Before we move on any further in our study of salvation we first need to look at the question, "Can a person lose their salvation?" There is a lot of controversial teaching on this topic so I want to straighten a few things out before we move on.
Unfortunately, the way many churches teach salvation is that once a person is saved they can also lose their salvation. That it is more of a holy relationship instead of a spiritual birth. This is why many people today believe they can lose their salvation. If the new birth is nothing more than a relationship then certainly a relationship could be lost. Some folks even look at the phrase of being born again as being nothing more than a figure of speech. Their whole view of regeneration is too shallow.
Instead, we need to be looking at the spiritual birth the way the Bible teaches us; that if spiritual birth, being born again, means God has planted a new spiritual life within you, if it means God made you a new creation, then to lose your salvation would have major consequences. This would mean, if you were to lose your salvation, the whole process of regeneration would have to be reversed. If we look at it from a physical view point, is it possible for a person to be unborn once they have been born? The obvious answer to this question is no. Therefore, if regeneration is an actual spiritual birth, which changes a man at the center of his being, then it cannot be reversed any more than a physical birth could be reversed.
So we must then ask the question Richard Belcher asks in his book on salvation. He says, "Does the new birth affect you externally through a relationship with God and then eventually internally, or does the new birth affect you drastically, internally by the implantation of a new principle of life and then affect you externally in your everyday life because of that internal change?"
When we are saved, the Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation." 2Cor. 5:17-18
When we are saved, we are dramatically changed on the inside. We are spiritually reborn. And this spiritual birth is a work of God not man. So do we think we are capable of undoing God's work? By saying "I'm saved," and then turning around some time later and stating that I've lost my salvation is basically saying I've undone what God has done. I have power over God because I was able to reverse my spiritual birth. This is pretty bold.
Don't forget what Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:27-30
NOTE: Did you notice that last part, "I and the Father are one." Here Jesus is claiming He is God. Don't ever let anyone tell you Jesus was just a great teacher. He was much more than that. In fact He is much more than that - He is God. The Jews knew exactly what He meant because the very next verse tells us they picked up stones to stone Him.
So its not that a person can be saved and then lose their salvation. Instead, a person who claims they are saved and then continues living a sinful life, I believe was never saved in the first place. They may have had some "spiritual experience" but if they show no remorse over their sin or claim that God loves them anyway because He created them that way, and they go on sinning, these are folks who were never saved to begin with.
Scripture tells us in 2Pet 1:10a "...be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure..." We need to check our lives and make sure we are living a holy life, that is pleasing to God by obeying His word. And when we do sin, we should be able to feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit upon us. We should desire to repent and seek forgiveness and be cleansed.
If you're going through life thinking you're a Christian, thinking you're saved and yet your life looks no different from the world. You better take another look at your Christian walk. Do you feel remorse for your sin? Do you know what it is that displeases God. Do you desire to repent when you sin?
A person who is truly saved can never lose their salvation. But, what we must ask is, "Are we really saved?" Just double check yourself and "Make your calling and election sure."
God bless
Rob
Being once dead in sin, now raised by God's mere mercy, to newness of life.
Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
SALVATION - WHAT IS REGENERATION?
This study in salvation I'm taking from one of Richard Belcher's novels called A Journey in Salvation as well as from Scripture of course.
Salvation begins with God. It is not, nor can it be initiated by man. The human heart must be born again or regenerated and this can only happen through super natural intervention.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him to seek answers about his miracles. Jesus tells Nicodemus in v.3, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Needless to say Nicodemus is stunned by these words and isn't sure what to make of this. He questions Jesus asking, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mothers womb a second time?"
But in verse 7 Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."
First lets look at what Jesus is not saying here:
He's not saying - It would be nice if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be helpful if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be beneficial if you would be born again.
He's not saying - It is my hope that you would be born again.
Instead, Jesus is making an emphatic statement here that one MUST be born again. Basically He's saying, you MUST be regenerated. This is not optional or open to discussion. Then this raises the question, What exactly is Regeneration?
