Security to Live By - Part 2

SECURITY TO LIVE BY – PART 2
I Corinthians 3:10-15
December 13, 2020 (PM)

Review Thanksgiving weekend message on the Eternal Security

Summary –
• God promises eternal security.
• God’s promises are a covenant with us, written on our hearts and recorded in the Bible.
• God promises in John 10 that when we truly confess Him as Lord, He gives us eternal life and says we will “never perish”.
• To suggest otherwise would be to suggest that God lied to us and didn’t really mean “never.”
• We were reminded that God does not contradict Himself so in order to entertain losing your salvation once you honestly gave your life to Him, He would have to contradict Himself and go against His very word to us.

I. Jesus Is The Master Builder

v10-12 – all strong, permanent materials, designed for long-lasting lives; obedience, servanthood, devotion to God. Or you build with impermanent, temporary, weak; wood, hay or straw – earthly, disobedience, arrogant, selfish…

v13 – here you are facing almighty God and it appears to be fire hot – when the smoke clears you get rewarded for what’s left – is gold or hay in your barn – what’s in your life to measure?
v14 – what rewards? I haven’t been there yet – but I’ll tell you this, if God’s handing out rewards, we want those.

v15 – foundation of stones…building your lives on what ma-terial…there is an accounting of what we are doing…

A. Our foundation on the blood of Christ

How do we come to grips with the story of Robert Robinson in light of eternal security?

Two weeks ago I gave you biblical reference after biblical reference on this promise – you can listen and get the notes.

But what about the questions that linger and undermine this claim to eternal security…

1. What about a person who claims to be a follower but their earthly life isn’t what it ought to be?
2. So I can do whatever I want to do no matter the extreme?
3. What if I simply lose the feeling – I don’t feel like follow-ing Christ anymore – do I lose my eternal life and securi-ty?

B. Your foundations are tested by fire

This is a really important issue with God that we all under-stand and be certain that we not only have eternal life but that we can’t lose it. But you will be tested – choose wisely.

#1. What about a person who claims to be a follower but their earthly life isn’t what it ought to be?

• First – the question is based on a false understanding of eternal life and salvation.

Romans 3:20-21; Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (NIV)

• This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…

Ephesians 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

• Through faith – a gift of God – not human works.
• You and I didn’t get it from good performance so how can we lose it from bad performance – it’s not based on per-formance.

If you don’t know Jesus Christ?
• Many think they will get into heaven by their performance; religious, secular, whatever – bible is telling us you are going up a one-way street the wrong way – you will never get there.
• No one, not one, is going to brag their way into heaven.
He offers you one way to heaven and it’s not by performance. – it is by faith in Jesus and only by faith in Jesus.

Not a new idea – 1st century in Galatia – those Christians had the same problem – thought they could earn salvation…

Galatians 3:1; You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

Paul is reminding us that if God starts with accepting people on the basis of faith, God finishes by accepting people on the basis of faith – He does not change His game plan mid-stream!

• The same grace of God that gives us eternal life is the same grace of God that preserves our eternal life.
• Otherwise, not one of us would have held onto our eternal security 24 hours after accepting Christ – we all would have found a way to mess it up.

2 Timothy 2:13; If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

When we get to the gates of heaven and meet our holy God face to face you are not going to sing,
• “Amazing Human Performance…”
• You are going to sing what?; “Amazing Grace…”

#2. So I can do whatever I want to do to the extreme?
• Absolutely not – wrong, the Bible doesn’t say that.
• The bible says our human performance has nothing to do with getting into heaven.
• Everything to do with the reception you will get when you get there. Rewards or Fire…

II. Build Your Life With Precious Stones

• God never says how we live doesn’t matter – don’t be foolish and try to twist the scriptures to justify bad behav-ior and think you as Christians will get away with it.
• That’s not what I Corinthians is saying at all. Just how close to that fire do you want to get in your life?

Testimony

• If you know Jesus Christ you know eternal security doesn’t give you license to do anything you want – if any-thing – we become more concerned about the life we are living – the Holy Spirit is active in our life for those in Christ.

A. The Fruit confirms our salvation

#3 What about this person Robert Robinson – doing won-derful things for the name of Christ and then turns his back on the Gospel – do they have eternal security?
• Remember 2 Tim 2:13; even if we are faithless…
• Many years I’ve seen all kinds do this – those who become bitter and angry at God – but you know Jesus explains to us in the Bible the spiritual condition of people who do this…

Matthew 21, the story of the fig trees – lots of leaves – but no figs – Jesus curses it to teach his disciples – that leaves don’t matter but fruit does – produce fruit by being connected to the sap of the Spirit of God – if Jesus Christ is truly in your life then you will produce fruit –

• Transformed life produces fruit – inside & out
• Transformed worldview
• Transformed value system
• A reactivated conscience
• Fruit of the Spirit – Galatians chapter 5
• New creature in Jesus Christ – it’s going to happen when you are connected to Jesus

If you have leaves and no fruit, you are not connected to Je-sus Christ, you have no sap.

• Professing Christians all over the world who do all the right things, say all the right things, go to all the right things – but there’s no fruit – because there’s no real salva-tion – when they turn their back and walk away, do they lose their salvation – no, because they never had it!

Billy Graham Illustration –

Luke 13:27; And yet He will say, ‘I do not know where you are from; leave Me, all you evildoers.’

Matthew 7:21-23; “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out de-mons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

B. Our feelings have no impact on our security

#4. What if I simply lose the feeling – I don’t feel like follow-ing Christ anymore – do I lose my eternal life and security?

• 21st century America – everything based on feelings so this is a real problem for many.
• Madison Ave has brainwashed many – “it only matters how you feel.” Not what God says…the engine to pull us is supposed to be Word of God…no way you and I can run a life that is consistent with integrity if we’re letting our feelings pull this train.
• Some have stood in the midst of tragedy and if your re-sponse is about your feelings you won’t have anything to say or worse, particularly not nice things to say about God.

Jones Family Testimony

John 3:16; “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Romans 8:1; Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.

John 5:24; “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 10:28; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
Our eternal security cannot be based on how we feel! It must be based on unchanging, non-negotiable promises of almighty God – feelings do not change that you are still going to heaven if you are born again – it doesn’t matter how you feel.

Followers of Christ –

• Culture filled with feelings can’t pull this train.
• When God makes you a promise, He will not go back on it.
• And God has promised us when we trust Jesus Christ our eternal life is secure.

C. God, thank you for your covenant

Psalm 89:30-35; “If his sons abandon My Law
And do not walk in My judgments,
If they violate My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
Then I will punish their wrongdoing with the rod,
And their guilt with afflictions.
But I will not withhold My favor from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
I will not violate My covenant,
Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.
Once I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.

In Psalm 32, David makes it clear how the spirit presses into us…we’re not getting away with anything. The Holy Spirit activates our conscience – eternal security does not give us license to do as we please.

Psalm 32:1-6; How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord does not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to You, And I did not hide my guilt; I said, “I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; Certainly in a flood of great wa-ters, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You keep me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah