Fifty Reasons Why A Saved Person Can NEVER Be Lost

Fifty Reasons Why A Saved Person Can NEVER Be Lost

By: Timothy S. Morton

(Used With Permission)

1. ETERNAL LIFE IS ETERNAL! John 3:15; 10:28; Romans 6:23; 1 John 2:25; 5:11; 5:13; etc. By definition eternal means never ending. Once a believer has eternal life it can never be taken away. If it could be it would not be eternal!

2. EVERLASTING LIFE IS EVERLASTING! Daniel 12:2; John 3:16; 3:36; 5:24; 6:40; 6:47. Romans 6:22; etc.; Likewise, everlasting life can never end. It is everlasting regardless of the believer's behavior.

3. IT IS GOD'S WILL! John 6:39. It is God’s will that Christ lose none of those who come to Him.

4. HEAVEN IS RESERVED FOR HIM! 1 Peter 1:4. An inheritance in Heaven is reserved for the believer.

5. SALVATION (INHERITANCE) IS INCORRUPTIBLE! 1 Peter 1:4. No one can corrupt something God has made incorruptible.

6. SALVATION (INHERITANCE) CANNOT BE DEFILED! 1 Peter 1:4. No one can defile something which God says cannot be defiled.

7. HE IS SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! Ephesians 1:13. No power in Heaven or earth can break God's seal.

8. HE IS SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION! Ephesians 4:30. The believer is sealed until the day God redeems his body.

9. HOLY SPIRIT WILL ABIDE FOREVER! John 14:16-17. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent.

10. HE IS PRESERVED FOREVER! Psalm 37:28. God preserves the saint forever.

11. HE IS BORN OF GOD! John 1:12-13. The believer actually becomes God's child and cannot be "unborn."

12. HE IS A NEW CREATURE! 2 Corinthians 5:17. God has made the believer a new creature and no one can "uncreate" him.

13. HE IS CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS! Ephesians 2:10. The saint was created in his Saviour.

14. HE IS PRESERVED UNTO THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM! 2 Timothy 4:18. The believer is preserved like Paul since God is no respecter of persons.

15. HE IS KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD! 1 Peter 1:5. Since God is keeping him, the believer cannot fall from salvation.

16. CHRIST HAS PRAYED FOR HIM! John 17:11. Jesus prayed that God would keep all who He had given Him.

17. WORKS CANNOT AFFECT HIS SALVATION! Romans 11:6. Salvation is not gained by works, so it cannot be lost by works.

18. HIS FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS! Romans 4:5. It is faith which brings salvation to a believer.

19. NOTHING CAN SEPARATE HIM FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST! Romans 8:38-39. Nothing material, immaterial, past, present, or future can separate a believer from Christ's love.

20. SALVATION IS OF THE LORD! Jonah 2:9. Salvation is all God's work. He bought it and provided it.

21. GOD IS ABLE TO KEEP HIM! 2 Timothy 1:12. The believer's salvation rests on God's omnipotent ability to keep him.

22. HE IS PROMISED NOT TO COME INTO CONDEMNATION! John 5:24. This promise would be broken if even one believer fell into eternal condemnation.

23. HE IS PROMISED TO NEVER PERISH! John 10:27-28. Every saint has an unconditional promise to never perish.

24. HE WILL NEVER BE CAST OUT! John 6:37. Under no condition will any believer be cast out from Christ or Heaven.

25. ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO HIM! Romans 8:28. It would not be good for one to lose his salvation.

26. HE IS IN CHRIST'S HAND! John 10:28. The believer is in his Saviour's hand.

27. HE IS IN THE FATHER'S HAND! John 10:29-30. The saint is in his heavenly Father's hand.

28. HE IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A SHEEP! John 10:27-28. A sheep represents a saved person and cannot change from being one.

29. GOD'S MERCY NEVER ENDS! Titus 3:5. The believer is saved by God's mercy and it endures forever (Psalm 136).

30. GOD CANNOT LIE! Titus 1:2. Once God has saved a believer, He cannot go back on His word.

31. HIS SINS ARE GONE FOREVER! Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19; Isaiah 38:17; 44:22; Hebrews 10:17. The saint's sins are gone.

32. HE SHALL BE LIKE CHRIST! 1 John 3:2. It is a certainty that the believer will be like Christ.

33. GOD SEES HIM AS ALREADY GLORIFIED! Romans 8:30. The saint is as good as glorified in God's sight.

34. HE IS BORN OF INCORRUPTIBLE SEED! 1 Peter 1:23. The Christian's new birth was from incorruptible seed.

35. HE WILL APPEAR WITH CHRIST IN GLORY! Colossians 3:4. The saint is promised to appear with Christ when He returns.

36. HE IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST! Colossians 3:3. The believer is dead to the world and alive in Christ.

37. HE IS DEAD TO AND FREED FROM SIN! Romans 6:2-7. Sin can no longer affect the saint's destiny. He is freed from it.

38. THE LORD IS NOW PRAYING FOR HIM! Hebrews 7:25. The Lord is presently interceding in the believer's behalf.

39. GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED! Philippians 1:6. God began the work of salvation and will finish it.

40. HE HAS ETERNAL REDEMPTION! Hebrews 9:12. Every believer has been eternally redeemed from his sins.

41. HIS LIFE IS CHRIST S LIFE! Colossians 3:4. The saint's life is Christ's very own life, so how could it be lost?

42. HE HAS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH GOD! Hebrews 13:20. God made a covenant to give the saint everlasting life.

43. HE IS KEPT FROM FALLING BY CHRIST! Jude 24. A Christian cannot fall from grace because Christ is keeping him.

44. SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT! Romans 6:23. A free gift is given with no conditions.

45. HE HAS IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS! Romans 4:6-7. The righteousness the saint has is Christ's perfect righteousness.

46. HE IS A PART OF CHRIST! Ephesians 5:30. Every believer is a part of Christ's body.  Bone of His bone.... 

47. CHRIST IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF HIS SALVATION! Hebrews 12:2. Christ began and will finish his salvation.

48. HE HAS BEEN PREDESTINATED TO BE CONFORMED TO CHRIST’S IMAGE! Romans 8:29. After salvation the believer is predestinated.

49. CHRIST'S BLOOD HAS MADE PEACE FOR HIM! Colossians 1:20. The saint has peace with God through the blood.

50. THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN SO HE COULD BELIEVE AND KNOW! 1 John 5:13. The saint can know he HAS ETERNAL SALVATION!

The Ark Of Salvation As Related By Spurgeon

The Ark Of Salvation As Related By Spurgeon

The following is Charles Spurgeon's telling of what his search for salvation was like, using a very neat and encouraging illustration to get his point across. Have you found your rest in the Ark of Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ?

