Once Saved Always Saved? Part 1 of 2

Q. Heb 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Can you explain “Once Saved, Always Saved”? Can a truly born-again Christian walk away from God and lose his position as God’s child?

I will answer the primary question before addressing Heb 6:4-8. The primary issue is whether our salvation ultimately depends on God’s promise or on us. My position is it depends on God, not our ability to hang on. Let us review two passages of what God promised:

• John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
• Rom 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The conclusion is no enemy is greater than God to snatch us out of the Lord’s and the Father’s hands. Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. The natural question is, “OK, no one is greater than God, but can’t we walk away from God ourselves?”

My response depends on whether that person is really a born-again Christian. If he is a genuine Christian, then God will discipline a wayward child to bring him back:

• Heb 12:5  and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; 6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

However, if he is a counterfeit Christian, then his walking away from God is a case of:

• 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.

They are Christians in name only, but their lack of perseverance shows that they do not have saving faith and were not truly born-again.

Books have been written by both proponents and opponents of eternal security to support their position. Space does not allow me to address their arguments in this short article, but the above sums up my view.

(To be continued)

Jacob & David Family Tragedies

Q. Why did Jacob and David do nothing when the tragedy happened in the family according to the Bible?

A. The incidents you referred to are:

· The rape of Jacob’s daughter Dinah by Shechem in Gen 34:5, Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob said nothing until they came in, and

· The rape of David’s daughter Tamar by her half-brother Amnon in 2 Sam 13:21 Now when King David heard about all these matters, he became very angry.

Despite Jacob being one of Israel’s patriarchs and David being Israel’s most famous kings to which subsequent kings were compared, both were fallible men with their own weaknesses.

The name Jacob means “one who takes by the heels or supplants” (Gen 25:26). He stole his father Isaac’s blessings from his older twin brother Esau by deception (Gen 27), and his life is characterized by sly dealings e.g. becoming prosperous by selective breeding of his flocks at his uncle Laban’s expense (Gen 30:37-43). As a father, he was responsible for protecting his daughter, but in Gen 34:5 he kept silent possibly because of a lack of courage.

David had his own guilt to deal with. In 2 Sam 11, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and plotted to have her husband Uriah murdered to cover up his sin. Although he confessed and God forgave him (2 Sam 12:13), David might have felt that he did not have the moral authority to discipline his son Amnon, despite his anger. The same thing happened when his son Absalom killed Amnon to avenge his sister Tamar. David did not discipline Absalom.

Neither man was a good father. The Bible is very fair in recording both the good and the bad of the heroes of faith. God uses us despite our failings. If He uses only perfect men none of us would qualify.

Carnal Christians?

Q. People use Romans 10:9 as a reason for not wanting to be bothered with apologetics Bible or studying the Bible! Are they Christians as mentioned in 1 Co 12:6 “There are different ways the Spirit works, but the same God is working in all these ways and in all people.” or are these the lukewarm Laodiceans that will be spit out (into the abyss)?

Should I be concerned? or should I be satisfied that they can go to heaven because of 1 Co 3:15 If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames. I pray that I do not end up in this category. Who are the builders escaping through the flames? The carnal Christians or the lukewarm Christians? 

A. Let us look at the verses you quoted or alluded to in turn:

• Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Some argue that it says only “confess” and “believe”, nothing about “repent”. But what is a true confession?

• Ezra 10:11 Now therefore, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.”
• Ezra 10:19 They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense.

The Israelites not only confessed with their mouths, they followed it up with action to do God’s will. So, repentance is part and parcel of confession, without which the verbal confession is a sham.

• 1 Co 12:4-6 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. ⁶ There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

The context is that of spiritual gifts. The same Holy Spirit gives varieties of gifts and ministries to different people. V 6 has nothing to do with repentance. There is no such thing as some need to repent while others are exempt.

• Rev 3:15-16 ‘I know your (church in Laodicea) deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ¹⁶ So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.

