The Perseverance of the Saints

Now, for the last "point" of Calvinism, and the one that is equally--of not more--hotly debated than election. That being the principle of the perserverance of the saints. And, if one were to fully and openly study the Scriptures, it would be obvious that when one is TRULY saved by the grace of GOD, we can in no way "lose" our salvation. It is GOD who keeps one sanctified. It is GOD who keeps watch over His sheep. It is GOD who keeps us by our faith.

How can one even think that so great a gift as salvation should be something that would depend on our own merits to (1) secure, and (2) keep hold of. Is GOD so callous a Judge that He would show us how to obtain that precious faith, yet not tell us when we would be in danger of losing it? The question then is: is our salvation dependent upon ourselves, or our glorious Lord?

Ponder these points:
1) Who is responsible for saving us? It is GOD who justifies us. When we hear the call of the Holy Spirit, and we repent of our sins, and ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, HE saves US. We are justified freely by the blood of the Lamb of GOD.

2) Does GOD know the future? A silly question indeed, but one that must be posed. Of course GOD knows the future. He has revealed it first to the Patriarchs--Noah of the flood, and Abraham of the promise of many nations calling him 'blessed'. He has revealed hidden things to the prophets. He foretold the coming of the Messiah to the prophet Isaiah. Lastly, He has revealed the final things to St. John. So, of course, GOD knows everything past, present, and future.

3) Now, put these two truths together. If it is GOD that saves us (and it is), and GOD knows the future, then answer this question if you will. Would GOD apply the blood of His precious Lamb to one's life, if they will only fall back into their old ways, and return to their old master? Would this not make the blood of Christ of no effect? Absolutely not!!

If you don't believe me, then read on what the Holy Spirit has dictated to the authors of GOD's word:
Hebrews 10:24--"For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."
Hebrews 7:23-25--"Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
He--Christ--is able to (and does) save us TO THE UTTERMOST, if we come to GOD through Him. How? Be cause He ALWAYS makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:30--"Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."
It is GOD who justifies. It is GOD who sanctifies. Recall what our Lord said, that whomever the Father gives to Him, no one can pluck them from His hand.
Romans 8:37-39--"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I do not think it is controversial to call sin a 'created thing'. For GOD alone is uncreated. Now, if we are in Christ Jesus, can sin-a created thing-come between us and GOD? Absolutely not!!
Colossians 3:3--"...your life is hid with Christ in God."

One with Himself I cannot die

My sould is purchased with His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high

With Christ my Savior and my GOD

How true are the words of the writer of this old hymn. If we have indeed been born into the family of Christ, and if we have indeed escaped from our old master, sin and Satan, then He will never send us back (Deuteronomy 23:15-16). What kind of a cruel master would do so? But we have escaped from death to life. We have escaped from darkness to light. We have escaped from Satan to the Lord our GOD. NEVER TO RETURN!!!

Friend, if you want to know true peace, and true love, do not look to frail humans. Look to the one true living GOD, who will never abandon you. He gave His son as a ransom for our sin. What are our lives compared to that?

Limited Atonement.

Did Christ die for the sins of all mankind, even those who do not follow Him and are cast into the lake burning with fire and brimstone? Of course not!! This kind of thinking cheapens the blood of Christ! Is His blood so ineffectual that, should it have been shed for even unbelivers, there would still be many that go in through the wide gate?

Consider Ephesians 5:25--"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;" and 1st John 2:19--"They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." So, how does anyone say that the salvation that is of the LORD is applied to those whom the LORD does not count to be among those who are in Christ?

Of course, one may say, "But what about 1st John 2:2? 'And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.' " Good question. First, we must take into account the verse immediately prior. "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" Christ's propitiation would be effective for every single person who has ever lived, if they would but bend their knee, humble themselves, and believe upon His name and His sacrifice for their forgiveness.

However, this is not the case. For there are those who reject the calling of the Holy Spirit. This is what our Lord meant when He said, ""Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" Does this sound as though Christ has offered universal salvation to any and all people who simply come into existence? If so, well, I'm not quite sure what to say. Perhaps it is I who needs enlightening for thinking that when our Savior says that those who reject the calling of the Holy Spirit cannot have their sins forgiven.

