Position and Practice

 MEMORY VERSES: Ephesians 1:3; 5:8; Hebrews 12:6-8

Another essential thing in the Christian life is to understand the difference between position and practice or relationship and fellowship. What we mean by this is that the believer has a new position and relationship before God that is eternal and perfect and unchanging and that depends entirely upon Christ, but the believer also has a practice in this present world that is less than perfect and that depends on his obedience.

 

Multitudes of professing Christians have become discouraged or even shipwrecked from failure to understand this truth. This almost happened to Harry Ironside, the famous Bible commentator. He began his Christian life as a zealous member of the Salvation Army. Believing their doctrine of a second blessing of sinless perfection, Harry set out to obtain this experience. He fasted and prayed and sought God as earnestly as he knew how. Finally he went out into the woods, determining to stay as long as necessary, and he experienced what he thought was the second blessing. He returned to a Salvation Army meeting and stood up to testify that he “had found it.” Soon, though, he realized that the “old man” was still present in his life, and he became so discouraged that he had a breakdown and ended up in a hospital. He determined to forget about the Christian life, since it “didn’t work,” but God sent two believers to instruct him properly in biblical sanctification. He was then able to establish his Christian life on a proper foundation and go on to be a very fruitful servant of Christ.

 

Relationship and Fellowship

 

The believer has been adopted into God’s family as a son because of Christ’s blood (Galatians 3:26), and this new relationship will never change. It is a gift that was purchased at great price. God will never “kick” the believer out of His family. At the same time, in this present world fellowship with God depends on

whether or not I walk in the light. Walking in fellowship with God is the subject of 1 John (1 John 1:5-7). If I walk in darkness I am out of fellowship, but this does not change my relationship. God does not throw away His children; He spanks them to bring them back into fellowship (Hebrews 12:6-10).

 

Relationship and fellowship can be illustrated by human relationships. I was born into my father’s family and I am his son. Nothing has ever changed that. There were times when I was disobedient and foolish and I displeased my father, and we did not have good fellowship together during those times. My father still loved me and yearned for my fellowship, but I had to repent and honor him before that could happen. The same is true in God’s family.

 

Position and Practice, Standing and Walk Another way to describe this is position and practice or standing and walk. Consider the book of Ephesians.

 

The first three chapters describe the believer’s new position or standing in Christ, whereas the last three chapters describe his practice or walk in this world.

 

The key phrase in chapters 1-3 is “in Christ” (Ephesians 1:1, 3, 10, 12, 20; 2:6, 10, 13; 3:6, 11). In God’s eyes, the believer is in Christ. He is forgiven, justified (declared righteous), redeemed, adopted, and given eternal life. The believer is “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). This new position is not based on the believer’s works. It is God’s free gift in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). The price was Christ’s own blood (Eph. 1:7). Therefore, the new position is sure and unchanging.

 

In chapters 4-6 the subject changes to the believer’s practice in this present world. The key word here is “walk” (Ephesians 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). This word describes Christian living. If the believer doesn’t “walk” in obedience, he does not have right fellowship with the Lord. If he walks in sin, he displeases the Lord and grieves the indwelling Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). But he does not lose his position in Christ. That is settled and sure and eternal.

The two aspects of the Christian life are seen together in Ephesians 5:8. The believer is a child of light “now.” It is a present possession and position that was purchased by Christ and received as a free gift through faith. Since we are children of light, we should walk as children of light. In other words, since we are saved and have eternal life and are children of God, we should live like it.

 

Conclusion

 

1.      If the believer does not understand these things, he can become very discouraged and confused when he sins. Those who believe that a born again child of God can lose his salvation do not understand this clear teaching of Scripture.

 

2.    The fact that the believer’s position is not affected by his daily walk is no excuse to sin. We have already seen in these studies the terrible price that believer must pay if he does not walk in fellowship with his Lord. We have also seen that it is possible to be a professor of salvation without being a possessor.

