Introduction
One article can be found after the last poem which is poem number 8.
“The
apostles had hardly died ere the spirit of deception thought it could
easily break into the churches as into"An argument built on sand is begging for the sea."
The poet, author
"Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies so well established that unless we love
the truth we shall never recognize it.”
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
What's an untruth? Well, according to the dictionary: A lie or false statement. But before those
untruths (doctrinal corruptions here, and in poem form), please read the following.
The poet, author
"Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies so well established that unless we love
the truth we shall never recognize it.”
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
What's an untruth? Well, according to the dictionary: A lie or false statement. But before those
untruths (doctrinal corruptions here, and in poem form), please read the following.
an empty house left without a guard…It may be conceived that in this second century originated nearly all the
heresies which afterwards raged in the church.”
The Magdeburg Centuries, chap. 1, p2.
“Toward the end of the second century, most of the churches assumed a new form, the first simplicity disappeared,
and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their graves, their children, along with new converts, both Jews and Gentiles, came forward and new-modelled the cause”
Ecclesiastical Researches. Chap. 5, p. 51, edition 1792.
"In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect...Rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions."
Dr. D. Killen, The Ancient Church.
“The services of worship increased in splendor, but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and ceremonies of paganism gradually crept into the worship. Some of the old heathen feasts became church festivals with change of name and of worship. About 405AD images of saints and martyrs began to appear in the churches, at first as memorials, then in succession revered, adored, and worshiped. The adoration of the Virgin Mary was substituted for the worship of Venus and Diana; the Lord's supper became a sacrifice in place of a memorial; and the elder evolved from a preacher into a priest.”
Story Of The Christian Church, p 79, by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut (1843-1930)
"For fifty years after St. Paul's life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when
at last it rises, about 120AD with the writings of the earlist church-fathers, we find a church in many aspects very
different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul."
Story of the Christian Church, p 41, by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut.
A little background:
In the days of the apostles, each church congregation selected its own officers [overseers/elders/bishops = Pastors (Titus 1:5-7; Acts 20:17,28; 14:23)] and regulated its own affairs, even though the Christian church in general was seen as one universal body (Eph 4:3-6). However, as the church began to loose its way, it not only moved further away from God’s truths, but also from its high standards of personal conduct. Many converts in Rome were well educated and had wealth and influence. Popularity and personal power began more and more to determine the choice of leaders, who, first assumed [to claim more than one is due] increasing authority within the local church, and then, sought to extend their authority over neighbouring churches (Acts 20:29,30). Thus leadership thought only of ruling the church instead of serving it (James 3:16; Luke 14:11). The church at Rome early developed into the largest church system which meant that the Bishop of Rome directed the largest body of Christians. Eventually, this very influential church at Rome promoted itself (vigorously) as the one that all the churches should agree with in matters of faith and doctrine, and that its bishop should be honored above all other bishops.
Cyprian (who died about AD 258) is considered the founder of the Roman church hierarchy. It was he who made the claim that Peter the apostle had founded [setup, established] the church in Rome, that the Bishop of Rome should therefore be honored above all other bishops, and that his opinions and decisions should always prevail [overrule all others] (1 John 4:1,3; 2 John 7).
Along came Constantine who blended Church and State, then along came persecuting Papal Rome, and then along came the Protestant Reformation (though Protestants still clinging to some of the untruths that had crept into the Church).
In the days of the apostles, each church congregation selected its own officers [overseers/elders/bishops = Pastors (Titus 1:5-7; Acts 20:17,28; 14:23)] and regulated its own affairs, even though the Christian church in general was seen as one universal body (Eph 4:3-6). However, as the church began to loose its way, it not only moved further away from God’s truths, but also from its high standards of personal conduct. Many converts in Rome were well educated and had wealth and influence. Popularity and personal power began more and more to determine the choice of leaders, who, first assumed [to claim more than one is due] increasing authority within the local church, and then, sought to extend their authority over neighbouring churches (Acts 20:29,30). Thus leadership thought only of ruling the church instead of serving it (James 3:16; Luke 14:11). The church at Rome early developed into the largest church system which meant that the Bishop of Rome directed the largest body of Christians. Eventually, this very influential church at Rome promoted itself (vigorously) as the one that all the churches should agree with in matters of faith and doctrine, and that its bishop should be honored above all other bishops.
Cyprian (who died about AD 258) is considered the founder of the Roman church hierarchy. It was he who made the claim that Peter the apostle had founded [setup, established] the church in Rome, that the Bishop of Rome should therefore be honored above all other bishops, and that his opinions and decisions should always prevail [overrule all others] (1 John 4:1,3; 2 John 7).
Along came Constantine who blended Church and State, then along came persecuting Papal Rome, and then along came the Protestant Reformation (though Protestants still clinging to some of the untruths that had crept into the Church).
Source available.
Did Christ's apostles warn of untruths entering the Church?
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the
doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their
own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve”
(Rom 16:17,18, ESV).
"But even if we [the apostles] or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than
the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Gal 1:8, NIV).
"I know that after my [Paul] departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20:29,20, RSV).
"Speaking of these things in all of his [Paul's] letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts
of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction" (2 Peter 3:16, NLT).
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human
tradition and the basic principles of this world [the wares of false teachers] rather than on Christ" (Col 2:8, NRSV).
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate
for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander
into myths” (2 Tim 4:3,4, RSV).
“ ‘For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead,
if possible, even the elect' " (Matt 24:24, NASB).
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thess 9,10, NIV)
doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their
own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve”
(Rom 16:17,18, ESV).
"But even if we [the apostles] or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than
the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Gal 1:8, NIV).
"I know that after my [Paul] departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20:29,20, RSV).
"Speaking of these things in all of his [Paul's] letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts
of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction" (2 Peter 3:16, NLT).
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human
tradition and the basic principles of this world [the wares of false teachers] rather than on Christ" (Col 2:8, NRSV).
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate
for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander
into myths” (2 Tim 4:3,4, RSV).
“ ‘For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead,
if possible, even the elect' " (Matt 24:24, NASB).
"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved" (2 Thess 9,10, NIV)
So what went wrong regarding the Gospel as conveyed by Christ and the apostles?
Well, doctrinal corruptions and errant practices entered the Church due to:
1) Those who remodelled the Church after the apostles died off, so often the way with following generations and liberality.
2) Pagan influences and beliefs (Greek, for example).
3) Errant leaders (who missteer).
4) False teachers (who misinterpret things, introduce error, and so on).
5) False prophets.
6) Wolves who entered the flock (those who have ill intentions, and who deliberately lead astray via their sophistry and nonsense. Numbers 4, 5, 6 can overlap, but basically fall into three categories, as I see it: The errant, the deluded and the outright charlatan)
7) The itchy ear syndrome (members wandering after those who say what those members prefer to believe).
8) The Roman Church with all its ills (so-called Christianized pagan holidays and so on).
And after the Reformation due to:
1) New and liberal errant theology and unacceptable contemporary practices (that remodelling again).
2) Worldly influences.
3) Modern errant leaders (who missteer again).
4) Modern false teachers (misinterpretation and error again, and so on).
5) Modern false prophets (hence those bogus predictions and healings).
6) Modern wolves (some foolishly invited, and they deliberately leading astray again via modern day New Age nonsense, for one).
7) Any Bible translator's bias. Those paraphrased Bibles. That error bound apocrypha.
8) Modern itchy ears.
9) The push for reunification (and here we go again).
Remember that this is Christendom, not Christianity. God having had similar problems with ancient Israel. His Word still trustworthy.
Well, doctrinal corruptions and errant practices entered the Church due to:
1) Those who remodelled the Church after the apostles died off, so often the way with following generations and liberality.
2) Pagan influences and beliefs (Greek, for example).
3) Errant leaders (who missteer).
4) False teachers (who misinterpret things, introduce error, and so on).
5) False prophets.
6) Wolves who entered the flock (those who have ill intentions, and who deliberately lead astray via their sophistry and nonsense. Numbers 4, 5, 6 can overlap, but basically fall into three categories, as I see it: The errant, the deluded and the outright charlatan)
7) The itchy ear syndrome (members wandering after those who say what those members prefer to believe).
8) The Roman Church with all its ills (so-called Christianized pagan holidays and so on).
“Israel
had lost the knowledge of God and mixed the values and life-styles of
the surrounding pagan, barbaric nations with the “worship” of God. With
their consciences seared and anchored in their self-delusion, they did
“not know how to do right.” That produced an amoral society, which
easily excused things once considered abominations.”
From the book A Compassionate Roar by John O. Anderson.
“These things happened to them [Israel] as examples and were written down as warnings for us,
on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10:11, NIV).
From the book A Compassionate Roar by John O. Anderson.
“These things happened to them [Israel] as examples and were written down as warnings for us,
on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Cor 10:11, NIV).
And after the Reformation due to:
1) New and liberal errant theology and unacceptable contemporary practices (that remodelling again).
2) Worldly influences.
3) Modern errant leaders (who missteer again).
4) Modern false teachers (misinterpretation and error again, and so on).
5) Modern false prophets (hence those bogus predictions and healings).
6) Modern wolves (some foolishly invited, and they deliberately leading astray again via modern day New Age nonsense, for one).
7) Any Bible translator's bias. Those paraphrased Bibles. That error bound apocrypha.
8) Modern itchy ears.
9) The push for reunification (and here we go again).
Remember that this is Christendom, not Christianity. God having had similar problems with ancient Israel. His Word still trustworthy.
“America
as a nation is ripe for judgment. The evangelical movement in this
country is characterized by an arrogance that is almost beyond belief.
The neglect of prayer, the involvement of Philistine methodology, the
moral evils, and the doctrinal corruptions that characterise the
movement are sufficient to cause Sodomites [the inhabitants of Sodom] to wonder at God’s justice in destroying their city while sparing the United States.”
Richard Owen Roberts, Looking At America And The Church.
"On the right and on the left, ordained and self-proclaimed "reverends" and honorary "doctors" appear to spend
more time trying to reform a fallen and decaying world through politics and earthly power than they do promoting
and proclaiming the ultimate answer [the gospel] to that fallenness."
Cal Thomas
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult
the Lord! [sound counsel for Christians too]” (Isa 31:1, ESV).
Richard Owen Roberts, Looking At America And The Church.
"On the right and on the left, ordained and self-proclaimed "reverends" and honorary "doctors" appear to spend
more time trying to reform a fallen and decaying world through politics and earthly power than they do promoting
and proclaiming the ultimate answer [the gospel] to that fallenness."
Cal Thomas
“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult
the Lord! [sound counsel for Christians too]” (Isa 31:1, ESV).
Clearly, Christendom hasn't heeded the warnings (1 Cor 10:11).
So how do Christian leaders err?
By failing to stand alone.
By pursuing quantity rather than quality.
By pandering to men rather than bowing to God.
By the pursuit of worldly possessions, money and prestige.
By failing to discipline, admonish, and instruct in all things.
By turning to the world for advice over spiritual matters.
By being too distant.
By being too busy.
By covering things up.
By not acting transparently.
By being a poor example.
By attempting to achieve something good via some means that Christ wouldn’t.
By preaching when they should be reasoning.
By neglecting or ignoring cries.
By failing to admit and correct their wrongs.
By partiality.
By abusing their position.
By failing to acquire a sound grasp of Scripture.
So how do Christian leaders err?
By failing to stand alone.
By pursuing quantity rather than quality.
By pandering to men rather than bowing to God.
By the pursuit of worldly possessions, money and prestige.
By failing to discipline, admonish, and instruct in all things.
By turning to the world for advice over spiritual matters.
By being too distant.
By being too busy.
By covering things up.
By not acting transparently.
By being a poor example.
By attempting to achieve something good via some means that Christ wouldn’t.
By preaching when they should be reasoning.
By neglecting or ignoring cries.
By failing to admit and correct their wrongs.
By partiality.
By abusing their position.
By failing to acquire a sound grasp of Scripture.
And why is pointing out the errors in any denomination or religion important?
1) Because that information made public can help prevent others from embracing that same error too.
2) Because that information made public can help those who’ve already embraced that error to see why it is in fact error.
3) Because that information should naturally be made available in order for people to truly have freedom of choice.
4) Because people can draw up arguments from the very same source as us — God's Word, here — and thus one not only has to find and present the correct position, the truth, but show and prove the error in any counter argument (which some people wrongly call knocking when it's really informing).
5) Because certain beliefs that some people are holding to are very destructive. ISIS the worst of examples.
6) Because much done and said in the name of God hasn't been of God at all.
2) Because that information made public can help those who’ve already embraced that error to see why it is in fact error.
3) Because that information should naturally be made available in order for people to truly have freedom of choice.
4) Because people can draw up arguments from the very same source as us — God's Word, here — and thus one not only has to find and present the correct position, the truth, but show and prove the error in any counter argument (which some people wrongly call knocking when it's really informing).
5) Because certain beliefs that some people are holding to are very destructive. ISIS the worst of examples.
6) Because much done and said in the name of God hasn't been of God at all.
Truth
"Truth is not what I believe. Truth is not even what I know.
Truth is fact. I may not believe it. I may not know it. That does not change it.
It is there nevertheless, waiting to be discovered and believed.
Truth does not depend on the unsettled and changing opinions of men.
It was truth before it was believed. It will remain truth, whether it is believed or not.
Reason does not originate or create it. It merely discovers it.
Consequently, reason is not a source. Truth goes back beyond reason.
Others would have us believe that the Church is the source of authority,
particularly in matters of theology. They are WRONG!
The Church is the product of truth. It does not originate it.
It came into being by accepting divine revelations. It is not the source of that revelation.
Truth goes beyond the Church, it is antecedent to it."
Carlyle B. Haynes (1882-1958).
