As we come to the lesson of the security of the Christian, we need to
learn the warning of John in 1 John 3:7 "Little children, let no man deceive
you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." There
are some in the religious world that teach that when we are once saved we are
always saved. The purpose of this lesson is to not only examine this doctrine
but to learn what we have to do to be safe, what we must do to secure our
salvation. Sin separated men from God in the beginning and sin is the dreaded
thing that can separate the Christian from God now. Paul writes in 2
Corinthians 11:3,"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ." This caused Paul to say in 1 Corinthians 9:27 "But I keep
under my body, and bring {it} into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." Although God loves us
and has saved us from our past sins, he cannot and will not tolerate sin from
the Child of God any more than He will tolerate sin from those who have not
been obedient to the Gospel of His Son. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10:12 " Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." Those therefore that
are so sure they are saved are the very ones who are in the greatest danger.
Study carefully the following scriptures and see the truth on the security of
the Child of God.
Fill in the following blanks:
1. "Holding faith, and a good conscience: which some having put away, concerning
have made
.
(1 Tim. 1:19)
Paul tells Timothy that it is possible for men to make shipwreck of their faith.
2. "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
from the
, giving heed to seducing spirits and
of devils.
(1 Tim. 4:1)
Again Paul tells Timothy that men will depart from the faith.
3. "But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own
house, he hath
the faith, and is worse than an
(1 Tim. 5:8)
4. "For the love of
is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have
from the
, and have
through with many sorrows.
(1 Tim. 6:10)
5. "Which some professing have
concerning the
. Grace
be with thee. Amen."
(1 Tim. 6:21)
6. "Who concerning the
have erred, saying that the resurrection
is past already, and
the
of some."
(2 Tim. 2:18).
"Having damnation, because they have
their first
."
(1 Tim. 5:12)
Thus we see that the child of God can make shipwreck of the faith,
depart from the faith, deny the faith, be led astray from the faith, err from
the faith, overthrow the faith and cast off the faith.
THOSE WHO BECAME CURSED CHILDREN
In 2 Peter 2the apostle tells about a people
who had been bought by the Lord and had escaped the pollutions of the world who
went astray and became cursed children. Fill in the number of the proper verse
out of this chapter that has in the statements of the left hand side of the
page:
1. "Even denying the Lord that bought them"--------------verse
2. "They have escaped the pollutions of the world"--------verse
3. "and gone astray"--------------------------------------verse
4. "cursed children"---------------------------------------verse
5. "Shall receive the reward of unrighteousness"-----------verse
6. "bring upon themselves swift destruction"---------------verse
Here you have a complete picture of those who fell from the Lord's favor. They
were bought by the Lord, had escaped the pollutions of the world, then went
astray and became cursed children. Peter tells us they will receive the
reward of unrighteousness because they have brought upon them selves swift
destruction.
COMPLETE THESE VERSES:
Paul declares in
1 Cor. 10:12,
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed
."
In
Galatians 5:4
, Paul says, "Christ is become of no effect unto you,
whosoever of you are justified by the law: ye are
from
.
The teaching of the scriptures is clear. If the Child of God sins and
transgresses God's law and will not repent of the transgression. he will be
separated from the grace of God. Paul preaches in the 10th chapter of 1 Cor.. that in the days of Israel 23,000 fell in one day.
They fell because they
rebelled against God. Here are twenty-three thousand irrefutable arguments that
the child of God can fall, and Paul sounds the warning in verse twelve.
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." We are
not to be deceived into thinking sin is not sin. Sin is sin wherever and
whenever it is found. John says in 1 John 1:8 "If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." John was writing to "his
little children", so to children of God. Paul tells the churches of Galatia,
who had gone back to Moses's law to be circumcised by its authority, "Christ is
become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are
fallen from grace.
WHEN WE FALL
The student with a logical mind will want to know now what we are to
do when and if we transgress God's law. Paul teaches in Gal. 6:1 that the
fallen child of God must be restored. John teaches in 1 John 1:2 that we have
an advocate with the Father and that advocate is Christ. We are to use Him when
we sin and ask forgiveness for our sins and if we are penitent and will repent
and pray we can be forgiven. Peter told Simon in Acts 8:22 to repent and pray
that he might be forgiven.
***All Bible texts and quotations are taken from the King James Version.
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