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)

Our Grand-daughter’s Poems

Our oldest grand-daughter learned to write poetry at school. We thought they were very good for an 11-year-old (grand-parents’ bias). Some of our friends (all seniors) read them and felt that they were filled with hope, reassuring, and uplifting. Read them for yourself.

Balance

In free-sparring, even if you have endurance and strength, you will get knocked down easily if you do not have balance. Physically we often take the word in the verb form, to put oneself or something in a stable or steady position to keep from falling. The Bible, however, uses the word as a noun, as in scales for weighing, or in an accounting sense as the amount in an account. The synonym stable does not even appear in the NIV, but the adjective steadfast and the negative form unstable does, from which we can learn some spiritual lessons:

1. Steadiness comes from God (Gen 49:24), but you have to develop what He has given (Is 35:3):
• Gen 49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
• Is 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

2. Steadfastness is developed by trusting the LORD (Ps 112:7, Is 26:3), in obeying His decrees (Ps 119:5):
• Ps 112:7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
• Is 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
• Ps 119:5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!

3. The one who does not trust, the one who doubts, is unstable in all they do (Jas 1:8). They are easily seduced (2 Pet 2:14), ignorant, and distort Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Pet 3:16):
• Jas 1:8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
• 2 Pet 2:14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
• 2 Pet 3:16 … His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

4. Steadfastness is tested by growing weary (Ex 17:12) and suffering, but endurance leads to you becoming strong and firm (1 Pet 5:10):
• Ex 17:12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
• 1 Pet 5:10 And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

5. The result of steadfastness is power (2 Chron 27:6), and no fear of bad news (Ps 112:7).
• 2 Chron 27:6 Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.

As you can see, endurance, strength and balance are intricately related, both in the physical and spiritual realm. Think of these things next time you are tempted to give up.

Strength

If I can think of one movie example of endurance in the face of adversity, it would be the mid 70’s boxer Rocky Balboa. He was an underdog who was given a chance to fight against the reigning world heavyweight champion, and he went the distance in the face of overwhelming odds. However, even if you have his endurance and “never say die” attitude, you still need strength and speed in your punches to win.

Strength is important, but using physical analogy to draw parallels to spiritual truths has its limitations, and strength is one example. Because unlike the world’s focus on building up your own strength and power, the biblical emphasis is always relying on God as your strength:
• Php 4:13 I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.
• 1 Tim 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
• 2 Tim 4:17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.
• 1 Pet 4:11 … If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.
Why? Because God does not want us to be proud and boast. He wants the praise to flow back to Him, not men.

Furthermore, God’s ways are not man’s ways. In fact, they are often the opposite:
• 1 Co 1:25, 27 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
• 2 Co 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

When we are weak, we can’t depend on ourselves. We have to trust God to deliver us, and that’s when we become strong:
• Heb 11:34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

So next time when you think you have little strength and can’t really do much, turn from mulling over your weakness to drawing on God’s strength. Trust instead. He’ll see you through.
• Rev 3:8 … I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Endurance

When I first started exercising, I stretched and stressed muscles that I had not used in a long time. When your job involved sitting in an office working on a computer or talking to people most of the time, it did not require any serious exertion. The adage “use it or lose it” is true. Even though I practiced karate when I was young, nearly half a century of “non-use” had erased any trace of agility or power that was once there. The exercises put the long neglected muscles through the grind, and an hour later I was exhausted and aching all over! I thought I could sleep it off, but the following morning proved otherwise. Not only did the soreness not go away, but the fact that I had to repeat it day after day poured cold water on any enthusiasm I had for my new year resolution. That’s when I’m reminded that what I need is endurance in order to succeed.

