The Warnings of the New Testament by Anastasios Kioulachoglou #8

The Warnings of the New Testament #8

The message of many frequently 

avoided New Testament passages.

by Anastasios Kioulachoglou

7
COMMON OBJECTIONS

Since I was one of those who was taught the view that
salvation is something received once and for all the moment
somebody believes and regardless of what happens after that, I
know very well some of the arguments people use to support it.
Here are some that I have heard:

7.1. I AM A CHILD OF GOD AND THIS CANNOT BE CHANGED.

This argument goes as follows: “I am a son of God, a child
of God and this cannot be taken away. That second I believed, I
was born again and the deal was sealed. I am saved regardless of
what I do in my life. Can a son ever stop to be a son?”

My comment

This argument uses the analogy of the physical sonship
according to which “once a son always a son”. But really what is
the validity of this argument in the spiritual ground? For example
angels are also called sons of God in the Bible. All of them,
including also the fallen ones (Genesis 6:2) and even Satan himself
(Job 2:1)! Does that mean that all of them are still, effectively, really,
now sons of God in the meaning of having fellowship and
enjoying what God has for those who are truly of His household?

No! In Genesis 6 we read about angels that apostatized. They are
in the abyss now, in a prison of darkness waiting for the day of
judgment (2 Peter 2:4). Can Satan expect anything other than his
utter destruction, just because he was once an angel of light? No,
he cannot. In addition: did the fact that those were children of
God - as Adam also was - prohibit them from falling and ending
up - as they will do - in the lake of fire? No it did not. So why is it
that some of us consider that being a child of God, because we
once believed, actually means that we have no obligations and we
can also be a prodigal son and still have the father taking us back,
without us repenting and returning to Him? Remember the father in
the parable of the prodigal son: he received his son back with joy!
But when? When he repented and came back home. He could have
chosen to continue living without repenting and finally die alone
somewhere. But he did not do this. Instead he repented, he
returned home and this made the whole difference. Concerning
us, Paul clarifies:

Romans 8:12-14
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live
according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you
will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.”

We became children of God by faith in Jesus Christ
(Galatians 3:26). But then why does the same apostle say here: “for
as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God”?
What does it mean to be led by the spirit of God? It means to be
driven by the Spirit, by the new nature, to walk by the Spirit, to
walk by the new nature, to strive to do the will of God, to abide in
the vine and to have His Word abiding in us. Can somebody be
led by the Spirit of God, when God’s Word does not abide in him?
Can somebody walk by the Spirit, if he does not abide in the vine,
in Christ? No, he cannot. So what Paul essentially tells us here, is
that real children of God are those who are led not by the flesh, the
old nature, but by the new nature, the Spirit, Christ in us. We also
saw previously, in Luke 8:20-21, Jesus making this clear when He
said:

“And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing
outside, desiring to see you." But he answered them, "My mother
and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

Real children of God, real brothers and sisters of Jesus
Christ are those who hear the Word of God and do it. People who
have discontinued in the faith, people who run after the world, its
riches, pleasures and cares or turned back because of tribulation
and temptation, in short, people who no longer abide in the vine,
in Christ, are clearly excluded from those that Jesus, and also Paul
in Romans, consider as real children of God. What should then
somebody do if he is in that category? The answer is repentance
and return to our loving Father. The parable of the prodigal son is
here a good example:

Luke 15:20-24
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long
way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and
embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I
have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer
worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants,
'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and
kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and
is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to
celebrate.”

7.2. “NO ONE CAN SNATCH ME OUT OF JESUS’ HAND” (JOHN
10:27-28)

I have heard people using this passage from John to
support that they will never be snatched out of Jesus’ hand,
regardless of whether they really follow Jesus or not, as long as
they once upon a time believed in Jesus. But is this what the Word
of God says? Let’s please read this passage in its context:

John 10:27-29
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give
them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to
me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the
Father's hand.”

The promise of “I give them eternal life and they will
never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand” is
made for those of verse 27:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”

To be a sheep of Christ and to be included in the promise
of verse 28 we have to hear His voice, to be known by Him and to
follow Him. Now let’s unpack this a bit more. What does it mean
to follow Christ? Does it mean to just, in time past, make a
confession of faith and from there on one is included
automatically and forever to those who follow Him? Is really
somebody who though he believed that Jesus is the Son of God,
then turned back to the world living after the flesh, covered by the
promise of John 10:27-29? Does such a person really follow Christ?
Well let’s allow the Master to explain what it takes to follow Him:

Luke 9:23-24
“And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny
himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will
save it.”

