Eternal Security Part 2

Grace Coach Podcast

In our last podcast, we mentioned Bible verses about eternal security and that once we are saved by Jesus, we are saved completely and forever. In this podcast we discuss verses in the Book of Hebrews, that some use to teach Christians that they can walk away from God and lose eternal life. God forbid.

We hope that after listening to this podcast, you will be fully convinced that you are eternally secure, forever and ever.

Transcript

Want to discover your freedom in Christ? Then listen in as Mike stone and Kevin Smith talk about it today on grace coach. What's up, Mike? Hey, hey, good to be with you, Kevin. Great to be with you too, man. Yeah. How's everything going? This Christmas week? You know, it is a really crazy Christmas this year with COVID. And the whole deal with that. I mean, it's just so, so many traditions, we do a lot of traditions in our family that, you know, they're not huge things, but they're just things that we do every year. We're not doing and is I just like this war, I woke up and I just felt like, Am I depressed? Now? This lack of this, the regularity of this very, very special season of the year. And so yeah, that's kind of where I'm at. And I think even our family, I mean, Shelley and I are talking about, you know, what kind of traditions Can we start doing this year. And it's kind of, you know, a few days before Christmas, and we don't have much. You can do a zoom tradition, or start that we are we did talk about that. One of the things we do we have a, we have a Jesus birthday party every year, we have a few close friends over. And we have a birthday party for Jesus, and we make it a Jesus birthday cake. And so we were thinking about making a cake and bring a cake and a bottle of wine to these families that usually join us. And then doing a zoom call, and everybody can eat cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus. So that might that might still happen. That's on deck. What about you? What do you what kind of traditions do you do? Yeah, we've had to tell most of our extended family that they're not invited this year. And my daughter has a small baby, only two, two and a half months old. So we just being cautious about this? And yes, but still, the bottom line is Christmas is all about Jesus Christ. And it is all about Jesus Christ. Yes. And he came into this world, maybe 19 187 years ago or so. But he came to take away the sins of the entire world. And then three days later, he rose from the dead. And now anyone who believes in Him shall have eternal life. Yes, eternal life. So Mike, is that Tell me about that eternal life? Is that eternal life secure? Can we lose that eternal life? If you're going to use the word eternal? And we can go to Webster's or any online dictionary and look at the definition of eternal it means forever? Okay, so we talked on our last podcast about eternal security and why we have it. And we thought we would talk today about some of the tensions that are out there. For some who believe that you could have eternal life, you can have Jesus living in you, and then you could walk away from Jesus, or ask them not to be a part of your life anymore. Anyway, a look at it. You can't call it eternal life. If it's something that is temporal, you should call it temporal life. And that's not in the Bible. I don't think temporal life. I haven't seen that word temporal, but I know what that means. It means only for a short time, or for a certain period, eternal life. And the word forever. All they all they mean the same thing. And so as I'm doing this podcast today, I'm looking at the windows and everything. I'm looking at the trees, my office, the computer, you Everything is temporal, right? Yes, it's only for a certain time. If we fast forward to 200 years, none of what we're looking at, would be here. It would be gone one way or most likely, most of what the things we're looking at what all not be here, right but to clarify that the things of the world Yes, but the two things that I would say that are eternal are us. We are eternal, whether we're going to be an eternally in heaven, or eternally in hell. And then the other thing that's eternal is the word of God. So we're I'm looking at the Word of God right now. And I believe it is eternal. I think we'll have it in heaven with us. As funny that you don't really, I don't know, I was gonna say, there's not stories in the Bible, I can Revelation where they're reading the Bible in heaven. But I guess we're not going to get into that, but just a random thought. But I do believe we'll have the Bible in heaven, is my point. Yeah. And I think we will be in heaven, our souls, they these bodies know, we'll get new bodies, but souls will be with new transformed bodies. So let's get into some verses that people really get tripped up on when they look at, can I lose my salvation. And I know there's a lot of them, I had a list of the day, which was about five or six. But we're just going to look in our short time today at the book of Hebrews. So if you've got your Bibles, feel free or pop your phone out to Hebrews. We're going to start in chapter two, and verses one through three. Mike, do you want to read? Do you want me to pop it? Yeah. And these, these verses are really just warnings from the writer of Hebrews. Yeah, who is writing to Hebrews, that I believe I know, you believe there are both lost and saved Hebrews. Many of you read the book of Hebrews believe that it was written to only Christian Hebrews. And so it really depends who you think this book was written to in the first place, is how you will look at these verses. But let me read Hebrews 2123, we must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received as just punishment, that's referring to the law, how can we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? So here, the writer of Hebrews is not wanting the reader to miss such a great salvation. He's saying, Please pay more careful attention, so that you do not drift away from this great salvation. And so I believe you would not say that to somebody who was saved. But you would say, say it to somebody who was maybe on the fence? Absolutely. And I think that, and I'll just re emphasize what you just said, because I think it's crucial to really understanding the book of Hebrews. And that is the fact you got to consider the audience that Paul was writing to, and when you do, you can really see Paul's heart. He is like, brothers do not walk away