How do I get Indwelling Holy Spirit?

• If any Man have Not the Spirit of Christ, he is None of His -  Unsaved are referred to in Bible as “in the flesh”, or “carnally minded” . Rom 8:6 puts it this way, “For to be carnally minded is death [which refers to Hell]; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace”. Verses continue: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God”. And Rom 8:9 affirms that one is not a child of God without the indwelling Spirit of God: “... Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”. Without the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit a person cannot be regenerated nor can he understand spiritual truths from the Scriptures and cannot distinguish them from the lies of all the false gospels and religions of the world.

Rom 8:9-11 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

1 Cor 2:11,14 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 14But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Mark 4:5,17 “And some fell on stony ground [stony heart], where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 17And [stony heart] have no root [no Spirit of Chirst] in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.”

• Ask, and It [the Holy Spirit ]  shall be Given to You - Unfortunately, much of what passes for prayer is characterized by the penetrating words of Jam 4:2-3: “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts”. In Jam 4:2 the word is used to describe sinful “desire” for worldly things, which is a characteristic of unsaved people. Only those individuals who have indeed become born from above, seek earnestly the things which are above as Col 3:1 affirms. It is also manifested in both their attitudes as well as their actions. Only they have the amazing privilege of approaching their Heavenly Father  as 1 John 5:14-15 instructs. In this passage we discover the key to all prayer is to ask according to the will of God.

Luke 11:9-13 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 10For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 11If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Col 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”

Luke 11:5-8 “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; 6For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? 7And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. 8I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”

• I [God] will Put My Spirit Within You - Indwelling Holy Spirit is given in Salvation. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden they immediately died spiritually - lost fellowship with God, and eventually they died physically. So, each and every human being born since that time is in Adam nature - unsaved both in soul and body in his natural condition. He is rebellious and antagonistic toward God and is subject to eternal damnation. The Holy Spirit do not indwell in an unsaved person. Only God can “restore the soul” and make a person “born-again” into Christ nature, to a right relationship with Him and put His Spirit within that individual, and give eternal life. Only God can resurrect the soul from the dead, and make a “new creature” of a person, as we read in Eze 36:26-27. God must sprinkle the clean water of the True Gospel on him to cleanse him from his sins, give him a new heart, and put His Spirit within him. After one has become born from above, God the Holy Spirit indwells the new Christian in his newly resurrected soul. Salvation is all the work of God - God must draw the elect to Himself and grant them repentance, spiritual understanding, faith to trust Him, and a capacity to love and obey Him. In this wonderful new relationship (which the Bible likens to marriage) the child of God is both taught and led by God in the Scriptures. No one can fear and love God and keep His commandments until God saves him. Obviously, only a heart that has been made alive spiritually and infused with the Spirit of God will want to be obedient to the Word of God.

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [Word of God typified by water] and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh [unsaved state]; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.[saved state]”

Eze 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

2 Cor 3:3 “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.”

Mark 4:8,20 “8And other fell on good ground [heart of flesh], and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 20And these are they which are sown on good ground [heart of flesh and have Spirit of Christ]; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”

• Ye are the Temple of God, the Spirit of God Dwelleth in You - 1 John 4:13 reveals, “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit”. Each “born-again” Christian has the incomparable awareness that his body is now the temple of God. As incredible as that may seem, a true believer has become the dwelling-place of the living God. The true believer has also assurance of Salvation because they have been given the Holy Spirit as the “earnest”, or down payment, of their salvation, as we read in 2 Cor 1:22, “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”. The true believer, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, can overrule his evil nature and focus his thoughts on the things of God. A Christian can have victory over evil and wickedness because, amazingly, he has now the “mind of Christ”. By the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit true believers can understand spiritual truths from the Scriptures and can distinguish them from the lies of all the false gospels and religions of the world. One who earnestly fears God will, in fact, be motivated to obey the Bible by God the Holy Spirit, Who is indwelling him. We see in Eph 2:10 that true believers are God’s “workmanship”, which means “the fruit (or product) of a workman’s labor”. We also see in Gal 5:22-26 that true believers are governed by the “fruit” (or product) of the Holy Spirit’s work in their lives.

