Currently Listening Funeral By Arcade Fire see related

Once Saved, Always Saved?

            After I got done writing about having assurance of faith, I realized that generally people who struggle with assurance of faith also struggle with whether or not they can lose their salvation.  I know for a long time I dealt with this issue, and it isn’t fun.  To me, there a lot of problems in thinking that once you are saved you can lose that salvation.

            First off, the thing that most stands out to me as a problem is that it seems that when Christ died on the cross, he knew of a specific number of people who he would be dying for.  In Mark 14:24, when Jesus is administering the first Lord’s Supper, he says of the wine, “This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”  The word many certainly means a lot, but not everyone.  This leads me to believe that Christ knew exactly who he would die for.  When Jesus died on the cross in John 19:30 he cried out, “It is finished.”  What was finished, exactly?

            Jesus had to die on the cross as a fulfillment of the ultimate Sin Offering, as described in Leviticus 4.  The sacrificial animal had to be without blemish; that is, perfect.  One had to provide a certain type of animal based on what they could afford, so the priests and leaders had to sacrifice a bull; the poor would sacrifice a pigeon.  So the sacrifice was based on blood and actual cost to the person performing the sacrifice.  Blood (meaning the death of the sacrificial animal) was offered because in Leviticus 17:11 God says that blood is offered because, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”  So as we can see, forgiveness of sins required a costly, bloody sacrifice of a creature without blemish.  I hope you can see where I am going with this.  As God, Jesus was and is the most costly thing available for a sacrifice.  There is nothing else that could or will be offered as a sacrifice that will be more pleasing to God than Christ.  To make the blood atonement, Jesus had to die on the cross.  For Jesus to be presented as an unblemished creature, he had to become a man.  Without one of these elements, Christ’s sacrifice would mean nothing.

            So back to my question: when Christ said, “it is finished,” what was finished?  Christ had finished his work as a sin offering to God.  He had all of the sins of God’s chosen people poured out on him at once.  All sins.  Sins from the past, sins from the present, and sins from the future.  All of them.

            When Jesus gave the disciples the firs Lord’s Supper and said that the wine was the blood of the covenant poured out for many, he of course was referring to his own blood that would be shed on the cross.  The wine is a symbol of Christ’s blood.  But Jesus describes it as being poured out for many.  He knew who he was dying for. 

            But going back to the first point; can you lose your salvation?  Sorry for the long introduction.  But we need a context.  In other places in the Gospels, Jesus talks about his relationship with those that God has given to him to save as being irremovable from his grip.  In John 6:39, Jesus says, “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up on the last day.”  Two verses earlier, in 37, he says, “and whoever comes to me I will never drive out.”  John 10:27-28 say, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  In Romans 11:29, Paul says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”  Irrevocable means that it cannot be taken away. 

            From these verses (and there are quite a few more, actually), we can quickly determine that when Christ died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins as chosen Christians, his death was completely atoning, that is, it completely covered all our sins.  If all our sins have been forgiven, then that necessarily means that there is no sin that a Christian can commit to remove their status as a Christian. 

            There are many Christians that believe that it is possible to lose their salvation, but this belief does damage to Christ’s sacrifice for us.  In essence, they are saying that his death was good, but that ultimately their salvation is up to them.  This is in direct contrast with what is expressly stated in Scripture, however.  In Ephesians 2:8 it says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  It is Christ who saves us on the cross, not us.  So when someone claims that they can lose their salvation, they are claiming that Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t atoning enough! 

            I hope that this is encouraging for you.  I know that when you start living in Grace, it can be hard.  It stretches your faith.  It causes you to grow.  But most importantly it pleases God.

Currently Listening Urban Hymns By The Verve Bittersweet Symphony see related

On Assurance of Faith

            A few years ago, I entered a time in my life when I really struggled with whether or not I was really saved.  I knew that I went to church, tried to do the right things, went to youth group, but I still wasn’t sure if I was a ‘real’ Christian.  I did all the things, but I didn’t know if my heart had really been changed by the Holy Spirit.  What I was looking for was Assurance of Faith.  Assurance in English has something to do with a promise, but more along the lines of personal trust.  If I assure you that my pet dog will not bite you, you can believe me.  But if my dog does bite you, well then my assurance to you doesn’t mean very much.  Fortunately we know that God doesn’t lie, and we receive assurance from Him, we know it is true. 

            But that doesn’t solve the problem of not feeling this assurance.  How do I really know that I’m saved, and not just acting Christian?  To be sure, there have been and certainly are many people that have thought that they were Christians that probably ended up being very surprised at their surroundings after they died! 

