You know, as I examine my own life, I have every reason to be discouraged and doubtful of the final outcome. I find it difficult to finish anything I begin, I have a hard time persevering in difficult circumstances, I see that I am too easily sidetracked from things that need to be accomplished. If the completing of my salvation were left up to me, I would have great reason for discouragement, and I would lose hope entirely.But this type of philosophy is not at all what the Scriptures teach us. We are not left to ourselves to stay the course or finish the race. The good news of the gospel is not only that at the cross God redeemed us from slavery, but also that He will finish the work He began in us, and save us to the uttermost. Oh, now THAT is good news indeed, for it shows that we are not at the mercy of our own commitment to keep us in Christ, nor must we depend upon our own ability to run the race well, but rather we may have full confidence that Moses’ statement is true,
Exodus 15:13 (NIV)
"In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling."
Paul said the same thing, didn’t he. He wrote to the Philippians of this same confidence:
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Yes, the Bible instructs us to persevere; yes, it tells us to throw off every weight and the sin that so easily besets us and run the race with perseverance. Yes, it tells us that those who persevere to the end will be saved, and these admonitions are important and should not be neglected. But, as we persevere, we discover that just as much as we are persevering, God is preserving us. We take heart that Jesus will not lose one for whom He died, but will “raise us up at the last day”:
John 6:39 (NIV)
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.
Jude calls his writers to persevere in verses 17-21, encouraging them to build themselves up in the faith, and to keep themselves in God’s love as they await the return of Christ. But then he reminds them that it is really God Who does the keeping:
Jude 1:24 (NIV)
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--
This is the good news of the gospel. It is that Jesus Christ redeemed us from sin and slavery through His death and resurrection. But it is also that He will lead us and guide us and keep us and protect us to the very end. Moses’ rejoicing was in redemption, and his confidence was that God would lead His people and would finally bring them all the way into His presence.
This same good news is ours today. We have been redeemed, we will be preserved. We have been freed from slavery; we will be kept from falling. We have been purchased out of sin; we will be preserved to the very end. Oh, how exceedingly good this good news is. Especially to those of us beset by fears, wearied of temptations, and discouraged by our failings. God will finish the work He began. Oh yes, now that is good news indeed!
grace and truth,
Mike Cleveland
team member www.settingcaptivesfree.com
14 comments:
Amen!!!
Wow, this post got the "triple-exclamation-point" rating from Mark. :) Good stuff.
When I give three exclamation marks, you know you must have knocked my socks off.
Technically speaking..I think the article deserved 5 exclamation marks, but I only had time to type 3 of them.
:)
Mark, Amen!!!!!
There you have it (5 points), not that my rating rates up with Marks (I'm comparative to the local paper's reviews while Mark is USA Today).
Quite honestly though, those are fantastic words of truth, thanks a lot for that post. Well balanced truth, convicting to do our part, only by His grace, while utimately comforting... Indeed Christ does preserve the willing soul that is His.
SuperFLY: So what's your position on those verses?
*grin* That's a great place to start!
Can you expound on them, and explain how they fit into the context of my post and the following comments?
I have some idea's, but I want to clearly understand your position before I offer my thoughts.
SuperFLY,
Amen to those verses!!!
Some additional context that may be helpful in this case...
I Cor 6:8-11 " Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
Hebrews 6:4-9 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak."
Luke 3:8 "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. nd now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise."
Superfly: Thanks for being willing to discuss this! I think this issue is an important one to study and discuss.
I believe that after we become Christians and have the Spirit living in us, that it is only God who can keep us in that state of salvation. Like Cleveland said in the post, the Word calls us to perservere - it calls us to action - but without the grace, power, and favor of Christ, we couldn't even do that.
I'm thinking "out loud" here, but this just came to mind: What we do after we confess Christ is not about whether we keep or lose our salvation, but rather it will show whether we ever really had it.
I guess I just have a hard time reconciling verses such as Philippians 1:6 with verses such as Hebrew 6:4-9 unless we are kept by a power greater than ourselves - God's power.
Luke & SuperFly,
Excellent discussion!
