Losin' It
Posted: July 17th, 2010, 3:55 am
simpletruth #138aa Revisited 17JUL10 salicart@msn.com
HOSEA 10:12—Part Twenty Seven: Losin’ It
by rev. dave carter
Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).
Can I lose my salvation? Can I give it up by breaking covenant with the Lord? This is a huge issue that is foundational to how each of us lives out the very great salvation that was bought for us at the price of Christ’s blood and body. It isn’t going to get answered within a few paragraphs. While the solution that is generally offered in a spirit of unity regarding the seeming antinomy of “predestination” and “freewill” involves an uncomfortable acceptance that both are true because The Bible supports both positions—I would like to offer a third Scriptural possibility. While I have been sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment I first came to Christ with a repentant heart and head (2Co 1:21&22; Ep 1:13&14/4:30), and no one/no thing can snatch me from His hand (Ro 8:35-39; Jn 10:27-30)—and I will be saved upon the death of this body through glorification in resurrection (1Co 15:13-18; 1Pe 1:3-5; Re 20:5&6)—in between the moment I first believed and the actual standing/kneeling before our Lord and Savior, there are many hours/days/weeks/months/years granted by God as an outworked extension of this second-by-second/minute-by-minute life that I am living right here and right now. I have been saved...and I’m going to be saved—but I have to understand and remember that I am, today, being saved—if I will choose to live within that salvation.
Carefully consider the words of Paul to the young Timothy: ...Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1Ti 4:8; NIV). “Godliness” can be summed up as a life devoted to moment-by-moment righteousness and holiness through obedience to Christ’s commands to love God with your whole person (Mt 22:37&38), love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:39), and love one another as He has loved us (Jn 13:34&35). If I am striving to live a life that is obedient to Christ’s triadic command to love, I will, as a matter of course, fulfill the requirements of The Law as summarized by the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Paul tells us in Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (NIV).
I have been saved from the penalty of sin through salvation as justification, and I will be saved from the presence of sin through salvation as glorification—but I am also, this very day, being saved from the power of sin through salvation as sanctification. As I sit here in real time and space, I am being saved from lying, from stealing, from committing adultery, from murder, from covetousness, and from all other attitudes, thoughts, and actions that are contrary to God’s perfect will and plan for my life—if I will choose to allow Christ to save me today through my obedience. Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1Ti 4:8; NIV). There are very real, right now and tomorrow, rewards for my being obedient to the Lord’s command for righteous and holy living based upon a decided, a committed, and a surrendered life of love for the Father, through the Son, and in the power of the Spirit.
...The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men (Ro 14:17&18; NIV). During this life I receive great rewards as blessings from both God and man if I am living in a “today” that is being saved by Jesus. Righteousness right now also results in eternal rewards from my Father in Heaven, later. I can, however, turn from that salvation and choose right now to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, or to hate my brothers and sisters; and I can reject the love from, and for, my God by lusting after the things of this world. Can I lose the eternal salvation that was a gift from Christ when I was first saved? Yes, I suppose so—but not “accidentally” and not easily. It’s not something that would just suddenly happen, or that I might stumble and fall into. I would have to consciously and terminally turn my back on what I know to be true—and not care in the least about the consequences of that decision. I would have to go to my grave denying and betraying the person and the work of Jesus Christ...and that is not going to happen.
My wife and I have been faithfully committed to each other for over 20 years and there is not a doubt in my mind that we will continue just so until death do us part. If we, as frail humans, can have the assurance of that faith in each other, how much greater is my assurance of faith in the perfection of my Savior and Lord? Is it theoretically possible for my wife and I to “cheat” on each other? Yes, it is possible...statistically, it’s even probable. Are we going to betray each other? No, by grace of God, we are not. Is it possible for me to give up, to lose, my salvation? In theory, yes. Am I going to lose it? No, again by grace of God, I am not—I will not. I can, however, lose “today’s salvation” by being disobedient and so suffer the consequences for that disobedience both now before God and man, and as the eternal consequence of lost rewards. The hour has come for [us] to wake up from [our] slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Lord, save us today. Amen.
