Why is it that some fall away in the Christian life?
I was reminded of a marvelous passage in Matthew 16 yesterday where Jesus told Peter that He was going to the cross. Unmistakably, Jesus unveiled His future on earth, yet Peter refused to believe it. In fact, not only did he refuse to believe what Jesus told him. Peter took Jesus and rebuked him! Imagine that!
Jesus clearly showed Peter that he had to go to Jerusalem, be beaten, scourged, rejected by the leaders, killed, and then rise on the third day. This was Jesus’ mission. This is what He came to do, namely, accomplish salvation for His own.
But Peter, to his dismay, found himself sharply chastised by Jesus. Indeed, Jesus called him “Satan” because Peter’s mindset was not in accord with God’s sovereign and perfect will but his own human and fallible desires.
Jesus rebuked Peter because Peter rejected the divine wisdom that He had just revealed—that he was going to go to Jerusalem, suffer, die, and rise again. This was, verily, the Word of God. It was divine revelation flowing forth from the lips of God Himself! Nevertheless, Peter rejected what Christ just revealed to him and told him that this must never happen! Peter had a different plan! He was certain that Jesus’ life was not going to end this way!
I think the application may legitimately be drawn from this passage for us as believers. Let us cling tightly to God’s Word. In the pages of Scripture we find the perfect, divine, inscrutable wisdom from God Himself! Let us never reject the divine revelation for our human reasoning!
Let us not forsake:
Divine Sovereignty for Human Speculation
Divine Wisdom for Human Wisdom
Divine Principles for Human Philosophy
Divine Knowledge for Human Ideas
To clinch this thought, Jesus Himself told Peter: “You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (ouv fronei/j ta. tou/ qeou/ avlla. ta. tw/n avnqrw,pwn.) Let us take heed: never consume your mind with the things of this world to the neglect of the things of God. Some, then, fall away from the Christian life because they substitute Divine Revelation for Human Reasoning.
some notes on 1 Peter 3:18-20 |compiled by geoffrey r. kirkland
Text:
1 Peter 3:18-20 18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
Issues:
Did Christ really descend into hell after his death and preach?
Does this teach that people in hell will have a “second chance” to repent?
Why would Jesus need to go to hell if His work was “finished” and “accomplished?”
“Problem” Passages:
The Apostles’ Creed—There are some old manuscripts of an early Christian document containing Christian doctrines (or, beliefs) from about 200AD. There is a phrase in some of the later manuscripts (from about 650 AD; that’s 450 years after the originals!) where the document reads: “Christ, he descended into hell.” The original Greek manuscripts have a word for hell which most often is translated “grave” or “the ground.”
Acts 2:27—Peter is preaching and he quotes Psalm 16:10 and the simple point he is making is that Christ died and was buried in the ground (Sheol) and then was raised again. He simply endeavors to prove that Christ died and rose from the grave.
Romans 10:6-7—Paul refers to Christ “descending into the abyss”. But the passage does not teach that Christ descended into hell. Rather, it teaches that Christ is not too far from you to believe in Him. You don’t have to ascend to the heavens, or descend far into the depths of the earth to find Him—he is near you!
Ephesians 4:8-9—Paul says: “What does he [Christ] ascended mean except that he also descended into the lower, earthly regions?” The best meaning here is that Christ descended to earth (=incarnation, his human life) when he was born as a man. The passage in Eph 4 speaks of his incarnation as a human, not his descent to hell after his death.
1 Peter 3:18-20—Known as the “proof” text to some (i.e., JW’s) that after Jesus’ death on the cross, that he went to hell and preached to the spirits in prison and gave them a 2nd chance to repent and be saved.
*Accurate Interpretation Given the Context of 1 Peter:
The best interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18-20 given the immediate context of 1 Peter is that the passage is referring NOT to something Christ did between his death and resurrection, but to what he did ‘in the spiritual realm of his existence’ at the time of Noah (Gen 6-9).