Rev 3:16 does not say “into the abyss”. The abyss is where Satan and the beast dwell (Rev 9:11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:3). Do not add to the text (Rev 22:18). The Lord will spit or vomit them out of His mouth because they are lukewarm. Cold is refreshing and hot is healing, but lukewarm is nauseating. Some feel they are nominal Christians or unbelievers because they are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. They need white garments (righteousness) to cover their nakedness, and eyes (spiritual eyes or minds) that they may see:

• 2 Co 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Both are what unbelievers need. In addition, the Lord will reject them with disgust.

Others feel they are believers because the Lord was warning them. They were those whom He loves, reproves, and disciplines (v 19). And Scripture says,

• Heb 12:6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.

Had they been unbelievers, the Lord would have told them:

• Mt 7:23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

My opinion is that both nominal and compromising Christians are in the Laodicean church, hence the mixed description.

• 1 Co 3:15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

This judgment is referred to again in:

• 2 Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Some will be barely saved, but not their work, consisting of wood, hay, straw which will all be burned up. Nothing remains for the worker to receive any reward. These are Christians who have invested their lives in things that are worthless when measured in terms of eternity. They could be fruitful but have wasted their lives.

Lastly, carnal Christians:

• 1 Co 3:1-4 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. ² I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ³ for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? ⁴ For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Carnal Christians are immature believers, infants in Christ. They cannot understand deeper spiritual truths, and there is jealousy and strife among them.

Who are the builders escaping the flames in 1 Co 3:15? The preceding context in 1 Co 3 indicates that they are carnal Christians. As explained, the lukewarm church consists of Christians in name only, as well as carnal Christians. The former will not be saved; the latter will be saved but suffer loss of their life work.

Should you be concerned? You should be. Going to heaven is of course good, but like a loving Father, God wants us to achieve so much more than meeting the bare minimum requirement. All Christians should aim to be spiritual men and women:

• Mt 5:8 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

That is what pleases God.

Discernment

(Continued from yesterday)

Q. I am very concerned about the extradition protests in Hong Kong. I watched video clips sent by friends from both sides – protesters as well as police supporters. It appears both sides are showing only what reinforce their position, ignoring anything that shows their opposition might be right, at least partially, and not the evil monster they portrait them to be. It seems each side is both right and wrong at the same time. What should we do?

A. Yes, we are entering an age of massive deception, when both sides of a political issue won’t hesitate to use lies to rally people to their side. If you examine video clips posted by either side, you can see that both are spreading a lot of fake news. Some think “seeing is believing”. Really? Have you watched the “Lion King” trailer? It’s very realistic, but completely computer-generated. Artificial Intelligence have fooled many people. Many have watched Trump or Obama videos thinking how they could say something like that on camera, not realizing that the videos have been “photoshopped”. Others are true footage, but of another unrelated incident taken out of context. Some stories do not have authentic sources including names, time, and place that can be verified. How can we respond in these turbulent times?

In what ways do people lie to us? Although any deviation from the truth is, by definition, a lie, and there are countless ways you can deviate, lies fall into three main categories. Using the oath when we give a sworn testimony as the reference point, a lie can be anything that is NOT:

• The truth – any deviation from what happened; twisting the facts;
• The whole truth –hiding or subtracting certain parts, even though what’s disclosed is true. For example, protesters point out the loopholes in the proposed extradition legislation, but hide who their own backers are and their motives;
• Nothing but the truth – they may divulge all aspects of the case, but add elements that are designed to raise doubts, cause confusion, and mislead the audience. The easiest way to con people is to mix truth with error.

What is the antidote? I believe what’s needed is discernment, a distinguishing, clear discrimination, and judging of right from wrong. The word appears many times in the NASB:

• Verb “discern” – 17 times in 16 verses; “discerned” – 2 times in 2 verses;
• Noun “discernment” – 11 times in 11 verses;
• Adjective “discerning” – 10 times in 10 verses.

I won’t cite them all here, but the key teachings are:

• 1 Kings 3:9, 11 So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” … God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice,
• 1 Kings 4:29 Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore.
• Job 12:20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech and takes away the discernment of the elders.
• Ps 119:66 Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Your commandments.
• Prov 2:3, 5 For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; …  Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
  And discover the knowledge of God.
• Prov 28:7 He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.
• Ezk 44:23 Moreover, they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.
• Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

We learn the following about discernment:

• Why? – Discernment is important because with it we distinguish between good and evil, understand justice, tell the difference between the holy and the profane, the unclean and the clean. Without it we will be deceived 100% of the time.
• What? – Discernment consists of a breadth of mind (perspective) and knowledge (depth). You cannot discern if you are narrow minded, or if you are superficial and can’t learn from history.
• Where or Who? – Discernment comes from knowing God’s commandments, fearing the Lord, and keeping His law. If you know God, you have wisdom from above (James 3:17). If you don’t know God, the best you can have is earthly wisdom, which is unspiritual, demonic (James 3:15), for the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. (1 Co 3:19)
• When? – Discernment generally comes with age (elders), through experience. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes!
• How? We get discernment when we cry for it and train our senses by practice. We must desire and pursue it. It is like spiritual discipline or exercise – no pain, no gain. Nothing venture, nothing gained.

In short, if you are the Lord’s disciple, you will have discernment, because the Holy Spirit will guide you. You can see through the smoke and mirrors the world is throwing at you and won’t be deceived. So, when people ask, “Whose side are you on, the government or the protesters?”, I said “neither”. Is China good? Are the CIA/Freemasons pulling the strings behind the protesters good? Neither. No one is good except God alone (Mk 10:18b; Lk 18:19b). There is none who does good; there is not even one (Rom 3:12b). That’s why the only foundation you can stand on is the sure word of God. All other ground is sinking sand. I hope we are all following Christ closely.

The Problem of Pain 2

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Pictures show:
* Leprosy – lack of pain results in loss of fingers and toes
* Pain as chastisement for correction
* Spare the rod and spoil the child
* Birth pains – the suffering precedes the joy

Yesterday we looked at pain as a punishment for sin, and as a warning signal to stop and change. Although some people might consider pain as something to be avoided at all costs, that is actually not a good idea. Some years ago I read a book called Pain, the Gift Nobody Wants by Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. Dr. Brand was a world-renowned hand surgeon and leprosy specialist. He said he first learned about painlessness while working with leprosy. The disease destroyed the patient’s sensitivity to pain, resulting in disfigurement of the body as the patients literally wore down their fingers, toes and even noses without feeling it. Modern men have not learned this lesson well. Often at the first sign of a headache or other pain they take painkillers to dull the pain and then keep going. They treat the symptom, not the cause. That’s not wise. Deal with the cause, then the symptom will go away.

Closely related to pain as punishment is pain as chastisement in order to discipline and train us. Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. The difference between the two is in the motive. Punishment looks back to dispense retribution for the wrong done. Chastisement looks forward to shape the future of the one under discipline. Chastisement is painful, but if we learn from it, it disciplines us for our good so that we might share in God’s holiness (Heb 12:10). Today’s young parents had been taught, wrongly, that physical discipline is barbaric, and that children should never be spanked. That’s not biblical wisdom, but humanistic folly, because we end up with more spoiled brats than former days:

Prov 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.
Prov 23:13 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
Prov 29:15 The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

Of course I don’t mean violence. The Chinese of my generation will remember being disciplined as children. We dreaded the rattan cane, and learned to behave. It was unpleasant to say the least, but it did produce a harvest of righteousness and peace.

