Participants: John Lomacang (Host), John Stanton
Series Code: HCL
Program Code: HCL130002
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00:01 Hello friends, grab your Bible and a friend
00:02 and sit back as we explore God's word together 00:05 on this edition of "House Calls." 00:22 Well, friends, welcome to another pattern show. 00:26 Yes, this is a pattern the squares and the lines. 00:29 Actually this is House Calls. 00:31 Thank you for tuning in. 00:32 We just got into this pattern mode today. 00:34 I don't know I just got contemporary 00:36 for whatever reason. 00:38 I told him, I said welcome to the pattern world. 00:39 I think we're in patterns and filled colors and... 00:42 Yeah, I think really, so I decided to join the show 00:44 and, but today the pattern 00:46 that we're gonna talk about is Christ. 00:48 He's the real pattern that each one of us 00:50 must have on and put on. 00:52 And we've been talking about that wonderful topic 00:54 what it means to be in Christ. 00:56 So get your Bibles, get your pens, 01:00 invite your family, and your friends, 01:02 and sit down with us for the next hour to enjoy a topic 01:06 that we promise is going to be from the word of God. 01:09 But before we do anything we're gonna have prayer. 01:11 So, John, take us to the Lord in prayer. 01:13 Let's do that. 01:14 Gracious Father, we come again to you 01:15 before Your presence here to seek Your face. 01:18 We want to know Your will. 01:20 We want to know more about You, 01:22 more about Jesus. 01:23 What it means to be in Christ. 01:24 And so during this program we pray that You'd manifest 01:27 Yourself through Your Spirit, through Your word, 01:29 through the blessing that comes from Your hand of knowing 01:32 who this Jesus is that we love and serve in Jesus name, amen. 01:36 Amen. You know, the first part of the program 01:40 is always about your Bible questions. 01:41 And we thank you for sending those questions. 01:43 Was so nice today we have things like PDF 01:47 and we don't have to print paper, 01:49 we have gone green. 01:51 We have laptops, we don't print paper out. 01:54 We're trying to contribute to the wellbeing of humanity, 01:58 but we thank you for sending short questions. 02:00 Those of you that have caught on to the short question 02:03 will get your questions read. 02:06 And by the way if you have any questions 02:07 you want to send to us something 02:09 we may awaken your mind you can send 02:10 those to the following address, housecalls@3abn.org. 02:15 That's housecalls@3abn.org. 02:18 And John will be the one that downloads them 02:21 and he kind of filters through them. 02:24 And have you had any spam issues 02:26 with questions being rejected 02:27 or have you had books being sent? 02:29 You know, for about every page that comes up 02:33 on our mail system there're about 02:36 two questions in it out of 50. 02:39 So we're really--its not so much spam, 02:41 it's we're added to links and automatic emails 02:45 and prolusion, all kinds of thing. 02:46 So I'm trying to get some filtering in place 02:49 to get that out of the way, 02:51 so we can get to the real heart of the issues, 02:53 the questions that matter to us most 02:54 which is the questions that you sent. 02:56 So we've got one here that is from A.P 03:01 and a real good question he says 03:04 "I know I've read that God does not tempt anyone." 03:07 And that is true it's a specific statement in the Bible. 03:10 "But yet Matthew 4:1 says, 03:13 that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness 03:15 to be tempted by the devil. 03:17 Explain this to me. 03:19 Also why would Jesus allow Satan to carry Him anywhere? 03:24 Why would He let Satan touch Him? 03:27 Okay, so let's dive into this, let's go to Matthew Chapter 4. 03:32 Just to kind of give it some context here. 03:34 Matthew Chapter 3 is about the baptism of Jesus 03:37 and clearly we understand that through this baptism, 03:41 the Holy Spirit descending like a devil upon Him 03:43 as He came out of the water was this anointing Him for ministry. 03:47 It was the beginning of His work to save mankind 03:54 and workout our redemption, our salvation or of all mankind. 03:58 And I love it that Chapter 4, He doesn't waste anytime. 04:05 He allows God to take Him exactly 04:07 where He will meet the devil head on. 04:10 So I don't see this as letting the devil touch Him 04:13 or carrying Him somewhere. 04:15 I see this is an issue where Jesus is like now 04:18 it's time to get down to business. 04:19 I'm anointed for ministry. 04:21 Here is where we need to go. 04:22 And He deals with temptation. 04:24 But you know the other thing that makes it really 04:25 significant, I'm glad you've brought that up, 04:27 because lot of time we read a question 04:29 and just fly to the answer. 04:30 But let's analyze the question. 04:32 When the Bible says, He was tempted in all points 04:34 just as we are doesn't the devil touch us. Yeah. 04:38 Exactly. So the very things 04:41 that we will have to be confronted by 04:43 were the very same things that Jesus was confronted by. 04:46 Yes. And wanted to confront in our behalf. 04:49 There you go. 04:51 And so that's why it says, that He was led 04:52 by the Spirit into the wilderness. 04:54 That was God Himself through His Spirit leading Him 04:56 to this place where He will be tempted, 04:58 because they knew that this was the main source, 05:02 the battlefield against sin. 05:05 This is what had to be conquered. 05:06 Man as he came in the lightness of sinful flesh, 05:09 mankind would have to overcome sin and only Christ, 05:12 the Redeemer, the sinless One could conquer in our behalf. 05:16 And that's why it says that God led Him by the Spirit 05:18 into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 05:21 The devil himself said to his angels, 05:25 I'm gonna take this one on. 05:26 I'm gonna go after Jesus. 05:29 And so Jesus our great Redeemer met the devil 05:32 the greatest tempter head to head in the wilderness. 05:35 This is where the battle took place 05:36 and it took place right after He's anointed for ministry. 05:39 And so it's a powerful text and the passage here 05:42 that we read about these temptations 05:44 that Christ went through and I know 05:46 that we're not-- we don't have time to get into 05:47 all the different temptations, but Christ allowed Himself 05:50 to be led there to fight the main battle 05:52 that He knew all of us fight everyday. 05:54 That's right, that's right. Very good. 05:56 So would you--would you gonna give answer to that one? 05:58 Well, the answer is why is it if God doesn't tempt anyone 06:02 that it says that He was led in to the Spirit 06:05 by the Spirit to be tempted. Okay. 06:06 Well, God wasn't tempting Jesus, 06:08 but He was leading Jesus to a place 06:10 where the battle would take place from the enemy, 06:13 the devil who was tempting Him. 06:14 So the devil is tempting Him here. 06:16 We've explained that. 06:18 Why would Jesus allow Satan to carry Him? 06:20 Well, sometimes when we're tempted 06:23 we're touched by the devil too. 06:24 You answered it very well. 06:26 So this is the battle that all of us have to fight. 06:28 Jesus has fought it for us. 06:29 Thank you, John. I appreciate that 'cause we-- 06:32 it was such a good question, I didn't realize we answered it, 06:35 but we sure did in discussing it. 06:37 Thank you for that. 06:38 Another one, my daughter is age 16, 06:41 questioning various ideas of our culture 06:43 and our faith these days. 06:46 The other day she said, if God has a plan for our lives 06:50 then are we predestined to be believers or nonbelievers? 