Is There an Expiration Date on Eternal Life?
(Doctrinal Sermon on Perseverance of the Saints)
March 2, 2014 Chester’s FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
Introduction:
A Christians have two experiences that lie ahead for them.
1 The first is physical death/the end of this earthly road; the second is the life hereafter (Eternity beyond this life & world.)
a We know we’ll survive death and be blessed throughout eternity.
b We know that it is the grace of God that enables us stay true to the Lord as we endure trials/temptations until we die.
c His grace keeps us faithful to Him until the end of life.
2 Will a Christian who has genuinely been reborn, made new, justified, adopted by God as sons/daughters, joint heirs with Jesus always be a Christian? Can you stop being ‘saved?’ Being a Christian?
a It’s one of the most important questions we can ask from the standpoint of practical Christian living.
aa If there is no guarantee that your salvation is permanent, believers can endure a great deal of anxiety/insecurity that will detract them from the major tasks of the Christian life.
bb In other words, it’s hard to share the Good News of Eternal Life in Jesus if you’re not confident in your own eternal life.
b On the other hand, if our salvation is absolutely secure (irregardless of what we do, how we behave) we run the risk, if we’re not careful, of libertinism.
aa I’m saved so I now I can live life running wide-open, unrestrained, immoral life and it doesn’t matter. I’m saved!
bb We call that “cheap grace.”
c Understanding what Scripture teaches about the security of believer is worth the time & effort necessary.
B
A
1 Sometime in the late fall of 1969 in Patoka, Illinois an unmarried woman and a married man shared a bed together and conceived a child out of wedlock; and in August on 1970 the product of that illicit affair was born in Centralia & today the product of that affair stands before you in this pulpit.
a That story may not be similar to yours, but we are conceived in similar manner.
aa A man & a woman/seed fertilized an egg and you are undeniable proof that fertilization occurred.
bb They both had a part in you being here today.
b Everyone who has ever been born was born in similar fashion.
2 Our story of salvation (rebirth) plays out in a similar fashion—anyone who has ever been saved got saved the same way.
a Ephesians 1:3-4 (NASB) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
aa God the Father (before He hung the first star in the sky) chose you to be born again.
bb You being chosen/elected/predestined/saved was not based on anything you did because you weren’t even on the scene when the Father chose you!
cc He chose you and me based on nothing more than His grace & love (Rom. 11.33-36) —I don’t understand it, can’t explain it but I can rejoice in it!
Romans 11:33-36 (NASB) 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
dd The Father’s love is not the only factor in our being saved.
b 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 (NASB) 13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
aa The Father who chose you before the foundation of the world but the Holy Spirit convicts sinners (like us) of our sin and brings them to place their faith in Jesus Christ.
bb It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to convict of us our sin & convinces us to place our faith in Jesus to save us from our sins.
c Hebrews 2:10-11 (NASB) 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
aa God is a holy God who cannot look upon sin, requires a price to be paid & a sacrifice made when the Law is violated.
bb His holiness & hatred towards sin MUST be satisfied.
cc Man will explain, excuse sin away . . . God doesn’t.
dd Because God is a loving God, He provided the very payment of the penalty that His Law demands.
d IL. A Trooper giving you a ticket then paying your fine for you; A judge sentencing you to death then taking your place at the execution.
aa Because only God can satisfy the demands of God, only the Messiah (who is one of the persons of the Trinity) could provide the sacrifice.
bb God allowed the second person in the God-head, The Messiah, to die so we could come back home.
B The Father chose us, the Spirit convicts us, and the blood of the Son covers us.
1 It takes all three members of the Trinity doing their own distinctive parts for any of us to have a true experience of salvation—to be born again.
a As far as the Father is concerned I was saved when He chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world.
aa As far as the Son is concerned, I was saved when he died for me on the cross.
bb But as far as the Holy Spirit is concerned, I was saved on one hot August night in 1978 when I heard the Gospel and received Christ.
b It was then that it all came together, but it took all three persons of the Godhead to bring me (and you) to salvation.
2 1 Peter 1:2-5 (NASB) 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
A The words used to describe our salvation are vivid & powerful (1 Peter 1.4) “ . . . imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away.”
1 Imperishable means that nothing can ruin it; undefiled means it cannot be stained or cheapened in anyway.
a will not fade away means that you can’t wear it out and it never gets old because it’s eternal. (No matter what influences are brought to bear upon it, your salvation has a permanent quality about it; it endures!)
b reserved in heaven for you
aa (IL.) Have you ever made reservation only to arrive to find your reservation had been cancelled or confused?
bb This will not happen to us when we arrive in heaven, for our future home & inheritance are guaranteed & reserved.
cc Our reservation is not kept (KJV)/protected (NASB) by our power (v.5) but by the power of God.
c “kept or protected” is a military term meaning “to guard or shielded” by God Himself.
aa Heaven’s network has never been hacked.
bb He is guarding your salvation and He will never “cancel” what has been “reserved” for you!
