{"id":19130,"date":"2016-11-27T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-27T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-039\/"},"modified":"2016-11-27T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-11-27T06:00:00","slug":"soteriology-039","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-039\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 039"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[100],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19130","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-2-timothy","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 039","sermon_date":"20161127","sermon_month":"11","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":4254,"sermon_slides":4075,"sermon_mp3":4086,"sermon_id":"1127161136351","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":100,"chapter_and_verse":"2:11-13","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 39, 2 Timothy 2:11-13\n\nNovember 27, 2016\n\nIt\u2019s nice to be back; I want to thank Jim McGowan for doing double duty last week; he does double duty every day though, he\u2019s that kind of guy.\u00a0 He\u2019s the one that made all those handouts too.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t going to say that because I want him to get his reward from God and not man so I just stole it from him, since everybody is focused on him now, and his generosity.\n\nLet\u2019s open our Bibles to 1 Timothy 2:11-13.\u00a0 My goal, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to be able to achieve it, is to finish this series by the end of this year and we don\u2019t have that many Sundays left till the end of this year, I think we only have five Sundays left and one of those is Christmas.\u00a0 Did you guys know we\u2019re having church service on Christmas?\u00a0 We\u2019re not going to be having Sunday School, so that means I have four Sundays.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to have a regular church service from 10:00 to 11:30.\u00a0 So Sunday School on the 25th<\/sup> is canceled because Christmas falls on Sunday this year.\n\nWe are in the middle of a soteriology study and one of the things that you study in soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation, is eternal security. \u00a0And eternal security is the idea that once saved always saved and a lot of people just haven\u2019t come to the conclusion that they\u2019re saved even though they\u2019ve placed their trust in Christ.\u00a0 And this is an issue of great debate in the body of Christ so I wanted to really slow down and focus in on this and to get you familiar with the issue of eternal security because I believe that if whatever you settle on this it shapes really your whole Christian life.\u00a0 Are you serving God out of fear or gratitude is really what it comes down to.\u00a0\u00a0 And a lot of people believe that they\u2019re saved by grace through faith but then they go into their Christian lives and they say well, all that is true but I\u2019ve got to maintain my salvation through my own works.\u00a0 That\u2019s how a lot of people think and I\u2019m trying to explain to us that that\u2019s really not what the Bible says.\u00a0 In other words, if you believe that you\u2019re living beneath your privileges in Christ.\n\nSo we went through I think about thirteen arguments that I think are very strong, arguing for the eternal security of the believer.\u00a0 And most teachings on this stop right there and they never give the other side of the equation.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the reason this study is taking a little bit longer than most studies.\u00a0 I wanted to not just teach you about eternal security but I wanted to show you passages that people use to deny eternal security, which involves more labor, more work, more time, more of a commitment on my part and your part to teach this accurately, because I wanted you to be secure in your salvation, not just based on knowing certain verses but knowing how to explain the verses that at first glance seem to argue against your position.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what really puts you on the cutting edge, not just articulating your own case.\u00a0 Anybody can get up and articulate their own talking points; it\u2019s being able to interact with the opposition, that\u2019s what really sets you apart, I think, as a servant of God.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re talking with somebody that doesn\u2019t believe in security and they bring up this passage or that passage or that passage, could you answer them in love.\n\nSo here are the categories that we\u2019re looking at in term of passages that deny security allegedly.\u00a0 And we are focused on the passages from Paul and here are all the passages from Paul that I could think of that allegedly deny the security of the believer.\u00a0 And guess what?\u00a0 We\u2019re finished with every single one of them except one of those we skipped, this one here, 2 Timothy 2:12 and it really finds itself in a context of verses 11-13.\u00a0 Now we\u2019ve gone through 2 Timothy in this church in depth so some of you may remember this, I think we taught on this, I think about a year ago at this time.\u00a0 But some of you may not remember what was happening a year ago let alone last week.\n\nSo let\u2019s go through this again; this is 1 Timothy 2:11-13.\u00a0 This is a key set of verses, particularly verse 12, that people use to deny security.\u00a0 And it says this, Paul writing to Timothy: \u201cIt is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;\u00a0 [12] If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us;\u201d oh-oh\u2026 And then verse 13, \u201cIf we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.\u201d\n\nSo what you discover here in these verses, verses 11-13 are four \u201cif\u2014then\u201d kind of clauses.\u00a0 The first one is not that difficult, it\u2019s in verse 11, if we died with Christ we will live with Christ.\u00a0 When you placed your personal faith in Christ, according to Romans 6, you were baptized\u2026 now Romans 6 is not talking about water baptism, it\u2019s talking about identification.\u00a0 Generally when the New Testament uses the word baptism it is talking about water baptism but sometimes the context tells you it\u2019s not talking about water baptism, it\u2019s talking about a positional truth because baptism simply means identification.\u00a0 In other words, when\u00a0 you trusted Christ something positionally happened to you, Romans 6.\u00a0\u00a0 You were baptized or identified into Christ\u2019s death, burial, resurrection and ascension.\u00a0 That\u2019s your position in Christ.