Chapter
12.11
Falling From Grace
Believers – Make Believers – The Law - The Test –
Stumbling – Back Sliding
Slip Slidin’ Away - Unforgiven – Predestination –
Calvinism – Arminianism
Help; I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
First
Word
Paul
Simon’s Lyrics; “You know, the nearer your
destination, the more you slip slidin’ away”.
Falling
from Grace: THE QUESTION COMES; can someone
who has been saved lose their salvation because they have been “Slip Slidin’
Away” in one form or another?
“Back sliding” can take the form of unfaithfulness; sexual perversions, lying, cheating,
stealing to just outright
avoidance of fellowshipping with other Believers in Church.
I had a friend once tell me of how far
away he has drifted from God, till there was NO
HOPE
for him; it was too late to change. THE QUESTION IS; how does he know that?
Doctrine: The “Falling from Grace” doctrine is
certainly taught in the Church today, the doctrine teaches that salvation is
dependent upon the conduct or actions or works of man; which
brings us to THE NEXT QUESTION; how many WORKS is enough?
The Law
First of all it’s because of the Law in scripture
that we became conscious of our sin[1]
and the fact that everyone who sins, breaks the law of God and becomes a part
of lawlessness.[2] Scripture teaches that even the smallest item
of God’s Law should not be trivialized, but taken seriously.[3]
The Law is important; but in
its finality, it shows us that WE ARE CRAZY to think that by our
own efforts we can do anything to save ourselves. Think about it; Paul
says we are FOOLISH to think that our flesh could start, perpetuate and finish the
supernatural transaction of death into life.[4]
Without
the mercy and grace of God, we stand hopeless.
So here’s where we are
The Bible says that we
are ALL sinners[5]
and because of sin, we are separated from God.[6] This makes us the object of God’s wrath.[7] The penalty for our sin is death,[8] we
are doomed to be out of the presence of God and into everlasting destruction
for eternity.[9] The only way to escape the wrath of God is to
embrace Christ and His work on the cross.
Jesus bore our sins in His righteous body so that our body would
“die to sin”. [10]
What does
all that mean?
What this means is that the Laws of God only
pointed to the fact that we are all destined to Hell
fire, and that all we can do is to TRY
to imitate what the Laws in scriptures require in order to be saved.
It
would seem that WE CANNOT BE SURE that we CAN be
saved…
BAM; you have to know that you have ARRIVED, before you can know that you have FALLEN.
Good News: Salvation comes from the Lord alone; we are saved by the GRACE of God, it is not a reward for what we have done, but is a GIFT from God.[11]
The Believer no longer stands condemned;[12]
he has ALREADY passed from death into life;[13]
the Law has been fully satisfied by the sacrifice of the life of Jesus Christ
on the Cross.
It’s
not what WE did; it’s what HE did;[14]
it’s not Jesus plus something else; it’s a done deal.
Make
Believers
I dislike anything that smacks
of doubt, I want to KNOW FOR
SURE;
I don’t want to be blown about by every wave of theology or new thought,[15] so
some things need to be settled and the big one is; are you a child of God or
not, IN or OUT.
J. Vernon
McGee says
he believes in The Security of the Believer; they are saved
period. He also believes in The Insecurity
of the Make Believer; those who wonder if they’re saved. He points out that you might just want to take
an inventory of your life. Are the things of God important to you? There are
really only two
commandments from Jesus.[16]
1)
Do you love the Lord your God with all your
heart; with all your soul and with all your mind?
2)
Do you love your neighbor as Christ has loved
you?
The Test is examining the fruit from your garden;
what kind of fruit can people see on your tree?
We are not to judge others; but we are encouraged to be fruit inspectors.
A good tree cannot bare bad fruit; you will be known by YOUR fruit. [17]
Maybe Saved
Some people confess that they
are saved, but then they leave the fellowship of believers which is an
indicator that they were never a part of it to begin with or they would have
stayed.[18] This is not about changing Churches or Church Hopping; it’s about NO church except maybe for Easter and Christmas.
Have you
confessed that you are sinner, repented and changed your ways?[19]
Have you
confessed with your mouth before other men that Jesus is your Lord?
Do you believed
in your heart that Jesus was raised from the dead?
Do you believe
He will come again and receive you to Himself and you will dwell with Him?[20]
YES, I DID ALL THAT; BUT I HAVE
STUMBLED
But, I
stumbled
Don’t pat yourself on the back like you are
somebody special. ALL have STUMBLED; ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, not just
you.[21] Good News;
when we stumble, God will re-direct our steps and will still HOLD ON to us even when we have let go.[22]
We are still His and all things will
work out in His Plan.[23]
Jesus Christ
will not lose even one person that has been given to him by the Father; NOT ONE.[24] The
Believer is declared righteous even when he has stumbled.[25]
The only question that you have is; are you His,
did you believe, did you accept Him? Are
you a Believer or a Make-Believer? The Believer will
joyfully agree with God’s word[26]
and will strive in his spirit to do the
will of God; so are you striving? Do you have the desire? It would not even
cross your mind about “Falling from Grace”
if God did not already have a calling on your life.
