Updated 5-19-13
7. Salvation
I. Salvation is a supernatural work that cannot
be done by man. Men are born as slaves
to sin and to the devil. Men are born
spiritually dead and are blinded by the devil and by their own sin. Spiritually dead men cannot understand the Gospel
message of salvation and the things of God.
They have no concept of God’s holiness and hatred of sin, nor His
justice that must punish sin, nor their own depravity, sinful nature, and need
for Christ’s sacrifice. Therefore, it is
impossible for man to save himself. Only
God has the power to save.
II. Salvation is a gift given by God to those
whom God mercifully chooses. Salvation
is made possible by God’s supernatural and undeserved love, grace, and mercy
and by the redemption of Jesus Christ to pay the price that our sins deserved
and His propitiation to satisfy the wrath of God against us.
III.
Salvation is accomplished by the permanent and unchangeable work of the Holy
Spirit regenerating the hearts. Only the
Holy Spirit can give man this understanding and bring to life one who is
spiritually dead through the hearing of the Gospel and by convicting them to
repent and believe.
IV. Since it is impossible for a spiritually dead
man to save himself, Jesus does not beg, plead, or ask men to say a little
prayer and accept Him into their hearts.
Rather, Jesus commands men to repent—be
broken as they realize their own sinfulness and turn away from sin; and to believe—turn to Jesus and humbly trust in God’s grace and work of
redemption through Jesus and not their own works.
V. Few will enter in.
VI.
Evidence of salvation: you will know them by their fruits, especially love; by
their obedience, and their perseverance.
The book of 1 John also has other tests for salvation.
VII. What we are to do.
I. Salvation is a supernatural work that cannot
be done by man. Men are born as slaves
to sin and to the devil. Men are born
spiritually dead and are blinded by the devil and by their own sin. Spiritually dead men cannot understand the
Gospel message of salvation and the things of God. They have no concept of God’s holiness and
hatred of sin, nor His justice that must punish sin, nor their own depravity,
sinful nature, and need for Christ’s sacrifice.
Therefore, it is impossible for man to save himself. Only God has the power to save.
A
supernatural work that cannot be done by man:
They who heard
it said, "Then who can
be saved?" But
He said, "The
things that are impossible
with people are possible
with God."
Luke 18:26-27
No man can by any means redeem his
brother or give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of
his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever."
Psalm 48:7-8
If I should
wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye, yet You would plunge me
into the pit, and my own clothes would abhor me.
Job 9:30-31
For while we
were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
Romans 5:6
Men
are born as slaves to sin and to the devil:
Jesus answered
them, "Truly,
truly, I say
to you, everyone
who commits sin
is the slave of sin.
John 8:34
If perhaps God
may grant them repentance leading
to the knowledge of the truth,
and they may come to their senses
and escape from the snare
of the devil, having been
held captive
by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Men
are born spiritually dead and are blinded by the devil and by their own sin:
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
Psalms 51:5
Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart; there is no
fear of God before his eyes. For it
flatters him in his own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the
hatred of it.
Psalm 36:1-2
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you
formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
disobedience.
Ephesians 2:1-2
No longer walk just as the Gentiles now walk, in the futility of
their mind, being darkened in understanding, excluded from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their
heart.
Ephesians 4:17-18
Spiritually
dead men cannot understand:
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because such
knowledge comes only through the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:14
None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for
God.
Romans 3:10-11
The Light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:5
He was in the
world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
John 1:10
And you are unwilling
to come to Me so
that you may have life.
John 5:40
No one can
come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.
John 6:44
No one can
come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.
John 6:65
"We have
believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God." Jesus answered them, "Did I Myself not
choose you, the twelve, and yet one of you is a devil."
John 6:69-70
Note:
Peter thought that it was because of his intellect that he came to know that
Jesus was the Messiah, but Jesus corrects him and tells him that He chose Peter and the rest of the
twelve disciples.
In their case
the prophesy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, "YOU WILL KEEP ON
HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT
PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY
SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH
THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."
Matthew 13:13-15
Only
God has the power to save:
I,
even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me.
Isaiah
43:11
Yet
I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt; and you were not to know
any god except Me, for there is no savior besides Me.
Hosea
13:4
Salvation
is from the LORD.
Jonah
2:9
And
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
II. Salvation is a gift given by God to those
whom God mercifully chooses. Salvation
is made possible by God’s supernatural and undeserved love, grace, and mercy
and by the redemption and propitiation of Jesus Christ.
A
gift given by God:
Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted."
Matthew 13:11
Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD,
and grant us Your salvation.
Psalm 85:7
With gentleness correcting those
who are in opposition, if perhaps God
may grant them repentance leading
to the knowledge
of the truth, and they
may come to their senses
and escape from the snare
of the devil, having been
held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:25-26
Salvation
is from the LORD.
Jonah 2:9c
But as many as received Him, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His
name.
