Tag: Losing Salvation

Escaping the Corruption of the World

On By TimIn 2 Peter 01, Eternal Security, Salvation1 Comment

There exists a vast difference in between the ones who escape the corruption of the world and partake of the divine nature and those who escape the defilements of the world for a season.

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:2

In the introduction, Peter is established the tone. That tone is to Peter is encourage other believers to hold fast. Not that they might lose out on eternal life at some future time, but to ensure their own maturity in the faith. To grow to maturity ought to be the goal of every Christian.

At the beginning of this epistle, Peter establishes a premise. Sometimes that premise is blurred by the particular translation of the Bible used which may lead to some insecurities. Because of this, I prefer a literal word-for-word translation. This helps me to grasp the nuances in word meanings being translated. It also helps to have tools available to try and understand the subtleties in the original language that do not translate clearly. Taking the extra time for a bit of a deeper dive helps to ensure right division of the Bible.

With that said, let’s dive in!

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence, by which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these things you might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:3–4

At the outset, Peter is saying that Christians have everything they need no to live godly lives. These come by the promises of God. Promises that you have no part in save to receive them. He keeps them, even in light of what you do… Because it’s His word. His word is not made void by the freedom He has bestowed on us.

Because we have these promises, we escape the corruption of the world and become partakers of the divine nature. That statement is loaded with lots of stuff to unpack. Note the phrasing, escape the corruption. The corruption is in the world through lust. Think of the word lust as desire and intense craving.

Focus on the word corruption. It is the Greek word phthoras which does mean corruption and can also mean destruction. The destruction is ultimately death. That is the end result of sin. But the Christian escapes this.

For this reason make every effort to add virtue to your faith; and to your virtue, knowledge; and to your knowledge, self-control; and to your self-control, patient endurance; and to your patient endurance, godliness; and to your godliness, brotherly kindness; and to your brotherly kindness, love.

2 Peter 1:5–7

Peter then provides a prescription for the saved person who has eternal life. Keep in mind that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. The outline is indeed doable by every Christian.

It is self-explanatory in nature. Faith is required to get eternal life and forgiveness is sins, it is also necessary to live a Christian life. It’s not faith alone. We add virtue onto our faith.

Virtue is excellence of character… Blamelessness. Add knowledge to virtue and then self-control. Self-control is different than virtue and comes after. Patience, godliness, kindness then follow, and finally love.

Most of us get it backwards. We think we love first. Peter is telling us that we cannot truly love without all of those things that come orderly before.

For if these things reside in you and abound, they ensure that you will neither be useless nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:8

The discussions that sometimes revolve around 2 Peter tend toward who is really saved. The reality is Peter is encouraging us to be useful and fruitful. This is not unlike much of the Bible, which itself teaches us how to be useful to God. Yes, first we need to be saved. Being useful and fruitful comes with maturity.

Virtue Revisited

I need to say more about virtue. It is a word that conveys an idea of blamelessness. Paul helps us to understand this idea of blamelessness and from whence it comes. He calls it a gift.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if through the trespass of one man many died, then how much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. The gift is not like the result that came through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one sin led to condemnation, but the free gift, which came after many trespasses, leads to justification. For if by one man’s trespass death reigned through him, then how much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:15–17

Righteousness is the quality of being in accordance with God’s requirements. It’s to be blameless in the law. Paul says this gift comes freely by Jesus to any who want it. Recall what Peter said, He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We don’t add to it, not maintain it. We simply cannot!

It is this gift of righteousness that leads to justification of life. Meaning you and I as Christians can stand blameless in the presence of God. It’s like me saying “Just as if I’d never sinned!”

Strong’s Dictionary gives us some additional insight to this word virtue (Greek aretē.) It means excellence of character, whether that excellence is intrinsic or attributed. As Paul showed, righteousness is attributed to us by God as a gift.

There is another sense conveyed by virtue… It is the idea of valor. Valor is the strength of mind needed to resist fear and brave danger. Think about that. God has given you that strength of mind.

Adding Virtue to Faith is Then Easy

If you are a Christian… You are saved. You have eternal life. Nothing can move you from that position. Fear can trick you but you don’t have to succumb to it. We resist that fear.

When the enemy comes and tells you you’re not doing enough and therefore not valuable to God, know it’s a lie. It’s designed to make you afraid. Resist it the fear, and the enemy has to flee.

