Doubt Busters

When we receive Jesus into our lives, some powerful forces go to work against sin. When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, he was suffering the punishment due sinners. His death satisfied a righteous God’s justice. When we believe on Jesus, our sins are washed away; God wipes the slate clean of all our sins. He transfers our sin to Christ and imputes Christ’s righteousness to us.

After Jesus died on the cross, his body was placed in the grave (a tomb). When we believe on Jesus, then our sinful agent goes into the grave with Jesus to rest powerlessly, while our new creation rises with Christ to sit with him in heavenly places. We also receive the person of the Holy Spirit within.

These tremendously powerful truths will help us overcome sin. One force that is not acted upon, though, is our will. I read of one man who prayed, “God, why can’t I get rid of this sin?”

God replied, “Because you don’t hate it enough yet.”

That’s because God does not overcome our wills. He works with it. If we still love our sin, we will keep following it. The next verse stresses personal accountability: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7-8).

If we want to see a garden of daisies, we’ll plant daisy seeds. Similarly, if we want to experience the eternal life God promises, we must plant the right seeds. Let’s go back to the earlier truths stated and learn how they can help us grow a garden of Paradise.

When we believed on Christ, our sinful agent went into the grave with him. That means it is powerless. Do dead men walk? Are corpses walking around your town trying to be good? So when our old nature is tempted to sin, we may say, “I am dead to that. I don’t have to follow it any more. Lord, I give myself to you instead” (Romans 6). That is your will, and the Holy Spirit will help here. As we continue to resist the sin, it will usually get easier to do so. I say “usually” because bad habits practiced over the years are ingrained and harder to change.

When our resistance is weak and we sin (especially at the beginning), we may come again to the throne of grace for cleansing and forgiveness – and the power to resist it next time (Hebrews 4:16).

Those who continue in sin will not reap the benefits and blessings God has promised for those who overcome it. When we hate the sin and what it keeps us from hard enough, we’ll stand against it. When we really believe that God promises a better life in place of practicing that sin, we’ll resist with new-found strength from above.

Reading the Bible on a regular basis is also sowing to our spirit, and through it the Holy Spirit will show you how to die to sin. The difference between a Spirit-led life and a sin-led life is life and death: “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14).

Those who are led by the Spirit, as opposed to being driven by their sin, are maturing in their faith.

What Do You Think?

a. Do you hate your sin enough to guard against it? Why or why not?

b. As God’s promises became more persuasive, I began thinking that God had more to offer me than my sinful lifestyle. Do you believe that God will replace your sin with something better? Why or why not?

We believe that Jesus will judge us simply because the Bible says so: “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). In this passage, we learn that we should do well at whatever we do, because Jesus will examine our works to see what kind of reward should be given us.

Jesus gave us quite a few glimpses of what the judgment will be like. If you read Matthew 25:14-30, for instance, you’ll find that he will judge his servants in order to reward them for their faithful or unfaithful service. To one servant he’ll say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” To another servant he will say, “You wicked and lazy servant.” Presently we love and obey him – that is how we express our salvation. At the judgment we’ll be rewarded according to that love and obedience.

God judges us in this life as well. For instance, God judged Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 because they lied to the Holy Spirit. God also judged some of the Corinthians because they dishonored the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:29-30).

Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us why God judges us: as our earthly fathers chastised us to correct us, even so our heavenly Father will chastise us to bring us to holiness. When we choose sin, God will let us taste its bitter fruit that we may learn from it and turn more wholly to him for life.

Perhaps you’ve heard that Jesus saved us from judgment. In one sense that is true. When you first believed in Jesus, God wiped the slate clean from your youth to the day you invited Christ into your life. But after that, we are responsible to confess our sins and practice our faith with the light we have so that the blood of Jesus will continually cleanse us (1 John 1:5-10).

What Do You Think?

a. Jesus died and rose again to save us from sin. If we pursue sin, are we taking our salvation seriously? Why or why not? Are we taking his suffering and death seriously?

b. When the early church saw God judge Ananias and Sapphira (they had both fallen down dead), they feared God mightily (Acts 5:11). Knowing that God is willing to chastise you, will you fear to sin?

A simple Yes or No answer ignores the fact that salvation has different aspects to it, like a house has several rooms. A house may catch on fire, but only a room or two may be lost, not the whole building. What are these different “rooms” in the house of salvation, and can we forfeit any of them?

Jesus saves us from sin’s punishment
Before, we were sinners facing guilt before God (Romans 3:19). Can we still be punished? We can’t be punished for the sins up to the time we confessed Christ, for his blood had cleansed us. But if we continue willfully in sin, we will experience guilt again, and God may punish us in this life (1 Corinthians 11:30-31) until we confess it and get right with God (1 John 1:8-9). But if we continue in faith, walking in the light we know from the Scriptures, then the blood continually cleanses us from sin (1 John 1:7).

Jesus saves us from sin’s mastery
Before, we lived based on the flesh’s desires (Romans 6:14). But Jesus is our new Ruler, and we yield our minds and bodies to him by faith, to please him. Can we lose this? Paul, in his epistles written to Christians, keeps exhorting us to live for God and not the flesh, which tells me that we can go either way, even after we have first believed on Christ. Paul warned the Galatian church that if we feed the flesh, we’ll bear the consequences (Galatians 6:8). By returning to faith and obedience to Christ, we once again put the reigns into Jesus hands again, and we can prosper spiritually.

