Fear not in scary times. The noose is ever tightening around the neck. Freedom, human rights, the "free life in Christ" as we know it, are ever encroached upon; that steadfast, determined solipsism of our belief in, and living out of, God's Word and God's standards, eclipsing us.
We must do this or that. We must not do this or that or the other thing...avoid, avoid, avoid.
Consequences, consequences of non-compliancy. No, I'm not in denial of what is purported to descend upon us. Yes. We must all prepare ourselves. Yes, discretion is the better part of valor. Wisdom and discretion are vital; I agree.
BUT...But must we allow fear and paranoia rule our hearts and minds? Paul tells Timothy that "God hath not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7-KJV).
Another calming verse calls us to "Let NOT our hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me; Jesus very words! (John 14:1). Jesus was often calming people with His reassuring, "Don't be afraid's" and "fear nots" to the disciples and others who were genuinely alarmed by mind-boggling supernatural events.
We're given a job to do and with it the command from the Lord, "You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do NOT BE AFRAID of them, for I am with you and will rescue you." (Jeremiah 1:7,8-NIV).
A command and an assurance. Let us not let the fear of man cripple us. Let us take courage and declare, "...therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way..." (Psalm 46:2,3-NIV). Our God will deliver us from all our fears (Psalm 34:4-NIV). Take note, deliverance is from our fears, not our circumstances. God could choose to change the state of affairs we find ourselves in but that's not necessarily what He promises. (That's another whole topic on it's own...suffice it to say, we learn and grow from our trials, tribulations and circumstances if we let Him.)
There is a type of fear sanctioned and beneficial, that is, the "fear of the Lord" which is the beginning of wisdom. Who doesn't want to be wise? Fear the Lord. Serve Him. Give Him glory.
Let us stand bold in Christ and claim our inheritance from the Lord. He says in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession."
Joshua of the Old Testament (OT) times was to lead the multitude of Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan. He was told to be "strong and courageous". That land, at that time, was still in enemy hands. They had to fight for it in up close and dangerous combat.
When they did fight, inch-by-inch; step-by-step, God gave them that much ground. Everyday they had to go out and do it all over again. Gaining that ground little by little, was not an easy feat. Joshua 3:1 tells us, "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised.."
If they had let fear overcome them, paralyzing them from the scary battles, they would get nothing. So in faith, and in fear of God, they marched forward, and claimed the Promised Land as their inheritance (Lev. 20:24). All the nations around them were to be blessed by the Israelites because of the Israelites obedience, strength and courage in their Almighty God.
Similarly, we can claim these promises when we "fear not". When we are strong and courageous as Galations 3:8 announces, we will be a blessing to others, and be blessed right along with our ancient ancestor Abraham.
"Let us resolutely ask for spiritually "enlarged borders" (Isaiah 54:2-NIV) and for our inheritance in the land in which we find ourselves and that, despite the current situation. Let this be our inheritance to offer to our God. Let us ask God. He will give graciously and generously.
Put fear aside. Pray. Ask. Confuse, confound, put into chaos the wiles of the devil. Do not accept or be accepting of that which is contrary to our Lord; of that which wants to be instituted over the general populace.
Submit to God. Resist evil and the evil one perpetuating the "take over" of our souls and godly lifestyle (James 4:7 NIV). Let us live our lives to please our Heavenly Lord and Master, Jesus Christ through His Word and His Holy Spirit's leading and guiding every step of the way living purposeful, pure lives according to God's standards being a good testimony and witness for Him, 'til He comes.
Fear NOT in these scary times. Let it be said of us that we too have blessed those who live around us due to our obedience to uphold God and His standards, "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15-NIV). Little bit by little bit, claim your inheritance for Almighty God.
~ERC 2015~
Q2. Is it necessary to continue to follow and believe in Jesus and the teachings of the Bible once we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord? Why?
A2. It is definitely necessary to continue to follow and believe the teachings of the Bible once we have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. If we do not it boils down to having made Jesus our Savior but not Lord of our life.
We are exhorted to become more like Christ, to become holy as He is holy. Therefore we must allow God's Word and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in the way of our Lord.