1 John 4:13 “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

Rom 8:14-17 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

1 Cor 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

1 Cor 2:10-13 “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.”

2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Gal 5:22-26 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

If God is Sovereign and Omniscient, am I still Responsible for my Sin?

• Well, didn’t God Create Sin, since He Created Everything? - Absolutely not! God is not the author of sin. God can never Sin and God can never initiate Sin. The Bible says that when God created the Universe and the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), He commanded them not to eat of one tree in the Garden of Eden. He told them that if they did, they would die. They were tempted by Satan, the Devil, and did disobey and ate of the fruit of that tree. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). Their disobedience brought forth death for the whole human race. They began to die physically, and immediately died spiritually, and, unless saved, would experience eternal damnation on Judgment Day. James 1:13-15 informs us man is enticed by his own lust, and it is lust that “bringeth forth” sin, and sin “bringeth forth” death, which means, that in the final analysis, one has to pay for one’s sins in Hell. In Jam 1:18, it is indeed interesting that this same word bringeth forth, or begat, is the only hope that the human race has of being rescued from an inevitable rendezvous with the Judge of this universe. This of course is speaking about the will of God in causing us to be born from above. The bottom line of all sin results in destruction and ultimately, everlasting death in Hell. “Man's will or freewill” brings forth sin and everlasting death, where as “God's will” brings forth life everlasting. The Bible is crystal-clear: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”, as we are reminded of in Rom 6:23.

Jam 1:13-15 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

Jam 1:18 “Of his own will begat [bringeth forth] he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

• God is absolutely Sovereign and Righteous - Three words starting with “omni-” (from a Latin word meaning “all”) describe some of the characteristics of Eternal and Infinite God – Omniscient (having infinite knowledge – all knowing); Omnipotent (having unlimited power); Omnipresent (being everywhere present). It is important for us to understand that God is absolutely sovereign and righteous. God’s counsel from eternity past is immutable – unchangeable. That is, He is the Absolute Ruler over everything, and everything He does is without sin. He answers to no one and is in total control of everything – including His salvation program for mankind – in order to accomplish His will for His honor and glory. God uses man's sinful intentions for His greater good. We see how God worked in the life of Joseph in order to save Jacob and his family and all of Israel, as well as all the land of Egypt. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. They intended evil; they thought evil. They had no good intentions as they violently threw him into a pit. But God turned it to good. “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose,” it says in Rom 8:28. Joseph did not know what was going to happen when those Midianite traders just carried him in their caravan into Egypt. Joseph had to be in the dungeon to interpret his fellow prisoner’s dreams in order for God to trouble Pharaoh one night with a dream so that the butler who was released could then remember Joseph in prison. Then Joseph could be called unto Pharaoh, and then we see how God exalted him and elevated him. There was bread in Egypt all because Joseph had been taken through these circumstances. Jospeh has come to the realization that it was not his brethren that sent him hither, but God and that God had a purpose. Notice how this helps him to forgive his brethren, how it enables him to forgive them.

Isa 46:9-10 “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

Gen 45:4-8 “And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. 6For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. 7And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

Gen 50:20“But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.”

