SIX THINGS A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE
2 JOHN 8
In this passage, he is talking to Christians admonishing them to be careful about their labors that they lose not there rewards. But in the end have a full reward.
Your works are important, not in salvation, but in your reward. You are not saved by works. You are saved by grace through faith in Jesus plus nothing. You are not kept by works but you work because you are saved.
If you have genuine salvation in the Lord, you are safe, you are headed to Heaven. Now there might be some rough roads along the way along with some smooth roads, but you will have a safe landing in Heaven with Jesus.
Several years ago, I preached a revival in Wyoming. I had to fly to Salt Lake , Utah, then travel by car to get to there. When I checked my baggage in Birmingham, Alabama, it was stamped Salt Lake, Utah. When I went to the baggage check out in Salt Lake, I found my baggage. It had received some rough treatment, it took some bumps but it had arrived to where it had been stamped. (It is the same with Christians)
I read in the past a story about Jack Hyles making a film about soul-winning. He got Christians actors out of his Church. In one part of the film, a soul-winner go to a lost man’s door and asks him if he is saved. He was suppose to say no, but he said yes. They cut the scene and asked him why did he say yes when he was supposed to say no. He replied. I not about to get unsaved for nobody or anything. (He was saying he was secure)
While a Christian is safe in Salvation, there are some things they can lose.
I-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR ASSURANCE OF SALVATION: I JOHN 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Notice I said assurance of salvation, not salvation.
One well know preacher says that probably 50% of the Christians when asked if they were saved would answer “I Hope So”.
Let me ask you a question, are you married, you wouldn’t say I hope so ( by the way, some might say I hope not.) But you would say, yes, I am married. How do you know? Because I confessed my love to her at the altar in marriage, I got a marriage license to prove it.
It is the same reason I know I am saved. I confessed Jesus as my Saviour and I have the license to prove it. John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Why is it that some Christians doubt? Because you can’t fool around with sin, the flesh and the world. You can’t leave your Bible on the self and let sin creep into your life.
When you allow unconfused sin to stay in your life, it will break your fellowship with God and in some cases cause you to doubt your salvation.
When you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon you can hardly believe the view in front of you: a vast chasm one mile down, from four to eighteen miles across, and more than 200 miles long! People at the bottom look like ants. Sin produces a chasm between God and man that is deeper and winder than the Grand
The secret to assurance of your salvation is to stay close to Jesus and trust His Word.
S. D. Gordon tells of a spring storm that broke a large limb on his cherry tree. Although it hung by a very slender strand, to his surprise the blossoms came anyway. Later some fruit began to grow as it did on the other branches. He noticed, however, that only those in full contact with the tree bore "much fruit," while the partially severed branch produced only a scanty supply. As believers, we must be careful about our spiritual connections, making sure we are fully abiding in Christ. The fruit we bear, whether much or little, tells the story.
II-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR TESTIMONY OF INFLUENCE: HEBREWS 11:5B
By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
Enoch had a a powerful testimony about his walk with the Lord. A Godly testimony will influence others around about you.
Dr. James McCullen tells the following story about his mother. One day my mother talked with a neighbor as they stood at the fence. This lady shared how their church never emphasized salvation and that the pastor had indicated he did not believe certain parts of the Bible. My mom shared her testimony and gave a word of praise for our pastor and church. Our neighbor then attended our church. Salvation came to that home. The husband later became a deacon and the oldest son a minister of the gospel. In fact, Will Pollard is now the Editor of the Ohio Baptist Paper for the State Baptist convention of Ohio.
But the said fact is that we can lose our good testimony for the Lord.