06:56 I'm not just sure how to answer this. 06:57 I'd appreciate your thoughts on how I can answer this. 07:01 Well, let's go ahead and start with 07:03 the very significant word predestined. 07:06 We have choices to make and I believe every one of us 07:11 makes choices every moment of everyday. 07:13 These choices can be monumental-- 07:17 let me just not say minor, because every choice 07:19 we make don't appear to be minor when it's first made. 07:23 But if you follow that thought all the way 07:24 through you can see wow, 07:26 I'm so glad I decided to make that phone call. 07:30 That's singular thought and it's not that you are predestined 07:34 to make that phone call, but the opportunity was there. 07:36 And I have this phrase that I've adopted 07:38 this one really is not mine. 07:40 But I forgot who said it, 07:42 but maybe you can look up the reference. 07:44 "It is better to be ready for an opportunity 07:46 and not have it present itself then have to present itself 07:50 and not be ready for it." 07:52 That's not predestined to get a job, 07:53 that's not predestined to get a position in the company, 07:56 that's not predestined to be on that flight or predestined 07:59 to miss that flight, you see. 08:01 But we have to keep in mind that we have choices to make. 08:05 Now where does the word predestined come in 08:07 when it comes to whether or not some are going to be believers 08:10 and others are not going to be believers? 08:12 The Lord doesn't predestine anyone to be not a believer, 08:15 because if you think of the fires of hell, 08:17 they were not prepared for nonbelievers. 08:20 Matthew 25:41 it says 08:23 "That hell was prepared for the devil and his angels." 08:29 So the hell was not prepared for any nonbelievers. 08:31 That's right, for no one else but them. 08:34 Everybody--the Lord has prepared salvation for everyone. 08:37 He is not willing that any should perish, 08:40 so no one was predestined to be lost. 08:43 That's right. Here I'm not willing 08:44 that anybody should perish. 08:46 So let's read the couple of text. 08:47 John, go to Ephesians 1 and there is verse 5 and 11. 08:50 I may have you read that, 08:52 but I'm gonna start with Romans 29. 08:54 And let me look this up in the context. 08:55 I praise God for this computer programs nowadays. 08:58 He mentioned context. 09:00 Okay, let's go ahead and read Romans, 09:02 I want to read verse 28, 09:04 because this is the most familiar passage 09:06 at least one of the most familiar passage 09:08 often repeated, but you need the context of it. 09:11 All right, here it is in verse 28, 09:14 "And we know that all things work together for good 09:16 to those who love God, and to those 09:18 who are the called according to His purpose." 09:20 Okay, the called according to His purpose. 09:24 Now when you think about the called, 09:26 the Bible says many are called. 09:29 But why not everybody-- why is everybody not chosen? 09:32 Because in the parable of the wedding feast. 09:36 John does a wonderful sermon on the marriage feast. 09:39 There is one who response to the call, 09:42 but he is not chosen, because he doesn't have 09:43 on the wedding garment. 09:45 It's a good segue to the in Christ Bible study. 09:48 The Lord predestined everyone who responded to be saved. 09:52 That predestining simply means it's a predetermining, 09:56 I'm setting the situation. 09:58 In other words, I've written the will 09:59 and now that I've died the will is enforce 10:02 that whoever believes in Me should not perish 10:05 but have everlasting life. 10:07 That's the predestining statement there. 10:09 That whosoever believeth in Him--well, who, 10:12 for God so love the world. 10:14 He's predestined the whole world to be saved, 10:17 but the conditions must be met. 10:20 So there is no predetermining there. 10:22 So here's verse 29 and this continues the called 10:26 "For whom He foreknew 10:30 he also predestined to be conformed 10:34 to the image of his Son, 10:36 that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." 10:41 Moreover verse 30. 10:43 "Whom he predestined, these he also called, 10:48 whom he called, these he also justified, 10:52 whom he justified, these he also glorified." 10:56 Notice the process as you go from one stage to the next, 11:00 you'll discover the word predestined similarly means 11:02 I've made provision for you to go from not even know 11:05 who I am all the way to be glorified. 11:07 That's what the predestination is. 11:09 And so the plan that God has for our lives and, John, 11:12 lot of people struggle with that phrase 11:14 what is God's plan for my life. 11:16 Well, His plan is wonderfully illustrated in John 10:10. 11:22 The thief comes but to steal, kill, and destroy. 11:25 What is God's plan? 11:27 But Jesus has come that we might have life 11:29 and have it more abundantly. 11:32 So that abundant life is there whether that abundant life 11:35 is singing in the Lord, preaching for the Lord, 11:37 living as an accountant, but living a life of a witness 11:40 as an accountant that life is to be an abundant life. 11:44 The Lord doesn't decide ahead a time 11:47 whether you can make one choice and not make a choice, 11:49 He's put before you, choice 11:51 is that you must decide for or against. 11:53 I'm gonna let you register that and I'll comeback 11:55 with some more thoughts on it. 11:56 Predestined does not mean predetermined. Right. 12:01 This, we need to get pass this. This is a really-- 12:03 It doesn't mean we're programmed? 12:04 No, it doesn't mean predetermined, 12:06 it doesn't mean the determination has been made. 12:08 Predestined means and I like the word you use provision for. 12:11 Right. Prepare the way for. 12:14 God has made the way, 12:16 He is predestined the way for all to come to Him. 12:19 And so you mentioned Ephesians, I'm gonna read that passage 12:22 that's where I would go. 12:24 Ephesians 1:4 "Just as He chose us in Him 12:29 before the foundation of the world." 12:31 Now the import of that verse. 12:33 Before the foundation of the world, 12:35 He choose us in Christ. 12:37 So who is he selecting? Everyone. Right. 12:40 From the foundation of the world before even we were born, 12:43 He chose us for redemption. 12:46 Well, and it says that let's read on. 12:48 "That we should be holy 12:50 and without blame before Him in love, 12:51 having predestined us to adoption as sons 12:55 by Jesus Christ to Himself 12:57 according to the good pleasure of His will." 13:00 So this predestined, 13:03 this pre-destiny is a preparedness, 13:06 it's a provision made 13:07 prior to the foundation of the world 13:10 that when sin were to occur, when sin did occur as it has 13:14 that we would have the ability to through Christ be redeemed 13:18 and be adopted as sons and daughters of God again. 13:22 Everyone is predestined to that adoption, 13:28 but we're not predetermined 13:30 that it's going to happen. Right. 13:33 Nor are we predetermine that being lost will happen. 13:37 That's right. Predestination is not predetermination. 13:40 Predestination is simply a way has been prepared 13:44 and made available for all. 13:45 Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. 13:50 So He is already died for every sin 13:53 that will ever be committed. 13:55 The issue is whether or not we will accept His invitation 13:58 and then His destiny that He set for us 14:01 as sons and daughters in God. 14:03 Right, John, thank you very much. 14:05 I'm going to John-- we're in the John, 14:08 we're in the John motive John, John, 14:10 but we're in the Book of John. Go to John 1. 14:14 This is not 1 John, but the Book of John. 14:18 Talking about this whole predetermine thing. 