went on to become King of Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-5). But as I said, covenant agreements extended even to the descendants of covenant heads. One day King David asked his advisors if there was anyone left of Jonathan’s family to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake.

They brought in one of Saul’s former servants who told him of a crippled boy named Mephibosheth. He was Jonathan’s son, living in a place called Lo Debar. When David had become King of Israel, all of Saul’s family (Jonathan was Saul’s son) had fled for their lives for fear that David would take revenge on them for the way Saul had mistreated him. In their haste to escape, his nurse had picked up the 5 year old Mephibosheth to carry him, but they had fallen on the stone floor, breaking his legs and crippling him for life. (2 Sam. 4:4) As he grew up his family had convinced Mephibosheth that David was responsible for his condition and still wanted to kill him.

Upon learning Mephibosheth’s whereabouts, David sent his soldiers to fetch him. When they brought him into the presence of the King, Mephibosheth, fearing for his life, bowed before David and asked him. “What is your servant that you should notice a dead dog like me?” (2 Sam. 9:8).  David reassured him and told him of the covenant he had with Jonathan. Then David restored to him all of his grandfather Saul’s property and gave him servants to work the land so his needs would always be met. Finally David asked him to come live in Jerusalem, and eat at the King’s table just like one of the King’s own sons.

It’s a beautiful story of kindness and forgiveness that illustrates the depth of a covenant relationship like no other, and it has a parallel in our lives. To see what I mean, let David represent God our Father, with Jonathan as the Lord Jesus, and Mephibosheth as you and I.

The Everlasting Covenant

Long before we were born the Father and the Son entered into a covenant on our behalf. Our Father said to Jesus, “Son, if you’ll die for them I’ll forgive them”

Jesus replied, “Father, if you’ll forgive them I’ll die for them.” And so the Everlasting Covenant was formed.

Each time God entered into covenant with man, man proved untrustworthy and soon broke it. Adam ate the forbidden fruit, Noah’s descendants refused to scatter and re-settle the Earth, the Children of Israel broke the commandments, and so on. The salvation of God’s children was so important to Him that no mere man could be trusted to be faithful.  God Himself had to become a man so mankind could be saved. “You are my son,” He told Jesus, “Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)

So Jesus became a man to save mankind, and stood before our Father as our covenant head.

Later, while God pursued us, we ran for our lives. We’d heard the stories of His wrath and had been told that He was responsible for our infirmities. Finally one day He caught us and as we trembled at His feet in fear for our lives, He reassured us and told us of the covenant He had made with His Son. Then He restored our inheritance (Gal. 4:4-7), invited us to dwell with Him, to eat at the King’s table as part of His family, and to consider ourselves as His children (John 1:12-13).

What Did He Ever Do For Me?

Then He told us what His Son did for us. He said that Jesus,

1. Gave us His robes of righteousness and clothed Himself in our garment of sin.

2. Pledged His sword (the Word of His mouth) to our defense.

3. In being nailed to the cross, His wrists were cut and allowed to heal so as to leave scars as evidence of the covenant.

4. Allowed His blood to flow into and over us, cleansing us of all our impurities.

5. Shared a covenant meal of bread and wine with us and asked that we do this with each other as a memorial to Him.

6. Gave us His name, for we are called Christians.

7. Built a monument, His covenant flock, and said the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.

And as in Abraham’s case, all we have to do is receive it. It’s unconditional and perpetual.

Justice Or Mercy?

I used to think that John had misspoken in 1 John 1:9. Instead of saying of God, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness,” I thought John should have written, “He is faithful and merciful …” thinking that it’s out of God’s mercy that we’re forgiven, not His justice. Then I learned about the Everlasting Covenant and realized that He’s obligated to forgive us. He made a covenant with His Son promising to do it. And He can’t break His promise because He’s faithful and just.

The Son has died for us, and now the Father must forgive us, and when He does, all our sins and the shame and guilt that go with them are wiped away. Like Mephibosheth, our inheritance is restored, we’re set for the rest of our lives, and we sit at the King’s table as one of His children. By the way, Mephibosheth’s name comes from root words that mean “dash to pieces” and “shame”.  When He died for us the Lord dashed to pieces all the shame associated with our former self and replaced it with the righteousness of God.  Selah 07-21-12.

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

There’s always been a pattern in the way God deals with man’s disobedience. This pattern was first seen in the Garden and appears repeatedly in the lives of the Patriarchs, in the history of Israel, and all through the Old Testament. Disobedience brought consequences, but confession brought forgiveness and a new beginning.

Take the case of Abraham. The Lord had said to him, “Leave your country, your people, and your father’s household and go into a land I will show you” (Gen. 12:1). But Abraham took his father, his nephew Lot, and all their families with him, and went only as far as Haran, about half way, where they remained for several years.  After his father died, Abraham completed the journey, again with Lot and all the possessions and people they had acquired in Haran, finally arriving in Canaan many years after they first started out (Gen. 11:31 and 12:4-5).

But then Abraham and Sarah left the land God had brought them to and went to Egypt, where they acquired Hagar, an Egyptian handmaiden.  While they were there they got into trouble with Pharaoh for misrepresenting their relationship and were asked to leave the country.  Later, after waiting 18 years for the Lord to give them a son, Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands.  As a result Hagar became the first surrogate mother in recorded history, giving birth to Ishmael. And so Abraham, the first man to be called a Hebrew, caused the birth of the first Arab. The problems that created continue to this day.

Are You Going To Obey Me Or Not?

Variations on the same theme continue in the lives of Isaac, Jacob, 11 of his 12 sons and ultimately in the history of the nation they founded. In fact the entire Old Testament can be summed up in one question. “Israel, are you going to obey Me or not?” (The answer was clearly no.)

For example, the land was given to Israel without condition (Gen.17:7-8), but to live there in peace and prosperity, they had to obey the Laws He gave them. When they didn’t, the Lord either permitted their enemies to rule over them or had them taken from the land altogether. Once these consequences were experienced and they had turned back to Him, the Lord helped them defeat their oppressors and return to their land.

Disobedience, consequence, confession, forgiveness, new beginning: this cycle was repeated over and over again.  Israel’s disobedience caused periods of subjugation  by Mesopotamia for 8 yrs  (Judges 3:8), the Moabites for 18 yrs (Judges 3:12-14) the Canaanites for 20 years (Judges 4:2-3) the Midianites for 7 years  (Judges 6:1) the Ammonites for 18 years  (Judges 10:7-8) the Philistines for 40 years (Judges 13:1) expulsion by the Babylonians for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:8-11) subjugation again by the Greeks under Antiochus IV from 168-163 BC,  and finally under the Romans both subjugation, beginning in 63 BC, and  then expulsion (70-1948 AD).

Why Is He So Forgiving?