John 1:12
For just as the Father raises the dead
and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
John 5:21
To
those whom God mercifully chooses:
But we should always give thanks
to God for you, brethren beloved
by the Lord, because God
has chosen you from the
beginning for salvation through sanctification
by the Spirit and faith
in the truth. It was for this
He called you through
our gospel, that you
may gain the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2
Thessalonians 2:13-14
Just
as He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world,
that we would be holy
and blameless before
Him. In love
He predestined
us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ
to Himself, according
to the kind intention
of His will.
Ephesians
1:4-5
No one can come
to Me unless the Father
who sent Me draws him; and I
will raise
him up on the last day.
John 6:44
Ken Matto:
We do not find a decision.
Instead, we find a drawing by the Father who leads the saved person to His
Son. Before someone can come to the Lord
Jesus Christ, God qualifies them by giving them the Holy Spirit who makes them
spiritually alive. In other words, the person has become saved. They are not making a decision, but a
qualified response.
But there are
some
of you who do not believe.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who
they were who did not believe,
and who
it was that would betray
Him. And He was saying,
"For this reason
I have said
to you, that no one can come
to Me unless it
has been granted
him from the Father.
John 6:64-65
Nor does
anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to
reveal Him.
Matthew 11:27
For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Romans 8:29
For though
the twins were not yet being born and had not done anything good or bad, so
that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works
but because of Him who calls, it was said to her, "THE OLDER WILL SERVE
THE YOUNGER." Just as it is
written, "JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED." What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is
there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY
ON WHM I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE
COMPASSION." So then it does not
depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
Romans
9:11-16
John MacArthur:
The fact that God made His choice of
Jacob before the boy were born and apart from personal merit demonstrates that
election unto spiritual life is unrelated to any human effort, and is based
only on the prerogative of God who makes His selection. Who
wills - Salvation is not initiated by human choice—even faith is a gift
from God. Who runs - Salvation is not merited by human effort.
I permitted Myself to be sought by those who
did not ask for Me; I
permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.
Isaiah 65:1
Made
possible by God's supernatural and undeserved love, grace, and mercy:
Be gracious to me, O God, according to
Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my
transgressions.
Psalm 51:1
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
Ephesians 2:4-5
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, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Ken
Matto:
Trying to add any type of works to
God’s salvation plan adulterates it.
Even if those works are just simple works, like praying to receive
Christ. That is because any type of work,
no matter how trivial, would make man a contributing factor in their own
salvation.
Note: The Holy Spirit
saves us, not our prayers or our works.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again
to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:3
But blessed
are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
Matthew 13:16
Redemption:
Propitiation:
In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10
Note: The word propitiation means “substitution; appeasement or satisfaction of
God the Father’s wrath by Jesus Christ.”
It is a sacrifice that makes it
possible for God to be merciful to the guilty.
Paul Washer:
Most theologians would tell you that
apart from the name of God this is the most important word in the Bible and yet
in all your going to church has anyone even told you what it meant?
And He Himself is the propitiation for
our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2:2
23 For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by
His grace through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a
propitiation in
His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would
be just and the justifier of the one who
has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26
Note: Most theologians
consider this to be the greatest passage in all of Scripture, in that it sums
up the message of the Gospel.
John MacArthur Study
Bible:
Man is incapable of
satisfying God's justice apart from Christ, except by spending eternity in
hell...The wisdom of God's plan allowed Him to punish Jesus in the place of
sinners and thereby justify those who are guilty without compromising His
justice.
III.
Salvation is accomplished by the permanent and unchangeable work of the Holy
Spirit regenerating the hearts. Only the
Holy Spirit can give man this understanding and bring to life one who is
spiritually dead through the hearing of the Gospel and by convicting them to
repent and believe.
A
permanent and unchangeable work:
My sheep hear
My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me; and
I give eternal life
to them, and they will never perish;
and no one
will snatch them out of
My hand.
John 10:27-28
Now He who establishes us with you in
Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our
hearts as a pledge.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Note:
Salvation is a permanent and unchangeable work done by the Holy Spirit. Salvation cannot
be lost by man because the Holy Spirit living in our hearts secures and seals
us. The only
reason that people “walk away” from God is that they were never saved in the
first place.
In Him, you also, after listening to the
message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were
sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the
praise of His glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to
children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts
to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18
Of
the Holy Spirit:
Jesus
answered, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
John
3:5
He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans
8:11
But the
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach
you all things, and bring to remembrance all that I said to you.
John 14:26
Only
the Holy Spirit can give understanding and bring to life:
No
one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
1
Corinthians 12:3
He said to
them, "Who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." And Jesus said to him,
"Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal
this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew
16:16-17
For to us God
revealed them through the spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the
depths of God. For who among men knows
the thought of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows
except the Spirit of God. Now we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that
we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak,
not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining
spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.
1 Corinthians
2:10-13
It is the Spirit
who gives life;
the flesh profits nothing;
the words
that I have spoken to you are spirit
and are life.
