CAN YOU RENOUNCE YOUR SALVATION?
11 IF YOU FOUND A MAN RENOUNCING HIS HUMAN NATURE, YOU WOULD
THINK
HE WAS CRAZY. YET, IT WOULD BE FAR EASIER FOR YOU TO
RENOUNCE YOUR HUMAN NATURE, THAN FOR YOU TO RENOUNCE YOUR
DIVINE ONE. Luke 12:26
In the above Scripture,
Jesus raises a question that challenges the intelligence of those who think
they can renounce salvation and no longer be saved. Religionists are big on this one. When
certain Christians approach you with this false doctrine, you need only ask
them “Which is greater, human nature
or the divine nature of Christ in you?
They will reply, “Why, the divine nature, of course.” Then, follow-up with this line of
questioning.
Can you renounce your human nature? Suppose you were walking down the street and spottted a man screaming, “I renounce my human nature! I no longer want to be human. Therefore, I renounce
my humanity! I am going to stop being human.
I’m just going to stop!”
Wouldn’t
you think he was insane? Meanwhile, the Word of God
asks: “Why beholdest thou the speck in thy brother’s eye, and yet see not the
beam in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite!” You acknowledge human nature is weaker than
the divine nature, and you found it quite preposterous for a man to attempt to
renounce his human nature. So what makes
you think you can renounce the divine nature of Christ in you? Since you cannot renounce your human nature
and just stop being human, then how could you possibly renounce your divine
nature which, according to you, is the greater of the two?
Jesus asked, “If ye are
not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the
rest?” Since, we cannot do that “which
is least” which in this case is renounce our human nature, and then it’s quite
ludicrous for us to think we can renounce our divine one! If you felt we should send a man with a
butterfly net after the guy attempting
to renounce his human nature, just think what we should send after the born
again who think they can renounce their divine one!
Note: You cannot, by your will,
cast out the old Adam (human nature/the old man). Likewise, you cannot, by your will, cast out
the last Adam, the divine nature of Christ in you (the new man). He abides in the redeemed forever. (John
14:16, Heb. 13:5)
12 THE BORN AGAIN ARE NOT THEIR
OWN. THEREFORE THEY CANNOT
RENOUNCE THEIR OWNER. 1 Cor. 6:19-20
“What ... know ye not that
ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a
price.”
In the days of slavery in
A believer’s human willpower cannot
overcome the power of God that keeps them saved or else you, by your willpower,
could “will” Christ out of existence in you! (1 Pet. 1:5) Christianity commonly overlooks the fact
that, like slaves, the born again “are not their own” but have been “bought
with a price;” the precious blood of Jesus.
This transaction totally nullifies their will as the prevailing will
over their soul’s destiny. After you
believed the gospel of your salvation, the Master's will vetoes the will of
your flesh concerning your soul’s salvation. (John 13:13) The souls of believers
have been bought with a price; the precious blood of Jesus, and our Master
keeps His merchandise. (John 17:12)
Like the Apostle Paul, every born again believer is a “prisoner of the
Lord.”
Note: King David shattered any notion that a believer can be God’s runaway slave when he wrote, “Where shall I go from thy spirit? Or whether shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there.” (Ps. 139:7-9) The redeemed cannot escape the Master. As typified in Exodus 21:5-6, once a slave of sin allows his ears to be pierced with the gospel, he is made a bondservant of the Lord forever.
13 WHAT IF A BORN AGAIN BELIEVER RENOUNCES HIS
SALVATION? ISN’T HE LOST AGAIN? THE ANSWER IS NO! Lam.
3:37
“Who is he that saith and it cometh to pass when the Lord commandeth it
not?”
Can a slave fire his master or a sheep its shepherd? Can a tenant evict his landlord? These things sound preposterous to us. However, when it comes to our salvation, many Christians assume they have the power to send the Lord packing at will ― their human will. These Christians have forgotten the Lord is not their property to dispose of as they please. He was not the one bought with a price, we were! (1 Cor. 6:20) Believers are to obey the Lord. He does not obey us! Be reminded that the Lord is not your genie in that if you told Him to “get thee hence,” He would say, “Yes master, your will is My command” and meekly leave. As a believer, you cannot renounce your salvation, for “the Lord is thy salvation,” and He is of the eternal opinion that He “will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Ps. 27:1, Heb. 13:5)
The
human mind is so arrogant that it presumes it has the authority to banish the
Lord from his own property. Imagine a sheep chasing its shepherd from the
pasture. If a sheep attempted to
renounce its shepherd, it must face the chastening crook known as “the rod of
correction.” Furthermore, if a sheep renounced its shepherd, would a good
shepherd, in turn, renounce that wayward sheep?