Why, when they continued to make the same mistakes over and over again did He always take them back? The answer is in Ezekiel 36:22. It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. It’s because He promised He would and His integrity is at stake. It was an eternal and unconditional promise that their periodic disobedience would not deter Him from keeping.

In the New Testament. the writer of Hebrews called Abraham a towering example of faith, omitting any mention of disobedience in summarizing his life (Hebr. 11:8-12). And Paul described Abraham as one whose faith was credited to him as righteousness, and who never wavered through unbelief (Rom 4:3, 20). It’s as if his acts of disobedience had never happened. How could that be?

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD,  “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”  declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

It’s because in Jeremiah 31:31-34, quoted above, God promised Israel a New Covenant that would permit Him to forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more.  That’s why there’s no mention of Abraham’s disobedience in the New Testament. The New Covenant has come and the Lord is making good on His promise to forgive everyone who asks and forget everything we’ve done. (Now it’s true that Israel has not officially accepted this New Covenant, but for those like Abraham who have sought the Lord’s forgiveness, He has granted it.)

“Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

His mercies are still new every morning.  No matter how big a mess we made yesterday, today is a brand new day.  1 John 1:9 says all we have to do is ask and His forgiveness wipes the slate clean again.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.  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.” (John 6:39-40).

That’s because we’re saved on the basis of our belief, not our behavior, and He’s promised not to lose any of us along the way, no matter what.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us,  set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

All this happened before we had done a single thing, good or bad, in our life as a believer. We’re His and nothing can change that.

These are unconditional promises, given by One Who cannot lie. His integrity is still at stake. After all, He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebr. 13:8).

Are You Going To Believe Me Or Not?

So just like He did with Israel, the Lord has made eternal and unconditional promises to the Church. These promises were so important to Him that He signed them in His own blood.  But even so, some try to re-interpret them by adding conditions He never mentioned, or ignore them altogether in an attempt to make our salvation dependent on something other than our faith. Turns out the New Testament can be summed up in a single question, too. “Church, are you going to believe Me or not?”  Sadly, for many the answer still seems to be no.  Selah 04-21-12

Table of contents for Forgiven

1. Are All Our Sins Forgiven?
2. How Shall We Live?

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study on Are All Our Sins Forgiven. Having shown the Lord’s clear promise that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, we now turn to the logical follow up question.  How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?

Paul devoted much time to describing the appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life and it’s summed up in his admonition “Only let us live up to what we’ve already attained” (Phil 3:16). By the wording he used we know this is not something we do to achieve or maintain our salvation. He said we’ve already attained that. We do this as an expression of our heart felt gratitude for having been given a free “get out of hell” pass. Because there’s no doubt about it, hell is where we were surely bound.

In 1 Cor. 6:9-10 Paul said, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”

Then he differentiated the past from the present, acknowledging the fact that since we’ve become new creations we no longer fit any of those descriptions.

“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11)

I think the phrase “some of you” was giving us a big benefit of the doubt. Spiritually speaking, the sinful thought is as bad as the sinful deed and who among us has not had such a thought at one time or another? But Paul takes pains to say that’s the way God saw us before we were washed, sanctified (set apart) and justified (regarded as though innocent). Now, because of the cross, we’re a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), having attained the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21) by faith in His completed work (Romans 3:21-22).

The Practice Of Christian Living

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:1-2).

Someone once said, “Life is what you make it. It’s not what happens but how you take it.” Everything about the practice of Christian living is within our control. We don’t have to behave like everyone else. We can be transformed and it begins with choosing to behave differently.

Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephes 4:25-32).

I believe Paul was in effect, the first behavioral psychologist. He taught that while we can’t always control the circumstances of our life we can control our response to them. We have such a glorious future awaiting us that we don’t have to worry about gaining the approval of others by acting the way they do. Our primary goal is pleasing the Lord.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)

Choosing to become more tolerant, forgiving and generous will have such a remarkable effect on our life that others will want to know what has happened to transform us. Instead of stuttering and stammering through an embarrassing attempt to “witness” to friends and neighbors we’ll find that our very life has become a witness to what God can do, and people will be drawn to us.

This is because the practice of Christian living is not all don’t do this or don’t do that, at least not in the negative sense. Remember Jesus said that He came so we might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

To that end the Bible says we shouldn’t worry about how we’re going to get by, letting the Lord take care of that for us (Matt. 6:25-34). We shouldn’t let what Paul called the light and momentary troubles of this world get us down. We should no longer fix our eyes on the temporary things we can see, but focus on the eternal things we can’t see instead (2 Cor. 4:17-18). This is even more true for us than it was for the people of Corinth 2000 years ago because very soon we’re going to step out of this world and into the next one where the eternal things we’ve only been able to dream about will suddenly become our new reality.

In the mean time, do you hate your job because of a boss who’s hard to please? Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Are your neighbors or associates hard to put up with? Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:17-18)

We who’ve been given everything don’t have to worry about anything.

The Privilege Of Christian Living

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:4-7).

Because we’ve become children of the Creator of the Universe we can rejoice in everything that happens to us because we know that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). We can always be at peace, even when our world seems to be crumbling around us. We fear nothing, we pray about everything, and we’re thankful for anything.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

This world is a dark and evil place, and though we are children of God the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1 John 5:19). Nowhere does the Bible promise us a trouble free life. What it does promise is victory over any enemy we choose to engage (Joshua 10:25). The Lord is our over comer and because of that we are privileged to be at peace. No matter what.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:2,6)

Think about it. We can engage the Creator in conversation any time it suits us. He’s always in, we never need an appointment, and he’s never too busy for us. Whether it’s asking for a parking place on a crowded street or guidance on whether to pursue a career opportunity, He’s always available to listen and help.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:6-11)

God has given us the privilege of distributing His endless resources to those in need. He so loves a cheerful giver that every time He finds one He makes them rich in every way so they will always have more than enough for themselves with sufficient excess so they can be generous to others on every occasion. Next to the gift of eternal life there’s no more remarkable promise anywhere in Scripture.

The Power Of Christian Living

Resist the devil and he’ll flee from you. (James 4:7)

Although Paul called him the God of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), Christians needn’t fear the devil because of the power we’ve been given.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

Jesus showed us how to do this in the wilderness temptations (Matt. 4:1-11). Using nothing but Scripture He demolished every one of the devil’s arguments and sent him packing. This same power is available to us. We just have to know the Bible well enough to activate it.

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven (James 5:14-15).

As is the case with everything James wrote, this is a clear promise without exception or equivocation. The Bible doesn’t promise we won’t get sick, but it does promise we can be healed. It’s a power the Lord died to give us.

