For the first half of this article, please click on What Is Salvation (Part 1).
Upon believing, we are sealed with
the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our salvation
“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
When we put our faith in Christ, we received the
Holy Spirit and are sealed in Him. The word for seal (sphragizo) refers to a signet mark, such as a stamp made with a
king’s signet ring as a mark of authenticity and ownership. It means we belong
to God. The presence of the Holy Spirit is also a pledge or “down payment” of
our heavenly inheritance and redemption.
How do we know we are sealed and belong to God? The
Holy Spirit tells us:
“For you did
not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the
Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit Himself
testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children.” – Romans
8:15-16
The Holy Spirit and our spirit testify that we belong
to God. In other words, we inherently know in the deepest part of us that we
belong to Him. We sense the affirmation of the Holy Spirit by faith.
Further evidence is demonstrated by the fruits of
the Spirit growing in us, i.e. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self control. We begin to reflect the character of Christ instead
of the worldly values of selfish ambition, hatred, arrogance, etc.
Some say speaking in tongues demonstrates a true
conversion or being “Spirit-filled.” But I don’t believe the Scriptures support this. Firstly, as the verse above states, we receive the Holy Spirit
upon believing in Christ, not upon manifesting a spiritual gift. Secondly, the
Scriptures say we receive different gifts according to God’s good pleasure:
“Now there are
varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries,
and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works
all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the common good.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, NASB
Since we operate as a body, people have different
gifts and ministries for the benefit of the whole. God doesn’t single out one
spiritual gift for everyone to have.
Thirdly, and this is important to understand, supernatural
manifestations can be animated by God or Satan. We have to use discernment and cannot
assume the supernatural is always of God. Remember, the Pharaoh’s magicians
Jannes and Jambres replicated the first three plagues of the Lord with sorcery
and witchcraft. Jesus also warned:
“False
messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to
lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” – Matthew 24:24, Holman
Supernatural gifts are real and Christians do
perform miracles by the Holy Spirit, but it is also possible for demonic
spirits to be behind prophecies, tongues, healings and even miracles. Satan uses
these counterfeit manifestations to deceive people (1 John 4:1 tells us to “test the spirits to determine if they are
from God.”). So there is a danger in saying everyone should speak in
tongues, because it encourages people to seek supernatural experiences for
their own sake, apart from their calling in the Lord, which can lead into the
world of the occult.
However, if we focus on the witness of the Holy
Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit as evidence of true faith, then we are on
solid ground.
Saving faith endures to the
end
“Once you were
alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He
has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy,
faultless, and blameless before Him—if indeed you remain grounded and steadfast
in the faith and are not shifted away from the hope of the gospel that you
heard. This gospel has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and I,
Paul, have become a servant of it.” – Colossians 1:21-23
In the verses above, the Apostle Paul summarized the
gospel message and salvation concisely, and added a condition: If we are steadfast
in the faith and don’t turn away from the hope of the gospel.
In fact, the Apostles and Jesus himself were fervently
concerned that churches under their care remained committed and persevered in the
faith. Consider these verses:
“Therefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it
is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” –
Philippians 2:12-13, King James 2000
Paul said we must work out our salvation with great
care and commitment. This is not salvation by works – only the blood of Jesus
reconciles us – but salvation unto
good works. He was talking about the sanctification process, our growth in the
faith, which is essential. In truth, God works through us to perform his
good will in the world as we “work out our salvation.”
The Apostle Peter said:
“You
therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are
not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own
steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.” – 2 Peter 3:17-18a, Holman
Be on your guard, or “Be sober!” and “Be on the
alert!” as Peter put it elsewhere, so we are not led away by deception and sin
and fall from our own steadfastness. Instead we should grow in our faith in
Christ.
The Apostle John said we must “remain” or “abide” in
Christ:
“What you have
heard from the beginning must remain in you. If what you have heard from the
beginning remains in you, then you will remain in the Son and in the Father.”
– 1 John 2:24, Holman
Jesus Christ in his letters to the churches in
Revelation encouraged them to “hold on,” “be faithful until death,” and, for
those who fell short in their faith, to repent.
To the church in Philadelphia:
“I am coming
quickly. Hold on to what you have, so that no one takes your crown.” –
Revelation 3:11, Holman
To the church in Smyrna:
“Be faithful
until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” – Revelation 2:10,
Holman
To the church in Sardis:
“I know your
works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Be alert and
strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works
complete before My God. Remember therefore what you have received and heard;
keep it, and repent.” – Revelation 3:1b-3a, Holman
Why all this concern
about readiness, faithfulness, repentance and growth? Because God knows saving
faith is fruitful and endures to the end.