In 1 Peter 1:11, Peter says that the “Spirit of Christ” was speaking in the OT prophets. This suggests that Peter could have thought that the ‘Spirit of Christ was speaking through Noah as well. Also, in 2 Peter 3:5, he calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness” (using the common Greek word for “preacher”). So it seems likely that when Christ ‘preached to the spirits in prison, he did so through Noah in the days before the flood (v.20).
Furthermore, the people to whom Christ preached through Noah were unbelievers on the earth at the time (cf. Gen 6:5-7), but Peter says that they are “spirits in prison” because they are now in the prison of hell awaiting that future day of eternal judgment where they’ll be cast into the eternal Lake of Fire (cf. Rev 20:11-15). However, when Noah was preaching to them, they were humans on earth but they died having rejected Noah’s message of repentance (cf. 2 Pet 3:5).
Given the context of 1 Peter 3:13-22 where Peter just told them to always be ready to give an answer to those who ask for the hope that is within them, this interpretation fits well because the believers are to continue preaching Christ and speaking the gospel regardless of how people respond (just as Noah continued to preach in his day to the people who rejected him therefore incurring God’s judgment by a universal flood).
Therefore, the conclusion is that 1 Peter 3:18-20 is referring to Christ preaching ‘in his Spirit’ through Noah when he preached to his contemporaries in Genesis 6—9 though they rejected him and his message. They died without God, without believing in him and are now in “prison” awaiting that future day when they will be eternally judged to the Lake of Fire.
Fascinated with Acts 14 this past week, I continue to marvel at the humility and the God-centered nature of Paul and Barnabas. In Lystra, Paul heals a man lame from birth and the crowds immediately chant that he is a god and make all the necessary actions to offer sacrifices to both Paul and Barnabas!
Acts 14:11-13 11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us." 12 And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
Certainly the temptation was present to allow pride to swell and infest their minds and their hearts. But they did not allow this to happen. Paul preached to them telling them to forsake their foolish (=vain!) idols and turn to the Living God who made heaven, earth, the sea, and all that is in them (v.15).
But we don't struggle with this day to day. I don't know about you but I don't have anyone attempting to offer sacrifices to me because they think I'm a god. Maybe this happens to you, but not to me.
However, I came up with five ways that we can--and often do--rob God of his rightful glory. Though we may not receive 'worship' from people bowing before us, we can certainly rob God of his glory in other ways. Here is that list:
First, If you don’t use your spiritual gift for the edification and growth of the church, you rob God of his glory because God is honored in His church.
Second, If you don’t evangelize, share the gospel, preach hell, damnation, repentance, and judgment with the glorious forgiveness and solution God offers to sinners who repent you rob God of his glory because God is glorified in the salvation of sinners.
Third, If you come to church physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually you’re absent, you’re hypocritically worshiping God and this robs God of his rightful glory.
Fourth, If you don’t tell others what God is doing in your life and how HE is working in you, changing you, growing you, maturing you, you rob God of his rightful glory because God is glorified when you tell others what God is doing and how he is working in your life.
Fifth, you pridefully receive praise, honor, and accolades from others while neglecting to give thanks to and point others to Jesus Christ, you are receiving the glory and robbing God of his rightful glory.
Here's an offer for you. We're taking our church on a second trip to Israel, and we want YOU to join us! We have a number of spots still available and if you've always wanted to go, THIS just might be the opportunity for YOU to walk around, traverse through, and journey in the Holy Land!
Here is a question I recently was asked from a woman in our church:
“I am reading through the book of Romans and it says (2:10) "first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." And then in the next verse ... "For God does not show favoritism."
Help me since I just don't understand how " first the Jew " is not favoritism.”
Here is my response:
Great question. The gospel is for the Jew first not because God is showing a sort of "favoritism", but because Israel ("the Jews") are God's chosen people, that is, God elected them to be His "special" people and His "treasured possession" out of all the peoples on the earth (cf. Deuteronomy 7). Remember, this is not favoritism--this is undeserved grace (same with YOU and Me and our salvation--God didn't show favoritism in electing and saving us, rather, His grace saved us though we were dead in our own sins!).