14:20 Now no one could have been more predetermined 14:23 if you want to use the phrase predestined 14:26 than the people He chose. 14:28 But its one thing for Christ to choose us, 14:32 its something altogether different for us to choose Him, 14:36 because it says in John 1:10 down to verse 12 14:43 "He was in the world 14:45 and the world was made through him or by him 14:49 and the world did not know him. 14:52 He came to his own 14:54 and his own did not receive him." 14:58 Now what so big about-- now I want you to get this, 15:00 His own that means He claims them, 15:03 but they don't claim Him, you see. 15:06 And then verse 12 "But as many as received him, 15:13 to them he gave the right or power 15:16 to become the children of God 15:19 to those who believe in his name." 15:20 Notice what they become. 15:23 That means they were not that before. 15:26 He chose them as far as I love all humanity 15:29 that's the choosing. 15:30 But what do they become by choosing Him. 15:34 They become something that they were not before. 15:37 They become children of God. 15:39 Sure, they were not programmed to be children of God. 15:44 The provision was made 15:45 and once they receive the provision 15:47 they became the children of God. 15:48 Once they made the decision 15:50 to accept Christ and that's the thing. 15:52 He doesn't decide who's lost and who's saved. Right. 15:55 We decide whether or not we will be lost or saved. 15:58 He's already made the provision for salvation. 16:00 We must make that choice is to whether or not 16:02 we will accept that or we will reject Him. 16:06 Joshua 24:15, here it is. 16:15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 16:19 choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve," 16:23 There it is, you got to make the choice. 16:25 "Whether the gods which your fathers served 16:27 that were on the other side of the river, 16:29 or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. 16:32 But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 16:37 See so that's a choice you have to make, 16:39 choose you today. 16:41 So the young lady who is 16-years-old-- 16:44 let me just tell you, 'cause hey were you, 16:46 were you ever 16, John? 16:48 I think I skip that one. You skip that one. 16:51 I'm not sure if I skip the one, but I think I may have, 16:53 I think I may have bumped into 16 somewhere along the way. 16:56 But if I have forgotten I know I was 15 17:00 and I know I was 17 chances I was 16 also. 17:03 You see that's a very ripe age for confusion to sit in. 17:07 Who am I, what am I, where am I headed? 17:11 And she is hearing from all her friends, 17:12 she is hearing from friends, 17:14 she is probably hearing from maybe, 17:16 depending on where she's in school, 17:17 she is hearing from teachers or other things, so. 17:19 Twittering, texting, peer pressure, 17:21 societies pressures, fads, fashions, 17:26 the music, the entertainment, you are being bombarded, 17:29 you are under attack at 16 years old. 17:33 Whether to be wearing black, not to wear black. 17:37 Whether to wear jewelry, not to wear jewelry. 17:40 How should I live, what should I do? 17:43 Do people love me, do my friends hate me. 17:46 I mean that's just the turbulence 17:48 of the blender of 16 years old. 17:49 And we're not minimizing that you're going to this. 17:51 We're saying that we've been there 17:54 and it's not like adults just don't know 17:56 what's going on. Oh, we've been there. 17:57 We've been there, but we've gotten through that 18:00 praise the Lord we've passed that. 18:03 So we actually sympathize with teenagers. 18:06 Somebody asked me the other day, he said 18:08 if you could do it all over again, 18:10 would you do it all over again? I said, no. No way. 18:12 I'm not going through-- that's why there was a show 18:15 many years ago called "The Wonder Years" 18:16 and truly we wonder-- we look at our children 18:19 sometimes this kids shows up at the breakfast table you say 18:23 "hey, honey who is that? 18:26 What happened to our daughter?" 18:28 They kind of look like us, but... 18:30 Do you-- my daughter was it, 18:31 do you know what happen could you go in her room 18:33 and tell my daughter come out. Dad it is me. 18:36 My parents used to say 18:38 "Go in you room and comeback out again." 18:41 And we're not minimizing, 18:43 but this is the world we're living in. 18:44 So for this young girl at 16 years old 18:47 to be questioning various ideas our culture and our faith, 18:51 hey, thank God that she is actually questioning that. 18:55 But what we want to give you the-- 18:56 is the ammunition to say, 18:58 say to her "God's got a plan for your life, 19:00 but here's where the plan gets unfolded. 19:02 Mom here's where the plan-- here's the ammunition you need." 19:06 Say to your daughter. 19:09 If you want that power that is available 19:11 you have to receive Christ in your life 19:12 as many as received Him, 19:15 to them He gave the power the right to become. 19:19 So if she wants to find out what she can become 19:21 just accept Christ. 19:22 And I tell you, John didn't know it 19:25 and neither did I, this fast driven teenager, 19:30 this drug experimental kid, this--he didn't know 19:34 where God's plan was gonna lead him 19:36 neither did I this gambling, pool hustling, 19:39 partier from the streets of New York City 19:42 I don't know where that was all gonna lead us. 19:44 But what happened. 19:45 We submitted and simply say, Lord, okay, take us 19:47 we don't know what we're gonna do 19:49 and here we are today. 19:51 Yeah, but we were on borrowed time 19:54 that whole time and really I can say I wish in looking back 19:59 that I had made the decision earlier. Yes. 20:03 Rather than had gone through those things. 20:04 Lot's of kids today will say, you know what, 20:06 I just want to experience the pleasures of life 20:08 and then at some point give my life to the Lord 20:11 everything will be okay. Let me tell you. 20:13 The devil everyday wants to take you out 20:16 and it's better to make the decision today not tomorrow, 20:20 because you need Christ on your side. 20:23 You need to be aligned with Him. That's right. 20:26 I like just one last text on this John 3:16-18, 20:30 let's now start with 16. 20:31 Go for it. That's right. 20:33 "For God so loved the world, 20:34 that he gave his only begotten Son, 20:36 that whosoever believes in him should not perish, 20:38 but have everlasting life. 20:39 For God did not sent his Son into the world" to do what? 20:42 Condemn it. "To condemn the world." 20:44 So that means and it's the world here, 20:47 is He condemning anybody? 20:49 Well, you know, I didn't. 20:51 If people say predestination is some are condemned, 20:53 some are lost and some are saved. 20:55 He have to be condemning those that were lost. 20:58 But He did not condemn the world 21:00 "But that the world through Him might be saved." 21:04 He who believes, and here is the factor right here. 21:07 Here is what makes that salvation possible. 21:10 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; 21:14 but he who does not believe is condemned already," why? 21:19 "Because he has not believed in the name 21:20 of the only begotten Son of God. 21:23 And this is the condemnation, 21:24 that the light has come into the world, 21:26 and men loved darkness rather than light, 21:27 because their deeds were evil." 21:30 Fact is we love sin. 21:32 It's what our bodies are drawn to. 21:33 We love the pleasures of this world. 21:35 We have to choose not to engage in those pleasures 21:38 when we choose Christ. That's right. 