With all this in mind, consider these words from A.W.Tozer (1897-1963):
the cloak of Christianity and breathing the name of Jesus. They dare not examine the credentials of the latest prophet to hit their town lest they be guilty of rejecting something which may be of God. They timidly remember how the Pharisees refused to accept Christ when He came, and they do not want to be caught in the same snare, so they either reserve judgment or shut their eyes and accept everything without question. This is supposed to indicate a high degree of spirituality. But in sober fact it indicates no such thing. It may indeed be evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit. Gullibility is not synonymous with spirituality. Faith is not a mental habit leading its possessor to open his mouth and swallow everything that has about it the colour of the supernatural. Faith keeps its heart open to whatever is of God, and rejects everything that is not of God, however wonderful it may be. Try the spirits is a command of the Holy Spirit to the Church. We may sin as certainly by approving the spurious as by rejecting the genuine. And the current habit of refusing to take sides is not the way to avoid the question. To appraise things with a heart of love and then to act on the results is an obligation resting upon every Christian in the world. And the more as we see the day approaching."
"Christians habitually weep and pray over beautiful truth, only to draw back from that same truth when it comes
to the difficult job of putting it into practice! Actually, the average church simply does not dare to check its practices against biblical precepts. It tolerates things that are diametrically opposed to the will of God, and if the matter is pointed out to its leaders, they will defend its unscriptural practices with a casuistry equal to the verbal dodgings
of the Roman moralists. Can it be that there is no vital connection between the emotional and the volitional departments of life? Since Christ makes His appeal directly to the will, are we justified in wondering whether or
not these divided souls have ever made a true commitment to the Lord? Or whether they have been inwardly renewed? It does appear that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing to
endure the inconvenience of being right!"
SCRIPTURE NEEDS TO BE UNDERSTOOD.
Remember that in conveying things, the Bible writers didn't always word things quite like God would have.
At the end of the day, God only has fallen vessels and their inadequacies with which to work with.
Now,
Some doctrinal corruptions.
You may encounter some mingling of subjects.
"Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth" (Galatians 4:16, ESV).
1) There's an eternally burning Hell.
2) When the saved one dies, they go straight to Heaven.
3) We've a seperate soul that departs at death.
4) There's a secret rapture.
5) Once saved, always saved.
There's an eternally burning Hell.
This lie paints God as wickedly evil and unjust.
Christian content or degree.
For more poems on this subject, not just this introductory one, see the link under this poem.
1. Hell? No
Imagine, dear women, if some man wanting to be your husband said to you:
“I will love you with all my heart, treat you like a queen, do what you want me to do.
But should you leave me, I will make your life hell, hound you every single day,
Get people to harass and stalk you — in other words, I’ll really make you pay.
Yes, I will shower you with treasures, build a palace, treat you amazingly,
But should you leave me, I will be your worst nightmare, a treacherous enemy.
So just remember that, Sweetheart, because I really mean what I am telling you,
You thus suffering as long as you live, and the cruellest of things I would do.”
Yes, I’m sure you’d recoil, aghast at the man wanting you to marry him, and
Thinking, “What sort of a relationship would that be?”, and who’d not understand?
Yet many think that the God of love who promises us everything too,
Would torture and burn us forever, if on Him, we were to turn our backs too.
Oh, what a sadistic character He'd have, such love but terribly askew.
Yes, God will judge alright, and destroy the wicked, but there’s no eternal Hell,
Ghastly flames that torture forever, ’cause that kind of God’s sick and horrible.
And what I’m saying being absolutely true, ’cause in the Bible we’re told
Two unquenchable fires befell Jerusalem that aren't still burning but cold.
"...and it shall not be quenched" (Jer 18:27, NKJV).
And the smoke of another ancient fire continuing forever, we’re told,
But should you visit that place today — Bozrah — not a puff of smoke you’ll behold.
And so, likewise regarding that fire that destroys the wicked (of which we're told),
It all just figurative speech conveying complete destruction, and therefore,
A fire that won’t stop ’till it’s done its job, Christ quickly silencing its fierce roar.
Such being His strange act, we’re also told, because Christ would rather save — yes, all —
But wickedness must end, and those who indulge in it, and hence God’s warning call.
Such hearts and minds not fit for Heaven, and God being a God of justice too,
Love knowing that there can come a time when what’s unpleasant one must simply do.
Yes, both Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by eternal fire too, but hey,
Are those old cities still burning? No, but while the sun shines, the devil makes hay.
God’s old adversary having always sought to paint Him as a monster, when
It’s just Satan who’s a monster, conveying monstrous lies to women and men.
The wicked will be ashes under the feet of the saved, the Good Word conveys,
And hence why one needs to study, study, study, despite what anyone says.
Fire comes down from Heaven and consumes them, the Good Word conveys again, and this
Before having said, “Tormented day and night forever” — oh, the things some miss.
Yes, the destruction of the wicked is eternal in the sense that the results
Are permanent; they no longer living — but oh, those continuing assaults —
Many Christians still speaking of an eternally burning Hell, such not true,
Hell nothing more than the grave, but Greek influence having seen things go askew.
Oh, so much more could be said,
One thief on Calvary going to Heaven the same day, but lets use our head,
’Cause Christ remained on Earth for forty days after He had died, and so, instead,
That text should read, “I say to you today,...” not, “I say to you, today…” as read,
"You will be with Me in Paradise,"
The translator’s bias getting in the way, we told of a resurrection day,
Lazarus hardly brought back from Heaven, but waiting too, a much fairer way.
Hence why we’re told that many haven’t got what was promised, but at Christ’s return,
’Cause He’s bringing His reward with Him, and of this, in the Bible we can learn.
Greek influence having once again crept into things, the saved dead still with us,
’Till that time when (as prophesied) many will witness the return of Jesus.
If the wicked burned forever, they’d be immortal too, and that cannot be,
’Cause only the saved will receive immortality, live for eternity.
Oh, how wrong beliefs are perpetuated, and thereby, God painted badly,
And He hardly happy about that, and hey, what might He do with the guilty?
Yes, many put off Christianity by that Hell fire thing, cruel and scary,
And often used as a club, it just as askew as Darwin’s hairy theory.
The Creator God no torturer, but dying on our behalf — oh, such love,
He delaying His return that more might be saved, and waits patiently above.
And how He bleeds over all the suffering, wanting to end it all, quickly,
But He having to wait ’till that final showdown of the great controversy,
That battle between Him and Satan, a devil who’s seeking your heart and mine,
’Cause we were made in God’s image, and why monkeys who weren’t, suit the devil fine.
And thus “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust” being true, no separate soul,
The breath of life returning when at Christ’s soon coming we’re once again made whole.
Our blueprints safe in His hands, He who knows the number of hairs on any head,
And who Himself, after having rested a day in His tomb, rose from the dead.
Finally,
Death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire, God’s Word goes on, figuratively
(Yet prophetically, Revelation talking apocalyptically),
That fire having kind of pooled after coming down from Heaven, but fleetingly.
In other words, death and graves no longer, they too having gone for good, you see,
Nothing ever marring the happiness of the saved who’ll live eternally.
They living in those mansions Christ said He’d build and then come back to get them for,
The saved dead rising from their graves at Christ’s return (and He almost at the door).
Yes, they rising first, and then the saved who’re still living, both meeting in the air,
No one getting to Heaven sooner, nor watching their loved ones still struggling here.
By Lance Landall
This poem was added to on 7 September 2020.
Note:
The following words and phrases are simply figurative expressions, metaphoric language.
Metaphors are designed to communicate a particular message, but aren't the message itself.
(Sources used are available).
"Unquenchable"
"Unquenchable" is refering to the nature of the fire, not its duration.
In Jeremiah, history records a fiery destruction, unquenchable (Jer 17:27), that befell Jerusalem, not once but twice, by the Babylonians in 586 BC and by the Romans in AD 70. But are the unquenchable fires still burning? NO!
"Eternal fire"
In Jude 7 we read of Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by eternal fire yet the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah perished many centuries before Jude wrote his letter (Gen 19:23-28). And all why we're told in John 3:16 that the wicked will perish, and this includes Satan and his angels too.
"Eternal fire" is refering to the fact that the destruction of the wicked is eternal in the sense that the results are permanent. The punishment is only eternal in the sense that the sentence will never be commuted or changed. The judgment is for all time with no reprieve. The punishment is DEATH, and all why Romans 6:23 says: "The wages of sin is death." Continuing to burn in Hell is hardly death, and all why Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV) says: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…”
“Tormented day and night forever” (Rev 20:10)
This denotes complete destruction. The verse that's immediately before this one says, “Fire came down from heaven and consumed them.” That means that nothing is left, they can’t be kept burning or tormented forever. The length of forever is determined by the way it is applied, and the nature of the subject to which it is applied.
In Isaiah 34:10 referring to the city of Bozrah, an Edomite town about 20 miles south east of the dead sea, Isaiah declared that its land would become burning pitch, its fire not quenched, the smoke rising forever. The smoke did not rise forever as the fires burned out long ago.
How could Satan and his angels, who're spirits, be tormented day and night for ever and ever, given that fire belongs to the material, physical world?
We're told that death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire, which shows that the meaning of this fire is symbolic.
The "beast" and "false prophet," which represent persecuting civil governments and corrupting false religion, can hardly suffer conscious torment forever.
"Forever and ever” (Rev 14:10,11)
This is a Greek translation of three Greek words that read literally ‘in the age’ or ‘in the ages’. The full Greek phrase is, ‘in the age of the ages.’ The Bible writers viewed time as a series of ages, the final age beginning when the messiah would set up his kingdom that would last forever. This final age, was simply called ‘the age’. That is what is being referred to here. Not how long the torment will last, but in what period of history it will take place.
And so on it goes, Hell simply meaning the grave, abode of the dead.
The purpose of the plan of salvation is ultimately to eradicate the presence of sin and sinners from the world. Only then can eternal life be experienced.
“ ‘I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,’ declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty” (Jer 51:57, NIV).
" 'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the Lord Almighty" (Mal 4:1-3, NIV).
“And they [the resurrected wicked, Satan and his angels (Rev 20:8)] marched [preparing to attack] up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city [the descending New Jerusalem containing the saints and Christ (Rev 21:1-3)]; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them [the ‘second death’ (Rev 21:8)].” (Rev 20:9, RSV).
Also see my poem Eternal Fire? which is found in my Special Poem Cluster, sigment two, Home page.
For even more, click on this link which also contains further links:
No One Burns Forever
DEALING WITH LIE TWO
When a person dies, they go straight to Heaven (or Hell, as some think).
This lie paints God as a borrower of a pagan belief.
Christian content or degree.
For more indepth poems on this subject, not just this introductory one, see the link
under this poem which includes diagrams and answers to misinterpreted texts.
2. No One's Gone Anywhere
Okay, so you’re not a Christian, but let me fill you in on a few things, friend,For despite what most Christians think, no one goes to Heaven until this Earth’s end.
Hence why the Christian Bible speaks of an airlift come Christ’s return, and also
Of a resurrection; everyone who’s saved having to wait, and then upwards go.
Yes, it’s a myth that folk go to Heaven at death, just another heresy,
One that crept into the Christian Church after the old apostles died, sadly.
And why the Bible says that God has a fairer plan in mind, it His return,
When all, and together (both the saved and unsaved), their happy or sad fate will learn.
And hence why the Christian Bible talks of a separation that will take place;
The saved termed “sheep” and the unsaved termed “goats” — the latter, eternal death to face.
And not because God wants them destroyed, but they effectively making that choice,
One group responding and the other group rejecting His loving, warning voice.
And hence why there’s no departed loved ones on the other side, Heaven or Hell,
For such is purely the thinking of those who don’t know the Bible very well.
And why mediums have a field day, they milking that erroneous belief,
Thus preying on the gullible and vulnerable, making money out of grief.
So, where are the dead? Still on Earth, they metaphorically sleeping, we’re told,
And they, unable to speak, move, or even breathe, they lifeless and deathly cold.
In other words, they no more until their Creator returns, He the life-giver,
Who from the grave, or the surrounding chaos of the times, such will deliver.
Yes, and no soul that meantime departs, such nothing but more foolish nonsense too,
Which, sad to say, also crept into the Christian Church, a doctrine that’s askew.
For each of us is a soul, not has a soul, and why we say, “That poor old soul,”
Who, just like us come their death, ceases to be anything, hence that plot-cum-hole.
But one from which they’ll very soon be delivered if having chosen wisely,
For it’s clear that Earth’s on borrowed time — and we, sad and broken humanity.
In other words, in need of a Saviour; a heavenly one-cum-Christ the Son,
Who’ll return as soon as His Judgment’s over, such having already begun.
By Lance Landall
"...that he [David] both died and was buried and his tomb is with us today. For David did not ascend into the heavens.." (Acts 2:29,34, ESV).
“And all these [faithful Bible heroes of all the ages], though commended through their faith, did not receive
what was promised [eternal life, immortality], since God had provided something better [much fairer] for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect [immortal. They will have to wait]” (Heb 11:39,40, ESV).
"My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back [at His second coming] and [then] take you to be with me that you also may be where I am [in Heaven]" (John 14:2,3, NIV).
“ ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what he has done [good or bad]’ ” (Matt 16:27, NIV).
“ ‘So mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more [until the second coming], they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep [a metaphor]’ ” (Job 14:12).
See the important notes that are under Lie Three and that apply here too.
For far more in poetic form, click on this link which contains revealing diagrams and answers to eleven
misinterpreted texts. (You might also like to visit my page The Trouble With Tomorrow):
Where Are They?
DEALING WITH LIE THREE
We've a seperate soul that departs at death.
This lie paints God as a borrower of another pagan belief.
The Bible says that man became a soul, not received a soul.
Christian content or degree.
For more indepth poems on this subject, not just this introductory one, see the link
under this poem which includes diagrams and answers to misinterpreted texts.
2. Immortal Souls?
Do we have an immortal soul? No, ’cause such a thing couldn’t possibly be,
And such thinking hardly biblical too, but simply pagan philosophy.
When we pass away, we’re stone dead, lock, stock and barrel — in other words, totally,
Humans being a soul, not having a soul, which makes far more sense, quite frankly.