Since we have been "set free from sin" and "have become slaves to righteousness" (Romans 6:18) we will be compelled by the Holy Spirit to make Jesus our Lord and Master as He is the Righteous One. Our minds need to grasp this fact that Jesus is now our Master --the Lord of our life--our Commanding Officer.
Jesus is not a harsh taskmaster but the ever loving One. In fact, due to His love for us, and all He has done for us because of that love, out of the gratitude of our hearts, we will instinctively live His way in response to His loving deeds for us.
When tracing the New Testament (NT) from Romans, all through the epistles and Revelation, this love for us, His children, is very prominent and inspires humble obeisance towards Him and a welling up of wanting to love Him back. When we realize this we will be impelled to become holy, living sacrifices devoted to Him. We will be committed to live circumspectly, sincerely for Jesus, our Lord and Master whom we must put on the throne of our heart.
We often lose sight of God's love thus the many Scripture verses of exhortation. As Joyce Meyer* says in her book Battlefield of the Mind, "Our minds are not born again with the New Birth experience--they have to be renewed". (Romans 12:2) We need to stuff our minds with God's Word, meditate upon it, so we will be energized to understand and re-train/renew our minds to live it out.
Christians are "predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His (God's) Son (Romans 8:29). They have been "washed, sanctified, justified in the Name of Jesus and by the Holy Spirit" ( 1 Cor. 6:11). We have not been left entirely to our own devices in our process of becoming holy and like Christ in that constant renewal of our minds.
When we attune our minds to the blessings we have in Christ--what He accomplished for us by His death and resurrection we will be more able to live for Him. Galations 5:1 tells us Christ set us free from the yoke of slavery to the law and sin. We are free!! But we must stand firm in our faith.
God chose us to be holy and blameless (Eph. 1:3-4). "He saved us and called us to a holy life" (2 Tim 1:9,10). He chose us "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work of the Spirit"; chosen "for obedience to Jesus Christ..." (1 Peter 1:2).
Again, Jesus purifies us from all sin and unrighteousness and has forgiven it. He made us slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). The assurance that "God's divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), leaves us little room for excuse not to follow and believe in Jesus and His teachings everyday of our Christian lives until He comes for us.
Some folks may think, "I'm saved and have eternal life so I'm very safe. That's good enough for me. I'm 'free' therefore I can live as I please." A believer's freedom did not come cheaply. It was not cheap grace...a man had to die. That man was Jesus Christ (1 Cor 10:23, 24, 31-33). We need to be God-pleasers and make Jesus, Lord of our life, to become, in our minds and actions, the bond servants of Jesus Christ. We are free, yes; free to do God's will.
Romans 6:1-4, 11-16, 22-23 verses are excellent on this thought. "What shall I say then, shall I go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!....in order that ...we too may live a new life...you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness...slaves to God."
If one boy hits another but then says he is sorry and apologizes and the other boy forgives the hitter, that does not entitle the hitter to continue to hit. The other boy surely won't like it and will run out of patience and good will. We too should not take God and His gift for granted (He won't lose patience with us and 'unfriend us' but we will not be satisfied in our hearts).
This train of thought leads to God's desire for us to be holy because He is holy, indeed as said earlier, He 'chose us to be holy and blameless" (Eph 1:3, 4). Indeed we are encouraged to "NOT conform to the evil desires" we had "when we lived in ignorance" (1 Peter 1:13-15). We are to "present ourselves to God as approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed" (2 Timothy 2:15, 19). "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."
Our love for God will be the key to obeying His commands (1 John 5:2-3, 5). We will be eager to do what is good (Titus 2:13, 14) and not feel grudgingly obliged to do what pleases Him. Doing what pleases Him is a sign to ourselves and others that we belong to Him (1 John 3:21-24). A natural outflow of being born of God is not to continue to sin(1 John 3:9).
God's people must build themselves up...in faith and keep themselves in God's love...(Jude 20, 21). As they do this they will learn more of what pleases God; become more sensitive to His will and in so doing, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in us will progress.
Our every effort will pay off...to our faith will be added goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. As these increase in measure (2 Peter 1:5-9) our hearts will be set apart for Christ and Lord." Our consciences will be clear and good towards God and allow Him to be Master and Lord of more and more of ourselves.
