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CAN WE LOSE GOD’S SPIRIT AND EONIAN LIFE? . Biblestudy March 2008
(1/1)
Kat:
March 2008 Biblestudy
CAN WE LOSE GOD’S SPIRIT AND EONIAN LIFE?
[Is “once saved always saved” - Scripturally true or false?]
[And what does it matter? Are not all saved ‘anyway’?]
What I’m trying to do here is pull together two or three thoughts. I just marvel at the people that read our site and are confused about what we teach. I can understand people going to all these churches, denominations and all these religions; Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims or whatever and how they are confusing. But they will read hundreds of pages on our site and then they are confused? I just shake my head in wonderment.
So here are just three (3) ideas that people get and some of it from reading our material or they claim that they read it.
1. That the Saints are already in heaven. That is if you were a Saint and you died, then you went to heaven.
2. No you don’t go to heaven when you die, but you are saved in this life. Like right now... if you believe in Christ, you are saved NOW. You will die, you will come up in the resurrection, but you are presently saved.
3. Then we have those who think, well maybe I’m right about all being saved. But this is an enigma to them, because does this then means that we are either saved now or we’ll be saved when we die? We’ll be saved when we die and are resurrected, then we’ll be in judgment or whatever, He’ll judge everybody and then they will be saved.
So I got this email yesterday, it’s a short email:
‘Ray, if everyone goes to heaven, why did Jesus say in Matt. how hard it would be for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Jesus said that after the rich man came to Him and He said that he should sale everything and give to the poor.
I agree with you on the whole homosexual thing (comment: so this would indicate that he read it, right? Because you couldn’t agree with the “whole thing” unless you read it). But why do we have to make a stand against it, if they are all going to heaven anyway?
What is the point of taking up your cross and following Jesus, which we all know is a very hard thing to do. I’m really not trying to be sarcastic (comment: I believe him, he’s not trying to be nasty, he’s not one of these guys that say, ‘oh Ray, so I guess I can go out and fornicate and do whatever I want.’ No, this one is asking sincerely. He said I‘m not trying to be sarcastic here, he said I really want to know this), but what does it profit me to live a godly life? When in actual fact I could go out and live the life of enjoying as much sex as I want, disobeying His commandments, rejecting the truth that He is, and still enjoy the same everlasting life. Why should I deny myself all that worldly pleasure, if it all leads to God anyway?’
What does all this matter? Why are we even here having a Bible study today, everybody is going to be saved ‘anyway’? NO, they are NOT! No one will ever be saved ‘anyway.’
That’s what I wrote back to him and I said, no one ever was or ever will be saved ‘anyway.’ There is only ONE way and it is not ANYway, it is through Jesus Christ who is the 'Life' you see, “the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE” (John 14:6). That’s the ONLY way, but people think like this emailer. I’ve got another email here.
I finally came up with a title ‘Can we lose God’s Spirit and eonian life?’ Can we lose it? Is ‘Once saved always saved’ Scripturally true or false? What does it mean, are not all saved ‘anyway’? I've already covered that a little bit.
So we need to be careful that we don’t base our salvation and blessed assurance on such... whether it’s faulty translations or just wishful thinking, like these emails I’m getting here.
What were the King James translators thinking when they translated Psalms 119:160 as: “Thy word is true from the beginning”? I mean did somebody think He lied someplace along the line? I mean some times there are some simplistic things stated in the Scripture, but that verse is almost an oxymoron to say God’s Word was Truth from the beginning. Well that word can be translated “beginning,” but sometimes Hebrew and Greek words have rather different meanings and you have to determine from the text. Of course any scholar can as in;
Psalms 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning...
Rotherham - The sum of thy word, is truth...
CLV - The sum of Your word is truth...
ASV - The sum of thy word is truth...
YLT - The sum of Thy word is truth...
They all have that it is the SUM of God’s word that is truth! Not that His word was truth "from the beginning." But King James changed the word order, that’s not the right word order. Now the sum of God’s Word is truth, that is such an amazing, spiritual, Scriptural, profound, eternal Truth and it’s lost in the translation. Because that is the only place it says that specifically that way and it’s lost in the translation. I didn’t know that until like eight years ago or whatever. All my life reading this and I never knew what that Scripture said. “The SUM of Thy Word is truth.”