• If God is Sovereign and Omniscient, am I still Responsible for my Sin? - Because God uses sinful intentions of man for His good, does not in any way diminish the fact that He hates sin and punishes sin, though good comes out of that sin. He absolutely will judge and punish all who are not His children in Hell. God never causes anyone to sin to achieve his purpose. For example, it was God's Will to lay the sin of His Elect on His Son Lord Jesus Christ and he used sinful intentions of Jews and Judas to carry out His Will, yet the Jews and Judas are accountable for their own sin in crucifying Christ. It is important to remember that sin has to be punished, and that man is completely accountable to God for his sin, since he was created in the image of God. As a just Ruler or Judge, God must punish sin, which the Bible defines as “transgression of the law” in 1 John 3:4. One of the chief characteristics of God is His perfect justice. This means that He is an altogether holy and righteous judge, as quoted in Acts 17:31: “... he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man [Jesus Christ] whom he hath ordained;...”. For all His Children, he has provided a substitute as quoted in 2 Cor 5:21, “For he [God the Father] hath made him [God the Son] to be sin for us [the elect], who [Christ] knew no sin; that we [the elect] might be made the righteousness of God in him [Christ]”. Simply put, God is indisputably in control of life and death, Heaven and Hell, and is in control of this universe which he brought into existence by His Word.

Isa 53:10 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him [Jesus Christ]; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11He [God the Father] shall see of the travail of his [God the Son] soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many [his Elect]; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Acts 2:22-24 “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”

John 6:70-71 “Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 71He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.”

John 13:2 “And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;”

Luke 22:21-22 “But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. 22And truly the Son of man [Lord Jesus Christ] goeth, as it was determined: but woe [eternally damned] unto that man by whom he is betrayed!”

Acts 1:16-18 “Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. 17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. 18Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.”

What does it mean "LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh"?

• God can never Sin and God can never initiate Sin - God is NOT the author of sin. The Bible says that when God created the Universe and the first man and woman (Adam and Eve), He commanded them not to eat of one tree in the Garden of Eden. He told them that if they did, they would die. They were tempted by Satan, the Devil, and did disobey and ate of the fruit of that tree. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom 5:12). Their disobedience brought forth death [physical and spiritual] for the whole human race. James 1:13-15 informs us man is enticed by his own lust, and it is lust that “bringeth forth” sin, and sin “bringeth forth” death, which means, that in the final analysis, one has to pay for one’s sins in Hell. In Jam 1:18, it is indeed interesting that this same word bringeth forth, or begat, is the only hope that the human race has of being rescued from an inevitable rendezvous with the Judge of this universe. This of course is speaking about the will of God in causing us to be born from above. The bottom line of all sin results in destruction and ultimately, everlasting death in Hell. “Man's will or freewill” brings forth sin and everlasting death, where as “God's will” brings forth life everlasting. The Bible is crystal-clear: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”, as we are reminded of in Rom 6:23.

Jam 1:13-15 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

• Men by nature have Hardened Hearts and Unbelieving Hearts - Blindness to their own sinfulness and hard-heartedness is evidenced in many places in the Bible and is a characteristic of everyone who is not saved, as we learn in Eph 2:1, “And you hath he quickened [or made alive] who were dead in trespasses and sins…”. The Bible also makes reference to a dead heart as a “hard heart”, or a “hardened heart”. And the thrust of these words has to do with rebellion or stubbornness against God and His Word, the Bible. Rom 2:5 describes man’s awful spiritual condition: “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God”. Heb 3:10-13, 18-19 and 4:1-2 are directed to those who are identified externally or corporately as the people of God. Lord Jesus expressed his grief many times over the hard-heartedness of many of the leaders and people found within the Old Testament temple, the forerunner of the New Testament congregations. God softens the hearts of those whom he saves. Eze 36:26-27 is such a magnificent portrait of what happens in salvation: God raises us from the dead spiritually, and puts His spirit within us, in accordance with Rom 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Another example of this is seen in the conversion of Lydia in Acts 16:13-14: “And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard [us]: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul”. All these examples highlight God’s plan to redeem His elect from sin and Hell, as 2 Cor 4:6 so beautifully affirms: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”.

Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Mark 7:21-23 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

Heb 3:10-13, 18-19 “Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin … And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Zec 7:11-12 “But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.”

Neh 9:16-17 “But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.”

