Perseverance in Christ

Shoreline Church 10-01-11 Pastor Tom Schreiner
Tags:
Luke 22:35-38

A lecture discussing the difficult statements in the New Testament...

Session One
From Louisville KY - born in Salem OR
What do we say to New Christians
What about people who made a profession of faith but didn't live in light of that, they fall away
Paul Sends Barnabas - People get saved, they are encouraged to remain faithful to Jesus, to perservere
Acts 13 - new converts are urged to continue in the grace of God, to persevere
Acts 14 - Four cities are revisited, Apostles encouraged the new converts to continue in the way of faith
1Thess3 - Warns no Chrstians that it will be hard and they will need to fight through thos times - Tim was checking to see if they were really Christians by they perseverance
Persevere until the end
What do we say to Current Christians
Stand firm in the grace of God - 1 Peter
Jude - Keep yourselves in the Love of God
Heb12, 2Cor6 - Don't recieve the grace of God in vain
Phil 2 - Hord fast to the word of life
Warning Passages (Arminian, Test of Genuiness, Free Grace, and Means Views)
Armin - True believes who reject truth and go to Hell
FreeGrace  - Warnings are not about salvation only about the Bemis Seat Judgments for rewards in Heaven, danger is in telling someone going to Hell that they are going to Heaven
Tests of Genuiness - They are written to people who are around christians but are not yet saved, so if they fall away that person never way saved
Means by which God keeps his kids - They save us assurance in our salvation, Tom Schreiner's position
Warning Passages - DANGER - Threats from God
Matt10 - Rejected before men will be denied before the Father - Going to hell
Matt10 - The one who endures to the end will be saved (implication the one who doesn't will got to Hell)
John 15 - Vine Parable, not abiding in Jesus will wither and be cast into the fire - Going to Hell
Gal5 - Jesus plus anything (circumsicion here) ruins everything - Going to Hell, Paul explaied his theology and then tell them to not add circumsicion to jesus, No benefit for salvation to a man who wants to live under the whole OT Law - Go be perfect, because your don't have Jesus' grace
+Justification by the works of the law causes separation from grace - Going to hell
Rom11 - Gentiles told fear God because even the Jews are cut off, Continue in Jesus' kindness or you will be cut off - Going to Hell
1Cor6 - Unbelievers sought to resolve controversies in the church
+The wrongdoers - will not inherit the Kingdom of God - Going to Hell
+Sexual sin, theivesm swindlers, etc all are going to hell
+After conversion, we do not give ourselves to that anymore, but we still sin
Rom8 - Life in the flesh leads to spiritual death -
Gal5 - Works of the flesh (list) Warn you that those who do such things do not see Jesus' smiling - Going to Hel
1Cor6 - Corruption (sow to the flesh) or eternal life (sow to the spirit)
2 John - Those who don't confess Jesus are the anti-Christ - watch yourselves that you will not lose the reward, those who abide in the teaching of Christ doesn't have God - Going to Hell
Rev8 - Those of conquer they you eat of eternal life's fruit from the tree, recieving the mark of the enemy
Rev2 - The conquerer will not suffer the lake of fire, 2nd death - Going to hell if you don't
Hebrews Warning Passages - written to Christians who could lose their salvation, a long sermon will one point (don't fall away); structure is theology then exotation (warning) then repeat
Her2 - Christians all must pay close attention to avoid drifting away from Jesus, How shall we escape from something
Her3-4 - Take care brother (christians) lest their be in any of an evil heart, unbelieveing, exort one another all the time so that you will not be hardened against Jesus; let us all fear so we are compelled to strive to attain the eternal rest
+Fear can be a great thing to compell us to action
Heb10 - if we sin deliberately (apostasy), there is no forgiveness of sins; fear of judgement in fire but the worst punishment for those  who trample Jesus under their feet, consider the blood of Jesus to be are common and worthless as menstrual blood - Going to hell
Heb12 - See that you don't refuse Jesus, he will consume you - Going to hell
Heb6 - those who are Christians who have experienced salvation, who turn away are trying to crucifying Jesus again - Going to Hell
+Taste - same word as used for jesus who tasted Death
Bottom Line
IF YOU DENY JESUS HE WILL DENY YOU AND YOU GO TO HELL
+don't run into traffic

The Warning passages about Hell are written to us Christians


Perseverance is not perfection
Thesis: Christians are not perfect, here are 5 points
Jesus taught us to pray for forgiveness - Lord's Prayer, pray regularly because we sin everyday

We will be perfect on the day of resurrection
Phil3 - Paul says I'm not perfect yet because I have not yet been raised
Rom8 - We are falling apart physically because of sin's work - we are profoundly infected by sin in subtle ways that is down to our core

Exortations in the Epistles show that we are not perfect yet
1Pet2 - we still have desires to sin
Gal5 - we need  exotations and encouragement to resist sin and evil desires

Even the Best Christians can do Better
James2 - we all stumble in many ways, even men like James
1Thess 4 - you love people really well, but you could really do better
2pet3 - Grow in the grace and knowleddge of Jesus

Perfection will be ours n the Last day
Eph5 - the Church willbe presented in perfection in the last day
Col1 - You wil be presented as blameless
1John3 - we will see him as perfect on the last day face to face

Biograpical Examples
1 - Zach and Lizzy, Jesus' relatives who are godly folks who love God who struggles with sin
+Evidence is the messenger,
2 - Peter sins even after he is converted and aven after Jesus restores him


Questions and Answers
Aren't we Elected to be Saved - so can we really drive off the cliff into the grand canyon?
+No true Christian can be lost but the warning passages are not
Roman Caltholics teach that works lead to salvation is this right?
+No, our perseverance is an evidence of our salvation, but not the basis of our salvation