The passages in Hebrews 6 and I Cor 6 are actually similar in an interesting way. They both list very negative scenarios and then close by essentially saying "but you are different".
One possible way to look at this..
In Hebrews 6, it is as if the author were saying "If some one experiences X, Y, Z and then finally falls away, there is no hope for them. But I perceive that this does not apply to you because you have something different (salvation, "things which accompany salvation"), though I do give you this warning."
In I Corinthians 6, it were as if Paul says: "You are wronging each other. You should know this is not right. People in categories X, Y, Z will not go to heaven. But you (even though some of you used to be in those categories) are now in a different category. You are redeemed by Christ. So... don't fool yourself. You better start acting like it." (then he proceeds to say that some things are lawfull but not expedient)
Of course these quotes I made are absolutely not the words of the text, but they convey the essential meaning of the text if it is read carefully with regard to the context. I light of that, I see the article and those three passages you quoted to not be contradictory at all.
P.S. I totally 100% agree that mental assent to the gospel along with a public profession of faith by itself is NOT enough to give an individual assurance of heaven.
God bless,
~Mark
Elise: Thanks for the comment. You're right, our good works and our obedience should flow from a heart of love and worship. We were not created to obey out of fear or out of obligation. We were created to worship and commune with our Father!
You're welcome for mentioning the site.
Superfly: I totally agree that many Christians today are failing to apply the biblical directive of holiness. I think many of them are erring on the side of license. However, just because taking a concept to it's uncontextual extreme can be harmful, does, in no way annul the concept. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: Just because there are many "Christians" who abuse the principle of God's grace and forgiveness, it doesn't mean that the concept Mark was refering to is wrong. It doesn't make it right either...it's just simply not strong argument.
superfly,
You are bringing some good questions and issues to the table.
"Mark: are you really confident that salvation is 'something different' from having 'tasted of the heavenly gift' and 'sharing in the Holy Spirit'? i'm not saying your wrong, i'm just saying it doesnt convince me."
I don't know. The reason I make the distinction is because the author of Hebrews seems to be making that very distinction. The group of people he starts off talking about in Hebrews 6:4-6 are people who had X (partook in all these things and fell away). Then he turns to the readers and says that that he is convinced that they have Y (better things, things which accompany salvation). It seems to me that X can not equal Y here, based on how the author writes it (by setting the two at odds).
I don't claim to be an expert on that passage, but that is what I see at the face value. Hebrews 6 (and not just v4&6) continues to confuse me in a few different ways.
"John 6:39 -- Yes, this is God's will, but it is also His will that NONE should perish but believe on him and have everlasting life..."
OK, but aside from mentioning that there may be at least two different types of "will", I'd like to just point out that not only does God will that His own not perish (as per John 6:39), but His Son also said they will not perish (a statement of the Son, not merely a desire). Those who hear and follow Him will never perish (see John 10:26-29). So, if we have sheep that perish, then another issue that must be faced is the fact that not only is God's will crossed, but also God's Word.
"all i'm saying is that this is a dangerous path and can LEAD to the trouble we see in Christianity today -- where people yet sin that Grace may abound because even though God FORBIDS it, they believe that they won't feel the effects because they've been taught..."
Aside from what Luke aptly put, I want to say that the Biblical message of grace, if it is genuine, will raise questions about whether grace is a licence to sin. Grace that truly from God will be so free and full that one may be tempted to think it is a license. Paul anticipated this issue, and no doubt, that is why He answered it in Romans 6. The Biblical message of grace leads to questions about a license to sin, but it does NOT give a license to sin.
This is great conversation and I'm glad we are having it. But above all, don't take my thoughts for anything unless they match what you find in the Scriptures. I hope what I say is only esteemed in so far as much as it is consistent with the Scriptures. Luke posted an article covering an apparently controversial topic :) ..and we ought to share our thoughts on it.
SuperFLY: Sorry for my misunderstanding. It's one of the downsides to using a typed forum like this to share our thoughts. Sometimes we misinterpret how something is being delivered.
I appreciate your speaking up, and I think your concern is valid.
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