Untitled Sermon

Galatians 5:1–5 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.” I was reading Galatians yesterday, the context of this passage is that tthe Church in Galatia corporately at large have turned back to following the Jewish cermonial laws and rituals, even though Christ has clearly made them unneccessary to the new Covenant. A Covenant that is conditioned upon Faith and “Faith alone”. Here the part that I have underlined does not imply that you can lose your salvation, but that if you are trusting in being justified by striving to obey the law, instead of trusting in Gods Grace, you’re faith will be found insuffient by God in judgement. Let us note that here the passage is saying the Gospel that the are now proffessing is one calling people to trust in themselves, instead of the work of Christ for their salvation. Their Gospel, is severed from Christ in the sense that to those who believe in this “other Gospel”, his work does not count for them.

In a sense, Pauls plea in this epistle is this; “You have fallen away from the understanding of the faith that you had when I left you.” In Galatians 5:7 “You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?” Paul addresses them as a Church he left in goodstanding with the faith, but the Church had since turned back to its old ways and faulted thinking.

Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—” The sense in which the Church has “fallen from Grace”, is the sense in which it has turned away from a faith based understanding of the faith, to a “works based understanding of the faith”. This becomes the focus of correction for the Church in Galatia. They have turned to legalism, and away from the true Gospel.

Response to #Passage 2

Romans 11:18–22 “do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

The way we would understand this passage is that the covenant that God had with the nation and race of the Jews, was a ‘Works based Covenant’, that offered them material blessings, curses, and conditions of obedience in order to maintain their habitation of a material promised land. Because Israel was uttlerly unfaithful to their side of the Covenant, God divorced from them and handed them over to judgement as a nation, exiling them from the promised land, as he promised that he would. God however promised that though his people at large had turned away from him, there was always a ‘remnant’ who trusted in him for salvation by faith. Hebrews 10:1–5

Hebrews 10:1–5 (ESV)

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;

This passage makes it clear that whilst Israel offered Sacrifices to God as part of their Covenant with God to live in the promised land, these works never covered over their sins, or promised them any salvation eternally in and of themselves. Hebrews 11 is a chapter is key in revealing how eternal Salvation was always based upon faith, apart from works.

Those who were cut off in the Romans 11 passage are those who understood themselves to be in Covenant with God based on works, race, or anything other than faith. Anyone who considered themselves (for example; the Pharisees and those who trusted in their performance according to the law, or their biological heritage) like it says in Romans 9:6–8 “But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”

It is those who have faith in the promise of God for salvation (the Gospel) that are called God’s people.

Conclusion:

For many who considered themselves to be ‘in the religion’ by any other means than faith, simply because they were part of the race or nation that God was previously working through, they were now, the branch broken off. and now it is revealed that it is those whom believe, **even of the Gentiles that are grafted into this faith based covenant with Christ.

Passage #3

Revelation 22:19 “and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”

Scripture is clear that the only unforgivable sin is blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. (best understood to be unbelief). What we understand this passage to mean, is that anyone who intends to twist, change, or mess with the words of Scripture, and is unrepentant in doing so is one who is clearly not submitted to them, and seeks not to understand them. God preserves his word, and disciplines His children. God is speaking here of the unbeliever who does not adhere to the commands of scripture.

Ephesians 5:3–5 “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

It is the unrepentant. The one who remains immoral and impure, apart from the pardon of Christ who has no inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.

Ephesians calls us here to forsake our old lives, leave our sins behind. Whilst we know it is impossible to fully escape our sins in this life, we know:

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

“Don’t go back to your old ways” is the focus here,

Romans 6:1–2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

even though:

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” .

Whilst we cannot lose our salvation, we can certainly be seduced by the schemes of Satan and the delights of the flesh to willing enter spiritually misery, insteader of a greater enjoyment of the freedom of Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:9 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,”

Once again, those who are unrighteous, are those who unrepented, they have never desired Gods mercy, they have never come to him. They cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, because they do not even desire it.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

All of us are guilty of sins, the only difference between those who do inherit the Kingdom and those who don’t is a true and genuine faith in Christs works of mercy and believe in them for our salvation.

