ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

by Pastor Harry A. IRONSIDE

Revised Edition

FOREWORD

This brief work consists of a message delivered in the D. L. Moody Memorial Church on a Lord’s Day morning and the substance of two Friday meetings when questions were submitted and then answered from the platform.

Careful editing might have eliminated everything that looks like repetition. But inasmuch as it is by constant re-affirmation that truth is lodged in the mind and heart, I have not pruned the answers as much as I otherwise might have.

Let me say that my object was not controversy nor the besting of an opponent, but rather the edification and enlightenment of the people of God, so that the knowledge of the truth might deliver from legality and give true liberty.

H. A. IRONSIDE / Chicago, Illinois / April 24, 1934

Can A Believer Ever Be Lost?

It has been announced that I will speak to you on a subject which has occasioned a good deal of controversy among the people of God. I want to take as a starting point--not exactly as a text, because we shall be looking at a good many Scriptures--Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This is the inspired answer to the question of verse 35: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” That is, once we have been justified by faith, who is there, what power is there, that can separate from the love of Christ? And the answer, how full, how clear, not a shadow, not a doubt, not a question left, when the apostle says that neither death nor life shall separate! Can you think of anything which is neither included in death nor in life? Neither death nor life shall separate!

No unseen powers can separate the believer from Christ, “neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers.” These terms are used again and again in the New Testament, particularly in the Epistles, for angelic hosts, good and evil. When our Savior rose from the dead He spoiled principalities and powers, that is, He defeated all the hosts of evil led by Satan; and so we may take it that the angels referred to here are good angels, and the principalities and powers are possible evil angels. But there is nothing that good angels would do and nothing that evil angels can do which will result in the separation of the believer from Christ. And then further he says, “neither things present nor things to come.” Again let me put the question, Can you think of any experience through which a believer might ever go which is neither a thing present nor a thing to come? And the Holy Ghost says that neither things present nor things to come shall be able to separate us from the love of Christ. As though that were not enough, He speaks in a more general way when He says that neither “Height nor depth (nothing in heaven, nothing in hell), nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It looks to me as though we are safe if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eternal Security: Its Meaning

When we speak of the eternal security of the believer, what do we mean? We mean that once a poor sinner has been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit of God, once he has received a new life and a new nature and has been made partaker of the divine nature, once he has been justified from every charge before the throne of God, it is absolutely impossible that that man should ever again be a lost soul. Having said that, let me say what we do not mean when we speak of the eternal security of the believer. We do not mean that it necessarily follows that if one professes to be saved, if he comes out to the front in a meeting, shakes the preacher’s hand, and says he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, that that person is eternally safe. It does not mean that if one joins a church or makes a profession of faith, is baptized, becomes a communicant, and takes an interest in Christian work, that that person is forever secure. It does not mean that because one manifests certain gifts and exercises these gifts in Christian testimony, that that person is necessarily eternally secure.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said to the people of His day, as recorded in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Such people then may have been very active in what is called Christian work--they have preached, they have cast out demons, that is, their influence has been such that men and women have found deliverance from satanic power through their ministrations in the name of Jesus, they have professed with their lips, they have accomplished many wonderful works, but they are found in that day among the lost, and when they plead their great activity and their earnestness in Christian testimony, the Lord says to them, “I never knew you.” Notice, He does not say to them, “I used to know you, but you have forfeited My favor and I do not know you any longer.” He says, “I never knew you.”

The Sheep Of Christ

You remember how He speaks of His own in John 10:27-30: ”My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” Of His own He says, “I know them.” Of these others, in spite of all their activity, in spite of all their accomplishments, He says in the day of judgment, “I never knew you.” That is a very solemn thing. That answers a question that is frequently put to us. I do not know how many times I have had individuals come to me with a hypothetical case like this: “Suppose a man who joined the church, who professed to be saved, who for a number of years was a very active Christian worker, perhaps a Sunday school teacher, perhaps an elder or a deacon in the church, maybe a minister, but after some years of apparent consistent Christian living and helpfulness in testimony he turns his back on it all, returns to the world, utterly repudiates Christianity, and now denies in toto the gospel he once professed. How does that square with your doctrine of the eternal security of the believer?” That does not touch the matter at all. The apostle John tells us how we are to understand a case like that. He says in 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us,” or literally, “That they were not altogether of us.” That is, it is possible to do all the things that I have spoken of and yet never be regenerated. It is quite possible to join a church, to make a Christian profession; it is quite possible to observe the Christian ordinances, to teach and to preach, and yet never be born again. If one teaches and preaches the truth, it will produce good results and will do men good whether the teacher or the preacher be real or not, for it is the truth that God uses. Of course He can use the truth to better advantage when it is proclaimed by a holy man living to the glory of God than when it is proclaimed by a hypocrite. Nevertheless, God uses His truth regardless of who may proclaim it, and that explains how people may do mighty works in the name of Christ and yet never be born again.

Christ’s One Offering

When we say that the believer in the Lord Jesus is eternally secure, we base it upon a number of lines of scriptural testimony. In the first place, we rest it upon the perfection of Christ’s one offering upon the cross. Personally, I never can understand how thoughtful people, taught by the Holy Spirit of God, can carefully read the Epistle to the Hebrews and not see that throughout that Epistle the writer is contrasting the many sacrifices offered under law with the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. That to which he particularly calls attention is this: under law every time an Israelite sinned, he needed a new sin offering, and every year the nation had to celebrate the great day of atonement when a new offering was presented to God for the people. Why? Because those sacrifices could never take away sin, they simply covered sin for the time being. But we are told in Hebrews 10 that when the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and offered Himself without spot to God, the effect of His sacrifice was eternal. Verse 14 makes this clear: “For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” Perfected for how long? “Oh,” says somebody, “as long as they are faithful.” No, that is not what it says. “He hath perfected for ever.” Why? Because the sacrifice is all-efficacious.

I am sure my brethren who deny the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer do not realize that in so doing they are putting a slight upon the finished work of Christ, they are reducing the sacrifice of Christ practically to the level of the offerings of bulls and goats in the Old Testament dispensation. I am sure they do not mean to do that, for they love their Lord just as truly as I trust I love Him, and they do not want to dishonor Him. But they are afraid that this doctrine will lead people to be careless about their lives, and therefore they stress the possibility of a man losing his salvation after he has once been justified by faith. But they do not pursue that to its logical conclusion; they do not see that it is a practical denial of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved eternally because the sacrifice of Christ abides.

When I came to the Lord Jesus Christ and put my trust in Him, not only were all my sins up to the day of my conversion forgiven, but all my sins were put away for eternity. When a young Christian, I was taught something like this: I thought when I was converted that all my sins, from the time of dawning accountability up to that night when I put my trust in the Lord Jesus, were put away, and now God had given me a new start, and if I could only keep the record clean to the end of my life, I would get to heaven; but if I did not keep it clean, I ceased to be a Christian and I had to get converted all over again. Every time this happened the past was under the blood, but I had to keep the record clean for the future. What a God-dishonoring view of the atonement of Christ that is! If only those of my sins that were committed up to the moment of my conversion were put away by the atoning blood of Jesus, what possible way would there be by which sins I have confessed after that could be dealt with? The only ground on which God could forgive sin is that Jesus settled all upon the cross, and when I trust Him, all that He has done goes down to my account.

What Of Future Sins?

A lady came to me one day and said, “I do not understand you there. I can understand that Christ died for the sins I committed up to the night of my conversion, but do you mean to tell me that Christ died for my future sins?”

I said, “How many of your sins were in the past when Christ died on the cross?”

She looked puzzled for a moment, and then the light broke in, and she said, “How foolish I have been! Of course they were all future when Jesus died for me. I had not committed any of them.”

God saw all your sins, and He laid upon Jesus all your iniquity. Therefore, when you trusted Him, you were justified freely from all things. Do you say, “Does it make no difference then if a believer sins?” That is another question, and it would take a whole evening to go into that, but here is the point: the moment you trust the Lord Jesus as your Savior, your responsibility as a sinner having to do with the God of judgment is ended for eternity, but that same moment your responsibility as a child having to do with a Father in heaven begins. Now if as a child you should sin against your Father, God will have to deal with you about that, but as a father and not as a judge. That is a line of truth that stands by itself and does not contradict what I am now teaching. It explains some things that bewilder people when this doctrine is brought before them.

The Spirit’s Perseverance

In the second place, we base the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer upon the perseverance and omnipotent power of the Holy Spirit of God. Look at Philippians 1:6. Writing to these saints, the apostle says, when he thanked them for their fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Do you see that? Who began the good work in you if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus? The Holy Spirit of God did. It was He who convicted you of sin; it was He who led you to put your trust in Christ; it was He who through the Word gave you the witness that you were saved; it is He who has been conforming you to Christ since you first trusted the Lord Jesus. Having thus taken you up in grace, the Holy Spirit has a definite purpose in view. He is eventually going to conform you fully to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He never begins a work that He does not intend to finish. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” If when you were a poor sinner the Holy Spirit had power sufficient to break down your opposition to God and to bring to an end your unbelief and rebellion, do you think for one moment that He does not have power enough to subdue your will as a believer and to carry on to completion the work that He began?

People say, “I see you believe in that old Baptist doctrine of ‘once in grace, always in grace.’” Or another says, “I understand you hold that old Presbyterian idea of ‘the final perseverance of the saints.’” I do not know why this should be called either Baptist or Presbyterian, only to the extent that Baptists and Presbyterians agree with the Book, and the Word of God clearly shows that once God takes us up in grace nothing can separate us from the love of Christ so that evidently the expression, “once in grace, always in grace,” is a perfectly correct one. But, on the other hand, I am not so enthusiastic about the other expression, “the perseverance of the saints.” I believe in it; I believe that all saints--all really belonging to God--will persevere to the end, for the Book tells me, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13), and if a man starts out and makes a profession but gives it all up, he will never be saved, because he was never born again to begin with, he was never truly changed by grace divine. On the other hand, the reason he endures to the end is not because of any particular perseverance of his own. What I believe in, and what the Word of God clearly teaches, is the perseverance of the Holy Spirit. When He begins a work, He never gives up until it is completed. That is our confidence.

Experience And Faith

Forty-three years ago the Spirit of God in grace led me to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. I have had many ups-and-downs since then, as the old folks used to sing in a camp meeting I attended:

I am sometimes up and sometimes down,

But still my soul am heavenly bound.

I have had varied experiences, but the wonderful thing is this, the Holy Spirit of God has never given me up. And if at times I have been wayward and willful and did not immediately bow before God and repent of my waywardness and willfulness, then I found I had to come under the rod, my Father’s rod, and He whipped me into subjection until I came to the place where I was ready to confess by failure and be restored to fellowship with Him. But I was just as truly His child while getting a good whipping as I was when the effects of it had restored me to fellowship. Your child does not cease to be your child when you have him over your knee and are using the slipper on him. It is because he is your child and because you want him to grow up to be a well-behaved boy that you do that. And so we believe in the perseverance of the Holy Spirit of God, that having begun the work He will carry it on to completion.

New Creation

In the third place, we base the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer upon the fact of the new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” That verse may be rendered like this: Therefore if any man be in Christ, this is new creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new.

What do we mean by new creation? Just this: we were once in the place of death; we were once utterly lost and ruined. How did we get there? Follow me now. It was not by any act of our own. Do you say, “I did not get into the place of spiritual death by any act of my own?” No, you did not. Do you say, “I was not lost because of any act of my own?” No, you were not. But why were you numbered among the lost? Because you were born into the world a member of the old creation of which Adam the first was the head, and every child of Adam’s race comes into the world lost and is under sentence of death. And so we read in verse 14, “The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.”

The Two Adams

Let me try to make that clear. Here is Adam the first, the head of the old creation, and he was placed on trial in the Garden of Eden. The entire world was represented in him--you were represented in him, I was represented in him. As the Spirit of God says of Levi, “He was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him” (Hebrews 7:10), so we, every one of us, were represented there in Adam when the old creation was on trial. Adam failed, and God said, “In the day thou eatest thereof, dying thou shalt die.” As a result of that failure the old creation fell down in death, and every person that has ever been born in the world since that time was born down there; no one has been born up here, where Adam the first started, except our Lord Jesus Christ, and His birth was a supernatural one. Therefore, as members of the old creation we were all dead, all lost. But now see what happened--our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world (the written Word here speaks of Him as the living Word) and He stood on this plane of sinlessness. Adam was created sinless but fell; Jesus came, the sinless One, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of a virgin mother, but He saw men down there in death, and at the cross He went down into death, down to where man was, and came up in grace from death. But He did not come up alone, for God has quickened us together with Christ, so that all who believe in Him are brought up from that place of death; and as at one time we were made partakers of Adam’s race, so now we are made partakers of a new creation. What does God do for us now? Does He put us where Adam was before and say, “Now behave yourselves, and you won’t die again”? No, He puts us up higher than Adam could ever have gone except by a new and divine creation. “He hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6), and because we belong to this new creation we can never be lost. You were lost because the head of the old creation failed, and you went down with him. You can never be lost unless the head of the new creation falls, and if He does you will go down with Him. But, thank God, He remains on the throne where God Himself has put Him, in token of His perfect satisfaction in the work He accomplished.

