Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Can we exhaust His supply of grace and forgiveness by our sins?




Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost (completely, perfectly, finally, and for all time and eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.  Hebrews 7:25 Amplified

  We are in a series entitled "Loving it, Leaving it, losing it". We are studying our eternally secure relationship with God our Father. We have already proven with Scripture that our salvation is eternally secure. In the last few post, I revealed how we can't "leave" our salvation as many teach today. Now with this article and the next, I want to answer the objection that we can lose our salvation by our sinfulness. 

  Now let me begin with stating adamantly, I am talking about His grace. Not an excuse to enjoy and indulge in sin. If you truly know and understand grace you know sin is not part of our new identity in Him.
14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Romans 6:14
  Grace is the only way out of habitual sins and poor choices. The Law and moral codes and rules never produce the desired results of upright living. Only His grace does that. 


The Big Guy upstairs with the spiritual eraser

  Many times I have heard from religious traditional ruled believers that we can sin so much He will erase our names out of the Book of Life. To prove this, they site the book of Revelation.
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. Revelation 3:5
You see? It's right there. You can have your name removed for not overcoming. Is this really what this is teaching here? 
   Allow me to ask this. Who are the overcomers? Saved folk who just have it all together perfectly? Those who worked so hard they overcame the temptations and pitfalls of this life without sinning? Our perfection didn't save us. If we can take credit for any part of our salvation then we will have a place to boast. This cannot be the proper interpretation. Look at 1 John 5.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5
  Who are the overcomers? Those who have received Jesus in their hearts. Revelation 3 is not a warning but rather a promise of assurance. Religion with the judgment and quick to condemn view of God turned a wonderful promise into a terror-filled warning passage. 
   Yea but what about Revelation 22:19? This is referring to unsaved false teachers trying to subvert the Scriptures. You can read here for more. New Covenant believers in Christ aren't removing or changing Scripture. Rejoice He isn't erasing any believer out of the Lamb's Book of life. It doesn't matter how many sins you've committed since you became a believer in Christ. He will never erase your name. This is the good news. We are sealed unto the day of redemption, not until the day we sin too much.

Hogs and dogs returning to mud and vomit

One of the most go to verses to challenge our eternally secure salvation is 2 Peter 2:20. In fact, this is one of those verses in the past I would use to justify a belief in a conditional salvation. It sounds very scary and tends to promote the idea we can sin away God's grace.
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning.         2 Peter 2:20
 Doesn't this passage make it seem like if we get caught up in a sin from our past again and repeat it then we are lost and can never be saved again? The idea promoted by tradition is that some have a knowledge of God, and are overtaken by pollutions of the World system from their past. Because they can't overcome the sin and temptations they've returned to the former life and are now unsaved. 
  I've even heard it said to new converts, if you leave the church and start drinking or cursing then you like a pig have returned to mud, you have gone backward on God and you need to come and get saved again. Is this the right way to understand this passage? I believe the Word of God in context will provide the truth to understand this passage.
  First, context is key. In context 2 Peter chapter 2 is detailing the depraved deception of false teachers and false teaching. So if the context is false teachers, why then would Peter change suddenly and refer to believers sinning so much they lose their salvation? 
  Secondly, having a knowledge of God doesn't equate one having received salvation. Many religious organizations have a limited knowledge of God. Some are always knocking on doors on Saturday mornings passing out literature. 
  Thirdly, where in the Word of God are God's people ever referred to as dogs and hogs? Never, we are the sheep of His pasture. We are His sheep. His sheep hear His voice. So what does this imply? A pig in mud is in its natural state. It is also natural for a dog to return to its vomit. Peter is illustrating a false conversion. No nature change has occurred. 
  It is only natural that an unregenerate man would return back to what is "normal" to him. Hearing just a portion of the gospel and rejecting its complete work in your life and, not following through with a trusting heart of faith will produce a hardening of the heart. It makes a lost one pursue the sin nature even more. This is the picture Peter is painting. This is not teaching believers are overcome and lost because they are struggling with the same sin.

Forever forgiven

We must not forget this vital New Covenant truth. We are forever forgiven. We can never exhaust His grace and goodness. We can't sin away His love and forgiveness. 
  I used to struggle to believe that a certain sin that had me in bondage would one day exhaust His forgiveness. What a weight of burden to try and carry around. I thank God for a revelation of grace. I now know and rest in the truth that we can never out sin His love.
  When you realize how much we are forgiven and that we are a righteous new creation in Him we will overcome any sin or temptation.  Let these words of the Lord comfort you.
20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. Romans 5:20
  The more we miss it the more grace is given us to overcome that junk. His love never fails even when we fail or are unfaithful. 

  I trust this post has encouraged you and comforted you. Rest in His great love for you. I pray His love and mercy overtake you this week.

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