21:40 And that can be a very difficult choice 21:41 especially for these early years, 21:43 these teenage years through up through college years. 21:46 It is a challenge but you'll never regret later 21:50 making the decision not to follow the way of the world. 21:52 That's right, that's why it's important to make a decision 21:55 'cause lot of friends we've had and I keep this young lady, 21:58 we need to keep her in our prayers, 22:01 but all young people whether they're in the church or not 22:04 need to be kept in our prayers because it's a pivotal age. 22:07 To make it out of the teenage years is a blessing nowadays. 22:11 It's a blessing in any age. 22:14 I lost a lot of friends growing up 22:16 because they were making decisions. 22:17 Some of them thought they had more time. 22:18 I even had friends that went to school with me, 22:20 went to church school with me and some of them got 22:23 experimental after they left church school 22:25 and now they're, they're dead. 22:27 So we're not trying to frighten you, 22:29 what we're simply saying 22:30 life is such a gift that as a 16-year-old, 22:34 one of the best things you can do to your-- 22:36 for your daughter say, Honey, let me just sit you down and say 22:39 there's so many things you can choose to be in life. 22:41 But whatever you choose to be in life, 22:44 let it be according to the will of God. 22:46 And then when it's according to the will of God, 22:49 He'll bless your life abundantly. 22:51 John, do you have one more question? 22:53 I have one more question here. Okay. 22:54 This question is from Millamoe from Zambia. 23:02 Oh, man. Wow, praise God. 23:04 And it comes from the other, the other side of the world. 23:08 How can one draw a line between a genuine drive for enterprise 23:13 and the pure love for money? 23:16 Is there room for Christians to become notable entrepreneurs 23:19 without putting money as the prime motivation? 23:23 Quick answer, absolutely yes. Of course. 23:25 So let's go to 1 Timothy 6. 23:27 I think it provides a real good balance here. 23:29 Okay, very good, all right. 1 Timothy 6. 23:31 And we'll begin with verse 6. 23:34 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 23:40 For we brought nothing into this world, 23:42 and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 23:47 So accumulating goods here in this world for somehow 23:51 a benefit to us for later life is absolutely not true. 23:56 In fact, the Egyptians used to bury their kings 23:58 with all kinds of provisions and goods 24:00 just to carry them to the afterlife with a benefit 24:02 with a zip up, which is absolutely unbiblical. 24:06 We can carry nothing out because we brought nothing in. 24:09 But now look it goes on here verse 8, 24:11 "And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 24:16 But those who desire" here's the key 24:18 "those who desire to be rich 24:21 fall into temptation and a snare." 24:24 Not those who are wealthy but those who desire to be rich. 24:29 What is their goal? 24:30 Their goal is riches. 24:32 Right. They want money. 24:33 They want to make money for the sake of being rich. 24:36 "And into many foolish and harmful lusts 24:39 which drown men in destruction and perdition. 24:43 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, 24:47 for which some have strayed 24:49 from the faith in their greediness, 24:50 and pierced themselves through many sorrows." 24:53 This world has become a greedy place. 24:57 We see frequent manifestations of that 25:00 through our recent financial crises, 25:03 the greediness and the different kinds of things 25:05 they were using being inventive for a temporary quick buck, 25:11 risky investments things like that, 25:12 putting at risk our entire economy for their pleasure. 25:17 They desire to be rich. 25:19 They were greedy in that respect 25:21 and God will judge them for that. 25:23 I'm not gonna judge them, that's, that's God. 25:24 But God clearly is saying 25:26 the desire for riches is not good. 25:29 But now God, we find evidence, 25:31 the scripture that God over and over blessed his people, 25:34 many of His people with wealth. That's right. 25:38 But here's what I would say. 25:39 He blesses those with wealth 25:41 those are His people with wealth who can handle it. 25:45 And I know that there are some who have abused that 25:47 and have not handled it so well. 25:49 But to some degree I thank the Lord 25:52 for not making me a millionaire because I be in trouble I think. 25:57 I like to think I wouldn't... Right. 25:59 But I just know that God knows best 26:03 and if I had a lot of wealth the tendency is that we-- 26:07 our minds get drawn away for caring and worrying 26:09 about those things we posses rather than for the gospel 26:13 and making sure that we are doing the work 26:15 that God has given us to do. That's right. 26:16 I'll tell you one of the most difficult things, John, 26:18 to do was to make that decision. 26:21 Rochelle and I had a battle over this. 26:22 I don't know how, you know, how furious this was 26:24 but we had a battle over leaving the job I had 26:28 for $2000 a month stipend and Rochelle having no job. 26:33 She had a job, I had a very well paying career. 26:38 We left both... That's right, I remember that. 26:40 To be come an associate pastor/Bible worker 26:42 on 2000 a month stipend. I remember that. 26:46 And I... That was huge. 26:48 How does this gonna work? 26:50 We did not know how this was gonna work. 26:53 And I think if I had stayed in that-- 26:55 I'm not saying my salvation would have been on stake, 26:57 I'm just saying that I would not have done the Lord's will. 26:59 He clearly made it known that He wanted me 27:00 to get into the ministry but, but that issue that battle 27:05 I think if I had chosen the riches 27:08 that maybe it would have been pursuing wealth 27:10 rather than pursuing God's will. 27:12 And so we all have that battle, 27:15 but we do all need to make a living 27:16 and He doesn't call everyone into ministry so to speak. 27:20 We all have ministries we do but, 27:22 but we have to make a living as Paul made a living 27:25 making tents and other things that he did. 27:28 But we have to be careful to not to cross that line 27:31 of just desiring riches. That's right. 27:33 Just, let's make enough to sustain me 27:35 so God can provide for what I need 27:36 and then let's get to the work of the gospel. 27:38 You know one of the things that's so beautiful 27:40 about the decision you and Rochelle made 27:41 and we were friends there in California 27:44 before we moved to the Midwest 27:46 and invited you guys to come out and join. 27:49 It was through your work that, that we ended up 27:51 getting that call in ministry. So God used you. 27:53 Well, not even that, I'm, praise God for that. 27:56 I mean, He used Pastor Batchelor to get me in. 27:57 We all are in God's work and He calls us in various ways 28:01 that's not what I'm pointing out though. 28:02 I knew that, I remember you guys 28:04 had just brought a beautiful new home and every now 28:07 and then we go back to Fairfield and look at it. 28:09 This is just kind of, this is personal stuff here. 28:11 And we realize how many people would have loved 28:15 to have been in the position you were in, 28:17 but the text I just read a moment it says, 28:19 godliness with contentment is great gain. 28:25 It didn't say great gain with contentment is godliness. 28:30 It didn't say contentment with great gain is godliness. 28:33 It says, godliness first with contentment. 