In the parable of the
sower, Jesus explained:
“When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the
one sown along the path. And the one
sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or
persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one
sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this
age and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But
the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word,
who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.”
– Matthew 13:20-23
People respond
differently to the message of the gospel. Some reject it outright; some seem to
respond positively but then quickly fall away; some hold on for a while, but
the worries and pleasures of the world choke it out. Jesus and the Apostles
wanted as many people as possible to be in the last category: The seed sown in
good soil that produces a many-fold return. This is why they consistently
preached perseverance, faithfulness and growth.
A growing faith is a solid,
reliable faith
People have different mindsets
about salvation. Some aren’t concerned about it. These people may go to church,
but in their daily life they mostly go along with the world. Prayer and
obedience are not part of their daily lives. Do such people really know God?
Others may live in constant fear of failing and losing their salvation,
struggling with feelings of condemnation, fear and shame. To them I would say,
Jesus came to heal us and set us free; it is the devil who is the accuser. I
believe God would have us in between these extremes: Actively engaged with Him,
growing in our faith and the grace and peace of God, and confident that:
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6, NIV
[Side note: When is God's good work in us complete? The day of Christ Jesus!]
The Apostle Peter said
we should strive for a faith that grows:
“His divine power has given us everything required for life and
godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and
goodness. By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that
through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that
is in the world because of evil desires. For this very reason, make every
effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge,
knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with
godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with
love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you
from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the
cleansing from his past sins. Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm
your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never
stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.” – 2 Peter 1:3-11, Holman
This statement begins
with the foundation of our entire faith experience: His divine power. The power
of God in Jesus Christ, expressed through the promises of Scripture, enables us
to escape the corruption of our flesh and the world.
Then the passage urges us to continually
grow and build our faith: goodness on faith, knowledge on goodness…
self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and (the greatest) love.
If we are growing in these attributes, then our faith is healthy, fruitful and
strong. In fact, it says we will never fall.
In this life, we do not arrive
or cross the finish line – not until the day of Christ Jesus. We are not yet
perfect. Even the Apostle Paul said he was not yet fully mature:
“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature,
but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold
of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of
it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what
is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in
Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:12-14
If anyone thinks they
know it all or have arrived, he is fooling himself. None of us have. Instead, we
press on in our heavenly calling.
What’s the opposite of
a growing faith? A stagnant or non-existent faith. If anyone is in this condition,
first ask yourself whether you know God. Do you have the witness of the Holy
Spirit and the fruits of the Spirit? As the Apostle Paul put it:
“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test
yourselves. Can't you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you--unless
you actually fail the test?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5, Berean Study Bible
If your faith is genuine
but stagnant or regressing, then you need to repent. Listen to what Jesus said
to the church in Ephesus, which He first praised for their works, labor and
endurance, but then said this:
“But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at
first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did
at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its
place—unless you repent.” – Revelation 2:4-5
Jesus is not satisfied
with being anything other than our first love. The lampstand in this verse
represents that church. I’m not completely certain what removing it means – perhaps
dissolving the church because it no longer fully represents Jesus. Yet He also
held out this hope to those who respond and overcome:
“Anyone who has an ear should listen to what the Spirit says to the
churches. I will give the victor the right to eat from the tree of life, which
is in God’s paradise.” – Revelation 2:7
The book of Hebrews also
has more to say about stagnant or regressing faith. Its recipients received
numerous admonitions, such as:
“We must therefore pay even more attention to what we have heard, so
that we will not drift away.” – Hebrews 2:1
After pointing out that
the recipients were still immature in their faith, and expressing a desire to
move beyond the basics of the faith, the author said:
“For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once
enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy
Spirit, tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have
fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God
and holding Him up to contempt. For ground that has drunk the rain that has
often fallen on it and that produces vegetation useful to those it is
cultivated for receives a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and
thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and will be burned at the
end.” – Hebrews 6:4-8
This passage says it is
possible for a believer to fall away in such a way that he cannot be restored.
Honestly, I do not know precisely what that means. This is mystery here.
Because the Scriptures also contain the story of the prodigal son who comes
back to the Father in the end. In the letters to the seven churches in
Revelation, even in the admonitions to people who were spiritually “lukewarm”
or “dead” or engaged in idolatry and sexual immorality, Jesus urged them to
repent and held out the hope of all the blessings of the inheritance of the
saints. The phrase “impossible to renew to repentance” implies a heart so
hardened that the person never wants to repent. However, the Scriptures also
say anyone who wants to repent, can, and be restored. Even the author of
Hebrews, immediately after this statement, shifted the tone to hope and
encouragement:
“Even though we are speaking this way, dear friends, in your case we are
confident of the better things connected with salvation.” – Hebrews 6:9
All I can say is,
Christian salvation is not to be taken lightly. Salvation not a notional belief
in God or a heavenly insurance policy received after someone “prays a prayer,”
but then lives however he wants. It’s following Christ to the end.
