{"id":19148,"date":"2017-05-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-057\/"},"modified":"2017-05-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-07T05:00:00","slug":"soteriology-057","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-057\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 057"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[88],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19148","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-john","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 057","sermon_date":"20170507","sermon_month":"5","sermon_year":"2017","sermon_notes":4635,"sermon_slides":4634,"sermon_mp3":4639,"sermon_id":"57171055434","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":88,"chapter_and_verse":"3:5","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nSoteriology 57,\n\nJohn 3:5\n\nMay 7, 2017\n\nFather, we\u2019re thankful for today, and thankful for Your church around the world; we\u2019re thankful for what\u00a0 You\u2019ve done in history, in church history, to protect certain doctrines that have been handed to us.\u00a0 I pray, Father, we be good stewards of those doctrines, particularly in this Sunday School class as we\u2019ve been seeking to wrap up our long discussion about the doctrine of salvation.\u00a0 So I pray You\u2019ll be with us this morning as we continue on that road.\u00a0 I pray You\u2019ll be with the worship service that follows our study in the book of Daniel, the Lord\u2019s Table, the fellowship meal that follows.\u00a0 And I just ask that this be a day that encourages people, edifies people, corrects people if need be and I just pray we would leave here today changed people and this is only something You can do.\u00a0 We ask this in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said Amen.\n\nIf you could take your Bibles and open them to the book of James, chapter 2 and verse 14 and if you have this test we\u2019ve been working through I\u2019m going to try to finish this today, which is helping us review the doctrine of salvation.\u00a0 I think we\u2019re on page 6 and did we do question 49 last time?\u00a0 We did question 49, okay.\u00a0\u00a0 So we\u2019re now on question 50.\u00a0 The correct answer to question 49 is A.\u00a0 I just got back from going to the U.K., the Czech Republic, up the Elbe River to all kinds of German cities.\u00a0 One of them was Wittenberg, Germany, which is very famous in terms of the Protestant Reformation.\n\nSo I think what I\u2019m going to do once we finish Soteriology is I\u2019m going to do some Sunday School time in this session on the Protestant Reformation, what is the Protestant Reformation, why did the Protestant Reformation happen, why should we care in the year 2017 about the Protestant Reformation.\u00a0 And I\u2019ll try to weave in things from my trip because I did do some amateur photography, so I\u2019ll show you some pictures.\u00a0 I\u2019ll show you where Martin Luther baptized his own children and so forth.\u00a0 I actually saw the actual church which was the cradle of the Protestant Reformation and they baptized those children in cold water until it was time for Martin Luther to baptize his own children, then he insisted that the water temperature be raised.\u00a0 So there\u2019s some interesting little facts about history that I\u2019ll bring up starting probably next week.\n\nAnd we\u2019ll talk about why the Protestant Reformation was needed and what the Protestant Reformation left incomplete.\u00a0 So the study of church history is really the story of God\u2019s faithfulness to His church and how He rescued it over and over again from corrupt doctrines.\u00a0\u00a0 And so I think that\u2019s the direction we\u2019re going to go starting next Sunday morning.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see this series lasting as long as the Soteriology series which has gone 57 lessons, so I\u2019m thinking maybe 4 or 5, 6, 7, 8 lessons, something like that. Anyway, that\u2019s where we\u2019re headed.\n\nBut in the interim let\u2019s see if we can finish up Soteriology today as God allows us.\u00a0 There\u2019s the big outline that we followed in the doctrine of salvation and now it\u2019s time for your final exam.\u00a0 The final exam is just there to stimulate your thinking a little bit to remember some of the things that we\u2019ve covered.\n\nSo here we are with question 50, and it says:\u00a0 The works in James 2:14-26 are referring to justification rather than sanctification.\u00a0 Do you guys remember James 2, James 2 says, \u201cFaith without works is\u201d what? \u201cdead.\u201d\u00a0 And the BIG problem that hangs up people, and I actually got an e-mail question from somebody just this week asking for an explanation on this which shows you how frequently this passage bothers people.\u00a0 James 2:21 says, \u201cWas not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?\u201d\u00a0 And people look at that expression \u201cjustified by works,\u201d isn\u2019t that the exact opposite of everything we\u2019ve been taught?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we justified by what?\u00a0 Faith, and here James 2 comes along and says Abraham, when he offered up Isaac was justified by works.\n\nAnd so people think James is contradicting Paul.\u00a0 And not if, but when the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses come to your door or the Mormons and you talk to them about salvation by faith alone they\u2019re going to bring up James 2. They\u2019re going to say well what do you mean salvation by faith alone, James 2 says faith without works is dead and after all, Abraham was justified by works. \u00a0So in this class we spent some time talking about the difference between Paul\u2019s teaching and James\u2019s teaching.\u00a0 And really the key thing to understand is that Paul and James are addressing different issues.\u00a0 If you think Paul and James are talking about the same issue the only conclusion you can come to is James is contradicting Paul and Paul is contradicting James.\u00a0 But the reality of the situation is these two men, James, the half-brother of Christ who wrote a five chapter epistle called the Book of James, and the Apostle Paul who wrote thirteen New Testament books, the fact of the matter is these men are not\u2026 NOT addressing the same issue.\u00a0 They are addressing different issues.\n\nPaul, when he talks about salvation by faith alone is dealing with the issue of self-righteous Judaism which basically is a refutation to people who think that they are made right with God through their good works.