FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD, OUR ULTIMATE STATUS

“This is My commandments, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.  You are My friends, if you do what I command you.  No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.  This I command you, that you love one another.” (John 15: 12-17, NASB)

Though we are fallen creatures, though sin has made our life on earth full of hardship and sadness, there are still some experiences which give us a measure of joy and excitement.  One such experience is   friendship.  We derive great joy and excitement being in the company of our friends.  In Proverbs 17:17 it is written: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”  Proverbs 18: 26 declares: “A man of many friends comes to ruin.  But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Indeed friendship is about intimacy between intelligent beings divinely designed and equipped for relationship.  There is friendship between man and man.  There is also friendship between man and God, the subject of this article.  We will, by the help of the Eternal Spirit, show, with scriptural support, that in our relationship with God in Christ Jesus over time following our conversion, we could be brought to a point in our spiritual journey where God in Christ regards us as His friends and makes us conscious of the fact.  Actually, that, by divine design, is our final and highest position in Christ, our highest spiritual standing and attainment in Christ, while we live on earth.

Our text (John 15: 12-17) forms part of the Upper Room discourse the Lord Christ gave to His original disciples.  The discourse spans Chapters 13 through 17.  The subject of Chapter 15 from where our text comes is the spiritual union of the Lord Christ with those who genuinely believe in Him, and the moral, functional, and social consequences of that union.

On the basis of the spiritual union of believers with Him, our Lord commands the disciples in verse 12 to love one another, deriving inspiration and motivation from His example: “Just as I have loved you,” referring to His sacrificial love for them.  In verse 13 our Lord shows the proof or evidence of His love for His disciples.  In verse 14, He affirms the disciples as His friends, provided they keep His command, which is that they love one another. 

To be noted is the fact that by calling His disciples, “My friends,” the Lord Jesus was promoting and ushering them into a new and ultimate level in their relationship with Him.  In this article we are going to explore the implications of friendship with God in Christ.

Historical Survey of Christ’s Relationship with His disciples

There is a significant phrase in Verse 15: “No longer do I call you slaves. . .”  This phrase implies duration of some length in Christ’s relationship with His disciples.  It requires that we do a historical survey of that relationship.  Verse 16 gives us a clue.  There the Master says: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.”  Here is the revelation: When the Lord chose His disciples, He ushered them into the first phase of their relationship with Him, which is discipleship.  When He appointed them “that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain,” He ushered them into the second phase of their relationship with Him, which is ‘servantship.’  Now He was taking them to the third and ultimate phase, which is friendship (verse 15).  I should point out that two levels or phases of relationship were effected when the Master called His disciples initially: sonship and discipleship.

Here then is the result of our survey: The disciples went through four levels or phases of relationship with the Lord Christ.  The first was sonship in which they were made partakers of the divine nature as a result of their faith in Jesus as the Messiah.  The second was discipleship which involved their learning from Christ, their being students of Christ.  The third was ‘servantship’ which involved their serving and working for Christ.  The fourth and final phase was friendship in which they became very intimate with, and received perfect knowledge from, Christ; they were initiated into the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven  -  “. . . but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” (Verse 15, italics mine).

Why were the Disciples promoted to Friendship?

Friends share personal secrets with each other.  Friends open their hearts to each other.  Friends confide in each other.  Friends counsel each other.  Friends are there for each other when one goes through a crisis of life (Proverbs 27:6-10).  Jesus promoted the disciples because they were consistent in their commitment and followership toward Him; because there is nothing He received from the Father that He did not share with them.  Their obedience to their Master was absolute, so that He had no modicum of doubt concerning their devotion to Him.

The Defining Characteristics of the friends of God

There are persons in the Bible who were friends of God.  God regarded and designated them as His friends either explicitly or implicitly.  Among them were Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24; Hebrews 11:5), Abraham (2^nd Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23), Job (Job 29: 4), Moses (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 12:6-8), Elijah (1^st Kings 17:1; 18:15), Daniel (Daniel 9:23; 10:11, 19), and King David (Acts 13:32).  None of these men was born a friend of God.  Before they assumed the status of God’s friends, they had surrendered their lives to the leadership and guidance of God, walked consistently with Him in course of which they passed through  many  experiences which The Almighty used to edify and refine their them.  God gave them the grace and opportunities to prove themselves absolutely loyal and dependable servants of God before declaring them His friends.   A close study of the lives of these men reveal the defining characteristics of the friends of God: (1) Intimacy with God (Exodus 33:11; Job 29:4-5.  (2) Devotion to God coupled with  resolve to keep His commandments or to live by His word (Genesis 18:19; Hebrews 11:5).  (3) God’s love for them seems to be special (Daniel 9:23; 10:11).  (4) They clearly possess a very high level of spiritual knowledge and understanding (Genesis 18:17-21).  (5)  They resemble God in character and in luminous or glorious appearance (Exodus 34:29-35; cf. 2^nd Corinthians 3:7).