from this. And who was he talking to? He was talking to Hebrews, Jewish people who were in the temple that would maybe come to their house churches access. You know, there wasn't any mega churches in, you know, Paul's time, there was gathering in house churches there, he was sharing the message. And people would come from the temple. They weren't really buying into this thing. They were just kind of taste testing. I want to just give a shout out to our one of my favorite guys, Andrew Farley, he, he talks about, you know, going into the grocery store aisle and kind of taste testing, you know, the little snacks that they give you in order for you to buy the package. That's a great analogy to what Paul's doing here. These Hebrews were basically just taste testing, they weren't really buying the whole deal, okay? They were just nibbling at the edges, right? that's crucial to understanding this thing. And even as I was studying this, for this podcast, I would even go further and say there's that group of people who just came to visit and then went back to the temple. But Paul's also in some of these verses, talking to people who were in the, in the house church, that was part of them. And that was saying, he was saying to them eagerly, you know, like, Don't walk away from this hold on to it. And really the point of it is and I know I'm ramblin here is that eternal security, eternal salvation is the absolute we have to hold on to, if somebody can walk away somebody in your church or in your Bible study, and they leave and kind of renounce, I don't believe this anymore. I think what you have to say at that point was that they were never never Christians. They were never genuinely a believer. They tasted it, they were checking out, they took a spot in the Pew on Sunday. But then eventually, as the parable, say, the cares of this life choke that way. And I know you mentioned Paul a few times, in your I guess you're assuming that Paul wrote the book of Hebrews, although it's really not mentioned who the author is here. It certainly is his style. Yeah, no doubt about it. But I just want to mention that. Yeah, unlike most of Paul's other letters, he, you know, says, Hey, this is from Paul to the Corinthians from Paul to the Romans. He doesn't say that in here. But and there's is a great debate on who actually wrote it. But I would say, I feel like as Paul, I don't think anybody has the mind of God, like Paul did, wrote two thirds of New Testament. I personally think it was Paul, even though he didn't sign it himself. But that's a great debate. I'm not sure. It certainly sounds like him. But I know it's really the Holy Spirit. whoever wrote the book. I mean, God Himself. He wrote the scriptures. He used them as he's using people today. Absolutely. So do you want to say anything more about this? Hebrews two, one through three? Yeah, no, I just, I know that the same thing is mentioned throughout the book of Hebrews, the same heart of the the writer of Hebrews, not wanting the Hebrews to drift away and fall to the other side. Yes, you know, one on the fence, and then fall away from the grace of God. Absolutely. Because they're boring, such a great salvation. Right? God does not want that. You want I mean, all men to be saved. You have this great salvation in Christ, or contrasting it to keeping the law on the temple and spiritual death and hell, yes, God does not want that for any Yeah, that's the law of spirit and death. Which is not a good thing. So moving on to Hebrews, chapter six, verse four through six, which is kind of that one of the classic verses that people would point to about losing their salvation. And again, if you just put these these basically saved and lost glasses on these taste testers, I think it will really help you understand, as you read this, I'll read this. Hebrews chapter six, four through six, isn't possible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift to have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God, and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance, to their loss, they're crucifying the Son of God all over again subjecting him to public disgrace. Then in verse seven land that drinks in the rain often falling on it, and that produced as a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God, but land produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed in and it will be burn mess and that's some harsh language, Mike. Well, certainly, there's a contrast here between land that drinks in the rain and then land that produces thorns and thistles. Right? That's a complete 180 from verse seven and verse eight, but you know, as I'm looking at what you just read some possible for those who have been enlightened, who have tasted who have shared and again tasted the goodness. Yeah, like I said, they were taste testers. It says if they fall away to be brought back to repeat Have you ever realized that it's impossible to go back to where you've never been. And so it's impossible to go back to be brought back to repentance is because they never repented in the first place. They never changed their mind about Jesus Christ. So you can't go back. That's why it's impossible to be brought back to repentance because they never were there in the first place. They only tasted, they only enlightened they only shared and they were taste testers as you the example you use. And to those people to their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. That verse is the writer of Hebrews trying to talk to these people and say, Don't ignore this great salvation. I know you've tasted and shared, but don't ignore it. Now, in verse nine, it says, even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of things in your case, things that accompany salvation. Right, these right things, sharing and tasting, don't accompanies salvation. That just means you've tried it, you've read the Bible, you've gone to church, you gave to the poor, you've done things. But as revelations says, to is a one of the churches away from me, I never knew, you know, man, that's, that's powerful. Yeah, I was gonna say it really depends. Again, how you who you believe this book of Hebrews is written to, if you believe this was written to Christians, then you're going to read this, that you can fall away once you're a Christian. But if you read this, as it was both to Christians and non Christians, then you'll be able to see that he's not talking to Christians, who we don't taste you. And I, Kevin, we bought