And also: Matthew 10:38
“And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

To follow Christ we need to take up our cross and go behind Him.
Following implies moving. Following Christ is something
dynamic, something that implies moving, and in fact moving
behind somebody else, the Lord. It is a daily business ( “take up
his cross daily and follow me” ) The first moment of faith is on the
other hand something static, something which happened at a
certain point in time. This moment put us behind Christ. Now we
have to follow Him. This moment brought us into the faith. Now
we have to run with patience the race of faith to the end, looking
unto Jesus the leader of our faith. As we read in 1 John:

1 John 2:10-11
“Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no
cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness
and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

John does not say that because we once believed we walk
automatically in the light and follow Jesus forever and ever.
Instead, following Jesus is something to be done daily. People
who, for example, hate their brothers are walking in the darkness
and they are not followers of Jesus, regardless of their once upon a
time faith. Since they are not followers of Jesus they are not of His
sheep, for His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Can we then
say that the promise of John 10:28: “I give them eternal life, and
they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my
hand” applies to them and whoever else walks in the darkness,
without repenting? No, we cannot, for this promise is to those
who follow Him. For people who are willing to lose their life in
order to find it. Yes, such people nobody can snatch out of Jesus’
hand.

7.3. “GOD WILL PRESENT ME BLAMELESS ANYWAY, REGARDLESS
OF WHAT I DO.”

Another one of the passages used to support the same
view is also Jude 1:24. There we read:

Jude 1:24-25
“Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to
present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great
joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be
glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now
and forever. Amen.”

So people basically say: “you see, God is able to keep me
from stumbling and to present me blameless”. Thus, they
conclude, “it does not really matter what I do. God will present
me blameless anyway”. But this is clearly a misinterpretation of
the passage. And to understand this better, again we have to take
the context into account. So let’s read it:

Jude 1:20-25
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith
and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God,
waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal
life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by
snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear,
hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Now to him who is
able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless
before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God,
our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty,
dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
Amen.”

“Keep yourselves in the love of God” Jude says. If his
understanding was that we will be kept anyway by God,
regardless of what we practice, why does he tell us to keep
ourselves in the love of God? If there is no possibility to NOT keep
ourselves in His love, to not continue in His kindness, then there
would be no point for the instruction. In a similar tone Peter said:

2 Peter 3:17
“Therefore, beloved, knowing beforehand, beware lest being led
away with the error of the lawless, you fall from your own
steadfastness.”

Is there a possibility that a “beloved”, a true believer, be
led away and fall from being steadfast for the Lord? Yes there is.
That is why we should beware. Who is to beware, be alerted? Who
is to keep himself in the love of God? Will God do this for us or
we do this? It is clear that we do this. Will God help us in this? Of
course! He will help us to be kept, if we really want to be kept.
How are we then to understand Jude 1:24? We are not to
understand it as God coercing people not to fall away but as God
helping people who want to keep themselves in the love of God to
actually do it. If we want to be kept in the love of God, He will
help us to do so and we will for sure succeed. But if somebody
does not want to continue with Him any longer, God will not
force him to continue.

7.4. “HE WHO STARTED THE GOOD WORK IN ME WILL FINISH IT
ANYWAY”

Philippians 1:6 is another passage used to support that
once somebody believes, there is no way he will ever fall away.
Here is what the passage says:

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,”

So some people take this passage and say: “God started the
work and he will perform it till the end” and implicitly add to
this: “regardless of what I do”. It is similar argument to the one
we saw used in Jude 1:24. And as in Jude 1:24 and earlier in John
10:28, so also here the context is ignored. However before we see
the context, I would like to point out that Paul speaks about
confidence. Being confident for something means that I believe
something and I believe it strongly, but it does not mean that I am
100% sure about it. I am confident about it. Now moving on, why
was Paul confident? Was he as confident regarding everybody,
every Christian, as he was of the Philippians? If it was just the fact
that they believed once upon a time, that made him so confident,
then he would have been just as confident about everybody who
believed. But he was not. Compare the above confidence
regarding the Philippians with the below feedback to the
Galatians:

Galatians 4:11
“I am afraid I have labored over you in vain”

Instead of being confident, he was afraid. Instead of a
finished work, he speaks about a labor in vain, wasted. Both the
Galatians and the Philippians were believers. But the confidence is
not the same concerning both, which in turn shows that Paul’s
confidence was not simply because once upon a time these people
believed and therefore it was sure that God would finish the work
in them, regardless of what they did. Why then was Paul so
confident about the Philippians? We only need to read the next
verse to find out. So verse 7 tells us:

Philippians 1:7
“It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you
in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my
imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.”