Genesis 15:6 ESV

And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Faith alone makes us righteous before God. Nothing to do with our moral performance according to the law. This is made abdundantly clear in Galatians 2 and 3.

Galatians 5:19 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,” Not sure how this one relates to making a case for conditional Salvation. The works of the flesh are the very reason we need salvation. Romans 8:7–9 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

Revelation 21:6–8 “And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.””

We are all obviously Guilty of sinfulness. As rom 3:1 says “As it is written: no one is good, no not one”

The only hope we have to be set apart from those destined for Judgement is to put our hope in the pardon of Christ. This once again shows us that it is those who are unrepented of their Sins before God who are trusting in the flesh, or themselves to be good, or good enough for God that find no mercy in Christ.

We must repent of ourselves as the basis for Salvation, and trust in Christ as the basis, and believe in his forgiveness of sins. “Once for all time” Hebrews 10:12 “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,” as opposed to a each time we must “re-repent” or be “re-forgiven” kind of mindset.

Hebrews 10:17 “then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.””

This passage a few verses later makes it clear that, after true repentance, God no longer counts our sins. He doesn’t just erase them and we start from scratch, he literally deletes us from the system. He no longer tracks our sins.

1 Corinthians 9:27 “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

This passage opens itself up to scope of impossible interpretations. Different translations vary a lot. The analogy Paul is building here is that of himself as a boxer, an athlete, training himself to make himself uself for the sake of ministry, the mission of the Gospel. Subjecting himself to all kinds of trials and beatings for the sake of the Gospel. I take this imagery to be about physical or more material realities. Should his body break down underneath him as he carries out his work, should his sinful temptations wipe him out of the game, (as we quite often see Pastors today disqualified from ministry for a season due to Sin or to burnout, various pitfalls of those running in the faith). Paul talks of himself as one who must stay disciplined for the sake of the Ministry of the Gospel, able to continually persever through various trials without falling. I don’t interpret this passage to be concerning us losing Salvation due to insufficient performance, or because of our ability to screw it up. Simply because Paul is so clear in other passages that we can be secure in our Salvation. for example:

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

or as an older passage, Ecclesiastes would put it this way:

Ecclesiastes 3:14 “I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.”

If Christ has achieved our Salvation, and it was “not of our own doing”...

Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Then unlike our work, it is imperishable.

For Romans says, it was whilst we were enemies of God that this work was done for us.

Romans 5:8–10 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

Based on no condition in us...

Romans 9:11–13 “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.””

and then it goes on to say...

Romans 9:15–16 “For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

For if it is God whom our Salvation depends on, and is not conditioned upon us, achieved in spite of our sinfulness. Then what power do we have to undo the work of God? to disqualify ourselves from his Saving work?

Ephesians 1:4–5 “even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

This emphasizes that it is true that before we were even born, God planned to call us to himself, give us faith in him, justify us, change us, and then raise us up with him on the last day

Romans 8:30 “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

Acts 13:48 “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

Passage #9

1 Timothy 4:1–3 “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”

Will depart from the faith”” here means depart from identifying with the faith. To depart from the local body of the Church.

We can interpret it this way comfortably because, John in his epistle comforts the believers in this way;

1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

One of the signs of a true believer, is that they will be preserved eternally in the faith.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

If it is truly Christ who begins a work in a person, he will complete it, for the sake of his own Glory.

This is where we must differ to the Parable of the sower given in Mark 4.

There are three types of ‘hearers of the Gospel’, three types of soil:

1. The Hard ground, it the hearer that’s heart is hardened. They are unable to hear or understand

Mark 4:12 “so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ””

Mark 4:15 “And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”

2. The hearers that seem to receive the Gospel, but it takes no root in them.

Mark 4:16–19 “And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

These are the ones whom confuse us. They seem like Christians, they act like Christians, but eventually, their true motivations are exposed, as their desires were never in Christ, but perhaps in the percieved benefits of Christ, according to their own desires.