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. (Mark 11:23-24)

And it’s not just healing. With sufficient faith we could literally move mountains. But faith is like our physical muscles. The more we exercise it the stronger it becomes. This is a case where the American lifestyle has become our enemy. It’s been too easy to get the things we want without the Lord’s help. It’s been hard to remember that opportunity does not equal mandate. But just because the banks will loan us more than we can repay doesn’t mean that we should buy things we don’t need and can’t afford. Maybe the Lord is stripping those things away now to help us practice living by faith.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

Many charismatics misuse their gifts in immature excesses of self glorification while fundamentalists avoid theirs like the plague refusing to acknowledge they even exist. But if the gifts of the Holy Spirit were ever used in the manner Paul described, the world would not be able to stand against their power.

Each of us has been gifted and could use the power our gifts contain to have significant effect on the little corner of the world we inhabit. Romans 12:1-8 tells us how to discover and use our gifts.

The Protection Of Christian Living

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

So we come full circle. Never let it be said that although God has the power to save us, He lacks the power to keep us.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

A US insurance company says we’re in good hands with them, but believers enjoy the ultimate example of being in good hands. Our policy is paid in full and our coverage can never expire. Not even we ourselves can snatch us out of their hands.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephes. 6:10-12).

A soldier’s armor can only protect him when he wears it, and he would never think of going into battle without being fully protected. We’re aliens behind enemy lines and as such are combatants in an ongoing battle. We’ve been given impenetrable armor, but in order for it to protect us we have to put it on and keep it on.

The Point Of Christian Living

All this leads to achieving the goal we all want most in life. Earlier I said that after becoming saved, our primary goal becomes pleasing the Lord.  But when we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desire of our heart (Psalm 37:4).  By combining the practice, the privilege, the power, and the protection of the Christian life we can finally achieve complete personal freedom. Although we are still in the world we will no longer be of the world. Following the instructions for Christian living frees us of all the negative emotions that have afflicted us in the past. No more worry, no more stress, no more feeling out of control. We no longer have to be concerned with having enough money, or getting ahead, or keeping up.

The uncertainties of life that so preoccupy the thoughts of others won’t bother us any more. It doesn’t matter who gets elected to what office, or how bad the economy is getting, or whether the government will continue to break its promises. We’ll finally understand the full meaning of the Lord’s words, “When the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36) Praise the Lord. Selah. 09-03-11

Table of contents for Forgiven

1. Are All Our Sins Forgiven?
2. How Shall We Live?

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

I’ve received a number of questions about a recent series of online articles disputing the idea that Jesus died for all our sins, past, present, and future on the cross. The articles make the claim that the Bible teaches no such thing. So let’s find out. Does the Bible teach that all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross or doesn’t it?

Colossians 2:13-14 reads as follows, When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

The Greek word translated all in this passage is pas. It means each, every, any, all, the whole, all things, everything. This would seem to support the claim that all sins past present and future were forgiven at the cross. It also supports Paul’s statement that at the moment of belief the Holy Spirit was sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance .

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephes. 1:13-14).

Taken literally, this means the Holy spirit is the down payment that guarantees the redemption of the acquired possession (us). This guarantee went into effect when we first believed. (By the way, for those of you who only speak King James-ese, all translation interpretations on this site are from the Greek text that brought forth the King James Version.)

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

This tells us that God has established us as His and has placed His seal upon us as well. A seal is meant to authenticate ownership, placing it beyond doubt. It’s similar to the brand a rancher places on his cattle. 1 Cor. 6:19 says we are no longer ours, we were bought with a price. The price was the life of His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that God, who acquired us, will also redeem us.

Hebrews 10:12-14 states that Jesus offered Himself as a once for all time sacrifice for sin that has made us perfect forever.

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Once for all time means it applies from the beginning of the Age of Man to the end and continuously throughout. That includes the entire life of every believer. In offering Himself as our sacrifice for sin He has made perfect forever we who are being made Holy. This is an expansion of the writer’s claim in Hebrews 7:25 to the effect that because Jesus lives forever He is able to save us forever. (These verses prove that all interpretations of Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-27 that are used to deny eternal security are incorrect on their face. The same author, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could not contradict himself so radically).

Notice the sacrifice made us perfect forever, even though we’re still in the process of being made Holy. That’s a job that won’t be finished until the rapture/resurrection.

Being made perfect forever is what Paul meant when he said, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). The verbs here are in the past perfect tense. That means from God’s perspective this is all over and done. Paul said that by accepting the Lord’s death as payment for all our sins we’ve become as righteous as God is (2 Cor. 5:21).

These statements are all consistent. Individually and collectively they clearly show that all the sins of our life are forgiven from the moment we first believe. And there’s not a single verse in the New Testament that contradicts, modifies, or retracts these promises. After all, how could God guarantee our salvation from the moment of belief unless all the sins of our life were paid for and forgiven at the cross?

But We Still Sin!

So how can we reconcile this with the undeniable fact that we still sin? Remember, in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus explained that sin begins with a thought, whether action follows or not. Anger is as much a sin as murder, lust is as much a sin as adultery. He could also have said coveting is as much a sin as theft, and so on. The writer of Hebrews told us that continuing to work to earn or keep our salvation is equivalent to breaking the commandment to keep the Sabbath (Hebrews 4). And James said whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). It’s only by using the blood of Jesus to wash away all the sins of our life that God could make good on His promise to guarantee our inheritance. Here’s how He does it.

Because we’ve been born again, God chooses to see us as the perfect being we will be after the rapture /resurrection. He can do this because He’s outside of time. Remember, eternity is not just a lot of time. Eternity is the absence of time altogether and God inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Remember God telling Adam that in the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die? (Genesis 2:17) When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they didn’t die then and there. But although they lived for several hundred more years, they were changed from immortal to mortal on that day. Their eventual death became a certainty and God who is outside time saw it at the moment they sinned.

Becoming born again is the exact opposite. We didn’t actually become immortal on that day but our immortality was made certain, and from that time on God saw us as immortal beings. He inspired Paul to write, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Although to us we’re still much the same, to God we became a new creation on the day we accepted the Lord’s death as payment for our sins. He now sees us as being as righteous as He is (2 Cor. 5:21). This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22).

Paul explained how God is able to do this in Romans 7:18-20. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

For a born again believer, God has separated the sin from the sinner. God sees our sins as a holdover from the old us and does not consider them to be part of the new us.

What Should Be Our Response To This?

Does this mean we’re free to sin all we want? Are the legalists correct in saying that if God didn’t threaten us with the loss of our salvation we would all become the worst kind of depraved sinners? Millions of born again believers whose lives are radically different stand as evidence to the contrary. We all still sin from time to time but the direction and focus of our lives is not the same as it once was, and we can testify to the fact that we’ve been changed. Although Paul said everything is permissible, he also said not everything is beneficial or constructive. Therefore we no longer seek our own good but the good of others (1 Cor. 10:23-24) in the hope of winning the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Paul was not talking about his salvation, which he already had, but rewards he hoped to receive at the Bema Seat judgment (1 Cor. 3:10-15) after the rapture.