Friend, only those who repent of their sins and call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, and seek to live in a godly manner shall recieve eternal life in the kingdom of GOD. Do not reject the calling of the Holy Spirit. We are not promised another day, let alone another minute. Is eternity important? It's only the most important decision you will ever make. So make the right decision now. Make forever certain.

May the LORD establish and keep you. Amen.

Unconditional Election

Wow. How ironic is this? My second post, on unconditional election comes on November 7, 2006....ELECTION DAY!!!! (OK, that's just too wierd.)

Of the 5 points of Calvinism, this is one of the most hotly debated. Why? I don't know. GOD's word is clear that He chooses us before we choose Him. Listen to Romans 11:2-5 (NKJV)--"Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, "Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life"? But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace."

Also consider the birth of Jacob and Esau. Romans 9:11-13 (NKJV)--"(for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, "The older shall serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated." What exactly had Jacob done to deserve this calling? Did he make a decision in the womb? No. GOD chose Jacob. He chose David. He chose Paul, Peter, Andrew and John.

And how about Abraham? Was he sitting around Ur one day when he just up and decided, "Hey! I've got an idea! I'll go to a place I do not know!" Of course not! GOD called him. Genesis 12:1 (KJV)--"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:"

To say that we take the first step toward salvation, or that our salvation begins with a decision we make is not humble. It is arrogant. Consider the following verses:
Acts 13:17 (KJV)--"The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it."
Acts 22:14 (KJV)--"And he [Ananias] said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee [Paul], that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth."
Ephesians 1:3-6 (NKJV)--"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved."
2nd Timothy 2:13 (KJV)--"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:"

That said, does our salvation depend on anything we do? YES. When we hear GOD calling us, we need to respond. Something I didn't do for many, many years. But, finally, about 5 years ago, I finally wised up and said, "My Shepherd is calling me. I have to go follow Him." And I said goodbye to my old life, and only look back to se how far GOD has brought me. So, if you hear GOD calling you to salvation, answer Him. You may be driving home, get in a car wreck, and never have the chance again. I'm not trying to scare you into anything. But I have heard so many stories about young people who said, "Yeah, I'll do that later." Then drove off and never made it home. And it's so simple. Just something like this:

"Lord Jesus. I've come to realize that I am indeed a sinner. And I know that You died for my sins. So please forgive me for my sins. I want to know You more. I want to follow You. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

May the LORD establish and keep you. Amen.

Hello!

Hello!!

My name is Wayne. I am a CHRISTIAN. I identify myself as a Christian FIRST. I do not identify myself as an American first, or as a Calvinist first, or even as a Southern Baptist first. I live in (and love) The United States of America. I agree with 4 of the 5 "points" of Calvinism. And I attend a church which is associated with the Southern Baptist Convention. But, while I follow these (and other) beliefs, I identify myself as belonging to my Lord Jesus Christ.

So, just what makes one a Christian? Does it take years of learning and experience? Does one have to "get right" before they "get GOD"? NO!!! We are saved by the grace of GOD, through our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I tend to agree (for the most part) with what the great C.H. Spurgeon said: "Calvinism IS the Gospel." He wasn't saying that John Calvin dies for our sins, but that his doctrine was the Gospel in a nutshell. And out of the 5 points of Calvinism, I do agree with 4. I will begin with point number 1:

1) Total Depravity. We are born with a sinful nature called the flesh. We are born into a fallen world.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned"--Romans 5:12
"Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life."--Romans 5:18 (NKJV)
When Adam decided he just couldn't keep his grubby paws off of that fruit, he did more than just bring about his own eventual physical demise. He brought sin into the world, and the curse of death to all men. It wasn't until he brought sin upon us that we humans began to die. GOD told Adam in Genesis 2:17, "in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."--Ephesians 2:1 (NKJV)
We were dead. We could not bring ourselves up out of death. But, praise GOD, He brought us up out of death to live victoriously in our Lord Jesus Christ! And much more than that. When we were enemies of GOD, He still saw fit to save us.
Romans 5:6-9--"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
He didn't say, "I just can't wait until those people learn how to live according to the Law. Once they do, I'll send my Son." He said, "Those people need a Savior. Therefore, I shall send my Son." While we were still spitting in His face!
Romans 5:10--"For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, then give your old life to Him, and let Him give you His eternal life!! You don't have to come up with some flowery, long, eloquent prayer. Just talk to GOD, as if you were talking to a friend. Because you are!!

May GOD establish and keep you. Amen.