You may have heard of the Irishman who was converted but was seized with a dreadful fear that some day he might commit some great sin and lose his soul, that he might be lost after all, and he trembled at the thought. He went to a meeting and heard the words read, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” “Glory to God!” shouted Pat. “Whoever heard of a man drowning with his head that high above water?” We are linked with Him, we belong to the new creation, and that is why we shall never be lost.

Eternal Life Possessed Now

In the last place, we rest the truth of the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer upon the fact that the believer is the present possessor of eternal life. It is not merely that if we are faithful to the end we shall receive eternal life. There is a sense in which that is true; there is a sense in which our hope is eternal life. I am a Christian now if I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; believing on Him I have eternal life, but I have it in a dying body. I am now waiting for the redemption of the body, and when the Lord Jesus comes the second time He shall change this body of my humiliation and make it like unto the body of His glory. Then I shall have received eternal life in all its fullness, spirit, soul, and body, entirely conformed to Christ. In that sense I am hoping for eternal life. But over and over and over again, Scripture rings the changes on the fact that every believer is at the present time in possession of eternal life. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Adam’s life was forfeitable life; he lost his life because of sin. Eternal life is nonforfeitable life, otherwise it would not be eternal. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Everlasting life is life that lasts forever, and we have it now. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

His Sheep Follow Him

I have purposely left this point until last because people generally take it for granted it will be the first passage used in taking up this subject. In John 10:27 we are told, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Notice these three things. It matters not what profession a man makes, if he does not hear the voice of the Son of God he is not a Christian, and therefore the Savior does not know him as His own. No matter what profession he may make, if he does not follow the Lord Jesus Christ, he is only a sham and a fraud and a hypocrite. He may follow for a little while outwardly, like those of whom the apostle Peter speaks, who walk in the way of righteousness and then turn from it. “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:22). If that dog had ever been regenerated and become a sheep, if that sow had ever been changed and become a lamb, neither would have gone back to the filth; but, you see, the dog was always a dog, and the sow was always a sow. They were just whitewashed, not washed white, they were never regenerated, and so went back to the old things. But the sheep of Christ are different. “They follow Me,” Jesus says. Be careful. Do not profess to be one of His sheep if you do not follow Him, It is the test of reality. There are many people who tell us, “At such and such a time I was converted, I went forward, I signed a card.” You can do all of these things and be lost forever. What you need is a new birth; and when you are born again, you get a new life; and when you receive a new life, you love to follow Jesus; and if you do not, you are not a Christian. Think about it; examine your own foundations a bit.

A Dangerous Doctrine?

People say, “If you preach this doctrine of the eternal security of the believer, men will say, ‘Well, then it doesn’t make any difference what I do, I will get to heaven anyway.’” It makes a tremendous difference what you do. If you do not behave yourself, it shows that you are not a real Christian. I know that a real Christian may fail, but the difference can be seen in Peter and Judas. Peter failed, and failed terribly, but he was genuine, and one look from Jesus sent him out weeping bitterly; his heart was broken to think that he had so dishonored his Lord. But Judas companied with the Lord almost three-and-a-half years and was a devil all the time; he was a thief and was seeking his own interest. He was even made the treasurer of that company and he held the bag, but we read, “He bare [away] what was put therein” (John 12:6), as this has been literally translated. At last remorse overtook him, not genuine repentance, and what was the result? He went and hanged himself. He was never a child of God. There is a great difference, you see, between a Christian and a false professor.

Justified By Faith

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life.” Do you believe it? I do not understand how people can read a passage like that and then talk about a Christian losing his life. It would not be eternal if it could be lost. “And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” The original is very strong here. In the English a double negative makes an affirmative, but in Greek it only strengthens a declaration. “They shall never, no never, perish.” It is impossible, it is unthinkable, that one who has eternal life shall ever perish. “My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand.” Here I am, a poor lost sinner, but the Lord in grace picks me up and saves me, and I am in His hand. And now the Father puts His hand around too, and I am in the hand of the Father and of the Son, and the devil himself cannot get me unless he can loosen those hands. Could you think of any greater security than to be in the hands of the Father and of the Son? “Never perish,” “eternal life”--what wondrous words are these! Do not be afraid of God’s truth. You might as well be afraid of the beginning of the gospel that God can freely forgive and justify a guilty sinner by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. People try to put guards around that truth and say, “Yes, you are justified by faith if you have enough good works to add to it.” That is not true. It is by faith alone, and good works spring from that. When you know you have eternal life, you will find your heart so filled with love for Christ that you will try to live for His glory.

Objections

There will be certain passages coming up in the minds of different ones, and they will say, “What he has said may sound logical enough, but what about this Scripture and that?” Let me say, there is no possible Scripture that will come to your mind that the present speaker has not considered carefully over and over again. I have not time in one address to go into all these, but I can assure you that having examined them all with the greatest degree of care, I have never been able to find one that can set aside this: “Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If you have a clear, definite, positive Scripture, do not allow some passage that is perplexing, that is difficult to interpret, that seems somewhat ambiguous, to keep you from believing the positive statement, “He that believeth hath everlasting life.” It is because I have a salvation like this to offer to men, it is because God has sent me to proclaim a salvation like this to sinners, that I have confidence in inviting people to come to Jesus, for I know if they get in living touch with my Savior He will make them His forever.

I recently received from a gentleman a tract entitled “All about the Eternal Security Doctrine.” He is afraid that this doctrine may have a tendency to make people careless about their lives. I can sympathize with him in that for this reason: I was a Christian worker in an organization that believed in what is commonly called the Arminian view; that is, when a person gets converted he has a good start for heaven, and then it is up to him to keep on going. As my old instructor used to say, “Getting to heaven is like riding a bicycle: if I stop, I will fall off.” I believed that thoroughly, so thoroughly that when people spoke to me about being eternally saved I used to say, “That is a doctrine of the evil one; that would mislead people and lead folks to become careless,” until I had a rather rude awakening.

I found our halls were thronged by people who were getting converted over and over again every few weeks. It seemed as though that old hymn, “Ye Must Be Born Again,” should really be sung, “Ye must Be Born Again and Again and Again.” That puzzled me, for I never read of anything like it in the Bible. Then I found that the falling away doctrine had a tendency to make people very careless indeed. Let me give you a concrete example. A young man in whom I was quite interested had been addicted to a certain sin in his unconverted days. After he professed conversion he turned from that particular sin, but he confessed to me privately that he had gone out in the darkness of the night, when no one knew where he was, and had fallen into the same sin many times. “How can you do it?” I asked him. “Well,” he said, “I always make up my mind that I will commit the sin and then get converted again when I come home.” I saw from that how dangerous was the doctrine of being saved today and lost tomorrow. The last time I saw that young man, he said to me, “It’s no use; this sin has such a grip on me that I cannot stand it.” “Don’t yield,” I said. “Let me call in several of the others and let us pray with you.” So four or five of us knelt and prayed very earnestly, but he rose again and clenched his fists, for he was in great agony, and said, “It’s no use. I am going out to sin, but I am coming back to get converted afterwards.” I never saw him again, and I do not know what became of him. That, you see, was one effect of this doctrine that a person loses his salvation when he sins but can come back again and get converted any time he desires. Certainly the Word of God teaches nothing like that. You can see that the Arminian view can be used to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness. It is possible for the other view to be misused also. But I want you to see that the misuse of any doctrine does not in itself prove the teaching is wrong. We need definite Scripture upon which to base our faith. If people have no conscience toward God, they can misuse any doctrine in the Bible. But what we want to get at is this: Are the objections brought against the doctrine of eternal security really tenable?

Question 1 – Man: A Free Moral Agent?

“Is not man an absolutely free moral agent?” as one objector insists. He says, “We can quote no Scripture on unconditional eternal security, because there is none.”

I do not know what he means, but of course there is no eternal security that is not based on personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But this writer goes on to say, “When a man is saved, he is on God’s altar to live or die, for service or sacrifice, and neither the devil nor demons can pull him off so long as he chooses by God’s grace to keep himself in that place.”

The fact of the matter is that man is not an “absolutely free moral agent.” In his unsaved state he is the slave of sin “led by the devil captive at his will.” When regenerated he is the servant of Christ, delighting in holiness and indwelt by the Spirit of the loving God. I was not saved by placing my all on the altar. I was saved when I trusted Christ who gave Himself as the offering for my sin. I am not keeping saved by my surrendered life. I am “kept by the power of God.” The same grace that saved is the grace that keeps.

I do not simply “choose” to keep myself in the place where I am secure. God has chosen me, and I say amen to His choice. But if it were possible for me to choose to abandon Christ, would I not perish? Yet the Word tells me that Christ’s sheep shall never perish. Let us look again at the words of the Lord Jesus in John 10:27-29: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Father’s hand.”

I wish you would look at verse 27. Who is a sheep of Christ? He is one who hears His voice and follows Him. If a man says, “I am a Christian,” but does not hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and does not follow Him, that man is a hypocrite; he is not a Christian. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” Notice the expression, “I know them.” I pointed out in my former address that in Matthew 7:22-23, the Lord Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” Observe that according to Scripture He never says to any soul in the day of judgment, “I used to know you, but I do not know you now.” He says, “I never knew you.” That ought to clear up the whole question. He says of His sheep, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them.” Therefore, if one has ever been a sheep of Christ, the Lord Jesus knows him. Now if by some strange metamorphosis that sheep of Christ were changed into a goat, one of the devil’s goats, and appeared at the day of judgment among the goats, Jesus could not say to that goat, “I never knew you.” He would have to say, “I used to know you but I do not know you now.” But He says, “I never knew you,” because He gives His sheep eternal life. What is eternal life? One asks, “If the spiritual life of Adam were conditional, how could the life of a believer be secure? Adam must have been eternal in nature.” This shows how little well-meaning people distinguish between the life that God gave to Adam by creation and the life that He gives to us by regeneration. Adam’s life was simply natural life and he forfeited that when he sinned, but God gives to believers eternal life, and that can never be forfeited. It would not be eternal life if it could. So He says, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” He puts no conditions around that promise, “They shall never perish.” The word “perish” is in the middle voice, so that if rendered literally in English, you would have to make two words of it, because we do not have a middle voice. The words “perish” and “destroy” are the same in Greek. “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never destroy themselves.”

Sheep so easily destroy themselves. I was going over the desert when out among the Indians, and as we passed a bridge over a deep chasm, we heard the pitiable bleating of a lamb. We went to the edge of the bridge and saw the lamb about fifty feet down on a little ledge. It was a sheer descent of nearly two hundred feet to the creek below that. We looked to see whether there was any possible way to get down there, and we could not find any. That lamb had been eating and had come to the edge and had looked down. There was that little ledge all green, and so down he went and ate all the green that was there before he found that he could not get back. We tried to lasso him, but were not expert enough to do that. We looked up, and already there were three great buzzards flying around, just waiting for the time when the little animal would give up. That lamb was destroying himself. Jesus says, “My sheep will never destroy themselves. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish” (in the middle voice, “never perish themselves”). Why not? Because they have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.

The Word of God says, “Being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Jesus first says, “I give unto them eternal life,” and then, “They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” Some may say, “Well, I know a devil cannot pluck me out, no angel would want to, and man could not, but I might pluck myself out.” Then you would perish, would you not? And He says “They shall never perish,” before He tells you, “neither shall any pluck them out of My hand.” Is man an absolutely free moral agent? He was when God created him, but is he now? Is the sinner a free moral agent? What does Scripture say? “Ye are led by the devil captive at his will.” What? A man led by the devil captive at his will is a free agent? “Know ye not, that he to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his slaves ye are?” (Romans 6:16). Man is a slave to sin and Satan; he is not free. But now the gospel comes to the man, and he does have the power of decision, and when he decides for Christ he gets eternal life with all that that implies, and that life is the same life that is in the blessed Son of God. It is communicated to him, and now he is led captive in the chains of love to the Savior’s feet, and he does not want to be a free agent. He is glad to be a bondman, as Paul puts it, of Jesus Christ.

Question 2 – Matthew 24:13

What about Matthew 24:13? “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Weymouth says, “He who stands firm unto the end.”