 

 

REVIEW QUESTIONS ON POSITION AND PRACTICE

 

1.  What did Harry Ironside try to experience?

 

2.  How did God help him to become grounded in the truth?

 

3.  What verse says the believer becomes a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ?

 

4.  What is the subject of 1 John?

 

5.  What does God do His children when they sin?

 

6.  How is relationship and fellowship illustrated by human families?

7.  What is the theme of Ephesians 1-3?

 

8.  What is the key phrase in those chapters?

 

9.  What was the price that was paid to place the believer "in Christ"?

 

10.  What is the theme of Ephesians 4-6?

 

11.  What does the Christian's "walk" refer to?

 

12.  Since we          children of light, we should            as children of light.

 

13.  True or false: Since the believer cannot lose his salvation, it does not matter how he lives.

Video Share

 

Eternal Security Part 3

 

MEMORY VERSES: Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 12:8; 1 John 1:6; 2:1-2

 In this lesson we complete our study on the doctrine of eternal security by answering one final question.

 

If the disobedient believer does not lose his salvation, what does happen to him?

 

1.   The sinning believer is out of fellowship with the Lord and his people (1 John 1:3-7).

 

John was writing to instruct believers in how to maintain fellowship with Christ (1 John 1:3). We do this by walking in the light rather than in darkness. Walking in the light is walking in obedience to God’s Word. Walking in darkness is walking in disobedience. Thus, the sinning Christian is not in fellowship with Christ. He knows Christ as Lord and Saviour, but he is not walking in fellowship with Christ. The relationship

is not broken, but the fellowship is broken. This is a serious loss. To live out of fellowship with Christ means I do not have His wisdom and power and blessing. If I make major decisions while in such a condition, those decisions will invariably be wrong and will take me farther out of God’s will.

 

2.  The sinning believer grieves the Holy Spirit that lives in him (Ephesians 4:30).

 

To grieve the Holy Spirit means that His ministration in my life is hindered. He is the believer’s comforter and strength and guide and teacher. When He is grieved, I lose His blessing; I do not grow spiritually; I do not have spiritual power, enlightenment, and wisdom.

3.  The sinning believer is helped by the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1-2).

 

When we sin, God does not abandon us; we have an Advocate, a Helper. The name “Jesus” means Saviour, and He does not cease to be my Saviour when I sin. Jesus is there helping me, interceding for me, caring for me, seeking to restore me, as He did for Peter when Peter denied Him thrice in one night.

 

4.  The sinning believer is chastened by the Father (Hebrews 12:5-11).

 

God does not let His children sin without consequence. He spanks us. There is even the sin unto death if the believer refuses to repent (1 John 5:16-17). Some of the believers at Corinth sinned this sin (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).

 

5.  The sinning believer reaps corruption (Galatians 6:7-8).

 

There is a price to be paid for sin in this present world. Just because are saved, does not mean that we escape the law of sowing and reaping. Many believers have paid a terrible price, such as losing their marriage over such things as adultery, anger, and worldliness; losing their kids’ hearts; and losing their ministries. Any sin can be forgiven by confession, but sin has consequences. For example, I know many divorced believers who have confessed their sin but the divorce is still a reality, with all of its ugly and hurtful lifelong ramifications.

 

6.    The sinning believer loses irreplaceable opportunities for service and fruit

(Ephesians 5:14-17).

 

The sinning Christian can be forgiven, but he cannot regain lost opportunities. When the Israelites doubted God, they were forced to walk in the wilderness for 40 years even after they repented (Deut. 1:37-45). Many believers have lost irreplaceable opportunities by making important decisions when they were backslidden and out of God’s will, such as marrying the wrong person and

taking the wrong job. We can’t go back and start over in life, so we must live very cautiously and make sure that we are in God’s will every step of the way.

 

7.     The sinning believer will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

 

This is one of the clearest promises of eternal security in the New Testament. The sinning Christian who displeases the Lord and whose earthly works are burned up will himself be saved. His works will burn, but he will not burn. This is a wonderful truth, but for one’s earthly life to be wasted on something other than God’s will, for Jesus to be sorely disappointed in me, to have no rewards for His glory, to not hear, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant,” will be a very tragic loss.

 

Eternal security and problem passages

 

See the article “Eternal Security” at the Way of Life web site for a look at the passages that are used by those who deny the doctrine of eternal security. A more extensive list can be found in the book Things Hard to Be Understood: A Handbook of Biblical Difficulties.