"I could not believe that it was possible that my sins could be forgiven. I do not know why, but I seemed to be the odd person in the world. When the catalogue was made out, it appeared to me that, for some reason, I must have been left out. If God had saved me, and not the world, I should have wondered indeed; but if He had saved all the world except me, that would have seemed to me to be but right. And now, being saved by grace, I cannot help saying, 'I am indeed a brand plucked out of the fire!' I believe that some of us who were kept by God a long while before we found Him, love Him better perhaps than we should have done if we had received Him directly; and we can preach better to others, we can speak more of His lovingkindness and tender mercy. John Bunyan could not have written as he did if he had not been dragged about by the devil for many years. I love that picture of dear old Christian. I know, when I first read The Pilgrim's Progress, and saw in it the woodcut of Christian carrying the burden on his back, I felt so interested in the poor fellow, that I thought I should jump with joy when, after he had carried his heavy load so long, he at last got rid of it; and that was how I felt when the burden of guilt, which I had borne so long, was for ever rolled away from my shoulders and my heart."

"I can recollect when, like the poor dove sent out by Noah from his hand, I flew over the wide expanse of waters, and hoped to find some place where I might rest my wearied wing. Up towards the North I flew; and my eye looked keenly through the mist and darkness, if perhaps it might find some floating substance on which my soul might rest its foot, but it found nothing. Again it turned its wing, and flapped it, but not so rapidly as before, across that deep water that knew no shore; but still there was no rest. The raven had found its resting-place upon a floating body, and was feeding itself upon the carrion of some drowned man's carcass; but my poor soul found no rest. I flew on; I fancied I saw a ship sailing out at sea; it was the ship of the law; and I thought I would put my feet on its canvas, or rest myself on its cordage for a time, and find some refuge. But, ah! it was an airy phantom, on which I could not rest; for my foot had no right to rest on the law; I had not kept it, and the soul that keepeth it not, must die. At last I saw the barque Christ Jesus, - that happy ark; and I thought I would fly thither; but my poor wing was weary, I could fly no further, and down I sank; but, as providence would have it, when my wings were flagging, and I was falling into the flood to be drowned, just below me was the roof of the ark, and I saw a hand put out from it, and One took hold of me, and said, 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore I have not delivered the soul of My turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked; come in, come in!' Then I found that I had in my mouth an olive leaf of peace with God, and peace with man, plucked off by Jesus' mighty power."

From C.H. Spurgeon's Autobiography, Volume One, pages 103-104.

"Whosoever" Of John 3:16

The following is taken from Address Nine (pages 106-110) in Addresses On The Gospel Of John - by H.A. Ironside:

You remember the story of the little girl in Martin Luther's day, when the first edition of the Bible came out. She had a terrible fear of God. God had been presented in such a way that it filled her heart with dread when she thought of Him. She brooded over the awfulness of the character of God and of some day having to meet this angry Judge. But one day she came running to her mother, holding a scrap of paper in her hand. She cried out, "Mother! mother! I am not afraid of God any more." Her mother said, "Why are you not?" "Why, look, mother," she said, "this bit of paper I found in the print shop, and it is torn out of the Bible." It was so torn as to be almost illegible except about two lines. On the one line it said, "God so loved," and on the other line it said, "that He gave." "See, mother," she said, "that makes it all right." Her mother read it and said, "God so loved that He gave." "But," she said, "it does not say what He gave." "Oh, mother," exclaimed the child, "if He loved us enough to give anything, it is all right." Then the mother said, "But, let me tell you what He gave." She read, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Then she told how we can have peace and eternal life through trusting Him.

Am I speaking to anyone today who dreads the thought of meeting God? Do you think of your sins and say with David of old, "I remembered God, and was troubled"? Let me call your attention to this word: The love of God has been manifest in Christ. If you will but come as a needy sinner He will wash your sins away. "But," you say, "how can I be sure that it is for me? I can understand how He can invite certain ones to trust Him. Their lives have been so much better than mine, but I cannot believe that this salvation is for me." Well, what else can you make from that word, "whosoever"? "God so loved... that He gave... that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He could not find another more all-embracing word than that. It takes you in. It takes me in. You have many another "whosoever" in the Bible. There is a "whosoever" of judgment: "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." "Whosoever" there includes all who did not come to God while He waited, in grace, to save. If they had recognized that they were included in the "Whosoever" of John 3:16, they would not be found in that of Rev. 20:15.

Somebody wrote me the other day and said, "A man has come to our community who is preaching a limited atonement. He says it is a wonderful truth that has been only recently revealed to him." Well, I could only write back that the term "limited atonement" has an uncanny sound to me. I do not read anything like that in my Bible. I read that "He... [tasted] death for every man." I read that "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." I read that "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." And here I read that "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I say to you, as I said to the writer of that letter, that there is enough value in the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ to save every member of the human race, if they would but repent and turn to God; and then if they were all saved, there still remains value enough to save the members of a million worlds like this, if they are lost in sin and needing a Saviour. Yes, the sacrifice of Christ is an infinite sacrifice. Do not let the enemy of your soul tell you there is no hope for you. Do not let him tell you you have sinned away your day of grace; that you have gone so far that God is no longer merciful. There is life abundant for you if you will but look up into the face of the One who died on Calvary's cross and trust Him for yourself. Let me repeat it again, "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"Whosoever believeth." What is it to believe? It is to trust in Him; to confide in Him; to commit yourself and your affairs to Him. He is saying to you, poor needy sinner, "You cannot save yourself. All your efforts to redeem yourself can only end in failure, but I have given My Son to die for you. Trust in Him. Confide in Him!" "Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish."

...To believe in Jesus [is] to commit [yourself] unto Jesus. Have you done that? Have you said,

"Jesus, I will trust Thee, trust Thee with my soul,
Weary, worn and helpless, Thou canst make me whole.
There is none in heaven, or on earth like Thee;
Thou hast died for sinners; therefore, Lord, for me."

Inoculated With the Gospel

The following is an article from THE PERSUADER and also a book written in April, 2002. You can find more of our materials on our web site http://www.thepersuader.org/. All our material is without charge. (Pro. 23:23)

Inoculated With the Gospel

Galatians 1:6-9

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

The title of this message came as a result of a preacher who said to me one day, "Many of our church members have been inoculated with the gospel." This statement sounds like a good thing until you understand what the word "inoculated" means. The health dictionary states that "inoculation" is the act or practice of communicating a disease to a person, by inserting contagious matter in his skin or flesh. After reading that definition one may have a tendency to say that being inoculated with the gospel sounds like a good thing, but when the gospel is heard and the heart is stirred without a completed work of the Holy Spirit, a person will make a profession -- be inoculated with a profession that does not give peace and satisfaction because it is not real.

But there is a problem -- inoculation in the end keeps you from getting the disease. Inoculation really causes one to be immune to the disease for which they are inoculated or vaccinated. The encyclopedia states that vaccination is the inoculation of a person (or animal) in order to bring about immunity to an infection organism.

Being exposed to the truth concerning "inoculation" causes me to come to the conclusion that many Baptist, as well as other denominations today, have been inoculated with the gospel which in reality has caused them to become immune to the gospel.

With these thoughts in mind, I would like to use the physical inoculation to make application to the spiritual inoculation of the gospel. To do this let us develop the four following points: 1) Inoculation requires a vaccine. 2) The vaccine must be administered. 3) Booster shots are needed. 4) Sometimes a person still gets the disease.