The writer of this question recognizes that primarily this refers to the great tribulation, but it is a principle that I believe every preacher of the Word should insist on. There is no use in people professing conversion, going forward, raising their hands, going to an inquiry room, joining the church, getting baptized, taking communion, teaching a Sunday school class, doing missionary work, giving their money for Christ’s work, and going on like this for years, and then by-and-by drifting away, turning from it all, denying the Lord that bought them, refusing absolutely the authority of Jesus Christ, and yet professing to be saved. It is endurance that proves the reality of a work of grace within the soul. That is the difference between one who is merely reformed by the teaching of Christianity and one who has been born again. You see this very clearly when you contrast Peter and Judas.

Peter slipped and sinned grievously, but in spite of it all he endured to the end. Jesus said, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not,” and though his outward life for a brief period was not what it should be, his faith remained, and Jesus restored him, and he went on to the end of his life until crucified for his Savior. Judas was one of the chosen, he was with the apostolic band but never was regenerated, and so when he sinned and sold his Lord, he turned away an apostate and died a suicidal death. Jesus said of him long before, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?” Not, “One of you is in danger of becoming a devil,” but “One of you is a devil.” And we are told: “Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” (Acts 1:25). Peter was a backslider, Judas was an apostate, and there is a great difference between the two. If a man says, “I am saved,” let him prove it by going on. That is why I say we should not be afraid of the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. Some say, “But I knew a man who was a wonderful Christian, and now he has given it all up and says he is still saved.” He is only deceiving himself. The next time you see him you tell him that the Bible says, “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” There is no use your carrying on a profession if your life does not prove it to be real. Men can misuse any doctrine.

Question 3 – John 8:31

What about the Scripture found in John 8:31? “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed.” Is not the condition for permanent discipleship “if ye continue in My word?”

Certainly. Every man who knows the truth of eternal security believes it. There is no use for a person to profess to be a disciple of Jesus if he does not continue. It is this that proves there is a genuine work of the Spirit of God in his soul.

Question 4 – John 6:66

What about John 6:66? “From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.”

That has happened down through the centuries. Jesus distinguishes between a disciple and “a disciple indeed,” or between one who is only a disciple and one who is a true believer. The Greek word translated “disciple” means “a pupil” or “a learner.” There were many who up to a certain point learned of Jesus, and they were learning more and more every day as they listened to Him. But when He declared, “Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life” (John 6:54), they said, “That is too much for us; we are not going on with this man,” and they went back. It was not a question there of whether people were born again and lost, but whether they who had been numbered among the learners would go on learning and let Him be their teacher, or whether they would refuse further instruction and turn back. We are not told that even those who turned back ever again returned.

Question 5 – John 6:67

John 6:67, “Will ye also go away?” What about this question?

The question and the answer bring out the very thing I am speaking of. He turned now to the apostles, that little group who had accompanied Him so long, and said, “Will ye also go away?” and Peter said what every truly converted soul always says, “Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). If you are really born again, that is always the answer. I remember reasoning on this subject with a dear good brother for something like two hours one day, and he was insisting that a man could take himself out of the Lord’s hand. I said, “Why do you keep insisting on this? Are you sure that you are saved?” He said, “Absolutely.” “How long?” I asked him. “Forty years,” he replied. “And you have been kept for forty years? Do you want to take yourself out of the Lord’s hand that you are talking like that?” “Certainly not,” he answered. “Well,” I said, “you are better than your creed.”

That is just the point. If a man is born again, he never wants to take himself out of Christ’s hand even if he could. Christ alone is the one who satisfies the soul.

Question 6 – 2 Thessalonians 2:3

How about 2 Thessalonians 2:3? “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

The word translated “falling away” is “apostasy” in the original. That has nothing to do with the question of individual salvation. It does not touch this doctrine. Can you not see that it is a prophecy of what is happening all about us at the present time? Recently, we were told that seventy-five per cent of the ministers in the church federation in the city of Chicago signed a questionnaire saying that they did not believe in some of the great fundamental truths of the Bible. There you have apostasy. Does that mean that these ministers were all Christians once and now are not saved? My dear friends, I am afraid the whole trouble is that most of them have never been born again at all. They do not know anything of regenerating grace and therefore are quite ready to apostatize from the doctrines held sacred by the great evangelical denominations. I remember when a certain preacher came out with a blatant attack on the doctrine of blood atonement. It shocked a lot of people who had been reading his books, and they said, “Isn’t it strange that a man who was once such a fine Christian now denies the blood of Christ?” I sat down and read every one of his books and found that he never mentioned in any of them the blood of Christ or Christ’s death on the cross, except in one when he spoke of the example of humiliation Jesus set by going to the cross. But there was never one other reference to the death, the blood, or the atonement. Later he stated: “They charge me with giving up the doctrine of blood atonement; I never believed it.” He showed that he was simply an apostate. These things had no place in his heart or life. The apostasy is coming; it is coming fast. The great professing church is going into it, but not one born again person will ever bow to the Antichrist.

Question 7 – Hebrews 12:14

What about Hebrews 12:14? “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”

That is exactly what we stand for. Anyone who says “I am a Christian” and does not follow peace and holiness will never see the Lord. But I remember how that used to trouble me. When a young Christian, I was taught that when I was converted all my sins up to that moment were put away, and then it was as though God said, “I have wiped off the past and have put you back where Adam was before he fell: if you can keep the record clear from now to the end, you will be saved and you will get to heaven.” I started out and soon began to fail, and then they said to me, “The trouble with you is you have not gotten holiness yet. If you get that you will be able to live the right kind of a life.” I asked, “What is this blessing of holiness?” and was told, “When God saved you, He only justified you.” Only justified you? “He forgave your past sin, but now you have to get sanctified, and that means you must have all your inbred sin rooted out, and you will get true holiness.” I thought, “But it didn’t work very well with Adam,” and it rather bothered me. Yet they assured me that was the thing, and so I went in for it and for six years I struggled. (For a more thorough treatment of this subject, see Holiness: The False and the True, Loizeaux Brothers.)

I was working on a text that is not in the Bible: “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” I heard many sermons preached on it, and sometimes I preached on it myself. I had a large red banner with that text in white letters, and I tried to get holiness. Sometimes I thought I had it, and then something would go wrong and I would have to try to get it all over again. I shall never forget the first time I read, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” I thought it said, “Without holiness it is impossible to see God.” I thought I had to get perfect holiness in this life, but what it says there is, if you do not follow holiness you will not see the Lord. Every Christian follows holiness. A man who says “I am a Christian” and does not follow holiness is either self-deceived or a hypocrite. I maintain this with all my heart.

Question 8 – Romans 6:16

What about Romans 6:16? “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

I have already spoken of that. Romans 6 is like the book of Exodus. When the children of Israel were in Egypt they obeyed Pharaoh because they had to; when they were brought to God in the wilderness, Pharaoh’s power was broken and they became the servants of God. We, in our unsaved days, were servants to sin; now, as Christians, we are servants of God and we are to walk before God in holiness and righteousness.

Question 9 – Ezekiel 18:24

Ezekiel 18:24: “But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live?”

Is it not strange for anyone in this dispensation of grace to quote a passage like that, as though it had anything to do with the question of the soul’s salvation? Go back and read Ezekiel 18. Of what is it treating? We read in verse 21: “If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” Is that grace? No, that is law. That is just the quintessence of law. Do you believe that if a wicked man turns from his wickedness he will live? If this is true, why did Jesus die? Would you preach that to sinners? Would you have me stand up and say, “You wicked people, you have been doing wickedness; you start in tonight to do righteousness and you will live”? Would you have me preach that? I would be deliberately deceiving people if I told them that. But you see, here God was testing people under law and said, ”The man that doeth these things shall live. . . .But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” And what has happened? Not one man ever continued in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them. Therefore, they were all under sentence of death. How then were they to be saved? By turning over a new leaf? Oh, no--but by confessing that they had no righteousness. If they had, it would only be filthy rags. But now they find all their righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ, “who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” Do not ever quote Ezekiel 18 as though it were gospel; it is law. And remember the “life” spoken of in Ezekiel is not eternal life in Christ. It is life here on earth prolonged under the divine government, because of obedience, or cut short because of sin.

Question 10 – 2 Peter 2:20-22

What about 2 Peter 2:20-22? “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

Does it say, “But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The sheep is turned to its own vomit again”? No, it does not. It says, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again.” How many of these dogs there are! They escape the pollution of the world temporarily by the knowledge that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you were brought up in a Christian home and taught the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ from your youth, you escaped a great deal of the pollution of the world. But after you have known all these things, you can turn aside; you can take your own way into the world and live in its filth and pollutions. What does that prove? That you used to be a Christian and are not now? That you used to be one of Christ’s sheep but are no longer? Oh, no. What then? It proves that “the dog has gone back to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” The remarkable thing about this doctrine of the eternal security of the believer is that many of the greatest men of God who have ever lived have believed in it. C. H. Spurgeon, D. L. Moody, Dr. R. A. Torrey, Dr. A. C. Dixon, and scores of others whom we revere believed in it. C. H. Spurgeon said very beautifully, “If this dog had ever been born again and gotten a sheep’s nature, it never would have gone back to its own vomit; and if this sow had ever been regenerated and had the heart of a lamb put in it, it never would have gone back to its wallowing in the mire.” It is not a question of a sheep of Christ perishing. The devil has a lot of washed sows, but they are not, and never have been, Christ’s sheep.

Question 11 – Hebrews 6:4-6

Now we come to the crucial text, Hebrews 6:4-6. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

Watch this carefully. See if I read it correctly. “For it is quite possible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” Is that what it says? You believe that a man can be once enlightened, made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, can taste the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come, but fall away and then repent--don’t you? That is what all the folk believe who do not believe in the eternal security of the believer. What are you going to do with your backslider? If backsliding and apostasy are the same, don’t you see this passage is the worst possible passage in all the Bible for their favorite doctrine?

If those who hold that a man can be saved over and over again will ponder this passage, I am sure they will see how fatally it knifes their theory.

This is the way it reads: “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted of the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” If this passage teaches that a man once saved can be lost again, then it also teaches that if that man is lost again, he can never repent and be saved. In other words, if that passage teaches that a man once saved can be lost again, it teaches that if you have ever been saved and you are now lost, you have a one-way ticket for hell, and there is no turning back. But what is the real question here? It is almost impossible to explain it in a minute or two, for you need to study the entire fifth and sixth chapters of Hebrews together.

The apostle is speaking to people who have the Old Testament and have been intellectually convinced that Jesus is the Messiah but who are exposed to persecution if they confess His name. Even if not genuine, they know that Jesus is the Messiah, and they must have felt the power and seen the evidence of His authority in the miracles wrought. Yet they can turn their backs upon it all and go back to Judaism, and go into the synagogue again and say, “We do not believe Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God; we refuse the authority of this man. He should be crucified.” “They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” The apostle says, “Do not try to do anything there; you cannot, for they have gone too far. They are apostate.” It proves that they are not real Christians. In verse 9 we read, “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” That is, you could have all these things and not have salvation. You say, “I don’t think so.” But look at it: “It is impossible for those who were once enlightened.” What does that mean? Born again? No one could listen to a gospel address without being enlightened. “The entrance of Thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130).

“. . .and have tasted of the heavenly gift.” It is one thing to taste; it is another thing to eat. Many a person has gone that far and never been saved. The angel said to Ezekiel, “Son of man, eat this roll.” But the angel saw that Ezekiel had only tasted it, so he commanded, “Son of man, cause thy belly to eat it.” It was in his mouth, and if his head had been cut off all the truth would be gone, but “God desires truth in the inward parts.”

“. . .and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost.” They were neither sealed, nor indwelt, nor baptized, nor filled with the Spirit. He does not use one of the terms that refer to the Spirit’s great offices, but says, “and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost.” Did you ever see a man in a meeting where the Spirit of God was working in power, and have you ever gone over and talked to him and said, “Don’t you want to come to Christ?” And he has answered, “I know I ought to come, I can feel the power of the Spirit of God in this meeting. I know this thing is right and I ought to yield, but I don’t want to, and I won’t.” And he goes away resisting the Spirit although he was a partaker. So these people described in Hebrews 6 had been in this way outwardly acquainted with Christianity, but they now denied it all. For such there could be no repentance.

Now in order to prove that this is the correct interpretation of the passage, let me draw your attention to Hebrews 6:7-9: “For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: but that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you; you have gone farther than these apostates ever did, you have been saved; and so do not think we are confounding you with people like these.” He uses this little parable to make clear what he means. Here are two pieces of grass growing side by side, we will say, just separated by a fence. The earth is the same, the same sun shines on them both, the same kind of rainfall waters them both. When the time of harvest comes, one of these plots brings forth herbs, but the other only thorns and briers. What is he teaching here? This is a message to the Jews, trying to make them see the reality of Christ’s messiahship and His fulfillment of all the types of old. These two plots of ground are two men, they are the hearts of two men. We may think of them in this way to make it all more graphic. They grow up side by side; they both are taught the Bible; they both go to the same synagogue; both wait for the Messiah; both go down and listen to John the Baptist preach; perhaps both were baptized by John the Baptist, confessing their sins. John’s baptism was not salvation; it was just looking forward to the coming of a Savior. Both of them hear the Lord Jesus; both of them see Him do His works of power; both are in that crowd watching when He dies; both are there when the throngs go out to see the open tomb; both are near when He ascends to heaven; both see the mighty work of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost; both of them move in and out among the apostles; and outwardly you could not see any difference between them. But by-and-by persecution breaks out. One of them is arrested, and they say to him, “Deny Jesus Christ, or you will die.” He says, “I cannot deny Him; He is my Savior.” “Then you will die,” the first one declares. “I am ready to die, but I cannot deny Him,” the second man replies. The other one is arrested and they say, “You must deny Christ or die.” He says, “I will deny Him rather than die. I will go back and be a good Jew again rather than die.” “Come out here, then,” they command him.