\u00a0 So that\u2019s what Paul is condemning all the time.\u00a0 You can\u2019t get to heaven by your good works, you get to heaven by faith alone in Christ alone\u00a0 who did the good work on our behalf and we receive His transferred benefits as a gift.\u00a0 That\u2019s really where Paul is going with most of his theology.\u00a0 James is not dealing with that issue; James is dealing with the issue of dead orthodoxy.\u00a0 James is talking to people who are saved and yet they\u2019re not growing in their faith or their salvation.\n\nHow do I know this?\u00a0 If you look at James 4 and verse 5, look at what it says here: Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: \u2018He jealously desires the Spirit\u201d that would be the Holy Spirit, \u201cwhich He has made to dwell in us\u2019?\u201d\u00a0 So did James\u2019 audience have the Holy Spirit?\u00a0 Very clearly.\u00a0 James says you have the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Notice the expression \u201cus\u201d, just like I have the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 So\u00a0 you read James 4:6 and verse 5 and it\u2019s very clear that James is not talking to people who are unbelievers trying to get to God through their own works.\u00a0 He\u2019s dealing with people that are already saved but they really aren\u2019t growing in Christ, they really aren\u2019t producing a practical righteousness that God would have of the Christian.\n\nJames is basically dealing with backslidden Christians or carnal Christians or immature Christians.\u00a0 He\u2019s not questioning whether they\u2019re Christians. Do you see that?\u00a0 Paul, on the other hand, largely is dealing with people who think they can become Christians, unbelievers trying to become believers through good works.\u00a0 And if you keep those two issues separate you start to understand that James and Paul don\u2019t contradict each other; in fact, they\u2019re very close friends.\n\nThe whole doctrine looks like this: you\u2019re saved by faith alone and then the desire of God is that you continue to grow in your newfound faith and your life become a service to other people.\u00a0 So God begins to use your life practically to bless other people and that\u2019s what we call growth in Christ.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what the whole picture is supposed to look like.\u00a0 Paul is dealing with the front end, James is dealing with the back end.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So it\u2019s like blindfolding three people and having them touch different parts of the elephant.\u00a0 If you get their testimonies on what their touching they all seem like they\u2019re contradicting each other at first glance.\u00a0 One guy who\u2019s blindfolded is touching the elephant\u2019s side and he says I feel a giant wall here.\u00a0 Another guy is touching the elephants trunk and he says it feels like a tube.\u00a0 And another guy is touching the elephant\u2019s foot and he says I\u2019m touching his five toes, he says I feel five lumps here.\u00a0 And you take all of their testimonies and you think they all contradict each other until the blindfold is taken off and you realize they\u2019re all touching the same animal, they\u2019re just touching different parts.\n\nSo Paul is touching one part of the animal (if I could use that illustration of salvation) the front end; James is touching the other end of salvation.\u00a0 So when you understand it that way James and Paul don\u2019t contradict each other in the least.\n\nThis is why James keeps saying all the way through this book, I think it occurs about 18 times, \u201cmy brothers,\u201d so is a brother a believer or an unbeliever?\u00a0 A believer!\u00a0 James 1:2-4 says, \u201cConsider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, [3] knowing that the testing of your\u201d what? \u201cfaith produces endurance.\u201d\u00a0 Their faith was being tested.\u00a0 Now how can you test a faith that doesn\u2019t exist in people.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 The assumption of the book of James is the faith is already there and people like to turn James into this book about are these people saved or not; that\u2019s a completeness reading of the book, James is assuming they\u2019re saved and he just wants them to grow in Christ.\n\nIf you go to James 1:18 he says, \u201cIn the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.\u201d\u00a0 So James is dealing with people that have heard the Word of God and have responded to the Word of God by faith, they\u2019ve been born again, they are first fruits amongst God\u2019s creatures in that sense, and now He wants these people to grow.\u00a0 So when James says \u201cfaith without works is dead\u201d the mistake that people make is they take the English word \u201cdead\u201d which means non-existence, and they read it back into the book of James.\u00a0 Biblically the word \u201cdeath\u201d \u2018never means non-existence.\u00a0 Did you know that?\n\nFor example, one of these days you will die, I will die, one of these days if the rapture doesn\u2019t come first every person in the human race will die.\u00a0 Do they ever stop existing?\u00a0 They\u2019re always in existence, heaven or hell throughout all eternity.\u00a0 So biblically the word \u201cdeath,\u201d \u201cfaith without works is dead\u201d does not mean nonexistence.\u00a0 And this is the mistake people make is they say faith without works is dead and they want to turn this into a sermon about man, you\u2019d better make sure you\u2019ve got good works in your life or you were never saved that\u2019s \u00a099% of the teaching that you get on this.\u00a0 But the reality of the situation is it\u2019s what you would call an anachronistic reading, a reading outside of time is what an anachronism is where they\u2019re taking a 21st<\/sup> century definition of the word death and they\u2019re reading it back into a biblical definition of death. When you define death biblically you\u2019ll discover that death never means non-existence.\n\nSo when James says \u201cfaith without works is dead\u201d he is not saying I hope you guys have works to prove you\u2019re saved. That\u2019s not what he\u2019s saying at all.\u00a0 \u201cFaith without works is dead\u201d means your faith that exists, which thereby still allows you to enter heaven, is not being productive. God is not using your life the way He wants to use a saved person.