God sent His Son Jesus for us. You and I have value and worth far greater than you can imagine.

The journey from faith to virtue is easy. God gives it to us. It means those that have eternal life by faith cannot be removed from it. If there’s a struggle on whether you can lose the gift of eternal life and your salvation, it stops here. And the text is going to show us that clearly.

Blind and Shortsighted in Forgetfulness

But the one who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted because he has forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

2 Peter 1:9

When we forget who we are, and more to the point… Whose we are… It can lead to shortsightedness. Remember, you and I are already cleansed from former sins. Yes that is true. Yet it goes beyond former sins. Remember Peter saying that we might become partakers of the divine nature?

Paul says we already are.

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:13–15

We are already resurrected with Him. There is no way that can happen unless we are already partaking of the divine nature. Not only that, we are forgiven all sins. These are not just the former sins, but all of them!

Whatever claim the enemy had on us is gone. That’s the freedom of the Christian life. That’s the virtue that we courageously stand in now. We are immovable. We cannot sin enough to lose out on anything God has already given to us. Why would any of us really want to do that?

Now knowledge is added to the virtue. So what now?

Add the rest, self-control, patience, godliness, kindness, and love.

Calling and Election

Therefore, brothers, diligently make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never stumble. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly provided for you.

2 Peter 1:10–11

We make our calling and election sure. That is not about salvation. It’s about being useful, useful to God. He has given to every one of us unique gifts to be of service to Him. It is our responsibility to know what these things are and how to employ them for His glory. That is making sure your calling is to a particular place of service. Your election is to be useful to God… Not just saved.

Championing Us

Therefore I will not be negligent to always remind you of these things, though you know them and are established in the truth that is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I live in this body, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that soon I will take off this body, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. And I will also be diligent to make sure that after my death you will always remember these things.

2 Peter 1:12–15

We all need encouragement. It ought be a strong part of our lives to encourage and admonish others in the same love that Peter does. We do that by reminding ourselves and others of all of these things.

Warnings

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their judgment, made long ago, does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber.

2 Peter 2:1–3

This discussion takes a darker turn away from encouragement. Peter is instructing as he exposes false teachers and those led astray by them. These deny the Lord that bought them. Does that mean they have lost salvation?

No. As we have already witnessed in Colossians, sin has been nailed to the cross and taken out of the way freeing humanity from the grips of the enemy. The Lord bought the lot of Adam’s race, every single human that has, had, or will have life. To deny that is to never ever come to salvation and receive the gifts of eternal life and righteousness. I admit, it’s a simple conclusion, but it’s right there. It is the truth. That’s why the writer of Hebrews put it this way:

Therefore we should be more attentive to what we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken by angels was true, and every sin and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation, which was first declared by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him?

Hebrews 2:1–3

Considering the immeasurable generosity is such a gesture, how do people ignore it as if nothing really happened?

It would be the height of arrogance and indifference. It’s easy to understand why people go to perdition. And Peter does not have kind things to say about these types of people and the ideas they share with others.

For when they speak arrogant words of vanity, they entice by the lusts of the flesh and by depravity those who barely escaped from those who live in error.

2 Peter 2:18

Remember, the first phrase… Escape the corruption (phthoras.) Peter uses the same idea of escape again. This time it is to describe those who barely escape from those who live in error. I think he is speaking of Christians. These false teachers entice believers with religion. Religion is the idea that people can make themselves presentable to God by abstaining from sin.

Promised Freedom

Although they promise them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by that which a man is overcome, to this he is enslaved. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb, “The dog returns to his own vomit,” and “the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mud.”

2 Peter 2:19–22

Freedom is contrasted with the enslavement to corruption. Instead of teaching reliance on the promises of God, the false teacher offers a semblance of freedom that is really slavery.

These teachers have themselves not yet escaped corruption (phthoras) but are still slaves to it. Remember what Paul said:

Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves to obey, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Romans 6:16

Stepping out to sin is presenting yourself as a slave to it. Sin leads to death… The (phthoras) destruction.

Back to the text in 2 Peter, these false teachers seem to escape the defilements of the world. Defilements in the Greek is the word miasmata. It’s different than phthoras, and is only used this once in the entire New Testament. The single usage connotes it has some significance.