This is why the loss of our salvation is never threatened. Our belief in our eventual immortality matches what God has already seen for us, and in the meantime we strive to heed Paul’s advice to live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16). This is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1) in gratitude for what we’ve been freely and irrevocably given.

But what about those true believers who don’t respond with gratitude and who don’t seem to have changed, living pretty much the way they did before they were saved? Is the gift rescinded? The promise broken? The guarantee revoked? I haven’t found a single verse that threatens them in this way. How could there be when all the sins of their life are paid for, including the sin of ingratitude.

What I’ve found is that for the most part, these ungrateful souls live defeated lives here and forfeit rewards in the hereafter. These are the ones Paul said will still be saved but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:15).

Here on Earth they have union with out fellowship, never experiencing any intimacy with God. As a result their Christian walk consists of movement without progress, battles without victories, and service without success. They’re on the right side of pardon but the wrong side of power, having justification without sanctification.

Jesus described them in the parable of the sower and the seed, saying they’re like the seed that fell among thorns. It germinates and grows but because it’s choked by the thorns, it never matures to bear fruit. Because these believers are too concerned with the ways of the world, they never mature as Christians and never produce anything of value to the Kingdom (Matt. 13:22). At the Bema Seat they’ll stand before the Lord with nothing to show for the incredible gift they were given because they will fave failed to implement the wonderful plan He had for their lives.

The New Testament is crammed with admonitions and encouragement to allow the Holy Spirit to change the focus of our lives from the things of this world to the things of the next one, from the things we can see, which are temporary, to the things we cannot, which are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), to be made new in the attitudes of our mind (Ephesians 4:23) no longer conforming to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). In short, to live up to what we’ve already attained (Phil. 3:16).

Some believers who fail to heed these admonitions will find themselves having escaped judgment simply because on a single day in their otherwise unremarkable life they made a decision that changed everything. For some it will be the only smart decision they ever made, but they will have made it in faith, which is all that matters (Ephesians 2:8-9) because having made it, all the sins of their miserable existence were forgiven and they became a child of God (John 1:12-13), adopted into His forever family (Gal. 4:4-5).

When the time comes, those who failed to make that decision would gladly trade the riches of the world to change places with them. But as indescribably generous as the gift they received on that day is, it was only the first installment on the life they could have had. Whether out of ignorance or rebellion they turned down the rest, refusing to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them into it, until finally the still small voice within them could no longer be heard.

I sometimes wonder if the loss some will suffer at the Bema Seat (1 Cor. 3:15) will appear as endless warehouses of unclaimed blessing or if the tears the Lord wipes from their eyes will be tears of regret upon learning what they could have done through Him had they responded to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Only time will tell. But at least, it will all be in the past, because Rev. 21:4 goes on to say that from then on there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will have passed away. All their sins were forgiven from the day they first believed.  Selah 08-27-11

People who try to deny the Doctrine of Eternal Security (OSAS) sometimes point to Galatians 5:13-26 to support their position. And if you just considered those verses you might be tempted to agree. But if you look at the entire chapter you get a completely different perspective. So that’s what we’ll do.

Before we begin, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Bible, being the word of God, cannot contradict itself.  If  Galatians 5 denies OSAS it’s in direct contradiction to statements the Holy Spirit led Paul to make in Ephes. 1:13-14 and 2 Cor. 1:21-22. Ephes. 1:13-14 tells us that our salvation is assured from the moment of belief with the Holy Spirit sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Before we had done anything, either good or bad, before we were baptized, before we had even fully responded to the altar call, we were saved forever. These other things are important, but our belief in the Lord’s completed work on our behalf came first and it’s the one essential ingredient to our salvation which alone brings us eternal life (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 6:28-29, 6:40).

2 Cor. 1:21-22 says, It is God Who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. There are no passages in Scripture that speak of revoking or even modifying this guarantee. It would be impossible for the Holy Spirit to have led Paul or any of the Bible’s other writers to make any statements that contradict these clear promises.

So what was Paul saying? Let’s start at the beginning of the chapter.

Freedom In Christ

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:1-6)

The context of Galatians 5 is the debate that was raging between two groups there. One consisted of believers in the Doctrine of Grace Paul had taught them. The other was made up of those who were being swayed by the teaching of the “Judaizers”, Jews who claimed that Gentile believers had to come under the Law and be circumcised to be saved.

Paul warned them that while neither circumcision nor uncircumcision was relevant in and of itself, it was being proposed to them as a sign of their acceptance of the Old Covenant. Therefore agreeing to it would obligate them to the whole Law. Attempting to keep the Law alienates us from the Lord because it denies what He’s done for us. It makes His death of no value leaving us responsible for saving ourselves.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! (Galatians 5:7-12)

Law Or Grace?

You can’t have a little bit of Law mixed with Grace. Just as a little bit of yeast will permeate the whole batch of dough to change its composition, a little bit of Law will work its way through the doctrine of Grace, changing it into something it was not intended to be. When Paul said in that case the offense of the cross has been abolished, he meant the Law cancels Grace.

(The Judaizers were hinting that Paul preached the Law among Jews but switched to a watered down version of the Gospel when speaking to Gentiles. His response was, “If I’m preaching the Law to the Jews then why are they persecuting me?” His frustration with them is evident.)

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15)

Paul’s comments here concern the Galatians’ arguments over Law vs. Grace and was a warning to stop it.  He called their arguing “indulging the sinful nature”and said while in Christ they were free from the Law they shouldn’t use their freedom to behave that way. Instead, they should serve one another humbly in love.

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. (Galatians 5:16-18)

This is a clear demonstration of the difference between the desires of the sin nature and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Our sin nature will always prompt us to do things that are contrary to the Spirit. As He did in Romans 7:18-19 Paul said our sin nature will sometimes cause us to do things we know we shouldn’t do. Here he said if we’re led by the Spirit we’re not under the Law, meaning these things are not counted against us.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26)

The differences between the acts of the sin nature and the fruit of the Spirit can be seen in the comparison of these two passages. In reading the first one we can all admit to periodically doing one or more of these things as believers. In Romans 7:20 Paul said from God’s perspective it’s not us but the sin nature that dwells within us that’s to blame when this happens.

His final words on the subject confirm that the whole chapter had been about about their arguing. He said since the Galatian believers belonged to Christ they should live by the Spirit and not become conceited, a common failing among Law keepers. He said they should stop provoking and envying each other, a reference to the contention among them. These are acts prompted by the sin nature and are not appropriate for believers.

What’s The Meaning Of This?

If you’re going to deny God’s Grace by going under the Law you’ll disqualify yourself from receiving two things that are essential to your salvation. First, you won’t have the Holy Spirit to guide you, so you’ll be left with only your sin nature which will always take you in a direction that’s opposed to God’s Spirit.