1. Inoculation requires a Vaccine.

The encyclopedia states that a vaccine may consist of living organisms that are weakened in a laboratory so that they create immunity without giving them the disease. This is usually done by doctors who are specialist in their field. The vaccine they develop consists of a shot or a pill called oral vaccine. This means that the living organisms have been tampered with to create the vaccine that produces immunity.

Now let us make a spiritual application. Paul spoke to the church at Galatia and said, " I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." (Gal. 1:6-7) In these verses we see the use of "another" is used twice in our English language while the Greek uses two words. The first "another" is translated from the Greek word "heteros" while the second is from the Greek word "allos." "Heteros" means another of a different kind while "allos" means another of the same kind. Thus, we can summarize what Paul said, "I marvel that you are moved unto a gospel of a different kind which is not of the same kind -- of the saving kind." This is a result of the gospel having been tampered with or weakened by man, usually doctors who have been cloned out of religious institutions that are weakening the gospel.

The gospel is the good news of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. The gospel also includes the virgin birth, His sinless life, as well as His death, burial, and resurrection, and also includes His ascension, His ministry of intercession, and His bodily coming back again. Anyone who tampers with or weakens the gospel in any way produces a "heteros" gospel, thus producing a spiritual vaccine which when administered will cause immunity to the gospel.

2. The vaccine must be administered.

In the health world human instruments, such as doctors and nurses, are used to administer the vaccine. At first the vaccine was administered in shot form but later an easier method was developed -- in some cases that of an oral vaccine.

God's way in administering the gospel is by using human instruments. Rom. 10:13-15: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" I Cor. 3:5: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?" Therefore we conclude from the Scriptures that no one will be saved without the aid of a human instrument. But the problem is that many human instruments have developed a weakened form of the gospel by using their "canned plan" on every one they meet.

By a "canned plan" I mean they use the same technique on every one they deal with. Some say, "If you want to go to heaven just raise your hand and pray this simple prayer and ask Jesus into your heart." Then they tell them they are saved because they prayed the prayer. The problem with this is that this is a spiritual vaccine that inoculates them with the gospel which in reality keeps them from receiving the gospel. Others use the Roman Road plan on everyone they deal with no matter what their need is. This too results in many being inoculated with the gospel instead of receiving the gospel.

Still others would refute these methods just mentioned as "easy believism" and would never practice such. Yet, they use Rom. 10:13 and put pressure on those they deal with by saying they call God a liar if they say they are not saved after they prayed because they heard them call on the name of the Lord out loud in their presence. This is just another form of vaccine developed by man to inoculate men with the gospel. All these spiritual vaccines, and many others, even though not mentioned, are used to get numbers while leaving many immune to the gospel -- not saved.

3. Booster shots are needed.

In health the encyclopedia states that periodic booster immunization is recommended with most vaccines because the immunity caused by the initial inoculation may decrease with time. Therefore, booster shots are needed.

This point holds true with all who have been inoculated with the gospel. They all need spiritual booster shots of the gospel from time to time to keep them in their immunized state so that they do not receive the gospel -- be saved. When doubt enters as a result of a person not having anything real, well meaning preachers and altar workers have their booster shots ready to administer assurance so that the person they are dealing with will stay immune to the gospel. These spiritual booster shots come in many forms.

1) That's just the devil making you doubt.

Sometimes this is the impression a person gets within due to the traditional teaching he has received. When really this is the devil trying to tell that person he is OK because "that is what happens to everybody who is saved -- they doubt." Usually the devil uses some human instrument to keep you immune to the gospel by telling you "it sounds good to me." Preachers, you are not God and a lost person who has received the vaccine of the gospel does not need to hear that from you for they have a tendency to be lifted up with pride and hold on to their profession when in reality they are lost.

There are those who say that one of the ways you know that you are saved is that you doubt. This is contrary to Scripture. I Thess. 1:5 states plainly that when the gospel is received there is much assurance which is the opposite of doubt. I Thess. 1:5: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." Therefore, if one has continuous doubt, it is because they have been inoculated with the gospel and are not really saved.

2) If you are not sure, just settle it now.

Another booster shot is administered by telling someone who comes to you saying they are not sure whether they are saved and you tell them just to bow their heads and ask Jesus into their heart. No one can be saved until they have the reality that they are lost. And that takes a completed work of Holy Ghost conviction for that reality to be present in a person. Therefore, if someone tries this technique on another person, they are administering a booster shot and causing that person to be immune to the gospel.

3) You need to be baptized by this church to make sure you are in the bride.

I have heard this told to someone who was not sure that they were saved. The preacher they went to said to this individual, "What you need is to be baptized by our church to make sure you are in the bride of Christ. It just might be that the church that baptized you may not be able to trace their lineage all the way back to Christ and we can." That individual submitted to that pastor's suggestion and as far as I know is still holding on to their profession. Brethren that is not only a booster shot of the gospel that keeps one immune to the truth of the gospel, but it is really "baptismal regeneration" which is contrary to the Scriptures.

4) You go to church and tithe.

This booster shot is real to me because I experienced this when I was in my 20's. I went to the pastor telling him that I was not sure if I was saved. He basically said you go to church three times a week and pay your tithe and that statement (booster shot) puffed me up with pride and caused me to go for years immune to the gospel.

5) You have had answered prayers.

Many administer booster shots of this nature to those who have had answered prayer. They do this by quoting John 9:31: "We know that God heareth not sinners." They quote that to give assurance to others, without looking at the context. A lost man said that to a bunch of Pharisees and it was based upon their tradition. The truth of the matter is that in Acts 10:31 the Bible stated plainly that an angel told Cornelius--a lost man, "Thy prayer is heard." This statement given to someone who is in doubt of their salvation is nothing more than a spiritual booster shot to keep that person immune to the gospel.

There are many other forms of spiritual booster shots I could mention but I think these are enough to let you see the problem -- many in our churches are lost because they have been inoculated with the gospel by well meaning preachers and personal workers who short circuit the work of the Holy Ghost thus causing those they deal with to be immune to the truth of the gospel. And when those come back to the same preacher, they administer them booster shots to keep them in their lost condition. Paul said in essence in Gal. 1:8-9, "Let those who practice such, go on to hell (be accursed)."

4. Sometimes the person still gets the disease.

Sometimes even after the vaccine has been given and the booster shots are administered (in health) the person still gets the disease when exposed to a strong source of the living organism. The good part of this in the health world is that there are a few who get the disease who have been inoculated. The sad part is that in the spiritual world there are few who encounter the strong source of the truth of the gospel and are saved. Mat. 7:13-14: "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

But thank the Lord for the few, many of whom were saved in spite of the inoculation and booster shots that tried to keep them immune to the gospel. Paul said in I Thess. 1:5: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake." This "power" and "Holy Ghost" refers to a completed work of Holy Ghost conviction. To explain this I will copy here a part of the message "Unbeatable Combination" printed in the Oct.-Dec. 2000 issue of The Persuader which dealt with the salvation of the eunuch in Acts. 8:26-37. (Quote):

The Holy Spirit was working His work in Acts 8. The Bible refers to His work as the "sanctification of the Spirit" in two verses. (I Peter 1:2: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." II Thess. 2:13: "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.") "Sanctification of the Spirit" means the setting apart work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

1) He prepares the sinner.