2 It is the persistence & power of God’s love for us that guards our eternal salvation.
a Rom. 8.38-39 (NASB) 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
aa This text clearly points to the reality of God’s continued work in our lives after our initial conversion.
bb Jesus doesn’t give us eternal life only to abandon us to our human efforts–what work that began in Him will be continued until it’s completed.
cc Philippians 1:6 (NASB) 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
b Jesus Himself encourages us
John 10.27-30 (NASB) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 "I and the Father are one.
aa John uses a double negative in the text which is a very empathic way of saying that something will not happen in the future; “They shall not, repeat, they shall not ever perish in the slightest.”
bb All things considered, this passage is as definite a rejection of the idea that a true believer can fall away as could have been given.
cc Physical life may be destroyed, but those who belong to the flock of the true Shepherd can never lose real life, for it is the Shepherd who keeps it secured.
dd Paul and I are confident when we say,
2 Tim. 1.12 (NASB) “. . I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
3 Salvation is not simply a decision of our of choose to accept/receive God’s grace, it’s also God’s decision to choose to accept/receive a truly repentant sinner.
a He never turns away one who seeks Him.
Matthew 7:8 (NASB) 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
b Once you ask, seek, knock . . . you’re received, found, welcome home . . . but you’re not finished.
aa If you said “the prayer” but have failed to live “the life” after “the prayer”, perhaps all you’ve done is made a decision with you’re head & not your heart.
bb The EVIDENCE of your salvation is not that you said a prayer, walked an aisle, filled out a card.
c Matthew 7:16-20 (NASB) 16 "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.
aa If you are genuinely saved you’ll act, live, love, give, worship like the One who genuinely saved you.
bb Saving grace doesn’t just save you from hell . . . it also transforms you for here. (Regeneration)
cc Your salvation doesn’t mean you can live anyway you choose . . . it means you live like one who has been chosen for the rest of your life . . .
Matthew 24:13 (NASB) 13 "But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
4 Bible Proof: Peter & Judas (Both sinned against God)
a Peter came back to Jesus; Judas never was “with” Jesus.
aa John 6:68-70 (NASB) 68 Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." 70 Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil?"
bb Judas hang out with Him, was called a “disciple”, had a leadership position in the group . . . however, Judas was never a true believer. (V.70)
b Not everyone who appears to be a believer are truly that.
aa Many people who appear to have “fallen away” were never saved in the first place.
bb Saved people don’t drift away, fall away for very long.
5 Genuine faith doesn’t see how much sin you can get away with . . . it sees how much sin it can stay away from.
a James 2:14 (NASB) 14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
b You don’t work for your salvation but if you’re saved it will manifest in works.
6 It’s impossible for a truly repentant sinner saved by grace to NOT feel convicted when they do sin.
1 John 1:5-2:2 (NASB) 5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
a A lost person doesn’t feel bad/conviction about sin until the Holy Spirit begins to convict them about sin.
b When a saved person sins, the same Holy Spirit who convicted you to come to Christ, turn from your sinful ways comes again to call you back to Jesus.
aa “Preacher, it’s different when a saved person sins it’s different than when a lost person sins.” You’re right. It’s worse!
bb If you are saved, you have no reason to fear losing your salvation. . . you have no reason to be anxious about your salvation . . . but the Holy Spirit will keep you on your toes concerning your conforming to the likeness of Christ.
Conclusion:
A If you are Born Again, the practical implication of this message (which has been a doctrinal message on perseverance) is that believers can rest assured that their salvation is permanent; nothing can separate us from the love of God.
1 There doesn’t need to be anxiety that something/someone will keep you from getting what Christ has promised you.
a On the other hand, just because we understand this doctrine of perseverance, it doesn’t allow room for indolence or laxity.
aa “Now that I’m a Christian, I can live as I please.”
bb In my opinion, if that’s your view of salvation you’ve probably never really been converted (saved.)
b Genuine faith means you show fruit of the Spirit, evidence in your life that the Holy Spirit is at work in your life.
aa Wherever the Spirit works there will always be conviction for more, not less, commitment to Christ.
bb That’s how you know your commitment to Christ is genuine; you want to be more like your Savior.
2 By definition, eternal life can’t be anything but everlasting.
a God has given us eternal life in His Son, the apostle John tells us:
1 John 5:13 (NASB) 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
b How could we have this assurance if it were possible to lose salvation?
c That we can have such assurance/confidence can only mean that our salvation must be eternally secure.
B IL
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