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Various Bible Articles
Various Bible Articles
Bible Articles
Can I Know I Am Saved?Many false religions want their followers to believe true salvation is some difficult, lofty goal which must be continually earned (or purchased). The Word of God offers quite a different perspective on the idea of salvation.1 John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.(12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (13) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.In the passage above, please note the words RECORD, HATH, KNOW and ETERNAL. Based on this passage, one must either trust the Word of God and believe that they can know they have eternal life or believe that God is a liar. With that in mind, we will look several reason why we can absolutely trust in this passage and see that one can know, without a doubt, whether he is saved or not. The Character of God There are many aspects of the character of God. Generally everyone with any sense accepts the fact that God’s character is completely above reproach. In fact, God’s sterling character is beyond our very comprehension. For this topic, we will only briefly look at one aspect of His character. Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;There are people around us who have good character and choose not to lie but we have to understand that God simply cannot lie. A good person may choose not to lie but they can also choose to lie. In God's case, God is simply incapable of lying. It is not a matter of God choosing not to lie, God cannot lie. With that assurance in mind, we can also trust the received Word of God. The Promises of God in the Bible If God cannot lie, He will keep his promises to us. The following are only a few of those promises! John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.God promises everlasting life. Another attribute of God is his timelessness. God has existed forever and will always exist. In that mindset, God promised everlasting life to all who believe. John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.God promises to accept anyone who comes to Him. God does not reject anyone: no matter what their age, gender, race or what sins they have committed in the past. The murderer can be saved. The homosexual or sodomite can be saved. The liar can be saved. Even the child abuser can be saved. No matter who you are, you can be saved. Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.God promised in John 6:37 that He would not reject anyone who came to Him. In Romans 10:13, He reinforces that promise saying that whosoever asks shall be saved. Whosoever is a big word with a broad meaning. Basically, anyone who asks to be saved can be saved. God will not reject anyone who genuinely wants to come to Him. So, can you know you are saved? Absolutely. |
What If I SinSooner or later, every believer will sin. This is inevitable.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.Everyone is a sinner. That is, everyone has sinned in the past. Moreover, it is likely that everyone will sin again in the future. 1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:Despite the likelihood that we will all sin again in the future, God does not want us to sin. God would prefer that we do not sin. But, we are assured that, if we do sin, we will have an advocate with the father. So, think about this. When a believer sins, Jesus will actually stand up for him. Jesus will intercede on my behalf when I sin. He will step in and speak for me. I imagine Jesus standing and pointing to the holes in his hand or perhaps showing his pierced side. In any case, Jesus reminds the Father of the blood he shed for my sins. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.From our point of view, when we sin, we must confess. Confession is simple: it is agreement with God that we were wrong. When we genuinely admit that we are wrong, we will also turn from our sin. This is the essence of repentance. 1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.There is a contrast in this passage. On one side, we see that when we walk in darkness (sin), the truth is not in us. But, on the other hand, when we when we walk in the light or truth, or not in sin, we have fellowship with Christ. It really is an either / or scenario. Either we are not sinning and we have fellowship with God or we are sinning and we do not have fellowship. In any case, it is wonderful to know that when we sin, we have an advocate - Jesus Christ. We can take great comfort in knowing that Jesus is there to intercede for us when we sin and it is a comfort to know that when we confess, we will be cleansed. Can I Lose My SalvationCan I ever lose my salvation?
NO! Now, let’s look at why…
There are many reasons why one who is saved could never lose his salvation. Simply, when we are saved, we are safe in the hands of Jesus. Who is more powerful than Jesus? No one. Who can take something from Jesus? No one. So long as Jesus is alive, those who are saved will never perish. More than that, imagine being in Jesus' hand and Jesus' hand being in the hand of God the Father. One who is saved is as safe as anyone could ever be.
He who hears and believes, in other words, he who is saved shall have what God describes as everlasting life. When we think about the timelessness of God, and how He promises everlasting life. God is offering anyone who would be saved everlasting life. In God's mind, how long is everlasting?
This is a crucial point. Many people believe that God will, for some reason, cast them out or take away their salvation. God is proclaiming in HIS Word that this is not possible. We have a clear promise from God that there will never be a point in time where He will cast us out. We can take assurance in this fact alone. However, there is still more.
