{"id":19114,"date":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-10T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-023\/"},"modified":"2016-07-10T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T05:00:00","slug":"soteriology-023","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-023\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 023"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[88],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19114","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-john","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 023","sermon_date":"20160710","sermon_month":"7","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":3739,"sermon_slides":3740,"sermon_mp3":3745,"sermon_id":"71016918471","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":88,"chapter_and_verse":"17:11-12","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 23, Romans 8:29-30\n\nJuly 10, 2016\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 If we could take your Bible and open it up to John 17, verses 11 and 12.\u00a0 For those of\u00a0 you here the first time you\u2019re in the middle of an ongoing study that we started on Wednesday nights and it\u2019s now continuing into Sunday mornings on the doctrine of eternal security.\u00a0 This is part of a larger class called the doctrine of salvation, and this class is going to at least run through\u00a0 August, maybe even a little longer, we\u2019ll have to see.\u00a0 But this class was really started for our missionaries, we didn\u2019t have a clear body of teaching that they could go to get greater learning of our church\u2019s position on the doctrine of salvation so we decided to put these together.\u00a0 So we are taping these, the guys up there are taping for the benefit of our missionaries.\n\nSo we\u2019re using the lecture method so the way it\u2019s going to work is I\u2019m going to basically talk till about 10:35 and then I\u2019m going to open it up for questions at 10:35 so if you have a question just jot it down and we\u2019re going to try to leave room for that at the end.\u00a0 Here is our big outline we\u2019ve been following on the doctrine of salvation.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice that we have eternal security there, Roman numeral VI, which is where we find ourselves.\u00a0 And in our first session on eternal security we just made some introductory comments about it, this is the definition that we\u2019re following.\u00a0 I got this from Dennis Rokser in a book, Shall Never Perish<\/em>, so when we talk about eternal security what are we talking about?\u00a0 Eternal security means those who have been genuinely saved.\n\nNow a couple of you have come up to me and said wait a minute, what does this mean, \u201cgenuinely saved.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that kind of a subjective type of thing.\u00a0 And I took your criticism seriously, I went back and looked at this definition with the intent of coming up with my own definition but I decided not to come up with my own definition because you\u2019ll notice that after he uses the words \u201cgenuinely saved\u201d he defines it.\u00a0 So what does \u201cgenuinely saved\u201d mean?\u00a0 By God\u2019s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. So when he uses the word \u201cgenuinely saved\u201d he\u2019s talking about all people who have placed their personal faith or trust in Christ.\n\nSo eternal security therefore means those who have been genuinely saved by God\u2019s grace through faith alone in Christ alone shall never be in danger of God\u2019s condemnation or a loss of salvation but God\u2019s grace and power keep them forever saved and secure.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the definition of eternal security we\u2019re using.\u00a0 The question is, does the Bible really teach this.\u00a0 I mean, is it true that once you place your faith in Christ, \u201conce saved always saved\u201d?\u00a0 Or are we on probation, divine probation?\u00a0 Is God going to rip the carpet out from under us if we commit some kind of sin?\n\nAnd the church has been arguing about this, not our church but the church generically, for many, many centuries.\u00a0 One camp, like ours, teaches once saved always saved; the other camp, largely coming from a school of thought called Arminianism, promulgated by the Dutch theologian, Jacob Arminius, basically taught, around the 16th<\/sup> century that you could be genuinely saved and then lose your salvation.\u00a0 So we\u2019re trying to argue here that once saved always saved, that eternal security is true.\u00a0 And kind of the way we\u2019re doing that is I\u2019m giving you the strongest eternal security arguments I know of in Part 1, but then you\u2019ll discover that I\u2019m not really interested in telling you what to think as much as I\u2019m interested in telling you how to think.\u00a0 And in part 2, which maybe we\u2019ll start next week, maybe the week after, I\u2019m going to go through the strongest passages I know of that people use to deny eternal security.\u00a0 And I\u2019m going to show you that all of those passages that they use are wrongly interpreted.\u00a0 Any verse of the Bible, if you look at it at first glance without context you can make it sound any way you want and there are some verses, you look at them and say oooh, I can see why the church has been debating this.\u00a0 It looks like you can lose your salvation based on that particular verse but I\u2019ll show you the proper context of those verses and\u00a0 you\u2019ll see, it\u2019s not a short list.