 

 

REVIEW QUESTIONS ON ETERNAL SECURITY PART 3

 

1.  What are seven things that happen to the believer that sins?

 

2.  What book and chapter says that we walk in the light by confessing our sin?

 

3.  What verse warns against grieving the Holy Spirit?

 

4.  What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit?

5.  What happens when I grieve the Holy Spirit?

 

6.  What book and chapter says God chastens His children?

 

7.  What book and chapter warns about the sin unto death?

 

8.  In which New Testament church did some of the members die for abusing the Lord's Supper?

 

9.  What verse says that a man reaps whatsoever he sows?

 

10.  What happened to the Israelites when they doubted God?

 

11.  What book and chapter describes the judgment seat of Christ?

 

12.  What happens to the believer at the judgment seat of Christ if his works burn up?

 

Eternal Security Part 2

 MEMORY VERSES: John 10:27-28; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:4

 In this lesson we continue our study on the doctrine of eternal security by answering two more important questions on this subject: First, does the doctrine of eternal security mean anyone who professes Christ has eternal life? Second, does it cause people to live carelessly?

 

Does the doctrine of eternal security mean that anyone who professes Christ has eternal life?

 

No, the promise of eternal security is only for those who have been saved, not for mere professors. Salvation always changes a person’s life.

 

1.  Salvation demands repentance (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

 

God requires repentance for salvation, and repentance means a dramatic change of mind resulting in a change of life. It means to surrender to God. The person who has never surrendered has never been saved. The believers at Thessalonica exemplify biblical repentance. They “turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God.”

 

2.   Salvation requires the new birth, and the new birth changes a man’s life (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7), and the new birth is a great miracle that God does to and for the believer. It is a dramatic transformation, and

those who can continue to live as they did before they professed Christ have never been born again.

 

3.  Those who are saved hear Christ’s voice and follow Him (John 10:27-29).

 

In this passage, Jesus gives the definition of a true believer who has eternal life. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice, meaning they respond to His Word, and they follow Christ, meaning they submit to Him as disciples. The promise of verses 28-29 cannot be divorced from the evidence of verse 27.

 

4.  Saving faith always produces holy works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 describes the proper relationship between faith and works. It is faith that saves and works follow as the result. The works in the Christian life are God’s works in the believer, thus there is no glory for man. To mix works together with faith for salvation is a false gospel (Romans 11:6). But it is also true that holy works always follow saving faith. James describes the Christian life from man’s perspective (James 2:14-17). If a man “says” he has faith and does not have anything in his life to back it up, he does not having saving faith.

 

5.      The Bible says true believers keep God’s commandments and purify themselves (1 John 2:4; 3:2-3). In 1 John 3:2-3, God’s Word says that those who have eternal life are those who purify themselves. The promise of verse 2 cannot be divorced from the evidence of verse 3.

 

6.  The Bible warns about those who profess Christ but do not obey Him; they are false professors (Titus 1:16).

 

If a person claims to have faith in Christ but his life does not reflect this, he is deceived. A fruitless profession of faith cannot lay claim to God’s promises of eternal security. If an individual professes Christ and then turns away, this is evidence that he never was saved.

Does the doctrine of eternal security cause people to live carelessly?

 

Those who do not believe in the doctrine of eternal security say that it causes people to live carelessly. In fact, the opposite is true. I began my preaching career in a part of Tennessee where Methodists had predominated for a couple of centuries. The doctrine of losing your salvation had devastated that area. It was filled with people who had “tried to live the Christian life” and failed and now lived like the devil.

 

1.  The Bible teaches that the grace of God motivates believers to serve God with a thankful heart (Romans 2:4; Ephesians 3:14-19). The more a believer understands the unfathomable love that God has for him in Christ, the more he wants to please God. The Bible says, “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

 

2.  The true grace of God teaches people to live holy lives (Titus 2:11-14).

 

 

REVIEW QUESTIONS ON ETERNAL SECURITY PART 2

 

1.  What are six reasons why we know that salvation always changes a person's life.

 

2.  What verse says if any man is in Christ he is a new creature?

 

3.  In what book and chapter did Jesus say that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him?

 

4.  What passage says the believer is saved unto good works?

 

5.  What verse says that if salvation is of grace it is not of works?

6.  What verse describes those who profess Christ but deny him in their works?

 

7.  What are two reasons why we know that the doctrine of eternal security does not cause people to live carelessly?

 

8.  What verse teaches that we love God because he first loved us?

 

9.  In what book and chapter does Paul teach that the grace of God teaches us to live holy lives?