{"id":19131,"date":"2016-12-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-04T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-040\/"},"modified":"2016-12-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-04T06:00:00","slug":"soteriology-040","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-040\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 040"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[104],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19131","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-james","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 040","sermon_date":"20161204","sermon_month":"12","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":5069,"sermon_slides":4092,"sermon_mp3":4100,"sermon_id":"124161022403","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":104,"chapter_and_verse":"5:19-20","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 40,\u00a0 James 5:19-20\n\nDecember 4, 2016\n\nFather, we\u2019re grateful for this morning and grateful for Your grace that saves us and Your grace that keeps us and I pray, Father, that You\u2019ll be with us this morning as we look once again in our Sunday School class into a difficult doctrine, the doctrine of eternal security, and is it really taught in the Bible or not.\u00a0 Help us as we work through some problem passages, and we\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory and we lift these things up in Jesus name, and God\u2019s people said, Amen.\n\nIf we could take our Bibles and open them to the book of James, chapter 5, verses 19-20.\u00a0 We\u2019re continuing to walk thru this outline on soteriology, which is the doctrine of salvation, spending a disproportionate amount of time on eternal security, given the importance of that issue.\u00a0 Eternal security, of course, being the idea that once saved always saved; you can\u2019t lose your salvation in other words, if eternal security is true.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve gone through, I think about 13 reasons why you can never lose your salvation.\u00a0 And the reason this study is taking longer than most is because there\u2019s a lot of passages, they\u2019re found all over the Bible really, that make it look like you can lose your salvation at first glance.\u00a0 Those are what we call problem passages, passages which seem to discredit the eternal security view.\n\nSo we have listed those problem passages in about eleven categories, and we have finished, believe it or not, finished talking about Paul.\u00a0 So we\u2019ve gone through all of the challenges to the doctrine of eternal security in the 13 letters of Paul.\u00a0 So everything in the Old Testament we\u2019ve gone through, everything in the gospel we\u2019ve gone through, and then the 13 letters Paul wrote we\u2019ve gone through all of the major passages that seem to deny eternal security.\n\nSo now what we\u2019re moving into is what\u2019s called the general letters; there are eight what are called general letters in the Bible, and basically they\u2019re called general letters because they weren\u2019t all written by the same guy.\u00a0 James wrote one, Peter wrote two, John wrote three, Jude wrote one, and unlike Paul\u2019s letters the general letters aren\u2019t really aimed at one church somewhere, like Paul wrote a letter to the church at Rome, a letter to the church at Corinth, a letter to the church at Ephesus.\u00a0 The general letters are more aimed at a broader audience.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why they get this nickname, the general letters.\u00a0 And so we\u2019re looking at the general letters and also the book of Revelation.\n\nAnd those are all the verses we have left to cover so there\u2019s an end in sight, believe it or not.\u00a0 We\u2019ve covered a lot of ground already but as we get into the general letters and as we get into the book of Revelation are there passages that seem to deny the eternal security of the believer.\u00a0 At first glance the answer is yes.\u00a0 And can those passages be explained or harmonized with the clearer passages that teach you can never lose your salvation.\u00a0 The answer, of course, is yes.\n\nSo the first passage we looked at in the general letters is James 5:19-20, James of course being the Lord\u2019s brother, half-brother, he wrote a whole epistle, and at the very end of his epistle he makes this statement that looks like oh my gosh, you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 And this is what he says at the end, \u201cMy brethren,\u201d so is he talking there to believers or unbelievers?\u00a0 Believers!\u00a0 \u201cMy brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, [20] let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.\u201d\n\nSo you look at that and he\u2019s talking about saving the soul of a brother or a Christian from death; in other words, somebody is walking off into sin who\u2019s a fellow Christian, they\u2019re going to experience death, in fact, their soul could experience death and if you turn them away from that you save them from that predicament.\u00a0 So this business about saving a brother\u2019s soul from death in the minds of many people opens up the door that oh my goodness, you can lose your salvation.\n\nSo how would eternal security people, like myself, handle that?\u00a0 Well, first is the acknowledgement that sin brings death.\u00a0 Remember Romans 6:23, \u201cFor the wages of sin is\u201d what? \u201cdeath.\u201d\u00a0 And God told Adam and Eve at the very beginning the day you eat from the forbidden tree is the day you shall surely\u201d what\u201d die.\u201d\u00a0 [Genesis 3:3, \u201cbut from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, \u2018You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.\u2019\u201d]\u00a0 And this is not the first time James has brought up the issue of death.\u00a0 When you go back to James 1 and look at verses 14-15 it says, \u201cBut each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.\u201d\u00a0 [15] \u201cThen when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth\u201d what? \u201cdeath.\u201d\n\nSo it is very, very true that sin in the life of the Christian brings death; the problem is everybody thinks death is eternal death, meaning damnation in the lake of fire.