He does this by giving light to every sinner. (John 1:9: "That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.") He does this in creation (Rom. 1:20: "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.") which reveals that God exists. (Psa. 19:1-4: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.") Therefore, every man is without excuse. (Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.") If a sinner will step in light that there is a God, the Holy Spirit will cause him to begin to seek God. (Heb. 11:6: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.") The eunuch left his country in search of God.

2) He plants the seed.

When the eunuch went to Jerusalem to find God, no doubt he felt he had failed for he was returning home in our text just as empty as he had left. The only difference was he had a copy of a portion of the Word of God -- Isaiah 53.

3) He positions the saint.

The Holy Spirit moved on Philip while he was in revival at Samaria. Philip obeyed, went where the Lord told him, met the eunuch's chariot, and heard him reading from Isaiah 53. After asking him if he understood what he read, the eunuch made a true statement in verse 31, "How can I unless some man should guide me?" God's plan in everyone's salvation experience includes a human instrument. (Rom. 10:13-15: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?" I Cor. 3:5: "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?")

4) He plows the soil.

Every sinner's heart must be plowed with the plow share of the gospel sharpened by the Holy Spirit. Acts. 8:35 states that Philip "preached Jesus" (the gospel) to the eunuch from Isaiah 53. This is the Lord's way. (I Cor. 1:21: "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.") A sinner's heart must be plowed if it is ever to become good ground and be saved. (Mat. 13:23: "But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.")

5) He produces all that is necessary to be saved.

The Holy Spirit produces conviction which is called "reprove" in John 16:8. ("And when he (Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.") "Reprove" means to convince and convict. Every sinner must be convinced of his root sin against God -- unbelief. Also he must be convinced of the righteousness of God who is Jesus. (I Cor. 1:30: "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.") When convinced, then comes conviction -- being guilty of sin against a Holy God, deserving the judgment of God which is an eternity in hell. But the Lord does not save you just to keep you out of hell. He saves you for His glory. Conviction must be complete of all three ingredients -- sin, righteousness, and judgment.

Another name for conviction is godly sorrow (deep God caused grief) which works repentance. (II Cor. 7:10: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.") Repentance is a change of mind, but more. It is a change of heart, a change of attitude, and a change of direction. It is a turning toward God from sin, self, and the world and taking up sides with God against yourself.

Repentance is a work of God and is a must if one is to be saved. When repentance is worked the Holy Spirit produces faith. Faith is a gift (Eph. 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.") and not something you work up.

When repentance and faith are granted, then and only then can one obey the gospel, which is to repent and believe. (End Quote)

In conclusion I would like to say that a person who has had the vaccine and booster shots administered, but gets the disease when he encounters a strong organism of the disease, will have fever and the shakes. In a similar manner when one who has been inoculated with the gospel and had booster shots, when he comes in contact with Holy Ghost conviction will also have the shakes. He spiritually will be like Jeremiah when he encountered the Lord -- "all my bones shake." (Jer. 23:9) When Holy Ghost conviction comes there will be a shaking in your soul for there is a battle for your soul. The devil wants your soul and so does the Lord. That is why the devil wants you inoculated with the gospel so you will be immune to it and be lost forever. He gets many because Mat. 7:22-23 says: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

But the Lord wants you to be exposed to Holy Ghost conviction so that you might receive the gospel in power and assurance. That is why He is so longsuffering and good to you. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Rom. 2:4.

Have you received the gospel or are you just inoculated with it? II Cor. 13:5 says: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"

Inoculation in the health world is good but not in the spiritual world. It is good for the devil but not your soul. And Paul in essence said, "Let those, who inoculate with the gospel or give booster shots to immune you from the gospel, just go on to hell (be accursed)." (Gal. 1:8-9)

I pray this message will speak to your heart concerning your condition. If you need more information on any particular subject mentioned in this message, just contact me by phone, snail mail, or e-mail. If I can be of help in any way please feel free to contact me. I am your friend and I care. I also understand.

Because of Calvary,
Edgar Lee Paschall
(Used With Permission, according to their website)

Jerry's Notes: There are many solid and hardhitting articles that The Persuader sends out, which for the most part I agree with. Two points in this article I wanted to bring attention to because I disagree with them, but the rest of the article is worth reading and considering:

1) He mentions that answered prayer is not a valid measure of whether someone is saved or not. I agree in the general sense that God may have mercy on the lost and when they are humbly seeking Him, He may answer some of their prayers - though He is not obligated to do so. I have tried searching the Bible on this - and cannot find any passage that directly teaches that God ONLY answers the prayers of the saved. The Bible teaches that God doesn't answer the prayers of the wicked and those that regard iniquity in their heart (and this can even apply to a saved person). I think there are times that a lost person may be humbled enough that they cry out to God for His deliverance from a situation or His provision or mercy, and He grants it - though at that point in time they had not yet turned to Him for salvation (for whatever reason).

Cornelius' prayer was in regards to how to be saved. God will certainly answer THAT prayer from a contrite heart! As a baby Christian, I misunderstood a passage of Scripture, which the Devil used to wreak havoc in my spiritual life and convince me that I had lost my salvation. Even after hearing my pastor explain that salvation was eternal, that you could never lose it, I was not convinced (I did not yet have the Biblical foundation to see that I had a wrong understanding of that passage, and did not know and had not read enough Scripture to realize the overall teaching of Scripture regarding salvation - see Romans 10:17 - I did not yet have the faith to grasp this). What convinced me was about one or two months of seeing the Lord answer all my prayers (as I continued to read the Bible and seek the Lord, even though I wasn't sure of my standing before Him). I do not think He would have answered my prayers if I was condemned to Hell without hope of His mercy. Though, He may answer some prayers of the lost, He will not answer them all.

2) He mentions that faith is the gift referred to in Ephesians 2:8-9; however, I believe that salvation (ie. by grace are ye saved) is the gift of God. There are various other passages that clearly teach this. If God gave or offered faith to only some people, then I think God would be unjust, as we need faith to be saved. I believe the gift is salvation - freely offered to all - but our response is to repent of our sins and place our faith in the Saviour and His finished work of redemption.

The Greatest Text In The Bible

by Harry Ironside

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

WHY do so many people think this is the greatest text in the Bible? There are other wonderful texts that dwell on the love of God, that show how men are delivered from judgment, that tell us how we may obtain everlasting life, but no other one verse, as far as I can see, gives us all these precious truths so clearly and so distinctly. So true is this that when the gospel is carried into heathen lands, and missionaries want to give a synopsis of the gospel to a pagan people, all they find it necessary to do, if they are going to a people that have a written language, is to translate and print this verse, and it tells out the story that they are so anxious for the people to hear. If they do not have a written language, invariably one of the first scriptures that they are taught to memorize is John 3:16.

