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What is a Christian: By Destination · CCC West Covina

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Father, thank you for today. Thank You that we can gather
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together to study your word or we are a blessed people to be
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able to look into the Word of the Lord and to understand what
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it is you have for us. And our prayer tonight is that
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you would continue to open our hearts and minds to behold the
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beauty of the Lord. Help us to see things as they
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really are, as You've intended them to be for our lives, that
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we might truly follow and serve You with all of our hearts.
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We thank you Lord, for this opportunity you've given to us.
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May we redeem this time that we might be used of you in days
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ahead for the glory of your Kingdom until you come again, as
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you most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.
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This morning I had the opportunity to preach at the
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memorial service for Helen Macias.
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It was a great time. Interesting that someone came up
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to me afterwards and said wow, you were just so sweet and so
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soft. To which I said, I am always
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sweet and soft. I'm like soft serve ice cream.
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And she laughed and said not really, but that's OK.
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But it was a a great time celebrating the life of someone
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who knew they were going to be go home and be with the Lord.
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When I visited Helen last week in the hospital, she was ready
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to to go home. That's one thing about the
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believer. They're, they're always ready to
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go home when God's going to call them.
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They, they never are reluctant to leave.
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They don't necessarily know all that's going to happen once they
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pass from this life to the next, but they know that their
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destination is heaven and they cherish that opportunity And
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uniquely that when you go visit someone who's dying, they become
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the encourager more than you are the encourager.
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Those who know the Lord become the great encouragers at the
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time of death. And Helen was a a great
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encouragement to me. I went there to pray with her.
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I, I went there to be with her, her husband, only to realize
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that she, she encouraged me a lot more than I could ever
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encourage her. She was about to embark in the
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glory. I'm not.
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But she was, and she knew where she was going to go.
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I wonder if you know for certain that if you were to die today
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that your destiny would be in the presence of our Lord.
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I wonder if you have the ironclad assurance, without any
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reservation or hesitation, that heaven is your destiny, because
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all believers truly have that. But it's interesting to note
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that there are many people who are professing believers who
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think they're on the way to heaven but will not end up
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there. That's a tragedy that that's the
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reason we've embarked on the series about what is a Christian
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so that there wouldn't be any confusion in your mind or those
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you come in contact with about their eternal destiny.
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But there's always been a question over the years, ever
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since the birth of the church, about people who who think
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they're Christians, but in reality they're not.
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Over 250 years ago, it was Jonathan Edwards who was the
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preacher that instigated the Great Awakening.
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And in the 1730s and 40s, he was the main instrument of God to
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preach the gospel and to bring about the great revival in
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America. After the the peak of that
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revival, Edwards wrote a treaty concerning religious affection
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to deal with the problem, not unlike those that we face today.
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The matter of evidence in true conversion.
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Many people want the blessing of salvation, especially eternal
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security, but nothing more. In the explosive drama of the
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Great Awakening, it seemed as though conversions were
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occurring in great numbers. However, it didn't take long to
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realize that some of the clean conversions were not genuine.
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While various excesses and heightened emotional experiences
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were common, scores of people didn't demonstrate any evidence
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in their lives to verify their claim to know and love Jesus
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Christ, which led critics to attack the Great Awakening,
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contending it was nothing but a big emotional bath without any
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true conversions. Thus, partly in defense of true
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conversion and partly in to expose false conversions,
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Jonathan Edwards took up his pen and began to write a treaty
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concerning religious affection. He came to this simple
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conclusion. The supreme proof of a true
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conversion is what he called holy affections, which is a zeal
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for holy things and a longing after God and personal holiness.
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He made a careful distinction between saving versus common
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operations of the Holy Spirit. Saving operations obviously
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produce salvation. Common operations of the Holy
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Spirit, he said, May sober, arrest and convict men, and may
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even bring them to what at first appears to be repentance in
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faith. Yet these influences fall short
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of inward saving renewal. How can you tell whether the
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Holy Spirit has performed a saving operation, as the
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principal evidence of life is motion?
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Edwards wrote, So the principal evidence of saving grace is
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wholly living, he said. True salvation always produces
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an abiding change of nature in a true convert.