\u00a0 I\u2019ve got about 48 verses to share with you once we get to that section.\u00a0 Don\u2019t worry, I won\u2019t do it all in one lesson.\n\nAnyway, eternal security arguments, here\u2019s what we\u2019ve covered so far.\u00a0 We\u2019ve covered about eight arguments.\u00a0 They are, number 1, and you can go back and review these, these are all archived if you have questions about them.\u00a0 Number 1, Because self-righteousness did not save us in the first place it\u2019s not a basis upon which salvation can be lost.\n\nNumber 2, Salvation is not given nor maintained by good works.\u00a0 Good works didn\u2019t get you in the door so why would God say you\u2019ve got to keep doing good works to stay in the door?\n\nNumber 3, if the believer can lose eternal life then how can eternal life be what?\u00a0 Eternal, that doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense does it.\u00a0 We went through several passages where the Greek word ai\u014dnios, which is translated eternal, is used to describe eternal life.\u00a0 Interestingly that\u2019s the exact same Greek word used to describe God Himself.\u00a0 So if God is forever, we believe He is, then so is eternal life.\u00a0 So therefore how can\u00a0 you lose eternal life?\u00a0\u00a0 How can you lose something that is eternal.\u00a0 If you could lose something that\u2019s eternal then it\u2019s not eternal, it\u2019s temporal.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 So I think that\u2019s a strong argument, that\u2019s number 3.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have these in any particular order, I just think when you look at all 13 of them together you have a very compelling case.\n\nNumber 4, the Bible\u2019s promises guarantee eternal security.\u00a0 And we went through several passages where God very clearly\u2026probably the strongest would be John 10:27-30, where we\u2019re in His hands, nothing can take us out. A number of other passages very clearly promise that once saved always saved.\u00a0 [John 10:27-30, \u201cMy sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; [28] and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. [29] My Father, who has given them<\/em> to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them<\/em> out of the Father\u2019s hand.[30] I and the Father are one.\u201d]\n\nAnd then number 5 we took a look at the doctrine of the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 I have some sloppy wording a couple of you pointed out on point 5 in my last PowerPoint so I went back and corrected that.\u00a0 But you see, we believe that the Bible doesn\u2019t just teach eternal security; we believe that it also teaches the assurance of salvation, that you can know\u00a0 you have eternal security.\u00a0 A lot of places will teach the doctrine of eternal security but then they\u2019ll make it sound like you really don\u2019t know if you have it until you persevere to the end of your life and we don\u2019t believe the Bible teaches that.\u00a0 We believe the Bible teaches you can know that you\u2019re saved forever the moment you believe in Christ for salvation.\u00a0 Many passages teach that as we saw; probably the strongest is 1 John 5:13 which says, \u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know\u201d not guess, but \u201cknow that you have eternal life.\u201d\n\nAnd then last week, number 6, we saw the believer is predestined for glory.\u00a0 Our future glorification, you look at the very last verb or word on that slide is in the past tense, we\u2019ve already been glorified in the mind of God.\u00a0 So you, all of us, are on a fast track to glory from God\u2019s timeless point of view you get the impression as if God looks at us as if we\u2019re already glorified.\u00a0 So if that\u2019s true how could I do something to derail that?\u00a0 The answer is you can\u2019t.\n\nNumber 7, we saw that the Spirit seals us for how long?\u00a0 Forever, Ephesians 4:30, [Ephesians 4:30, \u201cDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.\u201d]\u00a0 And we talked about the significance of a seal and what that means and meant in Greco-Roman times, how it virtually guaranteed that the letter would arrive at its intended destination.\n\nAnd then we also saw number 8, based on 1 Peter 1:4-5 that God keeps us from falling.\u00a0 [1 Peter 1:4-5, \u201cto obtain<\/em> an inheritance which is<\/em> imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, [5]\u00a0 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.\u201d]\u00a0 Verse 5 says that we are currently being sustained to receive our inheritance in the present by the power of God.\u00a0 So the same God that brought me to salvation, convicted me of my need to believe so I could receive salvation is the exact same God that is currently, verse 5, protecting me.\u00a0 So if that\u2019s true, and if I can lose my salvation I guess God is not doing a very good job of protecting me, right?\n\nSo that\u2019s our review; this takes us to number 9, that\u2019s why I had you open up to John 17, and this is where we pick it up today.\u00a0 Number 9, if a Christian can lose their salvation then Jesus can fail in His ministries as our intercessor and advocate.\u00a0 Jesus, currently at the right hand of the Father, is doing at least two things; He\u2019s doing many things, a lot of people accuse us of teaching this idea because we don\u2019t believe we\u2019re in the kingdom now, that Jesus at the right hand of the Father is doing nothing and that\u2019s a straw man argument.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t true at all.