I have a slip of paper sent to me by my friend, Allan Cameron of China. In those odd characters this same message is written, and that message put into the hands of the Chinese has often been used to lead a soul to Christ. Not immediately, of course, for he does not understand it all at once, but it has led him to ask upon what authority is this statement based, and so eventually he is led to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Truths in One Verse

How many truths are wrapped up in that one verse! In the first place, there is the personality of God --"God so loved." A God who can love is a person. We had a woman in the United States who invented a religion a few years ago, and she said it was all love, and yet she said that God is impersonal. But that is not possible. Just imagine falling in love with a cloud, or thinking that a cloud is loving you! It is something utterly impossible; you cannot do it. Behind love there must be a person with a warm, loving heart. "God so loved."

This Chinese translation which my friend Cameron sent me, says, "God so passionately loved the world, that he gave." It was a divine passion, a heart in heaven throbbing in loving sympathy with men in all their trials and difficulties here on earth. What a wonderful revelation that is, and it is all wrapped up in this one verse.

Then there is the truth of the divine Fatherhood. This God so loved men "that he gave his only begotten Son." There cannot be a son without a father. If God gave His Son, God Himself is a Father, and that is a revelation the pagan world never dreamed of.

Then again, there is the lost condition of mankind. God gave His well beloved Son, "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." An unsaved man is in grave danger. You, dear unsaved one, are in grave danger of being so utterly lost that you may be banished from the presence of this God of love forever, and yet He it is who has provided a means whereby His banished ones may return to Him. God gave Him up to a sacrificial death on Calvary's cross for all men, "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The universality of the offer of mercy is also here. It is a "whosoever" message, and what does "whosoever" mean? A gentleman came one time to my former home city and took an entire week for a series of lectures on John 3:16. During that time he labored every night to prove that the world that God loved was the world of the elect, and that "whosoever" was simply the "whosoever" that God had chosen from the foundation of the world. No wonder it took him a week to try to make out that kind of a thing. Any child can see the difference between a doctrine like that and that which is revealed in this text. Any one of school age knows the meaning of "whosoever."

You may have heard the story of the old Scotchman who had been brought up with the idea that God had predetermined just so many people to be saved, and all the rest were created to be damned. He felt that he ought to be willing to say, "O God, if it is Thy will to damn me, I do not want to be saved"; but he did want to be saved, and was in the deepest agony of soul about it. But still they all said, "If you are not one of the elect, you cannot be saved."

One day he was out in the field plowing, when he found a piece of paper with a large text on it. He tried to spell it out, but he was not very good at reading, and so he read s l o w l y: "For--God--so--loved--the--world--that--he--gave---his---only---be-got-ten---Son--that--who-so-ever." He wondered what that meant, but as he did not know, he passed on to the next part. "That--who-so-ever--be-liev-eth--in--him---should--not--perish---but--have---ever---last-ing--life."

"Man!" he said, "here's good news for somebody. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who-so-ever! I wonder who is meant by that word. Here is somebody who can have everlasting life, elect or not elect." And while he was pondering the question, he saw a lad going by with a bunch of books under his arm. He called to him, "Here, laddie, can ye read?"

"Aye, that I can," he replied.

"Well, will you read this?"

Wanting to impress the old man with his great ability, the boy read like a race horse; "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"O laddie, laddie, don't read it so fast; read it again, and read it slowly so I can get every word, and be careful with that long word," said the old man. And so the boy read it again.

"Does it really say there that somebody can be saved by just believing?" the old man asked. "What does that long word mean?"

"Oh," said the boy, "whosoever means you, or me, or any other body; but there goes the bell, I have to run," and away he went.

The old man stood there, and read it again, "For God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that you, or me, or any other body believeth in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"Man!" he said, "that's good news for a sinner like me; I don't need to find out whether I am elect or not," and he dropped down between the plow handles, and there confessed himself a sinner for whom Jesus died. He took God at His word and his soul was saved.

One Text a Whole Week

One of the earliest stories I ever heard about D. L. Moody was one with which some of you are familiar. When he was in Great Britain, he met a young Englishman by the name of Henry Moorhouse. One day Moorhouse said to Moody "I am thinking of going to America."

"Well," said Moody, "if you should ever be in Chicago come down to my place, and I will give you a chance to preach."

Now although Mr. Moody was not two-faced, he was merely trying to be polite, for mentally he was saying, "I hope he won't come." There are so many people, you know, who want to preach, although God never meant them to, and Mr. Moody was not quite sure of Mr. Moorhouse. He was rather taken back one day when, just before leaving for a series of meetings, he received a telegram, "Have just arrived in New York. Will be in Chicago on Sunday."

"And now," thought Moody, "I am going away, and I told him he could preach here." So he said to his wife and to his committee, "Here's this young Englishman coming; let him preach once, and then if the people enjoy him, put him on again."

When Moody returned, he said to his wife, "Well, what about that young preacher?"

"Oh," she said, "he is a better preacher than you are. Why, he is telling sinners that God loves them."

"He is wrong!" said Moody, "God doesn't love sinners." "Well," she said, "you go and hear him." "Why, is he still preaching?" asked Mr. Moody.

"Yes, he has been preaching all week and has taken only one text, John 3:16," was her reply.

When Mr. Moody went to the meeting, Moorhouse got up, and said, "I have been hunting and hunting all through the Bible, looking for a text, and I think we will just talk about John 3:16 once more." Mr. Moody always testified that it was on that night that he got his first clear understanding of the gospel and the love of God. Think what it meant in Moody's life, and in the lives of tens of thousands who were reached through his ministry, to know that God loves sinners. Are you one of those who has been saying, "If I were only a little better, I could believe that God loves me?" O dear friend, hear it again:

"Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound this word of grace to all
Who the heavenly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall."

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15).

Just Like African Boys

I remember when I was a boy, going to a missionary meeting. A missionary was there from Africa, and was showing us a whole lot of curious things, and then he said, "Now boys, I want to tell you the kind of gospel we preach to the people in Africa. How many good boys have we here? A lot of us thought we were good, but our mothers were there, and so not one of us dared hold up his hand. "Well," said he, "not one good boy here; then I have the same message for you that we have for the heathen in Africa; God loves naughty boys!"

"My," I thought, "he is getting all mixed up," for you see I had heard people say, "If you are good, God will love you." But, dear friends, that is not true. God is not waiting for you to be good so He can love you; God loves sinners, and has proven His love for them by the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. "Herein 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). Instead of waiting for people to be good, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Do you believe it, dear friend?

The difficulty is that men have this wrong idea about God, and are always trying to make out that they are better than they are. "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6). You will find people down in the depths of sin, but they are always ready to compare themselves with other folk, saying, "I am as good as they are." But God has no message and no blessing for men who are trying to justify themselves.

As long as you try to make a good name for yourself, God can only condemn you; but when you come into His presence and confess yourself a lost, guilty sinner, God has a message and a blessing for you. "God so loved the world" -- a wicked, corrupt, and ungodly world, and you and I belong to it. "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man" (Proverbs 27:19). God's Word declares that "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:9, 10). Yet, knowing all the wickedness of which my heart and your heart is capable, God loves us and gave His Son to die for us.