Robert Robinson had been saved out of a tempestuous life of sin through George Whitefield’s ministry in England. Shortly after that, at the age of twenty-three, Robinson wrote the hymn "Come, Thou Fount." Sadly, Robinson wandered far and, like the Prodigal Son, journeyed into the distant country of carnality. Until one day he was traveling by stagecoach and sitting beside a young woman engrossed in her book. She ran across a verse she thought was beautiful and asked him what he thought of it. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love." Bursting into tears, Robinson said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then." -- Kenneth W. Osbeck
Jerome Engel, the SBC preacher, was strolling along the seawall at a church convention in Charleston, SC, one day. He spied a fisherman fishing, and set down to watch him. Presently the man made a catch and pulled in a repulsive looking fish; it looked like a cross between a toad and a bullhead. Not knowing about fishing, Engel asked the man, "What kind of fish is that?" "They call that a Baptist fish, suh." the man replied. "A Baptist fish?" questioned the preacher. "Yes, suh," replied the fisherman, throwing his catch back, "They call them that because they spoils so quick after you take ’em out of the water."
The story of a skilled woodworker who had made a beautiful gun stock. A traveler came into the store and requested to buy it. The man said it’s not for sale. The city slicker persisted to make offers to purchase it. The man over and over again said it’s not for sale. The traveler then took out a huge wad of bills and said, "I want that stock and everything has it’s price; now, how much?" The skilled craftsman said, "Sir, I made this for my grandson and he’s coming to visit me tomorrow. No amount of your money can buy it. As I said it’s not for sale." Finally getting the message, the man said, "You know it must be nice to have something that’s not for sale. Everybody ought to have something that’s not for sale."
It should be same with our testimony for the Lord, NOT FOR SALE
III-A CHRISTIAN CAN THEIR JOY: PSALMS 51:12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
R.L. Stevenson nearing life’s end said, "To miss the joy is to miss everything."
Today, there is a premium placed upon joy. People everywhere want it. But it seems many miss it. The good news from God is that we can have joy. BUT SOME GET SAVED AND GET JOY IN JESUS, BUT LOSE IT.
Evangelist Billy Sunday was right when he said, "if you have no joy in your religion... you have a leak in your Christianity somewhere."
The Bible says, "serve the Lord with gladness."
Nehemiah said, "the joy of the Lord is your strength."
We sing, "Joy to the World, the Lord has come" and yet the world sees very little joy coming from the lives of those who sing it most.
Why? Many are like David, they have let sin steal their joy in the Lord.
Sin and disobedience had run its course in David’s life through his sin with Bathsheba, who was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Sin hinders. One loses his joy when there is unconfessed sin, because it grieves the Holy Ghost, who produces joy in the heart of every believer.
Sin handicaps. It so cripples one’s life that he or she cannot think right, walk right, or feel right.
He does not ask God to return his salvation, for he never lost it, but rather his request is for joy. The Christian who has lost his joy is a pitiful sight
In a Catholic church a sign was hanging over a shrine which said, "This Shrine is out of order. Do not worship here." That is a parable of what sin does to the Christian. It makes us out of order spiritually. (Pulpit Helps, Sept. 98)...
But thank God David was restored the fellowship he once had with him.
Reuel Howe illustrates redemptive love in the story of a mother and her eight-year-old daughter. The girl did something which caused her to feel alienated from her mother. Although her mother tried her best to help, the daughter finally ran out of the room in anger and went upstairs. Seeing her mother’s new dress laid out for a party that evening, she found scissors and vented her hostility by ruining her mother’s new dress, seeking to injure her mother. Later the mother came upstairs, saw the dress, threw herself on the bed, and wept. Soon the small daughter came into the room and whispered, "Mother." But there was no reply. "Mother, Mother." she repeated. Still no reply. "Mother, Mother, please," she continued. Finally the mother responded, "Please what?" "Please take me back, please take me back," pleaded the girl. The Love of Christ takes us back, often after one has intentionally done Him wrong.
IV-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR REWARD: I COR. 3:13-15
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14: If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15: If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Some Christians are going to be in for a rude awakening. In this life they have sit around and done nothing for the Lord and yet think they are going to receive a big reward. Many could have prayed, but they didn’t. They could have witnessed, but they didn’t. They could have attended Church more faithful, but they didn’t. They could have given to the Lord’s work, but they didn’t.
I remember shortly after my wife and I was married, we awake one night to fire down the street from our house. As I arrived at the house, it was almost burned up. They lost everything in the house, nothing was saved. The only thing that was saved was their very lives. (In the same way, some Christians will suffer loss)
But remember, even a cup of cold water given in his name will be rewarded.