\u00a0 And that is not the only way the Bible uses the word \u201cdeath.\u201d\u00a0 So one thing that can happen to a Christian is you can actually be disciplined to the point of death.\u00a0 In some cases the Christian goes so far in their rebellion against God that God actually cuts short their lifespan.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve gone through these verses, we won\u2019t go through them all again but there are four times in the New Testament where this happens: Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5; those that were drunk and disorderly at the Lord\u2019s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11; John talks about the sin that leads\u00a0 unto death, 1 John 5:16, and then in Thyatira Jesus talks about disciplining certain people in that church who were involved in very severe sin, to the point of death.\n\nBut in each case did these people that are disciplined to the point of death go to hell?\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 God can discipline a believer, God can actually cut short the lifespan of a believer because of perpetual sin but if they\u2019re truly a believer, \u201cabsent from the body is to be\u201d what? \u201cpresent with the Lord.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [1 Corinthians 5:8, \u201cwe are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.\u201d] \u00a0\u00a0So when James talks about turning people away from sin and saving their soul from death he could be dealing with this subject of maximum church discipline.\u00a0 In other words, if you see a brother wandering off into sin turn him back from that way so that he doesn\u2019t experience the same maximum divine discipline that Ananias and Sapphira experienced.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the kind of death that James could very well be talking about.\u00a0 So we don\u2019t have to leap to the conclusion that this is talking about eternal death, as in destruction in the lake of fire.\n\nBeyond that the Bible reveals a concept called temporal death.\u00a0 Who is James writing to?\u00a0 Not just to believers but to who?\u00a0 Jewish believers.\u00a0 And how do we know that?\u00a0 We know that from James 1:1, it says, \u201cTo the twelve\u201d what? \u201ctribes who are dispersed abroad\u201d that sounds kind of Jewish to me, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Does it sound Jewish to you, \u201cthe twelve tribes.\u201d\u00a0 So who he\u2019s writing to is a flock of individuals who are dispersed because the Jews, after Stephen\u2019s speech were pushed out of the land of Israel by a wave of persecution, launched by then Saul of Tarsus.\u00a0 So James is writing to these dispersed Hebrew Christians in the books called the Diaspora, they\u2019re in dispersion, they\u2019re pushed out of the land of Israel, and there are several books in the New Testament, a lot of these are general letters that are written specifically to Hebrew Christians, James, of course, being one of them.\n\nWho was the apostle to the Jews?\u00a0 Peter.\u00a0 So Peter is writing to Hebrew Christians, 1 Peter, 2 Peter.\u00a0 Does the book of Hebrews sound kind of Jewish to you?\u00a0 Writing to Hebrew Christians.\u00a0 And I would throw Jude into the mix because Jude is very similar to 2 Peter and it really looks to me like Jude is addressing the same audience that 2 Peter is addressing.\u00a0 And then of the four Gospels which is the one that sounds the most Jewish to you?\u00a0 Matthew!\u00a0 So most people believe Matthew also was written to Hebrew Christians.\n\nSo those books that I just mentioned, I hope I didn\u2019t leave any out, are written to address issues that a Jewish Christian would wrestle with.\u00a0 And James, of course, is one of that group. And if the Jews understood anything they understood the reality of temporal death.\u00a0 Temporal death means you can go off into sin and it can wreck all kinds of things in your life but at the same time that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not a Christian.\u00a0 And the reason the Jews understood this is because first of all, you have the life of David; is there any doubt David was a believer?\u00a0 There\u2019s no doubt at all but when he sinned and committed, first adultery and then murder, and then he was confronted by Nathan, the prophet, remember what Nathan the prophet said?\u00a0 \u201cThe\u201d what \u201cwill never depart from your house?\u00a0 The sword is an instrument of death.\u00a0 [2 Samuel 12:10, \u201c'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.\u2019\u201d]\n\nSo David experienced temporal death all of his days; first of all, the son that was born out of that unholy union was taken and then there was warfare within his own family to the point where David was on the run a lot of times, being evicted from David\u2019s throne.\u00a0 So there\u2019s all kinds of death going on in David\u2019s life but we all understand that when David died where did he go? Where did his soul go?\u00a0 Immediately to heaven.\u00a0 So there are things that you can, because of sin, completely destroy in your life but it\u2019s not making a statement about your eternal destiny.\n\nFor example, you can go out this afternoon if you want to and max your credit cards out. Well, what have you done there?\u00a0 You haven\u2019t sent yourself to hell, you\u2019ve brought death to your future financial prosperity, is what you\u2019ve done.\u00a0 You can go out today and you can get involved in all kinds of sexual sins; what have you brought into your life?\u00a0 Venereal diseases, unwanted pregnancy, guilt, these are all terrible things that sin brings into your life, they\u2019re wrecking things in your life, they\u2019re wrecking your marriage, wrecking your body, but if you\u2019re in Christ you can die and go where?\u00a0 To heaven.\u00a0 So that\u2019s what I mean by temporal death.\n\nAnd so the Jews very clearly understood this concept of temporal death, the Jews that James is writing to.\u00a0 And they knew very well the concept of temporal death from the Mosaic Covenant because they had a covenant with God of blessings and cursings.