In the spiritual realm it is the same. Often one quality makes the difference between success and failure – endurance. Christians know and appreciate the value of qualities like faith, hope and love. Few, however, make it their goal to pursue endurance, possibly because it is not a high-profile character like the three, or possibly due to its close association with suffering, which few of us want. Yet that’s what Scripture teaches us to do, because endurance is exactly what we need when we encounter hardship and suffer:
• 1 Tim 6:11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
• 2 Co 1:6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.
• 2 Co 6:4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;

If we mean business with God, both Paul and Peter taught that persecution and suffering is inevitable:
• 2 Tim 3:12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
• 1 Pet 2:20-21 But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps.
Since trouble is unavoidable, patient endurance is mandatory.

What’s more, endurance is closely linked to faith, hope and love. In addition to 1 Tim 6:11 which we’ve already looked at:
• 2 Tim 3:10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance,
• Tit 2:2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
• Rom 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
• 1 Thes 1:3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

These qualities are so intricately intertwined that they develop together, making us mature and complete. I hope we all learn endurance, and all the more as we see the Day approaching.

Exercise

I brisk walk 5 times a week, 5 km. each time. I thought I was doing pretty good for someone my age, until my peers told me their routines to keep fit. It turned out I was missing out a lot, as I’ve neglected many important components in my exercise.

First, I only walked, a good but still only one form of aerobic exercise. Other cardio-vascular or endurance exercises include jogging, swimming, cycling, skipping rope etc., all working on the heart and lungs to improve overall fitness. However, I’ve ignored all anaerobic exercises to increase strength, balance and flexibility. That’s like eating only fruits and vegetables, but not meat, grains or dairy. That’s good as far as it goes, but not wholesome. You need all the other types of exercises, just as you need all food groups to be healthy.

Strength or resistance exercises aim to build up the muscles. This helps to control blood pressure and blood sugar, since muscles burn sugar more rapidly. It also builds bone mass or density to prevent osteoporosis, all important things to watch for as we grow older. Popular exercises include weight lifting, pull-ups/chin-ups, using a resistance band etc.. But since I prefer being able to exercise without equipment, I favor using your own body weight such as push-ups, planks, sit-ups/crunches, squats, climbing stairs etc.

If you have a strong heart and muscles but are not steady, you’ll fall and hurt yourself. Such injuries can be fatal for seniors. To improve stability we need balance exercises such as standing on one foot, heel to toe walking etc. Some like Tai Chi, which is ok as an exercise. The advantage of balance training is that it can be practiced anytime, anywhere, without equipment. For that matter, you don’t even need gym clothes, which is very convenient.

The last type is flexibility. As we age our joints become stiff and muscles lose their tone, and all kinds of aches and pains develop. To counteract this we exercise to keep our limbs supple, such as shoulder and chest stretches, lunges, hamstring/calf stretches etc. Some suggest Yoga, which I do not recommend, because it is really Hindu religion postures.

If you have all 4 types in your routine, you will have a complete work-out of your various systems. Interestingly, these 4 are also important in your spiritual training, which we will explore in the next few posts.

(To be continued)

Leather Christians

Since we would rather support missions and other Kingdom causes than spend money on ourselves, some of our furniture have been with us a long time. But eventually even sofas wear out, so we’re in the market for leather loveseats and chairs. After visiting several sofa manufacturing showrooms and talking to people who know the trade, we learned a few things about leather.

Although there are leathers of many different “feel” and color from different animals, essentially there are four basic types based on their manufacturing method. Interestingly, these types can also be used to classify Christians.

1. Full-grain – this is the highest quality, natural leather as nothing like sanding or buffing is done to it to hide the imperfections e.g. scars. There are no polymer coatings so the leather is “breathable”. The only processing is dyeing for color, and the leather does not wear out easily and is durable. This is analogous to Christians who are authentic. They do not try to hide their vulnerabilities, but are genuine. They make people comfortable by giving themselves and others “breathing” room. They endure and persevere. If you have friends like these, they last a long, long time.