If he did, he wouldn’t have any.
A good shepherd “will in no wise cast out” his sheep, and the born again
have a very good shepherd. (Heb. 13:20)
When
considering whether or not the born again can lose their salvation, we must
come to grips with the fact that certain one-time decisions have everlasting
consequences. For example, God disclosed
that had Adam eaten fruit from the tree of life he would have lived forever.
(Gen. 3:22) Let’s pretend Adam did eat
from the tree of life and lived a billion years, having seen it all and done it
all. Now bored with life and hoping to
die, he decides to eat from the forbidden tree.
Nothing would have happened. Five
billion years later, he would still be living. Even if Adam tried to renounce
his everlasting life, he would still have lived forever. What could Adam have
done to stop living forever? Absolutely
nothing — and neither can you, the redeemed! (Col. 3:4, John 10:28)
Legalists
conveniently forget that if we could renounce our salvation, then God must
renounce His Word, “For he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee,” and He is “thy salvation.” (Heb. 13:5, Ps. 27:1) Jesus Christ cannot save you today and then
allow you to go to hell tomorrow, or else His claim of not forsaking you is
false. (Heb. 5:9) He cannot have it both
ways. Either He is the author of
“eternal salvation,” or our Bibles lie.
A man who drinks a pint of
poison can renounce death until he is blue in the face, but he will still
die. In like manner, the born again,
drinkers from the cup of eternal salvation can renounce their salvation “from
the rising of the sun till the going down of the same,” yet they will remain
saved. For “Who is he that saith and it
cometh to pass when the Lord commanded it not?” (Lam. 3:37) Shall the power of your words usurp the Word
of God? No! Once “the Lord has become thy salvation,” He
is “thy salvation” forever, and who can disannul it? Nobody! (Isa. 51:6, Mal. 3:6)
14 AFTER SINNERS DRINK FROM THE WELLS OF SALVATION,
THEY CANNOT
RENOUNCE
THEIR SALVATION! 2 Cor. 4:12
“So
then death worketh in us, but life in you.”
When you meet
Christians who have deceived themselves into thinking they can lose their
salvation by renouncing it, share this with them.
When this man finishes all this renouncing, will he still die? Yes. Why? Because “death worketh” in him, whereas Paul writes to the believer “but life in you,” Christ in you, your hope of glory. (2 Cor. 4:12) This same one who announced, “I am the life” has “begun a good work in you and shall perform it.” (Phil. 1:6) When you, as a sinner, drank from “the wells of salvation” called the gospel, Jesus promised you would live forever. (Isa. 12:3) That one drink from His cup of eternal salvation, called the gospel, gave you eternal life. After this drink, you will have as much success renouncing your eternal life as that poisoned fellow had in renouncing death after his.
15 A SHEEP CANNOT RENOUNCE ITS
SHEPHERD. Psalms 100:3
“we
are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Can a sheep renounce its
shepherd? If so, the man was not much of
a shepherd. Let’s say a sheep baa-aahs
real mean-like announcing to its shepherd, in no uncertain terms, that it wants
out of the fold. Would a good shepherd
be accommodating and consent to the will of that sheep? No.
This is because shepherds are not ruled by the will of their sheep. Sheep are ruled by the will of the shepherd.
(1 Cor. 6:19) What could a sheep do
that would cause its shepherd to dismiss it from the fold? Nothing!
Sheep are in no position to renounce their shepherd and the same goes
for you, the sheep of God’s pasture. (Ps. 100:3)
Though it seems unfair to many, no one
can become God's sheep by merely imitating one.
You are not made God’s sheep by exhibiting impeccable behavior,
irreproachable morality, or keeping the commandments. Furthermore, sheep do not remain sheep by
working at it, and neither do the redeemed.
In order to become a sheep you must be born one. Sinners only become God’s sheep by possessing
the nature of “the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.” The Passover
“Lamb of God” who was born in
“If the foot shall say,
... I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?”