And hence the common expression: “She’s a lovely soul” — meaning, human being;
Or “He’s a lovely soul,” 'cause a man (a male) is also a living being.
And thus a soul being the complete human being, not some separate entity
(And that view being purely and simply just Greek and Egyptian fantasy.
If we're mortals, which we are, we can’t have an immortal soul, obviously,
’Cause such would be but an oxymoron — yes, something that simply cannot be.
Such is simply trying to have it both ways, when we can’t, which God has said,
And therefore, when we die — that’s it — not one part of us lives on, but remains dead,
At least until the coming resurrection — in other words, Christ’s soon return,
Which is another thing that from the Word of God the receptive mind can learn.
And thus it only then that to Heaven the repentant quickly wing their way,
Only then that they receive immortality, and there with Jesus will stay.
If at death the repentant believer goes to Heaven, where's the penalty?
’Cause sin wouldn't be quite such a big deal, and nor Adam’s fall, effectively.
However, sin caused a separation, a separation that will remain,
Until Christ’s second coming, that is, when then, He will end death’s terrible reign.
So mind you don’t go misinterpreting — as so many Christians out there do —
Those texts where "soul" simply means being, or where “spirit” means breath, 'cause this is true.
“Soul” simply being an expression, one that wholly refers to you and I,
And not to some separate entity, that at death, up to Heaven will fly.
And the same applies to creatures also, 'cause Scripture classes them as souls too,
And hey, as for the souls of amoebae flitting to Heaven, who'd hold that view?
No, such is plain nonsense, ’cause we don’t have a soul, but in fact are a soul,
So please don't think a soul's a part of them, 'cause like us, it is them as a whole.
If a separate soul lived on, it would essentially be a person, and
Everyone living eternally, and thus God a liar, who guilty would stand.
The soul flitting to Heaven, or burning forever, thus not dying at all,
And therefore, even the wicked living on, death momentary, something small.
And no lying in the grave like the Bible says, and why resurrection day?
Why that shout and command that awakens the dead; something not gelling, I say.
Christ just coming for those rotting bodies. Some blown to smithereens. Come on,
That weird, immortal soul carry-on something that long ago should’ve gone.
As Christians we’re meant to think straight. And so, if things don’t add up, something is wrong,
And we thus looking for the root of such error, and to whom it may belong.
That resurrection day a climatic event, the Christian’s hope and comfort,
No one leaving their grave till then. And how would one burn a soul? Now there’s a thought.
By Lance Landall
This poem was upgraded and added to on the 18 September 2022.
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you
eat of it you shall surely die" (Gen 2:17, NKJV).
“It is He [God] alone who has immortality...” (1 Tim 6:16).
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” (Ezek 18:20, KJV). Note: Gen 3:4,24; John 8:44; Matt 10:28.
“You should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s
soul [that person] from death...” (James 5:20).
“
‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul [the
person, individual, who/what we are]; rather fear Him [Christ] who can
destroy both soul and body in hell [Hence why the so-called ‘soul’
can’t be immortal. Hell is the ‘second death’ (Rev 21:8) — the final
destruction of the wicked]’ ” (Matt 10:28).
The
idea of an immortal soul and an immediate afterlife originated in the
ancient pagan religions and philosophical systems of Greece and Egypt.
This pagan belief is the cornerstone of almost all eastern religions
and the new age movement. This pagan belief wrongly became established as a
Christian precept via Greek influence.
The
theories of Plato (b428 - d347 BC) heavily affected Western
Civilization, including Christianity (especially in the Latin West).
Plato claimed there was an immortal and spiritual soul, which was said
to exist prior to, and as separate from, the material body.
Yes, it was the ancient Greeks who taught that a soul departed from the body at death and went somewhere. Christianity (the gospel of Jesus Christ) does not incorporate pagan beliefs.
"The
theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines
that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of
Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with the "monstrous fables that
form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals."
E. Petavel, The Problem of Immortality, page 255.
Near Death Experiences.
Anything that takes place during a ‘Near Death Experience’ can happen in ‘real’ life. Period. Anesthesia, pituitary tumors, and too much carbon dioxide, for instance, can all trigger an apparent “out-of-body” experience. The “light at the end of a tunnel” featured in some NDEs, to give another example, can be duplicated by epilepsy, migraines, meditation, and drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline. Even falling asleep triggers this reaction in some people! Under certain conditions the brain reacts in seemingly bizarre, but fairly predictable ways. Frightened, in shock, poisoned by the byproducts of dying cells – under these conditions, is it any wonder dying people see things that are out of the ordinary? Granted, exactly why people see what they do while dying is a mystery, but no more so than why people see what they do while dreaming. The ultimate answer to both questions lies within our skulls – not outside. Proponents of the NDE talk in terms of ‘cosmic unity,’ ‘life force,’ ‘energy balance,’ ‘morphic resonance,’ ‘inner awareness,’ ‘oneness with the universe,’ ‘life energy,’ ‘psychic awakening,’ and other phrases that should be an immediate clue to be wary. These concepts are derivatives of many far eastern religions that have been appropriated in New Age philosophy.
For far more in poetic form, click on this link which contains revealing diagrams and answers to eleven
misinterpreted texts. (You might also like to visit my page The Trouble With Tomorrow):
Where Are They?
DEALING WITH LIE FOUR
There's a secret rapture.
This lie paints God as deceptive, cunning and reckless.
Christian content or degree.
For more indepth poems on this subject, not just this introductory one, see the link under this poem.
4. And There's No Secret Rapture Either
Just like there is no eternal Hell, there’s no secret rapture either, and thus
Many believing things that were never taught by the apostles or Jesus.
Those Left Behind books nothing but fiction, thus there no secret snatching away,
Sheep and goats separated at Christ’s return, that longed for resurrection day.
No, Christ’s not coming like a thief, but surprising like a thief (with most asleep,
Much like those five foolish virgins with no oil, who their folly were seen to reap).
Christ coming in great glory, we’re told, and every eye will see Him, which means
God’s faithful will have to face the meantime, because there won’t be those rapture scenes.
“Here’s a call for the endurance of the saints,” the book of Revelation says,
Speaking of the ills and persecution that will mark the warned of End-time days.
God not wrapping His people in cotton wool, never has and He never will,
All why they suffer from pain and heart-break too, mindful of that refining mill.
Yes, two people may be working in a field, one taken and one left behind,
But this occurring at Christ’s bright, momentous return, which the unsaved will blind.
Yes, they unable to look upon His glory, the saved caught up in the air,
Christ not setting foot on Earth, but heading back to those mansions He said He’d prepare.
All why He’s coming back, none taken to Heaven yet, ’cause that’s just fiction too,
Nonsense that crept into the Christian Church, it naught but a Greek-cum-pagan view.
No souls departing at death either, such nothing but more pagan fantasy,
Christ hardly returning just for bodies, but to grant us immortality.
Yes, that’s when we’ll be made whole, thus loved ones not up there looking down at the hell,
’Cause there would go their peace and joy, and thus as far as Heaven goes, all not well.
Hence why we’ll all be made perfect together, a better idea, God’s Word says,
No one having some advantage, the dead rising first, then us, lips full of praise.
If the dead were already in Heaven, they’d hardly be roused from their graves, and
We hardly joining them in the air, just like the Bible says Jesus has planned.
That rapture theory but a concoction, all why God warned of false prophets, who
Here, create a false sense of security, given what we’re called to go through.
If Lazarus had gone to Heaven, Christ would hardly have brought him back, or his soul,
All why the idea of someone (who’s saved) going to Heaven at death just doesn’t roll.
And hey, what’s with the witch of Endor summoning poor Samuel up, and not down?
No, it all hardly making sense, and why together, we will receive our crown.
By Lance Landall
As part of their counter Reformation measures, two Jesuits (an order of Catholicism), came up with Preterism (created by Luis de Alcasar — 1554-1613), and Futurism (started by Francisco Ribera — 1537-1591 — and promoted by Robert Bellarmine — 1542-1621, a cardinal).
Ribera's Futurism, which later became The Rapture, was helped along by the Anglo-Irish Protestant teacher John Nelson Darby (1800-1882) who was the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. This false teaching was popularized in the 1970s by Hal Lindsey’s books, and later by Jim Jenkins and Tim LaHaye in their "Left Behind" fictional books and films.
"With the deadly heresies entertained and taught by the Plymouth Brethren [Exclusive Brethren] in relation to some of the most momentous of all the doctrines of the Gospel, and to which I have adverted at some length, I feel assured that my readers will not be surprised at any other views, however unscriptural and pernicious they may be, which the Darbyites have embraced and zealously seek to propagate."
The Plymouth Brethren: Their History And Heresies, by James Grant.
" 'Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done' "
(Rev 22:12, NIV). Note also Matt 16:27.
“ ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He
will reward each person according to what he has done’ ” (Matt 16:27, NIV).
“This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus [this is referring to the time of the worldwide persecuting "beast" power (Rev 13:11-18)]” (Rev 14:12, NIV).
"Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
(Rev 14:13, NIV).
“ ‘When the Son of Man comes in His glory [at the second coming]...He shall separate people from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep [righteous] from the goats [the wicked]’ ”
(Matt 25:31,32). Note Matt 13:24-30; 2 Thess 1:7,8.
For far more in poetic form, click on this link:
What Rapture?
DEALING WITH LIE FIVE
Once saved, always saved.
This lie paints God as muddled, irresponsible and guilty of doublethink.
Christian content or degree.
For more indepth poems on this subject, not just this introductory one, see the link under this poem.
"The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary
both to the Scriptures and to common sense."
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)
"Men will readily rally around anyone who can give them the least appearance of plausibility to any doctrine
which will teach that they can be assured of happiness and Heaven at last, though their hearts and natures
are unchanged, and though they live without God in the world."
Alexander Hislop
"If I tell a righteous person that they will surely live, but then they trust in their righteousness
and do evil, none of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered;
they will die for the evil they have done" (Ezekiel 33:13, NIV).
5. The Gross Error Of Once Saved Always Saved
No wonder Christendom is in a state, and that Christians continue to sin,
Given that one’s supposedly once saved always saved, God’s Law in the waste bin.
I’m sorry, but both are lies, and simply don’t make any sense — no, not at all,
Because why did we repent, and is murder okay now? Oh, the cheek, the gall.
The truth is, verse after verse in God’s Word makes it clear that wilful sin must go,
Otherwise we’re still rebelling, two-faced to boot, and further injury sow.
Hence those words like hypocrite, backslider, and lukewarm, all destined to void grace,
Enter strong words of Christ, like, “I’ll spit you out of My mouth,” ’cause it’s a disgrace.
Seems most Christians want to have it both ways, no “Take the world but give me Jesus,”
But rather, “Why not both?” All why such licence to sin God would hardly give us.
Yes, it’s either one or the other, ’cause we can’t serve two masters, such but sin,
Hence why we’re told to flee the world, and that lawlessness isn’t for the Christian.
If God’s Law could’ve been done away with, then He wouldn’t have needed to die,
But die He did, His standards not about to change, once saved always saved a lie.
The whole point of repentance being to avoid eternal death, and therefore,
Though saved by grace alone, we still upholding every facet of God's Law.
Grace just covering repentant sinners, not sin, ’cause God hates sin, and why He
Still condemns murder, lying, robbery, adultery and idolatry.
And self being another kind of god, by the way, so rebellion must go,
’Cause we can’t have a foot in both camps, give as much as an inch to our foe.
Oh, how nice that once saved always saved sounds, but hey, it clearly an alarm bell,
’Cause isn’t that just like the old devil — yes, sweet talking people into Hell.
Oh, those itchy ears, that seeking after others who’ll say what we prefer,
Sanctification needing our co-operation, and how here, many err.
And once saved always saved trampling on free will, given we can’t then change our mind,
Thus locked in whether happy or not, God no longer considerately kind,
But rather, you’re coming whether you like it or not now (even if unfit),
And this, after He clearly said that Heaven’s only for those who choose to submit.
Yes, all day long.
By Lance Landall
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them
than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than,
after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:20-22, KJV).
“For
if we go on sinning WILLFULLY after receiving the knowledge of the
truth, THERE NO LONGER REMAINS A SACRIFICE FOR SINS [we will not be
covered by God’s grace], but a terrifying expectation of judgment...”
(Heb 10:26, 27, NASB).
" 'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of
My Father in heaven' " (Matt 7:21, NKJV).
“Many
[Christians] will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name cast out devils? and in Thy
name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I
never knew you:
depart from Me, ye that work iniquity’ ” (Matt 7:22,23, KJV).
"Too many Christians treat grace like diplomatic immunity, which simply gives
rebellion continued opportunity."
The poet, author
"The
gospel in vogue today holds forth a false hope to sinners. It promises
them that they can have eternal life yet continue to live in rebellion
against God. Indeed, it encourages people to claim Jesus as Savior yet
defer until later the commitment to obey Him as Lord. It promises
salvation from hell but not necessarily freedom from iniquity. It
offers false security to people who revel in the sins of the flesh and
spurn the way of holiness. By separating faith from faithfulness, it
teaches that intellectual assent is as vaild as wholehearted obedience
to the truth."
John MacArthur
"Once saved always saved" allows one to still get to Heaven after having returned to rebellion via:
1) The deliberate contradiction of God’s Word, will and desire.
2) The repudiation of God's code of conduct for the Christian that witnesses to others.
3) The ignoring of the command to “Go and sin no more.”
4) The insulting of the Holy Spirit.
5) The indulging of hypocrisy.
And all why it's nothing more than a man-made satanic doctrine.
God’s standard clearly remains as unchangeable as His righteousness, and therefore, His grace
hardly removes that standard, but simply covers imperfection, our inability to save ourselves,
and glorifies Him rather than man.
For far more,
1) click on this link which contains more details in poetic form and other:
UNDERSTANDING GOD'S GRACE
2) See my Christian section, second poetry garden, and (for example) the orange box titled Lawless Saints?,
and the page titled Things About God's Law That We Need To Know.