I) Regeneration is a Birth or a Creation
When you create something new or there is a new birth, it is the giving of life where before nothing existed.
So the new birth is not:
Making something from something else.
The remaking of something old.
The renewal of something already alive.
The reformation of something deteriorating or slipping away.
The revival of something dying.
Here's an example.
There was once a scientist who confronted God and said, "God, I'm now as powerful as you are. With my scientific knowledge I can create anything you can create." So God looking down on the scientist said, Ok, go ahead, lets see you create another earth." The scientist said, "No problem." He reached down and started gathering dirt for his creation, but God said, "Ah, ah, get your own dirt.
So regeneration, the new birth, is not making something out of something that already exists, its something that must be created from nothing.
Louis Berkhof in his book, Systematic Theology says the following about the new birth:
"The subconscious implanting of the principle of the new spiritual life in the soul which effects an instantaneous change; intellectually, morally, emotionally in the whole man which enables the sinner to respond in repentance and faith to the outward or public proclamation of the Gospel."
II) Regeneration is a Second or Spiritual Birth
This means that to be a Christian, one must be born twice. Continuing in John 3:5-6 Jesus notes for Nicodemus the significance of the two different births. He states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (physical) and the Spirit, (spiritual) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, (physical) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (spritual)
What Jesus is saying here is that in order for anyone to enter the kingdom of Heaven he must be born, not only physically but spiritually as well; He must be born from above. This also goes hand in hand with other passages of Scripture:
1John 5:4-5 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
1John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."
1John 2:29 "If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."
1Peter 1:22b-23 "...Love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."
And there are many more passages that talk similarly about the second birth.
III) Regeneration is a Mystery to Men
How regeneration actually occurs we will never really know this side of Heaven. All we know for sure is that we are to proclaim the good news to the whole world and as people hear it, God will regenerate the hearts of some and they will be born again.
Back to our passage of Scripture in John 3, Jesus says in verse 8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
So what's Jesus saying here? That salvation, the new birth, regeneration is the sole work of God and that the secret things are of the Lord.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Richard Belcher sums it up this way:
"A Christian is one who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit in a manner which man cannot explain whereby a deep internal change has taken place so that he is a new creation through the imparting of a new principle of life by the Holy Spirit of God whereby also one's outward life is changed in a very noticeable and drastic manner."
I'll just add one more passage of Scripture to that:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corinthians 5:17-21
Amen and God bless
Rob
Salvation begins with God. It is not, nor can it be initiated by man. The human heart must be born again or regenerated and this can only happen through super natural intervention.
In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus is speaking with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who came to him to seek answers about his miracles. Jesus tells Nicodemus in v.3, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Needless to say Nicodemus is stunned by these words and isn't sure what to make of this. He questions Jesus asking, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mothers womb a second time?"
But in verse 7 Jesus tells Nicodemus, "Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."
First lets look at what Jesus is not saying here:
He's not saying - It would be nice if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be helpful if you were born again.
He's not saying - It would be beneficial if you would be born again.
He's not saying - It is my hope that you would be born again.
Instead, Jesus is making an emphatic statement here that one MUST be born again. Basically He's saying, you MUST be regenerated. This is not optional or open to discussion. Then this raises the question, What exactly is Regeneration?
I) Regeneration is a Birth or a Creation
When you create something new or there is a new birth, it is the giving of life where before nothing existed.
So the new birth is not:
Making something from something else.
The remaking of something old.
The renewal of something already alive.
The reformation of something deteriorating or slipping away.
The revival of something dying.
Here's an example.
There was once a scientist who confronted God and said, "God, I'm now as powerful as you are. With my scientific knowledge I can create anything you can create." So God looking down on the scientist said, Ok, go ahead, lets see you create another earth." The scientist said, "No problem." He reached down and started gathering dirt for his creation, but God said, "Ah, ah, get your own dirt.
So regeneration, the new birth, is not making something out of something that already exists, its something that must be created from nothing.