Miasmata means shameful deeds, or what we would call sins. In other words, it seems these are escaping sins. But it only seems for a bit as they return to the carnality of the world.

When a person hears the Gospel of Jesus Christ presented they receive the knowledge of Him as Savior. What they do with that is of paramount importance as Peter hints at.

Let’s consider an example. It’s like when people come to church. They might enjoy the time of worship and even get something from the message given. They may even enjoy the fellowship and kindness that abounded. Then they leave and not applying what they heard. They are not changed. Yet, for a short period of time in church… They escaped the defilements of the world in the shelter of the Spirit present in the body of Christ. They did not repent, were not saved, and they did not receive eternal life. These go back to their carnality.

The part of having not known the way of righteousness the becomes condemnation. Each time the Gospel is ignored it hardens the heart. At each iteration it will become easier to not respond. That is why the latter state is worse not hearing.

Escape the Corruption

Christians escape the corruption and become partakers of the divine nature. It is escaping destruction. And such can never become corrupted again. Therefore losing eternal life and salvation are not possible.

Those that escape the defilements can sometimes be described with a term I like, “churchians.” These are folks who go to church and try to live a good life by not sinning, somehow thinking those things give them credibility. Some even shame others for not living like they do. Self-help and motivational therapy is not Christianity. Doing good deeds is not what makes a Christian. Neither is keeping the law or obeying commands. Don’t fall prey to the quaint religious language.

A Christian is one who believes in the One Whom God sent… Jesus. It’s His name we bear. It’s I solely in Him Who we trust. We know He lived, died for our sins, and spent three days in the grave. That was not the end… For He rose again as Victor over death.

Believing that is what makes one a Christian. Jesus keeps those who are His. Those things don’t come by following a set of rules.

Circumcision is Forever

On By TimIn Colossians 02, Eternal Security, SalvationLeave a comment

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which also you were raised with Him through the faith of the power of God, who has raised Him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11–12

One of my favorite things about Scripture is the precision in the words used to convert an idea. There is no wiggle room for shenanigans, though many may try. Take what Paul says above. He chose his words carefully. Clearly, he is talking about salvation. Read it again, even the tenses of the verbs are significant.

In Jesus, the believer is circumcised. The body of fleshly sins is put off. It’s taken away. The verb tense for circumcised, buried, and raised is aorist. This converts that an action has accurate occurred in the past and it is not undone, with continuing effects to present and beyond.

That word circumcised is used deliberately… In three forms. That signifies grave importance, which provides tension for a pertinent questions.

Can what is circumcised away be reattached or regrow?

No. It doesn’t. Circumcision is forever.

The airiest verb tense also provides more tension. Tension that leads to more questions.

Does the one who has already been raised ever become unraised?

How does one who is already raised from the dead go back to being dead?

No.

So tell me… How does one lose salvation?

And by lose, I mean go away by whatever means one can dream up.

God’s Gift of Everlasting Life

On By TimIn Eternal Security, Gifts, Romans 11Leave a comment

Don’t let someone bamboozle you.

For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.

Romans 11:29

Said another way:

For God’s gifts and calling never change.

Romans 11:29 (ISV):

In this text, Paul was speaking directly of the privileges granted to Israel he noted by name in Romans 9:4. By extension, it includes the usage of the word gift as previously encountered in Romans. He is demonstrating a biblical principle. The gifts (and calling) of God don’t change. (Which means Israel is still God’s chosen people, righteousness, and everlasting life doesn’t change.)

Now… Considering we’ve gotten this far in Romans, we have already encountered some other truths that have application in that verse.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:23

It’s unequivocally true, everlasting life is a gift of God given to the believer. There are other gifts.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if through the trespass of one man many died, then how much more has the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. The gift is not like the result that came through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one sin led to condemnation, but the free gift, which came after many trespasses, leads to justification. For if by one man’s trespass death reigned through him, then how much more will those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:15–17

God expends the gift of righteousness lavishly. That doesn’t change either. In fact, Paul says that gift leads to justification.

But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. This righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and upon all who believe, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith, in His blood, for a demonstration of His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins previously committed, to prove His righteousness at this present time so that He might be just and be the justifier of him who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21–26

This text is the crux of what Paul is teaching. It is a foundational understanding to what transpired at the cross. Note that it says the righteousness of God comes to all through faith and is ON all who believe. We already know that righteousness is a gift of God. And we know the gifts of God don’t change. Meaning that once the gift of righteousness comes upon a person, it doesn’t ever go away or even get marred.