3) See the article Once Saved, Always Saved which is found under the last poem on this page.
Futher to:
"Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's
mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them."
George Orwell (1903-1950)
6. Unconditional Love?
Unconditional love is a phrase that we’ve all probably used at some time,
Such no doubt more prevalent where poets wax lyrical via rhythm and rhyme.
Folk speaking of a love without conditions, but what kind of love would that be?
And there’re those who’d say, “Weak, reckless and irresponsible, enter anarchy.”
Yes, we've coined the phrase “unconditional love,” such not even in the Bible,
And in fact, Scripture talking about God’s Law and boundaries, how He’ll deal with ill.
Yes, it one thing for a God of love to love us despite our warts and failures, but,
Love must deal with evil, and there came a time when the door to Noah’s ark was shut.
So, everlasting love? Yes. Boundless love? Yes. Unconditional love? Not really.
But God aside — you possibly an atheist — one thing’s painfully clear today,
And that is, that where there is spousal abuse, too many women are seen to stay.
And why it’s so that where such women still love their man, they should hardly stick around,
But love him from a distance until he mends his ways, knows a love more fair and sound.
Thus one assumes that unconditional love wouldn’t shun the person but their ill,
Though it surely aware that certain measures are oft needed, hence that sage “until.”
For how would anyone learn if such a love was just a doormat for dirty feet,
Rather than a sure friend, gracious king still entitled to his throne, dispensing seat,
Where love, sense and justice would surely meet.
Thus it all about context, and the context having to be warts and all, clearly,
Someone standing by us through it all, but they hardly acting irresponsibly.
Yes, our IQ, background, faults and failings immaterial, pushed to one side,
But unconditional love being a prudent friend in whom one could trust and confide.
Though to be honest, the phrase “unconditional love” is rather misleading, and
Why what is surely meant by such a no conditions phrase folk need to understand.
Hence my attempt to throw some light, love not giving folk an excuse to snooze or laze,
Nor some rebellious licence, and why “unconditional love” isn’t the wisest phrase.
So yes, such a love would accept people where it found them, warts and all, so to speak,
Rank, race, looks and so on not getting in its way, but such love not silly or weak.
And this being why such love would only be unconditional in a certain sense,
It still a believer in laws and boundaries and not something that sat on the fence.
In other words,
It not tolerating anything and everything, but loving regardless, and,
Not giving up on folk because of failure, ways that might be hard to understand.
Thus unconditional love being constant, it loving though not always liking, and,
Still chastising where necessary, hugs and discipline thus going hand in hand.
Now back to those battered women,
Who, though they may still love their man, shouldn’t stick around, but tell him to change his ways,
Of which I’m sure you’d agree, for here, a no conditions love would surely amaze.
Yes, “because she’d be a fool to expose herself to more abuse,” I hear you say,
And likewise: God a fool to not have rules and still save those who chose to disobey.
Unfortunately,
And this, despite there being copious biblical evidence to the contrary,
Why the humanistic phrase “unconditional love” has been deceiving many.
They thinking that they can continue to deliberately sin and still be saved,
And thus this how that perilous path to their eternal ruin-cum-loss is being paved.
And this, whether one’s a Christian or not, why the wrong behaviour of so many
Is simply being winked at, excused or tolerated when it really shouldn’t be.
And no wonder,
For an “unconditional love” is a love free of conditions, obviously,
And why those who choose to use this phrase should think again, or clarify it, clearly.
Yes, it’s so easy to parrot what is oft or commonly said, as if it’s right,
Some things sounding good and innocent ’till one grabs hold of a torch that throws more light.
And so it is here, and why there’s a time and place for tough love, for love would be dumb
If via the likes of “unconditional love,” it far too far swung the pendulum.
By Lance Landall
This poem also appears in my Christian section.
"God is a just God, and God is angry with the wicked every day" (Ps 7:11, NKJV).
"These
six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An
heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running
to mischief, that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren." (Prov 6:16-18, KJV).
"The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion" (Ps 11:5, NIV).
"So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth" (Rev 3:16, NASB).
"Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men" (Matt 5:13,KJV).
“Then
He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his
angels" (Matt 25:41, NKJ).
"They, too, will
drink the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into
the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the
presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb" (Rev 14:10, NIV).
"Unconditional love comes from the Spirit World."
Bradley E. Gosselin, "Source of Love: An inspired trance message, from a Spirit Helper,"
The National Spiritualist Summit, 24 February 2002.
"Because
of all their wickedness in Gilgal, I hated them there. Because of their
sinful deeds, I will drive them
out of my house. I will no longer love
them; all their leaders are rebellious" (Hosea 9:15, NIV).
7. The Myth Of Unconditional Love
Satan wants us to think that God’s (talked of) unconditional love will spare us,
Even should we keep on rebelling, or completely turn our back on Jesus.
All why His Word doesn’t speak of unconditional love; such simply man-made,
And tragically fooling many when they should know rebellion’s never paid.
And so, boundless love, yes, everlasting love, yes, which convey how deep it is,
But not unconditional love — no, that interpretation's certainly not His.
Such only lulling us into a false and deadly sense of security,
And why many supposed Christians are still seen acting hypocritically.
Yes, text after text proving the myth of unconditional love, share folly,
Christ hating that lukewarm state that makes Him want to spew, and stating so, dear me.
But many choosing to ignore such, their itchy ears seeking false teachers, who,
Will hear the same painful, justified words, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
Oh yes, ’cause the Gospel’s about repenting, turning away from wilful sin,
So don’t be fooled, it not just unbelievers who’re judged, but every Christian.
Grace only covering the genuine Christian, not old creatures in disguise,
Once saved always saved, and unconditional love, nothing but devilish lies.
Oh, how Satan loves to fool people, including Christians, and fool then he will,
If they’re not thinking straight, nor open and receptive — and sin wise, clinging still.
Hey, God no fool, so don’t take Him for one, because rebellion and sin must go
(Wilful sin, that is), lest in one’s life, and rather than Christ, Satan’s seen to show.
Look, Friend, we’re in the middle of a huge spiritual battle, win or lose,
God and righteousness on one side, Satan and sin on the other, so all must choose.
Grace not covering fence sitters or straddlers, such a controversy too great,
We either all in or out, and there’s a time limit to low long Christ will wait.
We warn our kids not to do things, but they still do them, and for some it’s too late,
Recklessness or folly inevitably catching up with that date with fate.
We having loved them to the end (like God), but in the end, they doing otherwise,
And to their loss; all why it pays to settle for truth, and shun devilish lies.
There’s nothing unconditional about God saying to chose life or death, and
That salt that’s lost its flavour is only fit to stomp on — dump, lets understand.
So make of it what you will, but Scripture’s plain and clear, hence why God judges all,
’Cause though we can’t earn our way to Heaven, we can sin our way to Hell. Your call.
By Lance Landall
" He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God rests upon him" (John 3:36, RSV).
If Christ is delaying His coming in order that more might awaken from their folly and so be saved,
He's hardly going to be giving anyone a second chance in any form.
"Love without boundaries is weak, selfish and irresponsible."
The poet, author
8. God's Hate
Where men are so evil that they’ve
become as if sin itself, enter God’s hate,Because God hates sin, and why as a consequence, there’s that needed judgment date;
'Cause the forbearance that God exercises toward the wicked, out of love,
Only seems to embolden them in transgression, they scoffing at Him above.
Though God loves us despite our fallen condition, even rebelliousness, say,
There comes a time when He must make a judgment call, and the life of each man weigh.
All why the lovers of violence and debauchery are sealing their fate,
Or have sealed their fate — for the mercy of God, such folk sorely test-cum-frustrate.
Yes,
Because of His nature, God naturally finds evil hateful, and therefore,
It’s existence in men is loathsome to Him, and given the cost that He bore.
Hence why God’s Word expresses Divine contempt for rebellion — hence enmity,
In other words, a positive hatred, and man’s cup full of iniquity.
And thus it goes,
From abhorring the action to abhorring the one who’s committing the ill,
(The abomination), hence the pre-cross global flood, God having had His fill.
And why when men become as if sin itself, continually turning to ill,
They kindle God’s wrath, God’s hate — and eventually, eternity farewell.
In summary, God doesn't hate anyone who’s redeemable, just the sin,
But a time can come where God’s hate of sin is aimed at the sinner, dead within.
Those, who, just like the ones who were destroyed by the flood, are beyond redeeming,
They unrepentant and evil to the core, and thus still wickedly scheming.
However,
In His Word, God’s hate is expressed in human language, and might not seem to gel,
Sin and sinner being considered identical, and thus one feeling a chill.
But like anything, it all comes down to context and understanding, and why
We need to study God’s Word very carefully, and some commonsense apply.
By Lance Landall
The following is a worthwhile article I came across by Michael Chriswell. Used with permission.
Once Saved, Always Saved?
A Verse By Verse Journey to Find the Truth and Remove the Confusion from the Doctrine of Eternal Security.
In answering the question of eternal security, people typically fall into one of the following belief camps.
1. You cannot fall away from grace in Christ and lose your salvation.
2. If you fall away, you were not a true born again believer to begin with.
3. Even as a born again believer, you can still fall away and lose your salvation.
There are several good reasons for there being so much confusion and division on this subject. I first became frustrated and confused about eternal security when I found that two well-know and very respected ministers, both of whom have significant sized ministries and appear to have the blessing of God on their work, believe completely opposite on this subject. Naturally, I concluded that one of them had to be wrong. But I thought to myself, how can this possibly happen if they are both learning from the same Holy Spirit?
How could God allow one of them to teach you can never lose your salvation and the other to teach that you absolutely can? I could no longer take “man’s” word for it and I decided to do an exhaustive study in Scripture for myself. What would I find when there was no influence of personal or denominational bias? If all I had to go by was the Bible, what belief would I come to? I’m going to tell you my position and why I believe it, but more importantly, I have assimilated all of the Scriptures on all of the three above positions for you, so that you can decide for yourself.
Naturally, our human reasoning prefers the position of having eternal security and never being able to lose our salvation. There are even a few Scriptures, when considered separately, which can be interpreted to suggest that we cannot lose our salvation. However, just as a bird cannot fly with only one wing, neither can a doctrine. Therefore, we must determine if this position is in accordance to the Bible’s actual and whole teaching, or could it be that we are interpreting it to say what we really want it to say?
“Honey, do these pants make me look fat?” We know the answer she wants to hear, but is it the actual truth?
Most of us naturally cherry pick a Scripture or two and then say, “Ahaa…this is what the Bible says about (fill in the blank)!” For example, a person might very much like to read Ecclesiastes 10:19 and say, “Do you know what the Bible says about money? It says that money is the answer for everything!”
Imagine if I just read that one verse and said, “I have no need to read or hear anything else about the subject of money because here is exactly what the bible says about it and this is what I believe!” If I chose to do that, I would be the bird with one wing flying in circles, but going nowhere. I would also likely have to stand before God on Judgment Day and give an account for my love of money. I would also give an account for mishandling the word of truth. And when I said to Him, “But Lord, that’s what your word says!” He might very likely look back at me and say, “My word also says … ‘There is no God’. (Psa 53:1), and yet here you stand before me now, so you should have kept reading…no bird can fly with only one wing.”
I trust you are wise enough to recognize that there are multitudes of other Scriptures that are required in order to know what the Bible actually teaches on the doctrine of money. However, the same cannot often be said of these other important subjects, including this one on salvation. Far too often, after hearing a few Scriptures about salvation over and over, most of us just assume that we fully know what the Bible teaches. After all, our favorite radio minister told us this, and he is loved and respected by millions, so he can’t possibly be wrong. Never mind the fact that he is under the pressure of a denominational influence to teach and believe a certain doctrinal position on eternal security.
Are you willing to gamble on anything less than the FULL counsel of God’s word on this subject, irrespective of what your favorite pastor teaches? I certainly hope not, my friend. I certainly hope not. You shouldn’t even take my opinions for your own. You must see for yourself!
Let Us Be Like the Bereans:
For the first nineteen of my twenty-six years of being a Christian, I simply believed what I had been taught by my pastors or favorite teachers, which was “once saved, always saved”. I heard their Scripture references for support and I liked what I heard, therefore I believed it. After all, they were men of God who knew the Bible way better than I did, and they had seminary degrees, so who was I to question their doctrine?
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina or possibly from Sanskrit: dukrn) is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or belief system.
FROM MICHAEL:
A Doctrine is a formal belief we hold as the truth of God, on any given subject in the Bible (original sin, repentance, baptism, grace, judgment, salvation, predestination, gifts of the Spirit, rapture, etc.), after we have assimilated and studied the various passages on that subject, taking into account the frequency, the context, the Covenant (Old or New), and the urgency of the teaching. It allows us to say with confidence, “This is what the Bible fully teaches on this particular subject.”
For many years, I was convinced that what I believed (about many things) was the truth according to God and I had no reason to question my beliefs. However, after my personal experience of losing everything TWICE, I had to question everything I thought I had ever known about God, the devil, church, marriage, life, success, failure, faith, sin, affliction, suffering and brokenness. I discovered that much of what I believed about being a victorious and faithful Christian was flat out false.
A Call for Humility:
Starting in 2009, with God’s help, I began to spend hours each day in the Bible and prayerfully asking the Lord to teach me the truth. I told him that I had listened to men and I had failed to acquire the truth. I humbled myself before Him and told Him that I wanted to start with a clean slate and was willing to set aside everything I had ever thought I knew about Him and the Bible. I wanted to learn directly from my Father. That didn’t mean I couldn’t listen to men anymore, but it did mean that I would never again take a man’s word for it, or allow a man to be my single source of teaching. I would become like the Bereans (Acts 17:11).
Here is just a small little taste of the surprises that lay ahead. Many Christians believe with great conviction that there is absolutely nothing you can do to fall away from grace and lose your salvation, yet look what the very last words in the Bible say. This sentence is the 3rd from the very last sentence in the entire Bible.