\n\nSo Paul is just rehearsing this at the end of his life because this is the last letter Paul wrote and he says if we died with Christ, which is what happened to you when\u00a0 you trusted Him, you will live with Him.\u00a0 So you are living with Him and you will live with Him one day in His future kingdom.\u00a0 That\u2019s your position.\u00a0 And then the next clause is sort of problematic; it says if we endure with Him we will reign with Him.\u00a0 So now he\u2019s not talking about something which is automatic, he\u2019s talking about the necessity of the believer to endure with Christ in life, not to prove they\u2019re saved but to qualify for authority.\n\nNow the big problem is verse 12, if we deny Christ He will deny us.\u00a0 Now how do we handle the second part of verse 12.\u00a0 Well, there are four views on verse 12,\u00a0 three of which are bad, one of which I think is good.\u00a0 The good one, the correct one, I have it at the bottom, but a lot of people have adopted this view that this is just hypothetical, and I discover that in a lot of commentators because they don\u2019t really believe that Christ could ever deny a believer anything so they just use what I like to call the Disney world example.\u00a0 That\u2019s the best way I can explain this view.\n\nIt\u2019s like you pack your kids up, you take them all the way or Orlando and then you get into Disney world and the kids start acting up, misbehaving, and as a parent you say if you don\u2019t straighten up right now we\u2019re going to go home, we\u2019re just going to pack everybody up and go home.\u00a0 Have you guys ever tried that?\u00a0 And\u00a0 you know in the back of your mind that that\u2019s not true because look at all this money you spent to get into this place and then they charge you $25.00 for a drink of water and you\u2019ve traveled all the way across the country so you know in the back of your mind you\u2019re not going to pack up and go home but the kids don\u2019t know that so they straighten up.\u00a0 So that\u2019s sort of how a lot of people look at these very sharp warning passages.\u00a0 God is threatening people with something that will never happen.\n\nI do not believe this is a hypothetical because what is at stake with Timothy is rewards, as I\u2019ll show you.\u00a0 Timothy\u2019s salvation is not at stake but there is an issue related to potential loss of rewards, which is not hypothetical at all, it\u2019s true.\u00a0 So the hypothetical to me makes God mischievous and dishonest and a misrepresenter.\u00a0 And the hypothetical view underplays the actual severity of the circumstance.\n\nNow the Arminians come along and they say well if we deny Him, He will deny us, they basically interpret that as you\u2019re going to lose\u00a0 your salvation.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why I\u2019m covering this verse now.\u00a0 You can have salvation then God can deny it one day and rip the carpet out from under you.\u00a0 There\u2019s a much better way of understanding this verse as I\u2019ll show you.\u00a0 And beyond that the Arminian view would contradict the very clear passages that we\u2019ve already gone over that teach once saved always saved.\n\nThe Calvinistic view is really not that much better.\u00a0 And whenever I say \u201cCalvinistic\u201d someone will say well, I\u2019m a Calvinist and I don\u2019t believe that.\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m defining Calvinism by how it was originally developed and Calvinists in its original sense basically taught this view that if you are one of the elect and you know you\u2019re one of the elect because God has given you the gift of faith, if you have that gift of faith then you have to be an overcomer in daily life and that\u2019s what they call the perseverance of the saints.\u00a0 In other words, there has to be fruit, it has to be in abundance and so what if you don\u2019t have that fruit in abundance, then maybe you were never one of the what?\u00a0 The elect, because if you\u2019re having any doubts in\u00a0 your Christian life then you obviously don\u2019t have the gift of faith, because what God gives in terms of faith can\u2019t fail.\n\nAnd see the problem with both Arminianism and Calvinism, and this is why I speak against them over and over again, is they deny the assurance of salvation.\u00a0 There is no assurance of salvation in either system; they just come at it from slightly different angles.\u00a0 Arminianism says you had it but lost it; the Calvinist system says you never had it to begin with.\u00a0 So whichever way you want to go on this you\u2019re always doubting, am I going to make it to heaven.\n\nI do not think the Calvinistic understanding of this verse is correct; why do I say that?\u00a0\u00a0 You notice the repetition of the first person plural pronoun \u201cwe\u201d?\u00a0 See that?\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cIt is a trustworthy statement if we\u201d that would be Paul and Timothy, right, \u201cif we die with Him we will also live with Him.\u201d\u00a0 He says it again, \u201cif we endure with Him we will reign with Him.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf we deny Him He will deny us.\u201d\u00a0 So he doesn\u2019t just say \u201cwe\u201d he says \u201cus.\u201d\u00a0 If we are faithless He remains faithful for He cannot deny Himself.\u201d\u00a0 So Paul is putting himself into the same category as Timothy in this warning.\n\nNow is there any doubt that Paul was saved?\u00a0 I mean, obviously Paul was saved.\u00a0 Paul is the apostle who wrote thirteen letters of the New Testament that we call the Pauline letters.\u00a0 He was the apostle to the Gentiles and there\u2019s virtually no doubt that Paul was saved.\u00a0 So this idea that maybe Timothy is saved, maybe not, if he endures then he\u2019s really saved, if he does not endure then he\u2019s not saved, then you have to put Paul into that same category because Paul doesn\u2019t say you, you, you, you, Timothy, he says we, we, we, we, us.\u00a0 So if you\u2019re going to have doubts about Timothy\u2019s salvation you\u2019ve got to have doubts about Paul\u2019s salvation.\u00a0 This is a problem with the Calvinist view that says maybe you\u2019re saved, maybe you\u2019re not.\n\nBeyond that we know Paul was saved, was Timothy saved? Well, I think Timothy, there\u2019s no doubt Timothy was saved.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because Paul calls Timothy his \u201cson in the faith.\u201d\u00a0 Does he not?\u00a0 Not his physical son but his spiritual son.\u00a0 And you see that in 2 Timothy 1:2, \u201cTo Timothy, my beloved son\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 If you go down to 2 Timothy 1, verse 5, Paul says, \u201cFor I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is<\/em> in you as well.\u201d\u00a0 Is there any doubt Timothy is saved in Paul\u2019s mind?