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Remain Faithful to the End |
Dear Brethren,
Is it possible to fall away from the truth of God, His good
graces, and lose out on salvation? The answer is, "Yes." A similar way to ask the
same question is this: Is the widely accepted teaching of,
"Once Saved – Always Saved," a valid doctrine? The answer
is, "No." Our very salvation depends on understanding the Word of
God on this subject. Extremely difficult days lie just ahead of us
in the Church of God. Everything that we hold sacred will soon be
overthrown – everything, that is, except our faith, which
must continue until the very end. "He [only] that
shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
(Matthew 24:13)
Those who hold to the once saved – always saved doctrine believe that Jesus understands their
humanity and weakness, and loves them in
their sins – anyway. They ignore Christ's clear directive that
overcoming sin is required. They do not believe the many Scriptures
that warn about loss of salvation. "You therefore, beloved
brethren, seeing that you know these things before hand, beware lest
you also, being led away with the error of the wicked [one],
fall from your own steadfastness."
(2Peter 3:17)
I fear that we, in God’s Church, have our own version of “once saved –
always saved.” Ours is more like, “I’ve got it made because of
…such-an-such” – fill in the blank. And, we do not say it openly,
but think it inwardly – and it goes something like this:
I keep the Sabbath – I’ve got it made!
My foundation is sure – I’ve got it made!
I’m in the organization that is right on track – I’ve got it made!
I know my Bible – I’ve got it made!
I follow the man who would not steer me wrong – I’ve got it made!
I’ve been in the church for ump-teen years – I’ve got it made!
I’m with a real big group – we can’t all be wrong – I’ve got it made!
Those are not where we are to place our trust. "...we trust
in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially
of those that believe." (1Timothy 4:10) As we countdown to
the return of Jesus Christ, let’s realize that a final test of our
conversion will be for the purpose of seeing if we will
remain faithful. “…Be faithful unto
death and I will give you the crown of life”
(Revelation 2:10). Once taken for granted, our liberty is
now being eroded and our religious freedom is being encroached
upon. Paul illustrated that it is possible to lose our salvation.
"Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest [millennium and
Kingdom of God], lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief." (Hebrews 4:11)
Paul fully understood that after doing so much in his ministry, it was
still possible to lose his crown. "I keep my body under
self-control, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a
castaway.[Rejected of God, a worthless, unapproved,
reprobate away from God’s sight, and unfit for the Kingdom of God]"
(1Corinthians 9:27)
For the people of God, there remains little doubt that there will be
sore trials, severe tests, and great temptations to capitulate to
the enemy. Some brethren will succumb to Satan's devices and lose
thier salvation. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in
the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1Timothy
4:1)
Over and over in the Bible the brethren are admonished to live lives of
overcoming, and remain faithful to the end. It is important that we
do not underestimate the dangers that lie ahead. We must take
action to ensure that we do not depart from the faith. Our very
salvation is at stake. "He that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved." (Mark 13:13)
The testing of the brethren is not a new phenomenon by any means. It is
a necessary part of our character building conversion process, and
always has been. For example, as captives in Babylon, Daniel and
his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, remained faithful.
God spared them because they trusted in Him and did not compromise
their faith. They chose to face impending destruction in a lion’s
den or fiery furnace rather than unfaithfully bow-down to worship a
false god (Daniel 3 and 6).
We are living in a fool’s paradise if we do not understand that soon,
similar tests will be coming upon the Church of God. The threat is
indisputable. The question is: who among us will remain faithful
in the face of such a severe ordeal? Many people start off strong
when they first hear the message of the Kingdom of God, but are
unable to remain faithful until the end. “Many are called, but
few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) That clearly means that
many will not hold on to their precious faith, as they should. It
can happen to us – regrettably, it has come to pass for all too many
already. "Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season
we shall reap [salvation], if we faint not."
(Galatians 6:9)
God is faithful to impart His Holy Spirit to us – a gift more precious than
our physical lives. He makes it very clear that we cannot stand
faithful for a while, and then let down. “For it is impossible
for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 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.” (Hebrews 6:4-6)
The doctrine of once saved, always saved, lulls people into a false
sense of complacency. God's Word says that we will be presented
holy, unblamable, and unreprovable in His sight, if
we continue in the faith. (Colossians 1:23)
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Sermon:
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"Remain Faithful to the End"
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