So all of these Scriptures are on that line. You will all receive eternal life… you will all be sons of God… you will all be now period. But we neglected a few ‘ifs.’ So let’s go back and pick them up.
Reader: 1John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. ‘This verse above tells me if I believe in Jesus I have eternal life.’
Comment: (CLV) "These things I write to you that you who ARE BELIEVING in the name of the son of God MAY BE PerCEIVING that you have life eonian."
Do you see how it’s all in the Greek aorist imperfect tense. It’s not past tense, period. “ARE believing,” that’s a process. Well what is it when you are stopping believing, what happens? Well we’ll see what happens. Yes it’s true if you "ARE believing."
What good does it do when a police officer stops you for speeding and you start outlining to him all the time, that you didn’t speed? You say, ‘officer I drove this road yesterday twice and I did not speed. I took my wife to the doctor and I did not speed, I went down town and I didn’t speed, I went out on the highway and went over to Pensacola and I didn’t speed.’ I mean how much weight is that going to carry? The officer says, ‘ but now you are speeding. That’s good that you didn’t speed then, but that will not allow you to start speeding now.’ How simple is that. Can a child understand that?
If you punish a child because he was bad and he says, ‘but mommy I was good yesterday and I was good the day before.’ She says, ‘well that’s good, that’s admirable, but you’ve got to be good today too.’ How simple is that. Well a lot of these people can’t understand it. I’m not poking fun at them, I mean they sincerely can’t, because no one has ever taught them these things.
Reader (email): ‘This is very different to what you teach.’
Comment: One must not just “believe,” but rather the person who has these promises “IS BELIEVING” or they ‘are doing’ something. As long as you ‘are’ obeying the speed limit you won’t get a speeding ticket. But as soon as you stop obeying the speeding sign and start going over it by 20 mph, then you will forfeit your privilege to drive. You’ll get pulled over and if you are drunk or anything you may lose your license and go to jail right on the spot.
Again when this reader quotes John 3:35, “God has given.” But that’s not the Greek aorist tense. The Greek aorist is past, present, future - gives, see. “Gives us eternal life.” Providing you meet the criteria above and below and where? "Line upon line, precept upon precept," the whole council of God, that’s how.
We read Romans 8.
Rom 8:14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. v.15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” v.16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God, v.17 And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, IF indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
"IF!" Do you see that word there, IF. When will we all be millionaires this time next week? IF we win the lottery. If you don’t win the lottery, not only will you not be a millionaire, but many of you will not even be thousandaires. You’ll be like me and you’ll be a hundredaire. I use to say if you are looking for somebody with a little money, I have as little as anybody.
So it says, “IF indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” What does that mean to suffer with Him?
2 Tim 3:12 All those who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
If you don’t get any persecution from anybody ever, never for doing the right thing, then you’re living in a closet someplace Because you will get some flack, trust me. If you haven’t gotten much yet, if you are still alive, then it could be right around the corner.
When it says IF, what it is saying? IF you live such a godly life that people persecute you for doing the right thing, that’s how you are sons of God. Did this reader see that? No. Was he purposely trying to avoid that? No, I really believe he just didn’t see it. But we can see it’s there, can’t we? It is there. ‘If’ such a tiny word, but it is a humongous word.
Then this reader says, a) 'If we are led by the Holy Spirit we are a part of God’s family…’ But he missed the If, the big IF. Then he says this (and people do this kind of stuff all the time too), ‘in 2 Cor.1:21-22, it tells us that those that believe have been sealed as a pledge to us in that we have received salvation.’ No it doesn’t. Read this, it says nothing about we 'have' received salvation. He made that up and neither does verse 22 says 'have been.' The concordant has it.
2Cor. 1:22 Who also seals us and is giving the earnest of the spirit in our hearts.
He “is giving.” Now if He gave it and we have it and it’s a done deal, He doesn’t have to still be giving? You talk about things that people have no concept of what it’s all about. I’m not saying that to puff me up, like I understand and they don’t. I’m just saying that these things are so simple and they are so familiar with them and yet they really don’t know what they mean.