\n\nAnd back in 1 Timothy 1:5, the first part of this two volume set called 1 and 2 Timothy, Paul writes in 1 Timothy 1:5, \u201cBut the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.\u201d\u00a0 Timothy had the \u201csincere faith.\u201d\u00a0 Timothy is Paul\u2019s son in the faith.\u00a0 I really doubt that Paul would have ever put Timothy in a position of authority in the early church\u2026 and let me backtrack for a minute, think of the position Timothy is in, which church is he pastoring?\u00a0 The church at Ephesus.\u00a0 That\u2019s no small time church, that\u2019s probably the most influential church at the time Paul wrote this.\u00a0 So to hold to the Calvinist view that maybe Timothy is saved, maybe he\u2019s not, it\u2019s just a matter of his endurance, it just doesn\u2019t make any sense because Paul says \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cus\u201d over and over again.\u00a0 And why in the world would Paul put Timothy into that position if there was some lingering question mark whether Timothy was saved.\n\nSo what you have to get out of your mind, \u201cif we deny Him, He will deny us\u201d is you have to get out of your mind this idea of salvation.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the error of Arminianism and Calvinism.\u00a0 They both insert into this context the potentiality of salvation and that\u2019s not in this passage at all.\u00a0 It\u2019s not in the context.\n\nSo if the hypothetical view is wrong, if the Arminian view is wrong, if the Calvinistic view is wrong, which is the correct view, and I\u2019m glad you asked that question, thank you.\u00a0 The correct view of this is the rewards view.\u00a0 Going back to verse 12, 2 Timothy 2:12, what does he say here?\u00a0 \u201cIf we endure we will reign with Him, if we deny Him He will deny us.\u201d\u00a0 Deny us what exactly?\u00a0 Well, the Scripture teaches that there\u2019s coming for every child of God what is called the Bema Seat Judgment, which we\u2019ve talked about already in this class, it\u2019s described in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, it occurs in heaven following the rapture and it\u2019s not a judgment to determine if a person is saved.\u00a0 Once a person trusts Christ they have passed from death unto life, John 5:24, your salvation is no longer an issue.\n\n[1 Corinthians 3:10-15, \u201cAccording to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. [11] For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. [12] Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, [<\/strong>13] each man\u2019s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be<\/em> revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man\u2019s work. [14] If any man\u2019s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. [15] If any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d\u00a0 John 5:24, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d]\n\nWhat is an issue is rewards that we have the potential of receiving above and beyond salvation and Paul, in the 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 passage teaches very clearly that not us but our works will be taken through a fire.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going through a fire, you\u2019re not going through a fire, but my works will go through a fire to test their quality.\u00a0 And those things that are gold, silver and costly stones, which are all non-combustible, will survive the fire.\u00a0 Those things that we do as Christians out of carnal motives or means, called wood, hay and stubble, which are all combustible, will go through the fire and be consumed and whatever is finished after the fire finishes its consuming work will be rewards that we will either receive or not receive above and beyond salvation.\n\nSo Paul has already explained that principle in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 and as we\u2019ve talked about there are going to be five crowns given or not given.\u00a0 There\u2019s the incorruptible crown for the believer that gains mastery over the flesh, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 9:24-24, \u201cDo you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only<\/em> one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. [25] Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it<\/em> to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. [26] Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; [27] but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.\u201d]\n\nPaul himself was fearful that he would be disqualified for that.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Paul keeps saying \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cus.\u201d \u201cIf we deny Him, He will deny us.\u201d\n\nThere\u2019s the crown of rejoicing for the soul winner, the crown of life for enduring trials, the crown of glory for faithfully shepherding God\u2019s people, the crown of righteousness which is described in this same book we\u2019re in, for longing for His appearing.\n\nPeople always ask these kind of questions, well, are there more than five?\u00a0 I have no idea, these are the only five that I know of.\u00a0 I mean, if there\u2019s a sixth one I\u2019ll be pleasantly surprised.\u00a0 The only thing I can operate on is what the Bible reveals.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t understand all of it, I just understand that this is a reality; there is a judgment coming for the Christian, for rewards.\u00a0 We\u2019re told over and over again, at the top of the screen, that we\u2019re going to take our crowns and do what with them?\u00a0 Strut around heaven and say look at me, look at me, look at me.\u00a0 I won\u2019t be able to do that because I\u2019ll be in a resurrected state.\u00a0 I won\u2019t even be able to get in an argument with the people on Facebook any more I\u2019ll be so spiritual, because sin won\u2019t even be a possibility.\u00a0 So what I\u2019ll do is I\u2019ll be able to take my crowns and I\u2019ll be able to cast them at His feet.\u00a0 Now why would I do that?\u00a0 Revelation 4:10.\u00a0 [Revelation 4:10, \u201cthe twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying,\u201d]\u00a0 Because I\u2019m trying to pay Him back?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 Because I\u2019m trying to earn something from Him?\u00a0 No!\u00a0 I\u2019m doing it out of gratitude.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Now wouldn\u2019t it be kind of embarrassing to get to you and there\u2019s nothing in your hand to cast at his feet?\u00a0\u00a0 And I teach this in the classroom and the students always say I don\u2019t really care about crowns, I just want to get to heaven, that\u2019s all I care about.