The previous Scripture asks: If part of your body renounced
its membership, would it cease to be a part of your body? Of course not! As members of your body cannot leave at
will, so it is with members of the body of Christ. Barring accident, the only time a member is
cut from one’s body, is if corruption is found in that member in particular. Members
of the body of Christ need not worry about this, because according to
Scripture, Christ’s body shall never see corruption. (Acts 2:31, Ps. 16:10)
At your new birth, you were set in the body of Christ as it
pleases Him. (1 Cor. 12:18) Notice you are set in the body, not in the
head, for Christ alone is “the head of the body.” (Col. 1:18) This is an important fact because free will
lies in the head and not in the body, where believers are placed. Many Christians have yet to grasp the
elementary concept that free will is not located in the body. Have you ever been relaxing on the couch and
had your legs detach themselves to stroll around the block, because they felt
they needed exercise? Or, have you ever
had your hand pop off to grab a pen to jot a few lines? Has your heart ever taken a three-day siesta;
because it decided it deserved a rest?
No. As Paul asked, “Does not nature itself
teach you” that the will lies in the head and not in the body, and so it is
with the body of Christ. For we, being
many members, are one body in Christ. And Christ is the head of the body. (1
Cor. 12:12, Col. 1:18) The body’s
response to the head is always “not my will but thine be done.”
The body has two major factors that distinguish it from its
head. The body is both blind and silent,
having neither eyes nor mouth. When your
body operates, it must operate in faith following the head’s instructions,
because the body never sees what it accomplishes. Sight is not located in the
body, only in the head. Furthermore,
since the body is mute, its members have no voice, making it somewhat difficult
for a member of the body to renounce
its membership. (1 Cor. 12:15) Even when
you speak the word as an ambassador of Christ, the Bible establishes:
“it is not you that speaketh, but the
Holy Ghost
(Christ’s Spirit within you.)” (Mark
13:11)
Only the head provides the
body with both voice and vision. Christ is the head of the body, and He has
never said to His body’s more uncomely
parts, “I have no need of thee.” (1 Cor. 12:21-24) Beloved, “the Lord hath need of thee.”
(Matthew 28:19-20)
17 PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY HAVE FREE WILL TO
RENOUNCE THEIR
SALVATION, BELIEVE THAT THE WILL OF MAN
USURPS THE POWER OF GOD.
1 Pet. 1:4-5
“you are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation.”
The
next time religionists approach you with the argument that they have the free
will to lose their salvation, ask them to do the following: squat down, then jump up and touch the moon. They will quickly discover their free will
has limitations. Since the will of our
flesh cannot propel us to the moon, why would we think this same will can
propel us beyond the moon “into heaven itself” to tamper with the eternal
inheritance that is “reserved in heaven for you.” (1 Pet. 1:4) The truth of the matter is, free will as men
understand it, does not exist in God or man, devil or demon. Free will has perimeters. It has limits. God himself, has self-imposed restrictive
limits on His free will, in that He must adhere to His Word, which is His
constitution that He with all of is authority and power cannot violate or
override. (Mal. 3:6) God cannot do
whatever he pleases if it does not coincide with His Word.
Legalists who say believers have free will
to terminate their salvation at any given moment, or that free will gives the
redeemed the right to lose their salvation, are “teachers of the law,
understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” (1 Tim. 1:7)
The born again who believe that free will is the be-all end-all of
salvation, have believed a lie. Common
sense teaches us that free will is not without limits. The following are classic examples of these
limitations.
Limitations
of Free Will
·
Adam did not have the free will to eat of the
tree of life in his fallen state.
·
God does not have the free will to save those who
die in unbelief.
·
You do not have the free will to run 80 miles an
hour.
·
The living will die and their free will cannot
prevent this.
·
People in jail do not have the free will to leave
when they please.
·
In heaven or hell, the dead cannot stop being
dead by their own free will.
·
Sinners do not have the free will to go to heaven
outside of accepting Jesus Christ’s resurrected life as payment for their sin
debt. (
·
Satan does not have the free will to avoid his
God appointed punishment.
·
Man does not have the free will to approach God
outside of Christ.
·
The antichrist does not have the free will to
halt his manifestation.
·
The redeemed have no free will to will Christ out
of existence in them.
·
The world does not have the free will to abort
Christ’s Second Coming.
·
Lost souls in hell do not have the free will to
go to heaven.
And
the list goes on and on. Free will
requires the power to execute it. Moreover, the Scriptures states that “the
powers that be are ordained of God,” and God has not ordained any power that
can abort the salvation of one soul who believes His gospel. (Eph. 1:13) The Scriptures even state that free will has
boundaries “for to will is present,
but to perform I find not.” (Rom.
7:18) The lack of power to perform the
will is the chief limitation of free will.