They had a terrible way of taking him back. I remember reading how in such a case, they took him to an unclean place where a man slew a sow, and this one going back to Judaism, in order to prove his denial, spits on the blood of the sow and says, “So count I the blood of Jesus the Nazarene.” And then they purify him and take him back. Could any real believer in Jesus do that? What made the difference between the two?

Those plots of ground had the same rain, the same sunshine, but there were different crops. What was the difference? One of them had the good seed and brought forth good fruit; the other did not have the good seed and brought forth thorns and briers. These two men were both familiar with the truth, but one received the incorruptible seed, the Word of life, and brought forth fruit unto God. The other has never received the good seed, and the day comes when he is an apostate.

If you will keep in mind the difference between an apostate and a backslider, it will save you a lot of trouble over many Scriptures. The apostate knows all about Christianity but never has been a real Christian. The backslider is a person who has known Christ, who did love Him, but became cold in his soul, lost out in his spiritual life. There is not a Christian who has not often been guilty of backsliding. That is why we need the Lord as our advocate to restore our souls. When backslidden, it is not our union with Him that is destroyed, but it is our communion. You may say, “Why are you so sure that a real Christian does not apostatize?” Because God says so in His Word. 1 John 2:18: “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” Antichrist means “opposed to Christ.” The apostate is always a man opposed to Christ. A man says, “I have tried it all, and there is nothing in it,” and so denounces Christ. “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” The words “no doubt” are in italics and really cast a doubt. Leave those words out for they do not belong in the Greek text, and read it, “They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.” And then he adds, “They went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not altogether (that is the literal rendering) of us” (1 John 2:19). In other words, they were with us in profession, in outward fellowship, but not altogether of us, because they had never really been born of God. This also explains Hebrews 10 which is the next passage brought up here as an objection.

Question 12 – Hebrews 10:28-29

Explain Hebrews 10:28-29: “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” People are troubled here, for they say, “Well, this man was surely a Christian, because it says that he was sanctified.”

That does not necessarily prove that he was a Christian. The whole nation of Israel was sanctified by the blood of the covenant; in a certain sense the whole world has been sanctified by the blood of the cross. If it were not for that blood shed on Calvary’s cross the whole world would be doomed to eternal judgment, but because Jesus died for the entire world God says, “Now, I can deal with all men on the ground of the blood of the cross,” and, as we often put it, the great question between God and man today is not primarily the sin question. Why? Because the blood of Christ answers for sin. What is the great question? It is the Son question: How are you treating God’s Son who died to save you? Christ has died for all men, His blood is shed for the salvation of all men, and it will avail for every sinner in all the world if they trust Him. (See John 3:18-19.)

Here is this Hebrew who has followed along to a certain point, and now the question comes, “Will you confess this Christ as your one great sin offering no matter what it means?” And he answers, “No, I cannot do that. I am going back to the temple. There is a sin offering there, and I will not have to suffer as I may if I confess Jesus Christ.” But he cannot do that. God does not accept any more that “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” “If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.” “There remaineth no other sacrifice for sins: is the true meaning. This sacrifice at the altar was commanded by God. He said, “If you sin, you must bring a sacrifice, and I will accept you.” “The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11). “All right,” this Jew says, “I have a sin offering.” But he has met Jesus Christ or heard of Him as the great sin offering; he knows that God accepted Him and raise Him from the dead; he has all this knowledge, but having it all he is afraid to come out definitely and confess Christ as his Savior. He says, “I do not need this sin offering; I will go back and be content with the sin offering of the temple.” Before Jesus came, that was acceptable because it pointed to Him, but now He has come. If you reject Him, there remains no other offering. This passage, you see, has nothing to do with a real Christian turning from Christ, but with a man thoroughly instructed who refuses to accept Him. And how many people there are, not only among the Jews but in Christendom, who are refusing this sin offering.

Question 13 – Luke 9:61-62

The next passage brought up is Luke 9:61-62: “And another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

What a terrible thing it would be if this were the way into heaven! How many thousands of earnest Christian people there are who have allowed what they thought was their responsibility to their friends to keep them from fully following Christ. Suppose they went to heaven only on the ground of fully following Him. You see, these Jews were looking for the kingdom, and many said, “I will follow Thee, but my friends have a claim on me.” “No, the Lord says, “I must come first. No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” That is the test of discipleship. But it is necessary to distinguish between salvation by grace and reward for faithful discipleship. The rewards are connected with the kingdom. No matter how faithful I may be as a Christian, it does not give me any better place in heaven than if I were taken there the moment I was saved. Suppose the very instant you were converted you dropped dead--would you have gone to heaven? Yes, you would have gone there on the ground of God’s delight in the work of His Son. Suppose you were converted fifty years ago. There have been ups-and-downs in your life, but you have been saved all those years. Where would you go if you died suddenly? You would go to heaven. On what ground? On the ground of God’s delight in the work of His Son. There is not a bit of change in fifty years. “But,” you say, “I have been a wonderfully faithful Christian.” Have you, indeed? I am surprised that you should think so. The more we serve Him, the more most of us feel how unfaithful we have been. But you insist, “I have been a very faithful Christian.” Does that make you any more fit for heaven than you were the moment you trusted Jesus? You ask, “Does faithfulness as a disciple go for nothing?” It goes for a great deal, but it has no saving merit. You have a place in the Father’s house on the ground of pure grace, but the Father’s house is not the only thing before us. There is also the kingdom of God. “Then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of their Father.” And here there are different rewards according to the measure of faithfulness in this life.

Here was one to whom the Lord said, “I want you to follow Me to Africa or India,” and he said, “O Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. I have an old father here and cannot bear to leave him as long as he lives. After he is dead, I am willing to follow Thee.” And the Lord says, “Let the dead bury their dead.” Of course, if he had the responsibility of providing for his father, that would be a different thing. Because that man has not the faith and courage to make that break, does he cease to be a Christian? He may stay at home, he may be of great value and great use, but when he comes to the judgment seat of Christ there is a reward he might have had that he will not have, because he did not go the whole way with the Lord Jesus Christ. If going the whole way entitled men to heaven, none of us would ever get there. But as we go the whole way, as far as we understand, He is going to reward us. If people could learn to see the difference between salvation by grace and reward for service, this question would settle itself. From this point on, most of these objections really have to do with this very fact.

Question 14 – Hebrews 3:12-14

The next passage is Hebrews 3:12-14: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.” That is one of the “if” verses. Another one is found in I Corinthians 15:1-2: “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” Another one is found in Colossians 1:21-23: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister.” I might add others to these, but here are three “ifs.”

What does the Spirit of God mean by bringing these “ifs” in? In every one of these instances He is addressing bodies of people. I stand here to address you as a body of people. If I were to ask everybody who professes to be a Christian to stand, I suppose nearly everybody would rise. Would that prove that you are all Christians? It would show that you profess to be Christians. What would prove that you really are? “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” You profess to have received the gospel; you are saved if you keep in memory what has been preached unto you. If you do not, it just shows that there is no reality.

The faith here is not the faith by which you are saved, it is not the faith by which you believe; but it is that which you believe. Jude says, “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). That is the body of Christian doctrine, and, if a real Christian, you will stand for that Christian doctrine to the end; but if not, you may become a Mormon, or a Christian Scientist, or a theosophist, or something like that. Then you simply show there is no reality. It is a very easy thing to say, “I am saved”; it is another thing to prove it.

Question 15 – 2 Peter 3:17

What of 2 Peter 3:17? “Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye how these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.”

We come back to what we were speaking of a few minutes ago. There is always a possibility of a real Christian falling, and we need to be warned again and again. How many we have known who at one time had a bright Christian testimony but fell? They were not watchful, they were not prayerful, and they stumbled and fell. Does that mean they are lost? No, not if really born again. If born again, they have received eternal life; and if people thus fall, that is where the restoring work of the Spirit of God comes in. David fell in a most terrible way but he says, “He restoreth my soul”; and sometimes in restoring His people’s souls, God has to put them through very bitter experiences. He loves them too much to let them be happy when away from Him.

Question 16 – 2 Timothy 2:18

Explain this passage. “Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:18). A writer says, “We see here the possibility of having our faith overthrown.”

That’s not what Paul is talking about. He is speaking of the faith. Again you must make the distinction. Our faith is that by which we believe. We believe God; that is faith. But we believe the truth that God has revealed to us, and that truth is the faith, and that is what has been overthrown in the mind of the professed believer in this instance. That is the same thing that you get in 1 Timothy 5:15: “For some are already turned aside after Satan.” Some real Christians do that, but what a blessed thing to know the Lord goes after them and never gives them up.

Question 17 – Hebrews 2:1

May we not let the things of God slip away from us? “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip” (Hebrews 2:1), or, in other words, “Lest at any time we should drift away from them.”

This is the same warning again. You have listened to precious ministry from men of God who have preached the Word to you. You have had such instruction as many never have had. You will be terribly guilty if you drift away from it. You need to “continue in the things which you have learned.” But if we were all to lose our salvation every time we drifted into some erroneous thing, how serious it would be! Is there anyone here who has never done a little bit of drifting?

If sin will separate me from Christ, how much sin? How can I ever be sure how much sin? Is there a Christian here who has not sinned today? Is it not a fact that every one of us sins in thought, or word, or in deed, probably every day of our lives? Is there ever a night that you can kneel before God and say, “Lord, I thank You that I have not sinned in thought or word or deed today?” I am sure no honest Christian can say that. How far do you have to sin in order to break the link that binds you to Christ? You never could be sure that you are saved from one day to another and you would not leave any room for the restoring work of God if your salvation depended upon your personal faithfulness.

Question 18 – Revelation 2:10

What about such a Scripture as this? “Be thou faithful unto death and I, will give thee a crown of life?” (Revelation 2:10). How can you say that a man is saved for eternity when the Lord says you must be faithful to the end?

A crown of life is not salvation; it is reward. There are five crowns: the incorruptible crown for faithfully running the course; the crown of rejoicing for winning souls; the crown of righteousness for those who love His appearing; the crown of life for those who suffer for Christ; the crown of glory for those who feed the sheep and lambs of Christ’s flock. I might lose all of those crowns and yet not lose my salvation. The Word says, “If any man’s work shall be burned. . . .he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15) But I do not want to be saved that way. I want to win the crown of life. “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

Question 19 – Hebrews 10:37-39

Explain Hebrews 10:37-39: “For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. . . .If any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

Look at the next verse, “But we (who? real Christians) are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.” If a person has believed to the saving of the soul, there is no danger of his “drawing back unto perdition.” It is a terrible thing to be intellectually convinced and stop there.

  

Question 20 – Revelation 3:15-16

Now I am referred to Revelation 3:15-16, where the Lord, speaking to the church at Laodicea, says, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth.”

Is this an individual who has once been saved and is so no longer? The Lord is talking to a church. Did you ever see a church like the one at Laodicea, a church neither hot nor cold, one where you could not tell whether it was for Christ or against Him? And then the Lord says to that church, “Because you are just lukewarm--there is profession--but you are neither hot or cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. I won’t own you as a church at all.” That does not say that there may not be individuals in the church who are children of God, just as in the church at Ephesus. He said to them, “If you do not repent, I will remove your candlestick.” A candle, you know, is to give light.

Every time I go downtown I pass a church that D. L. Moody used to belong to. It was an evangelistic center in the city in his day, but today it is a very center of modernism and the gospel is never preached there. Every time I look at it I think of the time Moody was there and it stood firmly for the truth, and I say, “Their candlestick is removed.” There may be some true Christians in that church, some of the dear old people who were in it years ago, and maybe their membership is still there. It does not say that they are not Christians because the church as such has lost its witness for Christ.

Question 21 – 1 Peter 4:18

Here is a verse I am surprised to find used to prove the “falling away” doctrine. “If the righteous scarcely be saved where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18).