Rom 2:4-5 “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;”

Eze 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

• God Restrains Mankind Sin - Once mankind fell into sin in the Garden of Eden, the whole human race became infected with a terrible disease – a sin nature – causing every individual to be by nature and practice wickedness. That is why Jer 17:9 states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”. The Bible indicates that out of the heart of man come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies (Matt 15:19). God works in the lives of the unsaved through giving them a conscience by writing His Law in the hearts of men. So as long as man has a conscience, even though it can be “seared,” he still has some element of the conscience that God gave him and restrains himself from some sin. But only because man experiences God's restraint is he able to live a reasonable life and manifest some virtues such as love between parents and children, kindness and loyalty between friends, and compassion for the underprivileged. We can see God's hand at work in restraining Abimelech from sinning against Sarah. God can restrain sin (in saved or unsaved individuals) or let go sin loose but can never initiate sin. Man is accountable for his own sin. If God did not restrain sin, mankind would destroy themselves. God can withhold His hand of restraint, and that person’s heart will be hardened. Being Omniscient, God uses man's sinful intentions for His purpose. Thus, when God speaks in 2 The 2 of “a falling away first” before the last events of the end come, with the man of sin taking his seat “in the temple”, taking Him [Holy Spirit-the restraining activity of the Holy Spirit in the churches was also to restrain Satan from being able to frustrate God's plan to save, as the Gospel is preached] who restrains out of the way (out of the midst), He is indicating that He will remove His hand of restraint to permit apostasy in corporate Church. Matt 24 speaks of wickedness being multiplied. Rev 20 speaks of Satan being loosed. All these passages teach one and the same thing: In the end time God will allow the world to become desperately sinful. He will accomplish this by removing His restraint on unsaved man and on Satan and his angels.

Gen 20:3-6 “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. 4But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, LORD, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? 5Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. 6And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.”

Rom 1:23-26 “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:”

2 Thes 2:10-12 “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

• The Purpose of God according to Election might Stand - Exo 14:17 describes the fate of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, Thutmosis III, who historians call the “Napoleon of Egypt” because of his military prowess and conquests: “And I, behold, I [God] will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen”. God accomplished that in Exo 14:28-30: “And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore”. The Israelites typifying the elect of God, were physically “saved”, or “delivered”, out of slavery in Egypt; and, of course, symbolically this is a marvelous illustration of the nature of salvation. However, those over the age of twenty died in unbelief and ultimately had to pay for their sins in Hell. God had simply allowed them to escape from their oppressors. So we can say that even though the Israelites did obtain political freedom, they did not necessarily obtain spiritual freedom. That is, they saved their physical lives, but many lost their souls in the process. Spiritually speaking, God delivers His Elect by opening their eyes and ears and softening their hearts. God withholds His hand from softening the hearts of non-elect, and that person’s heart will be hardened or rather remains hardened. The Word of God-The Bible, either Softens or Hardens Hearts. God’s Word penetrates people’s dead hearts or souls in order to either bestow eternal life or to confer eternal damnation. Notice how the “hearts” of the men now “burned” as a result of hearing the words of Scripture as explained by its Divine Author in Luke 24:32. Previously, the Lord had classified them in verse 25 as “fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken…”. These two individuals were being “cut” by the mighty “Sword of the Spirit” – the Bible – in the same manner as were those people 50 days later on the day of Pentecost. That momentous event is described in Acts 2:37: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” The second example reveals how the Word cuts to perdition. Acts 7:54, speaking of the testimony of Stephen to the Sanhedrin before they killed him by stoning, states: “When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth”. Rom 9:11-18 reveals that God’s purpose in election is His prerogative. It fulfills His divine will and ultimately sustains His everlasting glory.

John 12:37-41 “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40He [God] hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.”

Matt 11:25 “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”

Luke 24:32, 44-45 “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?… And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.”

Matt 16:15-17 “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

Rom 9:10-23 “And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) 12It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. 13As it is written, Jacob [typifying the elect] have I loved, but Esau [typifying the non-elect] have I hated. 14What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. 17For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. 18Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. 19Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? 20Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? 21Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? 22What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,”

How can I Combat Besetting Sins?