Well we can dissect that a little bit... not that any part of God’s Word is not truth. But if "the sum" equals the truth, maybe part of the sum only equals part of the truth. I mean it’s all true, but it is only part of this truth, there is more.
Now in the Scripture it says;
Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
I just thought about that this morning, I just thought about this for the first time. Do you know what that statement contradicts? CONTEXT! That contradicts the god of context, context, context... flat out contradicts it. Because they say if you take, "here a little and there a little," what are you doing? Pulling it out of context, see.
Listen, you have Isaiah (because this is found in Isaiah) an Old Testament, old covenant prophet and we come to the New Testament, evangelist of the new covenant Apostle Paul. Now if Paul says something it doesn’t matter what, just some theological concept and he says it. You say, ‘you know what, Isaiah said something like that.’ So you go back and you see Isaiah said almost the same words. But according to theology you can’t do that, I don’t care how similar they are. Because if Paul in Palestine or maybe Asia Minor, under the new covenant said that, it is not the same context as Isaiah in some other part of the country, under the old covenant, right. Different time, different covenant, different prophet, different evangelist, right. Context, context, context… you can’t put them together, you’re pulling them both out of context. I’m going to write a scorcher on this and I know I’ll get all kinds of flack and I just can’t wait.
I read some of this articulating superficial nonsense, about context and some of it is just intellectual vanity, that’s all it is. I’m not so stupid that I don’t know what context is. But you can have a general context like, is it Old Testament or New Testament, well if you just give the reference, you know what that is. Then sometimes you need to have a sentence before or a sentence after or you need to go back to the beginning of the paragraph to see who he’s talking to. I know all that. But here is the thing that these context worshippers can’t get, it does not matter any of that… who said it, when they said it, why they said it or whatever. You know why? Because it’s still Truth! Whatever the Scriptures says is TRUE!
I had somebody write me recently and said, ‘Well Ray you can prove anything by taking Scriptures out of context.’
No you can’t. I am going to start challenging everybody on that. I’m going to say, oh really, do you know that for a fact? Have you sat down and analyzed that or is that one of those parroted things you heard, like Christ spoke twice as much about hell as He did about heaven and you are parroting, parroting, parroting.
I want to see somebody teach anything out of context, taken out of context. They don’t take it out of context, they lie. There is a big difference between pulling out a Scripture and reading it and lying or you have a translation that has no resemblance to the original Hebrew or Greek. That’s deceitful, that’s fraud. But I want to see somebody teach anything, like they say, ‘you can teach anything if you take Scripture out of context.’ I want to see it, I’ll believe it when I see it. I’m not talking about half a phrase, you have to at least use a whole sentence. This context, context, context thing has turned into a god and it’s pretty much fallacious, it really is. It goes directly against, "here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept upon precept" and the whole "sum" is truth.
CAN THE GIFT OF EONIAN LIFE BE LOST?
Now I have the subtitle, ‘Is “once saved, always saved” Scripturally true or false?’ Well yes, of course it is true. The only thing is WHEN are you saved, you see?
I got this email. I don’t know that he’s got a bad attitude, except he’s just a little belligerent, like, ‘Ray this contradicts everything you teach.’ So this guy sent me about five emails with just pages of quotes of Scriptures and comments. What really made this doubly hard is most of his Scripture references were wrong, like this first one he had verse 15 and I was thinking well maybe it’s from the NIV, but finally I see it’s just a wrong Scripture.
Reader (email): ‘I am unsure if you are aware of 1 John 5:13 states; “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” The verse tells me something very different to what you believe, the verse above tells me if I believe in Jesus I have eternal life. There doesn’t seem to be any doubt in that or that I will receive salvation only at the resurrection.’
John 3:36 He who believes [comment: Greek aorist or ‘is believing’] in the Son has everlasting life: but he who does not obey the Son will not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Reader (email): ‘This verse in John 3:36 tells me that who believes in Jesus has eternal life. Again there is no doubt to when or if but clearly states “has eternal life” i.e. now and again in:’
1John 5:11 And the testimony is this, that God has given [comment: Greek aorist, ’gives’] us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
Rom 8:14-17 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 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!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 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.