Un-Forgiven
Either
we have been forgiven or we still need to be forgiven; One or the Other. When Jesus the Christ sacrificed His life on
the Cross;
IT’S LIKE WE
HAVE NEVER SINNED in the first place; WHAT? Yes, it’s in the Book.
The
Renewing Grace is an abiding principal; Forgiveness is an accomplished fact.
SO THEN
WE CAN STILL SIN; Yes, we can still
sin and be saved, but God will not be mocked.[30] As an example a Homosexual that is a child of
God will give up his life style of sin.
Whoever is born of God will not LIVE in
sin, they will not PRACTICE sin.[31]
The old nature can have an act of sin, but
not deliberate or consciously or habitually, nor presumptuously, but involuntary
SINS and it is
forgiven, erased, never again to be remembered.[32]
Predestination
From the very beginning, God
had a plan to shape the lives of the Believer, to conform them to the Image of
Jesus Christ and it is predestined that God will complete that conformation
that He has begun.[33] Jesus Christ has
the authority to give eternal life; [34]all you have to do is to BELIEVE IT.
Help; I’ve fallen and I can’t get up
Falling from Grace is a doctrine of DOUBT. IT’S A LIE born out of the pit of hell that says you have fallen so far that you can’t get back up. If you have stumbled down the wrong path, then
turn around NOW.
The MOST
PROGRESSIVE
A Believer in Jesus Christ will
not stay in SIN.
If you don’t try to “GET BACK UP”, then you are a Make Believer and
were never His; He will plainly tell you, “I never knew you”.[37]
If you were once
saved, you are forever saved, NO ifs ands or
buts;
nothing can EVER separate you
from the love of God. [38]
Two Schools of Thought –
Parallel truths, both taught in the Bible; Divine Sovereignty & Human
Freedom
Calvinism: Men are so fallen that they are dead in their sins and unable to seek
God’s face. God in his Mercy has pre-destined SOME people
to be saved; His Grace is irresistible to those He elected. Man can do nothing; and has nothing to do with
his Salvation; it’s all God.
Arminianism: God has extended His Grace to ALL
people and it’s up to each individual to accept or resist. His Grace is an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied; man has FREE WILL to choose. Life is choice driven.
Either way: You will know the Believer by
their fruits, if God has a call on your life; you have eternal security; if you
are a MAKE BELIEVER; you were never a part
of the body.
A
BELIEVER CAN’T FALL FROM GRACE.
[1] Romans 3:20 – It was the Law that made us conscious of our Sin
[2] 1 John 3:4 - Sin is lawlessness; it’s in the Book
[3] Matthew 5:19 – We are to take the smallest item in God’s law seriously
[4] Galatians 3:3 - It’s foolishness to
think you can do something to save yourself
[5] Romans
[6] Isaiah 59:2 – Sin
separates us from God
[7] Ephesians 2:3 –
Unbelievers are the objects of God’s wrath
[8] Romans
[9] 2 Thessalonians 1:9 – The
unbeliever will be punished with Everlasting destruction out of the presence of
God
[10] 1 Peter
[11] Ephesians 2:8-9 – Salvation is not a
reward for the good things we have done, we are saved by Grace; It’s a Gift from God
[12] Romans 8:1-4 - There is no condemnation for those who belong to
Christ Jesus; the law is fully satisfied
[13] John 5:24 – Believers have already passed from death into life
[14] Jonah 2:9 – Salvation comes from the Lord
alone
[15] James 1:5-8 – DOUBT makes you unstable and
double-minded blown and tossed about by the wind.
[16] Matthew 22:37-40 – The TEST:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself. -- John
13:34 – A new command I give you: Love one another
as JESUS LOVED YOU
[17] Matthew 7:16-20 – You
will know a Believer by their FRUITS
[18] 1 John 2:19 – It’s possible you were never part
of the body; for if you had belonged to
us, you would have remained with us
[19] Romans 10:9-10 - Confess with your mouth and Believe in your heart and you will be saved.
[20] John 14:2-3 – Jesus will
come again and receive the believer.
[21] Romans 3:23 – ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory
[22] Psalm 37:23-24 – When the Believer stumbles,
GOD holds on
[23] Romans 8:28 – All things work together for Good for the Believer;
those who love God, and are called according to His purpose
[24] John 6:37-39 – Christ will not lose even one true believer
[25] Romans 10:4 - Believers are declared righteous
[26] Romans 7:22 – I joyfully agree with the commands of God
[27] Hebrews
[28] Ezekiel 36:26 – We have a
new heart and a new spirit -- 1 Corenthians
[29] Hebrews
[30] Galatians 6:7 - Do not be deceived: God WILL NOT be mocked
[31] 1 John 3:9 – No one who
is born of God will continue to sin,
[32] Hebrews 10:17-18 – God
will remember the Sins no more
[33] Romans 8:29-30 – God will complete what He has begun -- Philippians
1:6 – He who begun the work in us will complete it
[34] John 17:2 – Christ has the authority to give
eternal life
[35] 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 – Humble, Pray, Seek;
I will hear
[36] John 3:16-18 – Whoever Believes in Jesus the Christ has eternal life
[37] Matthew 7:23 - I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you
[38] Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing can separate us from God
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