            There are a few things that you can know about your salvation; and some things that set Christians apart from non-Christians that should help. 

            First off, I would like to comfort you by saying that if you struggle with this, it probably means that you are indeed a Christian.  I only say this because when you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit grows in us an ever-growing spirit of humility and maturity as a Christian that simply isn’t given at all to non-Christians.  This means that people who are not saved don’t worry about having Assurance, because they have convinced themselves wrongfully that they’re really saved!  To wonder and pray to God for assurance is obeying God’s command in II Peter 1:10, “Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure…”  Peter wouldn’t give this command to non-Christians, it wouldn’t make sense! 

            Secondly, there are things that happen in the soul and desires of a saved person that frankly don’t happen in the non-Christian.  The truly saved Christian desires to be more holy.  The truly saved Christian desires to be searched, known, and corrected by the Spirit of God.  The truly saved Christian desires more and more to be in the presence of God, whether through prayer, worship, reading the bible, being with other believers, or through acts of service.  You can be assured that the non-Christian truly experiences none of these things.  They may act like they experience it, and even enjoy going to church and singing songs.  But the fact remains that they have built up this assurance in themselves, and not relied on the Holy Spirit to provide it for them. 

            One thing you have to realize is that you won’t always feel, as a truly saved Christian, these things as strongly as you will at other times.  For instance, you may find it hard to pray, or that worship won’t bring you closer to God, or that being with other Christians is annoying.  This is normal, and shouldn’t make you feel that you’re not truly saved.  Remember that it is not the strength of your assurance, but rather the character of your assurance.  A person can be very strongly convinced he is a Christian, and end up not being one at all.  It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that the Christian is assured of their faith.  Assurance isn’t given to everyone immediately when they become Christians, but sometimes much later.  If you feel that you are a Christian, and struggle with a lack of assurance, you’re probably in this stage.  So what can you do about it?

            Well the first thing to do is to pray about it.  Ask God to give you assurance of salvation.  Ask him to show you that your faith is real and not something that you invented in yourself.  Then be willing to be taught by God, because when you ask him to teach you something, he will!  Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”  (Also, another sign of true faith is that you are willing to ask God to teach you something; a non-Christian would never ask God for correction or teaching!)  Be willing to accept that there are many things about being a Christian that are mysterious.  These are things that you can know to be true, but don’t necessarily make sense.  Think about any of the miracles of Jesus, the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible; these things are all very mysterious, and I don’t expect to understand them all until I get to heaven.  So don’t despair!  Know that God loves you, has a plan for you, and knows exactly what you need at every moment of your life; so take heart!

Currently Listening In a Beautiful Place Out In the Country By Boards of Canada see related

Who Are the Jehovah's Witnesses, Anyway? (Part 2)

Currently Listening Turn On the Bright Lights By Interpol Hands Away see related

Who Are the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Anyway? (Pt. 1)

            On Sunday, after Fellowship, I realized that the entire Sport Hall next to the Building was being used as a worship center for a group of individuals known as “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”  I hadn’t realized how big of a presence they had here in Slovakia.  This concerns me for a few reasons.  First of all, it concerns me because Jehovah’s Witnesses are very adept at masquerading as Christians, commonly using Christian terms and even a loose translation of our own bible in their discussions with us.  Secondly, it concerns me that due to this masquerading, few people know of their true danger; that they present a false gospel message, one that has no saving power, and only succeeds in condemning people to eternal punishment (which, interestingly enough, is something that they do not believe in either… the souls of the unsaved are merely “extinguished”).

            To begin with, it should be understood that the man who started Jehovah’s Witness, Charles Taze Russell, started his career as a “pastor” of a small Bible class in 1870.  Russell had already embraced the notions that there was no hell and that all organized denominations were evil.  After resigning from his post, he became the assistant editor of a newspaper called The Herald of the Morning, which today is commonly called The Watchtower Announcing God’s Kingdom, and is eagerly passed out on the streets by today’s Jehovah Witnesses to whoever will take them. 

            Later Russell started a new bible society called “Zion’s Watchtower Tract Society” in 1884.  Later, during a lawsuit concerning his divorce from his wife, it was revealed that Russell owned 990 of the total 1000 shares available in the society.  This is important to remember when it is further revealed that many money-making schemes enacted by Russell, including one that sold so-called “Miracle Wheat” that was guaranteed to grow fives times as fast as regular wheat.  Since all profits from these schemes went to the Tract Society, it necessarily followed that Russell made the most money from it, considering that he had a 99% control over the finances of the Society!