Barnes expands the above passage as follows:
“There is a reason why I should cherish this hope of you, and this
confident expectation that you will be saved. That reason is found
in the evidence which you have given that you are sincere
Christians. Having evidence of that, it is proper that I should
believe that you will finally reach heaven.”

Paul saw the fruit of these believers and because of this he
was confident that they would continue like this. His confidence is
like the confidence you have when you know somebody and you
are satisfied with what he does. This is the confidence that Paul
had about these believers: he knew them, he had seen their fruit
and he was confident that they would be there at the end. He was
confident that they would keep themselves in the love of God and
God, who is able to keep them from stumbling, would finish the
work that He had started in them. I believe this is a more accurate
way to understand this passage. If we use it to say “God will
finish the work in me, regardless of whether or not I hold fast to
his Word or keep myself in His love”, then we abuse it.

In fact Paul, with all the confidence he had about the
Philippians, kept instructing them:

Philippians 2:12-16
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not
only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works
in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all
things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless
and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a
crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights
in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ
I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

In short: Paul’s confidence was because of the fruit the
Philippians demonstrated. It was not an abstract confidence for
everybody. And he exhorts even these fruitful Philippians to hold
fast to the Word, which in turn means that there was a possibility
– despite all Paul’s confidence – that they would not. In that case
his labor would be in vain.
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7.5. “I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT AND STILL BE SAVED! ON
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT MY (SINFUL) WORKS MAY BE BURNED
BUT I WILL STILL MAKE IT!”

People get this idea by misinterpreting and taking 1
Corinthians 3:15 again out of context. Let’s read this passage in its
context:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it.
Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a
foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if
anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, straw — each one's work will become manifest, for the
Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire
will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that
anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will
be saved, but only as through fire.”

People take verse 15 and think in the back of their mind:
“it does not basically matter what I do. Whatever I do, even if I
walk according to the flesh, I may lose the rewards but I will still
make it into the Kingdom. My works will be burned but I am not
in danger.” Yet, this is not at all what the passage says. The
passage is not speaking about works in general, including sinful
works. What it speaks about is building on the foundation, which is
no other than Jesus Christ i.e. it speaks about works that were done
on the foundation of Christ. Therefore, this is not a passage
addressed to people who left this foundation to follow the world,
living after the flesh, the old nature, and sinning willingly and as a
way of life. For this case there are other passages which we have
seen in this study. In contrast this passage refers to people who
stay in Jesus and have Jesus as their foundation. Not every work
that a believer does, will stand the test of fire. Some of them will
be burned. Whoever has served God for some time, can probably
list some things he has done on the foundation of Christ that will
not stand the test of fire. For example, to those who teach the
Word, James says:

James 3:1-2
“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you
know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. [KJV:
“we shall receive the greater condemnation”]. For we all stumble
in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he
is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

Many want to teach the Word of God and if this is what
God has called somebody to do, he should do it with fear of God.
But this does not mean that it is risk free. There will be a judgment
for what one teaches and for any other work built on the
foundation: “for the Day will disclose it, because it will be
revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one
has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives,
he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer
loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” This is
the context of the passage. We can apply it for works built on the
foundation of Jesus Christ. Some of them are of gold, silver and
precious stones, but others of wood, hay and straw. These latter
ones will be burned.

7.6. SPEAKING IN TONGUES (FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO)

This argument goes like this: “I have spoken in tongues.
This proves that I have holy spirit and proves that I am saved. If I
live in sin and yet speak in tongues, then this proves that despite
the life that I live and what I practice I will make it into the
Kingdom!”

My comment

The Bible does not say anywhere that whoever spoke in
tongues or even did miracles will automatically enter into the
Kingdom. In contrast, it says that those who do the will of God,
those who keep the faith to the end, will enter. As the Lord said:

“On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and
do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to
them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of
lawlessness.”

