Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20040718.htm

ADAPTING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT'S PRESENT MINISTRIES
Part VII: Adapting To The Holy Spirit's Sealing And Earnest Ministries
(Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

At Nepaug Church, we believe one is unconditionally secure in his salvation in Christ so that it is impossible for him to LOSE it.

However, I have read works that area Evangelical leaders uphold that claim believers are "eternally secure" as long as they trust in Christ firmly enough or as long as they do not sin a certain sin, and many verses, samples of which follow, are given to back these claims:

(1) Some claim that since 1 Timothy 4:1-3 reports of those who "depart from the faith," believers may lose their salvation!

(2) Some refer to Matthew 7:16-19 that speaks of good and bad fruit coming from good or bad trees respectively. Thus, if a Christian sins, bearing bad fruit, he is thought to have lost his salvation in Christ!

(3) In Revelation 22:18-19, John writes in the King James Version that a man could have his name taken out of the book of life if he takes away from the words of the book of the Revelation. Thus, some hold if a believer rejects John's Revelation he loses his salvation.

(4) Paul feared he could become a "castaway" in 1 Corinthians 9:27, so some would claim Paul heeded God to keep his soul saved!

(5) Barnabas urged converts to cleave to God in Acts 11:21-23, so some hold he taught these folk should avoid losing their salvation.

(6) A favorite verse of many who say one can lose his salvation, John 15:6, tells of one being cast by men into a fire for failing to abide in Christ. Thus, some claim this verse shows believers can go to hell!

(7) Since Galatians 5:4 claims the Galatian believers had "fallen from grace," some hold they had thus lost their salvation.

(8) God warned Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33:7-9 that if he failed to warn the wicked to turn from their way, God would require it of his "soul"; hence, some teach God warned Ezekiel he would lose his salvation and go to hell for failing to witness properly!

(9) Hebrews 6:4-6 in the King James Version appears to some to warn that if a person starts out as truly saved in that he tastes of the heavenly gift and has become a partaker of the Holy Sprit, and then has fallen away', he has lost his salvation and can never be saved again!

Well, CAN we somehow lose our salvation status? IF so, can we EVER get it BACK again? How do we KNOW what our CURRENT salvation status is so that we can ADJUST as needed to END UP avoiding hell and making heaven in the END?

(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "From the way the term, eternal security' is used at Nepaug Church, I had always felt I could NEVER LOSE my salvation; yet, I NOW hear some Christian leaders claim we are eternally secure PROVIDING we do not do some specific sin or if we trust in Christ FIRMLY enough'! Some hold if you lose your salvation, you are irretrievably doomed! Well, I TRULY want to enter heaven, so can you answer all my concerns on this issue with that goal in mind?!"
  1. The INSTANT one FIRST believes the Gospel of Christ for salvation from sin, he is SEALED with God the Holy Spirit:
    1. Ephesians 1:13 in the King James Version claims one is "sealed" with the Holy Spirit "after that ye believed."
    2. The word, "after" does not come from the Greek New Testament, for the phrase, "after that ye believed" is translated from the aorist participle of the verb, "believe" and means, "having believed," UBS Greek N.T., p. 665; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. to Ephesians 1:13.
    3. As the context does not suggest this "sealing" occurs at some time after faith is expressed, this participle here indicates the sealing event occurs logically based on faith the INSTANT one trusts in Christ!
  2. The PURPOSE of this SEALING of the Spirit is to PRESERVE the believer by GOD'S work so that GOD can take him to HEAVEN:
    1. The sealing of the Spirit occurs "until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Eph. 1:14) or, as Ephesians 4:30 puts it, "until the day of redemption" that we see from Romans 8:23 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 is the rapture when Christ takes true Christians to heaven.
    2. To clarify why Paul combines the "day of redemption" phrase to the "sealing" of the Spirit concept in Ephesians 1:13-14, we note a business practice in Ephesus that combined these two concepts:
      1. To sell them as timber, local Ephesian dealers arranged bundles of logs as floats in their city harbor. When a traveling merchant bought such a float, he set his personal seal on it so only he could tow it away when he later returned with a ship, Wm. Biederwolf, Help to the Study of the Holy Spirit, 1904 ed., p. 40.
      2. Thus, Paul's readers knew the "sealing" of the Spirit "unto the day of redemption" meant God's Spirit Himself acted as their "Seal"; God then laid claim to the believer at salvation; later, God alone would return to take him to heaven as God's SOLE possession!
    3. Hence, the idea of "the sealing of the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption" to Paul's Ephesian readers meant God had laid claim to them when they first believed in Christ by sealing them with the Holy Spirit Himself so that God alone could return to take them to heaven!
  3. To give EVIDENCE to the BELIEVER that GOD WILL GET him to HEAVEN, God's indwelling Holy Spirit acts as an EARNEST in CONNECTION to the ministry of SEALING the believer:
    1. In Ephesians 1:14a and 2 Corinthians 1:22, the "sealing" of the Spirit is connected to the Spirit's role as God's "Earnest" to the believer.
    2. This "earnest" role of the Spirit is described in 2 Corinthians 5:5 in connection with the believer's NEED to have his present earthly body replaced by his future glorious, heavenly body, 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, 5.
    3. Then, the word translated, "earnest," or arrabon, a derivative of which word (arrabona) has come to mean an engagement ring that a groom would give to his future bride, is "a part given in advance of what will be bestowed fully afterwards," Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, p. 79.
    4. Thus, the Holy Spirit is God's evidential pledge to the believer that God WILL give him the full measure of heaven's bliss at the rapture!
  4. Combining the Bible's teaching on the SEAL of the Spirit with His role as God's EARNEST to the believer, we have proof the Bible teaches the believer's salvation security is UNCONDITIONAL:
    1. We previously established that the Holy Spirit's "earnest" ministry is connected to His "sealing" in Ephesians 1:14a and 2 Corinthians 1:22.
    2. Then, since the Spirit as the believer's Earnest is GOD'S PLEDGE to the believer that he will receive his full measure of heaven's blessings, and since the SEALING ministry of the Holy Spirit, like that of that Spirit's role as the believer's EARNEST, is ENTIRELY the work of GOD, the security of the believer's SALVATION is an unconditional one: the believer's salvation does not depend on himself, but only on God, and that from START to FINISH!
Application: (1) May we TRUST in Christ as Savior from sin to be sealed by the Holy Spirit. (2) Then, be assured the INSTANT we thus BELIEVED, we were UNCONDITIONALLY SECURE in our salvation, for our salvation depends ENTIRELY on GOD, NOT at ALL on US! (3) Then, RELAX and live for Christ!