Reader (email): ‘These verses in Romans explain it very clearly, they tell us:
a) If we are led by the Holy Spirit we are a part of Gods family.
b) We have been adopted into Gods family.
c) The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are in fact belong to God (now) and not in the future. 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.’
21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed [sealed - past tense] us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
Reader (email): ‘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.’
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed [pass tense] in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
Ray's comment: No, we do not have salvation NOW. What we have now is a “pledge” “with a view TO the redemption…” A “pledge and a view” are NOT possession. Did the Patriarchs “possess” their inheritance?
Heb 11:13 “These all died in faith, NOT having received the promises, but having seen them [with a view ] afar off…”
Reader (email): ‘In Romans 8:15-16 we are told that who believes in God, God lives in him. This tells us again that the person belongs to God.’
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
Ray’s Comment: These are all proof Scriptures, that whenever you make a commitment, your going to be a good person, you’ll accept Christ, you’ll repent of your sins, maybe you’ll get baptized, whatever. But they believe you are in fact saved, you are a child of God, you’re in the family of God, you are locked in.
Reader (email): ‘In Col. 1: 21-22 it states that formerly we were separated from God - (original sin) but now as believers we have been reconciled back to God where we now are blameless before God.’
Col 1:21 And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled [comment: ‘yet now he reconciles,’ Concordant].
Col 1:22 In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight:
Now that’s all I have from him now, he had more pages, but I just picked out some of the better ones. But they were all similar. First of all, does it sound like to you, that this is a fact like he said ‘now,’ this is not something we wait for in the future?
Context is important, you do have to read these things in context. It’s true you can’t just read a sentence and especially if it doesn’t even end with a period. Now this reader does that, he’ll quote a Scripture that doesn’t even end with a period, but has a colon or semi-colon. That’s not the complete sentence even, you shouldn’t be doing that. I pull things out all the time, just to punch a certain phrase, which does not matter and has nothing to do with context, just a raw fact, so to speak.
If I say to you, you will all be millionaires by next week this time. So I make that statement, period. So you understand what I’m saying, right? That you will all be millionaires next week at this time. But if I say, you will all be millionaires next week this time; 'if' you all hit the lottery. 'Oh now I see.' So if you get the full thought, that’s how you all will be millionaires next week, it’s not just automatically.
Kat:
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.
Kat:
What can we learn from that? Well all the way through it says, you are the children of God. You live righteously, but you’ve got to love your brother, if you don’t you don’t have the love of God. That’s how you have the love of God. This is a proof, that we love one another and if somebody has a need you give them what they have need of and so on. Don’t love with just word and in tongue, but in deeds and in truth (verse 18). Now it says, “we keep His commandments... dwells in Him, and He in him.” Oh, so he who keeps His commandments. So this is not all automatic? No, you have to keep His commandments.
Then it says, “And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us.” What is your spirit and what is your motivation in life? What is your driving spirit? What is it? To be vain or egotistical, selfish, stupid, vain, greedy, whatever it is, if that’s the spirit pushing you and the spirit behind you.
But if we keep His commandments, because He dwells in us and here by we know, because we have that spirit. That’s the spirit that is in us.
So verse 24 kind of explains all these things. Here’s how you do all that, if you are obeying God’s commandments, if you have that spirit in you. This letter (1 John) is addressed to (as John always calls the congregation), ‘our Lady’ or ‘little children.’ To him they were spiritually little, because he was one of the original Apostles.
1John 3:15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer…
Notice if one does not love his brother, then he is no longer a true brother, but rather a murderer.
I read right over this and maybe you didn’t caught it. It says, “Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal (eonian or age lasting) life abiding in him.”
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
See you can not really differentiate between those two. Spirit is life, spirit doesn’t die. Flesh dies. If you have life in you, you have God’s Spirit. If you have God’s Spirit in you, you have life. It doesn’t mean that you’re not going to physically die, but at least while you’re living you have some other kind of life in you. If you don’t have that life in you, then you’re no different than an infidel that has no religion, no faith and maybe has not even any morality as to why he should live above any other citizens or criminals or whatever.