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the part of the equation that James is dealing with.\u00a0 Paul, in many of his writings is not dealing with that subject at all; he\u2019s talking about people that are trying to get to heaven through their good works.\u00a0 Do you guys follow me on this?\u00a0 So if you understand it from this vantage point the so called discrepancy between James and Paul disappears.\u00a0 So Paul is dealing with self-righteousness Judaism; James with dead orthodoxy.\n\nNow notice that both Paul and James use the word justification but when they use the word justification they pour into the word different meanings\u2014same word, different meaning.\u00a0 Rarely is a word in the Bible a technical word which means the same thing everywhere it\u2019s\u00a0 used; that\u2019s what a technical word is, every time you see that word it means the same thing.\u00a0 Words don\u2019t function that way in the Bible. Words have multiple meanings. I\u2019ve used the word apple before to illustrate this.\u00a0 Think of how many definitions you can generate from the word apple.\u00a0 Is it fruit, is it a computer, is it New York City, \u201cthe Big Apple,\u201d is it the pupil of one\u2019s eye.\u00a0 So when I see the word \u201capple\u201d in text how do I determine its meaning?\u00a0 Context tells me.\n\nAnd that\u2019s how this word \u201cjustification\u201d works.\u00a0 When Paul uses the word justification he\u2019s talking about a declaration of innocence before God. When James uses the word justification he\u2019s talking about the evidence of the believer\u2019s useful or productive faith in the eyes of man.\u00a0 See the difference.\u00a0 Paul camps on Genesis 15:6, that\u2019s when Abraham was justified by God through faith.\u00a0 \u201cAbraham believed God and it was\u201d what? \u201ccredited to him as righteousness.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s almost Paul\u2019s favorite Bible verse.\n\nNotice what James is camping on here?\u00a0 Not when Abraham was justified by faith before God but when he offered who?\u00a0 Isaac.\u00a0 Genesis 22 is James\u2026what he\u2019s talking about, and that\u2019s when Abraham\u2019s faith, which was already in existence, became useful or productive, not in the eyes of God but in the eyes of what?\u00a0 Man.\u00a0 See the difference.\n\nAnd by the way, let me throw this at you.\u00a0 In between Genesis 15 and Genesis 22 there is about 20 years there.\u00a0 Abraham was saved for 20 years before his faith finally became productive or useful where God finally got Abraham to a point where he could actually use his life to bless other people.\u00a0 And I just throw that in because a lot of times we\u2019re very impatient with the new believer and we say man, you\u2019d better start demonstrating fruit and I\u2019d better see it pronto, and if I don\u2019t see it pronto then maybe\u00a0 you\u2019re not saved at all.\u00a0 And I think maybe we should back off a little bit and give people a chance to grow because after all, it took Abraham twenty years after he was saved before he was willing to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice.\n\nWhen Paul uses the word \u201cfaith\u201d he\u2019s talking about the justification of Abraham; when James uses the word \u201cfaith\u201d he\u2019s talking about the walk of sanctification, trusting God through daily emergencies.\u00a0 When Paul uses the word \u201cworks\u201d he\u2019s talking about people that are trying to do good works to get God\u2019s favor and Paul is condemning that.\u00a0 When James uses the word \u201cworks\u201d he\u2019s not dealing with that subject at all; he\u2019s talking about the believer\u2019s moral deeds.\u00a0 So if you can understand that James and Paul are trying to answer different questions there isn\u2019t any contradiction at all between James and Paul.\u00a0 So the correct answer to number 50 would be what? True or false?\u00a0 The works of James 2 are referring to justification rather than sanctification; is that true or false?\u00a0 That\u2019s false.\u00a0 James is not talking about justification, he\u2019s talking about sanctification.\u00a0 James is not talking about how someone becomes a believer, left hand side of the column, but he\u2019s talking about someone becoming a what?\u00a0 Disciple, right side of the column.\u00a0 Paul in a lot of his teachings on justification is dealing with the left column; James in a lot of his teachings is dealing with the right hand column.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve gone through the differences between a believer and a disciple haven\u2019t we, so I won\u2019t go into that again.\n\nSo this takes us to question 51, some view the passages of John 3:5.\u00a0 [John 3:5, \u201cJesus answered, \u2018Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.\u201d]\u00a0 Remember what John 3:5 is about?\u00a0 Unless you\u2019re born of water and the Spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, I like to call that Nick at night, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus at night and He makes this statement, unless you\u2019re born of water and the Spirit you can\u2019t enter.\u00a0 And so people use that to say aha, you\u2019ve got to be baptized to get to heaven.\u00a0 And they also like to use Acts 2:38 which says, \u201cPeter said to them, \u2018Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.\u2019\u201d\n\nSo these are passages that people like to use to contend that you have to be baptized to get to heaven. And we\u2019ve explained why this is not what these passages state because there are 200 clear ones that teach that you\u2019re justified before God on the basis of what?\u00a0 Faith by itself.\u00a0 In fact, was the thief on the cross ever baptized?\u00a0 No, and yet Jesus says to him, \u201cToday you will be with Me in paradise.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of hard to get baptized, isn\u2019t it, when you\u2019re nailed to a cross.\u00a0 Jesus doesn\u2019t say hey, quick throw water on this guy before he dies so we can get this guy to heaven.\u00a0 Because we believe the Bible teaches that salvation is by faith alone.\u00a0 Now that\u2019s not to under sell water baptism; it\u2019s an important step for the believer but it just isn\u2019t salvific.\u00a0 I was saved at 16 and because of a little conflict with my father I postponed my own personal baptism until age 27.\u00a0 So from 16 to age 27 I was saved and un-baptized.