For the person who doesn’t want to be convinced against their will, their mind is already reeling with objections about why that verse doesn’t apply to their long held position on eternal security and how it’s not even relevant because after all, who would ever take away words from the book of Revelation?
In love for your soul, as my brother or sister in Christ, I just ask that you slowly read all of the Scriptures we will cover. Remember, not even I would attempt to make a doctrine on the above Scripture alone. I’m simply making the point that the Bible ends with a clear reason why you absolutely can lose your salvation and that we are already wrong if we try to say, we can “never” lose our salvation. There is much more to come friend!
If, like me, you have believed for a long time that a person can never lose their salvation and you are already feeling big resistance to any other possibility, I’d like to ask you to pay attention to one thing. Remain conscious about how many of the Scriptures you will read below and then feel the need to dismiss, avoid, misinterpret, or justify why they can’t possibly mean what they actually and clearly say. This will likely happen several dozen times as you go through them. Then, simply recognize that anytime we have a problem with God’s word, it is clearly us that must change, not God’s word or our interpretation of it. This calls for HUMILITY.
I knew in my heart that this subject had to be clearer and less mysterious than men were making it out to be, so after much prayer, I set out to do a thorough treasure hunt in the Bible on this doctrine. To start with we’ll look at a few of Jesus’s main warnings about falling away.
What Jesus Taught About Falling Away:
Starting from the position I had always believed, that I could not fall away or ever lose my salvation, I had to ask myself, “If it were not possible to fall away, or if I have no responsibility in maintaining my own salvation, then why did Jesus warn us about it?” And, if it could only happen to false believers as many believe, then why are there over 60 other passages, written to the elect and saints around the world, warning us to hold firmly to our faith so that we don’t fall away? If these do not apply to true born again believers, then why are they in the Bible that true born again believers are to read and obey?
The Summary of What Scripture Actually Teaches About Salvation:
After putting true faith in Christ as Lord, which is consummated by faith in your heart and the confession of your lips (Rom 10:10), and which is evidenced by your turning from sin in your mind and action (Acts 26:20), and being born again (a new nature) John 3:3-8, symbolized in baptism (Mark 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21), we are “saved” to the point of now having a future inheritance of salvation (Col 3:24, 1 Pet 1:3-9), but not in actual possession of it yet.
In our new “saved” position, we are no longer declared to be an enemy of God and we have been reconciled to him through the death of Christ Jesus (Col 1:22). We have been marked with his seal of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13), much like a King would authenticate his letters with his signet ring pressed into a wax seal, and salvation is now reserved for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4), but we don’t actually attain it, until we have stood firm in our faith to the very end (Mat 24:13, 2 Tim 2:12, Rev 3:11). As it relates to salvation and eternal life, what we really have is a future inheritance, not an actual possession of salvation yet (Rom 8:24-25, Heb 9:28).
What The Bible Teaches About When We Actually Receive Salvation:
So, now we can see clearly that the Bible teaches that we do not yet actually possess salvation but that we have a FUTURE INHERITANCE of salvation, if we stand firm in our faith to the end of our life. Then Jesus gives us the right to eat from the tree of life, which is where we will actually possess eternal life and live forever.
If we wanted to be technical here, we could use a human argument and say, “You cannot lose something you do not yet possess, so you can’t technically lose salvation because you don’t even have it yet.” The reason we don’t say that, is because although you don’t actually possess salvation yet, you are marked for salvation, and if you endure to the end with God’s help, it will be as if you had salvation all the while. We can then conclude that you were in fact “saved” from your conversion.
Nevertheless, our inheritance of this future salvation is His free gift, and we did nothing to earn it, but we must hold to our faith firmly, or we will lose our future inheritance of salvation. We are going to look at all 64 passages below, but for now simply look at the clear teaching in this verse on the need to stand firm.
Here we see the error of “cherry picking” a single Scripture in order to get the Bible to say what we want it to. It seems to me that God has intentionally spread His truth throughout the Bible so that a man can never lazily point to one Scripture and form a doctrine out of it, without condemning himself. It is also clear to me that if you want the Bible to say what you want it to, God will allow you to believe exactly what you want. However, the wise child of God must seek the whole counsel of God before determining doctrines.
In answer to their above objection, I wish to first point out a passage written just three chapters later in the same letter, by the same exact person (Paul).
But, What Does Romans 8:38-39 NOT Say?
Without proper study, and by leaning only on human reasoning, we might ask, “But wait, isn’t Paul contradicting himself in these two passages, saying in Rom 8 that he thinks nothing can separate us from the love of God, but now here in Chapter 11, he says we will be cut off if we don’t remain in God’s kindness?”
I would like to show you the answer to this seemingly contradictory teaching of Paul, which shows our need of reading the Scriptures very slowly and methodically. Let’s look at the Romans 8 passage again and see if we can find what these things have in common which Paul says could never separate us from the love of Christ.
The thing that they all have in common is that they have nothing to do with us ourselves. They are all either powers or created things that are external of us and completely separate from us. To better illustrate my point, let me re-write the verse to point out a few things that Paul did not include among the list of things that cannot separate us from the love of God. Note: These are all listed in other passages that you will see.
For I am convinced that neither sin nor disobedience, neither false prophets nor living as under the law, neither anger or lust nor disowning Jesus, nor hypocrisy, neither love of money nor unforgiveness, nor anything else in yourself, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now, do you see clearly how Paul never taught that you couldn’t remove yourself from Christ’s grace and salvation? Even I believe that nothing external of me can remove me from the hands of Jesus, but I equally believe that the below Scriptures indicate that we can remove ourselves from his hands or we can put ourselves in a position which would allow ourselves to be removed through negligence. This is literally what the Bible teaches.
You should know that I, Michael Chriswell, still believe it is possible for me to fall away from the faith through any of the above underlined issues, and the ones you will see detailed in later Scriptures. And, I still believe that I have a responsibility to work out my own salvation with fear and much trembling (Phi 2:12). Like Paul, I also do not presume to have taken hold of salvation yet (Phi 3:13), and like Paul taught in that above passage in Romans 11, I believe it would be arrogant to say I could never fall away (Rom 11:20-21, 1 Cor 10:11-12).
Does that mean I’m now earning my future salvation, if it’s dependent on me in some way to keep it?
The answer is not at all. Let me share an illustration and then the actual Scriptures on this subject:
Let’s say Bill Gates grafts you into his will and says you will inherit his $10 M second home when he dies, as a free gift. You could never afford this house, but he even lets you go ahead and move in and all he asks in return is that you maintain it. Not only could you not likely ever afford to live in that house, but you couldn’t even afford to maintain it. However, you have no worries because he even gives you a cleaning, maintenance, and improvement budget to do so. He then promises that no one from the outside will ever be able to take the home from you, or to sell it out from under you (Think Romans 8:38-39).
So you move in and soon after you start having friends over to see your new amazing free house from Bill Gates, that none of them will believe until they see it. During one visit you take a break from your friends to sit down at your beautiful office kitchen to take care of a few maintenance projects you have going with the house. One of your friends walks by and sees you and asks what you are doing. You explain that you are writing out a few checks for various projects on the house. Your friend, with a frowned look on his face, says, “Wait a second, you said this house was a free gift…this isn’t a free gift if you have to pay money to maintain it.” You then explain, “Oh, it was part of the agreement and actually Bill deposits money into my account each week so that I can maintain the house.” My responsibility is to simply apply the payments.
Could anyone now rightly say that if you agreed to these maintenance terms, you are now earning the free gift? Not at all! You are simply obeying the agreement of maintaining the gracious gift he is giving you, and you can’t even take credit for that, because he gives you the money to maintain it.
Now, suppose you start taking the gift for granted and you start leaving the doors unlocked when you leave, having questionable individuals over, or spending the maintenance money and your time on other things, at the neglect of caring for the house. When Bill comes to make his final settlement with you and transfer the deed over to you, would he not be justified in taking back your inheritance since you lost respect for it, and you didn’t do his will in the agreement? Yes, he would.
So now we must ask the same question of Jesus. Would Jesus Christ be out of line or unjust if he decides to take back our reserved inheritance, or blot our name out of the book of life (Rev 3:5), if we lost respect for his death on the cross, shrunk back in our faith(Heb 10:38-39), or trampled his grace (Heb 10:29)?
No he would not, my friend!
The truth is that while we did nothing to earn the gift of salvation, we do still have an obligation to maintain the gift, with the grace He has given us (Rom 8:12). We need to get over this erroneous idea that we have nothing to do, and that if we dare do anything, we are “earning” our salvation. The Bible says that only those that do God’s will make it to heaven (Mat 7:21, 1 Jn 2:17). The way I see it clearly in Scripture is that if you take that “do” out, you do not make it to heaven.
But remember, no one can do God’s will apart from God’s enabling (grace), so at no time can it be said that we earned anything by our doing. However, if we don’t do our part, empowered by His grace, the time will come when it will be said that we squandered or trampled His gift and grace, even if we didn’t do it intentionally. Remember what terrible thing happened to the servant who buried his Master’s money (talent) Mat 25:24-27?
The salvation gift (saving grace Rom 3:23-24) comes first, then our obligation to maintain that gift is met with the second part of that gift (enabling grace Col 1:29). So what happens if we neglect this gift of salvation, or if we squander His grace? See Heb 10:26-31 below.
Scriptures On Position #1 (We Cannot Lose our Salvation):
The six verses below state that no one or nothing can take us out of Jesus’ hand, but again that doesn’t mean we can’t remove ourselves. These verses are true, but keep in mind they are only one wing on the bird and they presume upon the other wing of our humble dependence on God’s grace and our need to hold firmly to our faith and to remain in His love (See Jn 15:5-7, Jud 1:21). Additionally, as with all doctrines, they must be balanced with the 64 verses under Position #3.
NOTE: The presence of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our future salvation, if we hold firmly to our faith in Christ. Again, this is done by action, not simply by saying, “I believe in Jesus”. The disciples that walked away from Jesus Christ in John 6 still believed that he was Jesus and they obviously believed He existed. But they left him and walked away from him through their actions. They were no longer going to follow and obey Him as the Lord in their life, through their actions. It is critical to understand this.
We can’t say we have actually attained salvation until we have stood firm to the very end. I don’t know what tests of my faith lay ahead; do you know what tests you will face? What if your whole family turns against you, ISIS knocks on your door, the government turns against your faith, or you face major suffering and give up on God, or you fall for the world and away from God? If you do, you will lose your inheritance. You can naively say, “These will never happen to me”, or you can recognize that this calls for deep humility and dependence on God, not the arrogance of saying, “I could never fall away” (1 Cor 10:12, Rom 11:19-22).
Scriptures On Position #2 (If you fall away, you were never a true disciple to begin with)
NOTE: I contend that while there are many, many, many professing “Christians”, who are not truly saved, yet we cannot use the above Scriptures to apply to all true believers concluding, “Well, if they fall away, they were never saved and therefore there’s no reason to warn others, etc. If that were the case, then God would have had no need for the 64 others passages and warnings we shall now see.
The 64 verses below (10 x as many as Position #1) show that standing firm is truly a teamwork effort, between us and Christ in us. Paul never said, “Jesus did it all, and I had not part, or I’m covered under grace so I’m good regardless”…he had a vital role to play and so do we (1 Cor 9:24-27, 2 Tim 4:7).
Scriptures On Position #3 (Yes, you can lose your salvation)
If John Calvin were alive today, I would say, “John, I know you are passionate about what you believe sir, but please just try to read these and then after each one, say out loud exactly what you believe and taught others.”
Try to read each passage and then say out loud, “Yes, but this doesn’t apply to me because I can never fall away from God’s irresistible grace or lose my salvation.”
And Mr. Calvin, as you complete this exercise please note how many times you will have to justify why these verses simply don’t apply anymore or how many times you will have to desperately re-interpret them to fit with your doctrine of irresistible grace. Perhaps this will help you to see that when your thinking and God’s word don’t line up, it is our thinking that must be changed, not God’s words.
As you read through these, the following words of Jesus will become much more meaningful and quickening to your spirit. It stands in sharp contrast to the “easy believism” taught in much of Christianity today.
a. “brother” means spiritual brother, not blood relative. This is a warning to believers, who can end up in hell, if they remain angry (murder) with their fellow brother or sister in Christ
b. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. – 1 John 3:15
a. Here we see a passage from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is teaching his own disciples (believers) that they can be in danger of hell if they do not eradicate sin from their life. Even after his death and resurrection on the cross, he commands in Mat 28:20 to go teach other believers to obey ALL that He commanded, so in no way did Jesus dying on the Christ absolve us from the need to deal drastically with sin in our life. His death on the cross provided forgiveness of past sins (2 Pet 1:9), the power to overcome current sin (Rom 6:6-7), and the mercy for our occasional stumbles into sin (1 Jn 2:1), but NOT for living in sin (1 Jn 1:6-7).
a. There are four major types of Spiritual fruit:
i. Fruit of the lips: Mat 12:34; Heb 13:15
ii. Fruit of righteousness and truth: Eph 5:9; Phi 1:9
iii. Fruit of good works: Col 1:10
iv. Fruit of evangelism: Phi 1:22
6.
Mat 10:22 "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands
firm to the end will be saved."