\u00a0 Well A, if you don\u2019t care about crowns you don\u2019t care about the New Testament because the New Testament unfolds the doctrine of the crowns and rewards.\u00a0 And B, don\u2019t you want to stand before the Lord one day with the ability to glorify Him to the greatest extent possible, based on what He did for you?\u00a0 So I think we ought to be interested in crowns and I just have never understood this mindset that these people have, I don\u2019t care about rewards.\u00a0 I mean, it just doesn\u2019t factor into how I think.\n\nSo what is at issue and is with Timothy, going back to verse 12, second clause, 12b, \u201c\u2026 If we deny Him, He also will deny us;\u201d it\u2019s not salvation, it is a potential denial of rewards.\u00a0 Salvation is guaranteed, rewards aren\u2019t.\u00a0 That\u2019s why Paul talks in 1 Corinthians 3:15 about the man who is saved but he\u2019s like escaping a burning building. He\u2019s in heaven, praise the Lord, but what does he have to show for his Christian life?\u00a0 Nothing, because he started with the right foundation but built the walls with wood, hay and stubble.\n\nAnd so there will be a potential loss for people at the Bema Seat Judgment.\u00a0 That\u2019s why 1 John 2:28 says when Jesus comes back don\u2019t be ashamed at His coming.\u00a0 [1 John 2:28, \u201cNow, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.\u201d]\u00a0 Now why in the world would I be ashamed at the coming of Christ?\u00a0 Because I\u2019ve invested my life in all of the wrong things and I\u2019m not fully rewarded.\n\n2 John 8 and Revelation 3:11 both warn us about losing crowns, losing rewards.\u00a0 [2 John 1:8, \u201cWatch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.\u201d\u00a0 Revelation 3:11, \u201c'I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.\u201d]\n\nSo at this Bema Seat Judgment some are rewarded some are not; some are rewarded more than others.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice that what he says here, he goes beyond rewards, he says, \u201cIf we endure with Him, we will\u201d what? \u201creign with Him.\u201d\u00a0 So Jesus is coming back to set up His millennial kingdom, which will last a thousand years on planet earth and then this earth will be destroyed by fire and it will move from there into the eternal state.\u00a0\u00a0 And what are we doing during all that time period?\u00a0 We are ruling and reigning with Him, not that He needs my help or your help but he allows into that process by delegating us authority.\n\nNow over in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, Jesus makes some statements about future authority and he says in Luke 19:17, \u201cAnd he said to him, \u2018Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Now notice that this slave is rewarded not based on his success\u2026 does the Bible say well done thy good and successful servant?\u00a0 It never says that, does it.\u00a0 It says, \u201cWell done\u2026my good and\u201d what? \u201cfaithful servant.\u201d\u00a0 So this guy that\u2019s been faithful, he gets ten cities to rule over.\u00a0\u00a0 And then you go down to verse 19 and it says this: \u201cAnd he said to him also,\u201d this would be another, \u201c\u2018And you are to be over five cities.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 And we look at that and say well, that\u2019s not fair, why does one guy get ten cities to rule over and one guy gets five cities, because after all, isn\u2019t everything supposed to be equal?\u00a0 That\u2019s what Karl Marx taught so it must be true, right?\n\nAnd you know, in this society we\u2019re living in we\u2019re falling for this socialistic siren song where if you\u2019re an achiever\u00a0 you need to be penalized and what you\u2019ve achieved needs to be taken from you and given to the person that didn\u2019t achieve.\u00a0 And it\u2019s a tragic thing, you look at even the way sports are going with kids is\u2026 I\u2019ve read some articles on this, they don\u2019t give trophies for the championship team because we don\u2019t want to make the non-champions feel bad that they weren\u2019t champions so let\u2019s just give everybody a blue ribbon for participation.\u00a0 And so we start to think this way in Christianity.\u00a0 I have some trophies in my office that I won for being on championship teams and there were other\u00a0 years that I wanted to be a champion, like my senior year in high school, but I don\u2019t have a championship trophy because we weren\u2019t the championship team.\u00a0 In fact, we came in fourth place which is one of my lifelong disappointments in the league that we were playing in.\u00a0 I\u2019m gradually getting over bitterness in my life\u2026.\n\nBut we have this mindset everything has to be equal, there\u2019s no such thing as champions, there\u2019s no such thing as winners, there\u2019s no such thing as victors and this is not biblical the way we think.\u00a0 Paul is patterning this whole thing off\u00a0 the Isthmian Games I believe, which is kind of a precursor to our Olympics.\u00a0 There are winners and there are losers.\u00a0 He says every child of God has a potential to win but that doesn\u2019t mean every child of God will win.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why one guy is ruling over ten cities, one guy is ruling over five cities.\n\nSo having understood that, that is what he is talking to Timothy about.\u00a0 \u201cIf we deny Him, He will deny us.\u201d\u00a0 Deny us what? Salvation, the way Calvinism and Arminianism teach it?\u00a0 No, a denial of rewards.\u00a0 And that view that I have, the rewards view, fits the context of 2 Timothy beautifully because what is the circumstances that Timothy is under?\u00a0 Go back to 2 Timothy 1:7-8, I read this verse last night with my daughter because we were at marble slab suffering for the Lord over there, Marble Slab, and there was this big dog, and this dog was BIG, and the owner saw me and Sarah and Anne wasn\u2019t there, she went to the movies, she knows what to do with her time better than we do\u2026 what movie did you see?\u00a0 You don\u2019t want to talk about it, okay.\u00a0 There\u2019s this big dog and it was like\u2026 it looked kind of like a Doberman or a Labrador and it was not a little dog at all, it was big, and the owner says to us, do you want to pet the dog?\u00a0 And I didn\u2019t want to pet the dog until the owner took the dog\u2019s head and put it like a headlock and shut its mouth and I figured out it was safe to pet the dog so I went and petted the dog and Sarah didn\u2019t want to do it.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say I blame her.\n\nSo that night we went over this verse here that God has not given us a spirit of fear.\u00a0 So I try to teach things to my daughter that come up in the day, acquiescing to fear.