I bit on something hard in a sandwich Thursday. There was a loud \u201ccrack\u201d like my tooth had broken. Went to the dentist yesterday morning, thankful that they could see me so soon.<\/p>\n
It was definitely cracked\u2014completely split in two. It was a difficult extraction that did not end quickly. The dentist couldn\u2019t pull it out no matter how much he jerked and twisted. I prayed fervently as he fought with that tooth.<\/p>\n
Finally, he resorted to using an impact tool, then a drill or high-speed cutter, and then a surgical knife. It is now sewn with dissolvable stitches. I was shaking when he was finished.<\/p>\n
I thought\u2014I willingly laid on a stretch-chair, let some man I barely know stick needles in my gum, then wrestle, pull, jerk, and cut one of my teeth out, and paid $$$ for the experience. It was all because I knew from a past incident that a cracked tooth can become septic and the pain is way off the scale. All that to say that I recognized a lesson in that experience.<\/p>\n
First, we are clearly warned that if we do not trust God to fix our condition now and maintain His \u201cfix,\u201d we will regret it when sin takes us down the crowded road to eternal destitution and devastation.<\/p>\n
Second, my dentist, a professing Christian, said that premolars are ill-designed and prone to failure. I think that commentary fits the entire sorry race of humanity. Our humanity is temporal. Our teeth and everything else will die\u2014only our soul was designed to last eternally. We essentially and truly need God\u2014not as a good idea or casual acquaintance, but we need an intimate relationship with Him.<\/p>\n
Accepting that truth deeply should awaken us to what we should be focused on. God will take the sin out of our old person, wash us free from our filth, and make us new, but it is up to us to maintain and mature our spiritual status. People who put that responsibility on God are like those who eat candy and never brush or floss.<\/p>\n
Spiritually careless professing Christians should not be surprised when they reach eternity and realize they need a spiritual makeover. But that\u2019s not going to happen. The time to be changed is now. The time to work on our spiritual condition is now. Lip service does not equate to heart commitment. Please heed this truth if you believe that you have unconditional eternal security.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Matthew 21:28-31<\/p>\n
He declared that their lip-service faith in God was denied by their works. \u201cSinner\u2019s Prayer\u201d lip-service is no better than joining a casual fraternity of people who dabble in religious philosophy. God\u2019s word says, \u201c…and shalt believe in thine heart\u201d (Romans 10:9).<\/p>\n
\u201cThey profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.\u201d \u2014 Titus 1:16<\/p>\n
No one can become reprobate or apostate that was not at some point a Christian. You cannot depart from where you have never been (1 Timothy 4:1). Nor can one become something opposite (reprobate, castaway) without once having been something else (godly, just, upright). (1 Corinthians 9:27).<\/p>\n
Truly, it is foolish to live contrary to God\u2019s truth and believe there are no consequences. One of the most poignant statements by Christ was when He quoted Isaiah.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.\u201d \u2014 Matthew 15:8-9<\/p>\n
This one fact is beyond any doubt\u2014individuals who do not live upright will NOT be gathered to Christ at the Parousia. The true church, which is the bride of Christ, members in particular, will make themselves ready. She will be a \u201cglorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but holy and without blemish.\u201d (Ephesians 5:25-27)<\/p>\n
Heaven will be populated with the spirits of just individuals made perfect. (Hebrews 12:22-23) They were \u201cjust\u201d on earth, (Greek-dikaios,\u00a0which means: \u201cupright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God\u201d) but they were made perfect in heaven. Godliness is our response to God\u2019s call to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). Godliness without substance is empty believism\u2014lip service without heart commitment (2 Timothy 3:5).<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.\u201d \u2014 1 Corinthians 13:10<\/p>\n
If you believe that God has given you unconditional eternal security, then you must have pledged to be unconditionally eternally committed to Him. That is what believing in one\u2019s heart means. If that is what you committed to, I stand with you. You will live as uprightly as possible and grow in uprightness until God makes you perfect in eternity. If you profess to be a redeemed child of God, and yet confess that Satan compels you to uncontrollably sin daily, you are a fraud (1 John 2:4).<\/p>\n
The same author of Romans 10:9-10 wrote Romans chapters 6-8 (Ignore the chapter markers when you read it.). Sinning so that grace can abound is antithetical to grace. It is trampling on the body of Christ, despising the Holy Spirit, and considering the Blood of the Covenant unholy (Hebrews 10:29). What truly redeemed lover of God does that? What type of individual that does those things and confidently believes that he or she will hear God say at the Judgment, \u201cWell done, good and faithful servant.\u201d The answer is a deceived individual. What have they done? They minimized works of righteousness but exalted the works of darkness.<\/p>\n
It is a doctrine of demons that consigns you to commit wicked works daily and eschew good works that identify redemption. God\u2019s word declares otherwise.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.\u201d Ephesians 2:10<\/p>\n
\u201cIf ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father\u2019s commandments, and abide in his love.\u201d \u2014 John 15:10<\/p>\n
Your works do not redeem you\u2014your works are evidence that you are redeemed or damned. There is no biblical basis for declaring that a redeemed person must be a slave to sin to be truly redeemed. In my opinion, Charles Stanley\u2019s book, \u201cEternal Security\u201d is a handbook for apostasy. Run\u2014run, beloved, from such wickedness!<\/p>\n
Make no mistake about it\u2014the apostasy is real and filling up with careless professing Christians that have departed from the faith. The seeker of God is a lover of righteousness. No one whose heart is committed to God wallows in the world\u2019s pigsty. Imagine an individual committed to cleanliness. He or she may become dirty but will be discontented until he or she can be clean. Under no circumstances would such one dwell in constant filth.<\/p>\n
Some people will angrily reject this call to full surrender and choose to remain secure in the doctrines of men. Truth does not force itself on anyone. Satan has emissaries that appear as ministers of righteousness, and that spout the doctrines of death. Their end will be according to their deadly work. One has to choose between God\u2019s truth and what men claim is His truth.<\/p>\n
At this very moment, God is calling those who claim to be His people to depart from iniquity and dwell daily in His presence. Furthermore, God is calling all sinners to repent. When will it be the final call?<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.\u201d \u2014 Revelation 22:17<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I bit on something hard in a sandwich Thursday. There was a loud \u201ccrack\u201d like my tooth had broken. Went to the dentist yesterday morning, thankful that they could see me so soon. It was definitely cracked\u2014completely split in two. It was a difficult extraction that did not end quickly. The dentist couldn\u2019t pull it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paIm2N-wl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2005"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2006,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions\/2006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}