You know it is an amazing thing that we have two and a half million people in prisons in America. Out of those two and a half million at least two million of them are Christians. So almost all criminals in prisons are Christians.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life…
Now here is the point I want to make, spirit is life and life is spirit. Now back to verse 15.
Can we lose out… well we read the Scripture that if you sin willfully - willingly there is no more sacrifice for you. Now look at this verse, many people probably never really saw it before.
1 John 3:15 Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal (eonian or age lasting) life abiding (the Greek is “staying or “REMAINING”) in him.
So the Greek is staying or remaining. Now if you just read that without all the background that I’m giving you, then you get the feeling that, well he won't be given God’s abiding life. No, he already has it. The only way something cannot stay in you or not remain in you, is if it’s in you. Do you follow that? It’s in you.
He’s not talking to Barbarians here or infidels, he’s talking to the congregation who have the Spirit of God. But he says if you hate your brother the spirit of God will no longer stay with you, it will no longer be in you. If the Spirit of God is not in you, you are no longer His. Then you are going to the judgment. That’s just how simple that is. All through these Scriptures if you read carefully, maybe it doesn’t have it just like this, but this is just a poor translation. But if you read Concordant and Rotherham and all, they will tell you to ‘stay’ - ‘remain.’ It means to remain, but it won’t remain. You see it’s there, but it’s coming out.
So I took a couple of examples to show… first I had about 20+ subjects and I was putting 5 Scriptures for each one. I thought, this is going to be another 10 pages of notes, so I cut it down. So I have a couple examples to show what the Scriptures say and I’m going to give you some of the Scriptures, so that you will understand that there is always something attached to these Scriptures.
HOW WE GET SAVED:
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
That’s how you’re saved, you call upon the name of the Lord, you call Jesus - Lord? He is your Lord and Master. Whoops… “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little there a little” - “The sum of Thy word is truth.” 'He’s your Lord, so now you’re saved.' This reader would have you believe that if you say that, you are now saved. But what says the Scriptures?
Luke 6:46 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?"
Boy that puts a damper on a lot of these Scriptural lies, doesn’t it. 'I believe the Lord, so I’m saved.' Is that right? Is that why you are stealing from your employer… Is that why you are still cheating on you wife… Is that why you are damning God’s name? In other words, when He says, “why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say?” He saying; if you call Me Lord Lord and don’t do the things I say… then it’s meaningless, forget it, you might as well curse My name.
Mat 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
Now here is where these god of context people come in. They say, ‘oh no, that’s only in Matt, that’s only this situation, that was only meant for the Jews in Palestine back in that day.’ In other words, that statement is not true. That is what they are saying. They’re saying that “he that endures to the end will be saved” is not a true statement, it is only a contextual truth under certain circumstances. You move that out to the eighteenth century, the twenty century or the second century AD and that statement is no longer true. You don’t have to endure to the end anymore, only under that one situation do you endure to the end to be saved. That’s blasphemy!
The whole Christian theological seminary system has strangled the word of God to where it can not be understood. Much of it the damnable doctrine of context, context, context.
Do you see it? No? That statement is true! It was true then and it is true now. It is true in Africa, it is true in Palestine, it is a true statement. Does it have a context? Of course it does, it was said at a certain time, to a certain person, at a certain place, under certain circumstances. I don’t care, it is still true.
One day I would just like to talk to about six at one time, of these context people. They say, ‘well you can prove anything by context.’ Oh really… do it. Show me by context or take all the Scriptures out of context that you want to show me that Jesus Christ did not go around doing good or that God is not love. Show me. Pull all the Scriptures out of context that you want to and you prove that to me. It’s nonsense. People parrot these phrases that they hear so many thousands of times, that they think are true. There is no truth in that stuff at all.
Now I understood when God said to build an ark, I understand that He was talking to Noah, I understand that. I’m not going to go out in the back yard and build a 300 ft. ark, I know He wasn’t talking to me. But spiritually, maybe He was. Maybe we do need to build an ark, but we need to know who is our ark and all that. It does apply, but no we’re not going to go out and physically build an ark. He told Noah to do that. I know the context, we’re not talking about things that silly.