\u00a0 And so this verse came to mind, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, \u201cFor God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. [8] Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me<\/em> in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.\u201d\u00a0 So what is the circumstances of 2 Timothy?\u00a0 We\u2019ve gone through this in depth at this church but you remember that Paul had put Timothy into a position of authority over the church at Ephesus and once that happened a mad man named Nero ascended to the throne and he began to burn Rome and blame it on the Christians.\u00a0 So this is something that Christianity had never experienced; this is the first formal wave of empire wide persecution against the early church.\u00a0 And the evidence of it is they\u2019ve taken Paul and put him in prison and Timothy is very young to begin with, because it says in these books don\u2019t let people look down on you because of your youth.\u00a0 And he\u2019s sickly beyond that because Paul says that verse that the Baptists don\u2019t like, take a little wine for your stomach, upset stomach. So apparently drinking some wine is okay (as long as you don\u2019t overdo it) for medicinal purposes.\u00a0 [1 Timothy 5:23, \u201cNo longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.\u201d]\n\nSo Timothy is in this huge job, he\u2019s standing in Paul\u2019s shoes and this first wave of persecution has broken out and the guy is afraid, as\u00a0 you would be and as I would be.\u00a0 So what is he thinking about doing?\u00a0 Backing off.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be too assertive in my connection with Paul because Paul got thrown in jail and I don\u2019t want to get thrown in jail to Timothy is just shrinking back in what God has called him to do, he\u2019s elevating, as we have a tendency to do, fear of man over fear of God.\u00a0 So in that context what does Paul tell Timothy?\u00a0 \u201cIf we endure with Him we will reign with Him.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, if you don\u2019t shrink back due to fear you will enter the next life fully rewarded and having all of the authority in the millennial kingdom that God wants you to have.\n\nBut if \u201cwe deny Him\u201d as you, Timothy are starting to do with me, you\u2019re disassociating yourself from me Paul says, because you\u2019re afraid of suffering, \u201cIf we deny Him He will deny us,\u201d deny us what?\u00a0 Deny us authority, and deny us reward.\u00a0 So the view of loss of rewards fits the circumstances of the book of 2 Timothy beautifully.\u00a0 In fact, it fits it so beautifully I don\u2019t know why anybody would look for another view.\n\nBut what is happening with many systematic theologians is they buy into a theological system, whether it\u2019s Calvinism or Arminianism and then it\u2019s kind of like the way our Supreme Court works, we have our conclusion, now let\u2019s go find the evidence that supports our conclusion, which is not scholarship.\u00a0 And theologians are just as bad as members of the Supreme Court; they figure out what they want to believe and they start rifling through the Bible to find verses that support their view.\u00a0 And so, oh, this one looks good here, \u201cIf we deny Him, He will deny us,\u201d that\u2019s got to be a loss of salvation, Arminianism, or it\u2019s got to be maybe he never had authentic salvation, Calvinism.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the furthest thing from Paul\u2019s mind if you simply put the verses back into their original circumstance.\u00a0 Paul is not debating whether Timothy is saved, I\u2019ve showed you why earlier; that\u2019s not an issue.\u00a0 What is an issue is his ruling that he\u2019s going to receive in terms of rewards and authority it the Bema Seat Judgment of rewards.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019s talking about.\n\nNow \u201cIf we deny Him, He will deny us,\u201d the NIV, some of you may be NIV positive, the NIV completely messes this up and this is why everybody is confused on this, because of the way the NIV, the New International Version, we used to call it the New Inspired Version as a joke, translates this\u2026 the NIV generally is a good translation if\u00a0 you\u2019re doing devotional reading; if you want\u00a0 for your life a warm fuzzy thought for the day the NIV is not bad because it\u2019s a paraphrase.\u00a0 If you want to do in depth study like the kind we do at this church, I do not recommend the NIV.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never quoted from the NIV in any teaching I\u2019ve ever done at this church other than to show that it\u2019s incorrect in places.\u00a0 I use the New American Standard Bible; if you have a very strong view on manuscript theory you might be comfortable with the NKJV, the KJV is sort of hard for people because of the rough these and thous but the NKJV is very good.\u00a0 The NKJV and the NASV are very different than the NIV.\u00a0 The NKJV and the NIV are word for word translations; they are not paraphrases.\u00a0 The NIV is more of a paraphrase so people say well, should I use the NIV or the NASB or the NKJB and my answer is what\u2019s your goal?\u00a0 If you just want kind of a rough outline of things and generally know what\u2019s going on then a periphrastic version might be fine. But if you want to do in depth study where you\u2019re talking about eternal security, trying to defend a certain doctrine then you don\u2019t want the NIV, you would want the NASB or the NKJB.\n\nNotice how the NIV mistranslates this.\u00a0 It says, second part of verse 12, \u201cIf we disown Him, He will disown us.\u201d\u00a0 See the word \u201cdisown\u201d there?\u00a0 And so the Arminian interpreter looks at that and says that\u2019s salvation, that\u2019s \u201cdisown.\u201d\u00a0 So if I don\u2019t persevere then God is going to disown me and I\u2019m here to tell you that that is a terrible translation. \u00a0The proper translation is not disown, but it is to deny.\u00a0 It has to do with the denial of somebody\u2019s reward rather than yanking away the fact that they were ever a child of God to begin with.\n\nNow why do I say that?\u00a0 Because the verb that\u2019s used here, correctly translated \u201cdeny\u201d in the NASB, is mistranslated as \u201cdisown\u201d in the NIV,\u00a0 is arn<\/em>e<\/em>omai<\/em>, is how you pronounce that, it\u2019s used twice at the end of verse 12. \u00a0Now when you study that verb what you\u2019ll discover is that\u2019s the exact same verb used to describe Peter\u2019s three-fold denial of Christ.\u00a0 Peter\u2019s denial of Christ is recorded many times in the Gospels, Matthew 26:70-72, Mark 14:68, 70, Luke 22:57; John 13:38; John 18:25, 27.\n\n[Matthew 26:70-72, But he denied it<\/em> before them all, saying, \u2018I do not know what you are talking about.