Like for example, all the churches have communion. Some like the Worldwide Church of God had it once a year, because it really came on the Passover and the Passover comes once a year, not every month, not every morning, but every year. Some have it four times a year and I think back when I was in that little Methodist church, we had it four times a year. Some have it once a month and I don’t know if anybody has it once a week. They either have it once a month or then you go into Catholicism, every day.
But here’s the point, why do you have it every day? They may say, ‘well we were told to remember Him and just do this.’ Well they are missing the whole point.
The bread and the wine, they symbolize something. They don’t symbolize your obedience to take this, so that you will remember that Christ shed His blood for you. That’s not what it’s about. He didn’t say 'look' at the bread 'look' at the wine, this symbolizes My body and this symbolizes My blood and then put it back on the table. No, No, No EAT this bread, EAT IT. How often do we need nourishment? “Give us this day our daily bread.” ( Matt 6:11) And likewise the wine…
1Cor. 11:25 "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it…"
You see? This is something you have to do everyday! You drink of His blood, you eat of His body, this is our spiritual nourishment. Yes this is symbolic. I mean you don’t have to send for Paula White’s junky communion set, that’s unbelievable nonsense. You don’t have to have one in your house and you don’t have to have a little sip of wine and a little bread and all that. You LIVE it. If you live the spirit, you don’t have to keep practicing the ritual.
It’s like every time you come over here I wash all of your feet and you would say, ‘why do you wash our feet every time?’ I’d say, oh Christ said we should wash one another’s feet. No, I prepare a Bible study. Sometimes I take 10-20 hours, some times I spend weeks on a Bible study, that’s washing your feet. That’s how I wash your feet, you serve. That’s the whole idea behind that. Christ says, “The servant is not greater than his lord.” (John 13:16)
John 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
So in the Worldwide Church of God every year at Passover we would wash each others feet and forget that we should be serving. Herbert Armstrong, who was the chief foot washer, all he did was serve himself all the days of his life, he served himself.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,
Reader: ‘In Eph. 1:13-14 we are told that we again are sealed with the Holy Spirit and has given us a pledge of our inheritance now - that is again our assurance that we have salvation now.’
No, we do not have salvation now. What we have now is a “pledge,” that’s what it says. Notice that’s what it says in verse 14.
Eph 1:14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption... (NASB)
But his thing is, 'nope, if it says it, then you have it, you possess it now.' No it’s a “a view to the redemption,” a pledge and a view is not possession.
Did the Patriarchs “possess” their inheritance? Hebrew’s 11 is called the 'faith chapter' because it talks about Abel and Enoch and Sarah and Abraham and the Patriarchs and prophets, Moses and all of those people. But it says in verse 13 all these Patriarchs and godly people, men of faith, they all died in faith. Did they have it? The reader says, look if it says you have it, then you have it. It says they all died in faith NOT having received the promises. They didn’t get the promises. Not only did they not get them then, they didn’t get them when they died either, because they didn’t go to heaven or some place. Well what did they have?
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them (with a view) afar off…
Isn’t that what we had in Eph. 1:14 “with a view to the redemption” they having seen them with a view “afar off.” So we don’t know how long we are going to live, we don’t know how long we are going to be dead in the grave, but however long that is it’s afar off. I’m not belittling any of these Scriptures, these Scriptures are absolutely true. If you just read all the words and be careful for those little words ‘if’ or ‘because’ and things like that. You’ll have all this and this and this and then Paul will say BECAUSE, you did this or you‘re doing that. You’ve got to read the words.
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled (KJV)
Col 1:21 And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by wicked acts, yet now He reconcilES [It’s a process] (Concordant)
Col 1:22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight:
So notice that verse ends with a colon, not a period. Here’s the answer to ALL of these verses, it’s found in the very next verse. The problem is the reader stops with verse 22. He quotes verse 21 and then verse 22 and then he says there it is, there is this truth. Now let’s read the next verse 23. Because you’ve been reconciled and you will be presented unblamable and all that and verse 23...