\u00a0 And I did that largely to mitigate conflict in my own household because my dad at that time, I think he has grown beyond this now but at that time he took somewhat of an offense to my desire to get baptized because he said you got baptized as an infant.\u00a0 And he actually brought the family photos and there I was, screaming at the top of my lungs as a little kid as this priest was pouring water on me.\u00a0 And you know, I don\u2019t want to create conflict in my home so I just postponed the decision until I moved out of the home finally, and then I decided it was time to get baptized.\n\nSo what if I had died at age 17, 18, 19, 20, after believing but before being baptized, would I go to hell?\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 But is baptism important?\u00a0 Yes it is, it\u2019s an important step of growth, it\u2019s an important biblical command.\u00a0 But people will look at a verse like John 3:5, which says you\u2019ve got be born of water and the spirit to enter and they think that teaches a two-step path to salvation, faith plus baptism when in reality that\u2019s not what Jesus is talking about at all.\u00a0 And in the class I gave several interpretations of John 3:5 which indicate that it\u2019s not talking about water baptism.\u00a0 You know, water in the Bible, I gave about five options, but probably my favorite is water in the Bible is analogized to the Holy Spirit in many places. So when a person\u00a0 is born from above they receive the Holy Spirit which is analogized to water many times in the Bible.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of many options.\u00a0 So I\u2019m interpreting John 3:5 in a credible way that\u2019s in harmony with the 200 clear verses that\u00a0 you\u2019re saved by faith alone.\n\nAnd people like to use Acts 2:38 to teach you\u2019ve got to be water baptized to get to heaven because it says, \u201cPeter said to them, \u2018Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for\u201d that\u2019s the Greek word eis<\/em>, \u201cthe forgiveness of your sins;\u201d and people look at that and say there it is in the Bible, if\u00a0 you get your sins forgiven\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to be baptized.\u00a0 And like with all of these things I\u2019ve tried to show you interpretations of these verses which are credible which harmonize with the 200 clear verses.\n\nSo one of the points I raised is eis,<\/em> which is translated \u201cfor\u201d there, can also be translated \u201cbecause of,\u201d as in Matthew 12:41, \u201cThe men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at\u201d (now that\u2019s eis<\/em>, it\u2019s translated \u201cat\u201d \u201cin the face of\u201d or \u201cbecause of\u201d) the preaching of Jonah\u2026.\u201d So Jonah\u2019s preaching caused them to repent.\u00a0 So if that is a legitimate understanding of the Greek word eis<\/em> then you could easily read Acts 2:38 this way: \u201cPeter said to them, \u2018Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ\u201d what\u2019s the next expression, not \u201cfor the forgiveness of your sins\u201d but what? \u201cbecause of the forgiveness of your sins.\u201d Well, Katie bar the door, that changes the meaning a little bit, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 You get baptized not to get your sins forgiven; you get baptized because your sins have been forgiven.\u00a0 So isn\u2019t that interesting that a mild knowledge of the Greek language and how the word eis <\/em>is used in other contexts can completely shift the meaning of the verses.\n\nI\u2019m very disappointed in many of our English translations that don\u2019t bring this up; they translate it \u201cfor\u201d when it\u2019s completely legitimate to translate it \u201cbecause of.\u201d\u00a0 I choose to translate it \u201cbecause of.\u201d\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because it\u2019s a credible use of the Greek language, and I believe at the end of the day that God doesn\u2019t contradict Himself; God doesn\u2019t say one thing on Monday and something different on Saturday because God cannot what? Lie.\u00a0 So why would I pick an interpretive option that contradicts everything else God said.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to pick the one that\u2019s in harmony with what God said.\u00a0 So in the class we went into that in detail.\n\nBut question number 51, some view the passages of John 3:5 and Acts 2:38 to mean that one cannot have faith apart from baptism.\u00a0 This is an example of taking verses out of context.\u00a0 And what\u2019s the correct answer to that?\u00a0 The correct answer is A, true.\n\nWhich takes us to question 52, some view Colossians 2:11-12 and 1 Peter 3:21 to teach that one cannot have faith apart from baptism.\u00a0 This is another example of taking verses out of context.\u00a0 Now Colossians 2:11-12 talks about baptism.\u00a0 But every time\u00a0 you see the word baptism in the Bible it doesn\u2019t refer to water baptism.\u00a0 The Greek word, baptiz\u014d<\/em>, simply means identification.\u00a0 And Colossians 2:11-12 is talking about Spirit baptism; that is a baptism that already happened to you.\u00a0 The moment a person places their personal faith in Jesus Christ they are automatically, at the point of faith, this has nothing to do with water, they are identified to the body of Christ; you become part of Christ\u2019s metaphorical body, the church, at the point of faith.\u00a0 Now whether you\u2019ve been physically water baptized or not has zero to do with that.\u00a0 That\u2019s a positional reality that\u2019s already happened to the believer.\n\nSo Colossians 2:11-12 says, \u201cand in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; [12] having been buried with Him in\u201d what? \u201cbaptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.\u201d\u00a0 Now people look at this and say well, there it is in the Bible, if you\u2019re really a Christian you can\u2019t just believe,\u00a0 you\u2019ve got to be water baptized.\u00a0 And they\u2019ll quote this verse when in reality this verse isn\u2019t even talking about water baptism; this verse is talking about Spirit baptism that already happened to you.\n\nYou see, your water baptism is just an outward symbol of a what?\u00a0 inward reality, it\u2019s a symbol that you\u2019ve already been positionally identified to the body of Christ through faith.\u00a0\u00a0 Your Spirit baptism is something God does, it\u2019s already happened.\u00a0 Water baptism is something you do which is a symbol to the world that it\u2019s happened.