\u2019\u00a0 [71] When he had gone out to the gateway, another servant-girl<\/em> saw him and said to those who were there, \u2018This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.\u2019 [72] And again he denied it<\/em> with an oath, \u2018I do not know the man.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Mark 14:68, \u201cBut he denied it, saying, \u2018I neither know nor understand what you are talking about.\u2019 And he went out onto the porch, and a rooster crowed. [70] \u201cBut again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders were again saying to Peter, \u2018Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 Luke 22:57, \u201cBut he denied it, saying, \u2018Woman, I do not know Him.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 John 13:38; \u201cJesus answered, \u2018Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times.\u2019\u201d John 18:25, 27.\u00a0 [25] \u201cNow Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, \u2018You are not also one of His disciples, are you?\u2019 He denied it, and said, \u2018I am not.\u2019 John 18:27, \u201cPeter then denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.\u201d]\n\nAs\u00a0 you go through those passage what you\u2019ll discover is the same word, arn<\/em>e<\/em>omai<\/em>, that\u2019s used over and over again, the exact same verb that\u2019s used by Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:12b, \u201cIf we deny Him He will deny us.\u201d\u00a0 So when Peter denied Christ what did Peter need?\u00a0 He did not need salvation; there is absolutely unequivocally no doubt that Peter is saved.\u00a0 What Peter needed was not salvation after he denied Christ but he needed what?\u00a0 Restoration.\u00a0 So when Paul uses this same word relative to Timothy he\u2019s saying Timothy, you know what?\u00a0 If you think back you\u2019re on the same course that Peter was on because you\u2019re about ready to succumb to the fear of man rather than the fear of God and should that happen you\u2019re not disowned.\u00a0 To say you\u2019re no longer a child of God is to say Peter was no longer a child of God when he did it.\u00a0 Peter didn\u2019t need salvation after he denied Christ; he needed restoration of fellowship.\n\nSo Timothy, you\u2019re on that same circumstance.\u00a0 The exact same circumstances that worked in Peter\u2019s life a little over three decades ago are now at work in your life.\u00a0\u00a0 And you\u2019ve got a choice to make here; you\u2019re either going to endure in your calling, under God\u2019s power as God called you to do it, or you\u2019re going to succumb to the fear of man.\u00a0 If you succumb to the fear of man what is going to happen is not that your salvation is going to be yanked away from you.\u00a0 What is at stake here is a denial of rewards; that\u2019s what\u2019s at stake, which fits very nicely to the argument of the book.\n\nAnd as you go through the whole book of 2 Timothy what you\u2019ll discover is this is a reward oriented book.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a book about maybe you\u2019re saved, maybe you\u2019re not; that\u2019s just foreign to the book\u2019s meaning.\u00a0 For example, notice 2 Timothy 1:18, this is the first place I believe Paul introduces the doctrine of rewards.\u00a0 He says, \u201cthe Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day\u2014\u201c this is this man, Onesiphorus, \u201cand you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.\u201d\u00a0 Now this man is going to receive something special \u201cfrom the Lord on that day.\u201d\u00a0 What day?\u00a0 The judgment seat.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because he endured in His calling.\n\nNotice 2 Timothy 2, and notice verses 4-6, \u201cNo soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.\u00a0 [5] Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.\u201d\u00a0 [6, \u201cThe hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.\u201d] What is Paul talking about there, competing according to the rules.\u00a0 I mean, why should Timothy compete according to the rules?\u00a0 To receive the maximum reward that he has a potential of receiving at the Bema Seat Judgment.\n\nNotice chapter 4, verse 1, \u201cI solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to\u201d what? \u201cjudge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:\u201d Then he goes on and he says, [4:2] \u201cpreach the word; [be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.\u201d]\u00a0 Why should he \u201cpreach the word\u201d?\u00a0 Because there\u2019s a future judgment where God right now is looking over your shoulder and He\u2019s either going to reward you or not reward\u00a0 you based on your faithfulness, not your success, your faithfulness in your calling.\u00a0 Verse 7 of chapter 4 Paul says, \u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;\u201d Paul was going off into glory fully satisfied because he had finished the course that God gave him and he did not succumb to the fear of man.\n\nVerse 8, well so what?\u00a0 Here\u2019s the so what, verse 8, \u201cin the future there is laid up for me\u201d what?\u00a0 What does it say? \u201cthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day;\u201d and I like this part here, \u201cand not only to me,\u201d in other words, Timothy, I\u2019m going to receive it but it\u2019s not just for me, it\u2019s for you too.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he says \u201cwe\u201d and \u201cus\u201d over and over in 2 Timothy 2:11-13, \u201cand not to me only \u00a0but also to all who have\u201d what? \u201cloved His appearing.\u201d\u00a0 You mean we\u2019re all just not going to get a participation trophy?\u00a0 No, we\u2019re not, it says \u201cto all\u201d and then it gives a more limited category, \u201cwho have loved His appearing.\u201d\n\nApparently there\u2019s a lot of believers out there that are saved and have their fire insurance paid\u00a0 up but really are more in love with the world than they are God.\u00a0 In fact, in this chapter, we covered it last time I was with you, he mentions a guy named Demas who fell in love with the world and left Paul.\u00a0 So Demas is held out as an example of a believer that will be unrewarded, where Paul was going off into glory anticipating full reward.\u00a0\u00a0 And then you go down to verse 14, there may be a reference there to rewards because it talks about Alexander the coppersmith, may the Lord \u201crepay him according to his deeds.\u201d \u00a0[Verse 14, \u201cAlexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.\u201d\u2019]\n\nSo what am I really trying to get at?\u00a0 What I\u2019m trying to get at is the whole book of 2 Timothy is a book about rewards.