John 6:63
As for you,
the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need
for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and
is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
1 John 2:27
Therefore
I make known
to you that no one speaking
by the Spirit of God says,
"Jesus
is accursed;” and no one can say,
"Jesus
is Lord," except
by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:3
David Platt:
An old preaching professor used to
take his preaching class every semester out to a cemetery and he would have
them to gather around the cemetery and he would look at these preachers one by
one and he would challenge them to speak over those graves and to call those
who were dead to come to life. One by
one they would try and of course, one by one they would fail. Then he looked at them and he reminded them,
when you speak to those who do not know Christ, no matter how eloquent your
sermon is, no matter how passionate your invitation is, there is nothing your
words can do to bring life apart from the Spirit of God. People are dead in sin and they can only be
made alive by His Spirit. If you are
dead, what can you do to make yourself alive? Nothing.
When He had said these things, He cried
forth with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”
The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and
his face was wrapped around with a cloth.
Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
John 11:43-44
Ken Matto:
Here we see a man who was dead for
four days being raised to life. Lazarus
is a great picture of a person being called out of dead sins into
salvation. Before a person becomes saved,
they are dead in their sins and then Christ raises them up to newness of
life. This is the great biblical truth
that the raising of Lazarus gives us. Ephesians 2:5 says,
"Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." Now
when the Lord called Lazarus forth, did Lazarus sit in the grave and decide
whether he wanted to come forth or not?
Of course not.
Note: Salvation is a supernatural work, not a decision that
one makes. Lazarus was dead. He had no part in this miracle—he was only able
to respond to the command after the Holy Spirit gave him new life.
He
saved us, not on the basis of the deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the
Holy Spirit.
Titus
3:5
The
Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.
Acts
16:14
The
Holy Spirit brings the spiritually dead to life and convicts them to repent and
believe:
Moreover, I
will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove
the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you
to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
I will put
My Spirit within you
and you will come to life.
Ezekiel 37:14
Such were some of you; but you
were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:11
He saved
us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy,
by the washing of regeneration
and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5
And He, when
He comes, will convict
the world concerning sin
and righteousness
and judgment;
concerning sin,
because
they do not believe
in Me; and concerning righteousness,
because
I go to the Father
and you no longer see
Me; and concerning judgment,
because
the ruler of this world
has been judged.
John 16:8-11
Note:
Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit, who convicts the world of sin.
Through
the hearing of the Gospel:
Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you,
which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved,
if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
1 Corinthians
15:1-2
For I am not
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16
So faith
comes from hearing, and hearing
by the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17
Ken Matto:
None of us know whom the Lord is going
to save, and that is why we send forth the Gospel, so His Elect may hear.
In Him, you
also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Ephesians
1:13
For our gospel did not come
to you in word only,
but also in
power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction.
1
Thessalonians 1:5a
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is
coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and
those who hear will live.
John 5:25
"Is not My word like
fire?" declares the LORD, "and
like a hammer which shatters a rock?"
Jeremiah 23:29
Shorter Catechism:
What is the efficacy of the word, in the work of conversion,
compared to in scripture? It is compared
to a fire, to a hammer, Jer. 23:29; to rain, Deut. 32:2; and to light, Psalm
119:105.
Why compared to fire? Because as fire purifies the metal,
separating the dross; so the word, in the hand of the Spirit, purifies the
heart, purging away the dross of sin and corruption that is there.
Why compared to a hammer? As a hammer “breaketh the rock in pieces,”
and thus fits it for the building, so the Spirit of God, by the word, breaks
the hard heart of man, and fits it for being built on the foundation God has
laid in Zion.
For as the rain and snow come down from
heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear n
sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall My word be which goes forth from My
mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire,
and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11
Shorter Catechism:
Why compared to rain? Because as the rain falls irresistibly, so there is
no withstanding the efficacy of the word in the hand of the Spirit.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
Shorter Catechism:
Why compared to light? Because as light discovers things that were
indiscernible in the dark; so the Spirit, by the word, discovers the latent
wickedness of the heart, and the matchless glory and excellency of Christ, as
IMMANUEL, “God with us.”
IV.
Since it is impossible for a spiritually dead man to save himself, Jesus does
not beg, plead, or ask men to say a little prayer and accept Him into their
hearts. Rather, Jesus commands men to repent—be broken as they realize their
own sinfulness and turn away from sin; and to believe—turn to Jesus and humbly
trust in God’s grace and work of redemption through Jesus and not their own
works.
Repent
and believe:
Now
after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent
and believe in the gospel."
Mark
1:14-15
Matthew Henry
commentary (complete):
Both these (repentance
and belief) must go together; we must not think either that reforming our lives
will save us without trusting in the righteousness and grace of Christ, or that
trusting in Christ will save us without the reformation of our hearts and
lives. Christ hath joined these two together, and let no man
think to put them asunder. They will
mutually assist and befriend each other.
Repentance will quicken faith, and faith will make repentance
evangelical; and the sincerity of both together must be evidenced by a diligent
conscientious obedience to all God’s commandments. Thus the preaching of the gospel began, and
thus it continues; still the call is, “Repent, and believe, and live a life
of repentance and a life of faith.”