Furthermore, the text says all have missed the mark. But those same all who missed the mark are being justified freely. (Verb tenses matter greatly. Pay attention to them!)

This is a clear demonstration of the righteousness of God. All are being justified freely as God’s gift of righteousness is extended to all.

Having already proven that righteousness is a gift that a believer already has upon them and it cannot change. Likewise, everlasting life is also a gift. But does the believer have that now?

You betcha!

“Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death into life.

John 5:24

And if one witness is not good enough…

Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life.

John 6:47

The Contract with Abraham

On By TimIn Genesis 12, Israel, SalvationLeave a comment

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, your family, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless them who bless you and curse him who curses you, and in you all families of the earth will be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1–3

This is the covenant made with Abram. It is God calling Abram to leave all that he knows. He is to go to the place that God shows to him. This covenant, or to understand better contract, comes with all sorts of stipulations. We could bullet point them.

  • Made a great nation
  • Receive blessing
  • Have a well-known reputation
  • For you to be a blessing

Of course, Abraham believed God and went as he was asked. This is plainly evident in the next verse, “So Abram departed.” He had no proof of anything other than what God told Him would happen. God said “Go.” And Abram left with no discernible delay.

Looking toward the New Testament and the great Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11, we read the retrospect.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out into a place which he would later receive as an inheritance. He went out not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:8

By faith Abram obeyed. His faith was not part of the contract. His obedience was not part of the contract. God’s promises were His alone to keep. And Abram believed God would indeed keep them.

Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had accumulated, and the people that they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. They came to the land of Canaan.

Genesis 12:5

He took all of what he had and set out to the place God wanted him to go.

The Land Promised

The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Genesis 12:7

In addition to the promises detailed at first, God will give to Abram the land to which he was sent.

Now, I know in today’s political climate there is much controversy over this land. Some say it doesn’t belong to Israel, but to Palestinians. But does it really?

Drawing up the Contract

After this the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,
“Do not fear, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I am childless and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” Abram said, “Since You have not given me any children, my heir is a servant born in my house.”
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir, but a son that is from your own body will be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look up toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So will your descendants be.”
Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

Genesis 15:1–6

I think with this text, we can get a sense of the business acumen of Abram. His negotiating skills are proficient. It might give us a hint as to what his family and business were like in Ur.

That aside, God promised a blessing, many descendants… meaning Abram would have heirs. The negotiations continue:

He also said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess it.”
But Abram said, “Lord God, how may I know that I will possess it?”

Genesis 15:7–8

The terms are given. And they’re pretty one-sided… I would say… Exclusively one-sided.

Establishing the Contract

So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
Then Abram brought all of these to Him and cut them in two and laid each piece opposite the other, but he did not cut the birds in half. When the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Genesis 15:9–11

As it was in those ancient days, this is how a contract was made. The Hebrew word for covenant is karath, which means to cut. Animals were cut in half and lain upon the sides of a small ravine. The blood from the animals would drain into the ravine, and the parties to the contract would walk through the collected blood to signify the effectiveness of the contract. The terms for breech… Let this blood be on the one who breeches to contract.

So what did Abram do?

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram, and terror and a great darkness fell on him.

Genesis 15:12

Well, he did nothing. He went to sleep. The word terror doesn’t describe a feeling Abram had. It is used to describe the darkness of the deep sleep. There is no way Abram could have awakened to be privy to what would happen. It’s a subtle, yet important emphasis that applies today.

Then He said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will live as strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. But I will judge the nation that they serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. As for you, you will go to your fathers in peace and you will be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation, your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

Genesis 15:13–16

It’s fascinating to consider that Abram was oblivious to this bit of prophecy. It is recorded for his posterity.

Now, this is important to understand.

When the sun went down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot with a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Genesis 15:17–21

It was God alone Who walked amidst the blood of covenant. He alone made the land contract. The terms to honor it are all agreed to by God alone. Abram is asleep.

The Ramifications

If Abram did nothing to ratify the contract. He can do nothing to nullify or void the contract.

This is an important thing to understand. God alone promised the land to Abram. God alone promised an inheritance to Abram. God alone promised blessings to Abram. God alone promised a great name to Abram. God also promised Abram would be a blessing to the world.