Louis Berkhof in his book, Systematic Theology says the following about the new birth:
"The subconscious implanting of the principle of the new spiritual life in the soul which effects an instantaneous change; intellectually, morally, emotionally in the whole man which enables the sinner to respond in repentance and faith to the outward or public proclamation of the Gospel."
II) Regeneration is a Second or Spiritual Birth
This means that to be a Christian, one must be born twice. Continuing in John 3:5-6 Jesus notes for Nicodemus the significance of the two different births. He states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water (physical) and the Spirit, (spiritual) he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, (physical) and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (spritual)
What Jesus is saying here is that in order for anyone to enter the kingdom of Heaven he must be born, not only physically but spiritually as well; He must be born from above. This also goes hand in hand with other passages of Scripture:
1John 5:4-5 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
1John 4:7 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."
1John 2:29 "If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him."
1Peter 1:22b-23 "...Love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."
And there are many more passages that talk similarly about the second birth.
III) Regeneration is a Mystery to Men
How regeneration actually occurs we will never really know this side of Heaven. All we know for sure is that we are to proclaim the good news to the whole world and as people hear it, God will regenerate the hearts of some and they will be born again.
Back to our passage of Scripture in John 3, Jesus says in verse 8, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
So what's Jesus saying here? That salvation, the new birth, regeneration is the sole work of God and that the secret things are of the Lord.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Richard Belcher sums it up this way:
"A Christian is one who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit in a manner which man cannot explain whereby a deep internal change has taken place so that he is a new creation through the imparting of a new principle of life by the Holy Spirit of God whereby also one's outward life is changed in a very noticeable and drastic manner."
I'll just add one more passage of Scripture to that:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." 2Corinthians 5:17-21
Amen and God bless
Rob
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Gospel of John - Part 19
Conclusion
And here in part 19 we have the conclusion to the film The Gospel of John. What a great depiction of this great Gospel. I hope this film was a blessing to you and moved your heart.
If you are not a Christian, my prayer for you is that you would think very deeply on the teachings you witnessed here in this film. It is very important that you realize you're a sinner in the eyes of the Lord and you do need the Savior. If you should go to sleep tonight and have a heart attack, are you sure you know what would happen?? If you don't have Christ, you won't have life but eternal death and punishment.
Jesus said it Himself, "Truly, Truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
So how does one become born again? First and foremost you must realize that you are a sinner and have offended God by breaking His commandments. You then need to repent of all your sins - This means to turn completely 180 degrees in the opposite direction, and ask Jesus to forgive you. You need to move off of the throne of your heart and allow Jesus to take His rightful place there and you need to live your life for Christ. Is this easy? No not at all, especially in our culture today. However, the rewards are eternal!!
If you need to review this film a couple more times, by all means do so. You may also want to get a copy of God's Word, the Bible and follow along. The translations I recommend are the ESV, NASB, NKJV and KJV. Then pray for God to reveal Himself to you in this film so that you too may become born again into His kingdom.
God bless you all.
Rob
Friday, January 18, 2008
Salvation by Christ Alone
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12
What an amazing testimony Peter gives here while standing in the temple in front of the elders and rulers of the council. He first reminds them just before this, in v. 10 that they were the ones who crucified Jesus, but it was God who raised Him from the dead. He then goes on to tell them that the only way to Heaven is by Jesus Christ alone.
To me, it is so sad how Satan has convoluted the message of the Gospel. So much so, that even people who profess to be "christians", even many big time Christian leaders are today teaching or at least alluding to the belief that there are other ways to Heaven.
But the truth is, there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ alone. If there are other ways to Heaven, then Christ died for nothing. How sad that there are people in churches out there who are being taught that 'Jesus is the answer, BUT there are also other ways to Heaven.'