Dr. W. A. Criswell tells of a man by the name of Tony, who came to his study each Sunday, helped him off with his coat, and hung it up on the rack. Then when the time came for Dr. Criswell to go to the pulpit, this man would go before him and hold the door open. This was all that he could do, but he did it as unto the Lord.
Some of the members of Dr. Criswell’s church told Tony that he was bothering the pastor. Tony came to Dr. Criswell to see if that was true. Dr. Criswell gently said to him, "No, sir, you don’t bother me at all. I appreciate what you are doing for me."
When the church built a new activities building, the pastor’s study was across the street. On the first Sunday in the new building Tony asked Dr. Criswell if he might walk across the street before him and hold the door open for him. Dr. Criswell told him that would be great. Tony went ahead and proudly held the door open as his pastor entered the church auditorium.
A few days later Tony dropped dead. Dr. Criswell said that maybe it was just wild fancy, but he believed that when he got to heaven, Tony would be there to open the door for him. He couldn’t do much, but he did what he could, and he did it to the glory of God.
V-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR HEALTH: I COR. 11:30-32
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31: For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32: But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Paul says many are "weak" among you. The word speaks of a condition one is left after a long illness. The word "sickly" speaks of those without good health.
I remember visiting the hospital with a pastor to see one of his members. I asked what was wrong with her and he said, "Oh, she is just getting her tithe taken out."
Paul told the Corinthian believers that many had suffered physically for taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way. He even said, "many sleep" because of their behavior. We get our word "cemetery" from this word. He was saying that many had died prematurely because of how they had treated the Lord’s Supper.
Let me as a Christian, you will sin. You shouldn’t , the Lord doesn’t want you to but mark it down , you will. (I John 1:10)
A man told me once that he had made a few mistakes but he hadn’t really sinned. I told him he need to read I John 5:17 which says, All unrighteousness is sin.
It disturbing to hear Christians who are living in sin to go around and brag about it. They might be a Christian but they are not pleasing the Lord. And if they don’t judge it, don’t confess it, the Lord will judge them. As one preacher said, the Lord will take them to the woodshed.
The key is to take a spiritual bath everyday, don’t alibi about the sin in your life, just repent of it.
VI-A CHRISTIAN CAN LOSE THEIR ZEAL FOR SERVICE: Romans 12:11
Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
We are to be on fire for the Lord and His work. We are to show forth and give evidence that we love the Lord Jesus Christ.
But too many Christians are like Demas, they have lost their zeal and quit serving the Lord.
Take, for example, an American woman whose dream of riding a train through the English countryside came true. After boarding the train she kept fretting about the windows and the temperature, complaining about her seat assignment, rearranging her luggage, and so on. To her shock, she suddenly reached her journey’s end. With deep regret she said to the person meeting her, "If I’d known I was going to arrive so soon, I wouldn’t have wasted my time fretting so much."
Instead of fretting and losing our zeal for service, help us to feed on God’s Word and apply it to our self. Stay focused on eternal values.
Jesus said, why call me Lord, Lord and do not the things I say?
CONCLUSION:
I read about a man who was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Base during WW II. He got sick and was dying. A man on base had witnessed to him about Jesus before and had left his a tract to read. He hadn’t read it, but as he thought about eternity, be began to read it. As he read it, the Holy Spirit convicted him of need to trust Jesus and be saved. He then asked for those in attendance to go and find the man who gave him the tract and see if he would come to him. The man did and he came into his room, he asked what wrong? Are you in pain? Are you fearing dying? The man replied, no I am not in pain, and I don’t fear dying. I got saved, I alright now. I spend 34 years with the wrong crowd. In these last few hours, I want to spend it with the right crowd.
The Key to not losing any of these things I mentioned is to spend you life with the right person, Jesus, and with the right crowd, the saved crowd.
If you have lost your assurance, your influence, your joy, you reward, your health, or your zeal for service, come today and get right with the Lord.