7. Mat 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
a. Again, Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples. Why the need for believers to fear God and hell if we can't lose our salvation?
a. An unbeliever cannot disown Jesus, only a believer.
b. I believe that this command means denying him FINALLY and completely, not in a stumble or bad moment. Peter, having denied the Lord three times, is an example this. Jesus told him in advance it was going to happen, and the devil was allowed to do this to him to break him from being self-sufficient. He was completely broken and repented deeply. Had he not repented, I believe he would have been lost. God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:35)
a. This implies that a believer CAN lose their reward. See Mat 25:41-42
a. This full passage is about a believer who has been forgiven by God, who will end up in hell because even though he was forgiven by God, he didn’t forgive others.
a. But you say, "Yeah but he's talking to the Jews." See Rom 11:20-23 below.
a. Many people will fall away from salvation through deception by false teachers.
a. "Why the need to be ready if you are “in Christ”? What happens if you aren't ready?"
a. Here is a warning to servants (believers) who will lose their salvation because they were lazy and didn’t diligently serve and love others.
a. A fruitless believer who loses their salvation
a. Believers, who call him ‘Lord’, but still end up in hell because they had faith without works.
a. Notice Jesus says a “servant” (someone who was a “believer”) will be assigned a place in hell with “unbelievers”.
a. These are people who “are in Jesus” (believers) but who bear no fruit. They are worthless servants and they end up thrown into the fire (hell) at Judgment.
a. Why the need to encourage someone to remain “true” to the faith if they can never fall away from it to begin with?
a. Paul writes to believers saying they will die if they continue to live by the flesh.
a. Why would Paul be worried about being disqualified and losing his prize of salvation if it weren’t possible?
Are you starting to see the truth here? Are you feeling an increase of the FEAR OF THE LORD?
a. Here is God’s word saying that these people have “fallen away from grace”, yet there are pastors that teach this is not possible. Here God is saying these people fell away. Who will you believe?
a. Again, he is warning “believers” not “unbelievers” about not making it to heaven if they live according to the sin nature.
a. Why the need for ANY fear or ANY trembling if I can never fall away and lose my salvation?
a. But I thought “belief” in Christ one time made us “blameless”, why the need to be strengthened in our hearts?
a. Why the need to hold onto faith and a good conscience if “Jesus DID IT ALL”, and how is it possible to shipwreck your faith if you are in Christ and can never lose it, no matter what?
a. But I thought “belief” was all we needed for great assurance in Christ.
a. The message to believers and pastors is clear here: If I do not watch my life and doctrine closely, and if I do not PERSEVERE in them, it is clear I will not save myself or my hearers, even though I am a “believer”.
a. “But I’m a “believer” and God’s grace is irresistible and I can never fall away, so I don’t have a need to pay careful attention and I will never drift away. I’m once saved, always saved!”
a. “But I’m a believer in Christ and He did it all…I don’t have to hold on to anything!”
a. “Again, Michael, I just don’t think you get it, “My pastor has assured me that Jesus did it all. It was a free gift of grace to me and I don’t bother myself about all this doing stuff. I don’t have to do anything but just “be”. Jesus did it all and I could never fall away from faith.”
a. Here is a warning about not being carried away from your secure position in Christ. Are you getting the picture? It is harder to be saved than people have been taught. We have to do our part, humbly dependent on his grace, to remain in him. This is why Jesus said, “Strive to enter the narrow gate.” We do have to STRIVE with his help. Don’t let someone lie to you and say, “Jesus does it all.” No, he doesn’t. We have to do our part!!!!!! Think of all the warnings and admonitions you have seen so far. There is WORK for us to do.
a. Jesus is saying there are people in the Sardis church (believers) who have soiled their clothes and the implication is that they are now unworthy to walk with him dressed in white.
a. Why would Jesus mention not doing something (blotting out his name), if it were never possible to do to begin with?
Summary:
I believe there are a huge number of professing “Christians” today who are not truly born again, but who have been deceived into thinking they are, simply because they “believed” in their minds (intellectually) that Jesus is the Son of God. They fail to see that we are called to the obedience that comes by faith (Rom 1:5) and that Jesus is the source of salvation for all that obey Him (John 8:51, 14:21, Heb 5:8). I see clearly in Scripture that, “Yes, I, Michael Chriswell can absolutely lose my future inheritance for salvation, even though I am born again, by walking away or falling away from faith in Jesus (either through thought or action, by negligence, willful disobedience, deception, unbelief, pride, persecution, fear, worldliness, lifestyle sin, etc.).
I believe it is critical to understand that renouncing faith in Jesus is not limited to those who openly state with their words that they do not believe in him any longer (like Billy Graham’s first partner Charles Templeton who became an agnostic). A person who claims to be a Christian, but who lives and walks in darkness (practicing sin), has walked away from Jesus by their actions, regardless of what they profess with their lips (Tit 1:16).
If a person falls away, only God Himself knows if His Spirit was ever actually in them, but they will certainly have lost what they thought was salvation. However, for a true Spirit filled believer, NO one or NO thing can cause them to lose their salvation except for THEMSELVES, and by all means if we do our part to stand firm in the faith, He is fully willing and fully able to keep us from falling away (Rom 14:4, 2 Cor 1:21, Jude 1:24).
This calls for Christians to be God fearing, trusting, obedient, humble, dependent on our Father as a children, and to practice good spiritual disciplines in fellowship with the Spirit and other godly and mature believers.
The Story of a Weak Christian Who Fell Away:
From Foxe’s Book of Martyrs we have a striking true story and illustration of the importance of Jesus’s commandment in Revelation 2:10. In around A.D. 250, a weak Christian, Nichomachus, was brought before the governor of Asia, Optimus and ordered to sacrifice to their pagan idols. Nichomachus replied, “I cannot pay the respect to devils that is due only to the Almighty.” He was immediately placed on the stretching rack, and after enduring his torments for only a short time, recanted his faith in Christ. As soon as he was freed from the rack, he was seized with great agony and fell to the ground and died (Mat 16:25). Seeing his terrible decision, Denisa, a teenage girl exclaimed, “O unhappy wretch, why would you buy a moment’s ease at the expense of a miserable eternity!” When Optimus heard this he called her to himself, and when Denisa confessed she was a Christian, he had her beheaded.
Contrast Nichomachus with Ignatius in A.D. 110, who was the overseer of the church in Antioch. He was sent to Rome to be tried for his faith. He asked the church in Rome not to try to save him from being martyred. He wrote, “Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing of visible or invisible things so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limb, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus.” Even when he was sentenced to be fed to the lions and could hear their roaring, he was filled with such desire to suffer for Christ (Acts 5:41) that he said, “I am the wheat of Christ; I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread.”
Perhaps Nichomachus depended on his own strength to sustain the testing of his faith, or perhaps he was not even a true Spirit filled believer. May that never be the case with us, but that we would humbly ask Christ for the dying grace to stand firm with integrity, to the very last breath. I do not like the idea of the pain, but I love the idea of dying for Christ as a Martyr. However, most agree that living for Him can be even tougher than dying for Him, hence why we desperately need His grace (power) either way, so that we ever acknowledge Him and never deny Him in word or lifestyle.
In answering the question of eternal security, people typically fall into one of the following belief camps.
1. You cannot fall away from grace in Christ and lose your salvation.
2. If you fall away, you were not a true born again believer to begin with.
3. Even as a born again believer, you can still fall away and lose your salvation.
There are several good reasons for there being so much confusion and division on this subject. I first became frustrated and confused about eternal security when I found that two well-know and very respected ministers, both of whom have significant sized ministries and appear to have the blessing of God on their work, believe completely opposite on this subject. Naturally, I concluded that one of them had to be wrong. But I thought to myself, how can this possibly happen if they are both learning from the same Holy Spirit?
How could God allow one of them to teach you can never lose your salvation and the other to teach that you absolutely can? I could no longer take “man’s” word for it and I decided to do an exhaustive study in Scripture for myself. What would I find when there was no influence of personal or denominational bias? If all I had to go by was the Bible, what belief would I come to? I’m going to tell you my position and why I believe it, but more importantly, I have assimilated all of the Scriptures on all of the three above positions for you, so that you can decide for yourself.
Naturally, our human reasoning prefers the position of having eternal security and never being able to lose our salvation. There are even a few Scriptures, when considered separately, which can be interpreted to suggest that we cannot lose our salvation. However, just as a bird cannot fly with only one wing, neither can a doctrine. Therefore, we must determine if this position is in accordance to the Bible’s actual and whole teaching, or could it be that we are interpreting it to say what we really want it to say?
“Honey, do these pants make me look fat?” We know the answer she wants to hear, but is it the actual truth?
Most of us naturally cherry pick a Scripture or two and then say, “Ahaa…this is what the Bible says about (fill in the blank)!” For example, a person might very much like to read Ecclesiastes 10:19 and say, “Do you know what the Bible says about money? It says that money is the answer for everything!”
Imagine if I just read that one verse and said, “I have no need to read or hear anything else about the subject of money because here is exactly what the bible says about it and this is what I believe!” If I chose to do that, I would be the bird with one wing flying in circles, but going nowhere. I would also likely have to stand before God on Judgment Day and give an account for my love of money. I would also give an account for mishandling the word of truth. And when I said to Him, “But Lord, that’s what your word says!” He might very likely look back at me and say, “My word also says … ‘There is no God’. (Psa 53:1), and yet here you stand before me now, so you should have kept reading…no bird can fly with only one wing.”
I trust you are wise enough to recognize that there are multitudes of other Scriptures that are required in order to know what the Bible actually teaches on the doctrine of money. However, the same cannot often be said of these other important subjects, including this one on salvation. Far too often, after hearing a few Scriptures about salvation over and over, most of us just assume that we fully know what the Bible teaches. After all, our favorite radio minister told us this, and he is loved and respected by millions, so he can’t possibly be wrong. Never mind the fact that he is under the pressure of a denominational influence to teach and believe a certain doctrinal position on eternal security.
Are you willing to gamble on anything less than the FULL counsel of God’s word on this subject, irrespective of what your favorite pastor teaches? I certainly hope not, my friend. I certainly hope not. You shouldn’t even take my opinions for your own. You must see for yourself!
1 John 2:26-27 “I
am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you
astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you,
and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches
you about all things and as that anointing is real, not
counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.”
Let Us Be Like the Bereans:
Acts 17:11 "Now
the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for
they received the message with great eagerness and examined the
Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
For the first nineteen of my twenty-six years of being a Christian, I simply believed what I had been taught by my pastors or favorite teachers, which was “once saved, always saved”. I heard their Scripture references for support and I liked what I heard, therefore I believed it. After all, they were men of God who knew the Bible way better than I did, and they had seminary degrees, so who was I to question their doctrine?
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina or possibly from Sanskrit: dukrn) is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or belief system.
FROM MICHAEL:
A Doctrine is a formal belief we hold as the truth of God, on any given subject in the Bible (original sin, repentance, baptism, grace, judgment, salvation, predestination, gifts of the Spirit, rapture, etc.), after we have assimilated and studied the various passages on that subject, taking into account the frequency, the context, the Covenant (Old or New), and the urgency of the teaching. It allows us to say with confidence, “This is what the Bible fully teaches on this particular subject.”
For many years, I was convinced that what I believed (about many things) was the truth according to God and I had no reason to question my beliefs. However, after my personal experience of losing everything TWICE, I had to question everything I thought I had ever known about God, the devil, church, marriage, life, success, failure, faith, sin, affliction, suffering and brokenness. I discovered that much of what I believed about being a victorious and faithful Christian was flat out false.
Isa
55:8-9 "For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
A Call for Humility:
Starting in 2009, with God’s help, I began to spend hours each day in the Bible and prayerfully asking the Lord to teach me the truth. I told him that I had listened to men and I had failed to acquire the truth. I humbled myself before Him and told Him that I wanted to start with a clean slate and was willing to set aside everything I had ever thought I knew about Him and the Bible. I wanted to learn directly from my Father. That didn’t mean I couldn’t listen to men anymore, but it did mean that I would never again take a man’s word for it, or allow a man to be my single source of teaching. I would become like the Bereans (Acts 17:11).
Here is just a small little taste of the surprises that lay ahead. Many Christians believe with great conviction that there is absolutely nothing you can do to fall away from grace and lose your salvation, yet look what the very last words in the Bible say. This sentence is the 3rd from the very last sentence in the entire Bible.
Rev 22:19 "And
if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take
away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which
are described in this book."
For the person who doesn’t want to be convinced against their will, their mind is already reeling with objections about why that verse doesn’t apply to their long held position on eternal security and how it’s not even relevant because after all, who would ever take away words from the book of Revelation?
In love for your soul, as my brother or sister in Christ, I just ask that you slowly read all of the Scriptures we will cover. Remember, not even I would attempt to make a doctrine on the above Scripture alone. I’m simply making the point that the Bible ends with a clear reason why you absolutely can lose your salvation and that we are already wrong if we try to say, we can “never” lose our salvation. There is much more to come friend!
If, like me, you have believed for a long time that a person can never lose their salvation and you are already feeling big resistance to any other possibility, I’d like to ask you to pay attention to one thing. Remain conscious about how many of the Scriptures you will read below and then feel the need to dismiss, avoid, misinterpret, or justify why they can’t possibly mean what they actually and clearly say. This will likely happen several dozen times as you go through them. Then, simply recognize that anytime we have a problem with God’s word, it is clearly us that must change, not God’s word or our interpretation of it. This calls for HUMILITY.
Romans 3:4 “Let God be true, and ever man a liar.”
And
as we move forward, let’s set aside the temptation to make this about
one person or one denomination being right and another being
wrong. This is about knowing the truth according to how God sees
it, irrespective of denominational or personal bias. God hides
the truth from the wise and learned and reveals it to babes (Luke
10:21).James 1:5-8 "If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all
without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks,
he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of
the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he
will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does."
I knew in my heart that this subject had to be clearer and less mysterious than men were making it out to be, so after much prayer, I set out to do a thorough treasure hunt in the Bible on this doctrine. To start with we’ll look at a few of Jesus’s main warnings about falling away.
What Jesus Taught About Falling Away:
· Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good
for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."
· Mat 11:6 "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
· Mat 24:12-13 " Because of the increase of wickedness, the love [for God and others] of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
· Luke 8:13 "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away."
· John 6:66-67 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve."
· John 15:6 "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
· John 16:1 “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.”
· Rev 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
· Mat 11:6 "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
· Mat 24:12-13 " Because of the increase of wickedness, the love [for God and others] of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
· Luke 8:13 "Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away."
· John 6:66-67 "From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve."