The Lord does not mention speaking in tongues in his list.
It was not available when He was speaking. It became available
after Pentecost. He mentions however prophesying, casting out
demons and doing mighty works in His name. All these are
manifestations of the Spirit, exactly as speaking in tongues is (1
Corinthians 12:1-12). As He said: those who gloried in their
prophesying in His name, or in the mighty works they did or in
the casting out of demons they performed, yet were practicing,
working, lawlessness would not enter into the Kingdom.
Therefore if somebody lives in sin he should not glory in speaking
in tongues. The Lord warned us that arguments of this type will
not stand before Him that day. In contrast, he should repent and
instead of lawlessness strive with patience to practice the will of
God.

There are perhaps other passages used for support by
those who believe the view that one is once and for all saved the
moment he believes and regardless of what happens to his faith
after that. But the explanation is more or less the same as the ones
given above: either it is a promise that is made to people who,
now in the present, are believers, or the context of the passage is
ignored.

8
WHAT SHALL WE DO THEN NOW? SERVE THE LORD!

Closing this study, the question may be: and now what do
I do? I believe that the first thing one should do is to take his New
Testament and start a careful reading of the gospels and then of
the epistles and Revelation, without the glasses of familiar and
cherished doctrines, confirming for himself what we saw in this
study. As the Bereans were checking Paul from the Scriptures, so
you should do also concerning the material in this study.

In addition I would like to present, as a conclusion, the
following to you: The Lord is called Lord because He is the Master,
the Boss, the one who commands. We, on the other hand, having
made Him our Lord are by definition His servants. In fact the
word servant in the New Testament has more the meaning of a
slave i.e. the meaning of somebody who is completely devoted to
doing the will of His Master. As Romans 6:20-23 tells us:
Romans 6:20-23
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to
righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from
the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those

things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification
and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Before we believed we were slaves of sin. But after
believing and being set free from sin we have become slaves of God.
This is not reserved for some special ones who make a special
commitment to the Lord, but for everyone who has made Jesus
His Lord. For by making Him his Lord he has simultaneously
made himself the servant of this Lord. And here is what the Lord
said about those who serve Him, keeping the Master’s word and
commandments:

John 12:26
“If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there
will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor
him.”

John 14:21
“Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who
loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I
will love him and manifest myself to him.”

John 14:23
“Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our
home with him.”

Speaking about the one that serves Him and keeps what
He, the Master, says (i.e. His Word, His commandments, what the
Master commands) the Lord said that: “The Father will love him”,
“the Father will honor him”, “I will love him and manifest myself
to him”, “Me and my Father will come and make our home in
him”. Wow!!! The phrase “to have fellowship with God” has
ended up to be used as a cliché, a phrase that we hear countless
times but whose meaning is left vague. But what we read above is
not at all vague. Christian life is indeed fellowship with God and
having the Father and the Son making their home in us. Having
the Son manifesting Himself to us, is the very definition of this
fellowship. This is nothing abstract but something that will indeed
happen. But to whom? To those who serve God and carry out His
Word and will. If we do not care about this will, if we do not
consider ourselves slaves of God but rather “believers” who can
carry on as being slaves to sin, no such fellowship will be realized.
The Lord is very clear: those who love him are those who keep
His commandments, His Word. Those who do not do this, they do
not love him and the Lord will not manifest Himself to them.

What should we do then? We should make a commitment
to follow Jesus, to be His faithful servants, whatever it takes,
whatever the cost, living then our lives no more as slaves of sin
but as slaves of God.

To avoid misunderstanding: this does not mean running
around like panicking chickens, doing whatever comes to our
head as the will of God. It rather means checking His Word and
finding out what He wants us to do and at the same time be in
tune with Him to hear further instructions and commands from
the indwelling Master, through the holy spirit in us. Such
commands and instructions, if they come from the Master, will
never violate the written Word of God but will give us direction
and wisdom about specific things that God may want us to do
and which are not described in detail in the Bible.

See for example the instruction that Paul received to go
and preach the Word in Macedonia. He and his team were seeking
God on the matter of where to go next and the Master gave them
His command, through His indwelling Spirit (Acts 16:6-10). They
then as slaves of the Master carried out His will. It is the Master’s
job to call His servant and the servant’s job to be tuned in with the
Master so that when He calls, he immediately reacts, carrying out
His will.

Do we know the will of God as this is written in the Bible?
Are we tuned in with the Master to receive further instructions
from Him concerning what He may want us to do? Have we made
a commitment to follow the Master no matter what, no matter the
cost? If not may be now it is the time to do it.

Posted January 11, 2015
To be continued on next post...
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