• The source of our sins is our heart.

 

Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Matt 15:18-20 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the [unsaved] heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the [unsaved] heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

• We can have victory over sins and addictions through our self-conscious and our own will power or through medical help and support groups. But what we need to realize is, that sin is going to come back or some new sin is going to popup. The root itself is evil. You can cut down the branches of a poison ivy but unless the root is plucked out, branches are going to grow back.

 

Luke 6:43-45 "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

Matt 23:25-26 "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."

Mark 4:5-6,16-17 "5And some fell on stony ground [unsaved stony heart], where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 16And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground [unsaved stony heart]; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended."

• What we require is a new heart or in other words Salvation. We cannot give ourselves a new Heart. This new heart can only be given by God. Now you have the root plucked out, the leak plugged in.

 

Eze 36:26-27 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

1 John 5:18 "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten [born-again of] of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."

Jam 3:11-12 "Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh."

Luke 6:43-45 "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 44For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

Mark 4:8,20 "8And other fell on good ground [saved heart of flesh], and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 20And these are they which are sown on good ground [saved heart of flesh]; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

• Now God enabled me to battle the Sin by granting Salvation as a gift, how can I combat the Sin? by putting on the whole armor of God, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, who combated with the Word of God.

 

Eph 6:10-18 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”

Psa 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."

Luke 4:1-13 "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread [lust of the flesh] . 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them [lust of the eyes] : for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence [pride of life]: 10For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."

 

 

 

Whosoever is Born of God does Not Commit Sin?

• The following verses seem to contradict each other. Every born again believer falls into sin every day knowingly. So how do we harmonize these verses?

 

1 John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

1 John 5:18 "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."

1 John 1:8,10: "8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

• When First Adam disobeyed God, Adam brought the Spiritual death, which is the death of the Soul into all human race. In other words, God's Holy Spirit do not indwell in a person's Soul anymore [unless "born again"]. God sent forth his son who was born of Holy Spirit and who took only Adam's nature in flesh to make us alive again by giving us indwelling Holy Spirit.

 

Gen 2:15-17 "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God com-manded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die [in regards to his relationship to God, he is Spiritually dead]."

Rom 7:9 "For I [whole human race] was alive without the law once [in the loins of Adam]: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."

Rom 8:3 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"

1 Cor 15:22 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

2 Cor 1:21-22 "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest [down payment] of the Spirit in our hearts."

• Source of Sin is our Heart/Soul/Inward man/Adam-Nature. What happens in Salvation is, a new Heart/Soul/Inward man/Christ-Nature is given and indwelling Holy Spirit is put in this new heart. The root of the evil is removed, the leak is plugged in. No sin flows out of this new heart.

 

Matt 15:18-20 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the [unsaved] heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the [unsaved] heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man."

Eze 36:26-27 "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

1 John 5:18 "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten [born-again of] of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."

• So where is the sin coming from? from the flesh or the sinful body [vulnerable to sin] which has not been reborn yet. Only the Soul/Heart/Inward man/Nature is redeemed and reborn for now. The believers receive glorious sinless body on the Christs' second coming.

 

Rom 8:23 "And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body."

Rom 7:22-24 "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man [new heart]: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members [sinful flesh]. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"

1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him [with glorious spiritual bodies]; for we shall see him as he is."

• What is a born-again believer expected to do? Walk in Spirit yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit. God has enabled the believer with a new heart and indwelling Holy Spirit to overcome sin. When believers fall into sin, God chastises them as father chastises children, to correct them and build them up but the believer once saved is never lost to destruction.

 

Gal 5:16-17 "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would."