Our goal should be to
have a strong, growing faith. If we have that, there is no need to worry. Seek
the Lord daily and follow him. If we need to repent – and we all do at times –
then repent and move on. Ours sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.
The question arises: Can
we be secure in our salvation and heavenly calling? My belief is that only God
can give that to you by faith. If it’s lacking, ask Him for it. Certainly I am
not perfect and have not arrived, but I believe by faith that He who began a
good work in me will complete until the day of Christ Jesus.
In his final words,
King David said:
“Is it not true my house is with God? For He has established an
everlasting covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. Will He not
bring about my whole salvation and my every desire?” – 2 Samuel 22:5
My personal answer to
those questions is yes, by faith, He will.
The Holy Spirit brings repentance,
healing, peace, and hope; the devil brings guilt, shame, despair and
condemnation
“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no
regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” – 2 Corinthians 7:10, NIV
Finally, I want to talk
about the difference between the voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of
Satan. Their messages and intentions are completely opposed, though the devil
is tricky and often tries to pass himself off as God speaking. The Holy Spirit
brings conviction leading to healthy repentance, healing, peace and
restoration. The devil brings accusations that lead to doubt, shame, guilt, fear
and condemnation.
In the verse above, the
Apostle Paul said godly sorrow (the good kind) brings repentance (i.e. a change
of belief and behavior) that leads to salvation (i.e. sanctification,
purification). It does so without regret (i.e. guilt, shame, self-loathing). In
other words, godly sorrow frees us from sin and the psychological baggage of
guilt and self-condemnation. We are free, free, free! God doesn’t want us to go
around beating ourselves up. It’s the devil who wants that. Worldly sorrow (the
bad kind) brings death, which in the Bible often means a distancing or separation
from God. Worldly sorrow brings guilt and condemnation, which causes us to feel
unworthy and despicable and to hide and run from God, like Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden after they sinned. Thus, it brings death.
The truth is we are
worthy because of the blood of Jesus Christ:
“For by a single
offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” –
Hebrews 10:14, English Standard Version
One offering for all
time. Period. That alone makes us worthy, because we are in Christ.
Furthermore, the
ministry of the gospel is a ministry of reconciliation:
“Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation: That is, in Christ, God was reconciling
the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has
committed the message of reconciliation to us.” – 2 Corinthians 5:18-19,
Holman
And of healing and
restoration:
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not
snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.” – Isaiah 42:3,
Holman
Ours is a ministry of salvation,
not condemnation:
“For God did not send His Son into the world that He might condemn the
world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” – John 3:17
Yes, Judgment Day is
coming when we will all stand before the throne of God. Those whose names are
written in the book of life will be with Christ forever. The destiny of those
without Christ will be the same as that of Satan and his angels:
“And 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 who
were in it; and death and hades delivered up the dead who were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hades 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, King James 2000
But right now, we are
in the time of reconciliation. There is hope for everyone. That should be the purpose
and tone of our message. The Apostle James described wisdom from above, which I
equate with the voice of God:
“But the wisdom from above is indeed first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
reasonable, full of mercy and of good fruits, impartial, sincere.” – James 3:17,
Berean Literal Bible
The voice of our Lord
is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, merciful and full of good fruits. That
it how we know it is His voice, when it has these wonderful qualities.
Satan’s voice is the opposite
– impure, harsh, hostile, fearful, unreasonable, hateful, condemning and full
of bad fruits. He is the accuser who cynically tears down the saints:
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come,
because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses
them before our God day and night.” – Revelation 12:10
Satan tries to cause us
to doubt the truth of God’s word and to take blessings from us:
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the
Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You can’t eat
from any tree in the garden”?’” – Genesis 3:1-2, Holman
We should not listen to
this serpent. We should listen only to voice of our Lord.
Satan’ deceptions are particularly
devious and harmful when they are disguised as Christianity. If he can convince
ministers and churches to present messages of condemnation or unrighteousness in a
religious context, even by misinterpreting Scriptures, then he can corrupt
people’s perceptions of God and drive them away from Him. Remember, when Satan
tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted Scripture. But Jesus replied with
other Scriptures that were correctly applied.
One of Satan’s tricks
is to rebrand sin as something good: killing the unborn becomes women’s rights;
senseless war and bloodshed becomes patriotism and stopping designated bad guys;
sexual deviancy becomes love and tolerance; gender confusion becomes courageous
self-expression. Up is down and black is white.
