Archive for November, 2008

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Can a Person “Fall Away” From Salvation?

November 20, 2008

A person cannot “fall away” from the LOVE of Jesus Christ.

· Romans 8:38-39, For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[Love leads to salvation]

[Love does not guarantee salvation]

[Love does guarantee the availability of salvation]


A person cannot “fall away” from the AVAILABILITY of Salvation.

· John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

[Salvation is available to whoever believes]

[God’s love is available, but not His salvation, to whoever does not believe]


However, the Bible warns against FALLING AWAY.

· Romans 11:22, Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness.  Otherwise, you also will be cut off.

· Hebrews 2:1 & 3, We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away…, how shall we escape [punishment] if we ignore such a great salvation?

· Hebrews 4:1, Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

· Hebrews 6:4-6, It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace.

[If there is no possibility of falling away, why are we warned against it?]

[The falling away warning-passages were written to Christians (i.e. saved people)]

Likewise, the Bible insists that FAITH is the condition for being SAVED.

· Romans 5:1, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord Jesus Christ.

· Ephesians 2:8, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

[Salvation is conditioned upon one’s faith in Jesus Christ]

[Salvation is the gift of God’s grace while faith is our response to the gift]

[If one’s salvation is conditioned upon faith, then it stands to reason that his/her salvation will die if his/her faith dies]

Finally, the Bible gives EXAMPLES of people who “Fell Away.”

· The ancient Hebrew Nation did not remain in Jerusalem during their times of rebellion, but were removed from the blessings of God, from Zion, until they repented in faith and turned back to God for deliverance.  They fell away.

· Judas Iscariot may have once been a believer in Jesus Christ.  If so, then he fell away, died in his state of rebellion, receiving the “reward” for his wickedness (Acts 1:18).  He fell away and did not return.

· Simon the Sorcerer, according to Acts 8:13, “believed and was baptized,” but later was condemned to “perish” (Acts 8:20) because he thought he could “buy the gift of God with money.”  He fell away.

· In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus says, “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.  When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away,” (Matthew 13:20-21).

Conclusions

· Reform Theology’s belief in the “Perseverance of the Saints” does not make sense of everything the Scripture says about “falling away.”

· Catholic Theology’s belief that one may step out of (and back into) salvation on a regular basis does not make sense of everything the Scripture says about “eternal security.”

· The only way a saved person can fall away from Jesus Christ is if he or she, after accepting and believing in Jesus Christ, is to later reject Him and persist in that rejection for the rest of his or her life.

· We do not believe that acceptance or rejection of “Perseverance of the Saints” is an issue of salvation.

Posted in church, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

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Clinton Adminstration, Part 2

November 19, 2008

Rom Emmanuel will be chief-of-staff.

Tom Daschell will be the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Eric Holder will be Attorney General.

Hillary Clinton will be Secretary of State?

Any guesses as to where Pres-Elect Obama will place Madeline Albright and Janet Reno?

Is it just me or this looking eerily like the Clinton Administration, Part Deux?  …and it is eerily similar to W’s appointment of all of HW’s proteges.

I agree that Washington needs change, but this isn’t what I was hoping for.

I’m really trying to keep an open mind—I suppose time will tell.

Posted in culture, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

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My Ambition: To be praised by my Creator

November 10, 2008

I have a new ambition.  My new ambition is not to praise my Creator but to be praised by my Creator.

In The Weight of Glory  CS Lewis writes: “I suddenly remembered that no one can enter heaven except as a child; and nothing is so obvious in a child—not a conceited child, but in a good child—as its great and undisguised pleasure in being praised….  Apparently what I had mistaken for humility had, all these years, prevented me from understanding what is in fact the humblest, the most childlike, most creaturely of pleasures—nay, the specific pleasure of the inferior: the pleasure of a beast before men, a child before its father, a pupil before his teacher, a creature before its Creator…: the satisfaction of having pleased those whom I rightly loved and rightly feared.”