\u00a0 So every time you see \u201cbaptism\u201d it\u2019s again like the word \u201cjustification\u201d, it\u2019s not a technical word.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t always mean the same thing everywhere it\u2019s used so you have to determine the meaning of the word by its what?\u00a0 Context.\n\nAnother really good passage on Spirit baptism, which has already happened to the Christian, is in \u00a0\u00a01 Corinthians 12:13, which says, \u201cFor by one Spirit we were all\u201d what? \u201cbaptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.\u201d\u00a0 So is this talking about water baptism or Spirit baptism?\u00a0 This is talking about Spirit baptism which already happened to you because it says you \u201cwere all baptized into one body.\u201d\u00a0 So the moment you trusted in Christ the Holy Spirit took you and identified you with the body of Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s a positional reality that already happened. That\u2019s what Colossians 2 is talking about; that\u2019s what\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01 Corinthians 12 is talking about.\u00a0 There\u2019s zero here about water baptism.\n\nNow other contexts, like Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch was water baptized, that\u2019s talking about water baptism, but that happens after you\u2019re saved; these verses here are talking about Spirit baptism.\u00a0 So baptism doesn\u2019t always mean the same thing,\u00a0 you have to look very carefully at the context.\u00a0 So if people want to use Colossians 2 to teach you\u2019ve got to be water baptized to get to heaven they\u2019re just not paying attention to the context at all.\u00a0 So a text without a context becomes a proof text, see that, to prove something, which is nothing more than a pretext.\u00a0 It\u2019s very dangerous business to have texts without contexts because texts without contexts become pretexts for some preconceived idea someone is trying to foist on you and those are nothing but proof texts or pretexts.\n\nYou can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say if you don\u2019t care about contexts.\u00a0 Judas went out and hung himself; go thou and do likewise.\u00a0 What you do, do quickly.\u00a0 So there we go, three verses I strung them together and the Bible says we all ought to go out and commit suicide.\u00a0 And this is how people approach the Bible, they throw these verses around and many times not using them properly and in context because context is what gives words meaning.\u00a0 If you were to do this in the field of law\u00a0 you\u2019d by disbarred but for some reason in the area of spirituality everybody just throws the Bible around loosey-goosey.\n\nAnd you know, when you start to understand this you start to understand why I\u2019m a big advocate of verse by verse teaching because verse by verse teaching keeps everything in its proper context.\u00a0 That\u2019s why before the sermon I go over the outline, a lot of you are saying have we got to go over that outline again?\u00a0 But the outline gives you the big picture of everything, the book outline, the chapter outline, and that becomes the fabric which allows you to mentally insert everything into its proper context.\u00a0 So that\u2019s why when I stand up in front of you and teach I\u2019m not just throwing out all these verses and you have no idea if I\u2019m using those verses right.\u00a0 Verse by verse study is almost a guarantee to you that I am using the verses right and if I\u2019m not using the verses right you\u2019re going to pick up on it because you\u2019re reading the same context I\u2019m reading.\n\nNow over in 1 Peter 3:21, we\u2019ve gone over this one as well, it says: \u201cCorresponding to that, baptism now saves you\u2014\u201c oh-oh, \u201cbaptism that now saves you,\u201d and when we were going through that passage one of the things I pointed out is \u201csave\u201d does not always refer to justification but it can also refer to sanctification because when you\u2019re baptized you\u2019re standing up in front of the whole world, publicly, and you\u2019re saying I belong to Jesus.\u00a0 And you\u2019re inviting your friends and your relatives and co-workers and then they look at\u00a0 you and they say wow, you\u2019re really serious about this Jesus thing.\u00a0 And guess what they start doing with you?\u00a0 They start treating you different.\u00a0 \u00a0They stop asking you to go out club-hopping every night, they stop using\u2026 have you noticed that with unbelievers, they use a bunch of profanity then you walk in the room and they say oh, I\u2019m sorry I said that, because they publicly know you belong to Christ so they interact differently with you.\u00a0 So your water baptism, baptism that does not save you, does not contribute to your justification, it contributes to your what?\u00a0 Sanctification or growth with Christ.\u00a0 We spent a lot of time going over the details of that verse.\n\nBut question number 52, some view the passages in Colossians 2 and 1 Peter 3 to mean that one cannot have faith apart from baptism, this is an example of taking verses out of context.\u00a0 The correct answer to number 52 is what?\u00a0 True.\n\nThen we come to Roman numeral VII, questions 53 to 59 and this is where we talked about eternal security and if you\u2019ll recall we gave about thirteen arguments for eternal security.\u00a0 Number 1, self-righteousness did not save us in the first place.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saved by self-righteousness am I?\u00a0 So why would I think self-righteousness keeps my salvation?\n\nNumber 2, salvation is not given or maintained by good works.\u00a0 What got you in the door was God\u2019s grace and what keeps you in the door\u2014God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 Once you understand that suddenly the case for eternal security becomes sort of a no-brainer.\n\nNumber 3, if a believer can lose eternal life then how can eternal life be eternal?\u00a0 Oh, you have eternal life, congratulations; oh guess what, it\u2019s gone.\u00a0 Well then how can what I had earlier be called eternal life?\u00a0 Doesn\u2019t eternal life mean it\u2019s eternally what?\u00a0 Yours!\u00a0 That\u2019s what John 3:16 promises you. \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on His name shall not perish but have life everlasting.\u201d Well, if you have life everlasting then the very definition of everlasting means it can\u2019t be withdrawn.