Sunday, August 13, 2006

ETERNAL SECURITY THESIS: ONCE ENTERED, Part 2

“Once Having Entered Eternal Security”, Part Two

The fact is, the Divine Trinity actual stands guard over me! Jesus said he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9) “Believeth thou not I am in the Father, and the Father is Me? Believe Me, the I AM IN the Father, and the Father IN ME.” (John 14:10,110. “If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, AND WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23). Or, in other words, “live with him.”

Then, I am told in 1st Corinthians 3:16,17, “know ye not that ye ARE the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth IN you? If any man defile the Temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the Temple of God is holy, which Temple YE ARE.” So, it is quite plain to see, with God living in me, if I fall away, it is HIS fault, not MINE; but, I will not, because He is faultless!

Jesus once said in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that HEARETH my Word (the Elect) and believeth on Him that sent Me HAS (has it right now!) everlasting (forever) life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life.”

We are told in 1st Thess. 5:9, “God has not appointed us (the Elect) to wrath.” The wrath to come for the wicked is separation from God, of which we are not appointed to! This is verified again in Romans 5:8,9, when Paul said, “But God commendeth His love toward us (the Elect), much more NOW justified by His Blood, we shall be saved from WRATH through Him.”

Who might look at a backsliding Christian, and say, Surely, another man’s wife (Christ’s servant?) To his own Master (Christ) he is able to MAKE HIM STAND.” (Romans 14:4). Again, concerning the Elect, Paul says in 1st Corinthians 1:7,8,9, “ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also CONFIRM YOU UNTO THE END, that ye may be blameless in the day of out Lord, Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called into fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.” Then, Paul says when we were saved, “you were SEALED with the Holy Spirit of promise.” ( Ephesians 1:13). “Ye are SEALED unto the day of Redemption.” That means I have got God’s Royal Mark on ME until Christ comes back for me!

Since we know God’s will is perfect, it includes me. Jesus said in John 6:39, “And this is the will of Him Who sent Me, that I shall lose NONE OF ALL that He has given to Me, but raise it up the last day.” This refers to “the last day on the earth, in this body.” Jesus will not loose even ONE of us! In Ephesians 1:13,14, it says, “We are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest (pledge or down payment) of our inheritance (eternal life) until the redemption (the full completed redemption) of the purchased possession (the Elect purchased by God), unto the praise of His Glory!”

There are many other verses affirming Eternal Security throughout the Bible, but, these I have highlighted are the clearest. How ever, I would like to bring this last one to the attention of anyone still entertaining the idea that a believer can fall away to eternal destruction. In 1st Corinthians 5, Paul had reprimanded the church for not disfellowshipping a member of their fellowship. He was a fornicator who was committing adultery with his father’s wife, probably, his step mother. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 5:5 wanted “to deliver such a one unto Satan for THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH, that THE SPIRIT MAY BE SAVED, in the day of the Lord Jesus.” So you see, even though the believer had backslidden so far that God would judge him by taking his life on earth, Paul still looked for his spiritual salvation as one of the Elect.

If I am in sin, and refuse to repent and confess it, God will judge me, even to death, if I refuse that long. It says in Hebrews 12:6,7,8, “for whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons: for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth (disciplines) not? But, if you be without chastisement, whereof all (the Elect) are partakers, then you are bastards (illegitimate, or counterfeit, or in other words, reprobates), and not sons.” That is why the Psalmist wrote, “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest.” (Psalms 94:12) Paul said in 1st Corinthians 11:32, “But when we are judged (disciplined) we are of the Lord, that we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the World (the reprobate).”

Finally, as a booster, Jesus said, “I am the living Bread which came down out of Heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall LIVE FOREVER.” (John 6:51). He did not say if we eat many times, but that if we eat at all, we will live forever. “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall NEVER thirst; but, the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up into ETERNAL LIFE. (John 4:14). “Jehovah will PERFECT this, that God gave unto us eternal life.” (1st John 5:11). “For by ONE offering, He hath perfected FOR EVER them, that are sanctified (the Elect) (Hebrews 10:14). “The Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto His Heavenly kingdom.” (2nd Timothy 4:18).”I have loved thee (the Elect) with an EVERLASTING love.” (Jeremiah 31:3). “And I will make an EVERLASTING Covenant with them (the Elect), and I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; ; and I WILL PUT my fear in their hearts, that they MAY NOT DEPART from me.” (Jer. 32:40).

As Christians, we have this promise, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, and will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation, make also the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1st Corinthians 10:13). “The Lord is faithful and will establish you and guard you from the evil one. (2nd Thess.3:13).

The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear (respect) Him and delivereth them.” (Psalms 34:7). Was Paul able to fall away from Christ” In fact, did he stay in faith of his own free will? In Romans 1:1, it says, “Paul, a SERVENT of Jesus Christ, called to be an Apostle, SEPERATED unto the Gospel of God.” The Greek word for “servant” here, is “Doulos”, which means “bond-slave, or one who is the entire property of another.” Could he possibly have fallen away? The word translated “fallen away” is “apostasy” in the original text, and has nothing to do with the question of individual salvation. Apostates were never real genuine Christians, but were “professing” Christians who were never truly saved to begin with, but who eventually showed their true identity as reprobates. The apostate is always a man opposed to Christ.

No matter how backslidden a true believer is, he will lot loose Eternal Life. The word says, “If a man’s work shall be burned, he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1st Corinthians 3:15)

Therefore, in light of everything which has been said, as a Bounty Hunter for souls called by God to teach the Gospel, I could never teach that Christ gives Grace to men, but tells them “now, you shall be saved IF you persevere, but, this must be left to yourself.” Or, should I invite sinners to Christ telling them, after you come to Christ, you may serve Him all your life, but, probably, when you are on your death bed, in weakness, and pain, your faith might fail, sin might take hold, and you may be lost from the kingdom! Or, if you are caught off guard, in a moment of unconfessed sin in your life, and you die unexpectedly, you will suffer eternal torment in hell forever! NO! I refuse to preach that unscriptural doctrine to bring shame on the God I serve. No, instead, I will invite whosoever will believe to Christ, and exhort them, “My son, attend to my words, for they are life, unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20,22). And, I will warn them after they come, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but, the Lord delivereth them from THEM ALL.” (Psalms 34:19)

And, no matter how old I will get, I am sure I will always be able to preach, “I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalms 37:25). If anyone could ever convince me that a true saint of God, could possibly loose his salvation which was given by Grace then I can assure you, I wouldn’t have anything to offer, except a case of the “do betters” and a “work your way to Heaven” myth, which is totally impossible for ANYONE to do!

Now, let’s examine a few of the Scriptures which “seem” to indicate a believer may fall away. And we discuss these, please keep in mind Matthew 10:22, where Jesus said, He that endureth (persists) to the end shall be saved.” This is the only real proof of final election. Those who fell away and completely turned their backs on Christ, never were saved to begin with, ONLY those who persist TO THE END are saved.

CONT.>>>>>>>>>>>>

Blessings!
Marked Elect

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