Helping ourselves towards the goal of a good conscience we can examine and test ourselves to see if there is anything wrong. The Spirit of wisdom and revelation will aid us. We have confidence that when "we confess our sins, that God is faithful and just and will forgive us of those sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
This does not mean that this life is without struggle. We are human beings, not divine, yet that is not an "easy-out" excuse for us to sin either. "God has created us in Jesus to do good works, and gave us the seal of the Holy Spirit" (Eph 2:6-10). God has made us righteous in His sight yet we still need to be holy in our own sight and in the sight of others.
Besides our own self-confession to the Lord, we can confess to our brothers and sisters in Christ (James 5:16). We can also pray and "aim for perfection" as we examine ourselves (2 Cor 13:5, 7, 9-11). We will never be totally perfect, blameless or holy as our Father, God, is, but we must aim for it.
The consequence of this is so we will be clear minded and self-controlled allowing us to pray (1 Peter 4:7). So we can devote ourselves to prayer (Col 4:2-6). To be so righteous that our prayers are powerful and effective (James 5:16). Jesus will not be ashamed to call us brothers (Heb 2:10, 11; 2 Thess 1:11).
Living this life God has created for us, we will be a witness to the glory of God; we will 'give Him face' and draw others to Christ (Eph 2:6-10; 2 Tim 4:15-16). This is part of our 'job'. This not only by our isolated selves but as each believer is made ever more holy, and we gather together collectively as the church of God, we are a witness to the "rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph 3:10-11); a force for God with which to reckon.
In the book of Romans, we who have accepted Christ as Savior are seen as justified in God's eyes. However, man cannot see our mind and heart, so the book of James emphasizes our deeds, good deeds, so that we are "justified" in the eyes of men. We did not earn salvation by doing good works but were saved to do them. We were designed for good works; a purpose for our salvation (James 2:14, 17). James 3 and 4 show us many examples of the good deeds we can and should set our minds and hands to be doing. That faith that is there first, produces these actions: helping the poor, widows, or orphans; holy living; taming the tongue; not coveting and more. These are all practical aspects of Christian faith; faith in action.
Let us devote ourselves to these (Titus 3:5-8), walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:2-3, 6). Let us give joy to the Lord as we walk in faithfulness to the truth (3 John 3, 4) believing wholeheartedly in Him. We will be blessed as we keep the words of God's prophecy (BIBLE), making Jesus our Lord and Master as well as Savior, running the good race that was set out for us until we hear God's "Well done, good and faithful servant" (Rev. 22:7, 12-14). Amen.
22 July 2013
*Note: I do not subscribe to all of Joyce Meyer's teachings. Some are good but ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern aright what is according to the teachings in God's Word.
Q. If a person who has received Jesus as Savior, doesn't continue to follow and believe in Jesus and His teachings (the BIBLE), will his name be erased from God's Book of Life?
A. Nowhere in the New Testament (NT) can such a thing be found in specifically direct words. However there is much said that leads us to conclude we are eternally secure and therefore our names forever retained in the Book of Life.
Many verses assure and reassure us of our life in Christ being eternal, starting with the well-known John 3:16, "...shall have everlasting life." (KJV)
In John 10:28 Jesus says He gives His 'sheep' eternal life and that they will never perish. Further to that, He adds, "..no one can snatch them out of His hand," and goes on to say, "..no one can snatch them out of His Father's hand"; therein is divine double protection. We do not earn our salvation, it is a "gift of God". Hence we become slaves of righteousness, to God, and holiness which "results in eternal life"' it too being a gift (Rom 6:18-23). Will He rescind on His gift?
Relatively 'easy' for us; a gift. However, to God, this came at great cost: costly grace. We often take this for granted, yes. God went so far out of His way to "foreknow" us, "to predestine, call, justify and glorify" us (Romans 8:28-30). It cost HIM so, so much--the very life of His one and only Son; I do not believe He would ever let us go if at once we were His.
First Corinthians 6:11 says, "washed, sanctified, justified" in the Lord Jesus Christ's Name and by the Spirit of our God. Again, if God was willing to do this for us believers, is He going to annul His work?
I do not believe for one minute that it even crossed God's mind to disinherit us nor to cut us, His heirs, out of His will. Look at Gal. 4:6-7. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts...since you are a son, God has also made you an heir."