No folks, Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Even He himself proclaimed, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6
Our hope and faith must be built on the sold rock foundation of Jesus Christ. Apart from the shed blood of Jesus, there is no salvation. Unfortunately today, people are denying the truth because they want there to be other ways beyond the way God has provided. Its like going to a physician and hearing that you have cancer and are soon to die. The doctor tells you, ..."but there is one cure, only one cure, and I've got it in the next room." Instead, you tell him, "well thanks, I believe you but I also believe there is another, easier way and I'm going to look for that first." We wouldn't do that with a deadly disease like cancer, why do we do it with a deadlier problem like sin.
My friend, there is only one way to Heaven and His name is Jesus. He came to this earth so that sinners like you and I can be made right with God and receive His gift of eternal life. No matter how much sin is in your life, salvation is by the grace of God alone and He can and does save sinners. Jesus said, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32
So if you've come to realize that you are a sinner and have offended the Holy God of the universe, as we all have, then today is your day of salvation. Repent of your sins, that means to turn, 180 degrees in the opposite direction, and ask Jesus to forgive you. If you're just not sure, I encourage you to start by getting yourself a copy of God's word, the Bible and start reading it with an open mind and heart. Start reading for just a few minutes each day. Start in the Gospel of John and pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Trust me, you'll know when God has opened your eyes because all of a sudden you'll begin to see the deeper, spiritual meaning behind the words in the text. It is truly a mind blowing experience.
If you're ever in the Palm Coast, Florida area, be sure to come and visit us at Turning Point Community Church. Just ask for Rob and I'll be happy to chat with you and answer any questions you may have regarding spiritual matters. And if I can't answer something I'll be sure to point you to someone who can.
May the Lord richly bless you and your family.
Rob
What an amazing testimony Peter gives here while standing in the temple in front of the elders and rulers of the council. He first reminds them just before this, in v. 10 that they were the ones who crucified Jesus, but it was God who raised Him from the dead. He then goes on to tell them that the only way to Heaven is by Jesus Christ alone.
To me, it is so sad how Satan has convoluted the message of the Gospel. So much so, that even people who profess to be "christians", even many big time Christian leaders are today teaching or at least alluding to the belief that there are other ways to Heaven.
But the truth is, there is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus Christ alone. If there are other ways to Heaven, then Christ died for nothing. How sad that there are people in churches out there who are being taught that 'Jesus is the answer, BUT there are also other ways to Heaven.'
No folks, Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Even He himself proclaimed, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." John 14:6
Our hope and faith must be built on the sold rock foundation of Jesus Christ. Apart from the shed blood of Jesus, there is no salvation. Unfortunately today, people are denying the truth because they want there to be other ways beyond the way God has provided. Its like going to a physician and hearing that you have cancer and are soon to die. The doctor tells you, ..."but there is one cure, only one cure, and I've got it in the next room." Instead, you tell him, "well thanks, I believe you but I also believe there is another, easier way and I'm going to look for that first." We wouldn't do that with a deadly disease like cancer, why do we do it with a deadlier problem like sin.
My friend, there is only one way to Heaven and His name is Jesus. He came to this earth so that sinners like you and I can be made right with God and receive His gift of eternal life. No matter how much sin is in your life, salvation is by the grace of God alone and He can and does save sinners. Jesus said, "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:31-32
So if you've come to realize that you are a sinner and have offended the Holy God of the universe, as we all have, then today is your day of salvation. Repent of your sins, that means to turn, 180 degrees in the opposite direction, and ask Jesus to forgive you. If you're just not sure, I encourage you to start by getting yourself a copy of God's word, the Bible and start reading it with an open mind and heart. Start reading for just a few minutes each day. Start in the Gospel of John and pray for God to reveal Himself to you. Trust me, you'll know when God has opened your eyes because all of a sudden you'll begin to see the deeper, spiritual meaning behind the words in the text. It is truly a mind blowing experience.
If you're ever in the Palm Coast, Florida area, be sure to come and visit us at Turning Point Community Church. Just ask for Rob and I'll be happy to chat with you and answer any questions you may have regarding spiritual matters. And if I can't answer something I'll be sure to point you to someone who can.
May the Lord richly bless you and your family.
Rob
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