HOSEA 10:12—Part Twenty Seven: Losin’ It
by rev. dave carter
Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you (NKJV).
Can I lose my salvation? Can I give it up by breaking covenant with the Lord? This is a huge issue that is foundational to how each of us lives out the very great salvation that was bought for us at the price of Christ’s blood and body. It isn’t going to get answered within a few paragraphs. While the solution that is generally offered in a spirit of unity regarding the seeming antinomy of “predestination” and “freewill” involves an uncomfortable acceptance that both are true because The Bible supports both positions—I would like to offer a third Scriptural possibility. While I have been sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment I first came to Christ with a repentant heart and head (2Co 1:21&22; Ep 1:13&14/4:30), and no one/no thing can snatch me from His hand (Ro 8:35-39; Jn 10:27-30)—and I will be saved upon the death of this body through glorification in resurrection (1Co 15:13-18; 1Pe 1:3-5; Re 20:5&6)—in between the moment I first believed and the actual standing/kneeling before our Lord and Savior, there are many hours/days/weeks/months/years granted by God as an outworked extension of this second-by-second/minute-by-minute life that I am living right here and right now. I have been saved...and I’m going to be saved—but I have to understand and remember that I am, today, being saved—if I will choose to live within that salvation.
Carefully consider the words of Paul to the young Timothy: ...Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1Ti 4:8; NIV). “Godliness” can be summed up as a life devoted to moment-by-moment righteousness and holiness through obedience to Christ’s commands to love God with your whole person (Mt 22:37&38), love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:39), and love one another as He has loved us (Jn 13:34&35). If I am striving to live a life that is obedient to Christ’s triadic command to love, I will, as a matter of course, fulfill the requirements of The Law as summarized by the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Paul tells us in Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (NIV).
I have been saved from the penalty of sin through salvation as justification, and I will be saved from the presence of sin through salvation as glorification—but I am also, this very day, being saved from the power of sin through salvation as sanctification. As I sit here in real time and space, I am being saved from lying, from stealing, from committing adultery, from murder, from covetousness, and from all other attitudes, thoughts, and actions that are contrary to God’s perfect will and plan for my life—if I will choose to allow Christ to save me today through my obedience. Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come (1Ti 4:8; NIV). There are very real, right now and tomorrow, rewards for my being obedient to the Lord’s command for righteous and holy living based upon a decided, a committed, and a surrendered life of love for the Father, through the Son, and in the power of the Spirit.
...The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men (Ro 14:17&18; NIV). During this life I receive great rewards as blessings from both God and man if I am living in a “today” that is being saved by Jesus. Righteousness right now also results in eternal rewards from my Father in Heaven, later. I can, however, turn from that salvation and choose right now to lie, to steal, to commit adultery, or to hate my brothers and sisters; and I can reject the love from, and for, my God by lusting after the things of this world. Can I lose the eternal salvation that was a gift from Christ when I was first saved? Yes, I suppose so—but not “accidentally” and not easily. It’s not something that would just suddenly happen, or that I might stumble and fall into. I would have to consciously and terminally turn my back on what I know to be true—and not care in the least about the consequences of that decision. I would have to go to my grave denying and betraying the person and the work of Jesus Christ...and that is not going to happen.
My wife and I have been faithfully committed to each other for over 20 years and there is not a doubt in my mind that we will continue just so until death do us part. If we, as frail humans, can have the assurance of that faith in each other, how much greater is my assurance of faith in the perfection of my Savior and Lord? Is it theoretically possible for my wife and I to “cheat” on each other? Yes, it is possible...statistically, it’s even probable. Are we going to betray each other? No, by grace of God, we are not. Is it possible for me to give up, to lose, my salvation? In theory, yes. Am I going to lose it? No, again by grace of God, I am not—I will not. I can, however, lose “today’s salvation” by being disobedient and so suffer the consequences for that disobedience both now before God and man, and as the eternal consequence of lost rewards. The hour has come for [us] to wake up from [our] slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. Lord, save us today. Amen.