Ephesians 1:11-14 tells us, "...you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit...guaranteeing our inheritance until redemption...". This is like the cattle ranchers who brand their cattle with their unique, respective brands. God has "branded" His heirs of redemption with His Holy Spirit. He is not going to let us go so easily!
We find in Rev 22:17 that "...the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" The child of God gets to go back to God along with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee. God is our "all-the-way-Home-Saviour". He's not going to erase us out of the Lamb's Book of Life.
At this juncture, we need to interpose some of the apostle Paul's actions, that of "handing certain persons over to Satan" and his talk about those who've "wandered away from the truth", and even those who have "tasted" of the truth. Do any of these have their names erased from the Book of Life?
Being "handed over to Satan" seems to mean to place the brother (or sister) into Satan's domain, i.e. the world. The purpose for this is correction, not condemnation.
Take a look at the brother in 1 Cor 5:5. Paul handed that man over to Satan so that his "...sinful nature would be destroyed but his spirit saved". He did learn his lesson as we read of Paul strongly urging the Corinthians to reinstate him into the congregation (2 Cor 2:5-11). It can be deduced that he was a saved man who had sinned, repented, and eventually rededicated his life to Christ. He was not saved, lost, saved, and never had his name erased from the Book of Life.
Paul also hands Hymanaus and Alexander over to Satan (1 Tim 1:18-20). They had been led astray, even to the point of blaspheming. It should be noted though that blaspheming in the NT doesn't always mean "to curse God", rather it can mean "to speak ill of others". Perhaps they had been backstabbing others or speaking maliciously; details aren't given. The context does not appear to regard eternal security but discipline of believers who had shipwrecked their faith".
To have "rejected" sound teaching does not mean lost but rather to teach us that this group of believers started out well, but had not maintained fellowship with their Savior and by their actions brought shame upon His Name and themselves.
Similarly to being "handed over to Satan" for correction are those who have "wandered from the faith/truth". The believer in James 5:19-20 had fallen into sin. This does happen in the life of many Christians but there are other spiritual Christians who have helped those who have gotten into deep sin and have shepherded them back to the Lord.
Try to paddle a canoe in a straight line towards the opposite bank and against the wind; it's difficult but not entirely impossible. So too the "rescued" brother or sister can be brought back to the Lord with great sustained effort. That person had not stopped being a child of God nor had had his/her name revoked from the Lamb's Book of Life. The everlasting quality of God's gift is genuine.
True, the everlasting quality of God's gift is genuine and although the child of God may have wasted years in sin, that which he has done for the Lord will be tested. Because of those wasted years much may be "burned up" but he himself will still be safe if "only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Cor 3:10-15).
There is another scenario of "having wandered from the truth" that is akin to the terminology of having "tasted" of the "heavenly gift". The Scriptures 1 Tim 6:10, 20, 21; Heb 3:12-14; and Heb 10:26-29 will show that "the faith" the people purported to have could be questioned.
First Timothy 6:10 is not so much of having the faith and losing it but "did they ever have it"? The same tenor can be see in 1 Tim 6:20, 21 where "intellect is prominent and God's ways are questioned. These are not so much of saved/lost/saved verses but, were they ever truly saved."
The Hebrews verses can be viewed in the context that many of the Hebrew people had heard and known of the gospel but had never received Christ by a definite act of faith" and forthwith turned back to Judaism. They turned back and "openly despised the cross". A true child of God would never despise the cross or the One who died for Him. A true believer would not fall back but must keep up their guard against sin and the pleasures of this world.
A blatant example, esp of Heb 6:4-6 would be Judas Iscariot. He had been with Jesus for those 3 1/2 years witnessing Jesus's life, miracles, etc and even performing miracles and preaching himself. He came to a very sad, remorseful, faithless end. He had "tasted" but had never accepted for himself and therefore had never gotten his name written in the Book of Life.
Some verses in the NT may appear ambiguous in that they use the terms 'if', 'might' or 'should'. This seems to put the English-thinking mind in quandary. However, the NET (New English Translation) states in Titus 3:7, "...and so, since we have been justified by His grace we become heirs with the confident expectation of eternal life". Often in the NT 'if' and 'should' could be translated 'since'. 'If' and 'since' show what would be logical result, not a question of result.