            This sort of mischief continued for many years until 1912, when a pastor from Canada published a pamphlet titled Some Facts About the Self-Styled ‘Pastor’ Charles T. Russell.”  Despite the fact that everything in the pamphlet was true, Russell sued the pastor for “defamatory libel.”  The pamphlet speaks of Russell as someone who had “never attended the higher schools of learning, knows comparatively nothing of philosophy, systematic or historical theology, and is totally ignorant of the dead languages.”  In this type of lawsuit, the plaintiff (the person bringing the charges to court, in this case, Russell) has to present evidence to the contrary to the defendant (the person being accused).  Basically he had to prove that the above quote wasn’t true.  It was during these court proceedings that Russell finally undid himself and his teachings (which we’ll get to later). 

            I quote for you now an actual part of the transcript of the questioning of Russell:

            Q(Attorney): “Do you know the Greek alphabet?”

            A (Russell): “Oh yes.”

            Q (Attorney): “Can you tell me the correct letters if you see them?”

            A (Russell): “Some of them; I might make a mistake on some of them.”

            Q (Attorney): “Would you tell me the names of those on top of the page, page 447, I have got here?”

            A (Russell): “Well, I don’t know that I would be able to.”

            Q (Attorney): “You can’t tell what those letters are? Look at them and see if you know.”

            A (Russell): “My way” [he was interrupted at this point and not allowed to explain].

            Q (Attorney): “Are you familiar with the Greek language?”

            A (Russell): “No.”

            It was also revealed during this case that Russell in total had attended only seven years of school in his entire life, and had dropped out when he was fourteen.  Also it was shown that Russell had never studied Latin or Hebrew nor had he ever taken a class on theology.  Of course, such learning isn’t necessary for a solid belief in God and for a grounding in Scripture, but some of the claims that Russell made were so unfounded in actual scholarship that it calls into question his entire belief system.  Russell claimed that the only way to truly understand the Bible was through his own writings.  In fact he said that it would be better to read his writings than the Bible itself.  No one who has had any sort of theological training and takes on the title of “pastor” could seriously make these sort of claims.

            In closing I’d like to quote a book that has been very helpful in preparing this, Kingdom of the Cults by Walter Martin.  He writes, “As a speaker, Russell swayed many; as a theologian, he impressed no one competent; as a man, he failed before the true God.”

            In my next post, I’ll write about what the Jehovah’s Witnesses actually believe in more detail and about how we as Christians should respond to them.                    

edit:  I was just on the Jehovah's Witnesses' website, and after searching for "Charles Russell", it only came up with two pages.  It's apparent that the Watchtower Society is trying as best it can to distance itself from their first president!

Currently Listening Cold Roses By Ryan Adams & the Cardinals Cold Roses see related

What's the purpose of life, anyway?

    A lot of people, even Christians, ask this question.  It’s a problem that’s central to all of us in our human experience.  Many people have tried to answer it through false religions, philosophy or science, but most of the solutions seem lacking.  Fortunately, God has given us the Bible for us to search out answers to questions like this and many others. 

    Let’s start from the beginning.  What is this life for?  What does the Bible have to say about our existence here on this earth?  Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about what our purpose here on earth is for.

    I Corinthians has this to say, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  It seems pretty clear what we are to do.  Everything we do is to be for God’s glory.  This means that being a Christian isn’t just going to church on Sunday.  This is really big.  Everything we do.  Think about that; that’s a lot of stuff! 

    Well, what else is there?  Romans 11:36 says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.  To him be the glory forever! Amen.”  So not only are we as Christians supposed to glorify him in this life, but that is what we’ll do forever when we are in Heaven. 

    That’s all and well for the New Testament, but what does the Old Testament say about all this?  Thankfully the Old Testament isn’t silent at all concerning our purpose here.  Deuteronomy 10:12, “What does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” 

    So what can we say then?  What is our purpose?  It seems clear from scripture that our purpose here is for God’s glory.  But it is important that we realize that when we glorify God in all that we do, it also automatically happens that we enjoy God’s presence in our lives.  We start to yearn for more ways to glorify him. 

    So how do we glorify God?  Micah 6:8 summarizes it nicely, “He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  There it is, plain and simple.  Well, not really so simple in practice.  Try to act justly at the same time as loving mercy and then throw in a little humility and you’ll see how much we need God’s grace!  And for this grace we find one more reason to glorify our God.