28:36 So God had you guys wrapped in a beautiful, 28:39 you guys were wrapped in a beautiful set, 28:41 both of you very well employed, making good money, 28:43 living in the bay area, nice new home, 28:46 a home that just par none you built it, 28:49 you guys built it yourself 28:51 but your heart was desiring and this is the key. 28:54 Your heart was desiring the godliness 28:58 to get away from the great gain. 29:00 And thus kind of answering the question 29:02 of the 16-year-old girl we'll never know anybody, 29:05 we'll never know how much God can do for us 29:08 until we take that faith walk. 29:10 And it was-- I know it was kind of tough 29:12 because there was not very much to offer 29:14 but just a sliver of wealth. 29:16 I don't know what's on the other side of the story 29:17 but so far this is all that can come out. 29:19 And look at your life today, look at your wife's life today, 29:21 look at our lives today. And... 29:24 God has done more than we could ask or think. 29:27 And what's most important is, for those if you don't know 29:30 what this show is an answering to what, 29:33 is an answer to our desire years ago. 29:35 It was birth in 1998 roughly. Yeah. 29:38 Yeah, we talked about it sitting in our living room. 29:41 We said, wouldn't it be wonderful one day if God, 29:44 if we could just kind of have a Bible program 29:46 where we could sit down and share this with the world? 29:50 And we were thinking about selling everything 29:51 and getting a bus and driving 29:53 around the evangelists all over the world. 29:54 And God said, wait, wait guys, wait, wait, wait. 29:57 I got it. I got it. 29:58 I know where you need to be 29:59 but I got to work this thing out. 30:01 Now you leave, I get John out there eventually 30:03 don't worry about it. 30:05 We'll work it out. I know where you need to be. 30:06 That's what the predestinating is all about. 30:08 God sees the desires of our heart 30:11 and when we commit our ways to the Lord 30:13 what does He do? 30:14 He gives us the desires of our heart. That's right. 30:17 So we hope that today we've encouraged you. 30:19 We don't always just want to answer Bible questions. 30:21 We want to take the time sometimes to encourage 30:23 those of you who are listening to the program, 30:25 we don't want to be sta--well, Bible answer, 30:27 question answer but there are those of us 30:30 who are wanting to encourage you to just trust the Lord. 30:34 Put Him to the test and He will truly open 30:36 the windows of heaven always to bless you. 30:39 If you have anymore questions you like to send to us 30:40 or any comments you can send those 30:42 to housecalls@3abn.org that's housecalls@3abn.org 30:48 and we'll try our best to get to those questions 30:50 and God bless you for all that you do. 30:53 Now, John, take us to the second half of the--of our study today. 30:56 We begin the in Christ motive and I just tell you 30:59 this is one of the best ones in the Bible. 31:01 Yeah, yeah. Salvation in Christ, what does that mean? 31:04 And I think we began to really unwrap that 31:06 here this last program. 31:08 And talk about that being in Christ is everything. 31:11 But we must choose to be in Christ, 31:14 to put on Christ, to cast off 31:16 the works of darkness and to as Paul said 31:19 to die daily allowing Christ to be our all in all 31:22 each and every day that we live. 31:24 And we read a text, we kind of segue 31:26 to abiding in Christ talking about abiding 31:28 and residing close and keeping Him on. That's right. 31:33 As we read that passage there's some wording at there 31:36 that I think bothers some 31:38 but we need to kind of unpack what that means. 31:40 Because there's a teaching out there today, John, 31:42 that says, that once we had been saved, 31:45 once we've put on Christ that we cannot take Him off. 31:50 That we will never be without Christ. 31:54 We will never live without Christ again 31:57 regardless of what we would choose. 32:00 And of course the quick statement of what belief is 32:04 "Once saved, always saved." Right. 32:07 Is "Once saved, always saved" 32:10 theology is that doctrine in the Bible. 32:12 Did Christ teach that? No. 32:13 We need to ask that question. Okay. 32:15 And we'll go through various text today, 32:17 but I want to read from John 15 first again, 32:19 it kind of launch us there because this passage is here, 32:21 John 15:4 and 5. The abiding text. 32:24 "Abide in me, and I in you. 32:27 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 32:29 unless it abides in the vine, 32:30 neither can you, unless you abide in me. 32:33 I am the vine, you are the branches. 32:35 He who abides in me and I in him, 32:37 bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing." 32:40 It is clear that when you're pruning the branch 32:42 and you cut its branches off, 32:43 what happens to those branches? 32:45 They wither. They wither and die. 32:47 Now notice this verse 6, "If anyone does not abide in me 32:51 he is cast out as a branch and is withered 32:55 and they gathered them and thrown them into the fire, 32:57 and they are burned." 32:59 Okay, to be cast out, John, 33:02 you must first be attached as a branch. That's right. 33:06 To be cast out you've got to be first in. 33:10 So in this respect, as far as Christ's own teaching 33:13 you must be-- there are people 33:14 who will be abiding in Him at some point 33:17 but then will choose not to abide in Him 33:19 and they will be cast out. That's right. 33:22 And they will be gathered together 33:24 and thrown into the fire and they will be burned. 33:28 So there is clearly a teaching within 33:31 according to the Christ's own words 33:33 that just because you've accepted Christ, 33:36 it does not mean that you will always 33:38 by a predetermined fact be saved in the end. 33:44 Now I'm not trying to takeaway assurance here. 33:46 We'll talk about assurance in little bit. 33:49 But what I'm saying is that Christ 33:50 wants us to stay connected by choice everyday, 33:54 allow Him to trans, transform our lives 33:57 and make us who He wants us to be, 33:59 but yet any time along that way 34:02 we choose not to go according to His plan, we can be lost. 34:07 That is what the Bible teaches. 34:08 We're gonna get into some other text in regard to this as well. 34:10 But that's at least as our launch 34:12 that's where we're going today. That's right. 34:14 To get a true understanding of this 34:16 "Once saved, always saved." Is it true, is it not, 34:19 what does Christ teach? 34:20 Okay, then I'll hold off my verse 34:22 because there's a verse in the Bible. 34:24 There're not a lot of verses that you find 666 in the Bible. 34:28 But we're not talking about Revelation, 34:30 there's a verse that's 666 34:33 and it talks about I won't give it away 34:36 I'm just gonna let you think about it for right now. 34:38 Well, let's go and dive back into the incrust 34:40 666 is in the Bible but not in Revelation 34:42 and I'll let you figure that out. 34:44 It's just a little riddle but... 34:47 Well, let me, let me share this text then. 34:49 Let's just do it, let's share a few texts here 34:51 and then we can, we can talk a little bit about this. 34:54 Okay, sure. Hebrews 6:4-6. 34:59 Okay, let's go there. 35:02 Hebrews 6:4-6. 35:07 You want to read that on there or... 35:09 Okay, I have it. Hebrews 6 beginning with verse 4. 35:15 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, 35:21 and have tasted the heavenly gift, 35:25 and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 35:29 and have tasted the good word of God, 35:33 and the powers of the age to come." 35:37 Now first of all you got to get this 35:38 because I see what verse 6 is going it start about-- 35:44 it's imposs--what did they do, what kind of experience? 