But far more importantly you won’t have the guarantee of the Lord’s death on your behalf to save you. You’ll be responsible for your own salvation. Without these two things you can not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Remember, the Law was only given to point out our sins and no one can be saved by keeping it (Romans 3:20). But through faith we can achieve a righteousness apart from the Law and be saved (Romans 3:21-24). So there are only two ways to live one’s life, by Law or by Grace through faith. We can’t have it both ways.  If we’re under the Law we can not benefit from God’s grace.

In summary, if we depend solely by faith on our belief that the Lord saved us forever then we’re saved forever.  If we think we have to apply our own effort to complete the work Jesus only began, then it’s doubtful we were ever saved.  Paul wasn’t contradicting himself.  Galatians 5 is not about losing our salvation once we receive it, it’s about whether we ever had it to begin with. Selah 07-30-11

The word book appears 188 times in the Bible. The Hebrew version is cepher (pronounced safer) and the Greek is biblos from which we get the English word Bible. The first mention of a book is in Genesis 5:1 introducing the stories of 8 patriarchs that Moses wove together to form the book of Genesis.

The first time mention is made of the Book of Life (literally Book of the Living) is in Exodus 32 where the Lord threatened to destroy all the Israelites because the Golden Calf rebellion (Ex. 32:10). Moses made intercession for them asking the Lord to forgive the sins of the people or if not to blot him out of the book (Ex. 32:32). He was offering to die for the sins of the people. Then the Lord said instead of destroying them all right then He would delay their ultimate punishment until a future time. But when that time came He would blot out the names of all who had sinned against Him. (Ex. 32:33-34)

The Principle of First Mention holds that the first time an important bit of doctrine is mentioned in the Bible, we’ll often find details surrounding it that help us gain a deeper understanding. In this case it’s clear. All our names are written in the Book of Life. Sinning against God will cause them to be blotted out. To avoid having our names blotted out immediately upon sinning we need an intercessor. Moses was told his intercession would only postpone the judgment, and that those who sinned would eventually have their names blotted out of the book. So Moses, the Law giver, is seen here as a model of the Law. The sacrifices offered under the Law could only postpone the judgment for mankind’s sins, they could not provide a permanent pardon. This would later be confirmed in Hebrews 10:1-4 and other places.

From what we know of the Yom Kippur ceremony, this temporary postponement had to be renewed every year and that’s what made it the most solemn day of the year. It’s hard for us to imagine the degree of apprehension this day brought. The Fate of the nation and its people literally hung in the balance. Would God extend the postponement or would He require an accounting then and there?

When Were Our Names Written In The Book?

Psalm 139 speaks of the relationship between God and the pre-born. It makes a strong case for life beginning at conception, saying the Lord knit us together in our mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13) and that all the days ordained for us were written in the Book of Life before one of them came to be (Ps. 139:16).

There are two pieces of important information here. The first is that before we were conceived we didn’t exist in any form. We weren’t a spirit waiting for a body to inhabit, or coming fresh from a previous life to begin a new one on our journey to Nirvana. And the second is while God knows the end from the beginning, our lives don’t consist of some tightly controlled script we’re forced to follow. The fact that God knew all of our days before we lived one of them simply means that He knew the history of our life while it was still future to us.

Israel And The Book Of Life

An Angel confirmed to Daniel that at the time of the Great Tribulation all Daniel’s people whose names had been written in the Book of Life would be delivered (Daniel 12:1). This was confirmed by Paul in Romans 11:25-26. He said after the rapture of the Church, the partial blindness that has kept Israel from identifying their Messiah would be lifted and representatives from all the 12 tribes would accept Him as their Savior. John wrote that at the beginning of the Great Tribulation believing Jews will be carried away into the desert to be protected from Satan for its duration (Rev. 12:14). As the time of the 2nd Coming approaches others who have survived will also be saved (Zechariah 12:10). Together, these Jews will populate Israel during the Millennium, where they’ll be joined by resurrected Jews of Old Testament times who died in faith of a coming redeemer. (Daniel 12:2)

The Church And The Book Of Life

In the New Testament, the Book of Life is mentioned eight times. Seven of them are in the Book of Revelation. The other one is in Phil. 4:3 where Paul said the names of his fellow laborers are listed there. But there other places where the Book of Life is in view, even though it isn’t named as such.

For instance a group of disciples had just returned from ministering in Israel. They were filled with joy knowing that even demons had submitted to them in the Lord’s name. Jesus told them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:17-20)

In Rev. 3:5 Jesus said He will never blot the names of those who entrust their destinies to Him out of the Book of Life. In Romans 8:34 we read that Jesus is at the right hand of God making intercession for us. From this we can see that the Lord’s intercession is sufficient to give us a permanent place in the book, while Moses could only promise temporary security.

In Rev. 13:8 we’re introduced to another Book of Life, this one belonging to the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. In this verse John said all those who dwell upon the Earth will worship the anti-Christ, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Note the odd sentence structure here. First it says all those who dwell on the Earth will worship the anti-Christ. Then it says their names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. From this we can infer that at the beginning of the Great Tribulation there’s no one on Earth whose name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Peter confirms the Lamb is Jesus, so the Lamb’s Book of Life is the registry of the Church, rescued from the time and place of the End times judgments.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. (1 Peter 1:18-20)

The only other place where the Lamb’s Book of Life appears is in Rev. 21:27 where it says only those whose names are written therein can enter the New Jerusalem. This identifies the New Jerusalem as the exclusive home of the Church

Unbelievers And The Book Of Life

Rev. 17:8 says the inhabitants of the Earth whose names have not been written in the Book of Life from the creation of the world will be astonished to see the Beast because he was once, now is not, and yet will come. This tells us that not only were our names written there before we were born as Psalm 139:16 revealed, but were actually written there from the creation. It also reveals that those who are astonished by the beast have already had their names blotted out of the book, just as the 3rd angel of Rev. 14 had warned (Rev. 14:9-11). The Greek word translated astonished in Rev. 17:8 means to marvel at, or hold in admiration. Worshiping the anti-Christ is cause for having one’s name blotted out of the book.

Some believe that the phrase once was, now is not, and yet will come means that the anti-Christ will be a figure from the past, someone who had lived before John’s time, was dead when John wrote the book of Revelation (95 AD), but will come back at the End of the Age as the anti-Christ. The most popular candidates are Antiochus Epiphanes who died in 163BC, the Roman Emperor Nero who died in 68 AD, and Judas Iscariot who died in 32AD. Antiochus Epiphanes and Nero are two of the most specific historical models of the anti-Christ, and Jesus called Judas the son of perdition (John 17:12) the same title by which Paul referred to the anti-Christ (2 Thes. 2:3)

The Great White Throne judgment of Rev. 20:11-15 shows the dead being judged according to what is written in the books (Rev. 20:12). Several books will be used in this judgment. They contain the record of everything everyone ever born has said (Matthew 12:36-37) or done, whether good or bad, in public or in secret (Ecclesiastes 12:14). But in concluding the passage, John wrote that regardless of their good works, if their name has been blotted out of the Book of Life they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The only way to prevent being blotted out of the book is to allow the death of Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

This study was not meant to cover every reference to the Book of Life, whether direct or indirect, but to give us a more complete understanding of its purpose. Our names were inscribed there before the Creation as a record of our existence, and because of our belief that the Lord died for us and rose again they can never be blotted out. Halelujah.  Selah 10-23-10.