\u00a0 So therefore should it be unusual to interpret verses 11-13 as related to that same theme?\u00a0 And this is what you\u2019re not getting with systematic theologians many times; you\u2019re not getting the cover to cover treatment of the book.\u00a0 You\u2019re getting a cherry-picking of a verse here and there but very little treatment on what the whole book says.\n\nSo don\u2019t read the Bible through the lens of your theology, whatever\u00a0 your theology is.\u00a0 Read\u2026 and develop your theology from the flow of the Bible.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why I\u2019ve moved away from the Calvinistic view and the Arminian view and moved into the reward view.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t come out and say the reward view, that sounds like a good one, let\u2019s scramble through the Bible and find some verses.\u00a0 I came to it the opposite way.\u00a0 And before, when I used to call myself, first I called myself a five point Calvinist for many years, and I called myself a four point Calvinist, and then people would challenge me and I\u2019d look at the Bible and I\u2019d say well, I\u2019m a three and a half point Calvinist.\u00a0 Now when people say well, are you a Calvinist or are you Arminian I say I\u2019m a Biblicist.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe in either system because both systems, while they may be well intentioned, have major deficiencies.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want my reading of the Bible to be hemmed in by any system; I want to develop the way I think about certain issues, like eternal security, from what the Bible actually says.\n\nAnd when you hear a lot of preaching and teaching on the radio and on TV what you\u2019re getting is cherry picking a lot of times.\u00a0 The preacher will make a point and then he\u2019ll cite a bunch of verses and if you don\u2019t know the Bible well you say to yourself well, that must be true, it\u2019s biblical.\u00a0 Quoting verses is not validation of anything because who else quotes verses?\u00a0 The devil quotes verses; he quoted verses to Jesus in the wilderness there in Luke 4 and Matthew 4.\n\nAnd when, not if, when the Jehovah\u2019s Witness come to your door they\u2019re going to give you literature and it\u2019s going to have an awful lot of Bible verses in it and in fact a lot of those folks know the Bible better than we do and they\u2019ll give you all kinds of verses.\u00a0 And your\u00a0 average person will sit there and say well\u2026 see, here\u2019s who the cults prey on, p-r-e-y, not p-r-a-y, cults prey on people who believe the Bible is true but really don\u2019t know a lot about the Bible.\u00a0 So the Mormons will come to your door and they will talk about how Jesus made a guest appearance in North America through the ministry (in quotes) \u201cof Joseph Smith.\u201d\u00a0 And you say well, where is that in the Bible?\n\nAnd they\u2019ll give you a verse, they\u2019ll take you to Ezekiel 37 which talks about two sticks and it talks about the stick of Joseph, who they say is what?\u00a0 Joseph Smith, being merged into this other stick.\u00a0 So the revelation of Joseph Smith is just as valuable as this other stick which is the revelation of Jesus Christ.\u00a0 [Ezekiel 37:15-17, \u201cThe word of the LORD came again to me saying, [16] \u2018And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, \u2018For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions\u2019; then take another stick and write on it, \u2018For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.\u2019 [17] \u2018Then join them for yourself one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand.\u201d]\n\nNow we laugh at that but do you realize how many people have been hoodwinked by that, because my goodness, it\u2019s right there in the Bible, it mentions Joseph right there.\u00a0 And if you go back into the context of Ezekiel 37 you\u2019ll discover it\u2019s not talking about Joseph Smith at all, it\u2019s talking about the millennial kingdom and it\u2019s talking about the fact that in the millennial kingdom there\u2019s not going to be a divided kingdom any more as there was when Solomon left the throne but the kingdom will be united again.\u00a0 It\u2019s a millennial passage, it has zero to do with North America! Zero to do with Joseph Smith!\u00a0 Zero to do with Mormonism!\n\nAnd yet Mormons are showing up at people\u2019s doors and picking people off with an argument just like that because there\u2019s a lot of people out there who really sincerely believe the Bible is true but they\u2019re not investigating the Bible for themselves and they\u2019re really not in churches that teach them anything about the Bible.\u00a0 They\u2019re getting five points for success, three points and a poem, whatever it is they\u2019re getting.\u00a0 And so they really don\u2019t know a lot about the Bible so they\u2019re like what Paul says in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, they\u2019re \u201ctossed to and fro.\u201d \u00a0And they\u2019re not rooted and grounded in God\u2019s Word. [Ephesians 4:14, \u201cThat we henceforth<\/em> be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and<\/em> cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;\u201d KJV]\n\nSo all of that to say when you\u2019re developing a theology it\u2019s very important not to piecemeal the Bible but to look at the Bible in its context, and if you look at the whole context of 2 Timothy 2:11-13 and you\u2019ll see very clearly that it\u2019s not talking about loss of salvation or maybe you never had salvation; it\u2019s talking about the potentiality of loss of rewards.\u00a0 [2 Timothy 1:11, \u201cIt is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;\u00a0 [12] If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; [13] If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.\u201d]\n\nAnd Paul is just saying this: Timothy, you don\u2019t\u00a0 have to go the same route Peter went; you don\u2019t have to deny Christ, you can stay strong in the midst of persecution and it may cost you your life but you will enter glory fully rewarded.\u00a0 That\u2019s his whole point.\u00a0 So there at the bottom of the screen, if your eyes are good, and I\u2019m going to pull up something here on my Kindle, if I can find it, I want to quote something out of a book.\u00a0 At the bottom of the screen it says: \u201cPerseverance\u201d and you can put in there reward, \u201c(UNLIKE Eternal Security) is not guaranteed.\u201d\u00a0 Eternal security, arrival in heaven is guaranteed.\u00a0 Your perseverance in Christ is not guaranteed in terms of your daily life.\u00a0 Nor is your reward and degree of reigning in the coming kingdom guaranteed.