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Therefore, whenever holiness of life does not accompany a
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confession of conversion, it must be understood that this
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individual is not a Christian. In the very year Edwards's
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treaty was published, popular teaching asserted that, to the
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contrary, the only real evidence of true salvation is a feeling
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based on experience, usually the experience at the moment of the
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alleged conversion. And that teaching introduced the
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prevalent but erroneous concept that a person's true spiritual
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state is known by a past experience rather than a present
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pursuit of holiness. So 250 years ago, Jonathan
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Edwards was concerned that the fact that there were multitudes
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of people professing Christianity, but very few of
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the multitude expressing true Christianity. 200 years later,
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Harry Ironside became the pastor of Memorial or Moody Memorial
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Church in Chicago. He wrote these words.
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Perhaps someone may ask, but does it make no difference to
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God what I am myself? May I live on in my sins and
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still be saved? No, assuredly not.
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But this brings in another line of truth.
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The moment one believes the gospel, he is born again and
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receives a new life and nature, a nature that hates sin and
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loves holiness. If you have come to Jesus and
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trusted Him, do you not realize the truth of this?
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Do you not now hate and detest the wicked things that once gave
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you a certain degree of the light?
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Do you not find within yourself a new craving for goodness, a
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longing after holiness, and a thirst for righteousness?
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All this is the evidence of a new nature, and as you walk with
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God you will find that daily the power of the indwelling Holy
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Spirit will give you practical deliverance from the dominion of
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sin. Doctor Ironside would face the
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same problem that Jonathan Edwards faced, the same problem
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that the writers of the Gospels and the Epistles faced, that
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people would profess a relationship with Christ but
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live contrary to that profession.
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Profession. Some 50 years later, Jeffrey
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Wilson would pick up his pen and write these words.
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Today's Christianity is in a state of disarray and decay, and
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the condition is deteriorating year by year.
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The truth of God's Word has been watered down and compromised to
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reach a common denominator that will appeal to and accommodate
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the largest number of participants.
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The result is a hybrid Christianity which is
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essentially man centered, materialistic and worldly, and
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shamefully dishonouring to the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The shameful degeneracy is due in large part to the erroneous
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gospel that is presented by many today around the world.
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He's right. You listen to preachers on the
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radio and on TV and they present to you a pseudo gospel and it's
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not even recognizable. And people by the droves believe
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in that kind of gospel. In fact, it was said that all
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who say they have accepted Christ are enthusiastically
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received as Christians, even if they're they're supposed faith
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later gives way to a persistent pattern of disobedience, gross
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sin, or hostile unbelief. Now, can that possibly be true,
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that someone who professes Christianity can live in want
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and sin in rebellion against God and live in unbelief?
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One writer even said it this way.
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It is possible, even probable, that when a believer out of
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fellowship falls for certain types of philosophy, if he is a
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logical thinker, he will become an unbelieving believer.
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Yet believers who become agnostics are still saved.
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They are still born again. You can even become an atheist.
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But if you once accepted Christ as Savior, you cannot lose your
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salvation even though you deny God.
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End Quote that that is a blatant lie that is not true.
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Can someone actually be labeled an unbelieving believer?
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Can someone actually who says they believe in God all of a
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sudden become agnostic or even an atheist?
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But because he professed Christianity or because he had a
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past experience at one time, there will be some preachers
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that will confirm them in that state.
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Yet Jesus said these words. Matthew 1033.
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Whoever shall deny me, I will deny before my Father who is in
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heaven. That's what Jesus said the
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Apostle Paul would write in Second Timothy 2 verse #12 If we
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deny him, he also will deny us. Why?
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Because God is faithful to His Word.
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It will keep His Word. And so 11 weeks ago, we embarked
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on this journey to help people in our church understand exactly
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what a Christian is. That's the question we've
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answered, and not to its fullest extent at all, but at least
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we've given you some principles that will help you understand
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true Christianity. A Christian is known by #1 His
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decision. Luke 923 If any man come after
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me, let him deny himself, take his cross and follow me.
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That's the invitation to salvation.
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That's the gospel as Jesus himself presents it.
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And the person who has made that decision is best defined in
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Philippians 3 verse #3 that we are the marked ones.