\u00a0 The blessings are given in Deuteronomy 18:28-14; the cursings are given in Deuteronomy 28:15-68.\u00a0 And if you want some difficult reading some time read Deuteronomy 28:15-68.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about if you go into disobedience there\u2019s going to be a curse placed on your crops, placed on your livestock, locusts are going to come and devour your produce, you\u2019re going to be pushed out of your land.\u00a0 I mean, this is all the reality of temporal death.\n\nBut even in the midst of those curses did the nation of Israel ever stop being God\u2019s firstborn son?\u00a0 That never stopped, did it?\u00a0 So their position is intact, although they experience temporal death.\u00a0 And I think that\u2019s really what James is talking about, saving his soul from death, people look at that and immediately think it\u2019s talking about hell but the Jewish mind, from the example of David, from the example of the Mosaic Covenant, understood very well the concept of temporal death.\u00a0 In fact, if you want to read a good book on temporal death the book of Proverbs is filled with this idea.\n\nFor example, in Proverbs 2:18, just to give you a flavor of temporal death, it\u2019s talking about the man that goes and visits the harlot, it says: \u201cFor her house sinks down to death\u201d see the word \u201cdeath there, \u201cAnd her tracks lead to the dead.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not saying if you\u2019re involved with a harlot you go to hell; what it\u2019s saying is what her lifestyle and sinful consequence are going to introduce into your life is nothing good.\u00a0 Anything that\u2019s good in your life, whether it be your marriage, your health, is going to be destroyed if\u00a0 you get involved with this prostitute.\n\nProverbs 5:5 again talks about this prostitute, it says, \u201cHer feet go down to death, Her steps take hold of Sheol.\u201d\u00a0 See, not every reference to death in the Bible is necessarily hell.\u00a0 Proverbs 14:12, this is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible,\u00a0 it says, \u201cThere is a way which seems right to a man, But its end thereof \u00a0is\u201d what? \u201cdeath.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s not saying you\u2019d better obey God so you don\u2019t go to hell; that would be works salvation, wouldn\u2019t it.\u00a0 What it\u2019s saying is if you get involved in these kind of sins they\u2019re going to just wreak havoc on your life and introduce temporal death the way David experienced it.\u00a0 But they\u2019re not necessarily making a statement about your eternal salvation.\u00a0 And you could jot down Proverbs 21:16, it says basically the same thing.\u00a0 So when James here talks about a brother wandering off into sin and what you need to do is you can turn him back and you save his soul from death, you don\u2019t have to jump to the conclusion that that\u2019s hell.\u00a0 There\u2019s other options on the table, and that\u2019s really the option you want to pick, you want to pick the option that harmonizes with the Scripture.\u00a0 So it could be maximum divine discipline like what the Corinthians experienced or it could be this very Jewish reality of temporal death.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how I handle James 5:19-20.\n\nLet me take you to another one, let\u2019s go to Hebrews, which is actually one book to the left from James.\u00a0 Hebrews 3:6, and verse 14 of the same chapter and this is what it says: \u201cbut Christ was faithful as a Son over His house--- whose house we are,\u201d now notice this, \u201cif<\/u> we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.\u201d\u00a0 And then down in verse 14 it says, \u201cFor we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.\u201d\u00a0 So people see that \u201cif\u201d clause and they say oh-oh, maybe there\u2019s a chance we won\u2019t hold fast to Christ, and if I\u2019m not holding fast to Christ until the end maybe somehow I\u2019m not going to be saved, maybe my soul is going to somehow slip out of the grace of God and go into the lake of fire.\n\nSo this becomes really a key verse that people use to deny the reality of eternal security.\u00a0 And let me give you sort of a response to that.\u00a0 The response is Hebrews 3:6 and verse 14 is not an admonition to stay saved or to prove one is saved to begin with.\u00a0 A lot of theologians will read that into the passage: prove you were saved to begin with or prove you haven\u2019t lost your salvation.\u00a0 But what you\u2019ll discover is first of all, the book of Hebrews, and I\u2019ll talk more about this probably next time, the book of Hebrews was written to a believing audience.\u00a0 That\u2019s the key to understanding Hebrews.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because there are certain clues given in the passage or in the book.\n\nFor example, Hebrews 3:1 says, \u201cTherefore\u201d what? \u201choly brethren,\u201d does it sound like these people are saved, first they\u2019re brethren and (b) they\u2019re holy positionally.\u00a0 \u201choly brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling,\u201d does that sound like they\u2019re saved? It sounds like they\u2019re saved to me; \u201cpartakers of a heavenly calling consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession\u201d\u00a0 Would you say that the author of the book of Hebrews was saved?\u00a0 I would hope so or else you\u2019ve got an unsaved person writing New Testament books.\u00a0 That wouldn\u2019t make any sense.\u00a0 And so when he says \u201cour\u201d he is identifying (the author of Hebrews is and we\u2019re not exactly sure who the author of Hebrews is) whoever he was he was identifying with the spiritual state of his audience.\n\nSo therefore how do we interpret these \u201cif\u201d clauses?\u00a0 Well, these are exhortations not to drift back into Judaism and that\u2019s the whole point of the book of Hebrews.\u00a0\u00a0 You\u2019ve got Hebrew Christians, they\u2019re actually, as I\u2019ll probably be showing you next week, second generation Christians so they are a little weaker than the first generation.