The testing and refining, persecution and suffering of the Church reveals who is truly in Christ, and who is who is not. It is part of Gods work in purifying His Church.

Matthews telling of the same parable makes this even clearer;

Matthew 13:21 “yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.”

We are warned to be wary of false Christians, or converts.

Matthew 7:16 “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” Matthew 7:18 “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.”

We will know them by their fruits.

3. The hearers that believe, grow and will continue on in the faith

Characterized as “the Good Soil”

Mark 4:20 “But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””

The Soil which was tilled beforehand by the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit begins a work in us that draws us to the truth of Christ John 6:44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”

Rather than being choked by thorns like the 2nd category of hearers, (thorns being sin, cares for the world and other things, etc). The suffering, trials and temptations of the believer all serve to grow him up into spiritual maturity.

James 1:2–3 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Passage #10

2 Peter 2:20–22 “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.””

This passage is talking about False prophets who are teaching Heresies in the Church. Corrupting and defiling the faith.

These people are “Wolves in Sheeps clothing” as the scriptures would say. They are not Christians. They would go in the category of those who may have seemed earnest at first, but as their cares and desires for the world have choked their fleshly efforts or interests in pursuing the Gospel, they have turned to exploiting believers for the sake of their own desires.

2 Peter 2:3 “And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

Reading through this Chapter from the beginning of Chapter 2, we see that Peter is not speaking of True Christians who are at risk of losing their salvation, but warning true believers against false teachers.

in 2 Peter 1:10 “Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

He makes it clear that if you can test your own faith, and because you know it is of God and not of you, you will then have confidence that you cannot fall. this is important for the believers he is speaking to, because it helps them understand then that the value of the suffering is that they are going through is to grow them in their faith, and that they are being refined. If they are truly in the faith, this is the point of what they are going through, the do not also have to be anxious about their Salvation being threatened. They confidence in their faith, because they have confidence in Christ

It reminds me of when Jesus says to Peter -

Luke 22:31–32 ““Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.””

God does hand us over to Satan at times, much like he did with Job, that we may be sifted, trialled, beaten, persectued, so that our unfailing faith will Glorify God in its barity.

Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The faith that God has given us is indestructible, because he is indestructible. If the faith were from us, it would be as weak and fragile as we are. The reason that Christ can have confidence in us, and that we can have confidence in our salvation is because of this very fact.

If the Faith is His, and the Spirit given us is His, then His work will be successful, for the sake of His Glory.

When God promises Salvation to His people in Ezekiel 36, He makes it clear;

Ezekiel 36:22–23 ““Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.”

God saves sinners.

He does all of the work.

So that he gets all of the Glory.

and all we will do is - that we will look upon our sins and be grateful

This is how Salvation is described in Ezekiel 36:22-38.

Passage #11

Hebrews 6:4–6 “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

Once again, this passage bears a lot of similarities with the previous passage. Our reference point will again be the 2nd category of hearers. Those who seem to receive the Goepel at first, and externally look no different those in whom the teaching of the Gospel has truly taken root, but are later exposed by the tribulations of the Christian life, or a priority for earthly desires to not have been in the faith.

When I read this passage I think of Judas, the false teachers, those have heard the truth, yet do not find their desires in it upon further testing and examination. To sell out Christ like Judas, to use him to exploit for their own gain like the false teachers, to abandon the faith because of the cost of it upon your own life, these things show that if Christ were before them, they truly would have given him over to the cross just as the crowds did. Once you have done this in your heart, the hardness of heart bears its true fruit, the unbeliever grows hardened in their unbelief, and becomes very much as the one whom never believed, like the seed that fell on the path.

Romans 9:18 “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

This is a passage about unbelievers being exposed, and falling away from the body of faith, and a superficial proffession of faith.

Passage #12

Luke 8:13 “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

This passage is obivously related to the parable we have been referencing. We cannot interpret this passage to believe that these are believers falling away, but that it had never taken root.

The Spirit is in fact the Root. Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, there is no ‘new birth’, there is no circumcision of the heart, there is no regeneration of the heart of the believer, there is no true Spiritual change, there is no work of Christ taking place in the hear of the person.