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matt. 7:13-14)

This passage is often quoted in reference to the different roads traveled by unbelievers as opposed to believers.  Unbelievers are said to be on a broad road with many fellow travelers, all on the way to their destruction.  Believers on the other hand are a small segment of humanity and are on a narrow road to salvation.  This difference is further defined by some as pertaining to our behavior.  The unbeliever’s gate is wide and his road is broad, supposedly indicating that there’s room for all kinds of sinful behavior, while for the believer it’s a small gate and a narrow road suggesting that there’s very little latitude for misbehaving.  A careless step or two and you may find yourself being rerouted onto the broad road.

If you look at these 2 verses alone it’s easy to understand why so many see them this way.  But in the context of the chapter a different picture emerges.

In Matthew 7 the people in focus all claim to be believers, and the emphasis is on their fruit.  The Lord began by admonishing us against judging others,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matt. 7:1-2)

Verses 3-5 have to do with judgment within the community of believers.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

We’re all sinners and hypocrites who have a tendency to pounce all over even the “minor” sins of others while ignoring our own massive list of transgressions.  Why is it that those who test the Lord’s patience to the max are often the most acrimonious in their accusations of others?

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? (Romans 2:1-3)

Intolerant, judgmental believers are convinced they’re defending the faith and that they’ll receive the commendation due them from the Lord. But these verses indicate quite the opposite.

As much as we ignore the warnings in verses 3-5,  our disregard for verse 6 is even more glaring.  It has to do with our attitude toward unbelievers.

“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”

Expecting the unbelieving world to conform to our moral standards is ridiculous. And yet to the world the church is known primarily for its holier-than-thou hypocrisy in doing just that.  Like the Pharisees of old we demand that others live up to behavioral standards we ourselves don’t keep.  For example studies show that our divorce and abortion rates are no different from theirs.  And it’s a known fact that we indulge in more than our share of adultery, theft, gluttony, avarice, greed, and so on, as well.

It’s like we have forgotten all about the Lord’s advice that the best way to convert the world is for the Church to become what it was meant to be, an agent of His love (John 13:34-35).  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:4) It’s God’s kindness and mercy that bring people to Him, not threats of condemnation.

Some think it’s persecution when unbelievers pass laws that contradict our beliefs and restrict our freedoms while promoting the freedom of others.  But maybe it’s just them turning on us for the way we’ve pushed our beliefs on them, like the Lord said they would.

In Matt. 7:7-12 the way to salvation is explained to us. It’s summarized in verse 8.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done.  If you ask for it, you’ll receive it. It’s this message of hope that’s needed for our time, not judgment and condemnation.

I don’t think it’s an accident that in verse 10 the Lord asked, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” The comparison of bread with a stone takes us back to the Wilderness Temptation when Satan challenged Him to turn stones into bread.  He replied, “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matt. 4:4) God’s Word is life, and Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35).  Stones are dead. If we ask for life will the Lord give us death instead?

But the comparison of a fish to a serpent symbolizes the central thought of the entire chapter.   The fish  stands for Jesus and became the symbol of His followers.  The serpent stands for Satan.  Jesus called the leaders of His day’s organized religion children of the devil (John 8:44),  who with their insistence on a mindless obedience to their laws (Isaiah 29:13) rather than faith in a coming Redeemer, made their converts twice the sons of hell as they were (Matt. 23:15). They had turned God’s love into a tool of the devil, and sadly there are many in the church still doing the same thing today.

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.(Matt 7:12)  The phrase Law and Prophets was a Jewish idiom for their Scriptures, the Old Testament. While we think of the Golden Rule as a New Testament idea, Jesus said it summarized the Old Testament as well.  If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge.  If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want mercy, be merciful. If you want to be forgiven, forgive.  If you want to receive, give. (Luke 6:36-38)

There’s a reason why verses 13-14 are in the middle of the chapter and not the beginning or the end.  Up till now we’ve been looking at misdirected believers who think they’re defending the faith but instead will find themselves defending fruitless lives at judgment time.  Now we’ll see examples of those who claim to be in the Church, but will actually be left behind when the Rapture comes.

Matt. 7:15-23 warns us against following false prophets, saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)

Appearing to perform miracles in the Lord’s name does not make someone His follower, so we shouldn’t blindly accept them as such, but should inspect their doctrine.  Remember Satan will appear to perform miracles and will deceive many.  (2 Thes. 2:9-10)  Only those who do His father’s will can claim the Son, regardless of what else they say or do.  And what is the father’s will? Here’s the Lord’s answer.   “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.” (John 6:40)

Nowhere is the Father’s will as it regards our salvation stated more clearly.   Anyone who adds any requirement or qualification to this declaration (or takes anything from it) is a false prophet even if they perform miracles in the Lord’s name.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matt. 7:24-27)

Here is the Lord’s summary statement complete with one final comparison, this one aimed at the liberals.  In Matt. 16: 16-18 Jesus called Peter’s confession that He was the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God, the rock on which He would build the Church.  Paul wrote that the rock Moses struck to provide water for the Israelites represented Christ. For they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Cor. 10:4)   From ancient times, the priest would call God’s people to worship saying, “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.” (Psalm 95:1)  And today we sing, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

A doctrine of salvation that’s built upon anything other than the personal relationship with Jesus that comes from being born again rests precariously on sinking sand. (John 3:3)  He alone is the foundation of our faith, and unless our salvation is built exclusively upon this Rock, it will be of no avail to us when we stand before Him on that Day.

From the context of the chapter, we can see that the Lord’s topic was salvation.  We don’t deserve ours so we shouldn’t judge others when it looks to us like they don’t deserve theirs.  We have no right to think of ourselves as being better than unbelievers, so we shouldn’t try to impose our values on them.    We received our salvation simply because we asked for it in faith.  There was no merit or worthiness involved, nothing to commend us.  But we should be very wary of those who would propose alternatives to salvation by grace through faith alone, whether by adding to or subtracting from it, even if they perform miracles.

Now let’s go back to verses 13-14.   Each of the two roads is thought by its travelers to be the way to salvation.  But the name engraved above the wide gate is Works and multitudes who call themselves Christians are striving to get there. They run the gamut from extreme legalism to extreme liberalism, but have in common a belief that it’s their behavior that saves them.

The legalist proudly proclaims, “Jesus may have begun my salvation, but I finished it.  I have kept the commandments and no longer sin. I have earned the right to call others to account for their behavior.  How else will they learn?”