Also, Jesus said in Matthew 15:24 "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This is not favoritism, this is Jesus saying: I have come that Israel may have their Kingdom and their Messiah, but they continually rejected Him!
With all this background, Romans 1:16 says that the gospel is for the Jew first. Why? Because the gospel was offered to them first when Jesus came to offer to His chosen people their Messiah and their Kingdom (which they ultimately rejected by crucifying their Messiah).
Now, in Romans 2, remember Paul is arguing that ALL are alike under sin--totally dead in sin and unable
to save themselves--both Jews and Gentiles (everyone!). When Paul says in Rom 2:9 that distress comes upon the Jew first, then the Gentile, and then in Rom 2:10 that glory and honor and peace comes to the Jew first, then to the Gentile this is NOT favoritism, Paul is just keeping in line with the thought throughout the book--the Jews are God's treasured people (again, NOT favoritism necessarily, but sovereign election and choosing by God).
The whole point leads to Romans 2:11--there is no favoritism, all are alike under sin. There is no favoritism with God with the Jews over the Gentiles, because they are ALL sinners and under God's wrath in and of themselves. Just look at Romans 2:12 to prove this: For all who have sinned ... will perish...
"Theologians call Jesus' perfect life his active obedience. When we believe in Christ, God counts us as righteous in Christ. That is to say, God imputes to us the active obedience of Christ; so, he sees us, regards us, counts us, declares us as righteous and holy, as Jesus is. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." God imputes our sin to Christ and his righteousness to us. God judges our sin in Christ, and he regards us as righteous in Christ. That is sometimes called double imputation: our sin to Christ, his righteousness to us. So, God not only forgives our sins, he gives to us the very righteousness of Christ. We are not only acquitted but we are positively good" (John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, 149).
Tonight I have the distinct privilege of preaching God's Word and the Scripture arresting our attention will be Psalm 32. Strikingly, Psalm 32 has some noticeable themes:
Sin is a theme of the psalm. There are three (maybe four, depending on one's interp.) distinct words for sin in the text. First, there is a word for "transgression" which specifically refers to rebellion against God in a sort of legal setting. Second, there is the most common term for sin denoting "missing the mark," or "deviating off of the correct/right path." Finally, a word most commonly translated "iniquity" in our English translations signifies that which is totally corrupt and twisted; almost a sort of criminality.
Forgiveness is another prominent theme. Again, three different words or phrases are found. First, the idea of a sin being "lifted up;" or "carried away" is one way David refers to God's forgiveness. Second, he speaks of God "covering" our sin as if our sin could be hidden from God's sight (amazing thought to try to comprehend--if you know what I mean). Third, he speaks of God not crediting our sins to us (this is the idea that Paul picks up in Romans 4 as he quotes Ps 32 in his masterful argumentation for imputed righteousness by faith alone apart from works).
Repentance proves to be another peak of the psalm as David speaks of his desire to: first, make known his sins to the Lord. Second, he does not cover his sins. Third, he confesses them to God. And fourth, he beckons that all who are Godly pray to God while He may be found.
Joy is the fourth theme of the psalm. Verse 11 offers three different verbs (commands!) to rejoice, be glad (exult!), and shout for joy!
I'm arguing that repentance must be a constant discipline in every Christian's life; and if it's not, then one has good reason to question his salvation and see whether he is truly in the faith (cf. 2 Cor 7:10; 13:5).
I call upon Thomas Watson--a good and helpful, though dead, friend of mine--to help solidify this argument:
Carnal Protestants [refuse to repent], who are strangers to godly sorrow. They cannot endure a serious thought, nor do they love to trouble their heads about sin. Paracelsus [a Swiss physician from the 16th c.] spoke of a frenzy some have which will make them die dancing. Likewise sinners spend their days in mirth; tehy fling away sorrow and go dancing to damnation. Some have lived many years, yet never put a drop in God's bottle, nor do they know what a broken heart means. They weep and wring their hands as if they were undone when their estates are gone, but have no agony of soul for sin (Doctrine of Repentance, 26).