Note: The first
recorded words of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark were to “repent and believe.” These two words sum up salvation. There are many who believe that salvation is
possible without repentance. These
people say that the book of John never mentions the word repentance, but
instead uses only the word believe
for salvation. The book of John was
written years after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke—who all wrote of the
need for man to repent. John does not
repeat this message, but adds to it.
The word faith is a synonym of the word believe. Charles Spurgeon said, “Repentance and faith must go together to
complete each other.” The word repent means to turn away from sin and
trusting in ourselves. The word believe means to turn to Christ and
trust in Him for our salvation. We
cannot turn to Christ unless we also turn away from sin—it is impossible;
therefore one cannot believe unless he has also repented. Salvation is accomplished by both: man
turning from sin (repentance) and turning to Christ (belief).
John MacArthur
Study Bible commentary:
“Although John never uses repent as a verb, the
verbs he does employ
are even stronger. He teaches that all true believers love the light (3:19),
come to the light (3:20-21), obey the Son (3:36), practice the truth (3:21),
worship in spirit and truth (4:23-24), honor God (5:22-24), do good deeds
(5:29), eat Jesus' flesh and drink His blood (6:48-66), love God (8:42, cf. 1 John 2:15), follow Jesus (10:26-28), and keep
Jesus' commandments (14:15). Those ideas hardly concur with no-lordship
salvation! All of them presuppose
repentance, commitment, and a desire to obey.”
“Finally,
remember that it is the Gospel of John that outlines the Holy Spirit's ministry
of conviction toward the unbelieving world (John 16:8-11). Of what does the Holy Spirit convict
unbelievers? Of "sin,
righteousness, and judgment" (John 16:8). Wouldn't it seem that the Holy Spirit's
ministry of convicting people of sin and its consequences has the specific
purpose of laying the groundwork for repentance?
Repentance
underlies all John's writings. It is understood,
not necessarily explicit. His readers were so familiar with the apostolic
message that he didn't need to dwell on the issue of repentance. John was emphasizing different facets of the
gospel message than those highlighted by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But he most assuredly was not writing to
contradict them! His aim certainly was
not to devise a no-lordship doctrine of salvation.
In
fact, John's purpose was exactly the opposite. He was showing that Jesus is God
(e.g., 1:1-18 ; 5:18 ; 12:37-41). John's readers clearly understood the
implication of that:
If Jesus is God and we must receive Him as God (John 1:12), our first
duty in coming to Him is to repent (cf. Luke 5:8).”
Paul
Washer:
This
is not about a bunch of Americans just getting a hold of something that will
make their life better so that they can have their best life now. This is about
dying to every one of your dreams, dying to your own will, dying to your own
self, your own autonomy and self government and throwing yourself upon Christ
and believing that what he did on that tree was sufficient.
Solemnly testifying to both Jews and
Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 20:21
Repent:
God
is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day. If
a man does not repent, He will sharpen
His sword; He has bent
His bow and made
it ready.
Psalm 7:11-12
Therefore
having overlooked the times
of ignorance, God
is now declaring
to men that all
people everywhere should repent,
because He has fixed
a day in which
He will judge the world
in righteousness through a Man whom
He has appointed,
having furnished proof
to all men by raising
Him from the dead.
Acts 17:30-31
“For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord GOD.
"Therefore, repent and live.”
Ezekiel 18:32
Then you will remember your evil ways
and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your sight
for your iniquities and your abominations.
Ezekiel 36:31
Wash yourselves, make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil.
Isaiah 1:16
Let the wicked forsake his way and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have
compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:7
When God saw their deeds, that they
turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which
He had declared He would bring upon them.
And He did not do it.
Jonah 3:10
I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Luke 13:3
Be gracious to me, O God, according to
Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my
transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from
my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done
what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and
blameless when You judge. Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which you have broken
rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and
blot out all my iniquities.
Psalm 51:1-9
Surely His salvation is near to those
who fear Him.
Psalm 85:9
The LORD favors those who fear Him,
those who wait for His lovingkindness.
Psalm 147:11
He has not dealt with us according to
our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the
earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far
has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on His children, so the LORD has
compassion on those who fear Him.
Psalm 103:10-13
For You do not desire sacrifice or else I
would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a
broken and contrite heart—these O God, You will not despise.
Psalm 51:16-17
Psalm
34:18
But to this one
I will look, to him who
is humble and contrite
of spirit, and who trembles
at My word.
Isaiah
66:2
For thus says the high and exalted One
who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, and
also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the
lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15
Therefore, putting aside all
filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word
implanted, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:21
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."
James 4:6
For though the Lord is exalted, yet He
regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.
Psalm 138:6
Whoever exalts himself shall be
humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
Matthew 23:12
John Wesley:
It is observable that
no sentence of our Lord's is so often repeated as this.
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up into the
temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But
the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who
humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke
18:9-14
Note: The Pharisee trusted in his own works and compared
himself to others—he did not recognize his own sin. The tax collector compared himself to God and
saw his own sinfulness. He knew his only
hope was God’s mercy and he humbled himself and trusted in God’s mercy to be
justified.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they
shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:3-4
Matthew Henry commentary (concise):
The poor in spirit are happy. These
bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are
humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt,
and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom
of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true
repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for
acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy
Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven
is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale
of tears. Such mourners shall be
comforted by their God.