\u00a0 We believe we\u2019re not in the kingdom; what we believe is Jesus is now functioning not as King but as what? Priest after the order of who? Melchizedek. The Melchizedekian priesthood which is a higher priesthood than the order after Aaron and the book of Hebrews develops that.\n\nBut in His function as high priest at the Father\u2019s right hand Christ is very active.\u00a0 No, we\u2019re not in the kingdom but He\u2019s doing something else and this is what the theologians, like Dr. Chafer called the present session of Christ.\u00a0 And what I\u2019ve discovered, and one of the things Dr. Chafer brings up in his writings is most Christians in his day and in our day know almost nothing about the present session of Christ.\u00a0 We, for whatever reason know a ton of stuff about His First Coming, when He was functioning as prophet.\u00a0\u00a0 You know Jesus functions with three offices, prophet, priest, king.\u00a0 So because we read the Gospels and in Sunday School we get a lot of lessons about the life of Christ, we know a lot about what He did in His first coming, functioning as prophet.\n\nMost Christians understand a lot about His future rule, when He will be functioning as King in the millennial kingdom, but for whatever reason we don\u2019t know a lot about what He\u2019s doing now, which is sort of strange because this is the ministry that most affects us today.\u00a0 And He\u2019s doing a lot and He\u2019s functioning as high priest in His present session.\u00a0 Two of the things He is doing is (A) our intercessor and (B) our advocate.\u00a0 So let\u2019s sort of unpack these.\n\nOne of Christ\u2019s ministries is intercessor.\u00a0 Now notice, if you will, John 17:11-12, this is\u2026 if\u00a0 you\u2019re looking for the Lord\u2019s Prayer John 17 is really the Lord\u2019s Prayer.\u00a0 A lot of people go to Matthew 6 to find the Lord\u2019s Prayer but the problem is that\u2019s not the prayer Christ prayed, He prayed in Matthew 6, because he says \u201cforgive us our\u201d what?\u00a0 \u201cdebts\u201d or \u201csins,\u201d I thought Christ was sinless.\u00a0 So He\u2019s not praying the prayer in Matthew 6, He\u2019s teaching the disciples how to pray a prayer. So that\u2019s better called the Disciple\u2019s Prayer.\u00a0 If you want the Lord\u2019s Prayer, the prayer the Lord prayed you\u2019d read John 17.\u00a0 It\u2019s the final lengthy prayer we have record of before He left the earth.\u00a0 And in the process of praying He starts praying for the disciples and late on us.\n\nNotice verses 11-12, \u201cI am no longer in the world; and yet<\/em> they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father,\u201d now look at this prayer, as He\u2019s praying for the disciples, \u201ckeep them in Your name, thy name<\/em> which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.<\/em> [12] \u201cWhile I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but\u201d or \u201cexcept the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled\u201d\n\nSo what He\u2019s praying here for is I\u2019m leaving the earth and just as I kept these disciples, Father, I want You to keep these disciples and protect them.\u00a0 And people say well, that\u2019s just a prayer for the twelve.\u00a0 Well no it\u2019s not because look at verse 20, \u201cI do not ask on behalf of these alone\u201d that would be the original disciples, eleven really because Judas has already left the group by this time, \u201cI do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;\u201d\u00a0 so I\u2019m not just praying for the eleven, I\u2019m praying for everybody that\u2019s going to be evangelized and impacted by the eleven, which would include us, wouldn\u2019t it, 2,000 years later.\u00a0 So what He is saying here is just as I kept them, Father, I pray that You will keep them as well.\u00a0 And here he\u2019s functioning, beginning to function in His role as intercessor.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll show you some verses in a minute where that ministry of intercession\u2026 what is intercession?\u00a0 It\u2019s petitioning on behalf of somebody else.\u00a0 Jesus has already made a petition to the Father on our behalf and He continues that role of intercession after His ascension.\n\nNow a lot of people are troubled by verse 12 because it says, \u201cI was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.\u201d\u00a0 And people think oh my gosh, Judas, who this is referring to, must have had salvation and lost his salvation.\u00a0 But you see, when you look at this prayer very carefully what you\u2019ll discover, it doesn\u2019t apply to Judas, it only applies to the believers that the Lord gave to Christ.\u00a0 For example, look back at verse 2, it says, \u201ceven as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s speaking of those that the Father had given Him.\n\nIf you go down to verses 6 and\u00a0 7 you\u2019ll see basically the same thing.\u00a0 \u201cI have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world;\u201d it says the same thing in verse 7, verse 9, verses 11-12.\u00a0 [Verse 7, \u201c[\u201cNow they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You.\u201d\u00a0 Verse 9, \u201cI ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours.\u00a0 Verse 11, \u201cI am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to\u00a0 You.\u00a0 Holy Father, keep them in You name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.