35:46 They were enlightened, they tasted heavenly gifts, 35:50 they became partakers of the Holy Spirit, 35:52 they tasted the good word of God, 35:55 and they even experienced the powers of the age to come. 35:59 They were in Christ, but what happens? 36:03 "If they fall away" verse 6 36:07 "To renew them again to repentance, 36:09 since they crucify again for themselves 36:14 the Son of God and put him to open shame." 36:19 Wow, wow. That's powerful. 36:21 Now there could be some misunderstanding 36:23 with this passage because it says impossible. 36:26 People focus on that word impossible. 36:28 So they almost try to teach this, 36:30 "Once you fall away always fall away." 36:33 And that's not really what this passage is saying. 36:36 Let me try and put a little bit of context to it here. 36:39 If someone is in Christ and he's tasting of the heavenly gift 36:43 and living in the spirit and doing all those things 36:46 that part of the joy that we have in Christ everyday 36:50 and they through circumstance, mistake, neglect 36:54 whatever it maybe they began to be drawn away 36:56 and then it says fall away, 36:58 which is they go back into the life of sin. 37:00 They choose to be without Christ. 37:03 They choose a life of sin. 37:05 They choose the former life they once had 37:07 to go back into that life. 37:09 It's impossible to renew them again to repentance. 37:11 It's not saying that God blocks them from, 37:15 from ever being saved again. 37:16 It's saying that in that condition, 37:18 in that fallen condition, 37:19 in that choice of not following Christ, 37:22 God cannot save them. Right. 37:26 So it is actually the opposite of "once saved, always saved." 37:31 One that has experienced salvation 37:33 but has fallen away when they think 37:35 it's impossible to renew them. 37:36 In that condition of fallen away they are lost. 37:39 They cannot be saved. That's right. That's right. 37:42 So to say that once you're saved, 37:43 you're always saved according to this passage 37:45 it is absolutely untrue. That's what... 37:49 We're giving kind of some bad news here now. Okay. 37:51 But not necessarily because we clarify this but, 37:53 but these are text that they're typically aren't talked 37:56 about much when people talk about assurance of salvation 37:58 and being saved always by Christ. 38:03 The idea and, John, 38:05 alluded to this actually-- didn't allude to it, 38:08 he actually mentioned it the 3 P's 38:10 sometimes you go past that. 38:12 When we accept Jesus Christ-- oh, wonderful example 38:15 the 3 P's were effective in the life of the, 38:17 in the lives of the Israelites. 38:20 He saved them from the penalty. 38:22 They were all slaves in Egypt. 38:24 He brought them out with a mighty hand. 38:27 In the wilderness those who yielded to Christ 38:29 were saved from the power of sin. 38:32 He quenched the serpents and scorpions 38:34 that could have claimed their lives. 38:36 That's those who yielded to the power to be--I'm sorry, 38:42 those who were-- those who yielded to Christ 38:45 to be saved from the power of sin. 38:48 And then, well, who made it into the Promised Land? 38:52 Only a few made it into the Promised Land. Now why? 38:56 Was it God's intention that all those 38:57 who He brought out of Egypt 38:59 that He whittle them down in the wilderness 39:01 and just only let a few go in. 39:02 Did He predestined from the very beginning 39:04 that only a few are gonna, 39:06 only a few of you are gonna make it in. 39:07 But just, let me just bring you all out 39:09 just to kind of play with you. 39:10 No, they had to make those choices. 39:13 And they lost their confidence in God's ability 39:16 because remember they went into the land, 39:17 to spy out the land. 39:19 Ten came back out of the 12 with a report that we can't do this. 39:22 They lost their connection, their dependence upon Christ 39:24 who delivered them from the land of Egypt just shortly ago. 39:29 So in effect they fell away. 39:31 That's right, they did fall away. 39:32 And didn't make it to the kingdom. 39:34 That's why there's a text here in Galatians 6:1, 39:37 look at Galatians 6:1. 39:41 We always read verse 2 where it says, 39:42 "Bear one another's burdens" but verse 1 in Galatians 6 39:46 is significant to how important it is for us 39:49 to just understand where we, where we live. 39:53 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, 39:58 you who are spiritual restore 40:02 such a one in a spirit of gentleness, 40:06 considering yourself lest you also be tempted." 40:10 So what happens is there, sometimes they are those 40:14 who can't recover themselves 40:17 because they're taken captive by the enemy. 40:19 But there are those of us who are spiritual. 40:21 Now we'll see a brother or sister 40:23 struggling in a trespass, 40:27 but they haven't got into a point 40:29 where they are not savable. 40:32 The text that John read a moment ago, 40:34 they got to the place where there were-- 40:38 where they had turned away from Christ. 40:40 Where they had shut off the connection 40:42 between them and Christ 40:44 and he couldn't save them in that condition. 40:47 And so those who don't repent 40:48 you find in the Bible even in Revelation, 40:50 they are those who will be outside of the city 40:52 because they did not repent of their evil deeds, 40:54 their sorceries and all the things 40:56 that were against the government of God. 40:59 God is not gonna allow sinners in when in fact 41:02 He came to defeat everything connected to sin. 41:05 That Hebrews 10:26, 41:09 "If we sin willfully after we have received 41:11 the knowledge of the truth." 41:13 Willful there is a decision to go back into the life of sin. 41:17 Right. That's the willful sin. 41:18 It's I decide now to do my own way, 41:21 to do my own thing and to live my own way. 41:25 And listen to what happens. 41:27 If we sin willfully after we receive 41:28 the knowledge of the truth there no longer 41:30 remains a sacrifice for sins. Why is that? 41:32 Because Christ no longer is their mediator. 41:35 What else remains, verse 27. 41:37 Verse 27, "But a certain fearful expectation of judgment 41:41 and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries." 41:45 So here you have the knowledge of the truth. 41:47 You receive that, you accept the Christ, 41:49 but instead you willingly went back into sin 41:52 and now you have nothing but the expectation of judgment. 41:55 And what is that judgment? 41:56 Verse 29 talks about that judgment. 41:58 You go ahead. You read that. 41:59 It says, "Of how much worse punishment, 42:02 do you suppose, will he be thought worthy, 42:06 who has trample the Son of God under foot, 42:09 counting the blood of the covenant, 42:12 by which he was sanctified, a common thing, 42:15 and insulted the Spirit of grace?" 42:18 So what's in essence, what's happening here? 42:20 He's trampling the Son of God afresh. 42:23 He's discounting the covenant and he's insulting the spirit. 42:28 So he's using these-- these are things 42:30 because he decides to go back and willfully sin. 42:32 Go back after having understood 42:35 the importance of standing firmly in his faith. 42:40 The punishment is worse. 42:42 I'm gonna share something that is-- 42:43 it may be little baffling and I'll try 42:45 do it fairly quickly here. Okay. 42:46 I honestly believe that there is a good intention by teaching 42:51 "Once saved, always saved." 42:52 The intention is to give us assurance. Right. 42:54 You know what? I agree with the part 42:56 that we should have assurance. 42:58 We should be confident in our salvation 42:59 that we have in Christ. 43:01 Christ is our own of, we're in Him, 43:03 we should be confident in that. But here's a thing. 