\u00a0 They\u2019re in the diaspora and they\u2019re literally being worn down by unbelieving Jews through persecution. \u00a0You go through the book of Acts and who is (in almost every case) bringing the persecution against the church?\u00a0 The unbelieving Jews.\u00a0 I mean, Paul got along great with the Gentiles, it\u2019s only when he got into the synagogue that he got thrown out over and over again.\n\nSo these unbelieving Jews hate the new church, they hate Christianity, they hate the idea of\u00a0 a Jew getting saved and coming out of that perverse generation which is under judgment. And they hated Peter\u2019s message because Peter preached in Acts 2 and 3,000 Hebrew Christians got saved.\u00a0 So what is happening to these Hebrew Christians is no matter what happens to them, no matter where they go, they\u2019re always being persecuted and the persecution is if you\u2019d just come back to the institutions of Judaism then the persecution will stop.\u00a0 Now think of yourself in that condition; what would you be tempted to do?\u00a0 Well, okay, I\u2019m really getting tired of having rocks thrown at me wherever I go, if it\u2019ll get everybody off my case then I\u2019ll just go back to a few feast days, I\u2019ll show up at temple once in a while.\u00a0 And the temple was still functioning and standing at the time the book of Hebrews was written so there\u2019s always this draw to go backwards.\u00a0 And so the whole book of Hebrews was written to address that problem, teaching people not to go backwards, not to regress back into Judaism.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because what you have in Christ is the full revelation.\u00a0 Why would you go back to something that God always intended as a shadow?\u00a0 So the feast days, the temple, the sacrificial system are wonderful things but they were never intended to be the permanent reality, just shadows, if\u00a0 you will, pointing to Christ.\n\nSo the book of Hebrews is really written\u2026 it\u2019s a beautiful treatment on human logic and how to argue a case because the author, whoever he was, is laying out a case systematically: major premise, minor premise, conclusion, is used beautifully all the way through this letter to show these Hebrew Christians not to go back to the institutions of Judaism because what you have now \u201cin Christ\u201d is the full revelation.\n\nSo therefore when you look at a verse like Hebrews 3:6 where it says, \u201cif we hold fast our confidence\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 3:14, \u201cif we hold fast \u2026 the beginning of our assurance\u201d it\u2019s talking about the blessings you\u2019re going to have in your life if you stay with the full revelation of Christ and don\u2019t retrogress backwards into the institutions of Judaism, which were still functioning right up until which year?\u00a0 A.D. 70.\u00a0\u00a0 [Hebrews 3:6, \u201cbut Christ was faithful as a Son over His house-- whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.\u201d\u00a0 Hebrews 3:14, \u201cFor we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end,\u201d]\n\nAnd the author in this book starts to outline the consequences of retrogression.\u00a0 The consequences have nothing to do with hell as I\u2019ll show you more next week.\u00a0 The consequences have to do with temporal consequences you experience in your life as a Christian, one of which is outlined very, very clearly in Hebrews 5:11-14, which is immaturity.\u00a0 [Hebrews 5:11-14, \u201cConcerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.\u00a0 [12] For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. [13] For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. [14] But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.\u201d]\n\nEvery minute you spend in the institutions of Judaism without paying attention to the new full revelation that has come in Christ, as you go back to the Law you\u2019re stuck in a state of immaturity because you\u2019re shutting yourself off from New Testament doctrine and New Testament teaching.\u00a0 So if you retrogress the Law of God, as wonderful as it is, can never bring you to maturity.\u00a0 It can condemn you and tell you that you need maturity but it can\u2019t usher you into maturity; you need New Testament revelation for that.\u00a0 So one consequence of retrogression is living in immaturity.\n\nAnother consequence of retrogression is loss of rewards at the Bema Seat which we\u2019ve already talked about in this class at several junctures.\n\nAnother consequence of retrogression is outlined in Hebrews 12:5-11, divine discipline because \u201cwhom the Lord loves\u201d the Lord what? \u201cchastens.\u00a0 [Hebrews 12:5-11, \u201cand you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, \u201cMY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; \u201cOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.\u201d\u00a0 [7] It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his<\/em> father does not discipline? [8] But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. [9] Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? [10] For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us<\/em> for our<\/em> good, so that we may share His holiness. [11] All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.\u201d]\n\nSo when Hebrews 3 is saying \u201cif we hold fast\u201d (twice) it\u2019s not saying if you don\u2019t hold fast you\u2019ve lost your salvation.\u00a0 What it\u2019s saying is if you don\u2019t hold fast the full revelation of Christ you are going to experience a lot of problems in your life, not the least of which is loss of rewards, not the least of which is a lack of growth spiritually.\u00a0 And not the least of which is divine discipline from the Lord because \u201cwhom the LORD loves the LORD\u201d what? \u201cchastens.\u201d\u00a0 Now that\u2019s what he\u2019s getting at in Hebrews 3.\n\nIt\u2019s interesting, as you go through Hebrews 3 do you find the word hell or any reference to hell at all?\u00a0 It\u2019s not there.\u00a0 So people read hell into that passage but that\u2019s not what this passage is talking about.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about retrogression leads to temporal consequences.\u00a0 It\u2019s like somebody who comes to Christ out of a bad religious system, like a cult for example.