We know Abram’s name was changed to Abraham. We know Abraham had an heir of his own bloodline with Sarah. (She was included in that blessing.) We know the blessing to the world came from Abraham… Jesus.

But, Abraham’s descendants took possession of some of the land promised.

God Keeps His Promises

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, look, the house of Israel says, “The vision that he sees is for many days to come, and he prophesies of the times that are far off.”
Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: There shall none of My words be prolonged anymore, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, says the Lord God.

Ezekiel 12:26–28

God will do what He says He will do. But it happens in His timing, not ours nor when we expect it. We got a glimpse into that in the word spoken by God to Abram while he slept deeply.

Abram wasn’t privy to the struggles of the future. He believed God, and that God would do as He said, working it all out.

It’s this simple fact that God keeps His promises that led Paul to say this:

I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:6

You Know the Way

“Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also. You know where I am going, and you know the way.”

John 14:1–4

As Jesus spoke to His disciples, He promised them He would return. He promised them a place. He gives a blessing that you share it with others.

Partakers of the Root

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the root and richness of the olive tree,

Romans 11:17

The Bible teaches us in Romans 11 that we believers are grafted into the Root, Jesus. It says we believers take part in all the promises given to Abram. The same things promised to Abraham are ours and serve as a template or pattern to what God gives the believer.

That’s why you can believe what Jesus says. Our God keeps His Word!

Do You Hear?

Look at how the promises made to Abraham are the template for the promises given to believers by the Risen Savior Jesus.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give permission to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

Revelation 2:7

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2:11

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.

Revelation 2:17

“To him who overcomes and keeps My works to the end, I will give authority over the nations—
He ‘shall rule them with a rod of iron; like the vessels of a potter they shall be broken in pieces’— even as I myself have received authority from My Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 2:26–29

He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments. I will not blot his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:5–6

He who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:12–13

“To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Revelation 3:21–22

Abram had an ear to listen. He heard and did as God asked. He believed. His faith led to obedience to what God asked. Yet it wasn’t his obedience that was counted for righteousness. It was his faith.

I will say that if you are saved, God will never not keep His promises to you. Even if you think in some moment of weakness or rebellion… You might walk away… But really?

In Him you also, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and after believing in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:13–14

It’s that indwelling Spirit that is His promise to us. He cannot be taken away.

If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:13

Like Israel gets the land, and it is theirs by promise He is going to fulfill, your salvation is yours, by the promise He is going to fulfill.

The Parable of the Sower

On By TimIn Apostasy, Luke 08Leave a comment

When a large crowd had gathered together and people were coming to Him from every city, He told this parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on a rock. And as soon as it sprang up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. Yet some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. And other seed fell on good ground and sprang up and yielded a hundred times the amount sown.”

Luke 8:4–8 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I love the parables Jesus taught. The depths of meaning converted in a simple story, often are misunderstood. This is one example. Jesus explained the parable in detail… Even so, it is misunderstood.

Here is Jesus explaining the parable:

“Now the parable means this: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are those who hear. Then comes the devil, who takes away the word from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

Luke 8:11–12 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I am going to stop here. This is the natural dividing line in the parable. In this part, salvation is mentioned. It is mentioned to be employed as a contrasting point. These folks hear, but the seed is never planted. Clearly, these are unsaved folk.

Now that the division is established, let’s move on.

Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root, for they believe for a while, then in the time of temptation fall away. That which fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed on the good ground are those who, having heard the word, keep it in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with patience.

Luke 8:13–15 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

In the former explanation, the seed never was planted in the hearts of those who heard it. That is the person didn’t believe what he heard. Which means those are not saved. It follows that those who did hear received the seed (believed) and were saved.

These next groups are those who received the seed. These three groups are those who heard and believed. These are saved people. They receive the seed with joy.

The first group falls away. They apostatize. That English word comes from the underlying Greek word translated to fall away. The root of that word are where the English word apostatize has origins.

What does that mean?

Let’s see if we can glean some understanding of what apostasy means by examining the rest of the text of the parable.

The second group received the seed. It took root but was stunted by other cares. The end result of such is given, these bring no fruit to maturity. Jesus doesn’t say these lost or didn’t have salvation.

The next group received the seed, nurtured it, and through patience bore fruit.