\u00a0 [12] While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which\u00a0 You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the Son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled. \u201c]\n\nAnd here\u2019s the thing to understand about Judas, the Father had never given to the Son Judas; Judas was never an actual believer.\u00a0\u00a0 You say well how do you know that?\u00a0 If you go back to John 6, same book, it tells you very clearly that Judas was never saved.\u00a0 John 6 and notice, if you will, verse 64, He says, \u201c\u2018But there are some of you who do not believe.\u2019\u00a0 For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe,\u201d and who is it that would not believe, it goes on in verse 64 and it says, \u201cwho it was that would betray Him.\u201d\u00a0 So very clearly it says in verse 64 that the one who would betray Him never believed.\u00a0 Now who is the one that would betray Him?\u00a0 Look down at verse 71, the last verse in the chapter, \u201cNow He meant Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him.\u201d\u00a0 So you look at John 6 and it\u2019s not a case where Judas was saved and lost his salvation; Judas was never saved to begin with.\n\nIf you go over to John 13, again we\u2019re in the same book, John 13:10-11, it says, \u201cJesus said to him, \u2018He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet,\u201d and we\u2019ve done sermons on this, so I won\u2019t go back into all the intricacies here, \u201cbut is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.\u2019\u00a0 [11] For He knew\u201d now this is in the Upper Room, \u201cHe knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, \u2018Not all of you are clean.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u201cClean\u201d there is the concept of regeneration. Judas had never responded to the gospel; he hung around with the twelve, he looked like a real devout follower of Jesus Christ but John is very clear that Judas never believed.\u00a0 Verse 18, you\u2019ll see the same kind of thing.\u00a0 [Verse 18, \u201cI do not speak of all of you.\u00a0 I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, \u2018HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.\u2019\u201d]\n\nAnd this is why Judas, back to our passage in John 17:12, is called \u201cthe son of perdition,\u201d \u201cthe son of perdition\u201d is the son of destruction.\u00a0 Now that name, son of destruction is only given to one other person in the whole Bible.\u00a0 Anybody off the top of their head know who that person is?\u00a0 The antichrist.\u00a0 In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the antichrist, the coming lawless one, is called \u201cthe son of perdition.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [2 Thessalonians 2:3, \u201cLet no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition,\u201d or destruction.\u00a0 Those are the only two people that are given that name in the whole Bible.\n\nSo just as the devil actually entered Judas in John 13, about verse 27, I believe that halfway through the Tribulation period, when Satan plummets to the earth, he will actually go inside the beast and there\u2019s some references to this, not directly, but kind of by inference in Revelation 13 where it talks about the beast was empowered by the dragon or the devil and men worshipped the beast and the dragon, because the dragon, or the devil, empowered the beast.\u00a0 [John 13:27, \u201cAfter the morsel, Satan then entered into him.\u201d]\n\nSo I think that\u2019s why these two people only are called \u201cthe son of perdition,\u201d the beast of course being another reference to the coming antichrist.\u00a0 So just as the coming antichrist is an unbeliever indwelt by Satan, so was Judas.\u00a0 And that\u2019s significant because in verse 12 Jesus says I have kept these disciples except Judas.\u00a0 [John 17:12, \u201cWhile I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which\u00a0 You have given me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.\u201d] And people read into that well, the doctrine of eternal security must not be true because Jesus lost Judas, but the fact of the matter is Jesus didn\u2019t lose anybody.\u00a0 He, of the ones that the Father gave Him He protected.\u00a0 The Father never gave Him Judas in the sense of being a believer.\u00a0\u00a0 And so Judas did not lose his salvation, Judas was never saved to begin with.\n\nThat\u2019s why it says of Judas in the Scripture it had been better for him if he had never been born.\u00a0 [Matthew 24:26, \u201cThe Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.\u201d] That\u2019s a very strange statement to make to a Christian, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 Judas was obviously unsaved.\u00a0 So all of this to say that Jesus specifically prays for our security and protection, just like He kept the security and protection of the eleven disciples when He was on the earth.\u00a0 This is His prayer as intercessor.\n\nNow does the Father answer the prayers of the Son?\u00a0 Take a look at John 11:41, it\u2019s speaking of Jesus prayer, Jesus was praying that Lazarus would come out of the tomb; remember.\u00a0 John 11:41, \u201cSo they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, \u201cFather, I thank you that you have heard me.\u201d Christ\u2019s intercession.\u00a0 Verse 42, \u201cI know that you always hear me,\u2026\u201d So whenever Jesus prays for something to happen it\u2019s honored by the Father.\u00a0 And one of the things that He prayed for here in John 17 is our protection, just as He protected the eleven and kept them.\n\nNow Jesus, then ascends in Acts 1, to the right hand of the Father; He begins to function as high priest after the order of Melchizedek, and guess what?