HOW TO BE IN THE FORMER RESURRECTION:
How to be in the former resurrection, what do we have to do?
John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Damnation just mean judgment, tribunal. How is it that you come into the first resurrection? It says right there, by doing good. There it is! We read that so many times and we don’t pay attention to it. Yet there it is. Who comes up in the first? “They that have done good.” That’s not hard to understand.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death (this is talking about baptism in the sixth chapter of Romans), we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection:
Philippians 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Is there a point in time where you say no matter what I do I’m going to be in the former resurrection, because I have this and that promise and pledge? Was Paul lying when he said, “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” Meaning I’ll do everything that I know of or can think of to be sure that God is pleased with me. “By any means,” Why would he say that if it’s a done deal?
Notice it, how do we come up in the likeness of His resurrection? “IF” at the beginning of the verse, “IF we have been planted together in the likeness of His death.” We know what baptism pictures, it pictures dying to yourself, dying to the evil, carnal, lustful things that are bad about human nature. You die to that and that’s what baptism pictures. You go under the water, you can’t live under the water. So it pictures death, real death. You go under water and if somebody holds you down you will die. The water is always pictured as cleansing. Water cleans, you wash in water. God’s word is likened to water, you see. What we are teaching here today. Hopefully these words, they will wash us. They wash our minds and our conscience and all of these things.
But there’s that big ‘IF’ again. For IF this, then that. 'But what if not this?' Well if not this, then not that. This is really elementary stuff. But I mean somebody has got to point it out, I understand that, I’m not poking fun.
HOW DO WE GET REWARDED?
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
v. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven (which will of course will be brought back for us): for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Oh, I see, so if you live such a good life that people find fault with it, because you are living such a good life. They say, ‘who do you think you are a goody two shoes.’ Or like Peter said, when people find it strange that you won’t run after their sinful ways anymore (1Peter 4:4). They are persecuting you, it’s like ‘are you too good to get drunk with us guys any more’ or ‘you too good to not take a whore home' or something. This is tremendous pressure that's put on people.
Luke 6:35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest:
Is there something to do? Well yes, it just told you what to do. It’s always something to do. You check all the Scriptures with all these promises and stuff.
Of course somebody is going to say, ’well Ray I thought it was all about grace.’ Well grace is what causes you, inspires you, makes you do these things. So then you receive your reward that comes with it. Remember in Titus…
Titus 2:11-12 For the grace of God that brings salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us…
‘Oh, I thought He just gave us everything free.’ No, it TEACHES you to live godly in an ungodly world. It teaches you, it trains you, it instructs you, it educates you, it means all those things, look up the Greek.
Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with Me, to give every man (I don’t see a period here) according as his work shall be.
It is always something to do, always something to fulfill.
HOW TO BECOME SONS OF GOD?
Rom 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but IF (that little word again) you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live.
v. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
That’s how you do it. There it is!
Philippians 2:15 that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God, unblemished in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse, among whom ye do appear as luminaries in the world, (YLT)
So I read you the letter at the beginning from the reader who said, ‘why should I do this, isn’t everybody going to be saved anyway.’
Peter warns about being willingly ignorant, and Paul sternly warns against “Believers” who “willingly sin.”
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,
Well wait a minute, I thought we just read where all this stuff is locked in? The reader writes and says, in other words, ‘well why can’t I can go out and fornicate and do all the pleasures of the world. Lifting up your cross and following Christ, you know that’s hard stuff Ray. Why can’t I just go out and enjoy all these pleasures, because we are going to be saved anyway.’ Well yea, but that comes in the second part of this verse.
“For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,” (Heb. 10:26)
Well how are you going to be saved, if the sacrifice for sins doesn’t even apply to you? But here is what you will get the next verse 27… “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” That’s what you can look forward to.
Mat 5:27 You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you should not commit adultery:
v. 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Then He goes on to say if your eye offends you pluck it out, if your hand offends cut it off. He didn’t say you can go out and fornicate and do whatever you want, because you are going to get saved anyway. That’s not the teaching, that’s foolishness to think that way.
