Irrisitable Grace and Perserverence of the Saints

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Grace and peace to you who were dead in your sins,

For God has made you alive with Christ and forgiven all your sins.

Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are now upright in heart!

(from Col. 2:13–14; Ps. 32:11)

Introduction

Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism Perseverance of the Saints

The great Scottish preacher Ebenezer Erskine (1680–1754) once visited a woman on her deathbed and lovingly tested her readiness for heaven. When she assured him that she was ready to depart to be with Christ because she was in that hand from which no one could pluck her, Erskine asked, “But are you not afraid that you will slip through His fingers in the end?”

“That is impossible because of what you have always told us,” she said.

“And what is that?” he asked.

“That we are united to Him, and so we are part of His body. I cannot slip through His fingers because I am one of His fingers. Besides, Christ has paid too high of a price for my redemption to leave me in Satan’s hand. If I were to be lost, He would lose more than I; I would lose my salvation, but He would lose His glory, because one of His sheep would be lost.”

To finish our study on the doctrines of Grace we are going to look at how God maintains the salvation of believers. I have seen men and women who think that they have to work and work to maintain their salvation. It burns them out

The Roman church has your entirety of justification, the way you get to heaven based on you keeping the sacraments. They hold that by doing the faith actions that God gives justifying grace to the person who receives them. In a real sense you could do all the motions and not ever have to be invested in the body of Christ, you could live a vile life, but if you obey the church, pay for indulgences in your life you will be able to get into heaven.

You are saved to God works, by the Good works of Jesus, not by the merits of your actions or the faithfulness of your church, your parents, and so on.

HAve you ever wondered why Romans keep Jesus on the cross? because through the mass they need to keep him crucified to keep cleansing from sin. Our Crosses are empty because we believe the words of Jesus, when he says it is finished.

He has secured your salvation from that awful moment on the Cross.

Jesus will keep you saved till the very end.

Text

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

What the Second London Says about Security, Perseverance of the Saints

Confessing the Faith: The 1689 Baptist Confession for the 21st Century XII. Adoption

12:1 God has granted that all those who are justified would receive the grace of adoption, in and for the sake of His only Son Jesus Christ.1 By this they are counted among the children of God and enjoy the freedom and privileges of that relationship.2 They inherit His name,3 receive the spirit of adoption,4 have access to the throne of grace with boldness, and are enabled to cry “Abba, Father!”5 They are given compassion,6 protected,7 provided for8 and chastened by Him as a father.9 Yet they are never cast off10 but are sealed for the day of redemption11 and inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.12

Application note:

You are now upon faith a member of the family of God.

Point 1

Foundations of Grace (1400 BC–AD 100) (1. Known Forever)

1. Known Forever. The psalmist emphatically states that God has a relationship with all believers that will endure forever, long after the wicked have begun to endure the judgment:

The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

—Psalm 1:6

When the psalmist declares that the righteous are known by the Lord, he does not merely mean that God cognitively knows about the righteous. The word knows conveys the idea that God is personally, lovingly involved with the righteous and will be throughout eternity. Thus, the psalmist is making reference to their intimate relationship with Him and to their acceptable standing in the day of judgment.

VanGemeren writes, “The intimate acquaintance with God as an expression of his love and care is expressed by the verb ‘know’ ”, which is “also used for the intimate relationship of husband and wife (Gen. 4:1).” This represents “the love of God for His children,” and His “ ‘knowledge’ is a deep commitment to, love for, and care of His own (cf. Rom. 8:29–39).”26 That is to say, God’s loving commitment to the righteous will never end. While the wicked will perish one day, God knows the righteous in a saving relationship that will last forever.

Application:

If you feel invisible, if you have been looked over, passed over, picked last, rejected. You are known by your God. So many people base their value on the view points of others, but not on being now by your father.

For the parents and grandparents, for the men, Know your family. Master that relationship. Men as the leader of your homes you must know them as your heavenly father knows you, put your self second, being a man required sacrifice of self for others.

Ladies, don’t desire to be known by anyone other then your heavenly father and your family. The desire for approval from others is a trap, seek only those things and don’t be conquered by the world.

2. Blessed Forever. God will shower His blessings upon His redeemed people forever. His abundant goodness to them in this life will lead to greater blessings in His presence throughout all the ages to come:

For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

—Psalm 16:10–11

David believed that after he died, he would be raised to appear in and enjoy the presence of God throughout all the ages to come. Boice explains, “David was writing of his own hope, expecting that God would not abandon him to the grave and would preserve him.… How did David get to this point? There is only one answer. It was by the logic of faith. He reasoned that if God had blessed him and kept him in this life, then God, who does not change, would undoubtedly keep him and bless him in the life to come.”27 The truth is, the greatest inheritance the saints will enjoy in eternity future will be their never-ending personal relationship with God.

Application:

You will be with your God in heaven forever, forever blessed

Revelation 21:3 ESV

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

When you see what david said and look what John had said, this will be us all forever. Not nly will our faith become sight but it will be forever. The next verse in rev, is the wiping away of every tear. No corruption.

The blessing for today, he will make his path for you known, yes your life has a point! You will experience full joy now and then, in the son and in the God gifts he has secured for you.

3. Preserved Forever. The righteous are kept forever secure by God, both in this life and throughout all eternity. Not one of God’s saints will ever perish:

The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.… For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

—Psalm 37:23–28

In this wisdom psalm, David explains that the Lord guards the righteous. Though the saints may fall into sin, they will never fall from grace. Instead, they will be upheld by God and made to stand forever.