To conclude, in this trio who received the seed and believed, we see various stages of fruit production from the seed planted. The first has no root and obviously bore no fruit. The second bore some fruit but it never matured. The last bore good fruit.

Apostasy doesn’t mean people lose salvation at all. It means they fell away from being fruitful and useful to God. They didn’t fall away from being saved.

Escape the Corruption of the World… For Good.

On By TimIn Colossians 02Leave a comment

Therefore, if you died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you subject yourself to legalistic rules? “Do not touch! Do not taste! Do not handle!” These all are to perish with use and are aligned with the commandments and doctrines of men. These things have indeed a show of wisdom in self-imposed worship and humility and neglecting of the body, but are worthless against the indulgence of the flesh.

Colossians 2:20–23 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I love the way Paul writes. He is saying, if you’re saved why do you worry about rules as if breaking them nullifies your salvation?

Of course, we should live blamelessly. There is real wisdom in that. But doing that, or not, doesn’t mean one loses eternal life. Living by legalistic tiles is often just a shallow veneer… A show for others.

Living the right way is going to be no help to anyone in the fight against the indulgence of the flesh.

What’s that?

Living right isn’t going to help fight the cravings of the flesh. If you have battled addiction of any kind, you know exactly what that is. Whatever the flesh craves, for some it’s a substance that may alter moods or help to cope and perform tasks. For others, it could be food. Then another might actually abstain from food or even purge. It could also be chasing that fleeting gratification from looking at graphic images.

The flesh will crave what it craves. But just living right isn’t going to help stave off the desire to indulge the flesh.

Peter words this from another perspective…

Although they promise them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for by that which a man is overcome, to this he is enslaved. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them.

2 Peter 2:19–21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

As Peter continues, he is talking about false teachers. These are people that peddle legalistic rules of abstinence from indulging the flesh. Inside they are really slaves of the corruption. (Remember that word corruption.)

These kinds of teachers escape the defilements of the world… For a time. That is, they do not touch, taste, or handle bad things. They may even go to church for a time. In all of that, they only escape the indulgences temporarily.

Eventually, because they have no real salvation… They return to corruption that enslaves them. Usually, the fall is deeper. In some cases, the consequences could be devastating physically, mentally, and spiritually. Dying in that kind of mess without Jesus means an eternity of torment.

And these have no excuse because they heard the truth. What a sad situation.

That word corruption… Peter used it earlier in this epistle.

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and excellence, by which He has given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, so that through these things you might become partakers of the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.

2 Peter 1:3–4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Basically, Peter is extolling the goodness of God to people who are saved. People that have His Spirit living in them. That Spirit is the earnest money or down payment given by God. It is by that Spirit we believers partake now of the divine nature.

It is that partaking of the divine nature that allows us to escape the corruption in this world that comes through giving in to decadent indulgence. The phrase escape the corruption means we won’t die and spend an eternity in perdition.

Modifying behavior only goes so far. Without God, it’s just modifying behavior. But with God and the indwelling Holy Spirit, there is real hope to look toward. There is a God that can be our focus instead of indulging in decadence.

Our minds will be drawn away from the demands of the flesh. And it is the continual practice of flexing this muscle that helps it to grow strong. We let atrophy the muscle that works to indulge the flesh. We can lock minds with the divine nature of the Spirit in us to master the flesh.

In doing so, the rules are irrelevant.

It is the most difficult thing to fight addiction. Believing and trusting Jesus is the first step to partaking in the divine nature. It is that precise move that is made that brings the Holy Spirit (that divine nature) inside of us.

Don’t just temporarily escape the pollution of the world. Get saved and escape the corruption… For good.

Shipwrecked Faith and Disqualification

On By TimIn 1 Timothy 01, Eternal SecurityLeave a comment

This command I commit to you, my son Timothy, according to the prophecies that were previously given to you, that by them you might fight a good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 1:18–20 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I am certain most of us have encountered this passage, either in our own readings, or most likely because it was employed to scare others about losing salvation. The phrase used is shipwrecked faith.

Without spending too much time in the original languages, suffice it to say the idea conveyed by the term shipwreck means to suffer loss by living through it.

But what does it really mean?

Consider a practical application. Shipwrecked ships are no longer suitable for the purposes that they were designed to be employed to do. Shipwrecked ships can no longer be used to convey people and goods. Shipwrecked ships cannot stay afloat keeping the cargo out of the water.