How to become God’s Friend in Christ

From our historical survey of the disciples relationship with the Lord Christ and  exemplification of the friends of God in the Bible, it is clear that becoming a friend of God is not something that happens in a twinkling of an eye.  It is fundamentally a matter of choice and something we have to pursue earnestly (Hebrews 12:14).  Clearly speaking, becoming a friend of God is a function of  growth toward spiritual maturity.  It is about being passionate to become Godlike or Christlike (in character).    A sadness of Heaven is to acknowledge that so many  followers of the Lord Christ on earth at the present time are satisfied with being  sons and daughters of God only; are contented with being born again and sure of heaven only.   They do not understand that there are many phases or levels in their relationship with God in Christ.  They do not know that life in Christ is a journey with God into God.  Growing into friendship with God in Christ is God’s longing for us His children and servants

In verse 14 of our text, Jesus says: “You are My friends, if you do what I command you.”  Doing what the Lord Christ commands is the way into friendship with God.  Fundamentally, His command is that we be governed and driven by love.  Here then are the things we should do to become God’s friends:

1.       We should love God for God’s sake (John 14: 15, 21; Psalm 37:4; Matthew 22: 36-38)

2.       We should love our fellowmen for God’s sake and for God’s pleasure (John 15: 12, 17; 13:34; Matthew 22: 39-40)

3.       We should love, delight in, and obey God’s word habitually (Psalm 1:2; 119: 14, 16, 131; Deuteronomy 6: 6-9)

4.       We should love and commit ourselves God’s work, serving Him diligently both in and outside the local assembly (Deuteronomy 10:12)

5.       We should love and practice constant communion with and contemplation of God in prayer (Luke 18:1; Romans 12:12).

The universal perception of life as a journey is more applicable and pertinent to our life in Christ.  The spiritual life is a journey with God into God; a journey with God into the fullness of God.  The Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers that they be led by the Spirit into that fullness (Ephesians 3:14-19).  It is the will and pleasure of our Heavenly Father that we grow into His fullness, that we mature in our walk with Him till we assume the status of His friends in the here and now.  Therefore, let us not be content with sonship/daughterhood.  Let us resolve to expand and extend our relationship with God in Christ.  Let us move from sonship through ‘servantship’ to friendship.  Let us make friendship with God in Christ our must-attain spiritual goal.

If you are not yet in Christ, the LORD God is inviting you to get connected to Jesus Christ now and commence your journey into friendship with Him.  I welcome you to walk the ancient paths where you will find rest for your soul.        

THE LORD’S SCRIBE

LOOKING FOR THE BLESSED HOPE

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that HE MIGHT REDEEM us FROM EVERY LAWLESS DEED and PURIFY FOR HIMSELF A PEOPLE FOR HIS OWN POSSESSION, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2: 11-14, NASB)

Introduction

The Holy Scripture declares that until we, non-Jews, accepted Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord, we were without hope in this world (Ephesians 2:2).  Hope is a very significant and helpful quality of the mind.  A life without hope is an aimless life.  A life without hope beyond this world is a miserable life, a fear-laden and spiritually insecure existence.  No wonder the Scottish theologian and philosopher, Thomas Chalmers, said: “the grand essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.”¹  Hope is something we cannot do without if we desire purposeful and meaningful living on the earth.

What really is hope?  What is the Blessed Hope?  From where does the Blessed Hope originate and what does it contain? What do we need to sustain this hope in our minds?  What about its influence?  Most importantly, how can one who is bereft of this hope acquire it?  These are questions we will deal with in this article.

What is hope?

The Word Book Dictionary defines hope as “a feeling that what one desires will happen.  The thing hoped for.  A cause of hope; a person or thing that gives hope to another or that others hope in.  Thus to hope for something is to wish and expect it, to desire a thing passionately and look forward to realizing it.  Generally speaking, this is hope.   However, in the sense of the Bible, hope is the translation of the Greek word eipis which means “favourable and confident expectation.  It has to do with the unseen and the future.  In the New Testament eipis is frequently used to signify: (a) The happy anticipation of good (Titus 1:2; 1^st Peter 1:2); (b) the ground upon which hope is based (Acts 16:19; Colossians 1:27); (c) the object upon which the hope is fixed (1^st Timothy 1:1).²

What is the Blessed Hope?