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We worship God in spirit. We glory only in Christ Jesus
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and put no confidence in the flesh.
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And the person who is defined that way is described in Second
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Corinthians 5/17, that if any man be in Christ, he is a new
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creation. Old things are passed away
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beyond all things have become new.
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The believer is described as being in Christ, and Christ is
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in him. And the person who is a true
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Christian is marked by the fact that they have a declaration
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that they without hesitation make.
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Matthew 1616 Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
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God. Every believer knows that Jesus
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is God in the flesh. Every cult denies that Jesus is
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God in the flesh. And Christians are are
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dedicated. They are dedicated to live for
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Christ. Philippians 121 For to me, to
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live is Christ, to die is gain. They're dedicated to living only
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for Christ and not themselves. They also live a life of
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denunciation. Colossians 318.
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They denounce anything that will cause their members to fall into
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sin, and so they are involved in the principle of mortification,
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putting to death those members that would cause them to turn
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away from the Lord. That Christian is also known by
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his devotion. Second Corinthians 59 Paul said
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we make our ambition to please the Christ.
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The Christian is devoted to pleasing, not man, not even
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pleasing himself, but pleasing the Lord.
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That's his devotion. And then the Christian is known
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by his disassociation, for he refuses to associate with the
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world anymore. James 4/4 says that whoever is a
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friend of the world is the enemy of God and last week it was the
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fact that a Christian is known by determination.
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First Corinthians 22 where Paul said I determined to know
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nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
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The Bible is very clear about Christianity.
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The Bible is very clear about what describes the Christian,
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what defines a Christian, what a Christian is made of simply
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because they are in Christ and Christ is in them.
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Tonight, as we come to the end of our study, a Christian is
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known by destination. They know where they're going.
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They know for certain that if they were to die today, they
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would spend eternity with the Lord Jesus.
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It's very important because that destination is is solidified by
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5 principles, and those five principles then are seen in one
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principle. So you might adhere to the five
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principles that solidify your eternal destiny, but if the one
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principle is not seen, then you're not a true believer in
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the Lord Jesus Christ. So important to understand this.
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It's it's always good to be in the know.
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So the Bible says these words in Romans 828.
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For we know that all things work together for good to those who
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love God and are called according to his purpose.
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Christians know that that's something they can be assured
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of. So Paul would say, we know that
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all things work together for good because we love God and
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have been called according to his purpose.
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Paul also said in Second Timothy one verse #12 I know whom I
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believe, and then persuaded that he is able to keep that which
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I've committed unto him. Until that day Paul didn't say I
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know in what I believe, although he did.
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He says I know in whom I believe, and I'm absolutely
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persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed
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to him. And then John would say these
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words in first John chapter 5, verse 11.
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And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life,
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and this life is in the Son. He who has a Son has life.
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He who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
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These things I have written to you who believe in the name of
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the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
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And John's, the whole epistle in first John is about the moral
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test, the doctrinal test, the relational test, three main
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tests that he gives over and over again in chapter 1, chapter
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2, chapter 3, and chapter 4. And then says, these things are
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written that you may know that you have eternal life if you
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take the moral test, if you, if you take the doctrinal test, if
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you take the relational test and you pass, then you know you have
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eternal life. But if you flunk, then you don't
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know you have eternal life. Just that simple.
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And so we come to a place where the believer is known by his
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destination. He knows where he's going.
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He has the ironclad assurance that heaven is his destiny.
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Every believer has that assurance.
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If you don't have that assurance, it could be you're
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not a believer. It could be that you really
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don't know the Christ. Because if you know Christ and
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you understand true Christianity, the assurance of
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your eternal destiny is secure in Jesus Christ our Lord.
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That the doctrine of eternal security is such a, a pivotal
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doctrine in in the life of the Christian and it's solidified by
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5 principles. Let me give them to you.
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My eternal destiny is solidified #1 by the promises of God.
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Our God is faithful. He's true, He cannot lie.
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He makes a promise, He keeps it. John 5 verse #24 truly, truly, I
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say to you, Hugh hears my word and believes him who sent Me has
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eternal life and does not come into judgment, but is passed out
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of death into life. That's a promise, and your
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eternal destiny is solidified by that promise.
