SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/22/2015
8:07 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
How the Tribulations Saints Lived PT-2
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation
14:12
Message of the
verses: “12 Here is the perseverance
of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
We have been talking about “the perseverance of the
saints,” and have described it in terms like once saved always saved or eternal
security. What this doctrine says is
that in eternity past the Lord chose people for eternal salvation, and then
when Christ came to earth He died in their place, and then at some time in the
lives of these people the Holy Spirit of God gave them an effectual call to
salvation that they would answer and at that point confess that they are a
sinner in need of salvation trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and
Lord to save them and to give them eternal life.
John MacArthur writes of this doctrine, the perseverance
of the saints that it rests on five solid, unshakable pillars, and then goes on
to explain them which is what we will attempt to do in this SD.
The first proof of this truthfulness of this doctrine is
that God has established it, and then MacArthur sites Psalm 37:23-34 which we
will now look at. “23 The steps of a man
are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 24 When he falls, he
will not be hurled headlong, Because
the LORD is the One who holds his hand. 25 I have been young and now I
am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging
bread. 26 All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a
blessing. 27 Depart from evil and do good, So you will abide forever. 28 For
the LORD loves justice And does not forsake His godly ones; They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. 29 The righteous will
inherit the land And dwell in it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous utters
wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. 31 The law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not
slip. 32 The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him. 33
The LORD will not leave him in his hand Or let him be condemned when he is
judged. 34 Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you
to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”
Next we will look at some different verses from the book
of Isaiah and see how he also celebrated this great truth:
“1 But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by name; you are Mine! 2 “When you pass through the waters, I
will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you
walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you. 3
“For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given
Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. 4 "Since you are
precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other
men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. 5 “Do not fear,
for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, And gather you
from the west. 6 “I will say to the north, ’Give them up!’ And to the south,
’Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends
of the earth, 7 Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for
My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made’ (Isa. 43:1-7).”
“17 Israel has been saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation;
You will not be put to shame or humiliated To all eternity (Isa. 45:17).”
“14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, And
the Lord has forgotten me." 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child And
have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are
continually before Me (Isa. 49:14-16).”
6 "Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the
earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out
like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be
forever, And My righteousness will not wane (Isa. 51:6).”
Now we will move to the New Testament to show that God
promises eternal salvation there also.
We begin with John 3:36, which is one of my all time favorite verses.
“36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he
who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on
him."”
Next we look at one of the most famous verse in all of Scripture,
John 3:16 “16 "For God so loved the
world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish, but have eternal life.”
Next is John 5:24: “24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him
who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed
out of death into life.” John MacArthur
writes “This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life. (1 John 2:25).
He then writes “A second truth upon which the doctrine of
the perseverance of the saints rests in that God’s purpose assures it. Jesus declared: “37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the
one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. 38 "For I have come down from heaven, not
to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He
has given Me I lose
nothing, but
raise it up on the last day. 40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day’ (John
6:37-40).”
God’s promise will totally rest upon His sovereign
purpose or plan, and we have see this stated in the above verses, that is none
of those that He gives to the Son should be lost, and then in John 6:44 we see
this again: “44 “No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last
day.” As I stated in my opening comments
that God in eternity past chose some for salvation, which is His plan, and then
He gives them to His Son who died for them on the cross. I realize that when we look at this from a
human perspective that we may think that this is not fair, however since sin
entered into the world as seen in the third chapter of Genesis the only thing
that is fair is that all sinners go to hell, however God has a plan to save
sinners and this was accomplished through His Son who died on the cross for
those who believe in Him. John MacArthur
writes “All who come to saving faith in Jesus will be part of the ‘resurrection
of life’ (John 5:29); now will be lost.
Romans 8:28-30 also teaches that there are no breaks in the process of
salvation: “28 And we know that God
causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are called according to His purpose. 29 For
those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of
His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these
whom He predestined, He also
called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” MacArthur concludes this thought “All those
whom God foreknew are predestined, called, justified, and glorified. From its beginning in eternity past to its
conclusion in eternity future, the salvation process is an uninterrupted
continuity; there is no possibility of anyone dropping out along the way. ‘For I am confident of this very things,’
wrote Paul, ‘that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day
of Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 1:6; cf. 1 Cor. 1:7-9).
In Romans 11:29 he added, ‘The gifts and the calling of God are
irrevocable.’ What God purposes, He will
carry out.”
What we are looking at is something that is not too
common in the book of Revelation, and that is doctrine, but as we take a look
at this doctrine of eternal security it is important for all of us to
understand it completely and I believe that is why MacArthur includes this in
his messages on Revelation and thus in his commentary too. We have three more proofs to look at, which
we will continue in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I am thankful
that the Lord called me to salvation, as this was the most important thing that
has ever happened to me in my life, and it is my desire to learn all that I can
about this doctrine and apply it to my life.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
To love the Lord, and to better
understand more about His great salvation that He has bestowed upon me.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “The Macedonians” (2
Corinthians 9:2).
Today’s Bible
question: “What made the wise virgins
wise?” Hint: look at Matthew 25.
Answer in our next SD.
7/22/2015 8:56 AM
How t
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