43:05 I think that the "Once saved, always saved" 43:07 actually is more appropriately titled 43:10 the doctrine of insecurity. Oh, wow. 43:13 And I call it the doctrine of insecurity because of this. 43:16 Just let's have a conversation here. 43:17 So, John, so if, what about the individual 43:22 that believed in Christ, committed his way to Christ, 43:25 lived in Christ, was part of the church, 43:27 was the leader in the church but fell away committed murder. 43:30 Now he is on death row. 43:31 You talk to him, doesn't want to talk about Christ. 43:33 Basically has walked away, wants nothing to do with him. 43:36 Are they saved? 43:38 You know, what the answer usually is 43:39 when you ask that question? 43:41 Well, they weren't really saved in the first place. Yes. 43:45 That's always the answer 43:47 from the "Once saved, always saved" proponent. 43:48 Well, one that is gone away and lived their life 43:51 without Christ again they really didn't receive the salvation, 43:53 the faith that saved. 43:54 They didn't proclaim the faith that really saved them. 43:57 But they don't ask the next question. 43:59 So then how did you know that you are really saved 44:04 or you had made that statement of faith that saves? 44:07 See so what it does, it's actually breeds insecurity. 44:10 And you have people walking around say, 44:12 I believe in Jesus. Did that work? 44:15 Yeah, it's a platform that's shaky at best. 44:18 Yeah, did I, did I take, because there are people that, 44:21 you know, "Once saved, always saved." 44:22 They say saved but there are some that look 44:24 like they were saved but they are lost now and did that work. 44:27 And so you breed insecurity into what you think 44:30 is creating a situation that is supposed to help 44:32 with your eternal security. 44:35 You see, but the scriptural understanding of salvation that, 44:39 if you walk away from Christ and begin to live in a-- 44:41 a life of sin that you can be lost 44:44 is actually helps with my security, 44:46 because I know that if I'm walking in Christ 44:48 and I depend upon Him and I trust in Him, 44:50 I'm saved at that moment. 44:52 But if I walk outside of Him, if I leave Him, 44:55 if I start to live a life of sin, I'm lost at that moment. 44:58 I know depending upon how I'm connected or disconnected 45:01 whether I'm saved or lost. That is helpful to me. 45:06 I don't know, John, if that makes any sense to you. 45:08 But I would rather know that if I was committing life of sin 45:14 that I'm not doing what God wants me to do. 45:17 I need to test myself, I might be lost. 45:19 Matter of fact, there's a text I might look 45:20 for right here is in the Book of Luke. 45:22 Let me turn to that, I might find it here 45:25 where the Lord said to those who were following Him, 45:32 "Why call Me, Lord, Lord and do not do the things which I say." 45:37 So in essence, what happened to them eventually? 45:40 Let me give you the outcome of what happened to them. 45:42 Go to John Chapter 6. 45:43 Let me get the mystery taken care of here. Go to John 6. 45:48 Let me tell you what happened with those 45:50 who fell into this particular category. 45:53 John 6 and I guess what verse we're going to. 45:59 John 6:66 and this is the 666. 46:06 Appropriately it says here, "From that time 46:12 many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more." 46:20 They tasted of the heavenly gift. 46:21 They escaped corruption that was in the world. 46:25 They were with Christ, they were with Christ. 46:29 They were a part of the larger multitude. 46:31 He had the 12, then he had the 70. 46:33 He sent out many of them to witness 46:35 and then what happened is, 46:38 they along the way seen the requirements of the gospel. 46:42 As Peter made that very clear 46:44 when Jesus talked to the rich young ruler. 46:46 This rich young ruler said, "Okay, what master, 46:49 what good thing or teacher, 46:50 what good must I do to have eternal life?" 46:53 And He said, "Okay, 46:55 keep the commandments, have your neighbor do." 46:58 He went to all these things and the young rich, 47:01 rich young ruler said, 47:04 "I've been doing this since I was a youth. 47:06 What else do you want me to do?" 47:08 And the Lord says, "If you will be perfect, 47:11 you want to get this thing right, 47:12 go sell all that you have." 47:14 And notice what happened and kind of fits in 47:16 with context of the conversation today. 47:18 He had many possessions. 47:20 He had a lot of wealth, a lot of riches. 47:22 And that was more important to him 47:25 than his connection with Christ. 47:27 But notice what he said, I've kept all these things. 47:30 In other words, I've been a keeper 47:31 of all these things that You ask me to do. 47:34 But what happened? He walked away sorrowfully. 47:36 There was no indication that, that young man was ever saved. 47:40 But the last indication we got was he walked away. 47:47 The--in Matthew 18, this is classic parable. Okay. 47:51 Of the servant that owed everything to his master. 47:58 And there was a king, of course who required his-- 48:03 those that owed him money to pay. 48:06 And this servant came before him, pleading for-- 48:10 What verse you're into? Do not be imprisoned. 48:11 This is Matthew 18, verse-- 48:13 oh, we'll start with-- 15. 48:17 No, we'll start with verse 25. Okay. 48:19 This servant, it says, "Was not able to pay 48:22 and his master commanded that he be sold 48:25 without or with his wife and children 48:28 and all that he had and that payment be made. 48:32 The servant therefore fell down before him saying, 48:34 'Master, have patience with me and I'll pay you all.' 48:39 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion 48:41 released him and forgave him the debt. 48:43 He said, 'I'll cancel your debt.'" 48:45 And those who have done a study of this, 48:48 this debt was equated to something 48:50 that we would be unable to pay in the millions of dollars. 48:53 Right. Okay. 48:54 See, I think I calculated it, he had to-- 48:56 he would have had to lived 146 years or something like that 49:01 to be able to pay his debt off, that's if he did nothing else. 49:04 That's if he did nothing else but just made payments 49:06 and he couldn't, there is no possible way he could afford it. 49:09 But notice this, so he was forgiven, 49:12 but then he goes away and he doesn't act 49:15 like this king acted towards Him. 49:17 He meets this buddy, laid hands on him demanded that he pay him. 49:21 His buddy pleads with him the same thing 49:23 he did with the king, buddy pleased him, 49:24 please don't, I'll pay what you, 49:27 what you what I owe you just be patient with me 49:29 but instead he had him thrown into prison. 49:31 So the king hears about it, king calls him back 49:35 and listen to what the king says. 49:37 Verse, what verse? 49:38 Verse 32. Okay. 49:41 "Then his master, after he had called him, 49:43 said to him, 'You wicked servant! 49:45 I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 49:48 Should you not also have compassion 49:50 on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 49:53 And his master was angry, 49:54 and delivered him to the torturers 49:56 until he should pay all that was due him." 49:59 In order words he heap back all the debt 50:03 on to him to pay back in full. That's right. 50:06 Then notice this, he makes a spiritual lesson out of this, 50:08 Jesus does, "So My heavenly Father 50:10 also will do to you if each of you from his heart, 50:13 does not forgive his brother his trespasses." 50:15 Wow. Now do you know what that saying? 50:17 That's huge. Powerful. 