It’s the same way with your faith. If faith is shipwrecked, It’s no longer useful for its intended purposes. That is, it is useless to bear fruit for Jesus.

It doesn’t mean salvation is lost or forfeited. It cannot mean that, as persons live through such things as shipwreck and disqualification.

That’s an important concept to understand when reading the Bible. If a particular passage is about salvation, there is no ambiguity. When Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” It’s a clear command.

In a similar manner, those important topics are unambiguous. The soul that sins, it shall die. Or men die once and then comes the judgment. The dangers of perdition are clearly presented.

When it comes to a topic such as losing salvation, are there clear passages?

I would say emphatically, no. The Bible doesn’t tell you emphatically, to be careful you will lose your salvation. Instead, the idea is derived from ambiguity and euphemism as if it exists.

With that concept, let’s examine another term Paul employed and is often misused in a similar way to shipwreck.

Do you not know that all those who run in a race run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain it. Everyone who strives for the prize exercises self-control in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one. So, therefore, I run, not with uncertainty. So I fight, not as one who beats the air. But I bring and keep my body under subjection, lest when preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24–27 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

In this case, Paul is using the idea of running a race to teach self-control. Just as an athlete prepares for a race by disciplining his body, Paul extends that to the same discipline of self-control we ought to have as believers. Self-control, not because we might lose salvation, but self-control that we might remain eligible to receive a prize.

To each of us, we make think salvation is a prize won. It is not. It is a gift given to us by a gracious God. Running a race for the prize brings a reward for a job well done.

Lack of discipline can lead to disqualification. That can put anyone in a position of ineligibility to win that race.

Shipwrecked faith and disqualification are not metaphors for losing salvation. They are metaphors for unemployability in being fruitful for the purposes of God. I will say that most of the Bible teaches us to be employable for the purposes of God. The initial part of that is to be saved.

That moves us to the potter.

Paul outlines this idea in Romans 9. This passage is often misused to say something it doesn’t. This isn’t about salvation, but employability by God.

Does the potter not have power over the clay to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

Romans 9:21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

He uses the familiarity of a potter making vessels. In this case, it serves as a sort of analog to God making men for particular purposes. Humans are not pots. But they are vessels made for use. And they are made from the same clay. And each is made for useful employability by God in a specific way.

The honor and dishonor part speaks to the employability, not the particular usage of the vessel. Humans think a jar to hold wine has an honorable purpose, while a chamber pot made from the same lump of clay has a less-than-honorable purpose. To the potter, both have the same value inherent in their employability and usefulness.

Paul used this idea in another place.

In a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also those of wood and clay; some are for honor, and some for dishonor. One who cleanses himself from these things will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, fit for the Master’s use, and prepared for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:20–21 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

From a human perspective, honor is measured by a different value than God uses. God measures honor by something being fit for the Master’s use. Can the vessel do the job?

Humans are not wine jars and chamber pots. Though like those, we are made for different purposes from the same material. The honor comes in our being sanctified, which is set aside and ready. That requires the discipline Paul spoke about. When we are in that position we are fit for the Master’s use. That is an honor.

But, wait! You might say, “I messed up. My faith is shipwrecked and I’m disqualified!”

I am going to tell you…

God gives mulligans.

Paul’s usage of the potter pays homage to something he would be very familiar with being an Israeli. It is the writing of the prophet Jeremiah.

“Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was making something on the wheel. Yet the vessel that he made of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Jeremiah 18:2–4 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

I do love this entire chapter. God calls Jeremiah to the potter’s house. He is called to watch. In the lesson, the thing being formed becomes marred in the potter’s hand.

Note something else absent from the text. The potter didn’t mar the clay. It became marred. The potter didn’t discard the clay. Instead, he reforms that clay into a vessel of another purpose.

Do-overs are available. Get the do-over, and couple that with some self-control. And God has a vessel set aside to be employed in honor as the Potter intends.

Surely Goodness and Mercy

On By TimIn Encouragement, Eternal Security, Good, Peace, Psalm 023Leave a comment

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul;
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1–6 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

It’s a beloved passage. Many have it memorized as it brings comfort in stressful times.

Have you actually pondered the ideas in the last verse?

There is a hymn we sing called “Surely Goodness and Mercy.” It is this last line of this Psalm. The religion of the verse drives an important point.

Goodness and mercy shall follow me.