Truly I say to you,
unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3
John
MacArthur Study Bible commentary:
“Become as little children - This is
how Jesus characterized conversion. Like
the Beatitudes, it pictures faith as the simple, helpless, trusting dependence
of those who have no resources of their own.
Like children, they have no achievements and no accomplishments to offer
or commend themselves with."
Now
when they heard
this, they were pierced
to the heart,
and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" Peter
said to them, "Repent,
and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38
Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.
Acts 3:19
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.
He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts 5:31
Now
in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Matthew 3:1-2
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
“This is no mere academic change of
mind, nor mere regret or remorse. John
the Baptist spoke of repentance as a radical turning from sin that inevitably became
manifest in the fruit of righteousness (v. 8 – Therefore bear fruit in keeping
with repentance).”
Men,
why are you doing these things? We are also men
of the same nature
as you, and preach the gospel
to you that you should turn
from these vain things
to a living God.
Acts 14:15
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
2 Corinthians 7:10
Note: Remorse is not
repentance.
Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him,
saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders.
Matthew 27:3
There is a difference between Judas’ remorse
and Biblical repentance. Judas sincerely
felt bad about what he had done and tried to right the wrong himself. When we sin, we sin against the person, but
ultimately we sin against God Himself. True
believers throw themselves directly at the mercy of the God they sin against. Judas confessed to the chief priests and
elders; but not to Jesus, and not to God the Father. That is the difference between repentance and
remorse. True repentance will result in
the fruits of righteousness, but remorse will not. Judas’ remorse did not yield in the fruits of
righteousness—rather, it caused him to commit suicide.
In a similar way these
are the ones on whom seed was sown
on the rocky places, who,
when they hear
the word, immediately receive
it with joy; and they have no
firm root in themselves,
but are only temporary;
then, when affliction or persecution arises because
of the word, immediately
they fall away.
Mark 4:16-17
John MacArthur:
Receive it with joy - an
enthusiastic, emotional, yet superficial response to the gospel.
John Gill commentary:
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground - They “have some understanding of it, and some sort of affection
for it, and yet their hearts are not truly broken by it; they are not brought
to a thorough sight and sense of sin, and of their need of Christ, and
salvation by him; their stony hearts are not taken away, and hearts of flesh
given them.”
Note: Repentance
is marked by brokenness as one
realizes his own depravity and need for Christ.
These people instead received the word with joy, which shows that they did not receive or fully understand the Gospel
message. The word Gospel means “good
news,” but man must first be broken with the knowledge of his own sinful nature
and depravity versus God’s holiness and righteousness before he can understand
his need for Christ’s sacrifice.
Another
problem with people who hear and fall away is with the message itself. If a person hears that “God has a wonderful
plan for their life,” this seems wonderful and is received with joy, but this
message is not the Gospel. This false gospel being preached today
promises forgiveness without repentance.
Men are told that to be saved they only need to admit and confess that they are sinners. This is not the same as repentance, because
even the devil and evil men would admit and confess that they’re sinners. Repentance is much more than confessing
sin—it is a turning away from sin.
And He said
to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again
from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would
be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
Luke 24:46-47
Note:
Jesus began His ministry with the command for man to repent (Mark 1:15) and He
ended it in the same way in His Great Commission to His disciples. There are many today who foolishly say that
it is possible to be saved without mentioning anything of sin and repentance,
but Jesus Himself makes it clear that repentance is absolutely necessary for
the forgiveness of sins.
Believe:
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.
John 3:16
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.
John 3:36
Therefore
they said to Him, "What
shall we do, so
that we may work the works
of God?" Jesus answered
and said to them, "This
is the work of God,
that you believe
in Him whom He has sent."
John 6:28-29
Truly, truly,
I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
John 6:47
Therefore
I said to you that
you will die in your sins;
for unless you believe
that I am He, you will
die in your sins.
John 8:24
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.”
John 11:25
But these have been written so that
you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing
you may have life in His name.
John 20:31
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
One
must believe He is who He claimed to be.
For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
One
must believe in what He did.
He said,
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and
your household.
Acts 16:30-31
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.
Romans 1:16
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
Believes – To trust,
rely on, or have faith in. When used of
salvation, this word usually occurs in the present tense (“is believing”) which
stresses that faith is not simply a one-time event, but an ongoing condition.
For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS
CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Romans 4:3
Note: We have no righteousness of our own (our
righteousness is as filthy rags), but we are justified and credited as
righteousness by believing in Christ.
But to the one who does not work, but
believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as
righteousness.
Romans 4:5
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
Only those who
relinquish all claims to goodness and acknowledge they are ungodly are
candidates for justification.
Just as it is written, "1BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION 2A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, 3AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM 4WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
Romans 9:33
For since
in the wisdom of God
the world through
its wisdom did not come
to know God,
God was well-pleased through
the foolishness
of the message preached
to save those
who believe.