Lesson: We are UNCONDITIONALLY saved the INSTANT we trust in Christ, for God HIMSELF has arranged it by SEALING us with the Holy Spirit and having His Holy Spirit's presence in our hearts ACT as God's EVIDENTIAL PROMISE that HE SHALL INDEED get us into heaven!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 The 9 passages in our introduction each typify a major WAY conditional salvation security advocates misunderstand Scripture to uphold their error; we now offer corrections to each one as follows:

(1) Some misunderstood passages do not speak of believers as is errantly presumed; 1 Timothy 4:1-3 refers to unsaved apostates.

(2) Some misunderstood passages, like Matthew 7:16-19, deal with the evidences of salvation, not with salvation itself. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus said those who are evil were NEVER saved!

(3) Some misunderstood passages only warn of a false faith: the better Greek manuscript evidence has "share" in place of "part" and "tree of life" for "book of life" in Revelation 22:19 Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, ftn. John here warns the lost to accept and not distort his words.

(4) Some misunderstood passages deal with rewards, not with a loss of salvation: Paul's fear of being a "castaway" was his fear of being sidelined by Christ from effective service, 1 Cor inthians 9:27!

(5) Some misunderstood passages refer to a loss of fellowship, not a loss of salvation: Acts 11:21-23 is such a passage.

(6) Some misunderstood passages, like John 15:6, speak of discipline for sin, not about a loss of salvation: in John 15:6, men cast branches into a fire, and nowhere else does Scripture literally have men casting men into hell! Jesus here figuratively shows the futility and divine discipline of a life lived outside of fellowship with Him.

(7) Some passages that are misunderstood, like Galatians 5:4 use the phrase, "fallen from grace" not to speak of salvation's loss, but a drop from living by grace to living in legalism , Galatians 5:1.

(8) Some misunderstood passages, like Ezekiel 33:7-9 are mishandled by a failure to respect the passage's context: God did not warn Ezekiel that he might lose his salvation, but his earthly life were he to fail to warn fellow Jews to repent and they thus physically died in God's judgment by way of invading Gentiles (Ezekiel 33:1-7).

(9) Some passages, like Hebrews 6:4-6, are misunderstood due to ignorance of the original text. There is no "if' clause" in these verses in the Greek text ( Bib. Kno. Com., N.T., p. 794-795. The author only warns of a believer's hardening, cf. Hebrews 3:7-4:1.

Scripture thus teaches we are UNCONDITIONALLY eternally secure in our salvation in Christ! May we REST in it!