Jesus saves us from sin’s estrangement from God
Before, we were children of wrath and of the devil (Ephesians 2:2-3) and without God (Ephesians 2:12). Now we are children of God (John 1:12). Can we lose that aspect? Occasionally, we may lapse into sin and find that God seems to hide himself (Psalms 51:11), but that is not for ever. The strongest argument for a Christian to retain his status as God’s child is probably in Romans 8:31-39, where Paul lists the many obstacles that one would think could separate us from the love of God, but none of them can – nothing in life or death. This aspect of salvation, being God’s child, cannot be lost!

Jesus saves us for a glorious future
Our bodies are decaying every day, as is the rest of creation (Romans 8:22-23). However, the day is coming when all in the graves will arise with new bodies, where we will die no more (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). This aspect cannot be lost. All in God’s family will share a life free of sin, death, and wickedness when Jesus comes to set up his kingdom, then recreates the word anew (Revelation 21:1-5).
Can we lose our salvation? We are eternally secure with the Father as his children. However, some benefits of our salvation can be lost and regained during this life. Nevertheless, with the power of the blood, the Holy Spirit, and faith, we are well able to overcome any obstacles to be “saved to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25).

What Do You Think?

a. Christians disagree about many things. Would they agree more if they first broke down their terms into smaller parts and discussed the parts?

b. How would you have defined “salvation” before you read this article? How does this answer change your appreciation for what God has done?

According to 1 John 2:2, Jesus atoned for the sins of the whole world. According to John 3:16, God limited the benefits of the atonement only to those who would trust in his Son Jesus. In other words, God has made it possible for all to be saved, but has made that salvation conditional.

In the case of children and babies, God of his own sovereignty and love has simply made another exception to the rule. He said of the little ones that such are of the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:3-4). So the very young who die will be admitted immediately.

It is a puzzle the way your question is phrased. However, God is personal, not a set of rules, and has acted in love and mercy in this matter. Babies do go to heaven.

We have assurance of this because of 2 Samuel 12:22-23. There, King David tells his household about his dead infant, “But now he is dead …. Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” King David was a saved man who loved the Lord very much. He had every expectation of entering the kingdom of heaven. He did not expect his child to come back to life, but he did expect to die and see his child in the kingdom.

What Do You Think?

a. Is God just to make exceptions and conditions? Why or why not?

b. If he saved everyone, would that mean we had no free will?

Eternal life is the state of enjoying communion with God. We enter into it by faith, but it is maintained by a faith that is demonstrated by good works and obedience. The person with eternal life has personal conviction of this life through abiding in Christ and by the witness of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, salvation finds its fullest expression in the eternal life of enjoying God.

An analogy of eternal life is the close friendships we grow into with other people (such as in a marital relationship). Close relationships are not simply believed in. When both friends value the other’s friendship, they show it by how they behave together, and by their carefulness to protect and nurture their relationship. So it is with eternal life with God.

Eternal life is enjoyed by faith in this life and will be obtained by works (evidences of faith) in the kingdom to come. Those who enjoy a deep closeness and trust in God in this life will be rewarded immeasurably in the following kingdom. Those who don’t show evidences of this relationship, or show carelessness (such as through idolatry or loving the world or the flesh more), will suffer loss now and later. God values a relationship with us above all; those who cultivate and expand this relationship in thought, word, and deed gain the most. If we are too busy for God, we generally do not have eternal life, simply because our faith has been proven to be false.

Eternal life, life eternal, and everlasting life are all the same Greek words. In context, “eternal” does not concern itself so much with length of time as it does with the immeasurable value of or enhancement of life.

Now let’s see what the scriptures teach.

Eternal life is seen as something to be possessed now and in the future kingdom. Several verses show us that eternal life is a thoroughly committed relationship with God, such as in giving up all that hinders in order to follow Jesus (Matthew 19:16, 29), placing a value of building up that life over satisfying the flesh (John 6:29), sacrificing present loves to obtain eternal life (John 12:25), and renouncing sin and serving God wholeheartedly in holiness (Romans 6:22). Obviously, one must love God, but one must also demonstrate that love towards one’s neighbor (Luke 10:25).

Eternal life in the coming kingdom will be an immeasurably greater enjoyment of God’s presence. Again, it is not obtained by faith alone, but by a faith which works through obedience. For instance, disciples gain everlasting life in the kingdom to come when they prove their devotion to Jesus (Mark 10:30). Similarly, we obtain this life by seeking glory, honor and immortality through patiently doing good to the end (Romans 2:6-11).

Eternal life is nurtured by works of faith. One increases this relationship life by sowing to the Spirit rather than the flesh (Galatians 6:8), and we make it our own possession (laying hold on it) by maintaining good works (1 Timothy 6:12, 19).

Eternal life can be detected in oneself. First John gives several inward evidences of this life, such as the witness of the Spirit (1 John 5:7-11) who teaches us how to abide in Christ (1 John 2:23-28). In other words, how can we say we have eternal life if we are acting contrary to God’s own nature of love?
Clearly, eternal life is not simply believing in God, but is a whole-hearted commitment to God that is seen in service and purity as a response to God’s sacrificial love and overwhelming grace.

What Do You Think?

a. Do we get the above definition of eternal life merely by accepting Jesus as Savior? What verses support or deny this?

b. Since eternal life is enjoying one’s relationship with God, what can hinder eternal life?

c. Eternal life has to do with faith and works, not eternity. What does that say about the idea that we can’t lose eternal life since it is eternal?