This we believe about 17. The Perseverance of the Saints Luke 8:4-15 • In the New Testament, ‘saints’ are ordinary believers • They do not turn their faith on and off – but continually believe forever They are thus saved – always saved – and never lost All true believers persevere to the end • God saved His people by giving them faith in His Son (Ephesians 2:8-10). If they ever should lose their faith, they would lose their salvation (1 Peter 1:5) − This would mean that god’s purposes would be defeated. He would no longer be GOD! Isaiah 46:10 and Ephesians 1:11 would not be true. − For God to thus lose His elect would mean He had changed, denied Himself, and done something which would not stand forever. This is impossible (see Malachi 3:6; 2 Timothy 2:13; Ecclesiastes 3:14) • Specific texts make it clear that true believers will never be lost, but will persevere to the end (see John 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5) • The pictures to describe salvation make it clear that all true believers will persevere to the end, and finally arrive in glory: − eternal life − born again − united to Christ as His body; His bride; His building − sons of God, and brothers of Christ Lesson 1: This is a truth giving unspeakable comfort. But it does not lead us to take our salvation for granted, and to live as we please, as we shall now make clear… Those who do not persevere to the end are not true believers • We are not talking here about ‘backsliders’. There are such people. But backsliding in Scripture is exceptional, never normal. It is a temporary condition, eventually repented of – never a settled state in which a believer is content to remain permanently • We are asserting that those who do not return to the faith, but rather depart from it, are NOT God’s children. They are not true believers. They are lost. • The Father chose His people to be His HOLY people; the Son died to purify them; the Spirit gives them a new nature (Ephesians 1:4; Titus 2:14; Ezekiel 36:26). Those who fail to bring forth such continuing characteristics just cannot be considered to be part of the people of God • This is the whole point of the ‘Parable of the Sower’ (Luke 8:5-15). The only genuine believers are those who hear the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. • This is the Lord’s teaching in the figure of the Vine (John 15:1-8). Only those who consistently bear fruit are true branches and real disciples (v8). All others only appear to be joined to Him; but are ultimately lost (v6) Nowhere in the New Testament is a professing believer who has failed to persevere in holiness permitted to think of himself as a child of God (Romans 8:13; Galatians 4:11, 5:19-26; Hebrews 3:6,14, 6:4-8; 2 Peter 2:20-22; 1 John 2:4-5,15, 3:14, 5:1,18) So… Do not say that just because you have made a profession you are ‘eternally secure’. YOU are not exempt from falling away (1 Corinthians 9:27; 10:12) Take steps to ensure that you DO persevere, counting on God’s help. (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Peter 1:10) − Mortify sin (Matthew 5:27-30; Romans 8:13) − Use the means of grace (Acts 2:42) Tenderly warn professing believers who sin wilfully that IF THEY STAY AS THEY ARE they will be lost. Urge them to repent and to return to the Lord (see Acts 8:20-24; Galatians 6:1) Lesson 2: Perseverance is the mark of a true christian knowyourbiblerecordings.org/sermons_locked/TWB17.mp3
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 09:45:58 +0000
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