And again:
One may leave sin for fear, as in a storm the plate and jewels are cast overboard, but the nauseating and loathing of sin argues a detestation of it. Christ is never loved till sin be loathed. Heaven is never longed for till sin be loathed. When the soul sees an issue of blood running, he cries out, Lord, when shall I be freed from this body of death? When shall I put off these filthy garments of sin and have the fair mitre of glory set upon my head? Let all my self-love be turned into self-loathing (Zech 3:4-5). We are never more precious in God's eyes than when we are lepers in our own (Ibid., 45).
Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
When I erase all my excuses, I am utterly convicted as to how seldom I think about heaven. For believers who have placed saving faith in Jesus Christ as LORD, heaven is home. There is no other home in comparison to heaven for the Christian. Some reasons have come to my mind as to why we should gaze upon heaven now.
First, we must gaze upon heaven now because heaven is the eternal home for every Christian. Second, we must gaze upon heaven now because this forces us to live heavenly-focused lives instead of earthly-focused lives (which is what Hollywood and most other aspects of culture point us to). Third, we must gaze upon heaven now because that will transform us as we live through, endure through, and triumph through trials, struggles, discouragements, and persecutions in this life. That trials are tough is not the issue; the issue, rather, is how the Christian endures and perseveres through the trial with a God-centered and a heavenly-centered focus. When these are in order, the trial is manageable—yes, even more, the trial is profitable to strengthen our faith to the greater glory of God!
Fourth, we must gaze upon heaven now because that will force us to not store up treasures on this earth but rather to store up lasting, eternal, and glorious treasures in heaven. We will become less consumed with our earthly houses here and become more enraptured in our eternal dwellings made by God Himself. Fifth, we must gaze upon heaven now because this will inevitably remind us of the cross of Jesus Christ and the blessed gospel of God. Indeed, the only reason the Christian may gaze expectantly on heaven is because of God’s grace and mercy in sending Jesus Christ to be the substitutionary sacrifice for sinners who place their faith and trust in Him. What a glorious reason to gaze upon heaven! For the cross and heaven to be daily gazed upon is to feed oneself with the insoluble nourishment from God Himself.
Sixth and finally, we must gaze upon heaven now because heaven is where the believer will meet his Savior, Redeemer, and Lord face to face. If there ought to ever exist in our hearts a lovesick passion or a longing to meet someone, it should be the Christians insatiable passion to meet Jesus Christ face to face—which will most certainly happen! As a wife expectantly waits for her husband to return home from a long journey to a distant land, so should the believer wait with an eager anticipation and an all-consuming passion for the blessed reunion with his King, Lord, Savior, and Friend.
May we live today—and every day—gazing upon heaven! Indeed, heaven is our home, not this earth. Let us live like Christians bound for glory, not Christians bound by this earth.
"You grow in knowledge of God as you know him more and more as Lord, as King. First, he is the one who controls all things. You will grow in your knowledge of God as you see more and more things as under his control: the present, the future, your own life, your sin, your salvation . . . second, you come to know God as the one who speaks with such authority that you must obey--in every area of your life: your social life, your moral life, even your intellectual life. You will grow in your knowledge of God when you come to bring every thought captive to Christ (2 Cor 10:5)" (John Frame, Salvation Belongs to the Lord, 75).
It is an amazing thought to consider that people can be with Jesus and live life with Jesus! This is precisely the call that Mark gives in chapter 3 of his gospel when speaking of Jesus’ call of the Twelve as His appointed apostles. He writes:
Mark 3:14-15 14 And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach,15 and to have authority to cast out the demons.
The three noteworthy points to mention in these verses consist of:
1. The apostles of Jesus Christ were with Jesus. What an amazing thought! They were appointed to live with Him, to be with Him, to watch Him, to learn from Him, to be His ambassadors and His witnesses. By way of application, how imperative it is for us—His servants—to be those who are with Jesus on a daily basis as we spend time in the Christian disciplines of Bible reading and prayer.