The false prophet says, “I’m a miracle worker, just like the Lord was. Who can doubt that I’m His.”

The artificially modest liberal says “I’m a good person and I’ve tried to live a good life. There are many roads to salvation and as long as we’re sincere in what we believe, the Lord will understand and accept us.”

None of them realizes the road he’s on leads to destruction.

But at the end of the narrow road stands a small gate on which the word Faith is inscribed.  As we come alongside the few travelers on this road we can hear them softly singing,

“Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidst me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”

This is the road to Life.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Selah.  07-18-09

If you follow our “Ask a Bible Teacher” feature, you know how many comments I’ve received lately that question the Doctrine of Eternal Security (aka Once Saved Always Saved or OSAS). Based on their content I’ve concluded that many people neither understand OSAS nor have they considered the alternative.

Let’s Begin At The Beginning

It’s time to set the record straight once and for all. What does it take to be saved? I think the best answer to that question is the one the Lord gave in John 6:28-29.

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Here was a perfect opportunity to list all the things we have to do to meet God’s requirements. Jesus could have rattled off the 10 commandments. He could have repeated the Sermon on the Mount. He could have listed any number of admonitions and restrictions necessary to achieve and maintain God’s expectations of us. But what did He say? “Believe in the one He has sent.” Period. It was a repeat of John 3:16, confirming that belief in the Son is the one and only requirement for salvation.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

A few verses later in John 6:38-40 He said that this wasn’t just His idea, as if that wouldn’t be enough, but that His Father was in complete agreement. And not only would our belief suffice to provide us with eternal life, but that it was God’s will that Jesus lose none of those who believe. You and I have been known to disobey God’s will, but has Jesus ever done so? And isn’t He the one who’s been charged with the responsibility for keeping us? Let’s read it.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 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.” (John 6:38-40)

Just in case we missed this promise, Jesus made it again even more clearly in John 10:28-30. “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” The Father and the Son have both accepted responsibility for our security. Once we’re in Their hands, no one can get us away.

I have purposely only used words straight from the Lord’s own mouth to make this case because I can already hear the choruses of “Yes Buts” mounting as those who refuse to take them at face value get ready to trot out their favorite verses denying Eternal Security, misinterpreted though they are.

The one characteristic of God’s that gives us the most comfort is knowing that He can’t lie or change His mind or contradict Himself. He can’t say something in one place and then say something entirely different in another. He’s consistent. If He says that we’re saved solely because of our belief in Him, and that He’s accepted responsibility for keeping us so, then we can count on that. As we’ll see, anything in the Bible that seems to contradict these simple, straightforward statements has to be talking about something else.

But first, since He puts so much emphasis on belief, let’s take a closer look at that word. What does He mean when He says “believe”? It must be more than just a casual thing because reliable statistics show, for example, that 85% of those who come forward to “receive the Lord” at a crusade or other evangelistic outreach never form any connection with a church or Bible Study or in any other way demonstrate a relationship with the Lord afterward.

And Jesus spoke of the seed that fell on rocky places. He said, “This is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” (Matt. 13:20-21) If these people were saved and then fell away, all His promises above have been broken. There must be more. So what does it mean to believe?

The Greek word for believe is “pistis.” According the Strong’s Concordance, it’s a “conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with it.” In connection with the Lord Jesus, it means “a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God.”

The Apostle Paul gave us valuable insight into the nature of this belief. He wrote, If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

This isn’t just some intellectual thing that carries us away on the words of a captivating speaker, only to leave us flat a short time later. It’s a conviction that’s formed deep in our heart, the realization that Jesus is not just a man. He’s the Lord Himself, and He took upon Himself the penalty due us for our sins, which is death. And to prove that God counted His death as sufficient, He raised Jesus from the dead to be seated beside Him in the Heavenly realms. (Ephes. 1:20) Since God can’t dwell in the presence of sin, and since the wages of sin is death, every one of our sins has to have been paid for. If even one remained unpaid, Jesus would still be in the grave. We have to believe that Jesus rose from the grave in order to believe that we will.

It’s that kind of belief that gets you saved and keeps you that way, because it sets in motion a chain of events that’s irreversible. There are four links in this chain. You supply two and the Lord supplies two. You hear and believe, and the Lord marks and guarantees.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

The word translated “deposit” is a legal term. Today we would say Earnest Money. It’s a down payment that constitutes a legal obligation to follow through with the purchase. If you’ve ever bought any Real Estate, you’re familiar with the term. If not, here’s another example. It’s like we’ve been put on “lay away.” The price has been paid and we’ve been taken off the display shelf until the one who has purchased us returns to claim us. In the mean time we cannot be bought by anyone else, because we legally belong to the one who has paid the deposit. “You are not your own,” we’re told. “You were bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:19-20)

All of this happened at our first moment of belief, before we could do anything to either earn or lose our position. The man on the cross beside Jesus is the prototype for this transaction. Having done something bad enough to get himself executed, he was promised a place in Paradise solely because he believed in his heart that Jesus was the Lord of a coming Kingdom.

Paul made it even clearer when he repeated this incredible promise in 2 Cor. 1:21-22. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

This time He removed all doubt as to just Who it is that keeps us saved. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. What could be clearer?

Union And Fellowship

If the Doctrine of Eternal Security is so clear then why all the disagreement about it? I’ve found two reasons. The first is the two-sided nature of our relationship with the Lord. I call one side Union. It’s eternal and unconditional, based only on our belief. Ephesians 1:13-14 describes our Union with God, sealed and guaranteed. Once we’re born again, we can’t become unborn. It’s good forever. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from our first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

I call the other side Fellowship and it’s a bit more complicated. Fellowship is that state of continual closeness to God that enables Him to bless us in our daily lives, by making things happen for us and protecting us from attack. It’s like He’s teamed up with us to give us a supernatural advantage. Fellowship is defined by 1 John 1:8-9 as being both Earthly and conditional upon our behavior. Even as believers, as long as we’re here on Earth we’ll continue to sin. Since God can’t abide in the presence of sin, our unconfessed sins interrupt our Earthly relationship with Him and may deprive us of blessings we might have otherwise received. We’re still saved in the eternal sense, but out of Fellowship here on Earth.

When we’re out of Fellowship, we’re legitimate targets for our enemy’s mischief, just like Job was. His sin was self-righteousness and because he wouldn’t confess it, God had to let Satan afflict him in order to bring him to his senses. For a New Testament illustration, look at the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32) Like the younger son, we’ll still belong to our Father’s family, but won’t receive any of its blessings while we’re out of Fellowship. And like both Job and the Prodigal, when we return to our Father and confess our sins, we’re immediately purified from all unrighteousness and restored to Fellowship.