The Blessed Hope or our Blessed Hope is what all true believers joyfully hope for, joyfully look forward to.  It is called Blessed Hope because when realized we shall be completely and eternally happy.  We shall be completely and eternally satisfied.  Hope in this context means the very thing hoped for, i.e. the glorious appearance of our Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the Blessed Hope is the second coming of Christ our King.

At this point it is important to explain the use of the conjunctive preposition and (Greek kai) in Titus 2:13.  Some preachers and teachers have been led by this preposition to separate and differentiate the Blessed Hope from the glorious appearing of our Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  They say the Blessed Hope refers to the Rapture of believers before the Great Tribulation, while the glorious appearing of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ refers to the second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation.  Thereby they represent the Rapture of the saints to heaven as an event completely separate from and unconnected with the second coming.  But that is never the teaching of Holy Scripture.  In Matthew 24:30-31, 39-41; 1^st Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 2^nd Thessalonians 2:1, it is clearly shown that the Rapture takes place at the Second Coming.  Rapture is the first event associated with the Second Coming.  The Lord must descend before the saints are gathered to Him.  The Lord must be in the air before the saints, resurrected and living, join Him there.  To separate the Rapture from the Second Coming is unwarranted by Scripture.

Now, unlike the use of and in English as a conjunctive, it is used not only as a conjunctive in Greek, but equally and validly as an epexegetic, that is,  to define what precedes it in a sentence in the same way i.e. or a long dash --- is used in English.  Thus and in Titus 2:13 is used not conjunctively to make the Blessed Hope different from the glorious appearing of Christ.  It is used definitively to define and signify the Blessed Hope as the Glorious Appearing of our Great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Acts 23:6 provides another example of the use of and epexegetically so that the resurrection of the dead defines the preceding hope.  The Amplified Bible translation of Titus 2:13 confirms our point: “Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

 The glorious appearing of our Lord means His return will be laden with blazing brightness, with awesome splendor.  God’s glory is the manifestation of God’s presence represented by a glow of flaming fire (Exodus 16:10; 19:14-19; 24:15-17; 40:34-35; Isaiah 4:5; Matthew 17:1-3).  Thus the glorious appearing speaks of the majestic splendor, intimidating and overwhelming light and brightness, flaming and shining train of angels riding on shining white horses, holding their glittering swords, and awesome trumpet blasts which Holy Scripture clearly shows, will characterize the Second Coming of our Lord and King (see Revelation 19:11-16).

Our Blessed Hope – the Second Coming of our Lord  -  is a single event which will unfold in three stages:  (1) The Parousia Stage – His presence on the earth plane.  (2) The Apokalupsis Stage – His self-revelation from previous hiddenness.  (3) The Epiphaneia Stage – His splendid appearance, visible manifestation or glorious exposure.  Matthew 24:29-31 captures these three stages of the Lord’s coming.  I will elaborate more on this in a book on the Second Coming that I am working on currently.

The Source and Content of this Hope

As indicated in verse 11, the source of this Hope is the grace of God, God’s favour and kindness to us humans that we do not deserve nor merit, made manifest through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ and His gospel.  The Hope is contained in the salvation brought by the grace of God.  Every truly saved person possesses this Hope.  Indeed  it can be said that it is a basic component of the experience of salvation in Christ.

Things needed to sustain this Hope

What should we be doing while looking for the Blessed Hope?  How should we live as we wait for the Second Coming of our Lord?  There are certain things God requires us to do in order to sustain our hope in the Blessed Hope.  They are indicated in verse 12: (1) Negatively, we are to deny ungodliness.  This means we are not to associate with those who have no time for God and His way of life, nor behave like them.  Among them are the atheists and agnostics.  It also means we are to actively refute their atheistic ideologies.  Next we are to deny worldly lusts.  This means we are to have nothing to do with the lusts of the flesh (sensualism), the lusts of the eyes (materialism), and the pride of life (egotism) (see 1^st John 2:15-16).  We are to cultivate the habit of the blessed man “who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers” (Psalm 1:1, NASB). (2) Positively we are to live soberly, i. e. live constantly with the consciousness of our heavenly citizenship, noting that we are sojourners on earth.  It also means we are to live thoughtfully, prayerfully and be  spiritually alert always.  Next we are to live righteously, committing ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and blamelessness, always remembering that our Lord is coming back for a church that is morally pure and spotless.  Then we are to live godly in the present age.  The meaning is that we have to ensure that our thoughts and actions are love-driven.  We should passionately desire and pursue Christlikeness in character, thought, word and deed as we wait for the Lord’s return.  Finally, we are to commit ourselves to good works, meeting the needs of the needy and poor among us and proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom.  While we look for our Blessed Hope we can become the five foolish virgins if we fail to live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age, and engage in good works.  The hope for the Blessed Hope is sustained in our hearts when we do these things.