\u00a0 He\u2019s still praying for us.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great!\u00a0 He didn\u2019t just pray for us but He is currently praying for us.\u00a0 Take a look at Romans 8:34. \u00a0Isn\u2019t it comforting when another Christian comes up to you and says you know, I\u2019m praying for you.\u00a0 That\u2019s always a comforting thing.\u00a0 Well, I\u2019ve got better news for you than that.\u00a0 The Son, God the Son is praying for us in His present session.\u00a0 Romans 8:34 says, \u201cwho is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God,\u201d so what\u2019s He doing at the right hand of God?\u00a0 He\u2019s active, it says, \u201cwho also intercedes\u201d I believe that\u2019s in the present tense, indicating continuation, \u201cwho also intercedes for us.\u201d\n\nSo the prayer that he prayed in John 17 is the prayer He\u2019s praying even right now.\u00a0 And I got really good news for\u00a0 you; it\u2019s not just one member of the Trinity that\u2019s praying for you, it\u2019s two; take a look at Romans 8:26, \u201cIn the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses,\u201d anybody here have any weaknesses?\u00a0 \u00a0You can identify with that verse.\u00a0 \u201cIn the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself\u201d that\u2019s the Holy Spirit, Third Member of the Trinity, \u201cintercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.\u201d\u00a0 So if Jesus prayed for my security and He continues to pray for my security alongside the Holy Spirit, how in the world would I ever get the idea in my mind that I could lose my salvation.\u00a0 I mean if that could happen Jesus is not much of an intercessor, is He?\n\nOne more verse, go over to the book of Hebrews which is really the book of the Bible which most develops the present session of Christ after the order of Melchizedek, explaining what Jesus is doing currently.\u00a0 And notice, if you will, verses 24 and 25, Hebrews 7:24-25, \u201cbut Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever,\u201d see, He\u2019s not like those Aaronic priests that had to die or retire or fell asleep, Jesus is currently ongoing active in this present session, \u201cbut Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. [25] Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.\u201d\n\nJesus lives to make intercession for us.\u00a0 Now if somebody says I live for the weekend, you know, their whole live revolves around the weekend.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Well, the question I like to ask myself is do I eat to live or live to eat, because eating is so enjoyable.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t want to be that way, I want to eat to survive, not just stuff my face all the time.\u00a0\u00a0 But it\u2019s a delight, and I say I live for this, or I live for that, and what is the delight of Jesus\u2019 heart?\u00a0 It\u2019s to intercede for you and for me.\u00a0 So that\u2019s a very powerful ministry.\u00a0 And He specifically prayed that we wouldn\u2019t be lost, that we would be kept, and He keeps praying that.\n\nNot only does Jesus function as our intercessor, but in His current position at the Father\u2019s right hand He functions as our advocate.\u00a0 Every once in while in life we need an advocate, don\u2019t we?\u00a0 On the job, you need somebody in a position of authority to kind of stick up for you against criticism.\u00a0 And this was really the great problem that the book of Job articulates; by the way, what\u2019s the oldest book of the Bible?\u00a0 Job.\n\nAnd this is what Job said in John 9:32-33, he said, \u201cFor He is<\/em> not a man as I am that I may answer Him, that we may go to court together.\u00a0 [33] There is no umpire between us, who may lay his hand upon us both.\u201d\u00a0 Job says I don\u2019t have an advocate in my problems; I need a go-between, I need someone to put his hand on my shoulder and also represent me before God and I don\u2019t have that.\u00a0 The rest of the Bible answers that prayer request, through the incarnate Son of God, who is both God and man.\u00a0 Who better to represent God before man than the God-man; His humanity allows Him to put His hand on our shoulder, His deity allows Him to represent our case before the Father in heaven.\n\nAnd so what is He doing at the right hand of the Father?\u00a0 He is functioning as our defense attorney or our advocate.\u00a0 Notice 1 John 2:1, that\u2019s probably the key verse that comments on this ministry that Christ is currently fulfilling at the Father\u2019s right hand.\u00a0 1 John 2:1 says, \u201cMy little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m glad the verse doesn\u2019t stop there, \u201cBut if anyone sins,\u201d anybody in that category?\u00a0\u00a0 You guys ever sin?\u00a0 You guys don\u2019t look like it with your Bibles, you guys look very spiritual today, but the fact of the matter is we do sin as Christians, \u201cMy little children\u201d so he\u2019s writing to Christians here, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.\u00a0 And if anyone does sin, we have\u201d a what? \u201can Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s Jesus who is constantly pleading our case and He has a great case to argue because we have the transferred positional righteousness of Christ.\u00a0 The moment we trusted in Christ the righteousness of Jesus Christ was transferred to us and now God the Father looks at us, whether we feel like it or not, He looks at\u00a0 us as if we were as pure as His Son.