You know I usually answer people and I try to be kind. I say you are not the first to ask that, but… ‘why can’t we, we’re going to sin anyway and everybody’s going to heaven, so why not just…’ A lot of people ask that and for the life of me I have no idea why. For the life of me I don’t know why I have ever gotten such an email. I have gotten many many dozens of them through the years, but I don’t know why. Nobody can be that spiritually blind, no they can’t.
Now here is the point of these Scriptures. All the Scriptures that I’m reading here, beginning with Peter saying, “if you sin willingly…" everyone of these Scriptures, guess where I got them? I got this email and this reader says, ‘I agree with your whole thing on homosexuality.’ Meaning he read the whole thing and agrees with the whole thing, right. ‘But since we are all going to heaven ‘anyway’ and since we are all going to be with Him ‘anyway,’ why should I deny myself these worldly pleasures if it all leads to God ’anyway?’ That’s what this reader says. Now guess where I got all these statements and Scriptures I’m giving you? I got it from that article on homosexuality that he said he read. I got it from the paper that he said he read and I just skimmed through it, I didn‘t take them all. I didn‘t read it verbatim, it was twenty something pages long. Now lets look at them.
Kat:
I say in that paper, Peter warns against being willfully ignorant (2 Peter 3:5). But this is in reference to being homosexual, and some will say, ‘I don’t see a problem with that.’ But if we sin willfully you see, there is no more sacrifice, there is judgment, there’s indignation (Heb. 10:27). Christ warns against lusting and these are all statements and I’ll read them from the article (italicized).
---While “Christ died for our sins” (1 Cor. 15:3), all sins that Jesus died for must be repented of or that person will not inherit the Kingdom of God. ---
Where did he get from that, that you are going to heaven anyway? I just said he won’t, then I gave a Scripture. He said, ‘you (Ray) say they are all going to heaven ‘anyway.’ No, there is no ’anyway’ about it.
---But will rather be raised up in judgment. Christ dying for the sins of the world is not the final step with the issue of sin and sinners. The final step is to GET THE SIN OUT OF THE SINNER, and that is precisely what will happened, Christ “will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31) and the ungodly “will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9). Then and only then will “God be ALL in all” (1 Cor. 15:28).
Notice next what Paul says after declaration against a list of 27 major sins. Paul’s statement that “…they which commit such things are worthy of DEATH. ---
How do you get from a statement like that, to… ‘well we’re all going to heaven anyway’ and ‘I can live whatever way I want and then I’ll die and go to heaven.’ How do you get that from all these Scriptures? I just marvel, I’m just dumbfounded.
--- “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:1-2).
There is salvation available, and it is by grace, not our own personal works of righteousness, but we must first repent. If I condoned my own past sins, I never would have repented of them. ---
‘Yea but I can do whatever I want and not repent of them and it still leads to God anyway, doesn’t it Ray?’ No it doesn’t, it leads to judgment and firey indignation and the wrath of God. It’s not going to be happy happy.
--- “Where in times past you walked according to the course of this world… Among whom also we all had our conduct in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh…” (Eph. 2:2-3).
“For ALL have sinned… Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are PAST, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Rom. 3:24-26). ---
Now where in there do you see it say, that really is a license to sin however much you want to sin in the future, because it all leads to God ’anyway.’ We are all going to be saved anyway and when we die we’re all going to heaven ‘anyway.’ No no no, that’s not the way it is.
--- “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers [Gk: pornos-paramour/male prostitute], and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death” (Rev. 21:08). ---
That doesn’t sound like you just go waltzing off to heaven ‘anyway,’ regardless of how you live.
--- “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? ---
That’s another way of saying, know ye not that the unrighteous are not going to heaven ‘anyway.’ Know ye not that the unrighteousness is not a street that leads to God ‘anyway.’
--- Be not deceived: neither fornicators [Gk: paramours], nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate [Gk: catamites], nor abusers of themselves with mankind [Gk: sodomites] nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). ---
There it is! He can’t get any stronger than that and this reader said he read the article and agrees with it. ‘But Ray I can go out and do whatever I want, because when I die I‘m going to heaven anyway.’ I mean I don’t know what to think of that. But I don’t want to discourage this man. I’ve already sent him this whole thing, he already has it in his computer.