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Also we studied John 10:28 which says we\u2019re in the palm of Christ\u2019s hand and what can take us out of His hand?\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 I showed you the Greek there is very strong on that.\n\nAlso the Bible wants you to know that\u00a0 you don\u2019t just have salvation and it\u2019s eternally yours but you can actually know you\u2019re saved.\u00a0 See a lot of people are teaching this idea that oh, I believe in eternal security, but I don\u2019t really know if I have it or not, because I don\u2019t really know until I get to the end of my life whether I\u2019ve persevered enough to figure out whether I\u2019m one of the elect.\u00a0 Or they drift into Arminianism which says eternal life can be taken away.\u00a0 So there\u2019s an epidemic within modern day Christendom of Christians that really don\u2019t know if they have eternal life or not.\n\nThe reality of the situation is God, who cannot lie, has promised you eternal life at the point of faith in Christ.\u00a0 An excellent verse on that is 1 John 5:13, \u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have\u2026\u201d what? be about 95% sure you\u2019re saved (like the weather report), maybe you\u2019re saved, maybe you\u2019re not. \u00a0You\u2019re dating someone, you\u2019re picking the petals off the flower, she loves me, she loves me not; maybe you have it, maybe you don\u2019t. \u00a0NO!\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cThese things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know<\/u> that you have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 God wants you to know as part of\u00a0 your privileges as a child of God that you have eternal life.\u00a0 Well, how could He make that statement if eternal life can be withdrawn?\n\nThe believer we already know is predestined for glory; you\u2019re on a fast track for glory. In fact it\u2019s already happened positionally.\u00a0 How could Paul make that statement if salvation is not secure.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit which is in you has put a seal on\u00a0 you; can that seal be broken?\u00a0 It can\u2019t be broken, Ephesians 4:30.\u00a0 [Ephesians 4:30, \u201cDo not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.\u201d]\n\nSo you put all these arguments together you\u2019ve got a very powerful case for eternal security. God keeps us from falling, Jesus is functioning now as my intercessor and advocate.\u00a0 One of my favorites, Titus 2:14, Christ\u2019s death perfectly dealt with how many of my sins?\u00a0\u00a0 99% of them?\u00a0 All of them.\u00a0 [Titus 2:14, \u201cwho gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.\u201d]\u00a0 We\u2019ve already studied today how the moment you place your faith in Christ you are placed into His body.\u00a0 If you can lose your salvation it\u2019s like Jesus walking around and suddenly His thumb falls off, His finger falls off, His right arm falls off, I mean obviously that can\u2019t happen.\n\nNow if you could lose your salvation by performing some kind of sin which sin is it?\u00a0 Is it drinking, is it gambling, is it getting a tattoo?\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, which sin causes me to lose my salvation if that in fact can be a reality?\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t the Bible say stay away from that one Ya\u2019ll.\u00a0 But we have no record of the Bible saying stay away from X sin or Y sin because you might lose your salvation.\n\nAnd you say well what about the believer with the unfruitful life.\u00a0 Well what are they warned with in 1 Corinthians 3:15? [1 Corinthians 3:15, \u201cIf any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\u00a0 Not loss of salvation but loss of what?\u00a0 Rewards at the Bema Seat.\u00a0 See, you take all thirteen of these arguments and you look at them cumulatively I don\u2019t think any one of them seals the deal but all of them together I think perform a very powerful case that the believer cannot lose their salvation.\n\nSo therefore here are the answers to number 53 through 59.\u00a0 53 is true. 54 is true. 55 is true.\u00a0 56 is true.\u00a0 57 is true.\u00a0 You say well, I\u2019ve got this one down\u2026 careful, 58 is what? false, had to throw one in there just to keep you awake.\u00a0 59 is true.\u00a0 So those questions just go over these arguments that I just went through.\u00a0 So all of them from 53-59 are true, 58 would be false, which takes us to question 60, refute problem passages that seem to deny eternal security.\n\nSo question 60 is describe how the believer\u2019s security can be reconciled with Matthew 24:13.\u00a0 You all know Matthew 24:13, right, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.\u201d\u00a0 So people look at that and they say wow, I\u2019d better be bearing fruit to the very end of my life because if I don\u2019t maybe I\u2019m not saved.\u00a0 So people use this all of the time to say maybe you\u2019re not one of the elect or maybe you lost your salvation when in reality what is Matthew 24 talking about?\u00a0 It\u2019s called the Olivet Discourse right, where Jesus gave a discourse on the Mount of Olives.\u00a0 We don\u2019t call it the Olivet Discourse because we get all of it, we call it the Olivet Discourse because He\u2019s on the Mount of Olives and He\u2019s answering Jewish questions about the temple and the temple\u2019s destruction.\u00a0 And in the process He says, in Matthew 24 and 25, the Olivet Discourse, He says farewell to Israel.\u00a0 It\u2019s Israel\u2019s farewell address.\u00a0 And in the process He outlines the events of the future tribulation period and how Israel is going to come to faith in Christ one day in the end times.\n\nNow John 13-17 is different.\u00a0 Both discourses are given in the same passion week, right before Christ was killed and rose from the dead.\u00a0 In Matthew 24 and 25 He\u2019s saying farewell Israel, in other words, God is going to set you on the shelf for a while but you\u2019ll be converted in the end times.\u00a0 In John 13-17 He\u2019s saying hello to the church, a discourse not given on the Mount of Olives but given in the Upper Room, that\u2019s why we call it the Upper Room Discourse.