· John 15:6 "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."
· John 16:1 “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray.”
· Rev 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Starting from the position I had always believed, that I could not fall away or ever lose my salvation, I had to ask myself, “If it were not possible to fall away, or if I have no responsibility in maintaining my own salvation, then why did Jesus warn us about it?” And, if it could only happen to false believers as many believe, then why are there over 60 other passages, written to the elect and saints around the world, warning us to hold firmly to our faith so that we don’t fall away? If these do not apply to true born again believers, then why are they in the Bible that true born again believers are to read and obey?
The Summary of What Scripture Actually Teaches About Salvation:
After putting true faith in Christ as Lord, which is consummated by faith in your heart and the confession of your lips (Rom 10:10), and which is evidenced by your turning from sin in your mind and action (Acts 26:20), and being born again (a new nature) John 3:3-8, symbolized in baptism (Mark 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21), we are “saved” to the point of now having a future inheritance of salvation (Col 3:24, 1 Pet 1:3-9), but not in actual possession of it yet.
In our new “saved” position, we are no longer declared to be an enemy of God and we have been reconciled to him through the death of Christ Jesus (Col 1:22). We have been marked with his seal of the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13), much like a King would authenticate his letters with his signet ring pressed into a wax seal, and salvation is now reserved for us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4), but we don’t actually attain it, until we have stood firm in our faith to the very end (Mat 24:13, 2 Tim 2:12, Rev 3:11). As it relates to salvation and eternal life, what we really have is a future inheritance, not an actual possession of salvation yet (Rom 8:24-25, Heb 9:28).
What The Bible Teaches About When We Actually Receive Salvation:
1.
Mat 10:22 "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm
to the end will be saved."
2. Mat 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."
3. Act 20:32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."
4. Rom 5:9 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"
5. Rom 8:25 "For in this hope we were saved. But who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
6. Rom 13:11 "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
7. 1 Co 6:9 "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
8. Eph 1:13 "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession…"
9. Eph 5:5 "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
10. Phi 3:13 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal."
11. Col 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, …24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
12. 1 Th 5:8 "putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
13. Heb 1:14 "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"
14. Heb 6:12 "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."
15. Heb 9:28 "So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
16. Heb 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved (as in the future)."
17. Heb 12:16 "See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected."
18. 1 Pe 1:3 "In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope … 4 and into an inheritance …—kept in heaven (KJV “Reserved”) for you, 5… until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
19. Rev 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
20. Rev 2:10 "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."
21. Rev 21:6 "To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."
2. Mat 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."
3. Act 20:32 "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."
4. Rom 5:9 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!"
5. Rom 8:25 "For in this hope we were saved. But who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
6. Rom 13:11 "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."
7. 1 Co 6:9 "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
8. Eph 1:13 "Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession…"
9. Eph 5:5 "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
10. Phi 3:13 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal."
11. Col 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, …24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward."
12. 1 Th 5:8 "putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet."
13. Heb 1:14 "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"
14. Heb 6:12 "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."
15. Heb 9:28 "So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
16. Heb 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved (as in the future)."
17. Heb 12:16 "See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected."
a.
This verse not only indicates that salvation is a future inheritance,
it warns us about being like Esau who sold his inheritance and later
changed his mind, but was unable to attain it back.
18. 1 Pe 1:3 "In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope … 4 and into an inheritance …—kept in heaven (KJV “Reserved”) for you, 5… until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
19. Rev 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
20. Rev 2:10 "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life."
21. Rev 21:6 "To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."
So, now we can see clearly that the Bible teaches that we do not yet actually possess salvation but that we have a FUTURE INHERITANCE of salvation, if we stand firm in our faith to the end of our life. Then Jesus gives us the right to eat from the tree of life, which is where we will actually possess eternal life and live forever.
If we wanted to be technical here, we could use a human argument and say, “You cannot lose something you do not yet possess, so you can’t technically lose salvation because you don’t even have it yet.” The reason we don’t say that, is because although you don’t actually possess salvation yet, you are marked for salvation, and if you endure to the end with God’s help, it will be as if you had salvation all the while. We can then conclude that you were in fact “saved” from your conversion.
Nevertheless, our inheritance of this future salvation is His free gift, and we did nothing to earn it, but we must hold to our faith firmly, or we will lose our future inheritance of salvation. We are going to look at all 64 passages below, but for now simply look at the clear teaching in this verse on the need to stand firm.
Col
1:21-23 "Once
you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of
your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical
body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish
and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and
firm, not moved from the hope held out in the
gospel."
We
can see from this passage that if you allow anything to cause you to
shrink back from your hope and faith in Christ, then you will not be
saved. You will only receive salvation if you stand firm in your
faith in Christ. When I try to share this with people, some will
quote the following passage from Paul and say, “See, you are
wrong…there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God.”Rom 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."
Here we see the error of “cherry picking” a single Scripture in order to get the Bible to say what we want it to. It seems to me that God has intentionally spread His truth throughout the Bible so that a man can never lazily point to one Scripture and form a doctrine out of it, without condemning himself. It is also clear to me that if you want the Bible to say what you want it to, God will allow you to believe exactly what you want. However, the wise child of God must seek the whole counsel of God before determining doctrines.
In answer to their above objection, I wish to first point out a passage written just three chapters later in the same letter, by the same exact person (Paul).
Rom 11:19-22 "You
will say then, "Branches [Jews] were broken off so that I could be
grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and
you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did
not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider
therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who
fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness.
Otherwise, you also will be cut off."
Incidentally,
we could wipe out nearly all false teaching if they would all just
follow this one passage of Scripture that commands us to consider “both
sides of God”, not just his loving side, or just his wrathful side.But, What Does Romans 8:38-39 NOT Say?
Without proper study, and by leaning only on human reasoning, we might ask, “But wait, isn’t Paul contradicting himself in these two passages, saying in Rom 8 that he thinks nothing can separate us from the love of God, but now here in Chapter 11, he says we will be cut off if we don’t remain in God’s kindness?”
I would like to show you the answer to this seemingly contradictory teaching of Paul, which shows our need of reading the Scriptures very slowly and methodically. Let’s look at the Romans 8 passage again and see if we can find what these things have in common which Paul says could never separate us from the love of Christ.
Rom 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"
The thing that they all have in common is that they have nothing to do with us ourselves. They are all either powers or created things that are external of us and completely separate from us. To better illustrate my point, let me re-write the verse to point out a few things that Paul did not include among the list of things that cannot separate us from the love of God. Note: These are all listed in other passages that you will see.
For I am convinced that neither sin nor disobedience, neither false prophets nor living as under the law, neither anger or lust nor disowning Jesus, nor hypocrisy, neither love of money nor unforgiveness, nor anything else in yourself, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now, do you see clearly how Paul never taught that you couldn’t remove yourself from Christ’s grace and salvation? Even I believe that nothing external of me can remove me from the hands of Jesus, but I equally believe that the below Scriptures indicate that we can remove ourselves from his hands or we can put ourselves in a position which would allow ourselves to be removed through negligence. This is literally what the Bible teaches.
You should know that I, Michael Chriswell, still believe it is possible for me to fall away from the faith through any of the above underlined issues, and the ones you will see detailed in later Scriptures. And, I still believe that I have a responsibility to work out my own salvation with fear and much trembling (Phi 2:12). Like Paul, I also do not presume to have taken hold of salvation yet (Phi 3:13), and like Paul taught in that above passage in Romans 11, I believe it would be arrogant to say I could never fall away (Rom 11:20-21, 1 Cor 10:11-12).
Does that mean I’m now earning my future salvation, if it’s dependent on me in some way to keep it?
The answer is not at all. Let me share an illustration and then the actual Scriptures on this subject:
Let’s say Bill Gates grafts you into his will and says you will inherit his $10 M second home when he dies, as a free gift. You could never afford this house, but he even lets you go ahead and move in and all he asks in return is that you maintain it. Not only could you not likely ever afford to live in that house, but you couldn’t even afford to maintain it. However, you have no worries because he even gives you a cleaning, maintenance, and improvement budget to do so. He then promises that no one from the outside will ever be able to take the home from you, or to sell it out from under you (Think Romans 8:38-39).
So you move in and soon after you start having friends over to see your new amazing free house from Bill Gates, that none of them will believe until they see it. During one visit you take a break from your friends to sit down at your beautiful office kitchen to take care of a few maintenance projects you have going with the house. One of your friends walks by and sees you and asks what you are doing. You explain that you are writing out a few checks for various projects on the house. Your friend, with a frowned look on his face, says, “Wait a second, you said this house was a free gift…this isn’t a free gift if you have to pay money to maintain it.” You then explain, “Oh, it was part of the agreement and actually Bill deposits money into my account each week so that I can maintain the house.” My responsibility is to simply apply the payments.
Could anyone now rightly say that if you agreed to these maintenance terms, you are now earning the free gift? Not at all! You are simply obeying the agreement of maintaining the gracious gift he is giving you, and you can’t even take credit for that, because he gives you the money to maintain it.
Now, suppose you start taking the gift for granted and you start leaving the doors unlocked when you leave, having questionable individuals over, or spending the maintenance money and your time on other things, at the neglect of caring for the house. When Bill comes to make his final settlement with you and transfer the deed over to you, would he not be justified in taking back your inheritance since you lost respect for it, and you didn’t do his will in the agreement? Yes, he would.
So now we must ask the same question of Jesus. Would Jesus Christ be out of line or unjust if he decides to take back our reserved inheritance, or blot our name out of the book of life (Rev 3:5), if we lost respect for his death on the cross, shrunk back in our faith(Heb 10:38-39), or trampled his grace (Heb 10:29)?
No he would not, my friend!
The truth is that while we did nothing to earn the gift of salvation, we do still have an obligation to maintain the gift, with the grace He has given us (Rom 8:12). We need to get over this erroneous idea that we have nothing to do, and that if we dare do anything, we are “earning” our salvation. The Bible says that only those that do God’s will make it to heaven (Mat 7:21, 1 Jn 2:17). The way I see it clearly in Scripture is that if you take that “do” out, you do not make it to heaven.
But remember, no one can do God’s will apart from God’s enabling (grace), so at no time can it be said that we earned anything by our doing. However, if we don’t do our part, empowered by His grace, the time will come when it will be said that we squandered or trampled His gift and grace, even if we didn’t do it intentionally. Remember what terrible thing happened to the servant who buried his Master’s money (talent) Mat 25:24-27?
The salvation gift (saving grace Rom 3:23-24) comes first, then our obligation to maintain that gift is met with the second part of that gift (enabling grace Col 1:29). So what happens if we neglect this gift of salvation, or if we squander His grace? See Heb 10:26-31 below.
Scriptures On Position #1 (We Cannot Lose our Salvation):
The six verses below state that no one or nothing can take us out of Jesus’ hand, but again that doesn’t mean we can’t remove ourselves. These verses are true, but keep in mind they are only one wing on the bird and they presume upon the other wing of our humble dependence on God’s grace and our need to hold firmly to our faith and to remain in His love (See Jn 15:5-7, Jud 1:21). Additionally, as with all doctrines, they must be balanced with the 64 verses under Position #3.
· John 6:39 "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."
· Joh 10:28-29 "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."
· Rom 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."
· 2 Co 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."
· Eph 1:13-14 "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."
· Joh 10:28-29 "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."
· Rom 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."
· 2 Co 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."
· Eph 1:13-14 "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."
NOTE: The presence of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of our future salvation, if we hold firmly to our faith in Christ. Again, this is done by action, not simply by saying, “I believe in Jesus”. The disciples that walked away from Jesus Christ in John 6 still believed that he was Jesus and they obviously believed He existed. But they left him and walked away from him through their actions. They were no longer going to follow and obey Him as the Lord in their life, through their actions. It is critical to understand this.
· Jude 1:24 "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before
his glorious presence without fault and with great joy"
We can’t say we have actually attained salvation until we have stood firm to the very end. I don’t know what tests of my faith lay ahead; do you know what tests you will face? What if your whole family turns against you, ISIS knocks on your door, the government turns against your faith, or you face major suffering and give up on God, or you fall for the world and away from God? If you do, you will lose your inheritance. You can naively say, “These will never happen to me”, or you can recognize that this calls for deep humility and dependence on God, not the arrogance of saying, “I could never fall away” (1 Cor 10:12, Rom 11:19-22).
Scriptures On Position #2 (If you fall away, you were never a true disciple to begin with)
1.
Mat 7:21-23 “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.
22 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?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers!'
2. Mat 15:13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots."
3. 1 Jn 2:19 "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
2. Mat 15:13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots."
3. 1 Jn 2:19 "They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us."
NOTE: I contend that while there are many, many, many professing “Christians”, who are not truly saved, yet we cannot use the above Scriptures to apply to all true believers concluding, “Well, if they fall away, they were never saved and therefore there’s no reason to warn others, etc. If that were the case, then God would have had no need for the 64 others passages and warnings we shall now see.
The 64 verses below (10 x as many as Position #1) show that standing firm is truly a teamwork effort, between us and Christ in us. Paul never said, “Jesus did it all, and I had not part, or I’m covered under grace so I’m good regardless”…he had a vital role to play and so do we (1 Cor 9:24-27, 2 Tim 4:7).
Scriptures On Position #3 (Yes, you can lose your salvation)
If John Calvin were alive today, I would say, “John, I know you are passionate about what you believe sir, but please just try to read these and then after each one, say out loud exactly what you believe and taught others.”
Try to read each passage and then say out loud, “Yes, but this doesn’t apply to me because I can never fall away from God’s irresistible grace or lose my salvation.”
And Mr. Calvin, as you complete this exercise please note how many times you will have to justify why these verses simply don’t apply anymore or how many times you will have to desperately re-interpret them to fit with your doctrine of irresistible grace. Perhaps this will help you to see that when your thinking and God’s word don’t line up, it is our thinking that must be changed, not God’s words.