My! what a gospel this is; what a message to bring to poor, needy sinners! We do not come to men, and say, "Turn over a new leaf; quit your meanness; give up this, and give up that." We do not ask any one to give up; we ask you to receive the gift of God, and when you receive that gift, "the things of the world will grow strangely dim in the light of Christ's glory and grace."

A lad tried to preach on John 3:16 one day. He was asked to give his testimony, but thought he had better get up a sermon. He divided his text into four heads:

God loved.
God gave.
I believe.
I have.

Could you make a better division than that?

A Girl's Horror of God

A little girl who lived in Luther's day had been brought up with a perfect horror of God. She thought of Him as always watching her, taking note of every wrong thing she did, and just waiting to visit judgment upon her. Her parents could not get that fear out of her mind. Her father was a printer, and was working on Luther's first German Bible. One day she was in his shop, when just a corner of one of the sheets of the Bible caught her eye. She looked at it, and as she read it, her whole attitude toward God changed, and she said, "Mother, I am not afraid of God any more."

"Well, my dear," said the mother, "I am glad of that, but why are you not afraid of God?"

"Oh," she replied, "look what I found, a piece of the Bible, and it says, 'God so loved, that he gave.'" It was just a part of two lines.

"Well," her mother said, "how does that take away your fear of God? It doesn't say what He gave."

"Oh, but if He loved us enough to give anything, I am not afraid," said the child. And then her mother sat down and opened up the whole truth to her.

People are stumbling over the simplest things. Take, for instance, that word believeth. You would think that was plain enough for anybody, but all my life I have heard people say, "I have always believed, and yet I am not saved." It does not say, "Whosoever believeth the Bible, or creeds, or even the gospel story," but it does say, "Whosoever believeth in him."

What is it to believe in Him? It means to put your soul's confidence in Him, to trust in Him, God's blessed Son. When in Toronto, I picked up a copy of a broad Scotch translation of the New Testament, and the first thing I noticed was that this word believeth is not found there at all. Instead of believeth there is the Scotch word, lippen, and it means to throw your whole weight upon. This is the way it reads, "Whosoever lippens to Jesus should not perish, but have the life of the ages" -- the life that runs on through all the ages.

Just Lippen to Jesus

One day Dr. Chalmers spent hours with a poor, anxious soul, trying to lead her into peace, but she could not understand what it was to believe, and finally he had to leave her. On the way home he had to cross a creek with a shaky old bridge over it, and as he was feeling his way across in a very careful manner, one of his parishioners who saw him, called out, "Can you nae lippen the bridge?" Immediately he said, "That's the word for the old lady I have just left," and he went back to her, and said, "I have got the word for you, can you nae lippen to Jesus?"

"Lippen?" she said, "is it just to lippen? Aye, I can lippen to Him. He will never let me down, will He?"

"Yes, that is it," he replied, "He will never let you down." Have you been struggling, trying, working; have you been promising and trying to give up this and to do this, that, and the other thing? O dear friend, hear it, "Whosoever lippens to Jesus shall not perish, but have everlasting life."

Another "Whosoever"

But now notice the alternative. They who trust in Jesus will not perish, but what about those who do not trust in Him? There is another whosoever. In Revelation 20, where we have that solemn picture of the last judgment, we read, "I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:11-15).

Listen to it, sinner, whosoever in the day of judgment "was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Who are found written in the book of life? "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." There they are, those who believed, and those that did not believe; those who received the gift of God, and those who spurned the gospel, trampling under foot the grace of God. They stand in the judgment as poor, lost, trembling souls to hear their dreadful sentence. You may be saved now without money and without price.

"There is life for a look at the Crucified One,
There is life at this moment for thee;
Then look, sinner, look unto Him and be saved,
Unto Him who was nailed to the tree."

Look, sinner, look to Jesus just now and be saved.

Raised Up With Princes

I am posting several devotionals as a prelude to a sermon I preached at the Gospel Mission on October 26th/06 - though I did not read these other devotionals until after I had put together my own study on 2 Samuel 9 (the story of David And Mephibosheth):

Psalms 113:7-8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; That he may set him with princes, even with the princes of his people.

Ver. 7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust. This is an instance of his gracious stoop of love: he frequently lifts the lowest of mankind out of their poverty and degradation and places them in positions of power and honour. His good Spirit is continually visiting the down trodden, giving beauty for ashes to those who are cast down, and elevating the hearts of his mourners till they shout for joy. These up liftings of grace are here ascribed directly to the divine hand, and truly those who have experienced them will not doubt the fact that it is the Lord alone who brings his people up from the dust of sorrow and death. When no hand but his can help he interposes, and the work is done. It is worth while to be cast down to be so divinely raised from the dust.

And lifteth the needy out of the dunghill, whereon they lay like worthless refuse, cast off and cast out, left as they thought to rot into destruction, and to be everlastingly forgotten. How great a stoop from the height of his throne to a dunghill! How wonderful that power which occupies itself in lifting up beggars, all befouled with the filthiness in which they lay! For he lifts them out of the dunghill, not disdaining to search them out from amidst the base things of the earth that he may by their means bring to nought the great ones, and pour contempt upon all human glorying. What a dunghill was that upon which we lay by nature! What a mass of corruption is our original estate! What a heap of loathsomeness we have accumulated by our sinful lives! What reeking abominations surround us in the society of our fellow men! We could never have risen out of all this by our own efforts, it was a sepulchre in which we saw corruption, and were as dead men. Almighty were the arms which lifted us, which are still lifting us, and will lift us into the perfection of heaven itself. Praise ye the Lord.

Ver. 8. That he may set him with princes. The Lord does nothing by halves: when he raises men from the dust he is not content till he places them among the peers of his kingdom. We are made kings and priests unto God, and we shall reign for ever and ever. Instead of poverty, he gives us the wealth of princes; and instead of dishonour, he gives us a more exalted rank than that of the great ones of the earth.

Even with the princes of his people. All his people are princes, and so the text teaches us that God places needy souls whom he favours among the princes of princes. He often enables those who have been most despairing to rise to the greatest heights of spirituality and gracious attainment, for those who once were last shall be first. Paul, though less than the least of all saints was, nevertheless, made to be not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles; and in our own times, Bunyan, the blaspheming tinker, was raised into another John, whose dream almost rivals the visions of the Apocalypse.

"Wonders of grace to God belong, Repeat his mercies in your song."

Such verses as these should give great encouragement to those who are lowest in their own esteem. The Lord poureth contempt upon princes; but as for those who are in the dust and on the dunghill, he looks upon them with compassion, acts towards them in grace, and in their case displays the riches of his glory by Christ Jesus. Those who have experienced such amazing favour should sing continual hallelujahs to the God of their salvation.