Influence of this Hope on life

A passionate expectation of the Second Coming of our Lord is highly beneficial for our spiritual development and stability.  Its impact on our life in Christ is edifying and sanctifying (see 1^st Thessalonians 1:3; Hebrews 6:18-19; 1^st John 3:1-3.  Our souls get purified and we become keenly watchful against the entrance of sin into our daily life.

What does the LORD GOD require of us?

Our Blessed Hope is the Second Coming of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.  By the Spirit, the Apostle Paul says we should be looking for. That is, we should be constantly expecting the return of our King; we should be expectant daily regarding the Second Coming.  The original word translated looking for means to look favourably, to joyfully expect the return of the Lord Jesus.  It seems to me, as I watch the behavior of contemporary believers, that many are not looking for what we hope for.  Many of us are so busy enthusiastically pursuing earthly things to the extent that we have forgotten the irrefutable fact that we are sojourners on earth, that we are never going to be here for long, that many end-time Bible prophecies are being fulfilled in our time, indicating that the return of our King is around the corner, because of which we should be looking for our Blessed Hope.  Let the truth be told: the desire for and experience of abundant prosperity is being used by the enemy of our souls to divert our inner focus on the Blessed Hope.  We ought to be like the Thessalonian believers who passionately looked for our Blessed Hope such that when false teachers propagated the false news that the Day of the Lord had come, they became very much upset (2^nd Thessalonians 2:1-3.

Looking for the Blessed Hope demands that we discern the signs of the end, become end-time prophecies-conscious, avoid sinning, and keep ourselves pure.  Let it be said again: The Lord Christ is coming back to earth for a Church that is pure, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27).

Conclusion

Sometimes I have wondered how human life on earth would have been if God did not provide a reasonable object of hope for us.  Without doubt life would have been utterly hopeless and meaningless.  We have to thank God our Heavenly Father for the hope He has given us in Christ.  Nothing in the world gives life meaning and purpose like this hope.  It is indeed “the anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19). I plead with the reader to take some moments and meditate on these questions: Do I have hope beyond the grave? Do I have hope beyond this world? Do I have the hope of heaven? Do I have hope of resurrection?  Am I hoping for the Rapture of the saints?  Do I have the hope of the glorious appearing of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ?  Do I have the hope of eternal life with God in Heaven and in the coming New Earth?  Scripture shows that in spite of the suffering for righteousness that we face in this world, we rejoice in hope (Romans 5:2-5; Psalm 16:9; Hebrews 3:8).  According to Colossians 1:27 the presence of Christ within a person produces this hope in him.  Therefore I invite you to surrender your heart to Jesus and receive this hope.  Then as you begin to walk the ancient paths, the old paths, you will find rest unto your soul and the assurance and hope of everlasting life.

THE LORD’S SCRIBE

NOTES

¹Ben Patterson, The Grand Essentials (Camel, New York: Guideposts, 1987), p. 13

²Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of old and new testament words, 1996 ed., p. 311

UNDERSTANDING THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

                             SCRIPTURE READING: ROMANS 8:28-39; JOHN 10:27-30; HEBREWS 3:7-4:11

Introduction

The Eternal Security of the genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is an aspect of the doctrine of salvation.  It emphasizes the everlasting security of a believer’s salvation state,  the point that once he has been truly saved, he will ever remain saved, he will never lose his salvation.  The way this doctrine has been presented has made it highly controversial among Christians since the Reformation Period.  Currently, there is no indication that the controversy will end anytime soon.  Perhaps it will not end until the Lord Jesus returns to Earth.  In this study I shall point out what I believe to be responsible for this living controversy.  The following issues will occupy our attention:

1.       Definition of the Doctrine

2.       Some scriptural basis/references for the Doctrine and what they imply

3.       The Covenantal Foundation of our Salvation in Christ

4.       The believer’s responsibility to remain in the salvation state

5.       Scripture passages which suggest the possibility (not the necessity/inevitability) of a believer’s falling away (APOSTASY)

6.       The coming end-time trial of the faith of the saints and the need to cultivate the faith and steadfastness of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.

The study concludes with a solemn plea and encouragement to all true believers in Christ to take their spiritual life, their relationship with God in Christ, very  seriously.