\u00a0 Philippians 3:9, you can jot that down, it\u2019s a great verse, it talks about the transferred righteousness of Christ.\u00a0 [Philippians 3:9, \u201cand may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,\u201d]\n\nSo currently at the Father\u2019s right hand we have an advocate who is interceding for us and advocating our cause.\u00a0 Now do we need an advocate?\u00a0 Yes we do because there\u2019s a prosecuting attorney out there, called who?\u00a0 The devil, and he\u2019s very active in the Bible.\u00a0 One of his things that he likes to do is to accuse the brethren and this is really what started all of Jobs problems.\u00a0 Look at the accusatory nature of the devil, Job 1:8, \u201cThe LORD said to Satan, \u2018Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.\u2019\u201d\n\nNow look at the accusation, [9] \u201cThen Satan answered the LORD, \u2018Does Job fear God for nothing?\u2019\u00a0 [10] Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. [11] But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.\u201d What an accusation, an attack on the character of Job.\n\nOver in the book of Zechariah, chapter 3 and verse 1, chapter 3 and verse 1 you have a tremendous\u2026 if you\u2019re having trouble finding it just go to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, sometimes called Mah lah chi, the only Italian prophet in the Bible, (just joking of course) but just go to Malachi, take a left, you should hit Zechariah and notice what Zechariah 3:1 says, \u201cThen he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.\u201d\u00a0 See the accusatory nature of the devil?\n\nPeter, Jesus said something to Peter one day that if I had been in Peter\u2019s shoes it would have scared the daylights out of me.\u00a0 It\u2019s over in Luke 22:31-32, \u201cSimon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift all of you like wheat.\u201d\u00a0 How would you like it if the Lord said that to you?\u00a0 That would be scary, wouldn\u2019t it? \u00a0[32] \u201cBut I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you once have turned again, strengthen your brothers.\u201d\u00a0 So there\u2019s conversations going on in heaven, Simon, that you don\u2019t even know about and the devil is bringing accusation against you, (prosecuting attorney).\n\nNow how frequently does the devil bring accusations against the saints?\u00a0 Revelation 12:10 answers that question.\u00a0 Revelation 12: 10 says, \u201cThen I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, \u2018Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, have come, for the accuser of our brethren\u201d that would be the devil, \u201chas been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.\u201d\u00a0 So around the clock in heaven, apparently Satan, although he\u2019s a fallen creature, has access to heaven, he\u2019ll lose that about midway through the Tribulation period, he can still go into heaven not to worship and serve as he once did as a high ranking angel but rather to communicate and to accuse, and he brings these accusations against\u00a0 us day and night.\n\nAnd so that would be a troubling thing if I didn\u2019t have1 John 2:1 in my Bible telling me that Jesus is standing up for me as my advocate and He has grounds to do it because I stand in the positional righteousness of Jesus.\u00a0 [I John 2:1, \u201cMy dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father\u2014Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.\u201d]\n\nSo if Jesus is our perpetual intercessor and is our perpetual advocate, how would we ever get the idea that we could lose our salvation.\u00a0 If I could lose my salvation, have it and then lose it, then Jesus is not doing a very good job as either my intercessor or my advocate.\u00a0 That\u2019s the point.\n\nLet me take you to a tenth reason why I don\u2019t think you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 Number 10, Christ\u2019s death perfectly dealt with all sins,\u201d not some sins, \u201call sins.\u201d\u00a0 If a Christian can lose his salvation and go to hell because of some sin then Jesus Christ\u2019s atonement must not have perfectly dealt with all sins.\u00a0 And you see, when\u00a0 you get into the subject that you can lose your salvation what people are always focused on are some post conversion sin or some kind.\u00a0 So they\u2019re looking at personal sin in their life instead of looking at the Son, Jesus Christ.\u00a0 It\u2019s a matter of focus.\n\nAnd what the Bible teaches, many, many places, you might want to just open to Titus 2:14, but many, many places it tells us that Christ has permanently dealt with all sins.\u00a0 That would be the sin I committed before I was saved and any sin I\u2019ve committed post salvation.\u00a0 [Titus 2:14, \u201cwho gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.\u201d]\n\nIn fact, Psalm 103:12 tells me that He has already taken my sins and thrown them as far as the what?\u00a0 The east is from the west.\u00a0 Well, how far is the east from the west, exactly?\u00a0 It\u2019s an infinite line, is it not.\u00a0 {Psalm 103:12, \u201cAs far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 And I love how the psalmist doesn\u2019t say He throws our sins as far as the north is from the south because there\u2019s a north pole and a south pole, so therefore the north and south are really not infinitely removed from each other but there is no east pole or west pole so unlike the north and the south the east and the west are infinitely removed.\u00a0 Christ has taken every sin you\u2019ve ever committed or will ever commit and infinitely removed them from us.