What has that to do with the question? What is Peter saying? “The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17). I suppose that God’s children have faults. I know they have to be judged for their faults by the Father in correction, and God will deal very solemnly and seriously with them about their failures. There would be no need of judgment if they were all perfect Christians, but if God heals with His own people in this way and if the righteous be saved through difficulty, “Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” That has nothing to do with the question of whether the Christian is saved for eternity or not.

Question 22 – John 15:1-6

John 15:1-6 is the next passage questioned. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

This chapter is not discussing the question of eternal life but of fruit bearing. There are a great many believers who bear very little fruit for God, but all bear some fruit for Him. There are many people in the vine (and the vine speaks of profession here on earth) who bear no fruit for Him and will eventually be cut out altogether when Jesus comes. There will be no place with Him because there is no union with Him. There are no natural branches in the living vine. We are grafted in by faith. I do not know much about grafting, but I do know that it is one thing to put a graft in, and it is another thing for a graft to strike. It is one thing for a person to be outwardly linked with Him and quite another for that person to have life in Christ. What is the test that proves whether he is really in the vine? The test is if he bears fruit. All who have life bear some fruit for God. If there is no fruit, you can be sure there is no life, no real union with Christ.

Question 23 – Unconfessed Sin

Will any Christian who passes away with unconfessed sin have an opportunity to make things right after death? Is the judgment seat of Christ the time when all misunderstandings and discords among Christians will be made right?

It is questionable if any Christian ever died who did not have some unconfessed sin to his record. While sin might be confessed in a general way, who of us has ever definitely confessed all his sins? But the precious blood of Christ answers for every sin a believer has ever committed. At the judgment seat of Christ, the Lord will go over the entire life since regeneration, giving His mind about every thing, and the believer will then for the first time see each detail in the light of God’s infinite holiness. Everything there will be dealt with so that the believer’s failures will never be referred to again for all eternity.

Question 24 – The Book of Life

Is there any difference between the book of life and the Lamb’s book of life?

Yes, the book of life is the book of the living. It is the record too, of profession. From this book names may be blotted out. The Lamb’s book of life is the record of the eternal purpose of God. Names inscribed there are written from the foundation of the world. In other words, one book speaks of responsibility, the other of pure grace.

No Christian will ever have his name blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life, for all such have eternal life--which is unforfeitable and everlasting.

---

Henry Allan Ironside, one of this century’s greatest preachers, was born in Toronto, Canada, on October 14, 1876. He lived his life by faith; his needs at crucial moments were met in the most remarkable ways.

Though his classes stopped with grammar school, his fondness for reading and an incredibly retentive memory put learning to use. His scholarship was well recognized in academic circles with Wheaton College awarding an honorary Litt.D. in 1930 and Bob Jones University an honorary D.D. in 1942. Dr. Ironside was also appointed to the boards of numerous Bible institutes, seminaries, and Christian organizations.

“HAI” lived to preach and he did so widely throughout the United States and abroad. E. Schuyler English, in his biography of Ironside, revealed that during 1948, the year HAI was 72, and in spite of failing eyesight, he “gave 569 addresses, besides participating in many other ways.” In his eighteen years at Chicago’s Moody Memorial Church, his only pastorate, every Sunday but two had at least one profession of faith in Christ.

H. A. Ironside went to be with the Lord on January 15, 1951. Throughout his ministry, he authored expositions on 51 books of the Bible and through the great clarity of his messages led hundreds of thousands, worldwide, to a knowledge of God’s Word. His words are as fresh and meaningful today as when first preached.

The official biography of Dr. Ironside, H. A. Ironside: Ordained of the Lord, is available from the publisher.

Joshua	Acts
Ezra	Romans
Nehemiah	1 and 2 Corinthians
Esther	Galatians
Psalms (1-41 only)	Ephesians
Proverbs	Philippians
Song of Solomon	Colossians
Isaiah	1 and 2 Thessalonians
Jeremiah	1 and 2 Timothy
Lamentations	Titus
Ezekiel	Philemon
Daniel	Hebrews
The Minor Prophets	James
Matthew	1 and 2 Peter
Mark	1,2, and 3 John
Luke	Jude
John	Revelation

Doctrinal Works

Baptism	Letters to a Roman Catholic
Death and Afterward	Priest
Eternal Security of the Believer	The Levitical Offerings
Holiness: The False and	Not Wrath But Rapture
the True	Wrongly Dividing the Word
The Holy Trinity	of Truth

Historical Works

The Four Hundred Silent Years

A Historical Sketch of the Brethren Movement

Other works by the author are brought back into print from time to time. All of this material is available from your local Christian bookstore or from the publisher.

[Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951), a godly Fundamentalist author and teacher for many years, served as pastor of Chicago's Moody Memorial Church from 1930-1948]

Eternal Security

“No Christian will ever have his name blotted out of the Lamb’s book of life, for all such have eternal life—which is unforfeitable and everlasting.” — Pastor Harry A. Ironside

FALLEN FROM GRACE

By David J. Stewart
 

Once Saved, Always Saved - A Person CANNOT Lose Salvation

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.  Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.  For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.  Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; YE ARE FALLEN FROM GRACE” (Galatians 5:1-4).  Many sincere folks have misinterpreted this Scripture to conclude that a Believer can lose their salvation—this is a false teaching!  “Falling from grace” does NOT mean falling away from God’s salvation and God’s promises.  God made us a promise in the Bible, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).  My part is to “call”, God’s part is to “save.”  I cannot save myself, nor can you.  Only God can save a person because only God can forgive sin.  No priest or Pope can forgive (or absolve) anyone’s sins.  Penance is simply NOT a Bible doctrine.   I must go to Jesus and Him alone!  Thanks be to God, I did this as a young man and have been saved since that day.  Though I am still a sinner and often fall short of God’s standards, I am still a Child of God—safe and secure in the everlasting arms of the Father.   I CANNOT lose my salvation, no way.  No amount of evil or wrong doing can undo what God has done.  I didn’t deserve to be saved in the first place so my actions have no bearing on my salvation.  This does not give us a license to sin, it just means that salvation starts and ends with God.  The only thing God requires of us is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  Thank God!  Jesus washed my sins away and wrote my name in Heaven!  He saved a vile, dirty, rotten sinner from hell-fire!  God placed Jesus’ righteousness on my account and placed my grievous sins on Jesus account!  The Father declared me J-U-S-T-I-F-I-E-D, Just-if-I’d never sinned!  Now that’s a wonderful God!
 

The Church at Galatia was Beginning to Fall Into False Religion

What does the Apostle Paul mean here in Galatians 5:1-4?  What is meant by the phrase “fallen from grace?”  In order to fully understand what Paul meant, we must understand the purpose of the Book of Galatians.  The Believers at Galatia had fallen victim to a false religion.  And let me pause right here to say that there are MANY false religions in the world today, right in our own neighborhoods. These “deceitful workers” that appear as angels of light are two-fold the “children of Hell.”  Not only are they unsaved but they subtly propagate damnable heresies to lead others into Hell with them (the blind leading the blind).  They are dangerous and must be exposed for who they are—antichrists!  They are against Christ! 

There were false religions in Paul’s day as well.  One false religion in particular had preyed upon the church at Galatia.  This false religion wanted to merge with the true Believers in order to promote their own false religion.  This was a false religion that taught “works” was necessary to be saved.  They believed that a man needed to be circumcised in order to be saved.  This was known as Judaism (the keeping of the ceremonial laws, etc).  Listen here to Paul’s warning to the Galatia Christians, “As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.  For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, THAT THEY MAY GLORY IN YOUR FLESH” (Galatians 6:12,13).  This false religion didn’t care about these true Believers, they only cared about promoting their own heresies and foolishness. 
 

The Devil's Crowd Seeks to Yoke with Compromising Believers

This is so often the case, greedy people try to capitalize on the goodness of God’s Children.  I’ve had several people in my lifetime try to recruit me into selling something door-to-door: Amway, life insurance, long distance phone service, etc.  They knew I was a zealous soul-winner and figured they’d make an easy buck if they could get me to do all the work for them.  I never did help those lazy rascals.  Paul heard of the evil which was happening in Galatia and writes this letter of warning to the church.  Paul brings to attention the fact that these unbelievers DON’T keep the very law that they claim can save them if they obey it.  No person can keep all of God’s law, “...there is NONE RIGHTEOUS, no not one” (Romans 3:10).  This is true of false religion today as well.  I’ve met many religious people who take God’s name in vain, wish the boss would burn in hell, hate their spouse, etc, etc.  These are unsaved people who trust in their good works to get them into Heaven someday—good luck!  They won’t make it!  They’ve yet to realize their sinful condition.  One cannot be honest with God until willing to first be honest with one’s self.  This takes an honest person.  Most people run from the truth at all costs and refuse to face the facts.  You can deal with the truth, but a lie cannot be dealt with.   The truth is often painful to accept. 
 

Jesus is the ONLY Way to Heaven!

Having laid the groundwork, now let me explain what Paul meant when he said, “Ye are fallen from grace.”  Paul was simply saying that Jesus is the only ticket to Heaven.  If you miss Jesus, you will have missed your only bus ride to Heaven.  If an unsaved person rejects Christ as Savior, then there is NO OTHER WAY to be saved.  This is all that Paul was saying.  Paul speaks strongly in Galatians 3:1,2, “O FOOLISH Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?  This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are ye so FOOLISH? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?”  Nobody likes to be called “foolish.”  Paul’s strong words must have been a big surprise to these folks; nevertheless, they were much needed words.  “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16).   I find myself quoting this verse often because many people do not want to hear the truth.  We must learn to accept the truth, seek the truth and love the truth because God is truth. 
 

The Gospel is Easily Perverted, Just Add or Subtract

The Galatians had heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ and yet we’re being entangled into this works religion mess.  Paul was starting to wonder if these folks had really been saved in the first place.  “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would PERVERT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST” (Galatians 1:6,7).  The Gospel is easy to pervert, simply add something to it and it is corrupted.  For example: If you add baptism to the Gospel, then you have added a “work” to God’s simple plan of salvation by grace through faith.  No good deeds can save us and they absolutely cannot be added to salvation otherwise you will have perverted the truth of the Gospel.  Baptismal regeneration perverts the Gospel of Christ.  Some people have the false impression that they are saved, but they truly are NOT because of various misunderstandings concerning salvation.  Adding or subtracting anything to simple Gospel of Christ is a sure road to Hell.
 

If You Reject Jesus as Saviour, then You are Fallen from Grace

If you have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, look no further.  You must simply believe the Gospel, making the decision to trust Christ as Saviour, asking Him to forgive you of all your sins.  If you have heard the Gospel of Christ but it hasn’t affected you, I feel sorry for you.  If you refuse to call upon the name of the Lord, you are fallen from grace (you have rejected your only way to salvation).  If you have called on the Lord but are also trusting in your good works to get you into Heaven, then you are not truly trusting Christ.  I’ve actually met some people who have told me that they are trusting "faith and works" to get them into Heaven.  No sir!  You won’t get into Heaven any other way than through the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. 
 

If You Add Works to Faith, then You are Fallen from Grace

Notice again the Words which we just read in Galatians chapter three, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the WORKS of the law, or by the hearing of FAITH?”  Do you see?  Salvation cannot be by works, only by faith.  If the Galatians had fallen prey to the false belief that circumcision was necessary for salvation, then it would have revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were NOT saved.  I often am concerned myself about the salvation of other professed Believers.  You’d be surprised just how many people think they’re genuinely saved simply because they made a commitment to Christ at a crusade or turned over a new leaf at a revival meeting.  Let me tell you, your sins are the big issue my friend.  Have your sins been dealt with?  Have you gone to God as a dirty, rotten, hell-deserving sinner and pleaded for forgiveness for the sins you’ve committed?  Have you turned to Christ in faith, believing that He alone paid for your sins and that He alone can forgive and save you?  “Fallen from grace” simply means that you have overlooked the saving power of the Gospel, you have been deceived and sold a phony life insurance policy.   I don’t know about you but I have “all Saints insurance” with Jesus Christ.  It’s a free policy paid-in-full by Jesus Christ Himself.  God the Father is my agent.  Anybody can have this insurance.  I have no deductible and no hidden costs.  Are you insured with the Heavenly Father?  Don’t miss your only bus to Heaven, trust in Jesus now and let Him become your personal Savior. 
 

A Born Again Person Can Never Fall from Grace

Also, let me make clear that you only need to be saved once and can NEVER fall from grace.  As I’ve mentioned before, we didn’t deserve salvation in the first place and we never will deserve it.  If we cannot do good deeds to earn Heaven in the first place, then we cannot do evil deeds to lose it.   We are kept saved by God’s power and God’s promise, our part was only to believe on Christ.  Once saved, always saved and that’s the Gospel truth!  The Bible teaches that a person must be “born-again”, NOT “born-again and again and again.”  We are born physically into this world one time and we can only be born of God one time.  We become a “new creature” in Christ when God’s Holy Spirit unites in a Holy Marriage with our own spirit (that spirit which was once dead in trespasses and sins but is now made alive by the presence of God in our heart). 
 