Col 1:23 IF you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Is that too hard to understand? Well lets ask ourselves the question, what do you suppose would happen IF we don’t continue? Well this reader says it does not matter, we have it. IT MATTERS. “If you continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…” See that’s how you have it, “IF you continue.” I like how Rotherham says it, I checked the Greek and it does kind of have that connotation, he says;
Col 1:23 If, at least, ye are abiding still in the faith…
“If, at least” you’ve got to be doing that, okay. Then you will have all of these things. Again the big IF.
Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
v. 27 But some fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation…
So you mean you can receive the truth and you can be locked into all these Scriptures, like this reader says, but then you can do something wrong? Yes, you can.
You can obey the speed limit all your life and at the age of 85 you can drive 50 mph through a school zone and kill 5 kids, yes you can. You’ve got to always obey the law and you have to always obey God. There is no point where you say, ‘I’ve been pretty good most of my life, now I’ll just run amok, do whatever I want.’
So if we are saved now and that’s all you need to do is say, 'okay I’ll be good and everything else,' but then you’re not good and you don’t obey the law. Then you run a stop sign and you drive too fast through a school zone. Not only will you get a ticket, they are going to take your license away. Then if you drive without a license, what they will do next is they will put you in jail. Now why is it any different with God’s spiritual laws? Well there is a slight difference, because you can do something wrong and you don’t have to go to jail. But you do have to repent of it, be sorry of it and stop doing it. But you have to do that or it’s just like you did it, but you are thumbing your nose.
Sometimes if you are really humble when a policeman pulls you over he’ll let you go. I’ve paid my share of tickets in my time, but I’ve been pretty good now and I haven’t had a ticket in at least 5 years. But once before I was coming across the cause way out here and I was going a little too fast and he pulled me over. So I just said, ‘you know these new cars they run so smooth, no traffic, I was listening to the radio and not paying attention and everything else. And he said alright I’ll let you go this time.
So this reader quoted Colossians 1:21 and 22 and he quit. But do you see where it says, “unreprovable in His sight:” There is no period {.} there is a colon{:}. You know when you come to a colon that is not the end of the sentence. Had he just had the foresight that that’s not the end of the statement. Because it’s a colon and the next word says “If you continue,” IF - the big IF, that’s all a part of that sentence.
IF SAVED NOW, HOW IS IT WE CAN LOSE GOD’S SPIRIT?
Notice 1 John 3:9-24, there are a lot of good verses in there, I don’t have them all, but let just read them.
1John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin…
He means to practice - be committing - repetitively committing, you can’t practice it. It doesn’t mean we won’t sin, we all sin, we all make mistakes, we all say dumb things and do dumb things. But you are not to make a practice of it. I mean you’ll goof up, you can try your best and you’re still going to screw up. But if you practice what you know is wrong, then I mean you are a long way from living right.
v. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother.
v. 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
These are just very basic Scriptures as you can find and John talks more about love than any other Apostle.
v. 14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death.
Because we know the reward is eonian life. If you don’t receive the reward, you go on to judgment. It doesn’t mean you are going to suffer in hell for all eternity, but you must go through judgment.
v. 15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal (eonian or age lasting) life abiding in him.
v. 16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
It doesn’t mean we are to go out and let a truck drive over you, it just means you should serve. When you use your time, your money, your effort, your energy, your emotions to help somebody else, whether it be a friend, a neighbor, your husband, your wife, your children to the extent you do. All the time doing, thinking, praising, helping someone else, you are laying your life down for them. I mean living, breathing, moving, doing, saying - that’s life. When all your living, breathing, doing… when a lot of that is directed towards somebody who will profit from your looking after them and being concerned, that’s laying down your life. That’s how you lay down your life, without actually dying.
v. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?
v. 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
v. 19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
v. 20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
v. 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
v. 22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
v. 23 And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
v. 24 And he that keeps His commandments dwells in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.
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Topic: CAN WE LOSE GOD’S SPIRIT AND EONIAN LIFE? . Biblestudy March 2008 (Read 13152 times)