One reason that many Christians live such defeated lives is that having only learned about the Union part of being a believer, they only know that God has forgiven their sins and that they’ll go to be with Him when they die or are Raptured. They don’t realize that they still need to confess every time they sin to stay in Fellowship. And so, being deprived of God’s providence, they may become discouraged and even stop praying and attending church. Other believers, who don’t understand the dual relationship either, look at the mess they’re in and think they must have lost their salvation. Like Job’s friends, they look in God’s Word for confirmation, and by taking verses out of context, believe they have found the proof.

Union and Fellowship are not just New Testament ideas. In the Old Testament, even when Israel was being obedient in thought and action, doing their best to please God, the priests still had to sacrifice a lamb on the altar every morning and every evening for the sins of the people. 1 John 1:9 is the New Testament equivalent of those daily sacrifices for sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. It was written for believers who are already saved, but are in danger of being out of Fellowship because of their sins.

The Gift And the Prize

The other reason people get confused is that there are two types of benefits in Eternity. The first is the free Gift called Salvation that’s given to all who ask in faith irrespective of merit and guarantees our admission into the Kingdom. Ephesians 2:8-9 is the model, saying that salvation is a Gift from God.

The second consists of Heavenly rewards we can earn for the things we do as believers here on Earth. Philippians 3:13-14 are good verses for explaining this. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In addition to the Gift, there’s a Prize.

A gift is something given out of love, irrespective of merit, and is never taken back. A prize, on the other hand, is something we qualify for and earn. And if we’re not careful we can lose it. (Rev. 3:11) Paul had already received the Gift of salvation, it was behind him. Now he was focused on winning the Prize as well.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 he explained the difference in greater detail. 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. 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.

No Olympic athlete was satisfied just to have qualified to participate in the games. Everyone wanted to win the victor’s crown. Likewise, we shouldn’t be satisfied just to have received the Gift of salvation. We must now live our lives as believers in such a way as to win the Prize as well.

The Bible calls some of these prizes crowns, and while the athlete’s crown soon wilted away (it was a wreath of ivy) the crowns believers can win last forever. They’re worth making some sacrifices for. That’s why Paul said, I beat 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 Cor. 9:27) The crowns are identified as the Everlasting Crown (Victory) in 1 Cor 9:25, Crown of the Soul Winner in Phil 4:1 and 1 Thes 2:19, Crown of Righteousness in 2 Tim 4:8, Crown of Life in Jas 1:12 and Rev 2:10, and the Crown of Glory in 1 Peter 5:4.

The difference between the Gift and the Prize is also seen in 1 Cor. 3:12-15. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

At the judgment of believers, the quality of our work on earth will be tested by fire. Only work that survives the test will bring us a reward. But notice that even if all our work is destroyed in the fire, we’ll still have our salvation. Why? Because it’s a free Gift, given out of love, irrespective of merit.

The Lord mentioned other rewards as well. In Matt. 6:19-21 He advised us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There are things we can do as believers while here on Earth that will cause deposits to be made to our heavenly account. Some believe that this passage refers to the way we use the money we’re given. Do we use it to enrich ourselves, stacking up possessions that far exceed our needs? Or do we use it to further the work of the Kingdom? Here’s a hint. Our tithe is what we owe to God. It’s what we do with the money we have left that really counts. And with the measure we use, it will be measured to us. (Luke 6:38)

To summarize, in the New Testament there are verses like Ephesians 1:13-14 that talk about Union. There are verses like 1 John 1: 8-9 that talk about Fellowship. There are verses like Ephesians 2:8-9 that talk about the Gift and there are verses like 1 Cor 9:24-27 that talk about the Prize.

Those that stress belief, explain the permanent nature of our bond with God, and are directed toward eternity are Union verses. Those that involve grace and faith are Gift verses. Those that require work and are directed at the quality of our lives on Earth are Fellowship verses, and those that require work and involve eternal rewards are Prize verses.

When you view Scripture from this perspective, all of the apparent contradictions disappear and you no longer have to wonder why God seems to be saying one thing here and something different there. The issue becomes one of correctly identifying the focal point of the particular passage you’re looking at. Determine the context by reading verses around it, and assign it to one of the four categories.

Give Us An Example

Hebrews 6:4-6 is a passage often cited in opposition to Eternal Security. The entire letter is to Jewish believers who are being enticed back into keeping the Law, so the context is New Covenant vs. Old. And in verse 9 the writer hints that he’s been talking about things that accompany salvation. That tells us that verses 4-6 are not related to salvation but things that accompany it. More importantly the idea that a believer could do something to irretrievably lose his salvation is in direct contradiction to the very clear promise that the Holy Spirit is sealed within us from the very first moment of belief until the day of redemption.

So what could these believers be in danger of falling away from due to their sins? Fellowship. And what could prevent them from being restored? The practice of Old Covenant remedies for sin rather than invoking 1 John 1:9. They’d be relegating the death of the Lord to the same status as that of the twice-daily lamb. The Law was only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. Once the Reality appeared, the shadow was no longer effective. And what would be their penalty? Living a defeated life, bearing no fruit, all their works burned in the judgment of 1 Cor. 3. But still saved? Yes. Hebrews 6:4-6 is a Fellowship passage.

Suppose There Is No Security?

In closing, let’s look at the alternative. What are we faced with? If Hebrews 6:4-6 for example applies to our salvation then if we ever sin after being saved we’ll be lost forever with no way back, because the Lord would have to be crucified all over again to retrieve us. The New Covenant would be worse than the Old, not better. They were condemned for their actions. According to Matt. 5 we’d be condemned for our thoughts. They couldn’t murder. We couldn’t even be angry. They couldn’t commit adultery. We couldn’t even have a lustful thought. Think of it. No anger, ever. No lust, ever. No envy, ever. No idolatry, ever. No favoritism or discrimination, ever. No impure thoughts or deeds of any kind, ever. Is this the Good News, the incomparable riches of His Grace? Did God become man and die the most painful death ever devised only to put His children into an even more untenable position than before? Are we saved by grace only to be placed under the constraints of an even more severely administered law? I can’t believe so.

Some take a more moderate view of this saying that God would never take back the gift of salvation, but that we can return it. To justify this position they have to put words in the Lord’s mouth. When He says in John 10:28, “No one can snatch them out of my hand,” they have to insert the phrase “but us” after “no one”. Same with Romans 8:38-39.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 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. They have to insert the phrase “but us” after “in all creation”.

None of this defense of Eternal Security is intended to condone sin. As an indication of our gratitude for the gift of salvation, believers are continually admonished in Scripture to live our lives in a manner pleasing to God. Not to earn or keep it, but to thank the Lord for giving it to us. And to help us do that, the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in us to guide and direct us, and to pray for us. Since the Spirit of God lives in us we are no longer controlled by the sin nature and can choose to please God by the way we live. And even though we do this out of gratitude for the Gift He’s already given, which is Union with Him, He blesses us both here on Earth (Fellowship) and in Eternity (the Prize). Selah 10-07-06