"The LORD is my strength and song,.is become my sal
It Is Written, in Pslams118:14
"The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation."
God bless you all
Dear Stephen,
I beg to differ with you, concerning Demas, because the whole reason that Demas turned back to this present evil world, was proof this present evil world was truly Demas' trust, not Christ, therefore turned back to what he trusted because Demas had NEVER truly WHOLEHEARTEDLY trusted in Jesus and Jesus alone for save him.
Because Jesus showed us why when Jesus promised all true believers in Jesus, when He was answering the truly unbelieving covetous Pharisees, in John 10:27,28
26But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
27My 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. 30I and
my Father are one.
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
==========
Concerning rabbit's question...if we ever trust in Christ and Christ alone to save us, then we can never lose our Salvation...because in fact Jesus Himself is Our only Lord and Savior and God and King and SALVATION, AND ALL IN ALL.
But the reason why so many believers are carnal and backslide left and right in this life is because, by God's Grace alone forever, through true trust in Jesus Christ alone forever, they don't WHOLEHEARTEDLY WILL to forevermore trust and surrender ALL into the Truly Merciful Arms of Jesus.
Therefore, every thing that they don't trust and surrender God and Jesus to direct in their lives becomes a way in which the devil can lead us astray from Christ back into this evil world.
But don't worry...simply trust in Jesus with simple childlike faith for Jesus to both save you and keep you perfectly close to Jesus at all times...and forevermore...and all shall be well
The object of saving faith is Christ alone.
The apostle Peter declared it is through Jesus Christ who was crucified, whom God raised form the dead, in whom "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
We are not saved by random access faith, but faith that is focused on Christ. Even faith in God does not save us. It is faith in the death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose form the dead. God gives eternal life to those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Let's suppose for a moment that you died today and stood before God. What would you say if He asked to you, "Why should I let you into My heaven?" What do you think you would say?
How would you fill in the blank? Christ plus _________ = eternal life. Christ plus good works? Christ plus my virtue? Christ plus my church membership? Christ plus my faithfulness to the church? Christ plus my trying to live a good Christian life? Christ plus what? Christ plus my baptism by immersion? Christ plus speaking in tongues?
It is none of these. It is faith in Christ's work alone. The moment you add anything thing to the completed work of Christ before, during or after faith in Christ you are saying Christ's work on the Cross was imperfect. Let us be emphatically clear, Christ's work on the cross on our behalf was all-sufficient in the eyes of a righteous God.
Is it my faith that saves me? No, it is not even our faith that saves us. It is believing on Christ that saves us. "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." If you say that your faith saves you, your faith has become a work, and you have something of which to boast. Faith does not save us. It is through faith in Christ that we are saved. Faith is only the instrument; it is not the cause of our justification. It is the link to the object of saving faith that is Christ and His saving work. Jesus is the righteousness that saves us.
The cause of our justification is the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has done. We must never put anything, not even faith, in that place. Faith is only the channel through which the righteousness of God becomes mine.
"[God] made Him [Jesus Christ] who new no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
This righteousness of God is "for all those who believe." God doesn't wait until after we die before deciding whether He is going to save us or not. He doesn't wait until after we have lived this life and then decide whether we have had enough faith, or done enough good works, or were "good enough" to save us. God gives His righteousness to all the very moment they believe on Christ as their Savior. "The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe" (Romans 3:22). It is God's gift by grace through Jesus Christ.
There are no exceptions because we are all sinners (3:23). The immoral, the self–righeous and the devoutly religious person are all saved the same way. The righteousness of God by faith in Jesus Christ is for all who believe. There is no difference because we all need it. The good news of God's saving grace in Jesus Christ "is the power of God for salvation to every one who believes" (Romans 1:16). God doesn't justify good people, self–righteous or even devoutly religious people. He saves sinners. He justifies people who have fallen short of His glory! He justifies failures.
Paul is not even concerned about the "proof" or genuineness of a believer's salvation. He leaves that up to God. The emphasis in Romans is justification by faith alone. "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (Romans 4:3). "But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness" (v. 5). "God reckons righteousness apart form works" (v. 6).
Faith rests entirely and exclusively upon the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done. Some anonymous poet has written:
<dir> <dir> <dir> <dir> I rest my faith on Him and Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone.
</dir> </dir> </dir> </dir> Our placing our faith in Christ is like the priest in the Old Testament laying his hands on the head of the sacrificial animal symbolizing the laying the sins of the people on the animal by faith and saying,
<dir> <dir> <dir> <dir> I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God.
</dir> </dir> </dir> </dir> The merit of every work is groundless because faith alone is the means by which a lost sinner receives justification and reconciliation to God. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Good works will naturally follow because God works it in the believer from within his new nature. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (v. 10).
Justification does not mean to make righteous, or good, or holy, or upright. The Holy Spirit begins to do this in regeneration and He carries it on in the work of sanctification. He will perfect it in glorification. However, justification does not refer to this renewing and sanctifying grace of God. Justification is simply a declaration or pronouncement respecting the relation of the person to the law.
We are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" (v. 24).
The
Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, and received by faith alone."
God declares the believing sinner that he has been made forever right and acceptable to God. This is the sinner's new position before the LORD God. It has been accomplished by God's grace.
Justification "does not simply mean 'just as if I'd never sinned.' That doesn't go far enough! Neither does it mean that God makes me righteous so that I never sin again. It means to be 'declared righteous.' Justification is God's merciful act, whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner while he is still in his sinning state. He sees us in our need, wallowing around in the swamp of our sin. He sees us looking to Jesus Christ and trusting Him completely by faith, to cleanse us from our sin. And though we come to Him with all of our needs and in all of our darkness, God says to us, 'Declared righteous! Forgiven! Pardoned!'" (Charles R. Swindoll,
Growing Deep in the Christian Life. p. 238).