The Doctrine Defined

In an address by Dr. H.A. Ironside, delivered in D.L. Moody Memorial Church, Chicago, on April 24,1934 on the subject of “The Eternal Security of the Believer,” he made these  remarks in an attempt to define the subject of his address: “When we speak of the eternal security of the believer, what do we mean?  We mean that once a poor sinner has been regenerated by the Word and the Spirit of God, once he has received a new life and a new nature, has been made partaker of the divine nature, once he has been justified from every charge before the throne of God, it is absolutely impossible that that man should ever again be a lost soul.  Having said that, let me say what we do not mean when we speak of the eternal security of the believer.  We do not mean that it necessarily follows that if one professes to be saved, if he comes out to the front in a meeting, shakes the preacher’s hand, and says he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, that that person is eternally safe.  It does not mean that if one joins a church or makes a profession of faith, is baptized, becomes a communicant, takes an interest in Christian work, that that person is forever secure.  It does not mean that because one manifests certain gifts and exercises these gifts in Christian testimony, that that person is eternally secure (see Mt. 7:21-23).” [“The Eternal Security of the Believer,” www.WholesomeWords.org, accessed on February 8, 2014] Here is another definition by one Pastor Arthur L Watkins: “Eternal security simply means ‘once saved always saved.’  It means that each and every person who truly believes the Gospel of Grace has a guarantee that they will spend eternity in the Kingdom of God.  In this present age, there is no chance a believer can lose his salvation for any reason.  Because of sin and apostasy a believer can lose many things today, but not his salvation.  The same God who saves sinners, secures their salvation after he saves them.” [“Eternal Security of the Believer,” www.codenbiblechurch.com, accessed on February 8, 2014]  Because of the deficiency that I discern in these two definitions, I should attempt a definition which eliminates the deficiency and does justice to the factor of the believer’s responsibility to personally, deliberately and consciously avail himself of the grace-supplied spiritual resources to stay connected to Christ.  Accordingly, Eternal Security of the Believer means “the impossibility of a genuinely  redeemed, saved, regenerated  believer in Christ ever losing his salvation status if, by God’s grace, he remains  loyal to Christ and lives uprightly to the end.”  The implication of this definition is that Eternal Security of the Believer is never unconditional but conditional.  The Bible in no place teaches unconditional security of the believer.  The idea of “once saved always saved regardless of apostasy, regardless of sin” lacks scriptural support, as I shall prove in course of this study.

Some Scriptural References for the Doctrine and What They Imply

There are very many Scripture passages which form the biblical foundation for this doctrine.  I will cite some of them and explain their significance.

1.       The believer will not come into condemnation (John 5:24; Romans 8:1, 32-36)

2.       The believer shall never be cast out (John 6:37-40)

3.       The believer shall never perish (John 10:27-29)

4.       God has promised never to leave us (Hebrews 13:5)

5.       God, Who began a work, will complete it (Philippians 1:6)

6.       The Saviour prayed for our preservation (John 17:9-17)

7.       Christ is able to save to the ultimate (Hebrews 7:25)

8.       There is no separation from God for the believer (Romans 8:32-39)

9.       The believer is sealed by the Holy Spirit (2^nd Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30)

10.   Believers are kept by the power of God and will be presented perfect (1^st Peter 1:4-5; Jude 24)

11.   One may be without rewards, yet be saved (1^st Corinthians 3:11-15)

12.   A believer can be judged by God for His sin after salvation, yet be saved (1^st Corinthians 11:23-32)

These scriptures have one fundamental significance or implication.  They reveal God’s part, God’s role, God’s responsibility, in maintaining and sustaining the redeemed human soul in the salvation state.  They express God’s faithfulness and infinite commitment to uphold and support the redeemed in the salvation state.  They impress on us (the redeemed) the infinite ability and potency of our Heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to get us rooted and firmly established in Christ (Ephesians 3:14-19; Colossians 2:1-7; John 10:27-28; Romans 8:32-39).  To build the doctrine of Eternal Security of the believer on these scriptures exclusively, to the total disregard of scriptures which spell out man’s intelligent responsibility in the salvation-relationship under grace, betrays poor understanding of our salvation in God’s Messiah.  Let it be said

 loud and clear that the salvation which God has given us in His Son Jesus Christ is not an imposition, but an offer of a love relationship based on Covenant System.  In every kind of relationship, whether between man and man or between God and man, parties involved have responsibilities or duties each of them must diligently perform to prevent  collapse of the relationship.

The Covenantal Foundation of our Salvation in Christ

What is a Covenant as regards God’s relationship with man?  A Covenant, in the sense of the Bible, is “an agreement between two partners regulating their relationship to each other” (Arthur B. Crabtree, The Restored Relationship. Los Angeles: The Judson Press, 1965, p. 22).  This applies to Covenant between equals such as the one between Abraham and Abimelech (Genesis 21:22-34).  But the Covenant between God and man is not agreement, but a solemn promise on the part of God to do man good on the condition of man’s absolute  obedience and loyalty to God in life and service.  One thing common to both types of Covenant is that it regulates relationship.  That is the essential thing about Covenants – they regulate relationship.  Accordingly, God spells out His duties as well as man’s duties in the sense of what He requires of man in the Covenantal relationship.