Rom 6:11-20 "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. 15What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"

1 Cor 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."

• Did Christ go through the same temptations as us in flesh? He was tempted in the same way first Adam [and Eve] was tempted with 'lust of the eyes', 'lust of the flesh" and "the pride of life" and yet never gave into sin. He Walked in the Spirit, and did not fulfill the lust of the flesh. He was sinless, He was pure and holy, He had no sin in Himself, He never transgressed the law of God at any point, He was perfectly “without blemish,” so He could be qualified to be that sacrificial “Lamb,” that He could be the Passover Lamb.

 

Luke 4:1-13 "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. 3And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread [lust of the flesh] . 4And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. 5And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.6And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them [lust of the eyes] : for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 9And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence [pride of life]: 10For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: 11And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 13And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."

Heb 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."

Rom 8:3-6 "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

 

 

 

Can I Lose my Salvation?

• Ye Were Sealed with That Holy Spirit of Promise - All whom God chose, redeemed, and saved have been given eternal life. They live by the power of the Holy Spirit working in them and are guaranteed to persevere in the faith of Christ to the end of their lives on this sincursed earth and to be resurrected into glory on the Last Day. Eph 1:13 explains how God saves an individual: “...after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise ...”. First and foremost, God has to give a person “spiritual ears” to hear “the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation”. This also conforms with Rom 10:17, “So then faith [a synonym for salvation] cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Eph 1:13-14, among numerous other verses, indicate that trust, or belief, is a result of salvation. Now, what does the phrase “…ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise…” signify? In this context, being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit is a guarantee of eternal life for all true believers. Thus, one of the purposes of the “seal” is to authenticate ownership, according to 1 Cor 6:19-20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”. The elect have been eternally purchased by the Lord Jesus, as Acts 20:28b describes, “… the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood”. The true believer has also been given the Holy Spirit as the “earnest”, or down payment, of their salvation, as we read in 2 Cor 1:22, “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”. Eph 1:14 also confirms, “Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”. The Greek word for “earnest”– or as we would say, “down payment”, apparently stems from a Hebrew word meaning “pledge”. Rom 8:9 reminds us that the indwelling Holy Spirit is given to the believer as the “earnest”, or “pledge”, of God’s salvation: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his”. 

1 Pet 2:9 “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people [i.e., a people purchased for possession]; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

2 Cor 5:5 “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit”.

Eph 1:13-14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory”

2 Tim 2:18-19 “Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. 19Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”

• For the LORD Thy God… Doth Go with Thee… He Will Not Fail Thee Nor Forsake Thee - The promise that God uttered in Deu 31:6 by Moses, at the end of his life, should be a tremendous encouragement to every Christian: “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”. Indeed, Moses had exclaimed earlier in Exo 33:15, “And he [Moses] said unto him [God], If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence”. In fact, for the next 40 years “… the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night”, as we learn from Exo 13:21. Deu 20:4 also affirms: “For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you”. As He did with Moses, God repeated this same promise to his successor, Joshua, in Jos 1:5, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee”. Prior to Joshua’s death at 110 years of age, he records these words as a reminder to the Israelites, as well as to us, in Jos 24:17: “For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went and among all the people through whom we passed”. As the Bible chronicles God’s faithful care and love for His people – His flock – the tender words of Isa 40:11 come to mind: “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young”. Heb 13:5 also quotes Deu 31:6, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee”. Since this is a direct quotation, God has given us a “bridge” between the Old and the New Testaments. In other words, the Hebrew word translated as “fail” in Deu 31:6 corresponds to the Greek word translated as “leave” in Heb 13:5. God would never abandon His eternal church – His Bride. John 10:11 and 15 is a further reminder of the infinite expression of Christ’s sacrificial love in offering Himself for His people, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep… As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep”. Ponder this statement for just a moment: God will never forsake His true believers, yet God did forsake His own dear Son – Who had to suffer the equivalent of eternal damnation for the sins of these same people. Mat 27:46 says, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Make no mistake about it – if Christ had not drink the awful cup of the wrath of God, then not one single individual will be able to escape the just punishment that God has reserved for them (Rev 14:10-11). 