\u00a0 You\u2019re in the kingdom, that\u2019s guaranteed; you don\u2019t go into some kind of Protestant purgatory somewhere but the degree of reward that\u00a0 you wield in that kingdom is contingent on choices you\u2019re making right now as a Christian.\u00a0 Do you follow?\u00a0 And this is what the Calvinistic system and the Arminian system both don\u2019t understand.\n\nI\u2019m quoting here from Denis Rokser\u2019s book which I highly recommend to you, it\u2019s called Shall Never Perish Forever,<\/em> it\u2019s the best book on eternal security that\u2019s readable that I\u2019ve ever seen.\u00a0 A lot of my ideas for this series are coming from this book, but he makes this statement here in chapter 13, I don\u2019t have the page number because I\u2019m doing it on the Kindle, the antichrist\u2019s microchip stuff here, but it says here, he says, \u201cThe Bible actually teaches that it is possible for one who is eternally saved by God\u2019s grace to ellipsis,\u201d and he lists all the things that a born again child of God can do.\u00a0 \u201cIt is possible for them to commit idolatry and apostasy, 1 Kings 11:1-10.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to believe for a while, Luke 8:13.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them not to continue in the Word of God, John 8:31.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them not to abide in Christ, John 15:1-8.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to be disqualified in the race of the Christian life, which was Paul\u2019s fear for himself, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to resist God\u2019s chastening and correction to the point of death, 1 Corinthians 11:30-32.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to stray from the faith, 1 Timothy 1:5-6.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to shipwreck the faith, 1 Timothy 1:18-20.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to fall away from the faith, 1 Timothy 4:1-3.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to deny the faith, 1 Timothy 5:8. It\u2019s possible for them to cast off initial faith and follow Satan, 1 Timothy 5:12-15.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to stray from the faith by loving money, 1 Timothy 6:9-10.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to stray from the faith by professing false doctrine, 1 Timothy 6:20-21.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to deny Christ and be faithless, he quotes the verse we\u2019re looking at here, 2 Timothy 2:11-13.\u00a0 It\u2019s possible for them to have their faith overthrown, 2 Timothy 2:14-18.\n\nIf these things aren\u2019t possible why would there be all these warnings to the believer.\u00a0 He goes on and he says: \u201cOld Testament and New Testament believers such as Lot\u00a0 lived in ongoing carnality.\u00a0 Such as Solomon who died worshipping false deities.\u00a0 Such as Saul who committed suicide after visiting a witch.\u00a0 Such as soil number 2, the believer who believed for a while but when persecution came fell away.\u00a0 Such as the justified regenerated Corinthians, who God disciplined to the point of physical death.\u00a0 Such as Demas, a fellow laborer for the gospel, who forsook Paul, having loved this present world.\u00a0 Such as Alexander and Hymenaeus whose faith was made shipwreck.\u00a0 Such as believers who would not endure sound doctrine but turned to fables, 2 Timothy 4:3-4.\u00a0 Such as the warning passages in Hebrews about apostasy directed towards believers in Christ.\u00a0 More on the warning passages as the series develops.\n\nIf we died with Him we will live with Him; that\u2019s our position.\u00a0 If we endure with Him we will reign.\u00a0 So if I endure under God\u2019s power God is going to reward me by giving me, not entrance into the kingdom but a\u00a0 higher position in the kingdom.\n\nWell, what if I deny Him?\u00a0 Then He will deny me.\u00a0 Deny me what?\u00a0 Reward and reigning, not entrance.\u00a0 But what about this last part here, this is my favorite part of the whole thing.\u00a0 If we are unfaithful Christ remains what?\u00a0 Faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.\u00a0 What if I screw the whole thing up?\u00a0 What if I trust Christ and build my whole life on wood, hay and stubble?\u00a0 What if, in the case of Timothy I trust Christ, get appointed to leadership in the church at Ephesus but succumb to the fear of man rather than the fear of God, what does that mean?\u00a0 What it means is a denial of reward; what it does not mean is a denial of salvation, because according to verse 13 Christ will never renege on his initial promise of granting the believer the gift of eternal life; that promise is yours.\u00a0 Even if I am unfaithful, the Greek word there in verse 13 for unfaithful is a, which is a<\/em> negation, pisteu\u014d<\/em>, which can be translated unfaithful and faithless.\u00a0 If I am unfaithful to Christ as a Christian and even, God forbid, reach a point in my life where I stop even believing the gospel, the initial promise that God gave me that when I placed my faith in Him I\u2019m saved, that can\u2019t be taken away either.\u00a0 Do we understand that?\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because Jesus made you a promise.\u00a0 John 5:24, \u201cTruly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.\u201d\n\nFor years and years I did not understand grace because I felt that somehow God\u2019s approval was based on what I did as a Christian.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is, I didn\u2019t get my foot in the door by my works so why would I become so deluded in my thinking where I thought that what kept me in the door was my works.\u00a0 That\u2019s grace!\u00a0 Understanding the doctrine of grace is not just understanding the fact that what got you in the door was not works.\u00a0 But it\u2019s also understanding that what keeps you in the door is not works.\u00a0 I probably had about 50% of it right for most of my Christian life and some of these grace teachings I get a little choked up, as you can see, it\u2019s not just theology, it\u2019s personally impact and I share these things because I want you to have the understanding too.\u00a0 Let\u2019s pray.\n\nFather, we went a little long today, I know there\u2019s a lot of questions, but I just marvel at what we have and I just ask for Your forgiveness for not really understanding it, skating over it and help, Father, in this church and this congregation that we may not understand everything about Your Word but we understand this much, that we\u2019re saved by grace and kept by grace.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory.\u00a0 We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u00a0 And God\u2019s people said\u2026 Amen.\u00a0 Thank you for putting up with me.","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