As you read through these, the following words of Jesus will become much more meaningful and quickening to your spirit. It stands in sharp contrast to the “easy believism” taught in much of Christianity today.
"But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." (Mat 7:14 NLT)
1. Eze 18:24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die."
2. Eze 33:12 "Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, 'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' 13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done."
3. Mat 5:22 "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."
1. Eze 18:24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die."
2. Eze 33:12 "Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, 'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' 13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done."
a.
Although this is the only Old Covenant passage I included, people will
read this and immediately say, “Yeah, but that’s the OT.” What
they fail to understand is that, the New Testament brings an even
higher standard than the Old, not a lower standard. In the New
Covenant, we are not just given the command, but we are also given the
power (grace from Christ) to actually obey it. This means that we
will be held to a higher standard and punished even more than the
people in the OT, if we turn away from righteousness. (See #48
below).
3. Mat 5:22 "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell."
a. “brother” means spiritual brother, not blood relative. This is a warning to believers, who can end up in hell, if they remain angry (murder) with their fellow brother or sister in Christ
b. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. – 1 John 3:15
4.
Mat 5:29 "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and
throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than
for your whole body to be thrown into hell."
a. Here we see a passage from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus is teaching his own disciples (believers) that they can be in danger of hell if they do not eradicate sin from their life. Even after his death and resurrection on the cross, he commands in Mat 28:20 to go teach other believers to obey ALL that He commanded, so in no way did Jesus dying on the Christ absolve us from the need to deal drastically with sin in our life. His death on the cross provided forgiveness of past sins (2 Pet 1:9), the power to overcome current sin (Rom 6:6-7), and the mercy for our occasional stumbles into sin (1 Jn 2:1), but NOT for living in sin (1 Jn 1:6-7).
5.
Mat 7:19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and
thrown into the fire."
a. There are four major types of Spiritual fruit:
i. Fruit of the lips: Mat 12:34; Heb 13:15
ii. Fruit of righteousness and truth: Eph 5:9; Phi 1:9
iii. Fruit of good works: Col 1:10
iv. Fruit of evangelism: Phi 1:22
7. Mat 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
a. Again, Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples. Why the need for believers to fear God and hell if we can't lose our salvation?
8.
Mat 10:33 "But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him
before my Father in heaven."
a. An unbeliever cannot disown Jesus, only a believer.
b. I believe that this command means denying him FINALLY and completely, not in a stumble or bad moment. Peter, having denied the Lord three times, is an example this. Jesus told him in advance it was going to happen, and the devil was allowed to do this to him to break him from being self-sufficient. He was completely broken and repented deeply. Had he not repented, I believe he would have been lost. God does not show favoritism (Acts 10:35)
9.
Mat 10:39 "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life for my sake will find it."
10.
Mat 10:42 "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he
will certainly not lose his reward."
a. This implies that a believer CAN lose their reward. See Mat 25:41-42
11. Mat 11:6 "Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
12. Mat 13:20 "The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away."
13. Mat 18:3 "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
14. Mat 18:33 "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
12. Mat 13:20 "The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away."
13. Mat 18:3 "And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
14. Mat 18:33 "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
a. This full passage is about a believer who has been forgiven by God, who will end up in hell because even though he was forgiven by God, he didn’t forgive others.
15.
Mat 21:43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be
taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its
fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,
but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
a. But you say, "Yeah but he's talking to the Jews." See Rom 11:20-23 below.
16.
Mat 24:10 "At that time many will turn away from the faith and
will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear
and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm
to the end will be saved."
a. Many people will fall away from salvation through deception by false teachers.
17.
Mat 24:44 "So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come
at an hour when you do not expect him."
a. "Why the need to be ready if you are “in Christ”? What happens if you aren't ready?"
18.
"Mat 24:46 It will be good for that servant (believer) whose
master (Jesus) finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the
truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose
that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away
a long time,' 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to
eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come
on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.
51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the
hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
a. Here is a warning to servants (believers) who will lose their salvation because they were lazy and didn’t diligently serve and love others.
19.
Mat 25:29 "For everyone who has will be given more, and he will
have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into
the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
a. A fruitless believer who loses their salvation
20.
Mat 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you
who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you
did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was
sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'44"They also will
answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'45"He will
reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the
least of these, you did not do for me.'46"Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
a. Believers, who call him ‘Lord’, but still end up in hell because they had faith without works.
21.
Luk 12:45 "But suppose the servant (believer) says to himself, 'My
master (Jesus) is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to
beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get
drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he
does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him
to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers."
a. Notice Jesus says a “servant” (someone who was a “believer”) will be assigned a place in hell with “unbelievers”.
22.
Joh 15:2,6 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…6
If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown
away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and
burned."
a. These are people who “are in Jesus” (believers) but who bear no fruit. They are worthless servants and they end up thrown into the fire (hell) at Judgment.
23.
Act 14:22 "Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to
remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter
the kingdom of God," they said."
a. Why the need to encourage someone to remain “true” to the faith if they can never fall away from it to begin with?
24.
Rom 8:13 "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will
die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body,
you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are
sons of God."
a. Paul writes to believers saying they will die if they continue to live by the flesh.
25.
Rom 11:22 "Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God:
sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you
continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off."
26.
1 Co 9:27 "No, 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."
a. Why would Paul be worried about being disqualified and losing his prize of salvation if it weren’t possible?
27.
1 Co 15:2 "By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the
word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain."
Are you starting to see the truth here? Are you feeling an increase of the FEAR OF THE LORD?
28.
Gal 5:4 "You who are trying to be justified by law have been
alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace."
a. Here is God’s word saying that these people have “fallen away from grace”, yet there are pastors that teach this is not possible. Here God is saying these people fell away. Who will you believe?
29.
Gal 5:19 "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions,
factions 21 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."
a. Again, he is warning “believers” not “unbelievers” about not making it to heaven if they live according to the sin nature.
30.
Php 2:12 "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always
obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my
absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling."
a. Why the need for ANY fear or ANY trembling if I can never fall away and lose my salvation?
31.
Col 1:22 "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body
through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and
free from accusation—23IF you continue in your faith, established and
firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel."
32.
1 Th 3:13 "May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be
blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord
Jesus comes with all his holy ones."
a. But I thought “belief” in Christ one time made us “blameless”, why the need to be strengthened in our hearts?
33.
1 Ti 1:19 "Holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have
rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith."
a. Why the need to hold onto faith and a good conscience if “Jesus DID IT ALL”, and how is it possible to shipwreck your faith if you are in Christ and can never lose it, no matter what?
34.
1 Ti 3:13 "Those who have served well gain an excellent standing
and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus."
a. But I thought “belief” was all we needed for great assurance in Christ.
35.
1 Ti 4:16 "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them,
because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."
a. The message to believers and pastors is clear here: If I do not watch my life and doctrine closely, and if I do not PERSEVERE in them, it is clear I will not save myself or my hearers, even though I am a “believer”.
36.
1 Ti 6:20 "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care.
Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is
falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing
have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you."
37. 2 Ti 2:11 "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us."
38. Heb 2:1 "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"
37. 2 Ti 2:11 "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us."
38. Heb 2:1 "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?"
a. “But I’m a “believer” and God’s grace is irresistible and I can never fall away, so I don’t have a need to pay careful attention and I will never drift away. I’m once saved, always saved!”
39.
Heb 3:6 "But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we
are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we
boast."
a. “But I’m a believer in Christ and He did it all…I don’t have to hold on to anything!”
40.
Heb 3:12 "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful,
unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God."
a.
“But I don’t have to see to anything because I already have a believing
heart and I’m saved by my belief and I could never turn away from God
and lose my salvation.”41.
Heb 3:14 "We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till
the end the confidence we had at first."
42. Heb 3:19 "So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."
43. Heb 4:1 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."
44. Heb 4:11 "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
45. Heb 4:14 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."
46. Heb 6:4 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned."
47. Heb 6:11 "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."
48. Heb 10:26 "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
49. Heb 10:35 "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
50. Heb 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
51. 1 Pe 4:17 "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
52. 2 Pe 1:5 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall."
42. Heb 3:19 "So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."
43. Heb 4:1 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."
44. Heb 4:11 "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
45. Heb 4:14 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."
46. Heb 6:4 "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned."
47. Heb 6:11 "We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised."
48. Heb 10:26 "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
49. Heb 10:35 "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved."
50. Heb 12:14 "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."
51. 1 Pe 4:17 "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
52. 2 Pe 1:5 "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall."
a. “Again, Michael, I just don’t think you get it, “My pastor has assured me that Jesus did it all. It was a free gift of grace to me and I don’t bother myself about all this doing stuff. I don’t have to do anything but just “be”. Jesus did it all and I could never fall away from faith.”
53.
2Pe 2:1 "But there were also false prophets among the people, just
as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought
them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow
their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute."
54. 2 Pe 2:20 "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."
55. 2 Pe 3:11 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."
54. 2 Pe 2:20 "If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them."
55. 2 Pe 3:11 "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."
a. Here is a warning about not being carried away from your secure position in Christ. Are you getting the picture? It is harder to be saved than people have been taught. We have to do our part, humbly dependent on his grace, to remain in him. This is why Jesus said, “Strive to enter the narrow gate.” We do have to STRIVE with his help. Don’t let someone lie to you and say, “Jesus does it all.” No, he doesn’t. We have to do our part!!!!!! Think of all the warnings and admonitions you have seen so far. There is WORK for us to do.
56.
1 Jn 2:24 "See that what you have heard from the beginning remains
in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is what he promised us—even eternal life."
57. 2 Jn 1:8 "Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."
58. Rev 2:5 "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
59. Rev 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
60. Rev 2:10 "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."
61. Rev 3:4 "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy."
57. 2 Jn 1:8 "Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."
58. Rev 2:5 "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
59. Rev 2:7 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."
60. Rev 2:10 "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."
61. Rev 3:4 "Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy."
a. Jesus is saying there are people in the Sardis church (believers) who have soiled their clothes and the implication is that they are now unworthy to walk with him dressed in white.
62.
Rev 3:5 "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I
will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will
acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels."
a. Why would Jesus mention not doing something (blotting out his name), if it were never possible to do to begin with?
63.
Rev 3:10 "Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I
will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon
the whole world to test those who live on the earth."
64. Rev 22:19 "And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
64. Rev 22:19 "And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."
Summary:
I believe there are a huge number of professing “Christians” today who are not truly born again, but who have been deceived into thinking they are, simply because they “believed” in their minds (intellectually) that Jesus is the Son of God. They fail to see that we are called to the obedience that comes by faith (Rom 1:5) and that Jesus is the source of salvation for all that obey Him (John 8:51, 14:21, Heb 5:8). I see clearly in Scripture that, “Yes, I, Michael Chriswell can absolutely lose my future inheritance for salvation, even though I am born again, by walking away or falling away from faith in Jesus (either through thought or action, by negligence, willful disobedience, deception, unbelief, pride, persecution, fear, worldliness, lifestyle sin, etc.).
I believe it is critical to understand that renouncing faith in Jesus is not limited to those who openly state with their words that they do not believe in him any longer (like Billy Graham’s first partner Charles Templeton who became an agnostic). A person who claims to be a Christian, but who lives and walks in darkness (practicing sin), has walked away from Jesus by their actions, regardless of what they profess with their lips (Tit 1:16).
If a person falls away, only God Himself knows if His Spirit was ever actually in them, but they will certainly have lost what they thought was salvation. However, for a true Spirit filled believer, NO one or NO thing can cause them to lose their salvation except for THEMSELVES, and by all means if we do our part to stand firm in the faith, He is fully willing and fully able to keep us from falling away (Rom 14:4, 2 Cor 1:21, Jude 1:24).
This calls for Christians to be God fearing, trusting, obedient, humble, dependent on our Father as a children, and to practice good spiritual disciplines in fellowship with the Spirit and other godly and mature believers.
The Story of a Weak Christian Who Fell Away:
"Be faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev 2:10)
From Foxe’s Book of Martyrs we have a striking true story and illustration of the importance of Jesus’s commandment in Revelation 2:10. In around A.D. 250, a weak Christian, Nichomachus, was brought before the governor of Asia, Optimus and ordered to sacrifice to their pagan idols. Nichomachus replied, “I cannot pay the respect to devils that is due only to the Almighty.” He was immediately placed on the stretching rack, and after enduring his torments for only a short time, recanted his faith in Christ. As soon as he was freed from the rack, he was seized with great agony and fell to the ground and died (Mat 16:25). Seeing his terrible decision, Denisa, a teenage girl exclaimed, “O unhappy wretch, why would you buy a moment’s ease at the expense of a miserable eternity!” When Optimus heard this he called her to himself, and when Denisa confessed she was a Christian, he had her beheaded.
Contrast Nichomachus with Ignatius in A.D. 110, who was the overseer of the church in Antioch. He was sent to Rome to be tried for his faith. He asked the church in Rome not to try to save him from being martyred. He wrote, “Now I begin to be a disciple. I care for nothing of visible or invisible things so that I may but win Christ. Let fire and the cross, let the companies of wild beasts, let breaking of bones and tearing of limb, let the grinding of the whole body, and all the malice of the devil, come upon me; be it so, only may I win Christ Jesus.” Even when he was sentenced to be fed to the lions and could hear their roaring, he was filled with such desire to suffer for Christ (Acts 5:41) that he said, “I am the wheat of Christ; I am going to be ground with the teeth of wild beasts that I may be found pure bread.”
Perhaps Nichomachus depended on his own strength to sustain the testing of his faith, or perhaps he was not even a true Spirit filled believer. May that never be the case with us, but that we would humbly ask Christ for the dying grace to stand firm with integrity, to the very last breath. I do not like the idea of the pain, but I love the idea of dying for Christ as a Martyr. However, most agree that living for Him can be even tougher than dying for Him, hence why we desperately need His grace (power) either way, so that we ever acknowledge Him and never deny Him in word or lifestyle.