Rev 14:10-11 “The same [unsaved] shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

John 10:3-5 “... the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”

John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”

John 6:39-40 “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Heb 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect [complete]  in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

• He Which Hath Begun a Good Work in You Will Perform It Until the Day of Jesus Christ - We read in Php 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he [God] which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. This verse explains that the believer’s confidence is rooted in the fact that the work of saving grace which the Lord Jesus has initiated in his life will be brought to completion one day. Eph 2:8-10 declares: “... we are his workmanship ...”. The Greek word for “confident” in Php 1:6 is rendered as “persuaded” in Rom 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Psa 138:8 brings out this same truth: “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands”. 1 The 5:23-24 proclaims: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it”. As has been frequently mentioned in these studies, salvation is altogether an act of God’s grace. Even after God saves us, He continues His work of grace, as Php 2:13 illustrates, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”. Rom 8:28-30 gives a panoramic view of God’s intervening activity in each of His children’s lives: “... whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified”. Think of it: The Almighty Triune God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, His Eternal Majesty is at work to finish what He has started in the infinitesimal lives of His people! 1 Pet 1:3-9 outlines the glorious future that awaits every Christian. Naturally, this is in complete harmony with the eternal scope of Eph 5:25-27: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and 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.”

Heb 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our - The word “our” in this verse was added by the translators] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Eph 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

1 The 5:23-24 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it”.

1 Pet 1:3-5, 9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ... Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

• He That Shall Endure Unto the End The Same Shall Be Saved - Mat 24:12-14 teaches: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come”. What does the Bible mean by this term “endure”? At first one might assume that this “enduring” is something we have to “battle out” in our own strength. But, on the contrary, it is one of the hallmarks of a true child of God, as we see from the Parable of the Sower in Matt 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. Only the “seeds” that fell on “good ground” (the regenerated hearts of the elect) germinated and brought forth fruit. The other “ground” (the unsaved hearts) did not produce fruit. Spiritually speaking, endurance denotes spiritual, eternal life. One of the chief characteristics of love – the preeminent fruit of the Spirit – is endurance, as 1 Cor 13:7 states so beautifully: “[Love] Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things”. What is the “end” that is in view in “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” ? This refers to a true believer’s spiritual standing before the very God Who formed him and gave him eternal life, according to John 13:1: “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end”. Likewise 1 Pet 1:9 affirms, “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls”. Similarly, 1 Cor 1:8 concludes: “Who shall also confirm [or establish] you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Earlier in this study, we discussed that the basis for a believer’s confidence is the work and faith of the Lord Jesus, as we read in Php 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he [God] which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. The concept of enduring is also linked to the idea of “abiding”, or “continuing”, in the Word – the Bible. The Lord Jesus made this abundantly clear in John 8:31: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed”. John 15:4-9 states: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: ...”. Continuing, or abiding, in the Word of God implies obedience to what one finds in the Bible, according to John 15:10, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love”.

John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:64-66 “But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.”

Mark 4:3, 8, 14, 20 “Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5And some fell on stony ground [the unsaved hearts], where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8And other fell on good ground [the regenerated hearts of the elect], and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 14The sower soweth the word. 15And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground [the unsaved hearts]; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20And these are they which are sown on good ground [the regenerated hearts of the elect]; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

John 15:4-9 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love”

How is Anyone Declared Righteous in the Bible?

• Are there any righteous people? - Man justifies himself thinking I am not wicked, I am a decent, moral person, surely the good I have done in my life far outweighs whatever bad I have done. On the contrary, by God’s standard of righteousness even the most moral person is looked upon by God as desperate sinner on his way to Hell. God knows the secrets of the heart of man, where sin resides. The Bible teaches that no one is good enough in himself to go to Heaven. Our problem with God is not just “bad behavior, errors, and mistakes”. Because all men have broken God’s Laws in the Bible repeatedly, we are all sinners, and we are all guilty before God. Since Adam and Eve represented the human race, God’s curse of eternal death was transmitted to all of their descendants, as Rom 5:12 instructs. Furthermore, Psa 51:5 indicates that this happens at the moment of conception. Thus man is born physically alive, yet spiritually dead. Before salvation, there is none righteous, no not one. Neither Noah, nor Job, nor David, nor Moses, nor Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, nor anyone else in himself was righteous. We are all sinners.