1 Corinthians 1:21
Vine’s
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words:
believe - "to
believe," also "to be persuaded of," and hence, "to place
confidence in, to trust," signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance
upon, not mere credence.
Behold, as for the proud one, his soul is not right within him;
but the righteous will live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4
Note: The proud one has faith in himself, but the
righteous have faith in Christ.
For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because
it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest…
Hebrews 4:2-3a
John Gill commentary:
not being
mixed with faith in them that heard it;
the Gospel is as food, and faith is
the hand that receives it, and takes it, and tastes of it, and eats it, and
concocts and digests it; and when this is the case, it is profitable and
nourishing; but when it is otherwise, it is not.
And He was saying
to them all, "If anyone wishes
to come after
Me, he must deny himself,
and take up his cross daily
and follow Me. For whoever wishes
to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for My sake,
he is the one who will save
it.”
Luke 9:23-24
John MacArthur Study Bible commentary:
“Whoever loses his life for My sake” – aside from the command,
“Follow me,” this saying is repeated more times in the gospels than any other
saying of Christ.
A.W. Tozer:
With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said, ‘If any man will come
after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.’ So the cross not only brought Christ’s life to
an end, it also ends the first life, the old life of every one of His true
followers... this and nothing less is true Christianity. We must do something
about the cross, and there’s only one of two things we can do— flee it or die
upon it!
Paul Washer
from The Gospel's Power and Message:
He has the right
to ask anything of those who confess His lordship.
Note:
Jesus made it a point of emphasis to say that we must lose our lives in order
to save them. Belief means to turn to Christ and totally trust Him with our
lives. Salvation is not a “flu shot”
that you do one time and then forget about it.
We don’t just initially trust in Him for our salvation and then forget
Him and live how we want. If we trust
Him, then each and every day we will deny ourselves, submit to Him, and follow
where He leads.
Now large crowds were going along with
Him; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate
his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes,
and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build
a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough
to complete it? Otherwise, when he has
laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to
ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to
finish.’
Or
what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit
down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter
the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away,
he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who
does not give up all his possessions.”
Luke
14:25-33
J.C.
Ryle:
The
word “hate” means to “love less.”
Genesis 29:30-31 says Leah being “hated” is explained by Rachel being
loved more than Leah.
Keith
Green:
Our
(modern) gospel reduces the good news to a “come and get it while you can”
sale. We make every effort to take all
the bones out—everything that might offend someone, might make them hesitate or
put off their decision. Jesus didn’t do
this. He never lowered the requirements
for anyone. One had to be completely
sincere, totally humbled, having counted the cost, willing to leave everything,
family and property, “count all things loss” so that they might “gain Christ”
(Phil 3:7-8).
But
whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the
sake of Christ. More than that, I count
all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but
rubbish so that I may gain Christ.
Philippians
3:7-8
Paul Washer
from The Gospel's Power and Message:
The true convert
does not receive the gospel in addition to his previous life, but in exchange
for it. Christ cannot be received as a
part of one's life or in addition to all the other good things that one already
possesses without Him. He is not some
minor accessory that dresses up our life and makes it better. In receiving the gospel, He becomes our
life. Paul...counted even the most
splendid things in his previous life to be dung in comparison to Christ.
Those whom
I love, I reprove
and discipline;
therefore
be zealous
and repent. Behold,
I stand at the door
and knock; if anyone hears
My voice and opens
the door, I will come
in to him and will dine
with him, and he with Me.
Revelation
3:19-20
Note:
Christ is telling His people in the church of Laodicea to repent and open the
door to fellowship with Him. Jesus is
NOT saying this to unbelievers. This
verse is often incorrectly used by those who do not understand salvation. Jesus is not some weak person knocking at the
door and begging unbelievers to please let Him in. Salvation is a supernatural work done by the
Holy Spirit and the unbeliever has no
power whatsoever to understand the Gospel message and make a decision to save
himself.
Do
not fear those who kill the body…Therefore everyone who confesses Me before
men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also
deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 10:28a,32-33
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and
sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in
the glory of His Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8:38
Now when He
was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name,
observing His signs which He was doing.
But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew
all men.
John 2:23-24
David
Platt:
What an
interesting phrase there. A lot of
people believing in Jesus and Jesus doesn’t entrust himself to them...It is
possible to believe in Jesus but be clueless when it comes to what it means to
be born again…An illustration we have of that is Nicodemus (see verse below). He comes on to the scene and you get to verse
2, he knows, he believes that Jesus is from God, but he has no clue as to what
it means to be born again.
Note:
The apostle John taught much about belief and at the beginning of his gospel he
was describing a superficial belief that does not result in saving faith.
Now there was
a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to
Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as
a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with Him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of
God.”
John 3:1-3
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Romans 10:9-10
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
Not a simple
acknowledgment that He is God and the Lord of the universe since even demons
acknowledge that to be true. James 2:19
says: “You believe that there is one God.
You do well. Even the demons
believe—and tremble!”