Every covenant has a structure which involves (1) Promise, (2) Condition, and (3) Sign.  For example, in God’s Covenant with Abraham the Promise was that God would make Abraham father of multitudes (Genesis 15:1-5).  The Condition Abraham was expected to meet (which he actually met) was Faith, i.e., to believe and hope in God on a steady basis (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:13-22, emph. Vss. 17-20).  The Sign was Circumcision (Genesis 17:10-13).  The same pattern is seen in the Mosaic/Sinatic Covenant: Therein the Promise was to resettle the Israelites in a great land (Exodus 2:24-25).  The Condition they were expected by God to meet was wholehearted obedience (Exodus 19:7-8).  Though the Sign of the Abrahamic Covenant, Circumcision, was binding on, and to be adhered to by, the Israelites since they were descendants of Abraham, the Sabbath Observance was particularly the Sign of the Covenant with God at Sinai (Exodus 31:12-18; 20:8-11).  This Covenantal structure continues to be seen in the Messianic (New) Covenant.  Therein God’s Promise is Eternal Life to all who believe (John 3:16).  The Condition is Abrahamic Faith (Romans 3:21-28).  The Sign is Baptism (Colossians 2:11-12) and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1^st Corinthians 11:25).

Now, believers in Christ, all the redeemed in Christ, all the saints of God in Christ, all who have sincerely repented of their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord, and have been born again as a result, should understand that their salvation is based on the New Covenant mediated by the Lord Jesus Christ.  As a matter of fact, the New Covenant has been defined as “the new relationship between God and man bequeathed to men through the testament (i.e., the death) of Christ as a sacrifice for sin” (Crabtree, p. 35); see Mark 14:24; Galatians 3:15-18; Hebrews 9:15-22.  Thus, our salvation is a covenantal relationship with God Almighty in Christ Jesus.  Common to all relationships, whether covenantal as in our case, or marital, friendship, business partnership, industrial, etc., is clearly spelt out responsibilities of the parties involved.  In the New Covenant, the legal basis of our salvation in Christ, the responsibilities of the redeemed, i.e., the true believer in Christ, flows out of the Condition aspect of the Covenant structure, i.e., Abrahamic Faith (Romans 4:17-20).  For the sustenance of salvation our faith and trust in Christ must be consistent.

The Believer’s Responsibility to Remain in the Salvation State

For purpose of emphasis, let me restate that our salvation in Christ is never a divine imposition, but the result of our willful acceptance, under grace, of God’s gracious invitation (of us) into an everlasting love relationship with Himself in the sphere of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  While we were in our sinful condition we realized, through the preached word of God, the fact of our alienation from God; we realized the eternal consequences of that alienation – habitation of everlasting burnings.  We realized God’s concern and love to redeem and liberate us from our helpless spiritual and moral condition by the gift of His Son as sacrifice for our sins.   Then we were made to understand that accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord, will heal our alienation from God and bestow on us the assurance of everlasting life in union with God in the bliss of heaven.  Therefore, we surrendered our lives to Christ, and we were saved.  In going through the processes of repentance from sin and acceptance of Christ and being saved/regenerated/born again as a result, we can testify that we were not forced in any way.  We went through the whole process thoughtfully, intelligently and willingly.  At the very moment of our salvation, the very moment that our lives were changed for the better and we became aware and convinced that our sins have been forgiven by the Father, that we have now become accepted and adopted by God as His beloved children (Romans 8:14-16), and we received the inward witness that we have eternal life, we were excited, our hearts were filled with joy indescribable – the joy of salvation.  Why were we so joyful as a result of our salvation?  We were joyful because (1) we were fully conscious of our deliberate/willful  involvement in the entire process that culminated in our new birth or salvation experience, and knew that our sins had been forgiven; (2) we were given the abiding hope of heaven (Colossians 1:27).

Our new birth or salvation experience marked the beginning of an abiding love relationship with God our Maker and Heavenly Father in Christ.  Each of us that is truly saved would recall that he was told the things  he must do to maintain his relationship with God.  We were told to observe Quiet Time which entails two important spiritual exercises: (1) Daily Bible Reading, (2) Constant Prayer.  Other things we were told to do include regular fellowship with the people of God who are our true brothers and sisters (Hebrews 10:25); telling others about Christ (John 4:28-30); affirming and claiming the promises of God that we find in the Bible (2^nd Corinthians 1:18-20).  These five things make up the believer’s primary responsibilities to ensure that he remains in the salvation state.  If a believer fails to do these five things habitually, he is bound to grow weak in faith and, possibly, fall away or backslide.  Such possibility by no means nullify the truth that from God’s perspective his salvation is eternally secure.  He could bounce back in faith through repentance (1^st John 1:7-9).  But if he becomes silly and stupid and continues in his backslidden state till death meets him, he will, by divine justice, definitely lose his salvation.