2. The apostles of Jesus Christ were preachers of the Gospel. Again, Jesus appointed twelve men to be those who would be His heralds—His proclaimers! They were to permeate the land—yes, even the world!—with the gospel of Jesus Christ! The good news that Jesus has come offering salvation and complete and total forgiveness of sins to sinners deserving hell who believe and place their saving faith in Him was the theme of their message! What a fitting reminder for us! We are also to be preachers of the gospel! We have a message that we are to bear and hold high as we live life wherever God places us.
3. The apostles of Jesus Christ were able to cast out demons. The authority of God here is so clearly revealed that one could hardly overlook this simple truth. God has absolute authority over Satan and his minions. Jesus Christ entrusted this same authority to His twelve apostles so that they could also cast out demons to heal and to verify the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though Jesus may not have specifically entrusted all of His followers with this same call and responsibility, we as God’s witnesses today are mandated to pray when hardships come; we are commanded to trust God and let our requests be made known to Him; we are to surrender to and submit to the all-powerful authority of God over everything—even Satan and demons. Therefore, let us as God’s servants take courage and take heart: God has absolute authority and nothing can thwart His perfect will!
May we learn from these concise phrases as we endeavor to be better servants of Christ and better witnesses of the gospel as we live our lives to please our commanding Officer!
This morning in my quiet time I came across these magnificent verses in the Psalms:
Psalm 50:10-12, 21 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. "I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. "If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. . . . You thought that I was just like you.
The notion of God controlling absolutely everything fills the Scriptures! Specifically, here God speaks and says that every beast of the forest is His. The cattle--every single one of them--on a thousand hills also belongs to God. God finally notes that the world is His and all it contains. This all-inclusive statement brings everything together under the sovereign reign and dominion of Yahweh! To state it negatively, there is nothing that is not under the sovereign reign of God. His sovereign and determined will is unchanging and cannot be thwarted. And lest believers think that God is "one of us" or "just like us", this verse quenches that thought immediately. God certainly is lofty, sovereign, perfect, immovable, powerful, and majestic. His transcendence is incomprehensible to us frail and finite beings. Yet the magnificent truth of this psalm is that though God is transcendent and glorious, He condescends and stoops to be actively involved in every aspect of life. What a tremendously good, loving, and holy God we serve!
Pray for me this week. I'm preaching the following sermons:
Tuesday - the Sovereignty of God (selected Scriptures) Wednesday - Psalm 30 - Thankful Worship Friday - Ephesians 5:1-5 - Live like Christ! Saturday - Acts 4:32-5:16 - Church Ministry! Saturday - 2 Chronicles 24 - Christian Accountability Sunday - Psalm 27 - Confident Trust in God! Monday - Psalm 24 - How to Respond to the Sovereign King!
God is good and He gives strength to those who are weary (Isa 40:28). I'd covet your prayers this week.
Paul continues to lay forth the dazzling pearls in the discourse chain arguing in favor for the believer’s eternal security. Quite simply, the security of the believer’s salvation means that a person, dead in sin and totally helpless and lost, who believes in Jesus Christ and confesses Him as LORD is justified (Rom 5:1) and is totally safe and secure for that final day when the individual is glorified (=made perfect) in heaven beholding Jesus Christ face to face (1 John 3:2-3). To review briefly, we have observed Paul’s argument in Romans 5 proving without a shadow of a doubt that the believer in Jesus Christ who has been justified will most definitely be glorified and can never lose that salvation. In a word, a true Christian will not—indeed, he can not—lose his salvation!
To the matter at hand, the fifth proof that the believer cannot lose his salvation is because of the clear statement Paul makes in Romans 5:9:
Romans 5:9 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
In this verse, Paul speaks in no uncertain terms and affirms that those who have been justified (action that proves the right and gracious standing of the Christian before an infinitely Holy God) will be saved from the wrath of God.