Note: These people in
Matthew 7 were seemingly believers and confessed Christ as Lord, but Jesus
rejected them because they practiced lawlessness:
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on
that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in
Your name cast out demons, and in
Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I
never knew you; DEPART FROM ME,
YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”
Matthew 7:21-23
These same people confessed Jesus with
their mouth, but their deeds show that they do not truly believe in Jesus.
They profess
to know God, but by their
deeds they deny Him,
being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Titus 1:16
But as many as received Him, to them
He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His
name.
John 1:12
The gospel which I preached to you,
which you also received, in which you also stand.
1 Corinthians 15:1
Paul Washer
from The Gospel's Power and Message:
When two things
are contrary or diametrically opposed to one another, to receive one is to
reject the other. To receive the gospel
is to reject the world. It is to reject
personal autonomy and the right to self-government in order to enslave oneself
to a Messiah. It is to risk everything
in this one and only life in the belief that this impaled prophet is the Son of
God and the Savior of the world.
Now therefore, make confession to the
Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; separate yourself from the peoples
of the land, and the pagan wives.
Ezra 10:11
Note:
Biblical confession is not just empty words—it is accompanied by action. Ezra says to confess
and to do God's will, which is to be
holy and to separate ourselves from the world.
He who
conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes
them will find compassion.
Proverbs
28:13
Humbly
trust in God’s grace and work of redemption through Jesus and not their own
works:
Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Romans 3:27-28
Paul Washer
from The Gospel's Power and Message:
Our society
considers a man careless if he does not have a backup plan or an alternative escape
route, if he has not diversified his investments, if he has put all his eggs in
the same basket, or if he has burned bridges behind him. Yet this is the very thing that the man who
receives Jesus Christ must do. To
receive Christ is to throw off hope in everything but Christ alone.
But to the one who does not work, but
believes in Him who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Romans 4:5
For we are the true circumcision, who
worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in
the flesh.
Philippians 3:3
V. Few will enter in.
11Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who
does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on
that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in Your name, and in
Your name cast out demons, and in
Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I
never knew you; DEPART FROM ME,
YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'”
Matthew
7:21-23
AND IF
IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS
IS SAVED, WHAT
WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN
AND THE SINNER?
1 Peter 4:18
VI.
Evidence of salvation: you will know them by their fruits, especially love; by their
obedience, and their perseverance. The
book of 1 John also has other tests for salvation.
You
will know them by their fruits:
15 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 "You
will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 7:15-20
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts
of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that
those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;
against such things there is no law. Now
those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and
desires.
Galatians 5:19-24
Note: Galatians
5:19-24 describes the fruits, both bad and good, that Matthew 7:15-20 is
talking about. People like to say that
“you can’t judge a book by its cover,” but the Bible says that you can judge a book by its cover because
“you will know them by their fruits.”
Therefore bear fruit in keeping with
repentance…The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 3:8,10
For the sorrow that is according to the
will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the
sorrow of the world produces death. For
behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in
you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what avenging
of wrong!
2 Corinthians 7:10-11
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom
and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been
sown in his heart. This is the one on
whom seed was sown beside the road. The
one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the
word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself,
but is only temporary, and when affliction arises because of the word,
immediately he falls away. And the one
on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and
the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it
becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom
seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and
understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold,
some sixty, and some thirty.
Matthew 13:19-23
Paul Washer
from The Gospel's Power and Message:
Though many
would seem to embrace the gospel of the kingdom, most would fall away because
of affliction, persecution, the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of
wealth.
Note: There were four groups: the seed sown beside
the road, the seed sown on the rocky places, the seed sown among the thorns,
and the seed sown among good soil. Only
the last group was saved, as evidenced by their ability to bear fruit.
Even
so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
James
2:17
Note: If we have no works, then our “faith” is dead
and is not true saving faith.
You
believe that God is one. You do well;
the demons also believe, and shudder.
But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without
works is useless?
James
2:19-20
For
just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is
dead.
James
2:26
Therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.
2
Corinthians 5:17
Love:
Do not love the world or the things of
the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
1 John 2:15
By this all men
will know that you are
My disciples,
if you have love
for one another.
John 13:35
The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who 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.
1 John 2:9-11
In this the children of God and the
children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is
not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:10
Do not marvel, my brethren, if the
world hates you. We know that we have
passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in
death. Whoever hates his brother is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:13-15
We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him.
1 John 3:16-19
Beloved, let us one love another, for
love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love God does not know God,
for God is love.
1 John 4:7-8
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He
in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he
in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
1 John 4:12-16
If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one
who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that
the one who loves God should love his brother also.
1 John 4:20-21
Obedience:
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.
John 3:36
Note: The words believe
and obey are used interchangeably. To believe in Christ is to obey Christ.
Then Jesus again spoke to them saying,
"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the
darkness, but will have the Light of life."
John 8:12
They answered Him and said to Him,
"Abraham is our father." Jesus
said to them, "If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of
Abraham."
John 8:39
If you love Me, you
will keep My commandments.
John 14:15
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the
one who loves Me; and he
who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will
love him and
will disclose Myself to him.
John 14:21
Jesus answered and said to 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 abode with him. He who does not love Me does not
keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.”