Free will is composed of two
components: the will and the power to execute that will. Jesus exposed the limitations of free will in
his conversation with Pontius Pilate who was threatening him with
execution. Jesus made very clear to
Pilate that “Thou couldest have no power at
all except it is given thee from above.”
His statement tells you that if you could execute “Christ in
you,” and thereby eliminate your salvation, that power would not originate from
sin or you, but would have to be “given thee from above.” (John 19:11) Be advised the great God shall never again
grant power to have His Son, who is “thy salvation,” executed, eliminated, or
much less destroyed. Case closed! Now,
imagine a man or woman trying to renounce his or her salvation while having no
power at all. It’s absurd!
How dare our false hearts utter that
the will of our flesh can usurp the power of God that keeps us saved? The Scriptures state, “We are kept by the
power of God,” not by the power of free will. (1 Peter 1:5) Will power, especially human will power, is
no match against the saving power of God that keeps us. Our will power can
barely keep us on a diet, much less maintain our souls’ eternal salvation. It is the power of God that sustains our
salvation and not our willpower.
18 WHAT IF YOU ARE BORN AGAIN, AND A MAN
POINTS A GUN TO YOUR
HEAD AND SAYS, “DENY JESUS OR I’LL KILL
YOU,” AND YOU DENY HIM
AND HE KILLS YOU ANYWAY. WOULDN’T YOU
GO TO HELL? THE
“If we deny
him, he also will deny us.” (2 Tim. 2:12)
When I was a little boy, I was always afraid this situation would happen to me and I would deny the Lord and lose my salvation. So, I was always mentally preparing myself for such a moment. As a young man in college, I asked other Christians what they would do if they were challenged to deny Christ or lose their life, and one of my colleagues answered:
“I figure my testimony is worth more to the Lord if I were living rather than dead, so I would deny Him, and then later ask forgiveness and continue witnessing for the Lord.”
This man better be glad that courage is not a
requirement for salvation.
Jesus Christ respects martyrdom, and hopefully we would all endure such challenges as Daniel did in a lion’s den or as the three Hebrew boys who faced down a ruler who threatened them with death in a “burning fiery furnace.” In that showdown, God revealed his Son would be with us even in martyrdom. (Dan. 3:25, Matt. 16:16-17) In heaven, Christ Jesus stood up while the first Christian martyr, a young Jewish man named Stephen, died for his faith while testifying:
“Behold, I see the heavens
opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God, and they cried
out, and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out
of the city, and stoned him. And Stephen calling
upon God, saying, Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit, and lay not this sin to their charge.” (Acts 7:60)
Jesus Christ testified to the
“thou holdest fast my name,
and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my
faithful martyr, was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” (Rev. 2:13)
As Christians, “we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” Now, if a sheep runs away from a butcher, do you blame it? The sheep still dies a sheep whether at the hand of the butcher or by natural causes. In addressing the present topic, let’s say a man placed a gun to your head and told you to deny you were human or he would kill you. Therefore, you denied you were human, and he killed you anyway. Did your denial overturn your humanity? No. Were you any less human when he pulled the trigger? No. Did you ever stop being human? No. Then what did this episode prove? It proved you were dealing with a mad man and you did not want him to take your life.
Likewise, what
if a man threatens to take your life unless you deny the Lord, and in a moment
of fear or cowardice, like St. Peter, you deny the Lord Jesus to save your own
skin? Jesus Christ does take note of
this; however, He cannot deny His existence in you, for the simple fact that
“he cannot deny himself” — Christ in you, your only hope of Glory. (2 Tim 2:13,
1 Cor. 6:17) In this situation you would
not lose your salvation, but you would lose the crown of the martyrs mentioned
in Revelation 2:10. Jesus considers it
an honor when we lay down our lives for His name’s sake, and He will greatly
reward those who die for the gospel.
(Rev. 2:10) Always remember that, we are
saved by believing that Jesus Christ died for us, and not by us dying for
Jesus!
During this present dispensation of grace, we may
shrink from our duty to die as a martyr and yet still remain saved. However,
once the rapture of the Church takes place, “the gospel of the kingdom” will
resume being preached “to all the world as a witness” by 144,000 virgin Jewish
men. (Matt. 24:14, Rev. 14:4) During
that period of great tribulation, those who accept Jesus Christ as the coming
King will pay for that decision with their lives by an edict from a global
ruler, referred to as antichrist. (Rev. 13:4)
In order to be saved, these people will be required to keep the faith
unto death or until the Second Coming of the Lord, whichever comes first.