\u00a0 They hear the gospel, they get saved and what all the former cult members trying to get them to do?\u00a0 Come back, and a lot of times they can put all kinds of pressure on you, financially or\u00a0 for your family, to get you to come back and the problem is, as much as you\u2019re tempted to go back just to shut everybody up, right, every second you spend back under that bad doctrine is a second you can\u2019t grow.\u00a0 You\u2019re going back to something that can\u2019t produce growth in you and so really I think that\u2019s what the author of Hebrews is getting at; it\u2019s not saying if you retrogress you\u2019ve lost your salvation.\n\nSo once again all I\u2019m doing with these verses is I\u2019m picking options that are viable that harmonize with the very, very clear passages which teach once saved always saved.\n\nLet me take you to another one; let\u2019s go over to Hebrews 5:9-10.\u00a0 This is one people use often to teach that you can be saved and lose your salvation.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019ve had well-meaning people, even at Sugar Land Bible Church kind of pull this one out on me a couple of times.\u00a0 So I\u2019ve had to think about this.\u00a0 And it says this, Hebrews 5:9, \u201cAnd having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of\u201d what? \u201ceternal salvation,\u201d now we\u2019ve got a problem because that says I access the source of my salvation not through faith but through what?\u00a0 Obedience.\u00a0 That\u2019s a problem because that goes against everything we teach here, that you\u2019re saved NOT by your obedience but by your trust in Christ.\u00a0 And then verse 10 goes on and it says, \u201cbeing designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s talking there in verse 10 about how Christ\u2019s priesthood is higher than Aarons.\n\nAnd this, just as a side note, is one of the arguments that the author of Hebrews uses\u00a0 to show that what they have under Christ is a full revelation; why would you go back to an inferior revelation because after all the priesthood that you want to go back to comes from which line?\u00a0 Aaron\u2019s line.\u00a0 Jesus is not just an ordinary Aaronic priest; He\u2019s a higher priest after the order of who?\u00a0\u00a0 A strange sounding name, Melchizedek.\u00a0 And so the author of Hebrews uses a historical figure, Melchizedek, to explain the fact that Christ\u2019s priesthood is higher and better than Aarons as an argument so that they wouldn\u2019t retrogress.\n\nBut anyway, verse 9 is troubling because it says God is the source of salvation to those who obey Him.\u00a0 So somebody that thinks you can lose your salvation interprets the verse this way: If I don\u2019t obey Christ then I have lost my what?\u00a0 Salvation.\u00a0 So how do we handle a passage like that?\u00a0 And let me give you two possibilities.\u00a0 First of all, there\u2019s a very strong argument as I mentioned before that the Hebrew Christians are believers, they\u2019re called \u201choly brethren,\u201d Hebrews 3:1.\u00a0\u00a0 Now what do we know about this word \u201csalvation\u201d?\u00a0 Does it always refer to the same thing everywhere it\u2019s used?\u00a0 No, it can refer to justification.\u00a0 What else?\u00a0 Sanctification.\u00a0 And what else?\u00a0 Glorification.\n\nSo we believe in the three tenses of salvation.\u00a0 Justification, as\u00a0 you probably know by now is the past tense of my salvation where I am saved from sin\u2019s penalty at the point of personal faith in Christ.\u00a0 Sanctification is the present tense of salvation where I\u2019m being gradually delivered from sin\u2019s power as I learn to appropriate the divine resources God has given me moment by moment.\u00a0 And glorification is the future tense of my salvation where I\u2019ll be delivered from sins very presence and all I have to do there is die.\u00a0 So justification takes place in an instant.\u00a0 Glorification takes place in an instant.\u00a0 But what about progressive sanctification?\u00a0 Does that take place in an instant?\u00a0 No, that\u2019s a process of growth that we\u2019re all in now as God\u2019s people.\u00a0 So people, when they look at this word \u201csalvation\u201d it gets a little tricky because what they think is salvation always refers to justification.\u00a0 And that simply is not the case.\u00a0 It could be referring to justification; it could also be referring to sanctification.\u00a0 How do I know if it\u2019s referring to justification or sanctification?\u00a0 What helps me?\u00a0 Context helps me.\n\nSo therefore, going back to Hebrews 5:9-10, when he says eternal salvation is available to those who obey Him it could be, it\u2019s possible that this is talking about the middle tense of salvation because it is true that you are not justified before God through obedience, in other words, doing a work, but to experience progressive sanctification does that not require some form of obedience on\u00a0 your part?\u00a0 The only command given to the unbeliever to be justified is what?\u00a0 Believe!\u00a0 Now how many commands are there to the believer to experience growth?\u00a0 Lots, I don\u2019t even know how many there are.\u00a0 Think how many there, don\u2019t pray without ceasing, don\u2019t forsake yourself, assemble yourselves together as is the habit of some, study and show yourself approved, do not let the sun go down on your anger, put on the full armor of God.\u00a0 So those require constant volition on my part and I\u2019m not white-knuckling it doing it through human strength, I\u2019m learning to obey God under the resources of power that He\u2019s already given me.\u00a0 So when Hebrews 5:9-10 connects salvation to obedience it doesn\u2019t have to be first tense salvation, it could be a statement about second tense salvation.\u00a0 That\u2019s a possibility, isn\u2019t it?\n\nNow let me show you what I think is a slightly better way of handling this; to obey in some contexts is a synonym to believe.\u00a0 A synonym is a different word, same meaning.\u00a0 In some contexts obedience is used as a synonym for faith.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because God has conditioned my salvation on me fulfilling a condition which is to do what?