Assurance of Perseverance: United in Christ's Grace

Now we are at the moment looking at this great argument displayed the forest here by the Apostle it's a statement perhaps the greatest of all of them concerning the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, which means that those once are born again can never finally fall away from grace or out of that position of relationship to God as his dear children. [00:45:41]

I try to show again how every single term that the Apostle uses in this statement carries with it this necessary implication that this doctrine must be true otherwise somehow or another God has been mistaken he should never have pulled us if he knew that finally we were going to fall away and so on with all the other terms they involve a contradiction of the doctrine concerning God's omniscience and God's foreknowledge. [00:16:06]

We are told that we are saved in the life of Christ that we are dead to sin that we are dead to the law the new birth in the same way puts it positively and still more the grave doctrine of our union with Christ and particularly their statement on which we ended lusts and last Friday night when we reminded one another that the Apostle tells the Ephesians that as Christians we are already seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. [00:24:47]

Verily verily I say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath not the shall have has or hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life I have thought that that one verse should rarely be sufficient in and of itself we are told that he hath everlasting life that he shall not come and to condemn nation because he's got everlasting life. [00:36:49]

Our great danger most of us is to think of this great salvation that we enjoy too much and to exclusively in individual terms the whole emphasis today is upon this individual aspect now what they're concerned about is of course that we should be certain that we are saved that we are not content merely with believing about salvation in general but that we should know that we ourselves are saved. [00:47:14]

We are as members of the church we are not a loose collection about individuals all of whom as this solely individual relationship to the Lord that's quite wrong we must think of ourselves as being members in particular of a body which is a whole and it's very wrong of us to think of ourselves as Christians except in terms of our belonging to this home. [00:51:49]

The Lord Jesus Christ has not so much died for us as individuals but as died for his people, that's where all is so important of course you've deduced that he has died for you as an individual yes but he only dies for you as an individual because you belong to the people for whom he has died as a whole. [00:55:03]

Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it he died for the church and he only died for us individually as we are a part of the church so you see if the Apostle goes on to say things like this he gave himself for it that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word that he might present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish. [01:01:26]

The very employment of chastisement is a proof of the final perseverance of the saints because it is the way in which God does enabled them to persevere if you like compels them to persevere he doesn't leave us alone because we are his children because we are his children he's going to do this that and the other to us until he brings us to that place which he has originally designed for which is the conformity again to the image of his dear son. [01:30:08]

The argument from chastisement is this that because we are just eyes it is proof positive that we are children because we wouldn't be just as if we were bastards it's a proof therefore that we are children and God just ices his children because he's preparing them for that sharing of his eternal holiness with him. [01:29:41]

The teaching there in 1 Corinthians 11 beyond any question is that there were some Christian people who were died because of their lack of faithfulness but though they are dead they are not lost that's the distinction they are dead they've gone out of this life but they're not lost even their definitions is a part of the chastisement that ultimately saves the soul. [01:36:53]

The teaching concerning the remnant is is always that it is a remnant that God Himself reserves and preserves it is a remnant according to the election of grace I don't know what you feel like saying what I feel like saying is this and God that it is so if I thought my eternal future depended upon me I would be of all men most miserable God calls and God keeps and God reserves and God will never leave and never forsake. [01:47:10]