One more point to note is that of the different type of pains in the Bible, the most frequently mentioned is the pain of childbirth or labor pains. For example, pain or pains appear 13 times in the NIV NT, of which 8 times or over 60% are associated with birth. Why? I believe Jn 16:21 gives us the clue:

Jn 16:21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

I was told that childbirth is the most pain experienced by a woman, but out of this anguish, she experiences the most joy when her child is born. It may be the same way with us. We could be walking through some of the most painful experience in our lives, but if we endure to the end, it breaks forth into unspeakable joy as we see God’s hand delivering us once more from the pangs of death. Out of pain a new life is formed, reaching to a higher plateau. I myself learn more from my painful experience than from times of peace and prosperity. I hope we all learn something from it. Don’t waste your pain.

Hot Air Balloon Spiritual Lessons 1 (Part 1 of 3)

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Photos show:
* Arrival at meeting point 5:30 AM
* Setting up the burners
* Inflating the balloon with fans
* Ready for launch
* Take-off

Our family and friends gave my wife a special gift for her birthday, something memorable which we would never get for ourselves – a hot air balloon ride! We eagerly cashed in our gift last weekend and were in for a pleasant surprise, as there are many similarities between a balloon ride and the Spirit-filled life.

Due to the cold climate in Canada, flights are available only from late Spring to early Fall. Weather permitting, flights are scheduled 7 days a week, twice daily at sunrise and sunset. We booked a Sat. morning flight, a little hesitantly as we have to get up at 3:30 AM to allow ample time to get to Cookstown about 80 km away. Little did we know that we were very “fortunate” to be able to fly the first time we booked. One fellow passenger said she re-booked a total of 10 times over 4 years before she finally got on board! Guess we were “lucky”, but “fortunate” and “lucky” are not part of Christian vocabulary!

There is actually a lot of heavy work both before and after each flight of 30 min. to an hour. All the equipment are packed in a U-haul trailer, and have to be assembled for each flight, then dismantled and stored until the next launch. There are 3 basic pieces of equipment: the balloon (“envelope”), a burner with fuel tanks, and a basket. Together these can weigh about 850 lbs. for an average system carrying 5 people. You can imagine the heavy lifting involved. Lesson # 1: If you don’t want to spend the effort, you won’t enjoy the experience. It’s the same with the Christian life. If you don’t invest the time and the energy to discipline yourself, you won’t be victorious. Some Christians look for that “magical” seminar where they can learn three easy steps and be instantly victorious. It doesn’t work that way. As in mastering any sports or skill, you have to put in the effort, without which you don’t enjoy the fruit of the labor.

We were amazed by the size of the balloon. When lying flat on the ground, I estimated it to be about 100 ft. long. When it was inflated, it stood as tall as a 10-storey building. Actually, if we remember our high school physics, we should not be surprised. This is because hot air balloons work on a very simple principle: Hot air is lighter than cold air and rises. Each cu. ft. of air weighs about 1 oz. (28 gm.) at room temperature. However, if you heat that air by 100 degrees F., it expands by about 1/3, so that the same volume of 1 cu. ft. now weighs only 3/4 oz. (21 gm.) Therefore each cu. ft. of hot air has a buoyancy of, or can lift, 1/4 oz. (7 gm.). That’s not much, but if you have a 100,000 cu. ft. balloon, it can lift approximately 1,600 lbs., which is the combined weight of an average system (850 lbs.) and 5 people (1 pilot plus 4 passengers, at an average of 150 lbs. per person). Lesson # 2: Each unit’s contribution is small, but if you have lots of units, you can do great things.

The same is true of your Christian walk. The contribution of each worship, fellowship, daily devotion, prayer, memory verse, meditation, fasting, good deed, sharing the gospel etc. may not be huge, but, accumulated steadily over an extended period of time, they amount to a lot and can change your character and your course of history. This is the principle behind the proverbial “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. The ground covered by each step is insignificant, but step by step, eventually the whole 1,000 miles will be behind you. Don’t ignore your spiritual disciplines. I don’t know of any spiritual giants who are undisciplined.

(to be continued)