(Taken from The Treasury Of David by Spurgeon)

"That He may set him with princes." --Psalm 113:8

Our spiritual privileges are of the highest order. "Among princes" is the place of select society. (See 2 Samuel 2:8) "Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ." Speak of select society, there is none like this! "[We] are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood... a peculiar people." "[We] are come unto... the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven." The saints have courtly audience: princes have admittance to royalty when common people must stand afar off. The child of God has free access to the inner courts of heaven. "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." "Let us therefore come boldly," says the apostle, "to the throne of grace." Among princes there is abundant wealth, but what is the abundance of princes compared with the riches of believers? for "all things are yours... and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." "He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" Princes have peculiar power. A prince of heaven's empire has great influence: he wields a sceptre in his own domain; he sits upon Jesus' throne, for "[He] hath made us kings and priests unto God," and we shall reign for ever and ever. We reign over the united kingdom of time and eternity. Princes, again, have special honour. We may look down upon all earth-born dignity from the eminence upon which grace has placed us. For what is human grandeur to this, "[He] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus"? We share the honour of Christ, and compared with this, earthly splendours are not worth a thought. Communion with Jesus is a richer gem than ever glittered in imperial diadem. Union with the Lord is a coronet of beauty outshining all the blaze of imperial pomp.

(Taken from Spurgeon's Morning And Evening devotional)

Please also read this study on 2 Samuel 9:

David And Mephibosheth - A Picture Of The Kindness Of God Unto Fallen Man by Jerry Bouey

For Whom Did Christ Die?

For Whom Did Christ Die? He died:

1. For all

1 Timothy 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

2. For every man

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.

1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

3. For the world

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

4. For the sins of the whole world

1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

5. For the ungodly

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

6. For false teachers

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

7. For many

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

8. For Israel

John 11:50-51 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation;

9. For the church

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

10. For me

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.


(I am not sure where I originally copied this list from, but I thought it would be a good addition to this blog.)

Spurgeon's Conversion

Mr. Spurgeon's Account of his Conversion and Early Preaching

I will tell you how I myself was brought to the knowledge of the truth. It may happen the telling of that will bring someone else to Christ. It pleased God in my childhood to convince me of my sin. I lived a miserable creature, finding no hope, no comfort, thinking that surely God would never save me. At last the worst came to the worst - I was miserable; I could do scarcely anything. My heart was broken in pieces. Six months did I pray - prayed agonizingly with all my heart, and never had an answer. I resolved that, in the town where I lived, I would visit every place of worship in order to find out the way of salvation. I felt I was willing to do anything and be anything if God would only forgive me.

I set off, determined to go round to all the chapels, and I went to all the places of worship; and though I dearly venerate the men that occupy those pulpits now, and did so then, I am bound to say that I never heard them once fully preach the gospel. I mean by that, they preached truth, great truths, many good truths that were fitting to many of their congregation - spiritually-minded people; but what I wanted to know was, How can I get my sins forgiven? And they never once told me that. I wanted to hear how a poor sinner, under a sense of sin, might find peace with God; and when I went I heard a sermon on "Be not deceived: God is not mocked," which cut me up worse, but did not say how I might escape.

I went again another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous: nothing for poor me. I was something like a dog under the table, not allowed to eat of the children's food. I went time after time, and I can honestly say, I don't know that I ever went without prayer to God, and I am sure there was not a more attentive hearer in all the place than myself, for I panted and longed to understand how I might be saved.

At last, one snowy day - it snowed so much, I could not go to the place I had determined to go to, and I was obliged to stop on the road, and it was a blessed stop to me - I found rather an obscure street, and turned down a court, and there was a little chapel. I wanted to go somewhere, but I did not know this place. It was the Primitive Methodists' chapel. I had heard of these people from many, and how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they made my head ache ever so much I did not care. So, sitting down, the service went on, but no minister came. At last a very thin-looking man came into the pulpit and opened his Bible, and read these words: "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew me all by heart, he said: "Young man, you are in trouble." Well, I was, sure enough. Says he, "You will never get out of it unless you look to Christ."

And then, lifting up his hands, he cried out, as only, I think, a Primitive Methodist could do, "Look, look, look! It is only look!" said he. I saw at once the way of salvation. Oh, how did I leap for joy at that moment! I know not what else he said: I did not take much notice of it - I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, they only looked and were healed. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard this word, "Look!" what a charming sound it seemed to me. Oh, I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away! and in heaven I will look on still in my joy unutterable.

I now think I am bound never to preach a sermon without preaching to sinners. I do think that a minister who can preach a sermon without addressing sinners does not know how to preach.

On Oct. 11, 1864, the pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle preached a sermon to five hundred hearers in the chapel at Colchester (in which, he was converted), on the occasion of the anniversary in that place of worship. He took for his text the memorable words, Isaiah 45:22, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved," etc., and the preacher said , "That I heard preached from in this chapel when the Lord converted me." And pointing to a seat on the left hand, under the gallery, he said: "I was sitting in that pew when I was converted." This honest confession produced a thrilling effect upon the congregation, and very much endeared the successful pastor to many hearts....

Early in the month of January, 1856, Mr. Spurgeon preached a sermon to his own congregation on Sunday morning, which is entitled "Sovereignty and Salvation." In that sermon he says: "Six years ago today, as near as possible at this very hour of the day, I was in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity, but had yet, by divine grace, been led to feel the bitterness of that bondage, and to cry out by reason of the soreness of its slavery. Seeking rest and finding none, I stepped within the house of God, and sat there, afraid to look upward, lest I should be utterly cut off , and lest his fierce wrath should consume me. The minister rose in his pulpit, and, as I have done this morning, read this text: 'Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.'

"I looked that moment; the grace of faith was vouchsafed to me in that instant; and

"'Ere since by faith I saw the stream
His flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.'

"I shall never forget that day while memory holds its place; nor can I help repeating this text whenever I remember that hour when first I knew the Lord. How strangely gracious! How wonderfully and marvelously kind that he who heard these words so little time ago, for his own soul's profit, should now address you this morning as hearers from the same text, in the full and confident hope that some poor sinner within these walls may hear the glad tidings of salvation for himself also, and may today be turned 'from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,' (Acts 26:18)!"

(Henry Davenport Northrop, Life And Works Of Spurgeon, pages 21-24, bolded emphasis mine)

From this account, we can see that Spurgeon's extended search caused him to greatly desire that others would hear the truth of salvation every time he preached. The Lord used that trying time in Spurgeon's life for his good and for the good of others. I (Jerry) well recall my own time of desperate searching for the truth before I came to know the Lord as my Saviour in November 1992. I truly did not know there was such a thing as a way to Heaven or a gift of eternal life. Spurgeon's example in this area has been an inspiration to me, and every time I preach - even if I think that all present are believers - I desire that the Gospel be clearly presented, so that no one else need wander hopelessly through life, lost and uncertain about their eternal future. We can know for certain that if we place personal faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary that we have His gift of eternal life and a home forever in Heaven!

1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

What Is Biblical Predestination?

God's Eternal Purpose

by Norman H. Wells

Pastor, Central Baptist Church
Cincinnati, Ohio

c. 1960

Biblical Predestination

GOD has an "eternal purpose" in all that He has done. GOD, in absolute sovereignty, carries out this "eternal purpose."

The one theme that runs through the entire Bible is the glory of GOD. Creation, man, CHRIST, salvation, Christians, the Church, etc. all, in fulfillment of GOD's "eternal purpose," will glorify His name.