A Man Will Reap What He Sows

You have probably heard the following verse quoted at some time in your life, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).  I became curious one day about the context in which this statement was made.  Surely, we ALL deserve to get what we have coming to us—none of us are without sin.  However, what is the application in Galatians 6:7?  Paul makes this interesting statement that we will “reap what we sow.”  I searched the Scriptures and learned that the Apostle Paul had made this statement (about reaping what you sow) in regard to the Galatians who were about to enter into a false religion.  The people which Paul had previously ministered to in Galatia were about to sow something evil.  Paul was warning them that false religion can only lead to confusion and Hell.  As I mentioned earlier, Paul was skeptical concerning their salvation.  Had they been saved at all?  Were they going to follow this false religion?  The Apostle Paul certainly had a reason to be very concerned.  Paul was simply saying that you had better make sure you don’t wind up in some false religion, because you'll have to answer to God one day for it. 

You had better “try the spirits” as we are warned in 1st John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but TRY (or test) THE SPIRITS whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”   People are spirits in the flesh, that is who we are.  Once the tent of the body is no longer fit for use, the spirit returns to God.  So what the Scripture means by “trying the spirits” is simply—test someone with the Bible.  Ask them if they believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.  Ask them if they believe that Jesus is God Almighty, Who came in the flesh.  Ask them if they believe in the virgin birth and the blood atonement of Jesus.  Ask them if they believe in the bodily resurrection and the coming physical return of Christ.  Ask them if they believe that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all One in the same Being.  Ask them if they believe that Jesus is Eternal, without beginning or end (He had no Creator).  

Please don't miss your only bus ride to Heaven (falling from grace) by following a false religion that perverts the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The only way to be saved is by simple heart's faith in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.  If you will simply believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, then you will be saved.  Be not deceived my friend!!!

Table of Contents

MARTIN LUTHER'S 95 THESES

95 Theses Martin Luther nailed on the church door at Wittenburg.

OCTOBER 31, 1517
Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.
In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" ( Matthew 4:17 ), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.

4. The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

5. The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.

7. God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

10. Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.

11. Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept ( Matthew 13:25 ).

12. In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.

14. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear.

15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.

17. It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love increase.

18. Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.

19. Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.

20. Therefore the pope, when he uses the words "plenary remission of all penalties," does not actually mean "all penalties," but only those imposed by himself.

21. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.

22. As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.

23. If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.

24. For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.

25. That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.

26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them.

27. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory.

28. It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

29. Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend.

30. No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission.

31. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.

32. Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

33. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him.

34. For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.

35. They who teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.

36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.

37. Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.

38. Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the proclamation of the divine remission.

39. It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.

40. A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.

41. Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.

44. Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.

46. Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.

47. Christians are to be taught that they buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.

49. Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.

52. It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.

53. They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.

55. It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.

57. That indulgences are not temporal treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.

61. For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.

62. The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last ( Matthew 20:16 ).

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for men of wealth.

66. The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for the wealth of men.

67. The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote gain.

68. They are nevertheless in truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.

70. But they are much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.

71. Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.



72. But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.

73. Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.

74. Much more does he intend to thunder against those who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.

75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.

76. We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.

77. To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.

78. We say on the contrary that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the gospel,spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written, 1 Corinthians 12:28 ).

79. To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.

81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.

82. Such as: "Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church? The former reason would be most just; the latter is most trivial.

83. Again, "Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"

84. Again, "What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, because of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love's sake?"

85. Again, "Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?"

86. Again, "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?"

87. Again, "What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?"

88. Again, "What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?"

89. "Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?"

90. To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace! ( Jeremiah 6:14 )

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!

94. Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace ( Acts 14:22 ).

IF I BELIEVE , WHY DO I DOUBT ?

This is a sermon about a topic we rarely discuss in church. This is a sermon about doubt. As such, it is an unfamiliar topic to most people, even though there are whole books of the Bible that deal with the issue of doubt in various ways — Job, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Habakkuk. Many of the psalms touch on the theme of doubt and feeling abandoned by God.
During my pastorate in Oak Park, the young singles group invited me once a year to an “Ask Pastor Ray” night. That was always fun because the group was lively, and they peppered me with unpredictable questions. The last time I did that 50-60 of us sat in a big circle in the church dining room. I told them I would be glad to answer questions on the Bible, the Christian life, theological issues, or they could ask about my personal life. No topic was off-limits. Near the end of the evening, a young lady raised her hand and asked, “Pastor Ray, when I listen to you speak, you always sound so certain about everything. Do you ever doubt?” I told her I thought that was a very important question. My answer was short and simple. Yes, I do have doubts. I don’t talk about them very much, but I doubt every day. (After I told this story on Sunday morning, a very godly man was concerned about that statement — did I really mean it? Absolutely, I said. I have doubts and questions that I cannot answer every single day.) I don’t know how a person can be a Christian and not have doubts from time to time. Faith requires doubt in order to be faith. If you ever arrive at a place where all your doubts are gone and all your questions are answered, take a deep breath and relax because you’ve arrived in heaven.
This is one of the hidden secrets of the church. We all doubt from time to time. Doubt itself is not sinful or wrong. It often can be the catalyst to new spiritual growth. As I have pondered the matter, I have concluded that our doubts tend to fall into three categories: First, there are intellectual doubts. These are doubts most often raised by those outside the Christian faith. Is the Bible the Word of God? Is Jesus the Son of God? Did he really rise from the dead? These are the doubts raised by the Da Vinci Code, the so-called Gospel of Judas, and the controversies stirred by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and other contemporary apostles of atheism.

RELATED BOOK

Keep Believing

You believed in the light of day - will you
still believe at midnight? We’ve heard it
before, but it bears repetition,
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His mercy endures forever.

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Second, there are spiritual doubts. These tend to be the doubts of those inside the church. Am I really a Christian? Have I truly believed? Why is it so hard to pray? Why do I still feel guilty? Why is it taking me so long to get better?
Third, there are circumstantial doubts. This is the largest category because it encompasses all the “whys” of life. Why did my child die? Why did my marriage break up? Why can’t I find a husband? Why did my friend betray me? Where was God when my uncle was abusing me? These are the questions we meet at the intersection of biblical faith and the pain of living in a fallen world. In my experience these are toughest doubts of all, and we tend sometimes to sweep them under the rug and to put down those in the church who struggle with these issues. But when we refuse to deal with circumstantial doubts, they soon become spiritual doubts, and those spiritual doubts eventually become intellectual doubts. And then people start leaving the church altogether.

I. The Nature of Doubt

As we approach this topic, there are several things we need to understand up front: 1) Many people think doubt is the opposite of faith, but it isn’t. Unbelief is the opposite of faith. Unbelief refers to a willful refusal to believe, while doubt refers to inner uncertainty.
2) Many people think doubt is unforgivable, but it isn’t. God doesn’t condemn us when we question him. Both Job and David repeatedly questioned God, but they were not condemned. God is big enough to handle all our doubts and all our questions.
3) Many people think struggling with God means we lack faith, but that’s not true. Struggling with God is a sure sign that we truly have faith. If we never struggle, our faith will never grow.
Several months ago I wrote a blog entry called Is It Hard to Keep Believing? In it I recounted a moment during a board meeting of Keep Believing Ministries when I said, “It’s hard to keep believing.” I don’t think I had ever said those exact words before, but when I did, every head turned in my direction. I don’t want to say that it’s hard for everyone to keep believing, but I do think it’s hard for many people. When I asked my blog readers to respond, they were quick to offer their comments. A pastor shared this experience:

There came a trial for me and my wife when we knew that the Lord was using difficult circumstances to mold us, but we felt as if He had abandoned us. I’ll never forget that moment, standing in our kitchen weeping and feeling so very guilty for even thinking that the Lord had abandoned us. Since then, the Lord has brought us through many smaller moments of faith stretching, each time using a brother or sister in Christ to remind us of His promises and to help us lift our eyes of faith once again. It is so important to come along side of a struggling Christian and share your faith with them when they have little of their own.

Another pastor said this:

As I write this, it is Sunday morning 11:30 AM. I’m supposed to be in church…preaching. I’m not there today. Yes, sometimes it is hard to keep believing.

And someone else wrote these words:

Frankly, it is a relief to me to read these entries…sometimes I think we (my husband and me) are the only ones who are struggling in this way.

Then there was this thoughtful response:

I am one of those people who have always found it hard to “keep believing”. I envy those for whom belief in and love of God seem to come so easily and so passionately. For a long, long time, I struggled with feelings that something was wrong with me, that I was somehow spiritually inferior… until I read: “When they (his disciples) asked him (Jesus),‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: To believe in the one he has sent.’” John 6:28-29 NIV. If I am rightly dividing my Greek dictionary, that word “work” means: toil, labor, work.
Work is hard, and Jesus said that it is work to believe. Finding it hard to keep believing does not mean that I don’t believe. It means that believing is hardly ever an easy, enjoyable, rather passive activity for me. In the moments of my life, I find that I am constantly having to come against doubts, the world’s lies and the devil’s accusations; I often have to let go of my illusions (and delusions) about God, evaluate and refuse incorrect feelings, etc., etc., etc. Sometimes it is a sheer teeth-clenched act of will for me to keep holding on and moving forward in faith, obedience, and the power of Christ. Sometimes, for long times, I find myself just shutting down until I’m ready (humbled enough) to do business with God again and seek His face and counsel. On top of all that, every victory seems to be followed up with a more challenging set of circumstances. For me, it never ends. I get weary and I have to fight discouragement all the time.
And I’m okay with that now – because I think that, messy as it often is, Scripture affirms that I am doing what I’m supposed to be doing. I am doing, what is for me, personally, the hard work of believing. I am working out my salvation in fear and trembling.

I know a man who says that he has never doubted or found it hard to believe. Now this is a man I happen to greatly admire and consider to be a very close friend. He also said he had never really been discouraged in his whole life (80+ years). Because I know him well, I am happy to take him at his word. Part of the answer here is that we’re all wired differently by the Lord. If some people struggle greatly or repeatedly, others seem to have no trouble believing even in the worst of times. I suppose most of us fall somewhere in the middle. That leads to me say that we needn’t feel bad if our experience doesn’t match up to someone else’s. And I’m glad we can talk openly about our struggles to believe. It’s healthy to air this out and to give each other some grace in this regard, knowing that we’re not all the same and our faith experiences are not the same (nor should they be).
But many Christians struggle with doubt and then feel guilty.It is to those believers that my words are directed. In order to get a biblical perspective, let’s focus on one man who doubted and how Jesus dealt with that doubt.

II. The Doubt of John the Baptist

Do you recall the occasion when Herod threw John the Baptist in jail because John dared to rebuke him for his gross sexual sin? No doubt confused and frustrated by his incarceration, John sent messengers to Jesus with a very pertinent question: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3). That’s a powerful question if you think about it. And it may be troubling to some people to think that John has come to a point of such deep doubt. Having read a few of the commentaries on this passage, I am struck by how many of them clearly feel uneasy with John’s doubt. They seem to want to explain it away. And on one level, I can understand their discomfort. After all, we know that John had made one of the earliest public confessions of Jesus when he cried out, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”(John 1:29). Then he said, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (v. 34). Make no mistake. John knew who Jesus was. How could a man who was so certain about Jesus now harbor such doubt? The text does not provide an exact answer to that question, but I think I know part of the answer. In 2000 I wrote a short “gospel book” for Moody Publishers called An Anchor for the Soul. It’s a simple presentation of the gospel in “Wal-Mart English” for people who don’t go to church and don’t know much about the Bible. Over the last seven years we have given away over 350,000 copies, most of them to prisoners through a partnership with Prison Fellowship and Good News Jail and Prison Ministries. As a result, we have received over 10,000 letters from prisoners. If you stacked them up, they would reach far above my head. I confess that until I started reading those letters, I knew very little about what it’s like to be in prison. My heart has been deeply moved by the accounts of the hopelessness most of them feel. No place on earth is more corrosive to faith than a prison cell. No place on earth is darker and more hopeless than a prison cell. Just this week I read a letter from a prisoner who said, “Being in prison is like being dead. No one wants anything to do with you.” Other inmates write about how the prison is Satan’s playground.
It is no wonder that as he languished in prison, not knowing when, or if, he would be released, John began to wonder, and then he began to doubt. He at least knew enough to ask the right question. “Are you the one sent from heaven, or is there someone else who will be our Savior? Are you really the promised Messiah?” The answer our Lord gives is very instructive. He does not rebuke John or put him down. He simply gives John the evidence he needs in order to regain his faith. Go back, he says, and tell John what you have seen.
Then he lists six miracles:

The blind see. The lame walk.
The lepers are cured.
The deaf hear.
The dead are raised.
The poor have the gospel preached to them.