"BODY" IS A METAPHOR
Paul uses his “body” as a metaphor for his whole being (body, mind, and spirit):
1 Cor 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Here is the whole point, if any of this stuff that this reader wrote, with all these Scriptures, if any one of those Scriptures is true as he says, then this shows that we have it, we have it now, we are sealed now, we receive salvation now, we are the children of God now now now… NO!
Read the sentence before and the one after and consider all the ‘IFs’ and so on. But IF any one of these things were true… first of all most of them didn’t say what he thought they said. They’re all true, we have the Spirit of God, we have eonian life abiding in us, it’s true. We are not denying that, we have it now, yes we have it now, but guess what? You can do like John warned the little children, the little converted children. If you hate your brother, you are a murderer and that spirit and that life will not remain in you.
Now I have Rotherham, Young’s and Concordant versions of that here. But first understand when Paul uses “body” here, he is not talking about his arms and legs, his eyes and ears. He is using “body” as a metaphor. Because we not only lust with our mind, but we lust through our mind and from our heart... again line upon line, here a little there a little, to the whole sum. That to use our body for fornication and laziness, gluttony, you know all the things that you could attribute to where you will put your actual physical body into play. But he’s not talking about arms and legs here, when he says “my body.”
Body, if you look it up… and here’s where that group that left us, they say Christ was made sin. There is a Scripture that uses the word ‘body,’ it’s not talking about the physical organs of our humanity, it’s talking about the ‘whole.’ The whole situation, the whole subject at hand, that the word body encompasses that idea.
Like we talk about somebody’s whole body of work, you know. Maybe a certain singer or artist, we say their whole body of work. By body we mean everything that relates to their art and craft and so on, the whole.
Paul is using his body here as a metaphor, meaning everything about himself. Yes it may include your body, but your mind, your soul, your spirit, your heart, your emotions, your motivations, everything. He says this in 1 Cor 9:27, “but I am belaboring my body and leading it into slavery…” (CLV). Well you can’t lead your body into physical slavery, this is a mental thing. You lead yourself into slavery, that’s a mental conception. “…lest somehow, when heralding to others, I myself may become disqualified."
Notice the words, carefully analyze these things. If you become disqualified, what does that mean? That means you were qualified. ‘So you can be qualified and lose the qualification?’ Excuse me, can you read, that’s what it says. ‘Did the reader really mean it?’ Oh he was just playing humble, because Paul liked to lie a lot and pretend he was humble... No, these Scriptures are true.
(Rotherham) 1 Cor 9:27 But am beating my body under, and leading it captive, lest, by any means,—unto others, having proclaimed, the contest, I myself, should be rejected.
See he was in the contest, then he could be rejected.
(YLT) 1 Cor 9:27 but I chastise my body, and bring it into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others--I myself may become disapproved.
So while you are doing right you are approved, qualified, you're in the race. But if you give up or you turn or you just sin willfully, willingly, knowingly hate your brother, then it’s gone. It can happen. Maybe I just need to explain why is that so.
Because the flesh is weak. Know how much spiritual stuff we know, well we are still very very weak. If we knew we didn’t have to persevere, guess what? Maybe most of the time or at least some of the time… we wouldn’t. Maybe sometimes you would try to resist the temptation to go out with another woman, if you were married, but not all the time, sometimes you might give in. So He doesn’t tell us.
That’s the thing I learned a long time ago, probably at least eight years ago. The verse that set that off to me was where it says Christ knows those that are His.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; and I know mine own…
Well what does that mean? Christ knows those that are His. I get from that, that we don’t know, we don’t.
Now I have read you from Peter, which is to me, it is a very inspiring Scripture. Because we are not left totally in the dark. He is like, well it’s Que Sera Sera - maybe you will, maybe you won’t. Now here are some of these promises. Peter says;
2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
v. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
v. 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
v. 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity (love).
v. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
v. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for IF (there that little word “if” again) ye do these things (but here is the consolation, here is the inspiration, the hope and assurance…), ye shall never fall:
Now that’s pretty good. So all these things Paul is talking about here, I bring it into subjection, I bind it, I turn myself into a slave for Christ, lest I myself should be rejected or turned away or unapproved or disqualified. But if we “do these things.”