\u00a0 And He begins to talk about the resources that are coming to the new church that\u2019s about to be birthed on the day of Pentecost and He begins to talk about the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where He starts to say things like it\u2019s to your advantage that I go away, if I don\u2019t go away the Paraclete will not come to you, and so what He\u2019s doing in John 13-17\u00a0 is He\u2019s saying hello to the church, which is about to be born on the day of Pentecost, but in the Olivet Discourse, Matthew 24 and 25 He\u2019s saying farewell to Israel.\u00a0 That\u2019s why in the Olivet Discourse He says things like pray that your flight will not take place on the Sabbath, that\u2019s a Jewish concept, isn\u2019t it?\n\nSo in Matthew 24:13 He is basically speaking about Israel\u2019s future and He makes the statement, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end will be saved.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s talking about the persecution that the Jewish people are going to be under in the tribulation period itself.\u00a0 In fact, Matthew 24:15 He talks about the Seventieth Week of Daniel, which we\u2019ll be studying on Sunday mornings as we get more and more into the prophetic section of Daniel, which is a description of the tribulation period.\u00a0 [Matthew 24:15, \u201cTherefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),\u201d]\n\nHe says things like those days be cut short no one would survive.\u00a0 Matthew 24:22, \u201cUnless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0He talks about a time of unparalleled distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now. \u00a0[Matthew 24:21, \u201cFor then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.\u201d]\u00a0 He talks about a sign from heaven, His personal return at the end of the tribulation period. \u00a0\u00a0And He talks about the conditions of the kingdom that He\u2019s going to set up after He returns to rescue Israel at the end of the tribulation period.\u00a0 This has nothing to do with the at all.\n\nSo when He says he \u201cwho endures to the end will be saved\u201d what He\u2019s saying is tribulation Jews that make it to the end of the tribulation period are going to be\u2026 watch this, physically protected by Christ, from the antichrist who\u2019s trying to do what to them?\u00a0 Kill them.\u00a0 So He says many of you in the tribulation period are going to lose your lives; as you come under the oppression of the antichrist many of you are going to die,\u00a0 but the Jew that makes it to the end is going to experience the protection of God because Jesus is going to return and regather them and rescue them from the beast.\u00a0 So therefore when He uses the word \u201csaved\u201d here He\u2019s not even talking about entrance into heaven; He\u2019s talking about physical protection, because the word \u201csaved\u201d is not a technical term; it doesn\u2019t mean the same thing everywhere it\u2019s\u00a0 used.\n\nWhen we see the word saved we think it always means you believe in Christ and you don\u2019t go to hell and generally it does mean that but I can show you specific examples in the Bible, particularly Philippians 1 where Paul talked about getting out of jail and being saved.\u00a0 You could drive into work tomorrow morning and start your journey off 15 minutes earlier and be saved from a traffic jam.\u00a0 So the word saved has a very broad semantic range, it means different things depending on how the term is employed.\n\nHebrews 11:7 says Noah was saved in the ark.\u00a0 [Hebrews 11:7, \u201cBy faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.\u201d]\u00a0 Does that mean Noah went to heaven because he got in the ark?\u00a0 No, he was saved from what?\u00a0 The flood.\n\nSo when this verse says \u201cBut the one who endures to the end will be saved\u201d to take that verse and apply it to make it sound like man, you\u2019d better bear fruit to the end of your life so that you figure out whether you\u2019re going to heaven or not, that\u2019s about as far removed from the context as you could ever get.\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about the tribulation Jew who\u2019s being persecuted by the antichrist who makes it to the end of the tribulation period being personally rescued by Jesus Christ from martyrdom.\u00a0 And where am I getting all of this from?\u00a0 I\u2019m getting it from what?\u00a0 Context!\u00a0 But you take this verse and you just remove it from its context and throw it on somebody and make it sound like they\u2019d better bear fruit to the end of their life to figure out if they\u2019re Christians, that is an abuse of the Bible.\u00a0 That is not what that verse is talking about.\n\nSo the correct answer to number 60 is what?\u00a0 What do you guys think?\u00a0 C.\u00a0 \u00a0Describe how the believer\u2019s security can be reconciled with Matthew 24:13 which says, \u201cBut the one who endures to the end will be saved,\u201d the correct answer to that is C, that is NOT an eternal security verse; that is talking about the tribulation setting.\n\nNumber 61, Galatians 5:4, \u201cYou have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.\u201d\u00a0 People use that to teach loss of salvation, but what is happening in the book of Galatians?\u00a0 Paul says \u201cAre you so foolish, having begun in the\u201d what? \u201cSpirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s going on in the book of Galatians?\u00a0 It\u2019s a bunch of Christians that got into legalism, that\u2019s what\u2019s going on in the book of Galatians.\u00a0 So when Paul says, \u201cYou have been severed from Christ\u2026you have fallen from grace\u201d he\u2019s not talking about the first tense of their salvation but the second tense.\u00a0 He\u2019s saying you\u2019re missing the grace of God in daily life.\u00a0 That\u2019s what he\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 And in the process you\u2019re out of fellowship with Christ.\u00a0 Are you with me on this?\u00a0\u00a0 Again, all I\u2019m doing with all of these verses, I\u2019m just putting them in context.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I\u2019m doing.\u00a0 So the correct answer to 61 is B.\n\nWhat about Philippians 2:12, [\u201cSo then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;\u201d] Oh-oh, \u201cwork out your salvation with fear and trembling.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s the context of the book of Philippians?\u00a0 Is it talking about justification?\u00a0 It\u2019s talking about sanctification.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 I know that because the book is aimed at two women who are fighting like cats and dogs.