(Matt. 10:17-22)
One of the most terrible accounts in Scripture was the confession of the Apostle Paul, who before his conversion, “breathed slaughter” against all believers in Christ who lived in his region. Paul’s written confession in Scripture states:
“I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled [forced] them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them unto foreign cities.” (Acts 26:11)
“Our beloved brother Paul” testifies that before his conversion, he successfully tortured Christians by painfully coercing them into blaspheming the worthy name of our Savior. No telling what methods of cruelty young Saul used to coerce blasphemies out of those born again believers in the chapels of God. Although, in their agony they denied the Lord, the Lord does not deny born again believers their “right to the tree of life,” when their flesh cries, “Uncle!” Nevertheless, in whatever dispensation we find ourselves, may we be able to echo Job’s words that “Though he slay me, yet shall I trust him.” (Job 13:15) Paul, formerly called Saul the Christian killer, died a martyr for the faith he once persecuted. (2 Tim 4:6, Gal. 1:23)
Note:
Christians, many times our tongues become amazingly silent in our day to day
lives, when we should be proclaiming the gospel, reproving the unfruitful works
of darkness, and witnessing to the lost.
Yet, many of us hardly notice this. At times our “gospel is hid, to them
who are lost” because we fear losing face, life, or employment. Like St. Peter, we have all denied the Lord
opportunities witness for him. As Paul,
let us pray for boldness to, “Go, stand, and speak all the words of this life.”
(Acts 5:20)
19 BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS CANNOT SUCCESSFULLY
RENOUNCE THEIR
SALVATION,
BECAUSE GOD WON'T HEAR OF IT! 1 John 5:14-15, 2 Pet. 3:9
“And this is the confidence we have in him,
that, if we ask anything according to
his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hears us, we know that
we have the
petition desired of him. The Lord is not willing that any should
perish.”
In our topic Scripture, did John write, “If you ask anything according to your will he hears you?” No. When carefully reading this verse again, we find “if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” Subsequently, if you ask anything not according to His will, He will not hear you, and you will not receive the petition you desired of Him. In case you have forgotten, God is not willing for any to perish. After your salvation, if you asked God for permission to renounce your salvation, He will not hear you, because this is not according to His will. Therefore, you would not “receive the petition you desired of him” to lose your salvation. Born again believers cannot renounce their salvation, because God won't hear of it!
20 SHEPHERDS DO NOT LOSE OWNERSHIP OF SHEEP GONE ASTRAY.
14:8
“Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.”
Many Christians
thoughtlessly recite the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd…”
forgetting that shepherds are solely responsible for the security of their
sheep. The redeemed have been placed in
the custody of a very “good shepherd.”
Many Christians wholeheartedly believe that if a believer departs from
the faith, the Lord, in turn, departs from that born again believer. Such Christians should remember the
elementary principle that a shepherd doesn’t lose custody of a sheep that goes
astray. Neither does a good shepherd
renounce a sheep that wanders from the flock.
That sheep still belongs to its shepherd. Some pastors, upon learning a member of their flock has departed from
the faith, write them off as having never been saved in the first place. Shame on these shepherds! This is the
equivalent of a child who wanders away
with some pervert, and the parents exclaim, “Well, if he could go astray
with such a nasty person, then he is no child of mine,” and leaves the situation
at that. Such parents are unfit, not the
child, and it follows that such shepherds are unfit, not the sheep. Waywardness
is part of a sheep’s nature no matter how mature it becomes.
What if a sheep wanders from the guidance of its shepherd and
falls into the jaws of a roaring lion, ravenous wolves, or a crooked
serpent? Does that sheep belong to its
predator? No! Sheep cannot transfer ownership of
themselves. Dead or alive, sheep belong
to their shepherd. (Rom. 14:8) Like sheep gone astray, Christians who depart
from the faith open themselves up to attacks from the enemy. Though Satan may slay their bodies, their
souls remain in the clutches of its good shepherd.” As Jesus stated, “I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, and no man can pluck them out of my hand.”
(John 10:27-29)
Moreover, if a sheep wanders onto the land of a farmer, does
it automatically become that farmer’s property?
No! When it comes to sheep, there are no finder's keepers and certainly
no giveaways. Likewise, if a child
denounces her parents and slips into the hands of a molester, does that child
belong to the molester? No! If the molester ends the child's life, did
the child cease belonging to her parents?