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He would say in John 6 verse #37 All that the Father gives me
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will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not
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cast out. Verse 39 This is the will of him
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who sent me, that of all that He has given me, I lose nothing and
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raise it up on the last day. God makes a promise.
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All that come to me I will not cast out.
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Then again in John 10 verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, and I
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know them, and they follow me, and I give eternal life to them,
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and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of
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my hand. What a promise, and that promise
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solidifies my eternal destiny. Paul would say in Philippians
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one verse #6 being confident of this very thing, that he who
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began a good work in you will complete that work.
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And Romans 8 tells us that that once you have been called and
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because you have been predestined you, you will be
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justified. And all those that are justified
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will ultimately be glorified. That is the promise that God
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himself gives Romans 11/29 says that the gifts and calling of
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God are irrevocable. God's not going to say I called
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you, you came to me, but now I'm resending the call.
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God doesn't do that simply because He's made a promise,
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that great version John 316, that God still loved the world,
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that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
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everlasting life again. It's a promise that solidifies
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my eternal destiny. Then of course, in John 14,
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Christ said to his men that in my Father's house are many
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mansions. If it were not so, if it wasn't
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true, I would have told you. And so I go and prepare a place
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for you. And if I go and prepare a place
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for you, I will come again, and I will receive you unto myself,
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that where I am, there you may be also.
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That's just a beautiful promise. So your eternal destination is
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solidified by the promises of God #2 it is solidified by the
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power of God. God can keep his promises
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because he's all powerful and He can always accomplish what He's
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promised. So the Bible says in first Peter
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chapter one verse #3 blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
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Jesus Christ, who according to His mercy, His great mercy has
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caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
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resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an
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inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and
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will not fade away, reserved in heaven.
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For you who are protected by the power of God, your inheritance
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that's imperishable, that is undefiled, is kept by the power
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of God, and God is the almighty God, the all powerful God.
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And so your eternal destination that's been reserved in heaven
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is kept by the all powerful God. Jude 24 says.
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He is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand
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in the presence of His glory, blameless.
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With great joy. He's able to do that.
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That's why Paul said in Second Timothy 112 that he knew in whom
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he believed and was persuaded that his God would keep him and
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protect him to the very end. Because the power of God
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solidifies your eternal destiny. Because the promises of God
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solidify your eternal destiny #3 The purposes of God solidify
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your eternal destiny. Ephesians chapter one verse #3
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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
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blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
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in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of
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the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him in
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love. He predestined us to adoption as
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sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
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intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His
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grace. God's plan as a purpose.
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The purposes of God are always accomplished because He's all
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powerful and He made a promise, Paul would say in First
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Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 23.
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Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may
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your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame
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at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to
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pass. Again, the promise of God, the
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power of God, the purposes of God to cause you to stand holy
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and blameless in His presence solidifies your eternal destiny
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#4 The prayers of Christ solidify your eternal destiny.
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Over in John 17 Christ said these words in verse #11 I am no
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longer in the world, and yet they themselves are in the
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world. And I, I come to you, Holy
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Father, keep them in Your name, the name which you have given
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me, that they may be 1 Even as we are, we are.
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While I was with them, I was keeping them in your name which
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You have given me, and that guarded them.
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And not one of them perished, but the Son of perdition, so
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that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.
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Verse 20. I do not ask on behalf of these
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alone, but for those also who believe in me through their
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word. So as Paul, I mean, as Christ
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would pray on the eve of the crucifixion for His men in their
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hearing, He was also praying for those who would one day believe
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in His name, that we might be 1 with the Father, as He is one
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with the Father over in Hebrews Chapter 7 verse 25.
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Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near
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to God through Him, since He always lives to make
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intercession for them. So in Hebrews 725 there's a
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promise that He will keep us forever because He lives to make
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intercession for us. The prayers of Christ are always
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answered in the affirmative. Why?
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Because His will is God's will, for He is God.
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He is one with the Father. So when the Lord prays that you
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would be kept and protected, you are kept and protected that you
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might be with Him in glory. So the destination of the
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believer is solidified and secured by the promises of God,
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the power of God, the purpose of God, the prayers of Christ, and
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fourthly or fifthly, the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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Ephesians one verse number #14 or verse 13 in him you also,
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after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
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salvation, having also believed you were sealed in him with the
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Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge or a down
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payment of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of
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God's own possession, to the praise of is glory.