\u00a0 To believe, so that when I\u2019ve actually obeyed Christ and believed on Him I have fulfilled the condition and thus I\u2019ve obeyed God\u2019s plan. See that?\u00a0 You say well, that\u2019s a really weird interpretation.\u00a0 Does anybody else hold to that?\u00a0 Warren Wiersbe, a pretty well-known Bible commentator, look at what he says here on Hebrews 5:9-10.\n\nHe says, \u201c\u2018Does the phrase \u201cthem that obey Him\u201d (Heb. 5:9) suggest that, if we do not obey Him, we may lose that eternal salvation?\u201d That\u2019s what Arminians argue constantly from this verse.\u00a0 Weirsbe goes on and he says, \u201cTo \u2018obey \u2018God is the same as \u201cto trust God,\u201d as \u201cthem that obey Him\u201d is a description of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.\u201d\u00a0 So what has happened in your life when you placed your faith in Christ you have obeyed the condition that God has outlined for justification.\u00a0 So in that sense you\u2019ve obeyed and done what you\u2019re supposed to do by placing your faith in Christ, so obedience is therefore a synonym for faith in some contexts.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Wiersbe is arguing.\u00a0 And you have to sort of at some point be sensitive to this because there are many, many verses in the New Testament that teach the obedience of the faith.\u00a0 You say \u201cthe obedience of the faith,\u201d I thought faith was receiving something as a free gift and not obeying in terms of a work.\u00a0 That\u2019s generally good thinking but not always; sometimes it talks about the obedience of the faith, in other words, when I place my faith in Christ I have obeyed His gospel, I have satisfied His condition and therefore I can experience justification.\n\nNow notice Wiersbe quotes all these verses that speak of the obedience of the faith.\u00a0 Acts 6:7 says,\u00a0 \u201cA great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 What does that mean?\u00a0 Does that mean all of these priests did works of obedience and that made them justified before God?\u00a0 No, they obeyed God\u2019s condition which was to do what?\u00a0 Believe.\u00a0 So that\u2019s how the expression \u201cobedience of the faith\u201d is used.\u00a0 Romans 10:16 says, \u201cBut they have not all obeyed the Gospel.\u201d Wait a minute, I don\u2019t have to obey the gospel in terms of doing a work, I receive the gospel as a free gift.\u00a0 So \u201cthey have not all obeyed the Gospel,\u201d does that mean I have to do works X, Y and Z to receive the gospel?\u00a0 No, I put my faith in the provision of God and I\u2019ve obeyed His condition.\u00a0 So there \u201cobedience\u201d in some context is used as a synonym for faith.\n\n1 Peter 1:22, I guess Wiersbe likes to quote from the King James Version, \u201cYe have purified your souls in obeying the truth.\u201d\u00a0 Well, what do you mean, \u201cobeying the truth\u201d?\u00a0 I didn\u2019t realize that my personal works purified my soul.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s not what Peter is talking about.\u00a0 What Peter is talking about is you have obeyed God by putting your faith in Christ; you have obeyed His one condition.\u00a0 So\u00a0 Wiersbe concludes and he says, \u201c Once we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, and thus have obeyed His call, we experience His eternal salvation.\u201d [Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary<\/em> (Vol. 2, p. 294). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books]\n\nSo Hebrews 5:9-10 is not saying I\u2019ve got to do works A, B, and C to get saved, nor is it saying I\u2019ve got to keep doing works A, B and C after I\u2019m saved to keep my salvation.\u00a0 It\u2019s simply using obedience as a synonym for faith which many times in the New Testament does.\u00a0 And maybe you don\u2019t like Warren Wiersbe, okay, here\u2019s somebody else.\n\nBob Gromacki, longtime professor of Greek and New Testament at Cedarville College, as a matter of fact I\u2019m going to get a chance to see him this week, he\u2019s one of the speakers at the Pre-trib study group.\u00a0 He\u2019s been around for a long time and written a lot of books and he\u2019s fairly well respected.\u00a0 He writes in something he wrote, this quote concerning Hebrews 5:9-10. \u201cThe provision of salvation was achieved through the obedience of the Son to the Father at the cross,\u201d so we have salvation because Jesus obeyed the Father, \u201cand the appropriation of salvation is accomplished through the obedience of the repentant sinner toward Christ. In this passage,\u201d what passage?\u00a0 Hebrews 5:9. \u201cIn this passage obedience is synonymous with faith<\/u>\u201d and you\u2019ll notice he quotes some of the ones Wiersbe quoted, Acts 6:7; Romans 6:17; 10:16).\u00a0\u00a0 [Gromacki, Robert. (2001). Bold in Grace: An Exposition of Hebrews<\/em> (p. 96). Reprint, The Woodlands, TX: Kress Christian Publications]\n\nSo you\u2019re going to see in the New Testament this expression a lot, \u201cobedience of the faith\u201d and if you\u2019re not rooted and grounded in what that means you\u2019re going to think that that involves some kind of work on the front end, or on the back end, either to get salvation or to keep salvation.\u00a0 And that\u2019s not the way the New Testament writers are\u00a0 using the expression \u201cobedience of the faith.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s simply talking about when I trust in Christ I satisfy the condition, which is faith alone and as a result of that I\u2019ve obeyed God\u2019s calling.\u00a0 The \u201cobedience of the faith\u201d is not talking about works on the front end or works on the back end.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019m getting at, and that\u2019s the confusion.\n\nDo you want some other verses that do it this way?\u00a0 You probably don\u2019t but I\u2019ll give them to you anyway.\u00a0 Romans 1:5, right out of the gate it says, \u201cthrough whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles\u201d there\u2019s \u201cobedience of faith,\u201d you look at that and you say well, is Paul teaching works salvation?