Bruce Almighty

Perseverance Of The Saints

Romans 8:37-39 (NIV)
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This scripture should alone settle the issue, but I will post more in time. If you are a believer in Christ who has along the way picked up the notion or accepted the teaching that a person can be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, be born again into the family of God and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus and then in spite of these glorious truths, through apostasy or some action or process in their lives come to lose their faith and be damned to eternal darkness – then I want to encourage you to read this one passage of scripture ten times a day for a month and really mull over each word and phrase and see if, after much thought and prayer, you can place yourself outside the categories presented here of the things that will NOT be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. For example – neither death nor life. The scripture here states categorically that when a believer dies their death does not separate them from God’s love – that is a given in a faith where we all agree on the resurrection of the dead but then why include that life will not separate us from God either? Life is where we live in this world and make all our mistakes and believe in various errors (secondary issues like the age of the earth or mode of baptism for example). Life is the only place, time or condition where a person could do the things which, those who argue against the perseverance of the saints believe, would cut them off from their rebirth.
On a similar thought consider the category of "neither the present nor the future". Surely the straightforward interpretation of this is that neither what is now happening nor what will happen - in other words what you are doing and what you will do - if you are a true believer - will make you lose God's love for you in Christ?
But more convincing still, ask yourself – if you believe you can be lost once you are saved – do you fall inside or outside of the category “anything else in all creation”? Surely you are a part of the creation and therefore cannot separate yourself from God’s love?

But there is a reservation that comes from the Scripture and must be always considered prayerfully – “unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5) in context these words come after:  “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you.” Those who are not in the faith, but merely (and sometimes very convincingly) seem to be, can and indeed do fall away. The wheat and the tares grow side by side in the master's field - and even the angels cannot discern the difference enough to weed the unsaved out until the harvest is ready (Matthew 13:24-30). Those who make a profession of faith but then leave the faith never were Christians in the first place – see 1 John 2:19:
“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”

True Christians are saved, are being saved and will be saved – what God sets out to do – that He will do.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (Thessalonians 5:23-24)
If we needed God to rescue us when we were lost, we also need Him to keep us safe until we are home and glorified. The Shepherd finds the lost sheep but then also hoists it over his shoulders abd carries it home(Luke 15). We do disservice to the mighty work of Christ’s continual Heavenly intercession (Hebrews 7:25) and the great condescension of the Holy Spirit that He comes to dwell in us and even be called the seal of our salvation (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30) and yet, by doubting the preservation of the Saints, claim that somehow Jesus’ prayers will fail and the Holy Spirit will give up in the face of our almighty freewill? In some ways the teaching against the 'P' of the Calvinistic TULIP is a pernicious blasphemy against the work that God has said he will do – he will not be separated by anything in all creation least of all the actual believe themselves – from the very sinners he has chosen before the foundation of the world to set his affection upon. This is most encouraging to the repenter who continues throughout their life to struggle with sin and depend on God's grace and mercy - not their works before or after they are born again.
 I love Him for this truth.
Amen.

Has Been, Is Being And Will Be - Saved

The Christian is one who has been saved, is being saved and will be saved.
The Gospel message is not an image of a drowning humanity being thrown a rope of salvation. To try to understand what the Bible is saying to each of us, as if we are being cast a lifeline we must either choose to grab hold of and cling to or ignore, is to misunderstand completely the nature of our condition. We are not rational survivors in a calm warm ocean able to see and understand the rope cast to us for our salvation. Far from it.
Imagine instead that an aeroplane lands on its belly in a winter sea. The craft begins to break up and the survivors are foundering in the icy water. Worse still, jet fuel has entered into the eyes of the survivors and they can no longer see. The cold water is making their muscles weak and their brains are showing the early signs of hypothermia. They are no longer rational and panic, anger and drowsiness add to the peril of their condition. They have screamed themselves hoarse and are now deaf to all but their own pitiful cries. Now fortunately a rescue boat has drawn up among them and a strong man begins to cast out lines to the helpless victims. Though their salvation is within their grasp they can neither see the rope nor have the capacity to understand what they need to do, nor even hear the shouted advice of their rescuer. If one of the people in the water do by chance manage to grab a line they will not have the strength to hold on to it as their muscles cramp and weaken in the cold. The rescuer understands the problem and knows that the only way to draw the dying people from the water is to jump in after them and hold onto them until they are safely in the boat. This puts the rescuer himself in extreme danger but he boldly risks his life for the unfortunate victims all the same. This scenario is more like the Gospel message than is often supposed in Christian and worldly circles today. We - all humanity -  are deaf, blind, helpless, weak, irrational and dying. We need a saviour who will come into this deadly place and hold us until we are healed and safe. We cannot save ourselves nor even hold on to the salvation if it comes to us. We need a saviour who is prepared to die to save us and finish the work of saving right to the end. One who will pull us out of the water, who will wrap us in blankets and give us hot drinks, who will rub life back into stiff limbs and speak encourgement to the listless and hopeless. One who gives medicine and monitors health as the storm-tossed vessel is firmly steered to the far distant shore. Yes, we may still suffer in the boat, the sea is now more volently throwing us against its hard sides and the misery of the journey may be keenly felt. The wind now snatches at our coverings and the panic of being so close to land yet still being in seeming peril may overwhelm us (oh that we might trust in the wisdom and strength of our saviour). When we were in the water we moved with the water and back then we had no hope, but now that the shore is near we need encouragement until we are safely forever on the firm land of the kingdom of Heaven. Our saviour has his hand on the tiller and his eye on our flagging hope and health and he will save us all the way because he has paid such a price for us and he loves us who are in his boat more than we can ever imagine. All glory to our God who is able to save us in the past, in the present and ultimately in the future. Amen.

A prayer

Our Father, who dwells in unapproachable light and who reigns in Heaven, please teach us how to honour and praise your name. We long for you to finally establish your eternal kingdom and to forever do away with sin and darkness so that your will is done among us perfectly as it is now in Heaven. Until that glorious time we ask that you provide what we need each day and help us to note your various and wise blessings and give you thanks. We most of all thank you for the forgiveness of our sins made possible by the finished Work of your Son and our saviour - the blessed Lord Jesus. Help us who have been forgiven so much to forgive others. Teach us to turn away from temptation, to resist the flesh and the world and the evil one, to watch and pray and be armed with the full armour of our God.

For the kingdom is yours, all glory and power, everything that is good comes from you. We pray this all through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.