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In other words, the presence of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee
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that we will ultimately receive the inheritance that God has
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given to us. So when you look at those five
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principles, you realize that our security, our eternal destiny is
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solidified by what God himself does.
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Yet you must understand the 6th principle because the 6th
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principle will help you understand whether or not you
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really truly believe the first five and that the first five
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really apply to you. And that is, although your
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eternal destiny is solidified and secured by the promises of
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God and the power of God, the purposes of God, the prayers of
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Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit, that eternal destiny is
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seen in the perseverance of the Saints, The perseverance of the
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Saints. It's a great doctrine.
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It's one that's not talked about much, but the doctrine is simply
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states that your faith will always endure, always your faith
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because it's God-given. It's a gift from God is a faith
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that is not fragile, nor is it a faith that is temporary.
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It's a faith that's a grace gift from God to those who believe in
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him because you can't believe unless God has granted you the
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the gift of grace or the gift to believe or the gift to repent or
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the gift truly of faith. And that faith that he gives you
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is not a fragile faith, but it's strong because it's based on
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what God has said and who God is.
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So no matter what happens in your life, you continue to
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continue on in the faith. That's what Hebrews 11 is all
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about, the Great Hall of faith. None of those men or women had
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fragile faith. Their faith was strong,
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especially in the face of adversity, in the vase of
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suffering, in the face of hardship.
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I mean, if your faith, the faith that saves you, doesn't work
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when things are bad, what good is the faith that you have?
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But the faith that God grants you works best in adverse
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circumstances. The faith that God gives you
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works best when there's turmoil and hardship.
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The faith that God grants you is tested and strengthened through
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trials and suffering because that faith is not fragile.
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That faith endures all the way to the end.
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The perseverance of the faith is the doctrine that says I might
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fail, but I will never fail fully or finally.
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Peter failed, but he did not fail fully or finally.
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Why? Because of the perseverance of
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the Saints, the truth, the doctrine that says all those who
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believe in Christ will continue and always believe in Him.
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They will be steadfast. They will be immovable,
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immovable. They will be abounding in their
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work with the Lord because of the faith that He himself has
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granted to them. So important.
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So let me show you in Scripture where this is.
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By the way, listen to the words of Jeremiah chapter 32.
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This is so telling about the New Covenant and the guarantee that
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all true believers will never apostasize the faith, never
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defrock the faith, never become agnostic or atheists, and never
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turn away from the Lord fully. And finally, Jeremiah chapter
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32, verse #40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them
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that I will not turn away from them to do them good.
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And I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will
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not turn away from me. That's a new covenant promise.
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God says I'm going to do something unique and special
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with my people, Israel. I'm going to make a covenant
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with them, and I will do them good, and I will put the fear of
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me in their hearts. Remember Psalm 130 verse #4
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There's forgiveness with Thee, that thou mayest be feared.
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Only the believer fears God. The unbeliever does not fear
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God. Why?
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Because God puts the fear of Him in their hearts.
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And because the fear of Him is there, they will not a guarantee
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turn away from me. God's children never turn away
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from Him. They don't throughout the years
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of our church's existence. 31 of them, to be exact.
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We have baptized a slew of people are baptismal people who
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have made a profession of Christianity, who have stated
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that they gave their life to Christ.
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Some of them were young in their teenage years, some of them were
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even in their 20s and 30s, and some even beyond that.
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And how do you know that the person who makes that testimony
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of saving faith truly is saved? Time and truth go hand in hand,
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do they not? Of course they do.
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And so many times over the years, we've had high school
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students, college students make a profession of faith only to go
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off to college, only to get married and go off and do
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something and completely turn away from the Lord.
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That tells you that they simply made a profession of faith but
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never truly believed in Christ. Because the guarantee of
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Jeremiah 3240 is an absolute fact.
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They will not turn away from me. They will not.