There is mere a fleshly embrace of the Good news, as far as it lines up with the desires of the hearer. This is how we must understand their abandonment of the faith once it begins to cost them, or require sacrifice. They have not sold out for the Gospel by the power of the Spirit, the sell out the Gospel at the first sign of a greater valued treasure.

Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Passage #12

2 Chronicles 15:1–2 “The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

There is an important distiction to make about the ministry of the Spirit in the Old Testament.

1. The Spirit falls upon someone, to temporarily empower them for a task, role, mission, etc for the purposes of God.

2. The Indwelling work of the Spirit in the believer Spiritually at work in them. Sanctifying them, transforming and renewing them according to the likeness of Christ. This is work of Salvation.

Number 1 was the case for Judges like Samson, who was given supernatural strength in order to be a Judge of Israels enemies, this was conditional upon his faithfulness to Gods commands. It was given to Kings like Saul for a time to empower him as King in wisdom and might on Gods behalf. It would be on the priests who would step into a Godly office, Kings and Prophets in a special and particular way for the sake of Gods purposes, but did not also promise a work in them of Salvation, and a desire for Christ. This is why we can understand Saul as one who may not have been a Christian, a man who rebelled heavily against God toward the end of his life, and Samson too, who exploited Gods giftings to pursue his own desires and pridefullness.

Number 2 must be the way we understand how any believer that has ever lived has ever been saved. Deuteronomy talks about a work God does on the heart (we understand this to be by the work of the Spirit) in order for us to be able to Love God.

Deuteronomy 30:6 “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

When by nature, apart from this work, we remain rebels to God, who do not seek him or desire him.

Romans 3:10–12 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.””

&

Romans 8:7–9 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

Therefore: We can understand that God could give and take away the Spirit in the way that it empower people supernaturally to carry out his will for time for the sake of his purposes.

But according to Ezekiel 36’s description of Conversion, God places his Spirit in those whom he remakes for himself. A work that if begun, will never remain incomplete for the sake of Gods Glory on display in the believer.

Ezekiel 36:26–27 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Passage #13

Matthew 6:15: "But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

This is about unrepentance. To willfully choose to hold someone’s sins against them and be unchanged by the word of God is a defining outward signal, that Christ is not at work in you.

For one of the marks of the true believer iss piritual change, and that one will be made to heed the words of Christ. Which can they cannot do in the flesh, but the Spirit can do in them.

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

If it is God who works in us, we will change.

If God is not at work in us, we will surely fall away, and prove to have been without the Indwelling Spirit of Christ that cannot fail.

Passage #14

Matthew 19:21–30 ESV

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

The Parable of the Rich Young Ruler

You had in your email this passage up to verse 35, but chapter 19 ends at verse 30, so I assume that you mean up that point. Nevertheless, the passage is an excerpt of Jesus’s interaction with the Rich Young ruler.

The Rich Young Ruler comes to Christ, and claims that he has kept all of the commandments and precepts of the law, wondering what he still lacks in order to earn eternal life. “What good deeds must I do?”.

The basis of the question shows a fundamentally flawed understanding of his position before God.

He believe the gap between Gods holiness and himself is small enough that he can close the gap with good works.

He believes he has perfectly kept the law

He believes he can earn rightstanding before God by ‘his own’ efforts This would make him the basis of his own salvation. Himself the one whom he would place his trust in in order to be saved.

Instead of correcting his worldview, Jesus plays along; “if you would be perfect...” (Knowing this is is impossible for man) Give up everything you have and come follow me.

This is a worldview breaker. The Rich Ruler was looking for some final T’s to cross and i’s to dot. He wanted to add salvation to his life, rather than trade his life in this world for a new life in Christ.

Jesus’s task required this Young man to understand the fundamental chasm between the Salvation he spoke of, and the salvation this man was seeking.

Come follow me, means giving up trust in oneself, and trusting in Christ in order to be saved. This address’s the core of the mentality shift Jesus is seeking. The Rich Young Ruler see’s that .