\u00a0 He could not be teaching works salvation because if you go down to verses 16-17 he says, \u201cFor I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who\u201d what? \u201cbelieves,\u201d so Paul never taught do X, Y and Z to get saved.\u00a0 What he taught was God has offered a condition to the human race that must be satisfied, which is trust, and as\u00a0 you do that you have obeyed what God has said.\u00a0 It\u2019s not talking about works on the front end or the back end.\n\n2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, you have to get familiar with this concept or it\u2019ll throw you as it did me when I first saw this.\u00a0 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, it\u2019s talking about unbelievers, it says, \u201cdealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 And people look at that and say well obedience, that\u2019s got to mean a work on the front end.\u00a0 No, not if you understand that obedience, as I\u2019ve been trying to explain, can be used synonymously for faith.\n\n1 Peter 1:22 I think we\u2019ve already read, that was one of the verses that Warren Wiersbe cited.\u00a0 And if you don\u2019t have this in your thinking the only thing you\u2019re left with is a contradiction because Paul is very clear, is he not, in the book of Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 8-9, verses you probably have memorized.\u00a0 It says, \u201cFor by grace you have been saved through\u201d what? \u201cfaith; and that not of yourselves, it is the\u201d what? \u201cgift of God;\u201d look at verse 9, \u201cnot as a result of\u201d what? \u201cworks,\u201d Paul says as crystal clear as it could be said if you didn\u2019t get in the door by works\u2026 and by the way, good works are going to help you grow in Christ as you do them under God\u2019s power but those good works are not going keep you in the door either.\u00a0 Good works are important, God wants to do good work in our lives but good works didn\u2019t get me in the door; good works don\u2019t keep me in the door.\u00a0 Any hallelujah\u2019s on that one? Praise the Lord, I am saved and kept totally by His grace.\u00a0 That\u2019s the doctrine of eternal security.\n\nSo if you start interpreting passage like obedience of the faith as some kind of work in addition to faith to be justified\u00a0 you\u2019ve got a contradiction right there in the Bible.\u00a0 And as I explained to you many, many weeks ago the Bible cannot contradict itself; it\u2019s impossible.\u00a0 If I think the Bible is contradicting itself then probably the problem is not the Bible but it\u2019s my interpretation of it.\u00a0 So I am picking an interpretation of obedience to the faith that doesn\u2019t put one passage in contradiction to another.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I\u2019m doing with all of these so-called problem passages related to eternal security.\n\nNow we\u2019re going to skip Hebrews 6 and we\u2019re going to skip Hebrews 10.\u00a0 Why are you skipping those?\u00a0 Because those are very strong verses that really look like you can lose your salvation and those passages are so important we\u2019re going to spend a whole session, probably next week just on verse 6.\u00a0 So I can\u2019t do Hebrews 6 in a soundbite.\u00a0 It\u2019s something that requires in depth explanation because that\u2019s the one set of verses everybody goes to to prove you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 So we will be returning to that.\u00a0 I can\u2019t cover it next, I don\u2019t\u2019 have time.\n\nBut before I let you go let me just give you one more verse; go to Hebrews 12:14, this is a favorite of people that think you can lose your salvation.\u00a0 Look at what this says as the author of Hebrews signs off here at the end of this letter.\u00a0 He says, \u201cPursue peace with all people, and holiness,\u201d now holiness is not there talking about positional holiness which you already have, it\u2019s talking about what?\u00a0 Practical holiness, let your lifestyle catch up with your position is what he\u2019s saying.\u00a0 In other words, holiness should be a characteristic of the growing Christian, not that we\u2019re sinless but hopefully we\u2019re sinning less.\u00a0 And that\u2019s how we can ascertain our walk in Christ, not our position in Christ but our growth in Christ.\n\nAnd then he says very troubling thing in verse 14, after he mentions holiness, \u201cwithout which no one will see the LORD,\u201d whoooo!\u00a0 What in the world does that mean?\u00a0 Does that mean I\u2019ve got to have faith and a personal walk of holiness and if I don\u2019t have both I won\u2019t see God?\u00a0 That\u2019s how people use that verse constantly.\u00a0 People say well, if you\u2019re coming from the Arminian perspective they basically say this: faith plus holiness is necessary so you don\u2019t lose your salvation, Arminianism.\u00a0 The Reformed camp often comes along and says this: faith, unless it is accompanied by holiness demonstrates the reality of that faith.\u00a0 So if you don\u2019t have personal holiness in your life maybe you don\u2019t have authentic what?\u00a0 Faith!\u00a0 And that is a troubling verse when you look at that so people interpret this always, not always but most interpretations you read interpret the verse this way: a holy life plus faith gets me to heaven.\u00a0 So faith plus a holy life proves that I have authentic faith---Calvinism.\u00a0 Faith plus a holy life is necessary so I don\u2019t forfeit salvation\u2014Arminianism, because after all, it says there without practical holiness no one is going to see God.\n\nThis is just an example of how people quote this and this is typically what they do; they make some theological statement in a book somewhere or in a sermon and then they grab Hebrews 12:14 and they just roll it out on you.\u00a0 They don\u2019t give you any background of the book, they don\u2019t give you any context, they just make a statement that if there\u2019s not holiness in your life maybe you\u2019re not saved or if there\u2019s not holiness in your life maybe you never had salvation and they just kind of toss Hebrews 12:14 out to make their point.