Verses 38 and 39 list a large gamut of things on all levels. In fact, the list of trials generally cover every aspect of our life. Everything which we could possibly face is covered in this list. Yet, despite this all-inclusive list, there is nothing which will separate us from the love of Christ. No matter what comes in our lives, Christ loves us.
Not only will Jesus always love us, but we are kept by the power of God. Our preservation is not in just any power, but the power of God. A power plant can produce a lot of energy, but they require maintenance and sometimes fail. Sometimes, we see hurricanes or cyclones. These are some of the most powerful storms, but they eventually die out. As powerful as some of these things are, they all fail or die. The power of God which keeps us is the same power which created the world - which created the storms. That is the power which keeps us - the almighty power of God.
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Another reason we can trust in our salvation is because we are sealed. Again, this isn't just any seal. This seal is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit of God moves into our lives. Lining in us and through us, the Holy Spirit of God becomes our seal literally marking the believer as one who has been redeemed by God. As you study the work of the Holy Spirit, you will see that a part of the work of the Holy Spirit is producing fruit through us. That fruit becomes our seal. As a result of the work of the Spirit of God in the believer's life, and the fruit of the Spirit of God, the world around the believer should easily recognize the believer as a child of God.
Salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn. Because it is a gift God gives us, it could only ever be taken away from us by the one who gave it to us - God. God has promised never to forsake us which means that God will never take the gift away from us.
Salvation is not something we can work for - it is not something we earned. Because we do not earn our salvation, we do not have to work to maintain our salvation. This is a key, a critical concept which many people fail to grasp. They falsely believe they must work for and earn their salvation. What gift did you ever have to earn?
An adoption is a permanent acceptance into the family. When one is adopted, he is forever a part of the new family just as if he were born into that family. When we are saved, we are adopted into the family of God to be, forever, children of God.
After looking at these verses, it should be easy to see that once someone is genuinely saved, they are saved forever. One cannot lose his salvation, nor can he have his salvation taken away from him. True salvation is forever.Work out your own salvation...
Lately, there have been many people posting various thoughts based on a portion of Philippians 2:12. That portion reads, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Some have claimed that you can literally “work out” or resolve your own salvation while others have lifted this verse as a proof text indicating that you can change principles of the Word of God to suit whatever personal preference you may have. Could there possibly be a verse which indicates salvation is a result of something we work out? Could God have possibly indicated that we should look at clear principles in the Word of God and work their meaning out on our own? NO! This is a neo-evangelical position based in the idea of the Bible becomes the Word of God as you personally apply it to your life. Under this principle, two people can take two completely different, contradictory thoughts from the same passage. Of course, these ideas are completely false. 2 Peter 1:20 tells us, “…no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” We simply cannot lift a passage of Scripture and apply it as we see fit. The Word of God is God’s Word to us. It is what God wanted us to know about Him, about history, about salvation and about the application of His law in our lives. To claim that the Word of God could mean different things to different people is no different than claiming that this article could mean different things to different people. As the writer, I know what thoughts I want to convey. This article means exactly what I want it to mean, nothing else. Likewise, God’s letter to us means exactly what God wanted it to mean. If we apply an interpretation to the Word of God which contradicts any other principle of the Word of God or which violates the meaning God intended for us, our private interpretation is completely wrong. Those who make an application of Phil 2:12 claiming that we can work out our own salvation or work out our own application of other Scriptural principles are wrong and are looking for excuses to compromise the Word of God and mold it to fit their own personal preference.
So, what is this passage telling us? First, we must always consider a verse in its context.
Philippians 2:5-13 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (10) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (11) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (12) Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (13) For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
First, we need to remember to think like God. We can never apply our own personal interpretation to Scriptures. We must look for the application God intended for each passage. When we examine a passage of Scripture, we must look at its immediate context. What do the verses around the passage we are examining have to say? What is the general theme of the entire passage? We must also look at the target of the passage. The Bible is written and must be studied in the light of the various dispensations. Passages written to the children of Israel are truth and do contain lessons for us, but we cannot apply the Mosiac Law to our lives. Likewise, events recorded in the book of Acts are historical. We must be extremely careful when we look to the actions of the early church for today’s doctrine. Third, we must look at the people to whom a given passage is written. Some books are prophecy which were written for all generations. Other books are history, recounting what God has done. Still other books were given to the church. In each case we must be very careful in how we apply each book to our lives and to the doctrine and practices of the church.