\n\nAnother pretty good verse on this, it\u2019s not as strong as the Titus verse I had you turn to but Acts 10:43, says, \u201cOf Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.\u201d\u00a0 So if I believe in Jesus I\u2019ve received \u201cforgiveness of sins.\u201d It doesn\u2019t say some, it says all, actually it doesn\u2019t say \u201call\u201d here, it does say it in Titus, but it doesn\u2019t say some at least in Acts 10:43.\n\nNow notice the book of Titus, Titus 2:14, just go to those Timothy books and take a right and you should run into Titus, Titus 2:14, it says, \u201cwho gave himself for us to redeem us from\u201d what? \u201cevery lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.\u201d\u00a0 So I\u2019ve been forgiven for pre-cross,\u00a0 pre-salvation sins and also post-salvation sins.\u00a0 And this is important to understand because the focus of people that think you can lose your salvation is always some post salvation sin where God is going to rip the carpet our from under somebody.\u00a0 But the Bible keeps saying He\u2019s paid for all of our sins.\n\nNotice the book of Colossians, Colossians 2:10, \u201cand in Him you have been made\u201d what, \u201ccomplete,\u201d so it\u2019s not like I\u2019m 95% there, I\u2019m \u201ccomplete in Him.\u201d\u00a0 So if I\u2019m \u201ccomplete in Him\u201d why do I think I can do X, Y or Z which would forfeit my salvation?\n\nColossians 2:13 says, \u201cWhen you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us [all our sins]\u201d how many of our transgressions? \u201cAll\u201d of the, pre-cross, pre-salvation, post-salvation.\n\nBack to the book of Hebrews, chapter 10, and verse 12, see these are things you can build your house on when\u00a0 you ever start to doubt\u00a0 your security in Christ.\u00a0 Hebrews 10:12 says, \u201cBut He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of the Father.\u201d\u00a0 Notice He \u201coffered one sacrifice for sins\u201d and then it modifies what\u2019s meant by sins, \u201call time,\u201d one-time offering for all sins.\n\nAnd then of course what is the very last words that came out of Christ\u2019s mouth just before He died.\u00a0 There\u2019s seven statements Jesus made on the cross but the very last thing He said you\u2019ll find in John 19:30, it\u2019s a tremendous thing, it says, \u201cTherefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, \u2018It is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.\u201d\u00a0 The King James says \u201cHe gave\u00a0 up the ghost.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the separation between the immaterial and the material which is what happens when somebody dies.\u00a0 So He gave up His spirit and just before He gave up His spirit and died He said \u201cIt is finished.\u201d\u00a0 Now \u201cIt is finished\u201d means the sins that I have committed and will ever commit have already been taken care of.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what \u201cIt is finished\u201d means?\n\nThe Greek word translated \u201cIt is finished\u201d is tetelestai<\/em>, which to me is one of the most beautiful words in the entire Scripture, tetelestai <\/em>means paid in full.\u00a0 Not paid 99%, \u201cpaid in full.\u201d\u00a0 Tetelestai<\/em> is in the Greek language in the perfect tense, which means a single action in the past with ongoing reverberating results.\u00a0 So what He did on Calvary has completed everything, all sins, past, present and future.\u00a0 In fact, those of you that are accountants will appreciate this, all over the Greco-Roman world they found financial, archeological evidence of financial transactions and that\u2019s the way they stamped \u201cpaid in full,\u201d or a fulfilled account or a paid account, they just put on it tetelestai<\/em>.\u00a0 So it\u2019s an accounting term.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what\u2019s used to describe what Jesus has done for us.\u00a0 Finality!\n\nAnd this is one of the slides I\u2019ve used earlier in the series but that finality of what Jesus has done for us is communicated through the imagery of sitting down.\u00a0 Colossians 3:1 says He sat down at the right hand of the Father.\u00a0 [Colossians 3:1, \u201cTherefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father.\u201d]\n\nThe book of Hebrews, chapter 1 verse 3 says the same thing many, many times, I won\u2019t go through every verse, but right at the beginning of the book it says, Hebrews 1:3,\u00a0 \u201cAnd He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down [at the right hand of the Majesty on high].\u201d Now notice it doesn\u2019t say He\u2019s on David\u2019s throne the way Amillennialists interpret that, He\u2019s not on David\u2019s throne, David\u2019s throne is on the earth, He is not functioning as King, He\u2019s functioning as high priest and His first order of business when He ascended back to the right hand of the Father is to sit down.\n\nNow Hebrews was written to who?\u00a0 \u00a0Jews, the title gives it away; right?\u00a0 The Jewish mind\u2026 as Gentiles we don\u2019t think this way because we really don\u2019t know our Old Testament that well but the Jewish mind understood what we call Hebrew Bible, or Tanach, or what we call the Old Testament, they knew it cold and they\u2019re thinking of the tabernacle, which is referenced so frequently in the book of Hebrews that Moses, under God\u2019s guidance and instruction built in the wilderness at the base of Sinai, and it gives in the book of Exodus, chapters 19-40 a very, very detailed account of the furniture in that tabernacle.