\n\nSo this comes from an interpreter or a theologian named Michael Horton, who\u2019s a fairly big name in Christian circles. This guy is about as Reformed as the day is long; I wouldn\u2019t even call this guy a five point Calvinist, I\u2019d call him a six point Calvinist if that were possible.\u00a0 And beyond that he is totally Reformed in his eschatology, he\u2019s amillennial, he doesn\u2019t believe in a future kingdom, you know, the way we teach it here.\u00a0 And they used to have this show in Southern California called The White Horse Inn and it was three of them and they would get on for an hour and they would just, on this sort of dialogue format just promote Reformed theology all the time.\u00a0 And I enjoyed listening to them, I actually bought into some of it early on as a Christian because I didn\u2019t really know any better.\u00a0 And all of them are very smart, all of them have all of these academic degrees after their name.\u00a0 And this is how a lot of the Reformed people are, they think that they\u2019re kind of at a higher intellectual level than the rest of us so there\u2019s sort of a disdain for the free grace view which is what I represent, dispensationalism which is a viewpoint I represent.\n\nSo notice what Michael Horton says in his book Introducing Covenant Theology<\/em>, page 182.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe New Testament lays before us a vast array of conditions\u201d plural \u201cfor final salvation.\u201d\u00a0 Now that should bother you because we\u2019ve spent three\u00a0 years in the Gospel of John in this church where I\u2019ve shown you over and over again that there\u2019s one condition for salvation.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying there\u2019s multiple conditions.\u00a0 And this second sentence should bother you.\u00a0 \u201cNot only initial repentance and faith, but\u201d when someone says well I believe in faith alone but\u2026 you immediately have a problem; there\u2019s no \u201cbut\u201d there, there\u2019s no conjunction there, you\u2019re saved by faith alone, end of discussion!\u00a0 So when someone is saying \u201cfaith but\u201d and they use the word multiple conditions, that immediately you spiritual antenna should go up.\u00a0 He says, \u201cThe New Testament lays before us a vast array of conditions for final salvation.\u00a0 Not only initial repentance and faith but perseverance demonstrated \u00a0in both in love towards God and neighbor are part of that holiness,\u201d and notice the verse he quotes, because after all the Bible says without holiness without which no one will see the Lord.\u00a0 So what he\u2019s saying here to his Reformed listeners is if\u00a0 your life doesn\u2019t have holiness in it you may never have had initial faith to begin with.\n\nThe Arminian interpreter would come along and use that passage and say if there\u2019s no holiness in your life yeah you had salvation but you what? lost it.\u00a0 And they love Hebrews 12:14.\u00a0 Here\u2019s the catch; there\u2019s a totally different way of reading Hebrews 12:14.\u00a0 Hebrews 12:14 I think is not talking about our arrival in heaven, no one will see God, it\u2019s talking about others seeing the Lord through the believer\u2019s life and witness.\u00a0 It\u2019s not talking about seeing the Lord in heaven; that\u2019s how this verse is used, seeing the Lord in heaven.\u00a0 But what is the context here?\u00a0 A personal relationship with who?\u00a0 With others.\u00a0 Look at the context; context resolves most of these problems.\u00a0 Verse 14, \u201cPursue peace with\u201d who? \u201call\u201d people, that\u2019s not talking about my arrival in heaven one day, that\u2019s talking about my one on one interaction with people.\u00a0 \u201cPurse peace with all\u201d people, and then it says without holiness no one will see God.\u00a0 And then it talks in verse 15 about \u201clest any root of bitterness spring up and cause trouble.\u00a0 [Hebrews 12:15, \u201cobserving lest any be failing of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up should trouble you<\/em> and by this, the many might be defiled,\u201d]\n\nSo what happens when I\u2019m not pursuing peace with all people?\u00a0 What happens if a root of bitterness develops within me?\u00a0 Then the people that I\u2019m interacting with won\u2019t see the Lord through my life.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 I\u2019m not giving God an opportunity to showcase Him as I meander around with bitterness and I am mistreating people.\u00a0 If I\u2019m mistreating people as a Christian basically what\u2019s happening is people that you are mistreating are not given an opportunity to see what a Christ-like spirit is.\u00a0 It\u2019s not talking here about the one day arrival in heaven, that\u2019s how everybody quotes the verse but that\u2019s not what it\u2019s speaking of.\n\nSo it\u2019s not requiring faith plus a holy life to get to heaven.\u00a0 What it is talking about is, as a Christian I\u2019m saved, I\u2019m eternally secure and I\u2019m to walk with the Lord, I\u2019m to grow as a Christian, I\u2019m to allow the Lord to produce good fruit in me and through me and what happens to my family and my friends and my church members and my relatives and my relationship?\u00a0 They can now look at me and say oh, that\u2019s what Jesus is like, because as the saying goes you may be the only Bible a person ever reads.\u00a0 Right!\u00a0 Your unbeliever is not just going to randomly pick up and read the Bible so if that\u2019s true how does God reveal Himself to these unbelievers?\u00a0 His plan is to do it through your life, so when you\u2019re offended or told off or mistreated and you don\u2019t immediately react emotionally and retaliate, you have Spirit-filled control, people say oh, that\u2019s what that Jesus stuff is like.\u00a0 So you\u2019re showcasing Christ in daily relationships; it\u2019s not talking about arrival in heaven.\u00a0 Are you with me on this?\n\nAnd you can see this clearly just by looking at the context of it because he says \u201cpursue peace with\u201d what? \u201call people,\u201d that\u2019s the context.\u00a0\u00a0 James 5, Hebrews 3, Hebrews 5, Hebrews 12, so I\u2019ll stop talking.\u00a0 Any thoughts, questions, comments.","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