Note what he didn’t say: “Tell John that I am the fulfillment of the Messianic promises of the Old Testament.” That is true, but he didn’t say it. “Tell John that I can walk on water.” Also true, but he didn’t say that either. “Tell John that I make the Pharisees look like fools.” Very true, but also not mentioned. Jesus essentially says, “Go back and tell John that in my name, the hurting people of the world are being totally transformed.”

Ants in the Pants of Faith

Then notice what happens next:

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: ’I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:7-11).

John the Baptist sent his disciples from the prison to find Jesus in Galilee and ask him the all-important question. After answering the question, Jesus then shares with the crowd his high praise for John the Baptist. He is “more than a prophet,” he is the forerunner who was foretold in the Old Testament. No one born of woman has been greater than John the Baptist. Note carefully when Jesus says this. According to verse 7, it happened “as John’s disciples were leaving.” That means they heard the high praise of their master and no doubt relayed it to him back in the prison. But where was John at this point? He’s still in prison.
He’s still wrestling with his doubts.
He’s still living with uncertainty.
He’s still unsure about Jesus.
He hasn’t heard the answer yet. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “John may doubt me, but I don’t doubt him. He’s still my man. He’s still on my team. I still believe in him.” He affirmed his faith in John while John was still in his doubts. He knew that underneath those doubts there was genuine faith. Jesus is saying, “He’s still my man, doubts and all.” What an incredible affirmation.
Above the front door of every church in the world, we should erect a two-word sign: DOUBTERS WELCOME. That should be the church’s message.
If you have doubts, come inside.

SCRIPTURES REFERENCED

Matthew 11

• A Question for Jesus
• Korazin: Knowing Too Much and Believing Too Little
• If I Believe, Why Do I Doubt?

If you have questions, come inside.
If you are uncertain, come inside.
If you are a skeptic, come inside.
If you are searching for truth, come inside.
Doubt does have its uses. Deep doubt is often the prelude to an even deeper faith. I love the way Frederick Buechner expresses it: “Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving” (from the book Wishful Thinking). It is a wonderful truth that the greatest doubters often become the strongest believers. And honest doubts — once resolved — often become the bedrock of an unshakeable faith. It has been said that no truth is so strongly believed as that which you once doubted.

II. Five Ways to Move from Doubt to Faith

Doubt is not sinful but it can be dangerous. It can also be a spur to enormous spiritual growth. It’s what you do with your doubt that matters. Here are five suggestions about how to handle your doubt.

A. Admit Your Doubts and Ask for Help.

That’s what John the Baptist did. God is not fragile. He can handle your doubts, your fears, your worries, and all your unanswered questions. He’s a big God. He runs the universe without any help. Your doubts won’t upset him. Tell him your doubts, cry out and ask for his help. And don’t fight the battle alone. Go to a Christian friend, a pastor, an elder, a deacon, anyone with a strong faith and godly insight. Ask them to walk with you as you face your doubts honestly.

B. Don’t be Afraid to “Borrow” Some Faith.

Several years ago woman came up to greet me after the morning worship service. “You probably won’t remember this,” she said, and proceeded to tell me a story that, in fact, I did not recall. Some months earlier she happened to see while she was going through a very painful divorce. She briefly told me the story and said that she felt like she was losing her faith. On the spur of the moment, I replied, “That’s fine. I’ve got plenty. You can borrow some of mine.” I said it and then forgot about it. But when the woman recounted the story, she told me how much that had helped her. She had indeed “borrowed” some of my faith to get her through the hard time. Not only did I not recall the conversation, I must have had plenty of faith right then because I didn’t miss it when she borrowed some of mine. I’ve told this story several times and each time heads nod. If “borrowing” someone’s faith doesn’t make sense to you, then just skip this point. But if it does, then keep it in mind. When you find yourself filled with doubts, go find someone filled with faith and “borrow” some of theirs. It works.

C. Act on Your Faith, Not Your Doubts.

That’s what Noah did when he built the ark. That’s what Abraham did when he left Ur of the Chaldees. That’s what Abraham did when he offered Isaac. That’s what Moses did when he marched through the Red Sea on dry ground. That’s what David did when he faced Goliath. That’s what Joshua did when he marched around Jericho. That’s what Daniel did when he was thrown into the lion’s den. That’s what Nehemiah did when he built the wall. Don’t you think that all these great heroes of the faith had their doubts? Of course they did. They didn’t know in advance how everything was going to come out. But they took a deep breath, decided to trust God, and they acted on their faith and not on their doubts. Do the same thing and your faith will continually grow stronger.

D. Doubt Your Doubts, Not Your Faith.

This simply means that you should not cast away your faith simply because you are in the deep valley of darkness. All of us walk into that valley from time to time. Some of us spend a great deal of time there. But when you find yourself in that valley where all is uncertain and you are sorely tempted to give in to your doubts, fears and worries, remember these two words. Keep walking. Just keep walking. Nothing is gained by camping out in the valley of darkness. The only way out is to keep on walking. Every step forward is a way to “doubt your doubts.” Soon enough the light will shine again.

E. Keep Going Back to What You Know to Be True.

This, for me, is the most important point. After considering the sufferings of this life, and the perils and tribulations of following Christ, Paul concludes Romans 8 triumphantly by declaring, “For I am persuaded.” And he declares that nothing in all the universe can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. In 2 Timothy 1:12 he says, “I know whom I have believed.” Some things you think.
Some things you hope.
Some things you know.
In times of trouble, keep going back to what you know to be true. When I hit my 50th birthday five years ago, I realized that I believe less now than I did 30 years ago. Back then I thought I had everything totally figured out. Life has a way of knocking us down a few pegs. That’s certainly happened to me. So on one level, I don’t have total certainty about all the details of theology. In a sense, my knowledge is both greater and smaller than it was three decades ago. But what I know, I really know. I have a handful of convictions that cannot be shaken. I would include in that short list these truths: God is good, Jesus is Lord, the Bible is true, life is short, every day is a gift, people matter more than things, fame is fleeting, this world is not my home, and even hard times are meant for my benefit. And at the core of my faith is an unshakable belief in the sovereignty of God. He’s God and I’m not. He is sovereign over all the details of my life, and I can trust him completely even when those details seem to be spinning out of control.

Going “All In”

Let me illustrate. In every game of high-stakes poker, there comes a defining moment that separates the winners from the losers. You never know when that moment will come because it’s up to the individual players. There is a moment when a player says two words—"All in.” That means he thinks he’s got the best hand so he takes his chips and pushes them to the middle of the table. He flips his cards over so everyone can see them, and then he stands up. Going “all in” means that you are risking everything you’ve got on just one hand. If you win, you win it all. If you lose, you lose it all. That’s why it’s a high-drama moment. You can’t win a tournament unless you’re willing to go “all in” at some point. You’ve got to pick the right moment to risk everything in order to win. And you don’t know whether you’ve won or lost until you’ve gone “all in.” It’s that way in the Christian life also. You can’t hold on to your cards forever. Somewhere along the way you’ve got to make a stand. Years ago I decided to go “all in” on Jesus. I pushed my chips to the center of the table and I decided to go “all in” that he is the Son of God, that he died on the cross for my sins, that he rose from the dead on the third day, that he is the Lord of the universe, and that he will someday take me to heaven. Lewis Sperry Chafer said that believing in Jesus means trusting him so much that if he can’t take you to heaven, you aren’t going to go there. I like that. If Jesus can’t take me to heaven, then I’ll never make it because I’m going “all in” on him. I don’t have a Plan B.
Recently I ran across a statement that resonated with my own heart: “One who has never doubted has only half believed.” By that standard, I’m not ashamed to say that I have fully believed because I have often doubted. But my doubts have only made my faith stronger in the end.

Just As I Am

In 1822 a young woman named Charlotte Elliott was visiting some friends in the West End of London and there met a noted minister named Cesar Malan. Over supper he asked her if she was a Christian. When she replied that she did not want to talk about the subject, the minister replied, “I did not mean to offend you. But I want you to know that Jesus can save you if you will turn to him.” Several weeks later they met again and Miss Elliott said that she had been trying to come to Christ but did not know how to do it. “Just come to Him as you are,” Mr. Malan said. Taking the advice to heart, she composed a poem that began this way:

Just as I am, without one plea but that thy blood was shed for me, And that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

In 1849 William Bradbury set the words to music. Since then it has become one of the most beloved hymns of all time. For many years Billy Graham has ended all his crusade sermons with the singing of Just As I Am. The third verse contains Charlotte Elliott’s own testimony:

Just as I am, though tossed about, with many a conflict, many a doubt. Fightings and fears within, without, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

And the last verse contains the gospel promise:

Just as I am, thou wilt receive, wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve; Because thy promise I believe, O Lamb of God, I come, I come!

That is also the promise God makes to you and to me. God never turns an honest doubter away. Never. Come to him with your doubts, your skepticism, your unbelief, your hard questions, your uncertainties. He welcomes your hardest questions. Doubt is not a sin. It’s what you do with your doubt that makes all the difference. Don’t let your doubts keep you from Jesus. Come to him just as you are—and bring your doubts with you. He will not turn you away.

IS THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE A NEW TEACHING ?

by David J. Stewart

 

"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren ... we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore comfort one another with these words." —1st Thessalonians 4:13,17,18

       NO, the PRE-tribulation Rapture is not a new teaching. I have heard numerous people, from pastors to talk show hosts, claim that the PRE-TRIBULATION Rapture is a new teaching that didn't exist until just a couple hundred years ago. Many websites teach this heresy as well.

May I say, confidently, that the Bible teaches a Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the saints. I believe that the Words of the King James Bible are 100% preserved and inspired by God. Every last Word. Word-for-Word inspired. We clearly read in 1st Thessalonians 4:17 that all believers shall be “caught up” together in the clouds to meet Jesus in the air. This is the Rapture of the Church, which may take place at any “moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1st Corinthians 15:52).

If a POST-tribulation theory were true, then why would the saints need to be “caught up” if Christ is returning to the earth? A POST-tribulation Rapture makes no logical sense at all. The Bible plainly differentiate between the PRE-tribulation Rapture verses the Second Coming of Jesus Christ 7-years later. Here is a helpful chart by Pastor Harry Ironside explaining God's prophetic timeline.

So you see, the Bible does teach the doctrine of the PRE-tribulation Rapture. It is NOT a new teaching as some pseudo-scholars claim. Before the Bible was completed in A.D.96, the teaching of the Pre-tribulation Rapture was already contained in the Bible, in 1st Thessalonians 4:17. The Biblical doctrine of the Pre-tribulation Rapture has been with us for the past 2,000 years.

The body of every born-again believer will suddenly change, and be “caught up” into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Carefully notice that the Bible says we will “meet the Lord.” Amen!

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see
When I look upon His face, the One Who saved me by His grace
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the Promised Land
What a day, glorious day, that will be!

I humbly look forward to meeting my precious Savior face-to-face, the One Who understands and loves us unconditionally for Who He is. John 16:22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.” Amen and amen.

One can only conclude a Pretribulation Rapture if you take the Bible literally at face value. “Pretribulation” means that the Rapture happens BEFORE the 7-year Tribulation Period. This is Biblical.

One of the strongest proofs of a Pretribulation Rapture is the event of the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 9:27 and then again by the Jesus Himself in Matthew 25:15. This is the event when the Antichrist will claim to be god from the temple in Jerusalem, and demand that the world worship him or be killed. From this blasphemous event, it will be exactly 3 1/2 years until the Lord's SECOND COMING (2nd Thessalonians 2:4).

Since the Bible plainly states that no man knows WHEN the Rapture will occur (Matthew 25:13), we must conclude that it will be a Pretribulation Rapture, because we DO KNOW it will be exactly 3 1/2 years between the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION and the SECOND COMING.

I believe that the Bible is God's inerrant, preserved and inspired Words. I believe that the Words of the King James Bible are inspired Word for Word. God's Word is inspired into whatever language it is translated into. God doesn't inspire a language, He inspires His Words. We have God's preserved and inspired Words today in the King James Bible.

The Bible teaches a Rapture of the saints, and it could occur at any moment. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

I'm not looking for the undertaker, I'm looking for the uppertaker!

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The Rapture of the Saints

Only 8 people survived the flood. Noah preached the righteousness of Jesus Christ for 120-years prior to the flood, but not one person repented. NOT ONE!!! Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:37-38 that the Last Days would be as it was in the days of Noah before the flood, when wicked people only live to eat, drink, marry, and party. We live in perilous times. People are NOT listening to God.

Perilous Times (by Pastor Danny Castle | Download sermon)

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Entering the Realm of the Antichrist

I Believe the Rapture is Imminent

The Lord May Return Today

Biblical Proof of a Pretribulation Rapture

The Rapture is Biblical

The Rapture Could Happen Today!