No! Living or dead, that child
belongs to its parents, and so it is with the children of God. (Rom. 14:8) As
it is written:
“Whether we live, we are the Lord's and whether we
die, [at Satan's hands, natural causes, or through our own stupidity] we are
the Lord's. Therefore, whether living or
dead we are the Lord's.”
The Good Shepherd's. (John
10:28)
20a
BECAUSE BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS ARE THE SHEEP OF GOD’S PASTURE
AND A SHEEP CANNOT MUTATE INTO AN UNCLEAN ANIMAL. Ps. 23:1
“We
are his people and the sheep of his pasture.”
In the Bible, God classifies sheep as “clean.”
Now, what if a sheep trots trough a pigsty and gets its wool
filthy. Does God now reclassify that
sheep as unclean? No! A sheep’s outward appearance holds no bearing
on its cleanness, because sheep are clean through the word God has spoken. Though its wool may be filthy, God still
regards the sheep as clean. A sheep can
be dirtier than a pig and God’s Word still declares it clean. In light of this, what can a sheep do to
cause God to reclassify its status to unclean?
Nothing, and neither can the sheep of God’s pasture! If a sheep often wanders from its fold, is it
now unclean? No! What if a sheep behaves
unseemly, does its behavior disqualify it from its clean category? No!
What if a sheep strays away and is killed prematurely by a wolf or a
lion, doesn’t it still die a sheep, a clean creature? Yes!
Then, how can a sheep be declared unclean before God? It’s impossible, because God’s Word declares
all sheep clean from birth. Period!
If you read between the lines you’ll
find that God has declared sheep clean regardless of their low intellect, shortsightedness, and habitual waywardness. A sheep can do nothing to make itself more
clean, nor can it do anything to make itself unclean, and neither can you, the
born again believer. Christ’s birth in
us, make us “his people and the sheep of his pasture.” Although sheep are declared clean throughout
their lifetime, this in no way insinuates that every sheep is fit for temple
service. (Num. 6:14) In the Old
Testament, if a sheep did not meet certain standards, though it was considered
clean, it was nevertheless, deemed unfit and thus not qualified to participate
in temple service, and so it is with Christians. As a Christian, you are declared eternally
clean by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ.
However, if you are in violation of specified “instruction in
righteousness” outlined in God’s Word, then you are not fit to officiate in
ministerial offices in the church, though you are clean. (Titus 1:5-9, 1 Tim.
3:10-15)
Moreover, regardless of how wayward a
sheep is, it cannot mutate into a goat, nor can a goat be transformed into a
sheep. Likewise, if a sinner associates
with Christians, and practices fundamental Christian character better than most
Christians it does not make him a Christian.
If this person never strays from obeying the Ten Commandments and is
engaged in doing good works, and loves God and his fellow man, he will still
die a sinner. Why? Because though he
lived “the Christian life,” THE LIFE OF
CHRIST NEVER LIVED IN HIM! It’s the new birth of “Christ in you”
that makes us Christians “and not we ourselves.” (Ps. 100:3) In case you may have forgotten, Jesus Christ
is the only Christian life there is,
for what other life can profess total sinlessness? Did He not say: “I am the life.” (John
14:6) When a sinner accepts Jesus Christ
by faith, that is what makes them a Christian.
Beloved, Christians do not live “the Christian life,” it’s the Christian
life that lives in Christians. He is the
holy one known as “Christ in you” your only hope of Glory for without him no
man can see the Lord, including you.
(Heb. 12:4, Eph. 4:24)
21
JESUS IS A FISHER OF MEN AND HE NEVER THROWS ANY BACK. John 6:37
When we review Jesus’ prayer, we find him declaring to his Father “Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost.” (John 17:12) Since, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” His record of having lost none will remain the same as it did yesterday, today, and forever. Notice that Jesus takes full credit for keeping every soul given to Him from being lost again. He announced:
“I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me that I should lose nothing.” (John 6:38-40)
In
other words, if Jesus loses one soul His Father entrusted to Him for
everlasting life, then He would be out of His Father’s will. Therefore, we know Jesus won’t be telling any
fish stories of “the one that got away.”
For:
“This
is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth
the
Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life...”
(John
6:38-40)
Born
again believers by faith see that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. (1 John
5:1) If you are a born again believer,
Christ has hooked your soul, and one day you will be “caught up” to meet the
Lord in the air. (1 Thes. 4:17) Jesus is a fisher of men, and He doesn't throw
the puny ones back. (John 6:37)