Justification is a legal standing with God based upon Christ's death and resurrection and our faith in Him. We are declared to be righteous by God. Therefore, justification is the legal and formal acquittal from guilt by God who is Judge. God pronounces the sinner as righteous, who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Justified" means to declare a person righteous. It is to stand before the bar of God and receive His acquittal based upon faith in Christ alone. Those whom God justifies by faith He freely declares righteous. It is God's gift to the sinner. It is without payment of any kind. It is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. It is free to us because it is by His grace. That does not mean it is cheap. It is the most expensive gift heaven could give. God gave His Son on our behalf. "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross" (1 Peter 2:24). The blood of Jesus is precious blood. It is of great value to God the Father. It is held as of a great price, the most precious thing to God. That blood redeems us. "You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Since it is that precious in God's sight why in the world, do I want to add anything to it? Why would I want to demean it by touching it with my sinful hands? Imputed righteousness is free because it is by His grace. But it is not cheap! The Lord has done it all on our behalf because we could not do it ourselves.
Because the Lord has done all the work on our behalf He can therefore pronounce righteous all who believe on Him. The moment you place your faith in Christ as your savior He declares you righteous. He pronounces the believing sinner "not guilty!" If God therefore pronounces the believing sinner acquitted up front then this imputed righteousness had noting to do with works before, during or after that moment of faith in Christ for salvation. God justifies us freely through faith the very moment we believe on Christ.
No condemnation!
The result of this imputed righteousness is peace with God. "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). We have been "reconciled to God" (v. 10). Since we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son, "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (8:1). Moreover, our justification can not possibly be a partial justification. It is complete. We stand righteous in the sight of God. God always does a perfect job. I don't need to add anything to it––no works, no baptism, no church membership, no obedience. You can not improve on what God has finished. God did everything that He required to give us a right standing in His sight. Since there is "now no condemnation," there is absolute justification. This is the believer's new standing before God. No wonder there is "peace with God." We are reconciled to God. We are no longer enemies with God (5:10). We are no longer at war with Him. We have His peace.
One perfect person stands between God and us. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). He reconciles us to God by His death. The wrath of God has forever been removed. We no longer stand in fear of His judgment. He has acquitted and forgiven us of all sin forever.
The apostle Paul can ask the most difficult question, "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33). Who can bring a charge against the believer? What prosecuting attorney can make it stick? No one. Not even Satan himself. God has already declared us acquitted. Is He going to go against His word? Of course not, all our sins are under the blood of Jesus. Every one of them. Christ died and rose again to cover every sin a Christian commits. He is eternally acquitted and justified. God imputes the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ to the believer.
Our future glorification
F. F. Bruce helps us see where God is going with us in the future. Our future is certain because "the difference between sanctification and glory is one of degree only, not one of kind. Sanctification is progressive conformity to the image of Christ here and now (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10); glory is perfect conformity to the image of Christ there and then. Sanctification is glory begun; glory is sanctification completed."
You can have eternal life right now.
Let's suppose for a moment that I died tonight and stood before the LORD God who is the Supreme Judge of the Universe. No doubt He would ask me, "Wil Pounds, why should I let you into my heaven? You are a guilty sinner. How do you plead?"
My response would be, "I plead guilty, Your Honor."
My advocate, Jesus Christ, who is standing there beside me speaks up for me. He says, "Your Honor. It is true that Wil Pounds is grievous sinner. He is guilty. He deserves eternal punishment for his sinfulness. However, Father, I died for him on the cross and rose from the dead. Wil Pounds has put his faith and trust in Me and all that I have done for him on the Cross. He is a believer. I died for him, and he has accepted Me as his substitute."
The Lord God turns to me and says, "Is that true?"
I will respond to Him, "Yes sir! That is the truth. I am claiming the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone to cleanse me of all my sins. I have put my faith in Jesus to save me for all eternity. This is what You have promised in Your word. Jesus said, 'For God so loved the world (and this includes Wil Pounds), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'"
The Lord God responds: "Acquitted! By order of this court, I demand that you be set free. The price has been paid by My Son."
The truth is we all "fall short" in our effort to attain a relationship with the holy God. We need someone to rescue us and set us free. That person has to be a substitute for us because sin requires the death penalty. We need someone who is holy and just in the eyes of the LORD God. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the holy eyes of God. God in His rich mercy toward us sinners provided someone as our substitute. The moment you believe that Jesus died for your sins, you receive an absolutely free gift. All of your sins are completely forgiven and you are eternally justified. God imputes His perfect righteousness to your account. What you need is God's kind of righteousness, not self–righteousness. He credits your spiritual account with His perfect righteousness.
All that is required of you this day to receive the free gift of eternal life is
believe on Christ as your personal Savior. Only by believing can a person appropriate the gift of God. Ask Him to save you right now. Believe on Him and you shall be saved.
To believe on Jesus Christ is to be aware of the truth that Christ died for your sins and to accept that truth and commit yourself to it. There is the element of trust, committal, obedience and abandonment to what you believe.
In faith we receive and rest upon Christ alone for salvation. Faith is to trust in a person, the person of Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the lost. Faith is not something that merits favor with God. The essence of faith is to bring the lost sinner, dead in his trespasses and sins into direct personal contact with the Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not faith that saves, but
Christ that saves through faith. Faith unites us to Christ. Christ saves us. If you will believe on Him you shall be saved today.
King David said, in Psalms118:14,
"The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation."
<dir> <dir> <dir> <dir> Just as I am without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come.
Just as I am, and waiting not
To rid my soul of one dark blot,
To Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God I come.
</dir> </dir> </dir> </dir>