He continues:  “I read in a periodical the other day that the fundamental thing is how we think of God.  By God Himself, it is not!  How God thinks of us is not only more important, but infinitely more important.  Indeed, how we think of Him is of no importance except insofar as it related to how He thinks of us.  It is written that we shall “stand before” Him, shall appear, shall be inspected.  The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God.  To please God… to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness… to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain.  But so it is.”

My motivation, my driving force for success, my ambition to reach lost souls and to build Christ’s Church is not so much to praise my Creator but to be praised by Him with the words, “Well done good and faithful servant!”

Posted in church, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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The Gospel According to Matt Endorses…

November 5, 2008

People often ask me who I’m going to vote for, and as a Minister of the Gospel I’m rarely comfortable with that question.  I believe my calling is to preach Christ and Him crucified—not to become a partisan Politico.  Honestly, I can see how some Christians feel compelled to vote for the Democrats with their focus on poverty and social justice; and I can see how some Christians feel compelled to vote for the Republicans with their focus on the Right to Life and Judeo-Christian values.

Now that the election is over I am willing to say that I voted for John McCain and Sarah Palin.  People on either side of the political isle will just assume my vote was related to abortion issues, or gay-right issues, or because of some sinister Republican alliance with Evangelicals.  Such an assumption would be wrong-headed and misplaced.  I am not a Republican and there is no such alliance.  I am a believer in Jesus Christ and a student of the Bible.  And I base my votes on my faith in Christ and my understanding of Scripture, not on searing and mostly false, divisive, fear-mongering political propaganda that oozes from both major parties.

My faith in Christ tells me to be non-partisan and non-political in my role as a Christian leader (He never spoke ill of the Roman occupation or of the unfair taxes levied against His culture in the first-century).  Meanwhile my understanding of Scripture tells me that the job of government is not to provide for its citizens but to protect them—the essence of justice—not to provide jobs for citizens but to protect those who labor; not to provide homes for citizens but to protect the homes of its citizens; not to provide money for citizens but to protect citizens’ right to earn money.  I did not vote for McCain because of his party affiliation but because I believed that John McCain would do the best job of protecting the citizens of our country—and that is precisely what the Bible says government leaders should do.

Despite my vote, my next president is Barak Obama.  My understanding of the Bible insists that God has chosen him and that I should honor and respect him, for the Lord’s sake.  God has made him the next president of the United States of America.  God has placed him in authority over me and he will have my prayers.  I don’t know what decisions he will make, what crises he will face, or what legacy he will build.  Likewise I am puzzled by some of his political promises and past acquaintances.  But he is my president and he will have my honor and respect.

Moreover, his election represents what I’ve been saying for years—that all Americans are indeed equal and that Race should no longer be used as a political football.  Is there still bigotry and racism in America?  Yes, but it is not mainstream and it will no longer suppress or oppress citizens of our great country.

Tonight John McCain, gracious in defeat, proved himself to be the great American statesmen that he is.  The next four years will prove just who Barak Obama is—something I’m looking forward to finding out.  In the meantime, I’m praying that all Christians will let their faith govern their politics rather than letting their politics govern their faith.

Posted in church, culture, Politics, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Biblical Truths about Citizenship & Government

November 3, 2008

1.       Our Primary Citizenship is in Heaven, Philippians 3:20

“But our citizenship is in heaven and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

2.       The Purpose of Government is Justice, Romans 13:3-4

“For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong.  Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority?  Then do what is right and he will commend you.  For he is God’s servant to do you good.  But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing.  He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”       

3.       All Government Leaders are put in place by God, Romans 13:1

“Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

4.       Our first responsibility is to pray for our Leaders, 1 Timothy 2:1-3

“I urge then that, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”

5.       Our second responsibility is to respect our Leaders, Romans 13:7

“Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.”

6.       Our third responsibility is to obey our Leaders, 1 Peter 2:13-14

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.”

7.       Our fourth responsibility is to pay taxes to our Leaders, Romans 13:7

“Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.”

8.       Our fifth responsibility is to live as free men, 1 Peter 2:16

“Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”                

Posted in church, culture, Politics, religion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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