50:19 Good, do you want to say it and I'll amplify? 50:21 No, go ahead, amplify. 50:22 The Lord forgives us of our sins but we go-- 50:26 we take that whole beautiful gift 50:30 and we go after somebody who has wronged us 50:32 in something and demand that they give restitution. 50:39 He said, okay, I'm not just gonna forgive you, 50:41 but here's what I want you to do. 50:43 And you go down the list of requirements and this man, 50:45 if you look at the story this was quite a situation 50:47 where the person would had owed 50:49 and I think the estimate was just to say, 50:51 just to say this guy owe him 20 bucks. 50:54 or 3 million dollars 50:57 that was already forgiven him but his small debt. 51:00 That's why you find the phrase, 51:02 "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." 51:09 If we forgive those who trespass against us, 51:13 then the Lord will forgive our trespasses. 51:16 And not just that the trespasses that we had forgiven 51:20 are put back on to our account. That's right. 51:24 So we were forgiven, now we are unforgiven. 51:29 What does that mean? That means lost. 51:31 Right, that means all your sins are back on you. 51:33 Yeah, so clearly Jesus is teaching 51:36 not once saved always saved, but salvation in Christ. 51:39 In what I'd have done in my forgiveness and He demands, 51:43 He requires that we live like Him. 51:45 That's the part of casting off the works of darkness 51:48 and putting on Christ and His work, 51:50 purifying ourselves, living according to His commandments 51:53 as we talked about it in our last program. 51:56 There is another story within the Bible 52:02 and it's a parable about the wedding feast. That's right. 52:05 And in Matthew 25 it talks about the 10 virgins. 52:09 Those were the wise virgins were able to go 52:13 into the wedding because they were ready. 52:16 And if you look there the context of being ready 52:18 was that they had the righteousness of Christ on. 52:22 Matthew 22, then amplifies on that 52:27 and talks about this wedding feast 52:29 that everybody is in attendance at, 52:31 because they were ready and they came into the wedding 52:34 with the garment of Christ on. 52:36 In fact, by the way that's the only way 52:37 you get into the wedding feast 'cause we attend the wedding 52:40 that's taking place in heaven by faith. That's right. 52:42 So the only way to attend it is by faith in Christ. 52:45 He's the one that brings us, 52:46 gets us in so to speak. That's the fact, only way. 52:49 So now here we find this wedding-- 52:52 shifting to the story down back to Matthew 22. 52:55 This wedding where this king comes into inspect the guest. 52:59 And he comes into to inspect the guest 53:01 and notice this, Matthew 22:11, 53:05 "But when the king came in to see the guests, 53:07 he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 53:11 So he said to him, 'Friend, 53:13 how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'" 53:16 Because why did he ask that question? 53:18 Because the only way to get in is with the wedding garment. 53:20 So how did you get in here when you don't have one on? 53:23 The man was speechless because you know why? 53:26 He had one on. 53:27 He came in with the wedding garment of Christ on. 53:31 But he lost it. 53:33 He didn't care for it, he neglected that relationship 53:37 the connection with Christ and he was found 53:39 without the wedding garment. And what happened to him? 53:41 He was cast out. 53:43 Now if you look at James, I think it's Chapter 5 53:46 and you find through the Old Testament as well, 53:48 over and over again you see 53:49 this theme of the garments being moth eaten. 53:53 Let me ask you a question, do moths eat quickly? 53:58 No, they actually don't. 53:59 Do you usually know when your garment is being moth eaten. 54:02 You say, you know what, I think my garment is being moth-- 54:05 my suit is being eaten by moths right now. 54:08 No you usually take out your suit 54:10 and you're getting ready to wear 54:11 and you see that hole, what is that doing there. 54:14 And you realize right there without you really realizing it 54:18 you've neglected the care of your garment. 54:20 The moths got in and they're eating holes in it. 54:23 And James says, your garments are moth eaten. 54:27 In order words we sometimes in neglecting 54:29 our relationship with Jesus can fall away. 54:32 The devil comes in to eat away those garments 54:35 and we find one day to a point if we neglect long enough 54:38 that we have no longer the wedding garment on, 54:40 the garment of Christ righteousness. Wow. 54:43 And then the declaration of Revelation 18, Chapter 6:15. 54:48 "Behold I'm coming as a thief, Jesus says, 54:51 'Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments.'" 54:56 Keeps his garments. That's right. 54:58 Unless he walk naked and they see His shame. 55:02 Wow. So we don't just-- 55:04 well, the key was you had-- 55:06 you come in with the garment but you have to keep the garment. 55:09 Thus he that has this hope in himself purifies himself, 55:13 keeps that garment clear even as He, Christ is pure. 55:17 So we don't just get garments, 55:19 this whole ideology and I'll cover this very quickly 55:23 but in Ezekiel 33, "When I say to the righteous--" 55:29 Ezekiel 33:13, "When I say to the righteous 55:32 that he shall surely live but he trusts in his own righteousness 55:36 and commits iniquity none of his righteous works 55:40 shall be remembered but because of the iniquity 55:43 that he has committed, he shall die." 55:46 And that's saying to the righteous, isn't it? 55:48 That's the righteous. That's huge. 55:50 That's not saying to the person that doesn't know Christ, 55:52 you see, I'm saying this to the righteous, 55:54 when he trusts in his own righteousness 55:57 'cause he didn't keep the garment of Christ. 55:59 He came in but now it's all about him. 56:02 It's all about him. 56:03 He has not, that's why the Bible makes it very clear. 56:05 We must examine ourselves to see 56:07 whether or not we're in the faith. 56:10 Examine ourselves, look at our own character, 56:13 look at ourselves. 56:14 It's easy to look everybody else 56:16 because that's the measurement by which we feel 56:17 much better about ourselves. 56:19 In that very text "Examine yourself to see 56:21 whether you're in faith, test yourself." 56:23 It ends with saying unless you're disqualified. 56:26 So there--I'm not saying that we're running around here, 56:30 worrying that Christ is gonna disqualify 56:32 us for some reason. No. 56:34 God loves us, in fact even if we're lost, 56:36 He loves the lost. Right. 56:39 People quote, "Nothing can separate us 56:41 from the love of God." That's true. 56:43 But that doesn't equate to nothing can keep us 56:45 from being saved because the enemy does get in there 56:47 and try to break us from the relationship with Christ. 56:49 There you go. 56:51 But God still loves us, He loves the sinner, 56:53 He loves sinners until they're burned. That's right. 56:56 And love them probably for eternity 56:58 in ways that we can understand. 57:00 The strange act of God is His love never ceases to be loved. 57:03 But He will not allow the guilty 57:06 to be cleared until they repent. 57:09 Exodus 34:7 is where you'll find that. 57:12 He will by no means clear the guilty. 57:16 So what are we saying is this salvation 57:18 that can give us confidence? 57:19 Yes. How often am I saved? 57:22 Every moment of every day I must rely on Christ. 57:25 That's what the program is all about. 57:27 So friends, our desire for you is that you remain in Christ. 57:30 So have a great day in Him. God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17