A second trick is to shift
people away from salvation by faith in Jesus Christ toward a self-righteous,
works-oriented approach by focusing on legalistic prescriptions, such as
observing Jewish feasts, circumcision, forbidding consumption of alcohol, etc.
The Pharisees were famous for legalism. If you are tempted toward legalism,
read the book of Galatians in which the Apostle Paul thoroughly dispelled this
idea:
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” –
Galatians 5:18
A third satanic ploy is
to subvert the gospel’s message of hope and reconciliation with condemnation,
fear and despair. This can be a highly critical spirit that tears people down but
fails to couch the message in love and hope. I have been guilty of this. Remember,
the Holy Spirit brings conviction; the devil brings accusation. In the letters
to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3, Jesus ended each one by promising unique
and magnificent heavenly blessings to the faithful. Even to the church of Laodicea
which He rebuked for being lukewarm, he showed love and a desire for intimate fellowship:
“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be committed and repent.
Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the
door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me.” –
Revelation 3:19-20
Other ways condemnation
manifests are dark obsessions with losing one’s salvation, hell and damnation. People can torture themselves and others with this
idea of committing the unforgivable sin by “blaspheming the Holy Spirit.” As I explained
in the post What
Is Blaspheming the Holy Spirit?, blaspheming the Spirit is not recognizing
Jesus is the Messiah. Simple as that.
Some also believe that
every time they sin, they lose their salvation and are headed to hell until
they confess it and get re-saved. Here is what the Apostle John said:
“My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not
sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ
the Righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only
for ours, but also for those of the whole world.” – 1 John 1:1-2, Holman
Neither I nor John is
saying we should sin, but if we do, we have an Advocate in the heavens, Jesus
Christ, whose sacrifice covers our sins. John also said not all sin leads to
death, or separation from God:
“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he
should ask God, who will give life to those who commit this kind of sin. There
is a sin that leads to death; I am not saying he should ask regarding that sin.”
– 1 John 5:16, Berean Study Bible
For regular sins we
should pray for each other that we overcome it. John said there is a sin that
leads to “death,” which I can only guess is the spiritual condition described previously
in Hebrews 6 about someone falling away and becoming so hardened toward God that
he cannot be restored. Again, I do not know exactly what that means or how a
person gets to that place. But I infer from this verse that regular, “normal”
sins do NOT lead to death and, therefore, this idea that a person loses his
salvation every time he sins is false.
God wants us to repent
when we sin. Some deeply ingrained attitudes and behaviors require a lot of
wash-and-repeat cycles – repent, fall, repent, fall, repent… But we press on,
asking for God’s help, and by faith in His power we will overcome.
Acknowledging our sins is part of repentance. How can we repent of a sin if we don't acknowledge it? However, the idea of confessing each sin in order to be forgiven of it sounds like offering a mini-sacrifice to earn God's mercy, which contradicts the Bible's teaching about Jesus' once-for-all-time sacrifice. This view of confession probably comes from a misinterpretation
of 1 John 1:
“If we say, ‘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.” – 1 John 1:8-9, Holman
This passage about being
saved, as in believing in Jesus Christ. A person can only be saved if he first
admits to being a sinner and needing forgiveness. If we say we have no sin, we
can’t be saved. However, this is not a passage about a believer's sanctification. The subsequent
verses about Jesus as our advocate and propitiation pertain to
believers:
"My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins." - 1 John 2:1-2a, Holman
The idea of losing
our salvation every time we sin is a doctrine of condemnation and fear. It encourages a morbid introspection and spiritual paralysis, causing people to continually
gaze inward, wondering, “Have I sinned?” and afraid to step out and act for
fear of failing and SINNING. But God wants us to step out, act and grow in our faith
-- that's the point! We still live in fleshly bodies and are not yet perfected, not until Jesus
returns. Listen to what Paul said:
“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by
any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of
nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who
examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the
time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things
hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each
man’s praise will come to him from God.” – 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
Paul does not examine
himself or engage in morbid introspection. His eyes are on Jesus Christ and he
presses on in the faith, as should we all, without fear and without condemnation:
“There
is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.”
– 1 John 4:18a, Holman
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.” – Romans 8:1, NIV
The spirit of condemnation
also manifests as a dark obsession with hell and damnation. Yes, there is a
hell, a holding place until Judgment Day for departed souls who were not
reconciled with God. Jesus mentioned hell in six separate passages in the gospels.
The Apostles did not mention it, except James when he used it as a metaphor
about the tongue, though the Apostles consistently spoke about the judgment of
God both in this life and in eternity. My point is that hell is about punishment
and condemnation, but our ministry is of hope and reconciliation. Accordingly, our
emphasis should be on Christ’s death and resurrection.
Conclusion
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
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