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And this is a great a great test for you as parents when you look
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at your children who have grown up in the church and they have
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made a profession of faith. Maybe they were baptized in the
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church. Maybe you supposedly LED them to
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the Lord in your home while they were young and they've grown up,
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but they've gone off to college, they got married, and they
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turned their back on the Lord. They were not saved to begin
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with. They just weren't because of the
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guarantee of Jeremiah 32 verse #40 plus a slew of other verses.
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Let me give them to you. Colossians, chapter 1.
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Colossians chapter one verse #21 And although you were formerly
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alienated and hostile, and mine engaged in evil deeds, this was
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your unbelieving life. Yet He has now reconciled you in
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His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before
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Him holy and blameless, and beyond reproach.
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If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and
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steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that
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you have heard, which is proclaimed in all creation under
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heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister, this is the
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way you once were. But God has reconciled you to
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Himself. And how do you know that God has
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reconciled to Himself if you continue steadfastly in the
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faith? Because if you don't continue
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steadfasting the faith, it's evident that God has not
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reconciled you to himself. Listen, the perseverance of the
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Saints is a doctor that says you do not earn saving faith by your
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perseverance, but your perseverance evidences saving
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faith. Very important to realize that
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because you keep on keeping on, you don't earn saving grace.
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You give the evidence that you've been saved by grace.
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You see that? That's what the doctrine of the
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perseverance of the Saints is all about.
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Look at what the Bible says in the book of first Corinthians
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15. Paul says, Now I make known to
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you, brethren, the gospel which I preach to you, which also you
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received, and which also you stand first to, but which also
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you are saved. You heard the gospel, you were
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saved by the gospel. If he says you hold fast the
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word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain,
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that's very telling. He makes it very clear.
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I made note to you, brethren, the gospel.
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I preach to you the gospel, the gospel in which you stand, if if
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you'll fast the word of that gospel, unless of course, he
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says you really didn't believe at all.
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Your belief was empty, It was futile, it made no difference.
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How about this Romans 15 verse #4 For whatever was written in
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earlier times was written for our instruction, set through
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perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures,
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we might have hope. Now may the God who gives
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perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind
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with one another, according to Christ Jesus.
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You see, God grants you the gift of perseverance.
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The reason you persevere, the reason you don't defrock the
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faith, the reason you don't apostasize the faith is because
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God has granted you not just the gift of faith and not just the
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gift of belief, and not just the gift of repentance.
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He's granted you the gift of perseverance.
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Perseverance is a gift that God gives to His own.
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That's why they don't turn their back on their God, because they
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love Him so and they persevere to the end.
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Revelation 14. How about this defines the
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perseverance of the Saints? Revelation 14 verse #12 here is
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it says the perseverance of the Saints who keep the commandments
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of God and their faith in Jesus Christ.
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There it is. There's the definition of the
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perseverance of the Saints. They obey the commands of God
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and they keep their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Now their faith is kept by God because God is a protector of
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their faith. But at the same time, they
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evidence that their faith has been protected by persevering no
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matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstance.
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In a Revelation 14, it's all about the tribulation of Saints
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who've gone through an horrific ordeal on the planet, but they
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never turn their back on the Lord, even though they were
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persecuted and were killed because of their faith.
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Jesus said in Matthew's gospel, the 9th chapter, I'm sorry, the
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10th chapter, the 22nd verse, these words, Matthew 1022.
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Let's start with verse #21 brother will betray brother to
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death, and the father is child, and children will rise up
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against parents and cause them to be put to death.
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You will be hated by all men because of me.
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But it is the one who has endured to the end who will be
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saved again. Endurance doesn't save you, but
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endurance is the evidence that you have been saved.
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And then later in Matthew 24 as crisis in the Olivet Discourse,
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he says these words. He says many false prophets will
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arise and will mislead many because of lawlessness is
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increased. Most people's love will grow
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cold, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
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You see, those are just a few verses the Bible speaks of
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concerning the perseverance of the Saints.
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It's imperative that you understand that, that the true
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believers will continue in the faith.
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They will not turn their back on the Lord.
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Oh, there will be times of mishaps and there will be times
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of doubt and there will be times of sin and there'll be times of
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of rebellion against God. Those things happen.
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Yes, they do. But they're not long extended
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periods of time where you completely turn your back away
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from the Lord and walk away from Him.