Matthew 19:23–24 “And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”” “And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.”

One who desires to make their riches in their own eyes, the things of this life, will be one who cannot trade them for the ‘spiritual riches’ God offers beyond death to those who seek Christ as their treasure,

Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”

Hearing that it is difficult for the rich man to enter heaven, this leads the disciples to then ask.

Matthew 19:25 “When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?””

To which Christ replies,

Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””

Man is an insufficient basis for salvation. Only Christ has the means sufficent for the salvation of Man. We must forsake trust in ourselves, and make him the “object of our treasures” and place our trust in His efforts.

I see nothing in this story that points to the idea that we can lose our salvation. in fact, to the contrary; Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.”

Christ promises us that once we have come to him, we become inheriters of eternal life.

As other passages say, we are adopted into the family of Christ. Made sons, heirs to the riches of God, to test the imagery further, do fathers threaten to disown their children if they run away from home? The prodigal son is story of Father who awaited the return of his son, not a Father who considered his relationship with his son ‘conditional’. If we believe we can lose our salvation, Gods love for us in not ‘unconditional’ and his patience for us ‘eternal’, but we would be forced to concluded that our salvation has “strings attached”, or “love with conditions”.

The Remaining Passages

If my responses to the first number of passages has been sufficient, I will pick a few themes to tackle for the remaining selection of scriptures.

“If you continue in the faith till the end” If God has in fact saved us, then we will be preserved to the end by his power. To refer back to the passage where Jesus, I have prayed for your faith, that it will not fail, it a pomise of security given to Peter. No matter what he suffers or go through, he knows that God has made his faith invincible. All that he goes through will reveal its growth and maturation, and its unfailing strength will Glorify not Peter but the work of Christ in him.

Works based faith Anything that appears to the threaten our Salvation on the basis of our performance, or works falls apart when we truly understand that it is our unfailing faith in His works that save us, God is in fact not looking at our works for our Salvation, otherwise we would be condemned. Jesus is clear that the only unforgivable Sin is ‘Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit’ (best understood to be unbelief). Nothing else on Heaven or on earth can threaten Christ work on our behalf, or quench the faith that we have been given. (Romans 12:3 says that is God who assigns faith)

Repentance from Sin Repentance is a one time thing. When a person by the Power of the Spirit and His regeneration of our hearts turns from a Hatred of God and a Love for Sin, to a Hatred of Sin and Love for God

As previously mentioned, Hebrews speaks of our Sins being permenantly blotted out once we come to faith in Christ “Once for all time”. We do not repeatedly need to keep erasing building sin debts against God, because Romans reminds us that there is now no longer any condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. No Sins left to deal with. Forwards or backwards, they are all up on the cross. Now we live not under law, but under Grace. As Corinthians says,

1 Corinthians 10:23 ““All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.”

We can now rest in our Salvation, growing according to wisdom of God has given to us in the law, but as we learn of all that was required of man, we become more gratefully aware of all the work that Christ had completed on our behalf as we continue to trust in the sufficiency of what he has done, and forsake a hope in anything that we have done or currently do.

For what can we offer him, but to grow in a knowledge of him, and thankfulness for this great work. and -

1 Corinthians 7:17 “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

with Great joy, understanding that God has given us good works to do prepared beforehand by Himself, for our benefit.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

We cannot lose our Salvation, this is the Good News of the Gospel.

Matthew 10:32 “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,”

Luke 12:41–46 “Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.”

1 Corinthians 15:1–2 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”

Colossians 1:22–23 “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

Hebrews 3:6 “but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

Hebrews 3:14 “For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

Revelation 2:10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Revelation 2:25–26 “Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,”

Revelation 3:1–5 ““And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

I have responded to a number of the passages you have provided, and am happy to continue to do so, but I think what we must consider at this point is this

If there are passages that seem to allow us to interpret them according to either view, but both views contradict eachother, can they both be true?

From the view that if we have truly been saved, that we cannot lose our salvation, I am yet to dee a passage that can’t comfortably be interpreted from this position