VanGemeren comments, “The Lord establishes the godly, even in times of adversity. He may ‘stumble’, either by sinning or by being jealous of the wicked or by the traps laid by the wicked, but he will not fall.… The ground for all the blessings is the love of God. He loves ‘the just’ and therefore will never forsake ‘his faithful ones.’ … Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:38–39).”28 God permanently holds the saints in His hand, and will never allow them to slip through His sovereign grip. He will preserve them forever.

Application:

Even when you sin, you will be preserved. You shall not be cast out. David knew this first hand. His sin with Bathsehba and the death of that baby in Samuel shows that he knew what it was to stumble.

If you have sinned, repent quickly, obey quickly! You shall be restored. You can never sin your way out of heaven, that is no licences to sin, but nothing you do will remove you.

4. Saved Forever. No evil performed by Satan or sinful deed executed by man can separate a believer from the grace of God. He will keep all His saints, both now and forever:

The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

—Psalm 121:7–8

The psalmist here teaches about the invincible protection from evil that God provides His saints. Nothing can subvert or sever their relationship with Him. God will protect them “from this time forth and forevermore”—in other words, for time and eternity. Laying hold of this truth, Calvin writes, “It is enough for me to embrace that sense which is indisputably certain and solid, That God will be the continual guide of His people, so that stretching out His hand to them He will conduct them according to their hearts’ desire from the beginning even to the end.”29 There is permanence to the relationship all the saints enjoy with God.

Application:

their is real spiritual evil, but you willl not be overcome

5. Abiding Forever. The righteous who trust in the Lord will abide with Him both in this life and through eternity. All the saints are immovable in their personal trust in Him. They cannot be moved away from Him:

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore.

—Psalm 125:1–2

True believers, the psalmist writes, are like the immovable mountains that surround Jerusalem, and especially like Mount Zion, upon which the holy city rests. They can never be shaken or moved away from the Lord because He “surrounds” them, preserving and upholding them. Concerning this eternal relationship, Spurgeon remarks, “This steadfastness will endure ‘forever’, and we may be assured therefore that no believer shall perish either in life or in death, in time or in eternity. We trust in an eternal God, and our safety shall be eternal.”30 The saints will never be moved away from the Lord, even in the day of judgment.

Application:

6. Forgiven Forever. The divine forgiveness bestowed upon the saints is a full pardon that will endure forever. God will never rescind His removal of their sins:

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

—Psalm 103:8–12

According to the infallible pen of David, the righteous anger of God toward the sins of His people does not endure. He never deals with His children according to their iniquities. Rather, the Lord permanently removes their sins from them. Regarding this longstanding forgiveness, Spurgeon writes, “The saints live by His saving mercy, are preserved by His upholding mercy, are cheered by His consoling mercy, and will enter heaven through His infinite and everlasting mercy.… If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it must be entirely gone. If this be the distance of its removal, there is no shade of fear of its ever being brought back again.”31 God’s pardon is truly everlasting.

Application:

7. Loved Forever. Those who reverently fear God experience His unconditional lovingkindness, which lasts forever. God’s steadfast love for them will endure always:

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.

—Psalm 103:17

The unconditional love of the Lord for His own began in eternity past when He first set His heart upon them. Once received within time, it continues throughout all eternity. Of this everlasting love, Matthew Henry notes, “God’s mercy is better than life, for it will out-live it. To their souls, which are immortal; to them the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting; from everlasting in the councils of it to everlasting in the consequences of it, in their election before the world was and their glorification when this world shall be no more; for they are predestinated to the inheritance.”32 To be sure, this steadfast love of God toward believers will endure through all the ages to come (Ps. 118:4).

Application:

The God you trust can secure your children.

8. Righteous Forever. The saints who fear the Lord with reverential awe always pursue and practice righteousness. Their righteousness endures forever:

Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!… He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.

—Psalm 112:1, 9

The psalmist here teaches that the righteous never will fall away from their pursuit of righteousness, their ongoing practice of personal holiness. This righteousness endures forever, as does God’s own righteousness (Ps. 111:3). Because God is righteous forever, so is the righteous practice of His people. Once they have been forensically declared the righteous of God by faith, they begin a lifelong pursuit of practical righteousness that will endure forevermore. Concerning this progressive pursuit of personal holiness, Barnes writes, “His acts of charity are constant. His piety is not fitful, spasmodic, uncertain; it is steady principle; it is firm and solid; it may always be relied on.”33

Application:

The Gospel

Deuteronomy 32:9 (ESV)

9 But the Lord’s portion is his people,

Morning and Evening Morning, November 15

They are not only his by choice, but by purchase. He has bought and paid for them to the utmost farthing, hence about his title there can be no dispute. Not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord’s portion has been fully redeemed. There is no mortgage on his estate; no suits can be raised by opposing claimants, the price was paid in open court, and the Church is the Lord’s freehold for ever. See the blood-mark upon all the chosen, invisible to human eye, but known to Christ, for “the Lord knoweth them that are his”; he forgetteth none of those whom he has redeemed from among men; he counts the sheep for whom he laid down his life, and remembers well the Church for which he gave himself.

Benediction

Say: As we close our service of worship dear brother and sister please stand for our benediction and receive by faith this blessing from God

Psalm 144:15 ESV

15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall! Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!