Rom 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death [spiritual] passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…”

Psa 51:5 “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

Rom 3:10-12 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

• Can anyone get right with God by following the God’s law? - First of all God's Law is not just ten commandments but the whole Bible. 1 John 3:4 declares that sin is “…the transgression of the law…”, and the “Law” that is being disobeyed is God’s Word, the Bible. God’s Word says that our breaking of just one of God’s commandments means that we’ve broken the whole Law. In the eyes of God, one’s thoughts are identical to one’s actions, and are thus sufficient to incur His eternal wrath. Even our “good works” are considered wicked by God because they are tainted with our sin. What about the people without God's law? God has written law in every human being's conscience. We all know wrong from right. You do not have to teach your child to sin, to steal a cookie or to tell a lie. We know that it is wrong to murder or commit adultery. The fact remains that man cannot be righteous by anything he does on his own. The purpose of the Law of God, even to the people who never heard the law, since the law is written in everyone's heart, is to expose sin, so that we might be driven to see the need for the Savior and go back to God.

Jam 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Matt 5:27-28 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

1 John 3:15 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

Isa 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Rom 2:12 “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;”
Rom 2:14-15 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”

Rom 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Rom 3:19 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”

Gal 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

• Can men be “made” righteous? if so, how? - Our own works of righteousness cannot save us, as we learn from Tit 3:5. Rom 10:3 also underscores this important fact, “For they [national Israel] being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God”. That was the condition of the Apostle Paul until he was saved and freed from a life of spiritual bondage in trying to keep the law, according to Php 3:9. The robe of Christ’s righteousness [given in Salvation] is absolutely needed in order for one to escape from the inevitable broad road that leads to Hell. One can be made Righteous only “through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith”. Noah was “perfect” and “walked” with God because he was saved by grace. God looks upon a person whom He has saved as “walking uprightly” because his sins have been paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross; and God's Spirit works in the person and causes the person to walk uprightly as a result of his salvation.

Tit 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

Gen 7:1 “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

Heb 11:7 “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

Rom 4:1-8 “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Phil 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

2 Cor 5:21 “For he [God the Father] hath made him [God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Isa 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”

• Do we then make void the law through faith? - We establish the Law, answers Rom 3:31. How so? Obedience is the distinctive hallmark of the child of God, as we read in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments”. God is essentially telling us in these verses in John 14:15 and John 15:10, “You must become saved in order to have a right relationship with Me”. This is comparable to Jesus’ words in John 3:7, “Ye must be born again [born from above]”. No one can fear and love God and keep His commandments until God saves him. The test or evidence of salvation is a desire to be obedient to the Word of God – the Bible. It is against this backdrop of salvation by the grace and will of God that we are exhorted to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”. A “doer of the Word” is one who has become saved. The Bible differentiates between the “carnally minded” and “spiritually minded”. To be “carnally minded” is not merely defining one’s physical existence, but is a statement of one’s spiritual condition, the nature of one who is unsaved and in the kingdom of Satan. On the other hand, to be “spiritually minded” refers to someone who has become saved by the will and Word of God and illustrates the nature of a true Christian – one who has become a citizen of God’s kingdom. Obviously, only a heart that has been made alive spiritually and infused with the Spirit of God will want to be obedient to the Word of God. So God must sprinkle the clean water of the True Gospel on him to cleanse him from his sins, give him a new heart, and put His Spirit within him, as we read in Eze 36:26-27.

Rom 8:7-8 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Rom 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.”

John 15:10 “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”

Rom 2:13 “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”

Eze 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”