The Hebrews 3:6 'if' is not a negative 'if' but rather an "expected" 'if'. A true believer WILL hold fast--it is expected. The context of Hebrews is not church doctrine rather the Person of Christ and/or the Living God. We do not hold fast in order to retain our salvation but as proof we have genuinely been saved. A true child of God will endure. Their names are eternally stamped in the Lamb's Book of Life (Heb. 3:14).
Another passage that may present a challenge is 2 Peter 2: 19-22. It looks like someone had accepted Christ but then had gotten "entangled" in the world again. Verse 22 is rather dramatic in saying the "dog returns to its vomit" and "a sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." In the Old Testament (OT) a dog and a sow are considered unclean animals. Reference here would indicate that that is what the person who supposedly "escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" is -unclean- and had never actually accepted Jesus with a definite act of faith. The person was in the same category as Judas and the others who'd only "tasted" but had never made it their own. Again, their names would never have been in the Book of Life. "The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim 2:19). We can never judge the heart of any particular individual. All we have to go on is their "good deeds"...
Titus 3:5-7 indicates we are saved to do good works NOT by good works, therefore we cannot work for our salvation in any way, shape or form. It is the gift of God. The grace of God is a gift. Eternal life is a gift. Faith, itself, is a gift (Eph 2:6-10; Romans 6:23). God's gifts are eternal. He does not withdraw them. He's thought all this out before we were born. He sees us as seated with Him in the Heavenly realms; as if we were/are already there in past and present eternity! Praise the Lord!
Hebrews 10:14 appears to be a contradiction of terms..."because by one sacrifice He has made us perfect forever those who are being made holy". If God has made us perfect forever (Romans) why are we "being made holy" (James)?!
In God's eyes we are "perfect forever" made righteous by Him through the blood of Jesus Christ at the time we accepted Jesus as Savior. God's Word tells us in Heb 10:17-19 that "our sins and lawless acts" God "will remember no more". They've been "forgiven". No more sacrifice for sin needed.
The "being made holy" phrase may be where the confusion lies. This is the sanctification part. That process by which the Holy Spirit purifies us daily, if we let Him, and make Jesus, not just our Savior but our Lord and Master as we live our lives in pleasing obedience to Him. (1 Cor 6:11).
God asks us to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:13-15). We can never actually attain total holiness of mind on this earth but He wants us to "aim for perfection"; that holiness (2 Cor 13:5, 7, 9-11) so that we will be a greater witness and testimony for Him.
This sanctification process isn't even fully man's responsibility; so that even when we fail we do not lose our salvation nor will we have our names erased from the Book of Life. Our salvation does not hinge on our ability or lack thereof to be sanctified of our own accord. Salvation comes from God and is His gift to mankind.
In 1 Cor 6:11 we see our washing, sanctifying and justification is in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. As Joyce Meyer in her book Battlefield of the Mind says,
"When a person receives Christ as His personal Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in Him. The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit knows the mind of God just as a person's own spirit within him is the only one who knows his thought, so the Spirit of God is the only One who knows the mind of God.
"Since the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and since He knows the mind of God, one of His purposes is to reveal to us God's wisdom and revelation. That wisdom and revelation is imparted to our spirit, and the spirit enlightens the eyes of our heart, which is our mind. The Holy Spirit does this so we can understand on a practical level what is being ministered to us spiritually." Thus we are not left up to our own devices.
Salvation then is a "better and lasting possession" (Heb 10:32-34). As 1 Peter 1:3-5 points out, God "has given us new birth...an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade...and is being kept in heaven for us."
Mankind cannot help themselves and would likely mess it up therefore God keeps our inheritance safely guarded in heaven for us. It was God's plan all along to "chose us and elect us". He will not abandon nor euthanize us. He says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee..."(Heb 13:5 KJV).
I boldly and confidently conclude with a resounding "NO!" God will never erase a person's name from the Lamb's Book of Life even if he wanders away from the truth, no longer believing or following God's teachings. The person is safe and eternally secure.
THE END
Note: To give credit where credit is due, I've had some help from my brother-in-law (DD-he knows who he is) to understand some of the difficult passages re: "being handed over to Satan", "some have wandered away" and "have tasted" and the 'if' and 'might' passages. Not totally verbatim but generally his thoughts which have helped me to have some understanding thereof. --written July 2013.