We get that language from the King James Version. The word shall hints at a deeper meaning of the Hebrew word it is translated from to form the verb shall follow. The Hebrew root is radaph. It is translated correctly.

But let us look in another version of the Bible that may add some higher definition.

Surely goodness and loyal love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will stay in the house of Yahweh
for a very long time.

Psalm 23:6 — The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012)

Yes, the word can be translated as pursue, here. Other meanings include chase and persecute.

This goodness and mercy of God doesn’t ever give up. It is always there, chasing and persecuting us… Forever.

Baptism Proclaims Resurrection

On By TimIn 1 Peter 03, Baptism, Spiritual WarfareLeave a comment

For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who in times past were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.

1 Peter 3:18–20 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Peter is writing on the merits of suffering for doing good things. In it, there is the idea to not fear. He says earlier “Do not be afraid of their terror, do not be troubled.” He is paraphrasing something from Isaiah 8.

Jesus likewise also suffered for doing good. And like Jesus, a believer has died to themselves and already been made alive in Him. This is why Peter is saying to not be afraid of their terror. It has no real power.

Peter is going to continue to connect this to the floodwaters of Noah. Jesus goes to have words with spirits in Sheol. The latter idea is not without controversy.

It is my understanding that humanity’s genetics had been corrupted before the flood. Lots of the bodies that perished were of corrupted flesh that was the progeny of certain fallen angels. There is much to explain there and perhaps in future weeks, I may elaborate on that. Suffice it to say, the dead spirits of those progeny were disobedient as well as humans that perished. Their eternity is certain. This is why demons tremble.

What Peter is doing is pointing out that those who went into the water of Noah’s flood… Died. There was no hope for them because of their disobedience. There is no rescue after death.

Peter then uses that idea of the flood and those perishing to connect as anti-type to baptism and the eternal security of the salvation Jesus gives.

Figuratively this is like baptism, which also saves us now. It is not washing off the dirt from the body, but a response to God from a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers being made subject to Him.

1 Peter 3:21–22 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jesus passed into the grave but rose again, ascending to His place with God in heaven. All powers and authorities are subject to Him. What a terrifying thought to those spirits that perished. There is no help for them.

Baptism isn’t like the floodwaters. A believer goes into the water not to be made clean. That has already been done. The believer goes into the water to demonstrate there is no claim death can have on them, whether past, present, or future. This is proclaimed as the believer is raised up out of the water. It is a sure demonstration that the watery grave, or any grave for that matter, has no power whatsoever over the believer.

Don’t fear their terror.

Every single time a soul is baptized it is a public announcement that another soul is set aside for resurrection. The grave has no business with that one.

For me, I explain baptism with a similar metaphor. An athlete may sign a contract to play for a team. The moment he agrees, he is part of that team. A public proclamation may be made to celebrate that signing. But it is real when that athlete dons the identity of that team, putting on the uniform and walking on the field of play.

That is baptism for a believer!

He has already been saved by belief and confession. We rightly celebrate such things when they happen. At baptism, the believer dons the uniform, that is he takes on the identity of the team. in this case, it’s the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. For all intents and purposes, when a believer comes out of the water, he is on the field of play!

Hallelujah! It is serious!

Just as death has no claim on Jesus, death has no claim on a believer!

Those that went into the water of Noah’s flood perished. They did not come out of it. It bears repeating. Baptism proclaims Jesus’ victory over death in showing an already saved person is set aside for resurrection and is brought into and then out of the water.

Lukewarm Christian?

On By TimIn Encouragement, Revelation 03Leave a comment

I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of My mouth.

Revelation 3:15–16 — Modern English Version (Thinline Edition.; Lake Mary, FL: Passio, 2014)

Jesus is speaking to the church at Laodicea. His indictment of their works as a body is lukewarm. And if that is continued, the church would wither away.

This is not an indictment or a judgment on any Christian. It doesn’t mean that any of those Christians in the church lost their salvation. In fact, it has nothing to do with salvation. Nor does it have anything to do with individual behavior, even though the church as a body is made up of individuals.

It is a judgment on a church body.

A Christian doesn’t lose his salvation, neither do his works have anything to do with his salvation, whether helping it or not. In fact, good behavior isn’t fruit-bearing that Jesus looks for in a person. It can lead to it, and make it more bountiful, but bearing fruit is not the same as obeying the law.