Grace is abundantly and constantly supplied to the believer to carry out the five stated responsibilities.  I should point out that the grace given to us is not to make our active involvement in living the Christ-life redundant.  Rather, it is divine spiritual empowering of our souls, our inward man, to carry out the spiritual exercises and services required to keep us going in the salvation state.  In other words, God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell the saved person is in order that he may be preserved in the salvation state, to assure him of the eternal security of his salvation on  condition that he cooperates with the Holy Spirit by constant and consistent decision and commitment to follow Christ, to belong to Christ, to stand up and be counted on the side of righteousness.

These scriptures reveal other responsibilities of the believer in his covenant relationship with God in Christ.

1.       Matthew 10:22 – Endurance of trial and tribulation to the end

2.       Matthew 7:21-23 – Doing the will of God our Heavenly Father

3.       Matthew 24:12-13 – Enduring to the end

4.       John 10:27 – Hearing Jesus’ voice and following Him consistently

5.       Colossians 1: 21-23 – Continuing in the faith

6.       1^st Corinthians 15:2 – Holding fast the preached word

7.       Romans 2:7 – Perseverance in doing good

8.       2^nd Timothy 1:12 – Constancy of trust

9.       2^nd Timothy 4:7 – Keeping the faith

10.   John 8:31 – Continuity in living by Christ’s word (teachings)

11.   Hebrews 3:12-14 – Carefulness, encouraging one another, holding fast to the end

12.   Acts 11:23; 14:22 – Continuity in the faith, cleaving to the Lord.

Under the Old Covenant, the believer’s (an Israelite’s) duty was to obey, to trust, to love God with the whole of one’s being.  Unfaithfulness (backsliding) occurred when the Israelites failed to carry out their duties as spelt out in the Law of Moses.  When they turned from worshipping YAHWEH and worshipped Baal, they provoked the wrathful jealousy of YAHWEH.  Many were destroyed, though God never failed to leave a remnant because of Abraham His friend (Isaiah 1:9; 10:20; 37:31-32).  Almost all the mature men that left Egypt never made it to the Promised Land because they were not consistent in their faith (Hebrew 3:15-19).  Under the New Covenant there is no change in the duties of the believer.  If he will make it to the Promised Land of Heaven, he has to be consistent in his faith, trust, dependence and leaning of his entire life on Jesus Christ.  If at any time a believer fails in his covenantal duties of holding fast in faith, enduring the trials of faith to the end, resisting the wicked one by using the grace of God, he loses the eternal security of his salvation status (Hebrews 10:38-39; 2^nd Chronicles 15:1-2).  As Martin Emmrich comments on Hebrews 6:4-6, “Redemption in Hebrews is presented as a to-be-maintained dialogue, and there is no such thing here as eternal security apart from the believer’s cooperation in cultivating the divine means of grace (cf. 10:36, 39)” (Quoted by Shandon L. Guthrie, “They Shall Never Perish,” www.sguthrie.org., accessed on February 18, 2014).

Scripture Passages Which Suggest the Possibility (Not the Necessity or Inevitability) of a Believer’s Apostasy

World renowned Calvinistic theologian, Louis Berkov, remarks that “there are warnings against apostasy which would seem to be quite uncalled for, if the believer could not fall away. . . But these warnings regard the whole matter from the side of man and are seriously meant.  They prompt self-examination and are instrumental in keeping believers in the way of perseverance.  They do not prove that any of the addressed will apostatize, but simply that the use of means is necessary to prevent them from committing this sin” (Louis Berkov, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Banner of Truth Trust, 1969, p.548).  These are the scriptures: Romans 11:17-24; 1^st Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 5:4; Colossians 1:23; 1^st Thessalonians 3:5; 1^st Timothy 1:19-20; 2^nd Timothy 2:17-18; James 5:19-20; Hebrews 6:1-8; 10:26-31; 2^nd Peter 2:20-27; 1^st John 5:16.