the whole package we did. So that's a big difference. Huge difference. Yeah. I mean, I mean, we go on to other verses, but I think that is really the crux of the of the issue. That Paul is talking to different groups of people, some people have just tasted, and even the people, you could look at it, even people who are in the pews, he's talking about, he could be some people who are going back to the temple. But there are some people that are in the pews in the group. And he's saying, Don't neglect this don't, you know, walk away. So he's got a incredible heart for people to just hold on. Yeah, to, to the to the salvation, you know, you got to think of it in the context of him writing. Think about how many people pass are going back to the temple. That is what I see Paul's passion here. He sees people going back and trying to live underneath the law, kind of coming and tasting it. And going back to it. And I think that is why speaking so powerfully here, the end of verse eight, but the land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and in danger of being cursed. In the end, it will be burned. Now, if you are a born again, Christian, you're not a land as producing thorns and thistles. And it's worthless and in danger of being curse. Oh, my gosh, I could go on a rampage here. But there's so many Christians. And I was one too. That was on a performance basis. And I read this verse. And it's like, I'm not producing anything. I'm only producing thorns and thistles. I'm in danger of being cursed. I'm saying this is personal. I read this verse years and years ago. I'm not gonna say the church has going to but man, you got to understand the eternal security in the rest that we have. Well, a good Christmas is that word eternal. If you're gonna call it the eternal life, and you're gonna believe in that, this, this won't be a problem for you. You know, right, wondering whether you're going to lose your salvation based on what you're doing or where you're going or that's not an issue. If you believe in the word eternal, but if you don't, don't call it eternal life, call it temporal life, as long as I keep on doing what I think God wants me to do, which is, you know, all the things you were mentioning, Hey, I just want to jump to Hebrews 1026, because it's another section of verses 1026 to 1031. And I want to read this and then talk about it. It says, if we deliberately keep on sinning, after we have received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment, and of the raging fires that will consume the enemies of God. You and I are enemies of God. We are now friends of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy, and the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely Do you think a man deserves to be punished? Who was trampled the Son of God under foot? Who has treated it as an unholy thing, the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace, For we know him who said, it is mine to avenge, I will repay and again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a dreadful thing to fall in the hands of a living God. Okay, so sounds kind of scary, but not if you're born again. Because if you go back to 26, if we deliberately keep on sinning, this is not about sins that we commit, okay? Which is much of the day anything that's not a faith of his sin. This is not yet furring to our sins. This is referring to never believing in the first place. That Yes, this word sitting here means. So if we deliberately, deliberately keep on sinning, not believing, after what, after we have received the knowledge of truth. Well, that's what he spent the first 10 chapters in Hebrews talking about the knowledge of truth. And so yeah, he saying, Don't reject that. Because there's no sacrifice for sins love. Jesus isn't coming to die again. Either you're going to have to believe this or you're going to fall into the hands of a living God. Yes, that I'm so glad you read that section of scripture because it is it is really crucial to understanding that word in the context of this book. Okay? Because he, he's, he's writing to Hebrews, in Hebrews weren't are not like the Corinthians. Hebrews were not like the Romans, who were Gentiles. And when Paul was writing to those, he was definitely talking about some behavioral things here. But the audience in Hebrews is law abiding Jews. law abiding Jews were not committed adultery with their mother in law, like the Corinthians were, okay, law abiding Jews were not, you know, getting drunk like the current dance and in debauchery like the the Romans and so on, so forth, like the Gentiles in general. He didn't have to correct them like that, because those people were, you know, dotting the i's and crossing the T's, they did not want to have anybody seeing them do anything wrong. Okay. So, like you said, you mentioned as to if you go back to Hebrews chapter three talks about in verse 12, here, he must have three, take care of those, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. So it's pretty clear. They're an unbelieving heart. What was what was when they were doing the, you know, Exodus, the Jews were about unbelief. That was their thing is all about belief. And so that's a great point you made and glad you read that. Well, I hope this helps today, people who are wondering about their salvation. It's my prayer, and I know it's your prayer. It's all of the authors of the New Covenant. It was their prayer that that we would know the width and depth and the height and the length of the love of God. And the love and that love of God is eternal is forever. And there's nothing better on Christmas, to know that Jesus wants to have a relationship with you. And once he comes to live inside of you, he promises never to leave you ever again. And to me, Kevin, that's the greatest Christmas gift we could ever receive. Every other Christmas gift you will receive this year pales in comparison to that gift and friends who are listening to this, please pass that message on whether it's through this podcast, or is cracking open your Bible and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. And I tell you it is the greatest gift you can give yourself to share this gift with somebody else. It will be a memory that I guarantee you you will not forget. So yeah, amen. Kevin. Thank you for listening to grace coach. If you want to connect with us, we would love to engage with you. Email us at the Grace [e-mail] visit our Facebook page or visit our website Grace coach.org