2. Top-grain – despite its name, this is the second-best quality after full-grain. If the raw leather is thick, it can be split into two sheets. The imperfections are then sanded down. Sometimes coatings are applied, so they are less breathable. They are like many well-meaning Christians who try to do their best, but because they are “thinner” due to the splitting, they are less durable. These Christians try to put their best foot forward and hide their imperfections, but as a result of this “guardedness” you don’t feel as comfortable with them.

3. Split – this is the bottom half after the top top-grain layer has been separated. It is similar to the top half, except that there is no grain, so artificial grains are stamped or embossed on it. This is still real leather, but lower quality and more artificial both in its look and feel. Some Christians’ emphasis is on how they appear externally, not on their spiritual qualities internally. They truly believe Jesus is God and trust Him as their Savior, but they are more molded by the world than His word.

4. Bonded – this is not real leather, notwithstanding its name. They are made by bonding leather scraps together using polymer glue. They look like leather, but since they are not one piece naturally, they wear out within a few years and are not durable. In Christendom, they are nominal Christians. In good times superficially they look and act like Christians, but they do not stand up under stress and their true colors would show.

What type of Christian are you? Full-grain, top-grain, split, or bonded? For your sake I hope you are full or at least top-grain. Watch and pray.

Dandelion Lessons

When we came home after our extended trip, our front lawn looked like a wild weed patch – grass so long that it bends under its own weight, broad-leaf weeds growing everywhere, and dandelions! These were the worst. There were so many of them that the yard looked like we were cultivating them on purpose.

We tried every means to get rid of them. First we got down on our hands and knees and tried to dig them up. But they were so numerous that the handle of our hand tool broke off before we made even a dent in their population. Then I borrowed a friend’s heavy-duty “dandelion eater”, which allowed you to dig the roots up without bending down and hurting your back. Finally we sprayed them with organic weed killers, which supposedly should make them turn black, shrivel up, and die. We have yet to see that happen!

Dandelions are so tenacious that I thought Christians should learn an object lesson from them. No I don’t mean that in a pesky way, as some folks are really obnoxious, even though they call themselves Christians. I mean their adaptability and tenacity, something lacking in a large segment of the Christian population.

First of all, dandelions grow in all environments. Its tap-root goes deep into the soil to gather water and nutrients. They flourish in lawns, flower beds, along driveways, even in the cracks of concrete sidewalks. They are everywhere! I wish Christians have deep roots and can adapt to any circumstances too, but unfortunately some shrivel in adverse conditions. Some thrive only in a protected, green house environment, where they are among fellow Christians. But once they move into secular society, say a university campus or the workforce, they lose their faith and start following the crowd to blend in. Instead of changing their world, their world changed them. Not so with dandelions. I hope you are that way.

Secondly, dandelions’ ability to hold on is legendary. Before chemicals were banned, we sprayed them with different kinds of herbicides, but they lived on. Then we used different organic or home-made formulas, such as vinegar or soapy water, but to no avail. It’s as if the more you try to exterminate them, the wider they spread. They hung on to life despite hostile conditions. I wish Christians are more like that in their persistency and endurance. The world is getting increasingly Christian-unfriendly, targeting them with biased treatment and harassment. In some countries it is downright hostile and Christians are persecuted. We need to be trained to persist and endure, or face extinction.

Third, dandelions propagate profusely. They are designed for maximum reproduction. Each flower head actually consists of many small flowers called florets. When mature the flower head turns into a “blowball” containing many single-seed fruits. Each fruit is attached by a stalk to a “parachute” consisting of many fine hairs, allowing it to be blown about by the wind, travelling long distances. So without any effort to cultivate them, they grow spontaneously and have a wide distribution. Would that Christians are more like dandelions, reproducing themselves spiritually, effortlessly, anywhere and everywhere.

Lastly, despite their being classified as a weed, dandelions are actually quite pretty with their bright yellow flowers, giving the impression of a sunny disposition notwithstanding being looked down upon. Christians are sometimes viewed by the world as weeds too, but we can be beautiful in God’s sight, adapting, persevering, enduring, and propagating. Learn a lesson from the lowly dandelion.