The Coming End-Time Trial of the Faith of the Saints and the Need to Cultivate the Steadfastness of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego

In his book, Systematic Study of Bible Doctrine, Thomas Simmons writes this on the subject of Perseverance and Preservation of the saved/redeemed: “The perseverance and preservation of the saved are twin Bible Doctrines.  God has joined them inseparably in His infallible Word.  Let no man put them asunder.  Some have erred in presenting the preservation (safety, security) of the saved as if it were independent of perseverance.  Such a presentation tends toward antinomianism (disregard for the laws of God as a life philosophy).  It also tends to represent salvation as physical or mechanical, rather than moral and spiritual accomplishment.  It teaches only a half truth . . . Inspired writers avoided this extreme and its dire results by combining both the human and divine phases of salvation.  They taught that salvation is of the Lord from beginning to the end.  But they also taught that God saves men, not by mechanical law, nor irrespective of their response to Him, but in full harmony with their nature as voluntary creatures, by requiring them to obey His Will and working in them in such a way as to move their will and elicit their cooperation with Him as He fits them for His presence (Philippians 2:12-16)” (Thomas Paul Simmons, “A Systematic Study of Bible Doctrine,” www.homestead.com, accessed on February 19, 2014).

Bro Simmons goes on to cite the New Hampshire Declaration of Faith statement on this subject to buttress his explanation of the Perseverance and Preservation of the saved.  The NHDF states: “We believe that such only are real believers as endure to the end; that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark that distinguishes them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over their welfare; and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (Ibid).

What to deduce from Bro. Simmons’ teaching is that two spiritual truths are involved in the salvation doctrine of eternal security of the believer.  There is the truth of Divine Preservation of the believer, supported by the scripture passages cited when we discussed God’s responsibility.  Then there is the truth of the Believer’s Perseverance in faith, supported by the scriptures cited when we discussed the believer’s responsibility.  “Perseverance” means, “determined continuation with something: steady and continued action or belief, usually over a long period and especially despite difficulties or setbacks” (Encarta Dictionaries).  “Perseverance” connotes encounter of experiences, crises, which seek to drag or divert one from his set course, but being resolved to press on till one’s goal is achieved, till one’s destination is reached.  Relating this to our faith-walk, i.e., our relation/living contact with Jesus Christ our Lord, it means that the life in Christ is not crisis-free.  We have temptations, trials, tribulations, persecutions, to contend with, to face (John 16:33; Romans 8:35; 2^nd Thess. 1:4-6; Daniel 7:21-25; Revelation 13:1-10).  Our Heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ take this reality of the life in Christ so seriously that He gives us warnings and counsel to help our perseverance, our steadfastness (Matthew 24:9-13; 13: 18-21; John 15:6; Revelation 2:7, 9-11, 17, 25-26; 3:5, 11-12, 21)  After reading and meditating on these scriptures, no believer in his right mind would doubt that he has great and solemn responsibility to ensure the eternal security of his salvation status.  The whole truth on this issue is that no temptation or tribulation shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8: 35) if we hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering (Hebrews 10:23, 38-39) and endure to the end (Matthew 10:22; 24:13; Mark 17:13).  Eternal Security of the believer is conditional upon the believer’s consistent obedience to God’s moral and spiritual principles and endurance of the crises of faith, without  compromising,  to the end, utilizing the rich grace of God.

What is it that we need to have to be able to endure to the end and overcome?  We need to make progress in our spiritual life to operate on a higher plane characterized by  lively Love, Faith, and Hope (1^st Corinthians 13:3-8, 13; Hebrews 6: 11-15; 11: 8-16, 32-34).  To ensure the eternal security of our salvation, to ensure that we persevere to the end, we need to cultivate the same Love, Faith, and Hope that Abraham, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego had and demonstrated.  Let it suffice to say that eternal security of the believer is a divine promise, realizable by the believer only at the end of his sojourn on Earth.  It is both objective and subjective truth.  The objective side is now, the subjective is future, at the appearance of the Lord Christ.

Conclusion

We have noted the meaning of the doctrine of Eternal Security of the Believer to be a genuinely biblical teaching.  We have shown that the scriptures on which most Christian teachers who teach Unconditional Eternal Security base their teaching, declare God’s infinite strength and faithfulness in preserving us in our salvation state till the end.  We have emphasized that a true and balanced biblical presentation of this doctrine takes into account scriptures which indicate the believer’s responsibility in remaining in the salvation state to the end, i.e., PERSEVERANCE.  We have also pointed out what we must have and do in order to stand strong to the end.  Now, I want to  conclude by strongly pleading and encouraging every genuine believer in Christ, including my humble self: let us  take our relationship with God in Christ very  seriously.  Let us develop real intimacy with God our Heavenly Father through constant  prayer, regular worship (private and congregational), daily reading and meditation on the Word (Psalm 1: 1-3), diligent engagement in the service of God, and daily affirmations of God’s promises over the situations and circumstances of our lives.  May the Spirit of Christ our Lord help us to do these things passionately even as we, by His constant help, walk the ancient paths, in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ our Saviour.