Next, we see that Jesus was both in the form of God and completely equal with God. This idea shoots down those who believe Jesus was merely a prophet or a “good man.” The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the son of God and yet also God in the flesh. No reasonable person would ever deny this. The Bible shows this, Jesus makes the claim and God acknowledges it. There is little more to discuss regarding the subject.
Third, we see that Jesus, even though He was God, made Himself of no reputation and made Himself a servant. After taking on the role of a servant and the form of a man, Jesus was obedient unto death on the cross. Jesus did all of this for one reason: to purchase salvation for all of mankind. From the moment man sinned in the Garden of Eden, a price was required. The price required for sin is death. A sacrifice had to be offered. However, any sacrifice we could offer in our own flesh would be nothing but a sin-filled offering. We could never pay for sin with sin. The only offering which could ever be sufficient is a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was that perfect sacrifice. When Jesus made that sacrifice for us, He worked out our salvation for us. Because God, in the form of a man – Jesus, humbled Himself and purchased salvation for all mankind, Jesus is to be exalted above all others.
This brings us to verse twelve. Are we then to work out our own salvation? No. Our salvation has already been worked out by Jesus. So, what does this mean? Again, we cannot lift the verse or a part of the verse out of its context. By doing so, we are perverting the meaning of the Word of God. I must admit, it was hard to grasp the meaning of this verse until I began examining what others had to say about it and even how the verse is translated in other languages. Remember – the King James Bible is not the inspired text, it is the faithfully, perfectly translated text for the English-speaking people. However, even a perfect translation loses something when translated to an imperfect language such as English. The truth I am about to share with you is there in our English KJV Bible. But in this rare case, the truth is more evident in another language. In his commentary, Gill cites the Syriac version, the passage is rendered as “do the work” of salvation. In other words, the fruit of our salvation should work through our lives. When we are saved, that salvation should be evident, working in us and through us.
Twilight...“My daughter likes Twilight. What should I do?” That is a very serious problem on a number of levels. The “Twilight” series is a very dangerous threat to the home. Because this series of books and movies is such a threat, and because of the reasons I will outline below, I would immediately be concerned about my daughter’s salvation. There are many problems with this series. On the surface, it may seem like any other love story (not that those are necessarily healthy or right). In this case, the love story centers around murder and a lust for blood. Those two traits exist, by default in a vampire. The lead character, Bella, is in love with a vampire! Right away, anyone with half a brain will equate vampires with Satanism and the occult. Sadly, however, many have been blinded to this fact just as Bella was in the series. Real quickly, let’s look at some of the traits of a vampire and how they seem to parallel God: First, the vampire (and Satan) is able to perform many acts which would seem to us to be miracles. Jesus clearly performed many miracles while He was here on earth. John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. The vampire claims to live eternally. We know that all who reject Jesus Christ will spend an eternity in Hell. The blood sacrifice: Prior to Jesus coming to earth in the form of a man and willingly laying His life down for us all on the cross, a blood sacrifice was required to cover the sins of the Old-Testament saints. Ultimately Christ offered a blood sacrifice which was sufficient to purchase eternal life for all who believe in Him. The vampire also consumes a blood sacrifice to maintain his own life. Where Jesus offered His own blood for others, the vampire consumes others blood for himself. What is even worse is in how the vampire blood lust is in parallel to pagan rituals where human blood is sacrificed. Of course, we know God warns about the consumption of blood (Lev 17:14). There are many other issues we could point out, but, again, anyone who is reasonable, who has the Holy Spirit in their heart, will already know that Vampires and Christians do not mix. As I said at the beginning of this answer, If my daughter were consuming the “Twilight” garbage, I would be concerned about her salvation. Consider the following verses:
First and foremost, God is emphasizing that there should be no fellowship between light and darkness! Still, God continues:
God is drawing a clear line between the saved and the lost – that line centers upon the separation between God and Belial, between God and Satan. You cannot serve both! In fact, both the light of the Word of God and the darkness of Satanism (or Vampires) cannot occupy your heart.
In fact, Jesus is saying that if one’s eye is evil (if you look at or consume evil things), the whole body is full of darkness. So, to answer your question: What should you do? First, pray for her salvation. Second, remove the garbage from your house. I’ll not say much about this, but it is widely believed that satanic influences can be invited into the home by satanic actions (such as reading / watching “Twilight”). Third, replace the garbage with Scripture.
Last Updated (Saturday, 03 July 2010 22:18) |