"TO HIM THAT OVERCOMES"
No matter how hard these things are they are benefits, all of this doing of this stuff is called OVERCOMING. I have a lot of stuff to overcome yet.
Here is an interesting thing. You live a while and you overcome certain sins. God gives you the victory over them and you feel good about that. Then your conscience is clean, because you can look back yesterday and you know in your heart and mind you were not flagrantly, willingly, willfully, knowingly sinning, practicing sin. You were trying to do what’s right, you are getting in the habit and the routine of doing what’s right.
Then low and behold you have to do it all over again. How so? God sends a bigger trial, bigger. What happens? Well with the same capacity of spirituality that you had yesterday and was making progress, it’s not enough to beat this trial today, it’s not enough. If you don’t get help from someplace, then you are going down. Is this a secret to any of you? It’s like whoa, I thought we were doing pretty good when I wiped out some of those other hurdles, you know (I kind of amuse myself with God sometimes). I thought that was a pretty good victory there. Now it’s not some strange thing from outer space, it’s the same trials you always have. Paul says;
1Peter 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
These are things that are common, these are common to humanity, they just get bigger. I could deal with that, but now God hits me with this and this amount of spirituality from yesterday isn’t going to take care of this problem today. That’s what it means when we have to grow in grace and knowledge. Grace trains us, now you’ve got to grow in your training.
It’s like you go to boot camp, in army they call it basic training. Why is it basic? Because what you do the first week gets harder the second week and the third and forth. It gets harder, but you get good at doing the stuff that was hard on the first day. Now they give you stuff that’s harder yet.
Low and behold if you should ever want to be an officer. Boy they really put the thumb screws to you then. I use to just hang around the corner in Fort Knox, Kentucky and watch. They would be training officers out on the grounds and I would just watch and I would pretend, could I take that kind of harassment and physical excursion, if I were trying to be an officer. It’s pretty tough, pretty tough stuff.
So it’s all overcoming. Paul likens this to overcoming and John wrote the first three chapters of Revelation, “To him that overcomes.”
Repenting of your past sins, accepting Jesus as your Saviour and receiving God’s Spirit does not pronounce you “SAVED.” It is not the conclusion of your spiritual life, but rather the very beginning.
What Paul did is called “overcoming,” and it’s the hardest thing in life to do, but the rewards are high. A few fringe benefits are:
Access to the TREE OF LIFE, which means you will be given immortality, never die again or fear death or worry about death.
You avoid THE SECOND DEATH, which is not only the second death spiritually, but all the judgment and stuff that goes with it. Why? Because you are judged now, if you are judged here you don’t need to be judged and condemned with the world later.
You get a NEW NAME, this means a lot of things, but it’s like you have to believe in the name and the name is everything that it represents and not just a new name, a better name.
POWER over the nation.
RIGHTEOUS garments, which mean we will be clothed in a perfect attitude, perfect righteousness.
Your new name will be CONFESSED BEFORE GOD THE FATHER.
Made a PILLAR, a mainstay, a vital support in the Temple of God.
SIT WITH CHRIST IN HIS THRONE.
(Rev. 2 & 3)
That’s a lot of good stuff. In fact here’s a problem with it. It’s too profound, we almost don’t even meditate on it. See if you could go into some kind of training and after so long you would be like a cabinet member of the president of the United States, you would say that would be pretty neat. You might put up with a lot to go into some kind of training like that, because you would hob knob with the president on Air Force One, that a pretty neat plane. You would meet all the other royalty around the world and so on and that would be pretty good.
Don’t you reckon this is a little higher calling then that? It is a high calling! Really high! Probably too high for our spirit to take it in. We’re just... oh okay that is pretty cool. But it really is great and I suppose, I’m thinking the further we go in life, if we believe these things, then it becomes more tangible. Not only will we believe them and think about them, we’ll start expecting them. Where the King James uses hope the Concordant uses expectation. We will expect it, we’ll be looking for it that much.
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