John 14:23-24
Why do you call me, "Lord,
Lord," and do not do what I say?
Luke 6:46
And to whom did He swear that
they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
Hebrews 3:18-19
John Gill commentary:
because of
unbelief - their
distrust of God, His power, and His providence.
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may
abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:1-2
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
Romans 6:16
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it
did not fall, for it had
been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does
not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.
Matthew 7:24-27
They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him,
being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.
Titus
1:16
For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if
by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are
being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Romans 8:13-14
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and
yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:6-7
By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have
come to know Him," and
does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in
Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
1 John 2:3-6
Whoever abides in Him does not
sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him
nor known Him.
1 John 3:6
Note:
Obviously all have sinned (Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall
short of the
glory
of God.”). This is talking about
constant, habitual sin.
Now he who keeps His commandments
abides in Him, and He in him. And by
this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
1 John 3:24
Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:1-5
We know that whoever is born of God
does not sin; but he who has been born of God guards himself and the wicked one
does not touch him.
1 John 5:18
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is
from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to
children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts
to do them.
Psalm 103:17-18
I will put My Spirit within you and cause
you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Ezekiel 36:27
Perseverance:
For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.
Hebrews 3:14
Matthew Henry commentary (complete):
(v. 14): We are made partakers of
Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast to the end. [2.] There are a great many who in the
beginning of their profession show a great deal of courage and confidence, but
do not hold them fast to the end. [3.] Perseverance in faith is the best
evidence of the sincerity of our faith.
Matthew Henry commentary (concise):
The happiness of being partakers of
Christ and His complete salvation, and the fear of God's wrath and eternal misery,
should stir us up to persevere in the life of obedient faith.
You will be hated by all because of My
name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.
Matthew 10:22
But the one who endures to the end, he
will be saved.
Matthew 24:13
John MacArthur Study
Bible commentary:
This does not suggest
that our perseverance secures our salvation.
Scripture everywhere teaches precisely the opposite: God, as part of his
saving work, secures our perseverance.
True believers are “kept by the power of God through faith for
salvation” (1 Peter 1:5).
I give eternal life to them, 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.
John 10:28-29
Being confident of this very thing,
that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of
Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
So Jesus
was saying to those Jews
who had believed Him, "If
you continue in
My word, then you
are truly disciples
of Mine.”
John 8:31
John 8:51
Now
I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if
you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
1 Corinthians
15:1-2
Note:
hold fast means to continue or
persevere.
They went out from us, but they were
not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but
they went out that they might be manifest, that none of them were of us.
1 John 2:19
I will put the fear of Me in their
hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.
Jeremiah 32:40
For I am convinced that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be
able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
Other
tests of 1 John:
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
Who is a liar but he who denies that
Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist
who denies the Father and the Son.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who
acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1 John 2:22-23
Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have
gone into the world. By this you know
the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh is not of God…
1 John 4:1-3a
And
the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He who has the Son has the
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have
eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13
And you have forgotten
the exhortation which
is addressed to you as sons,
"MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY
THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD,
NOR FAINT
WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM. FOR THOSE WHOM
THE LORD LOVES
HE DISCIPLINES,
AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM
HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline
that you endure; God deals
with you as with sons;
for what son
is there whom his father
does not discipline? But if
you are without discipline,
of which all
have become partakers,
then you are illegitimate children
and not sons.
Hebrews
12:5-8
VII. What we are to do.
Test
yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
2
Corinthians 13:5
Paul Washer from The Gospel's Power and Message: There are many
who believe they are saved and thoroughly Christian because they once prayed a
prayer and asked Jesus to come into their hearts. However, they did not continue on in the
faith...They stand assured of their salvation because of one decision in their
past and their belief that their prayer was truly sincere. No matter how popular such a belief may be,
it has no biblical grounds...In the midst of great carnality, the apostle Paul
did not ask the Corinthians to reevaluate their conversion in the past, but he
admonished them to examine their lives in the present.
These
things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that
you may know that you have eternal life.
1
John 5:13
Note: “These things”
– refers to all of the evidences of repentance and belief from the first five
chapters of 1 John.
Therefore
bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves,
'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God
is able to raise up children to Abraham.
Luke
3:8
5 Now
for this very
reason also, applying all diligence,
in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence,
knowledge, 6
and in your knowledge, self-control,
and in your self-control,
perseverance,
and in your perseverance,
godliness, 7
and in your godliness, brotherly kindness,
and in your brotherly kindness,
love. 8
For if these qualities
are yours and are increasing,
they render you neither useless nor unfruitful
in the true knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these
qualities is blind or short-sighted,
having forgotten his purification
from his former sins.
10 Therefore,
brethren, be all
the more diligent
to make certain
about His calling
and choosing you; for as
long as you practice these things,
you will never stumble.
2 Peter 1:5-10
And the one on whom seed was sown among
the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Matthew 13:22
Note:
Pray that weeds do not enter into your heart and choke the Word of God.
Thus you are
to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the
peoples to be Mine.
Leviticus
20:26