\u00a0 It describes the furniture in great detail and what\u2019s the one piece of furniture it never mentions?\u00a0 There\u2019s no chair.\n\nNow why is that?\u00a0 Because under the Aaronic system the priest\u2019s job was never finished.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because the sacrifices, the only thing that they did under that older system was to postpone the note of indebtedness for one year, on the Day or Atonement.\u00a0 It sort of kicked the can down the road for one year, and the next year would come along on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, it\u2019s all described in Leviticus 16.\u00a0 And they would have to do the same offering the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why God, in the Psalms, particularly Psalm 40, could look at this animal sacrificial system that He had given and He said in Psalm 40 I\u2019m not pleased with it.\u00a0 In other words, it was a good system but God was never completely pleased in it because it was never the final act, it was just a shadow.\u00a0 The final act is Jesus Christ who tetelestai,<\/em> finished the job and sat down at the right hand of the Father.\n\nThe book of \u201cRevelation, chapter 3, verse 21 tells us that He is not on David\u2019s throne now, He is on the Father\u2019s throne at the right hand of the Father in a seated position.\u00a0 Sitting down is huge imagery indicating finality.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:21, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d]\n\nAnd this finality is also communicated because the book of Hebrews keeps saying one time when it describes the sacrifice of Jesus, \u201cone time.\u201d\u00a0 I have many, many verses, I won\u2019t give them all to you but Hebrews 9:12 is a good one, it says, \u201cand not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all<\/u>, having obtained eternal redemption.\u201d\u00a0 Now when it says \u201conce\u201d over and over again, in Hebrews the Greek word there is hapax<\/em>, meaning one time.\u00a0 And from that Greek word, hapax<\/em>, we get this expression, a hapax legomena<\/em>, legomena<\/em> means a word or a spoken word, so a hapax legomena<\/em> is a word used only one time in the Greek New Testament.\u00a0 So rather than saying that over and over again grammarians just use the expression hapax legomena<\/em>.\u00a0 If someone says hapax legomena<\/em> that\u2019s a word used one time.\n\nBut you\u2019ll notice that that word hapax<\/em> is used to describe what Jesus did.\u00a0 It\u2019s a singular event in the past that\u2019s happened that covered every single sin, past, present and future.\u00a0 So therefore the sin that you may commit this afternoon, God forbid, I don\u2019t recommend you do that, but it\u2019s already been paid for.\u00a0 It\u2019s already been paid for!\u00a0 So it\u2019s seated, hapax<\/em> and then this language, tetelestai i<\/em>ndicates everything has been paid for, past, present and future.\u00a0 And you say well, what does this have to do with eternal security.\u00a0 It has everything to do with eternal security because in the minds of people that think you can lose your salvation, and I know this to be true because I used to think, at one time in my Christian life, that you could lose your salvation.\u00a0 My focus was always some sin I might commit in the future.\u00a0 But if I\u2019m understanding my Bible correctly even the sins that I commit in the future have been paid for, singularly by Jesus Christ.\n\nSo it indeed is finished!\u00a0 And no extra charge for this but this is sort of the great problem with the Roman Catholic view of the mass, which they view as transubstantiation, meaning when they partake of the elements Christ is being re-crucified at every mass.\u00a0 Now in addition to that being cannibalism it would blatantly contradict the hapax, one time.\u00a0 We don\u2019t believe in a perpetual re-crucifixion of Jesus over and over again.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what our Bibles tell us.\u00a0 We believe that Jesus paid one time for every sin, past, present and future, and we, at the communion table celebrate looking back at what He did.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus say \u201cdo this in\u201d what? \u201cremembrance of me, so we don\u2019t look at the\u2026 when we celebrate communion or the Lord\u2019s Table at this church we don\u2019t look at it through the lens of transubstantiation or kind of a variation of it, consubstantiation, which I won\u2019t get into but we look at it through remembrance of what Jesus has done.\u00a0 We look at it looking back to enhance our gratitude.\n\nSo all of this to say\u2026 two points we went over today, if a believer can lose their salvation then Christ has failed in His role at the right hand of the Father as our intercessor and advocate.\u00a0 And number 2, you don\u2019t need to worry about some sin in your future that was going to somehow disqualify you from eternal life because Christ\u2019s death paid for that sin as well.\n\nNow one of the things that people say is well, if that\u2019s true then I\u2019m just going to go out and sin as a Christian.\u00a0 So you want to come back next week and I\u2019ll try to explain to you why you shouldn\u2019t do that.\u00a0 There\u2019s some losses to be experienced if you go out and to that, they just don\u2019t have to do with hell.\u00a0 So this is a good point to stop and we\u2019ll release people if they need to take off and we\u2019ll go ahead and open it up for questions.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t