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Why? Because you're kept by the Holy
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Spirit. It's the power of God that saves
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you and keeps you. It's the promises of God that
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guarantee your eternal destiny. And therefore you're willing to
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persevere all the way to the end no matter what, because it
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evidences the fact that you truly have been born again.
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True believers will always persevere.
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Professing Christians who turn against the Lord only prove that
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they were never saved to begin with first, John 219.
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They went out from us, but they were not really of us, for if
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they had been of us, they would have remained with us, But they
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went out in order that it might be shown that they all are not
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of us. John made it very clear that
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those who left the faith were never really part of US1 Author
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said that no matter how convincing a person's testimony
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might seem, once that person becomes apostate, he or she
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demonstrates irrefutably that the testimony was hypocritical
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and the professed salvation was spurious at best.
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The Christian's destination, he's known by that and that
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destination is seen not when he died, but in the lifestyle that
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he lives because he continues in the faith.
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He's not like the, the weedy soil in Matthew 13 or the rocky
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soil in Matthew 13. Those soils that jump on the
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Jesus bandwagon and and live the hip, hip, Hooray kind of life
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for a season. And then when persecution and
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affliction come, they fall away. Or because of the deceitfulness
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of riches and because of the cares of this world, they fall
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away because they had no root, they could not stand, therefore
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they fell away from the Lord simply because they they were
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never saved to begin with. It's so important that you
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understand true saving grace and the power of the gospel that
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somebody who's a believer truly is a new creation.
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Judas was that classic example of an apostate.
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Judas was was one who followed Jesus simply because that was
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the thing to do. And Judas was one who who truly,
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truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah and why he stayed
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with Jesus as long as he did. I'm sure he thought there was
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something in the the Kingdom Project that would benefit him
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to some degree. For three years, day in and day
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out, he was with the Son of God. He preached the gospel, he
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before miracles like the other apostles did.
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He looked and acted and sounded like every other disciple.
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But he was not. Satan is a master of deception.
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And there are people, yes, even people in our church who look
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and sound like everybody else and they have everybody fooled.
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They've lived a life of deception or they have been self
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deceived thinking they're on the way to heaven.
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But in reality they are not because the life they live is
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contrary to the life that Christ has shown us in His Word.
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We must not affirm them in their rebellious state and tell them
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you had a past experience. You had a past prayer.
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I was there when you walked the aisle at the crusade.
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I was there when you you made a profession of faith at your
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baptismal. No, what proves a person's
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destination is their holy lifestyle.
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They love the Lord. They serve the Lord.
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They had made that decision to take up the cross and follow
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Christ. They have one devotion to please
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only the Lord, not man. They are completely dedicated to
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living for Christ because they know that when they die, it is
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gain. They disassociate themselves
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from the world. You find those people who want
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to associate with the world more and more.
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The lure of the world pulls them in, keeps dragging them in.
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That's because the life of Christ is not in them.
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They so easily won't go the way of the world.
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They're determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him
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crucified because it was to the personal work of the Messiah.
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They are saved and their destination is secure based on
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what God has done, and their destination is seen because they
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persevere all the way to the end.
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Let's pray. Our Lord, we thank you for today
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and all the things that you've taught us over the last several
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weeks. Our prayer is that they would
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stick with us. You would help us as we seek to
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look at our own lives and those closest to us especially that we
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might instruct them and teach them in the way that they should
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go, that your Bible is clear about the perseverance of the
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Saints. They will keep on keeping on, no
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matter what the difficulty or hardship, the tragedy or trial.
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They love the Lord and they want to serve the Lord.
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Their life is not wrapped up in this world, but in the world to
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come, the world of God's glorious Kingdom.
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My prayer is for everyone in the room.
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They would know for certain that Jesus Christ is their King and
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their Lord and their Savior and that in obedience to you, they
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truly, truly serve the living God and they strive to live a a
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life of holiness Because you said be perfect as your Father
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in heaven is perfect. Be holy as your Lord God himself
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is holy. May that be our our drive, may
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that be our desire, may it be our ambition and passion to live
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a life that reflects the beauty and holiness of our great God
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and Savior Jesus Christ. Until you come again, as you
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most surely will, in Jesus name, Amen.