\u00a0 Not that men don\u2019t do that also but in this case it\u2019s two women, one is Euodia, the other is Syntyche, I like to call them Odious and Syntouche.\u00a0 But they\u2019re fighting and causing disunity in the body of Christ.\u00a0 I\u2019m glad that kind of thing never happens in our churches today, of course I\u2019m being a little facetious.\n\nNow are these women saved?\u00a0 I think they are saved.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Because Philippians 4:2-3 says your names are written in the Book of Life.\u00a0 [Philippians 4:2-3, \u201cI urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. [3] Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of<\/em> the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.\u201d]\u00a0 So when he says \u201cwork out your salvation with fear and trembling\u201d he\u2019s talking about saved people who are stumbling, not in the first tense of salvation but in the middle tense of salvation.\u00a0 That\u2019s why when you get into the context of Philippians 2 it says do all things without grumbling and disputing.\u00a0 So this is not oh my gosh, I\u2019d better make sure I\u2019ve got enough good works to see if I\u2019m going to get to heaven.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what it\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 And again context rescues you from all of these things. \u00a0So the correct answer to number 62 is B.\n\nHow about 63, the sin that leads unto death?\u00a0 Is that a loss of salvation?\u00a0 No, that\u2019s maximum divine discipline, and we\u2019ve gone through many, many examples where God can take the believer, because of sin, and terminate their earthly life prematurely, like Ananias and Sapphira who were slain in the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 And by the way, being \u201cslain in the Holy Spirit\u201d is not a good thing; I hear people say man, I went out this weekend and I got under this evangelist and I got slain in the Spirit.\u00a0 And I\u2019m saying wow, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re still alive to talk about it.\u00a0 So this is talking about maximum divine discipline here; it\u2019s not a loss of salvation verse.\u00a0 So the correct answer to number 63 is what?\u00a0 A.\n\nAnd then you have 2 Peter 1:10-11, which says, \u201cTherefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you;\u201d and so people say wow, if I\u2019m not diligent maybe God never chose me.\u00a0 But in reality you look at this verse in context you\u2019ll come to verse 11, it says, \u201cfor in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be\u201d what? \u201cabundantly supplied to you.\u201d\u00a0 How do you want to enter God\u2019s kingdom one day?\u00a0 Do you want to enter like the man in 1 Corinthians 3:15 who gets in and he smells the smoke on his garments?\u00a0 Is that how you want to enter?\u00a0 Because he has no reward, because he\u2019s lived his life in the flesh as a Christian, is that how you want to enter?\u00a0 Or do you want to enter \u201cabundantly supplied\u201d see that?\u00a0 And I think I\u2019ll choose the latter.\u00a0 I mean, entering is great enough but having a full reward once you\u2019re there is even better, isn\u2019t it.\u00a0 So that\u2019s the context of 2 Peter 1:10-11. It\u2019s not talking about people that maybe are saved, maybe are not.\u00a0 The whole context is rewards and so the correct answer to number 64 would be D.\n\nOh my gosh, we\u2019re going to finish this, unless I take an hour explaining 65.\u00a0 Now we\u2019ve already gone over Lordship salvation, right?\u00a0 What is Lordship salvation?\u00a0 Come on, we\u2019re at the end of the class and you guys don\u2019t know what Lordship salvation is.\u00a0 [Someone answers]\u00a0 Yeah, becoming a Christian means belief in Christ is not enough, you\u2019ve got to make Him Lord of every area of your life.\u00a0 And we spent a lot of time going through the seven basic problems with Lordship salvation.\u00a0 So question number 65 is which is not a problem of associated with Lordship salvation?\u00a0 The correct answer is D, Lordship salvation defends the possibility of a carnal Christian.\u00a0 Lordship salvation denies the opposite, it denies the possibility of a carnal Christian because go get in the door you have to have every area of your life submitted to the Lordship of Christ.\n\nSo Lordship theology really doesn\u2019t like the idea of a carnal Christian; in fact, they\u2019re given almost no\u2026 they almost give no exposition of carnal Christianity and that\u2019s why many times they will ban the writings of Lewis Sperry Chafer from their libraries.\u00a0 I know of several churches that have done that, because they\u2019re so involved in Lordship salvation.\u00a0 Lewis Sperry Chafer, on the other hand, talked about believers versus unbelievers and in the ranks of believers he talked about three distinct categories; there\u2019s spiritual believers, infant believers and carnal believers.\u00a0 And he\u2019s not making this up, he got it all from 1 Corinthians 3:1-3.\n\n[1 Corinthians 3:1-3, \u201cAnd I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. [2] I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it.<\/em> Indeed, even now you are not yet able, [3] for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?\u201d]\n\nSo we acknowledge the reality of carnal Christianity.\u00a0 We call it an unfortunate possibility; we\u2019re not cheerleaders for it, we\u2019re just acknowledging that it\u2019s a possibility.\u00a0 There are people in the body of Christ that live in carnality and are still saved.\n\nLordship salvation, because it says it\u2019s necessary to make Jesus Christ Lord of every area of your life in order to get saved denies carnal Christianity, so you get almost no exposition from them about the reality of carnal Christianity and if they don\u2019t neglect they outright attack the writings of Lewis Sperry Chafer who talks over and over again about carnal Christianity.\u00a0 In fact, Chafer wrote a book called He that is Spiritual<\/em>, what\u2019s that book about.\u00a0 It\u2019s not how to get saved; it\u2019s how to go from being an infant or a carnal Christian to being a growing Christian.\u00a0 So unless those categories are there the whole premise of the book wouldn\u2019t make sense.\u00a0 So the correct answer to number 65 is B, which takes us to the end of the test.\u00a0 So you guys are all expert soteriologists.\u00a0 Congratulations.","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