Does God Owe Me Something? PART 3
In my last installment I began to deal with the doctrine of Eternal Security and how contrasts working for (earning) one’s salvation. Now let’s look at the second issue at hand (“scenario #2)…
Here is the excerpt from the last installment:
“Many Christians today believe that once a person puts faith in Christ they (1) can at some future point commit an act that would negate the “eternal life” they received or (2) “deny their salvation / faith” and thus go to hell when they die.”
Now Scenario 2 doesn’t directly deal with “earning” one’s salvation; however, it is related to the issue at hand in the fact that “denying your salvation” destroys Christ’s finished work and puts the work of salvation in the hands of man. There is one scripture where people seek to prove this assertion (Scenario #2). We’ll now look and that scripture and prove that interpretation wrong.
Matthew 10
[32] Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
[33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
The ASSUMPTION I hear time and time again about verse 33 is that Jesus is talking about a saved person (I used to think this myself). However, if you look at these two verses carefully Jesus is actually comparing two types of people. There are those (in verse 32) who accept the gospel and “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9-10) and there are those who “deny” him by never accepting Him IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
Jesus is comparing to distinctly different types of people, saved and unsaved. Most people believe that Jesus is talking about people getting saved and then being ashamed of Him. Also, again, many believe that this is a way one can “lose their salvation”… by “denying Him”. But I believe the denial taking place here is talking about a person who hears the gospel and rejects it. Please read Romans 10:9-13. Also, Jesus statements here are very much like many of the Proverbs that speak of a righteous man v/s the unrighteous or the wise versus the unwise. Check out these examples in Proverbs 10:2-11 and many others in the Proverbs. The construction of these statements are just like the construction of Jesus’ statement in verses 32 and 33.
Finally, I hope this “series” has provoked some thought. I hope it has helped you examine what you believe and to challenge those beliefs to make sure they line up with scripture. The Bible-way of salvation is absolutely unique in the fact that the ETERNAL LIFE that Jesus offers is indeed eternal (having infinite duration) and it is a work of God from beginning to end. Since it is Christ’s finished work that saves us, our works could not possibly play any part in saving us or “keeping us saved”. We are saved by faith alone, SOLA FIDE!!!
Here is the excerpt from the last installment:
“Many Christians today believe that once a person puts faith in Christ they (1) can at some future point commit an act that would negate the “eternal life” they received or (2) “deny their salvation / faith” and thus go to hell when they die.”
Now Scenario 2 doesn’t directly deal with “earning” one’s salvation; however, it is related to the issue at hand in the fact that “denying your salvation” destroys Christ’s finished work and puts the work of salvation in the hands of man. There is one scripture where people seek to prove this assertion (Scenario #2). We’ll now look and that scripture and prove that interpretation wrong.
Matthew 10
[32] Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
[33] But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
The ASSUMPTION I hear time and time again about verse 33 is that Jesus is talking about a saved person (I used to think this myself). However, if you look at these two verses carefully Jesus is actually comparing two types of people. There are those (in verse 32) who accept the gospel and “confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus” (Romans 10:9-10) and there are those who “deny” him by never accepting Him IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!
Jesus is comparing to distinctly different types of people, saved and unsaved. Most people believe that Jesus is talking about people getting saved and then being ashamed of Him. Also, again, many believe that this is a way one can “lose their salvation”… by “denying Him”. But I believe the denial taking place here is talking about a person who hears the gospel and rejects it. Please read Romans 10:9-13. Also, Jesus statements here are very much like many of the Proverbs that speak of a righteous man v/s the unrighteous or the wise versus the unwise. Check out these examples in Proverbs 10:2-11 and many others in the Proverbs. The construction of these statements are just like the construction of Jesus’ statement in verses 32 and 33.
Finally, I hope this “series” has provoked some thought. I hope it has helped you examine what you believe and to challenge those beliefs to make sure they line up with scripture. The Bible-way of salvation is absolutely unique in the fact that the ETERNAL LIFE that Jesus offers is indeed eternal (having infinite duration) and it is a work of God from beginning to end. Since it is Christ’s finished work that saves us, our works could not possibly play any part in saving us or “keeping us saved”. We are saved by faith alone, SOLA FIDE!!!
posted by I say, I say... at 10:16 AM
3 Comments:
Eternal life is eternal life, and John 5:24 makes it clear that it begins at the moment of salvation.
Ken Clifton
-author of I Shall See Heaven
Ken Clifton's Books
Thanks a bunch.
Both the blog and your radio show (over the internet, Thank you Mike!) did a great job in showing the Grace of God (alone!) to us sinners.
Love, Joe
{and it is a work of God from beginning to end}
Thank you Jesus!
Amen!
Love, Joe
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