WHY PROPHETICALLY DOES IRAN SEEK NUCLEAR WEAPONS

 



Note from Nathan Jones: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 rattled the walls of the United Nations in a scathing speech set to his usual theme — death to the "Little Satan" Israel and the "Great Satan" the United States (transcript). To accomplish his firm belief in his divine "historic mission" of the overthrow of the West, Ahmadinejad repeatedly referred to the soon "arrival of the Ultimate Savior" whom he calls "Imam Al-Mahdi." Ahmadinejad explained that when the Mahdi comes he will be the "spring of humanity and the greenery of all ages" that will "mark a new beginning, a rebirth and a resurrection... the beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine life."

Sounds great, right? But, is the supposed coming of the Mahdi truly all peace and flowers and love as Ahmadinejad describes, or does Islamic teaching concerning the end times explain something far more sinister? And, who exactly is this Mahdi anyway whom Ahmadinejad is willing to start a nuclear war over? Find out as Dr. David Reagan explains below Islamic teachings concerning this supposed Muslim savior.

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By Dr. David R. Reagan
Founder & Director, Lamb & Lion Ministries

The holiest book of Islam is the Qu'ran, often spelled Koran in English. It supposedly contains statements of the Islamic god, Allah, which were given to his prophet, Mohammad, by the Angel Gabriel.

Mohammad was illiterate, so scribes wrote down what he said over a 23 year period of time, until his death in 632 AD. Much of the content of the Qu'ran was delivered by Mohammad while he was experiencing seizures that even his first wife considered to be demonic in nature. The scribes began compiling the Qu'ran shortly before Mohammad's death. The Qu'ran is about the length of the New Testament.

The second most sacred book of Islam is called the Hadith. It is mainly a collection of Mohammad's sayings that were not considered to be revelations directly from Allah. The Hadith also contains stories about things Mohammad did.

The Hadith was compiled in the 9th Century, about two hundred years after the death of Mohammad. There were several compilations made during that time, but the most authoritative is considered to be the one by al-Bukhari. He collected a total of 600,000 sayings of Mohammad and stories about him (examples). These came from the writings of both friends and family members. Many came from Mohammad's 15 wives. Al-Bukhari verified 7,000 as "genuine." These became the Hadith.

Strangely, the Qu'ran contains very little prophecy about the end times. It mainly affirms that history will consummate with "the Hour" when the resurrection and judgment will take place. So, the Hadith is the major source of Islamic eschatology.


An Islamic Puzzle

It is extremely difficult to piece together the Islamic concept of the end times. The information is greatly disjointed, being spread throughout the Hadith. Also, unlike Christian prophecy scholars, Islamic students of prophecy have not attempted to systematize their concepts into charts and diagrams which show how all the events are related to each other.

I have done my best to piece together all the events of Islamic eschatology, and I believe that what follows is a fair representation. But keep in mind that Islamic scholars disagree on the nature and order of some events, just as Christian experts do regarding the end-time sequence of Bible prophecy.

The most helpful source I was able to discover was a book by Dr. Samuel Shahid called The Last Trumpet. He attempts to show that the major concepts of Islamic eschatology were borrowed from the Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian New Testament, and the concepts of Zoroastrianism. Dr. Shahid is the director of Islamic studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas.

Dr. Shahid proves conclusively that Mohammad secured many of his ideas orally from Christians, Jews, and followers of Zoroastrianism. In the process he got many of the stories and principles confused. For example, the Hadith states that the mother of Jesus was Mary, the sister of Moses!

Dr. Shahid also points out that the Hadith was compiled at a time when Islamic authorities knew much more about the Bible and Christian traditions and literature. Thus, many Hadith passages were manufactured and embellished and were heavily influenced by Christian sources.

Hadith passages concerning the end times are highly contradictory, and thus it is difficult to nail down a lot of specifics. Only a general outline of end time events can be compiled.


The Islamic Signs of the Times

There are both minor and major signs that point to the climactic event in Islamic eschatology — namely, "the Hour," which is the time of resurrection and judgment. There is a Second Coming of Jesus in Islamic end time events, but it is not considered to be the decisive event. Rather, it is viewed as a sign pointing toward "the Hour." The beginning of the end times is marked by the appearance of the Antichrist, who is called the Dajjal.

As with the Christian Scriptures, the order of the major end time events is not always clear in the Qu'ran and Hadith, and therefore, in Islamic tradition they are placed in various chronological order.

Also — as is the case with Christianity — Islam teaches that only God knows the timing of the end time events. But there are signs to watch for that will indicate the season. There are both major and minor signs.

Many of the minor signs have to do with general trends in society. Others relate to specific events that will occur before the appearance of the Antichrist. The major signs relate to specific prophesied events that will occur between the time of the appearance of the Antichrist and "the Hour" of resurrection and judgment. The listings of both the minor and major signs vary greatly.

What are Islam's prophetic end-times signs?

WOMEN IN CHURCH OFFICE

by C.W. Powell

"And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry..." Ephesians 4:11,12

"But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man." I Timothy 2:12

The church belongs to Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church and the director of all its parts. When he ascended into heaven, he provided for the welfare of his church by appointing the gifts of ministry. The purpose for these gifts is to bring God's people into obedience to God. The visible church ceases to exist where these gifts are debased and corrupted. The corruption of these offices begins with the appointing of unbelieving or unqualified men, it proceeds with the appointing of women, and ends, I suppose, with the appointing of sodomites.

The intrusion of women into these offices is a direct affront to the authority of Christ. There are two reasons for this: First: Because of the creation order: Man was created first, and the woman for the man, according to the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 11:9). Second: The Holy Spirit has forbidden the woman to teach or to usurp places of authority in the church. (I Timothy 2:12) Jesus appointed twelve apostles, all of them men. Of course, he did not have the benefit of instruction from the National Association of Women. Otherwise, he might have known better. If God had had the benefit of such instruction, Messiah would have been a woman.
These are days for strong men. There are far too many public relations experts in the pulpit, who hold their finger up to the prevailing wind of public opinion, rather than seeking counsel at the mouth of the Lord. Far too many men are truant before God in terms of exercising the authority and dominion given to them. It is a sad day for the church when people do not know whether they are men or women, either in sex or in office in the church.

The arguments in favor of women in church office are all based in humanism, not Biblical principle:

1. Equality: The humanist confuses equality of being with equality of office. The Holy Spirit always distinguishes between the two. In Christ there is neither male nor female, bond nor free. But that doesn't mean we are to have unisex restrooms, or same sex marriages. Neither does it mean that women are to hold office in the church against the clear prohibition of scripture. It is a frightful sin for man or woman to usurp an office that God has not given. (Numbers16,17) All the congregation was holy, but that didn't mean that Korah could be priest. This in no way minimizes the very solid contribution women made to the ministry of our Lord, and the labor of love they have performed to establish the church in all lands. That is another subject, and must not be confused with the matter of church office. These contributions are immense and available to any who wish to know.
   
   
2. Pragmatism: "A woman can do the job just as well as a man can." There is no doubt that there are women who are more talented, wiser, and morally superior to many men. There are also many talented men in the pews; but this does not mean all are to pastor churches. One of the most important duties of the church is to ``try those who say they are apostles,'' that is, to examine whether or not a person has a call for a particular office. No church bureaucracy can tender a true call, if God has not. Recognizing that only God could give the church worthy officers, the early church fasted and prayed before appointing them. In actual fact, the work of the Church can be done only by the power of God, for the church is spiritual. A faithful minister does not do the work in his own strength, but by the authority and power of Christ. A woman cannot do the job, because the task is to call people to obedience. A woman in church office is fatally compromised in this spiritual task because of her disobedience in usurping the office. She, of course, can lead the church to apostasy and ruin, just as a rebellious, unbelieving man can.
   
   
3. Many men are unworthy. Rebellion always focuses on failure: children use the failings of parents as a reason for disobedience; citizens use the failings of government as an excuse for civil unrest; church members excuse their own sins by the failings of officers. The Heidelberg Catechism says that we are to obey those in authority ``with all due obedience to all their good instruction and correction, and also bear patiently with their infirmities, since it is God's will to govern us by their hand." (Q. 104) The failure of those in office is no excuse for the rebellion of anyone against God's order. Human failure is the reason that human government must be limited, with checks and balances, but a rebellious spirit is devilish, and overthrows all order. (I Samuel 15:23)
   
   
4. Sentiment. Translation: I want it, therefore I should have it. The humanist makes much of feelings. "It makes me feel bad to be deprived of equal opportunity," somebody whines, and the humanist caves in. "I just don't feel the same about my marriage," is excuse enough to break the marriage vows or to leave children for somebody else to rear. God's rule is different: He doesn't excuse us from our marriage vows, our church vows, or our legal responsibilities because someone gets emotional. But humanism cannot be extricated from the bog of emotionalism by logical arguments, because they equate sentiment with love, and pretend to have the high moral ground. "Aren't we supposed to love?" they intone piously. "Why do you hate women?"
   
   
5. Denial of apostolic authority: Paul was a chauvinist, a man of his times, and this flavored his instructions to the churches. Modern man is more enlightened in his efforts to "free" the woman. But Paul did not speak his own words: the words were given to him by God (I Cor. 2). Liberal theology spares no effort to substitute the words of man for the words of God. "Don't listen to Paul," they say. "Listen to us. We are scholars. We know better." The premise is not true and is a subtle denial of the inspiration of Scripture. Besides, if Jesus is not God, but only an inspired man, then what makes him right? And if he is God, the appointing of men only to the apostleship makes a statement for all the ages, and is in line with the theology of Paul, Peter, and the other apostles. The Son of God knew what he was doing. He underscored apostolic authority by saying, "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." He did not speak his own words, and they did not speak theirs.

But what does humanism care about the Bible? What really counts is man's word, man's feeling, and man's glory that counts. Or should we say womyn's word, womyn's feeling, and womyn's glory?
Objection: Didn't God use Deborah as a prophetess? What about Joel's prediction that women would prophesy? Of course, if the Bible does not speak with authority then we can disregard these places, can't we? But if it does speak with authority, these places must be reconciled to the prohibition of women "usurping" authority and teaching in the church. The reconciliation is simple: God is free to use whatever means he wants to convey his message at special times. One time he used a small child to predict the end of the house of Eli, the high priest. Another time he used an ass to speak to the prophet. Shall we install children and asses in church office?

Those who reduce all debate to emotional paroxysm will now accuse me of equating women with children and asses. Rebellion is never rational, but only emotional, and cannot be subdued with debate. This ad hominem argument is refuted by stating that I love both women and children. I have been married to the same delightful woman for over thirty years. Her friends know her as a strong woman who kept her home, taught in Christian school, and reared six sons, and labored as a helpmeet to her dinosaur husband. I fought those who tried to restrict a woman's "place" to the home. I never knew many donkeys and so cannot claim affection for them.

We cannot cut the knot by saying that Paul was speaking to the culture of his day, and forbade women to usurp authority because it might offend that culture. If true, then feminists of the last generation should have given that generation the respect Paul gave his. But it isn't true. Paul says that women are not to usurp office because of the order of women in creation: "Adam was first formed and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.." (verses 13,14) In the created order, before sin had even entered the world, the woman was cast as a helper, not as one to exercise dominion and authority over the man. The Holy Spirit speaks in a similar manner through the Apostle Peter, commanding wives to be in subjection to their own husbands, and husbands to give honor to their wives as to the "weaker vessel." (I Peter 3) Peter also teaches that the true adornment of the woman is a "meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." Such ideas are not fashionable in today's "enlightened" society, but that does not make God's word void, or change the nature of men and women. Some think they are wiser than the apostle, and can tell us what he meant to say. Every age has those who try to re-interpret the Bible to fit the public.

We are all to live under authority. Ephesians 5:21 commands us to be "filled with the Spirit," and then tells us what that means: joy in the heart; thanksgiving to God; and submission to each other. Then, he tells us what this submission is (5:22-6:9): Husbands and wives are to submit to the order God has provided for the home; children and parents are to live in God's order; so are masters and servants (management and labor). Slavery is not living under authority, but being forced to live under unlawful authority. Those who impose the rule of women in the church are subjecting the church to unlawful authority, to slavery. (Isaiah 3:11,12 David put it clearly: "I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts." (Psalm 119:45) There are fearful warnings to those who would presume to speak for the Lord, when He did not appoint them: "I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.... I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor." (Jeremiah 23:21,22,30)

Notes: Rev. C.W. Powell is Pastor of Trinity Covenant Church in Colorado Springs, California.
"Humanist" in these papers means one who makes man the reference point in his thinking, rather than God and the scripture. Though he speaks of "God," the humanist denies that God has revealed Himself in the Bible. He relies upon his own thoughts, feelings, and intuition about God, and uses the Bible only to confirm these thoughts, feelings, and intuition. Those who have other definitions should defend their own turf.