GOD created man in His own image but man fell and thus separated himself from GOD. Man, as a totally depraved sinner, cannot, in himself, bring glory to GOD's name.

GOD DOES NOT SUFFER DEFEAT! Despite sin, His "eternal purpose" will be accomplished. GOD has made certain that His "eternal purpose" is accomplished. HE HAS PREDESTINATED IT!

To clearly understand what the Scriptures teach about predestination it is necessary to have a definition of the word.

The dictionary states that "predestination" means, "To decree beforehand." It means to predetermine.

A spiritual definition is given in the Scofield Bible which states that "predestination" is, "That effective exercise of the will of GOD by which things before determined by Him are brought to pass."

GOD, before the foundation of the world, predestinated that certain events would come to pass. GOD in His power and in exercise of His will makes certain that these predestinated events do happen.

DESPITE WHAT MAN AND SATAN CAN DO, GOD HAS PREDESTINATED THAT HIS "ETERNAL PURPOSE" WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED. GOD DOES NOT SUFFER DEFEAT. HIS NAME WILL BE GLORIFIED IN ALL THAT HE HAS DONE.

The word "predestinated" is used four times in the Bible. It is used twice in the first chapter of Ephesians and twice in the eighth chapter of Romans. Let us lok at these verses.

"Having PREDESTINATED us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Eph. 1:5).

This verse says, "Having predestinated US." Who is being referred to by the pronoun "us"?

The epistle to the Ephesians is addressed to "the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus." This very first verse in the book reveals that, what is to come, is addressed to saved people -- not lost sinners.

Notice the following expressions: "Who hath blessed us" (vs. 3). "He hath chosen us" (vs. 4). "He hath made us accepted" (vs. 6). "We have redemption" (vs. 7). "made known unto us the mystery of his will" (vs. 9). "we have obtained an inheritance" (vs. 11). "we should be to the praise of his glory" (vs. 12). "Ye heard the word of truth" (vs. 13). "Ye believed" (vs. 13). "Ye were sealed" (vs. 13).

THESE SCRIPTURES WERE ADDRESSED TO SAVED PEOPLE

This epistle was written to those who had heard the Gospel, had believed it, and were redeemed. They had an inheritance in heaven and were eternally sealed.

THESE SCRIPTURES REFER TO WHAT GOD IS DOING FOR THE SAVED PERSON ... AFTER HE IS SAVED. Note again the verse where the word "predestinated" is used.

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleaure of his will."

Predestinated unto what? This verse does not say, "Having predestinated us unto salvation." The predestination is, "unto the adoption of children."

THE ADOPTION OF CHILDREN. The word "adoption" as used by Paul, has more meaning than the way the word is generally used today.

Unger's Dictionary says, "Adoption is a word of position rather than relationship. The believer's relation to GOD as a child results from the new birth (John 1:12), whereas adoption is the divine act whereby one already a child is, through redemption from the law, placed in the position of an adult son."

IN ONE SENSE, THE ADOPTION IS YET FUTURE FOR THE BELIEVER

"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY" (Rom. 8:23).

The adoption will take place at the time of the redemption of the body. When will this take place?

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST: Then we which are alive and remain SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16-17).

THE ADOPTION AND THE REDEMPTION OF THE BODY WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.

What does Ephesians 1:5 mean? Let us look at it again!

"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will."

This verse is addressed to those who were already saved. They had heard, believed and were sealed.

These saved believers were predestinated unto the adoption of children.

GOD HAS PREDESTINATED THAT EVERY BELIEVER WILL MAKE IT TO THE ADOPTION WHICH WILL OCCUR AT THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.

Predestination has to do with what GOD did for the believer to make certain he would stay saved! It is the fulfillment of GOD's "eternal purpose."

GOD has predetermined that man will glorify His name. He has chosen the believer in CHRIST to accomplish this purpose. He has predestinated that the believer shall stay saved in order to fulfill this "eternal purpose" of GOD.

Listen again to the words of GOD: "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children." GOD gives the grand assurance that by the effective exercise of His will, all who come to JESUS, will be adopted. They will receive the redemption of the body. They will ever be with the LORD. GOD has predestinated it. They can never again be lost ... GOD decrees it!

The second time that the word "predestinated" is used in the book of Ephesians is in Eph. 1:11.

"In whom also we have obtained an inheritance BEING PREDESTINATED according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: ..."

This verse, like Eph. 1:5, is addressed to those who were already saved. It has to do with what GOD is doing for the saved person, not the lost person. This verse does not say that a sinner is predestinated to salvation.

PREDESTINATED TO WHAT?

It will be noticed that verse 11 is not a complete sentence. It ends in a semi-colon and the sentence continues in verse 12.

"THAT WE SHOULD BE TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY, who first trusted in Christ."

The meaning is clear. These verses are addressed to those, "who first trusted in Christ." Those who had "first trusted in Christ" were predestinated to "be to the praise of his glory."

GOD has predestinated that the saved believer will bring praise to GOD's glory. Predestination was what GOD did for the saved believer to make certain that the believer would bring praise to His glory. GOD predestinates that His "eternal purpose" will be accomplished in the life of the believer.

The third time the word "predestinate" is used is in Romans 8:29.

"For whom he did foreknow he also did PREDESTINATE to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Again it will be noticed that this verse does not say, "predestinated to be saved."

PREDESTINATED TO BE WHAT?

"... predestinate TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON." This is the object of predestination ... not salvation.

When shall we be "conformed to the image of his Son"?

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doeth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; for we shall see him as he is" (I John 3:2).

When shall we be like Him? When shall we be conformed to the image of His Son? WHEN HE SHALL APPEAR! These events will occur at the second coming of CHRIST.

GOD has predestinated that every saved believer will be conformed to the image of His Son. Predestination makes certain the believer stays saved and accomplishes the "eternal purpose" of GOD.

PREDESTINATION HAS TO DO WITH THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER, NOT THE SALVATION OF THE UNBELIEVING SINNER.

The fourth time the word "predestinate" is used is in Romans 8:30.

"Moreover whom he did PREDESTINATE, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

This 30th verse is understood in the light of the 29th verse which we have just discussed. GOD predestinated that the believer would be conformed to the image of His Son. This will occur at the second coming of CHRIST.

Notice the three things in this verse.

"... them he also CALLED: ..."
"... them he also JUSTIFIED: ..."
"... them he also GLORIFIED."

THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT GOD PROVIDES TO MAKE SALVATION CERTAIN AND ETERNAL. Compare this with verse 32.

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS."

GOD has predestinated that the believer will have everything he needs to be eternally saved. HE GAVE HIS OWN SON ... HE CALLS THE BELIEVER ... HE JUSTIFIES THE BELIEVER ... HE MAKES CERTAIN THE BELIEVER WILL BE GLORIFIED.

We have now looked at the four times the word "predestination" is used in the Bible. Every time it is used it refers to what GOD has predestinated for the believer to assure the believer staying saved and accomplishing the "eternal purpose" of GOD.

~ from the booklet, "GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE" by Norman H. Wells. No copyright information.