The wrath of God is a prominent theme in the Scriptures—both OT and NT. Contrary to what many preach in pulpits today or what many may read on the NYT best-sellers at Borders, the wrath of God is being kindled and infuriated to be poured out without restraint and without a drop of mercy upon those impenitent on the final day of judgment. God’s wrath is disclosed clearly and undeniably in such Scriptures as:
Psalm 5:5 5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity.
Psalm 9:7-8 7 But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.
Psalm 11:5-6 5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares; Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
Psalm 60:1-2 O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us.2 You have made the land quake, You have split it open; Heal its breaches, for it totters.
Isaiah 63:3-6 3 "I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.4 "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come.5 "I looked, and there was no one to help, And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me.6 "I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth."
Revelation 14:10-11 10 he [the Non-Christian] also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.11 "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."
These are just a few of the many Scriptures affirming the wrath of God that will be revealed against sinners who have no Advocate—that is, no one to plead their case before an infinitely Holy and Righteous God. All are found to be guilty and worthy of the eternal, conscious, unmerciful, hateful, angry wrath of God.
But note, Paul affirms in Romans 5 that for those who have been justified, they are saved from the wrath of God. This refers not only to (1) the eternal wrath in hell and eternally in the Lake of Fire being judged by God Himself (Rev 20:11-15); but also (2) it refers to the future coming wrath of God where He will pour out His anger upon a humanity that has rejected His Son in the future time. This seven-year period is known as the Tribulation (cf. Matt 24; Rev 4-19). And for those who are justified, there is the promise from God Himself that he will be spared from ALL divine wrath! Why? Because Jesus bore it in full on the cross at Calvary. This is what the phrase “it is finished” means! The debt has been paid. The wrath of God has been satisfied in place of the sinner who believes because Jesus bore it in their place!
If we were at one time reconciled to God while being enemies, how much more shall we, who are NOT enemies any longer but are children and sons of the Living God, be saved from His angry wrath!
Therefore, take note that in Romans 5:9, again, it says that we are saved from the wrath of God through Him referring to Jesus Christ! The only remedy for man’s plight is the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ! And once a person believes and is saved—and declared right with God (=justification)—this person is saved, secure, and surely to receive eternal life with His Savior, Jesus Christ, for all of eternity!
The one who recognizes his sinfulness and utter depravity, who thrusts himself at the mercy and grace of God for forgiveness, and proves his genuineness by a radical life-change is, in the language of the New Testament, a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). This defines what it means to be a Christian—a Christ-follower.
The question Paul raises in Romans 5, which logically follows after the lengthy discourse of Romans 3:21 continuing through the end of chapter 4 is this: “If a person receives such a glorious salvation, can it ever be lost?” And to his question, Paul now turns to answer. He upholds the thematic thread which winds all the soteriological (“salvation”) Scriptures together by affirming that the believer in Jesus Christ will never (yea—he can never) lose his salvation!
In Romans 5 Paul states that the believer cannot lose his salvation because the new, regenerate person has peace with God (v.1), stands within the sphere of God’s grace (v.2a), and the believer holds and possesses the sure hope of glory (v.2b-4). Here, Paul continues in v.5 by affirming that the believer’s hope does not disappoint because the “love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us.”
In verse 5, Paul regards the love of God as the secure guarantee of the believer’s salvation. He notes that this love is from God and sourced in God and this all-powerful and self-giving love from God has been poured out into the hearts of true believers. Interestingly, the verb referring to God’s love being “poured out” is in an emphatic tense bringing the idea to the foreground with all the spotlights shining upon it! In other words, God’s salvation is so certain and so sure to finally and fully happen in the future because God loves His own children eternally. This love from God has been poured out full into the hearts of believers.
Amazingly, v.6 says that while we were weak, at the very right time, Christ died for the ungodly! If we were the ungodly sinners , hating God, and fleeing from Him and He loved us enough to die for the ungodly, how much more can God love and keep those who are His very own sons and daughters! Again in v.8 the same thought is reiterated: God demonstrates His love towards us, that while we were still sinning, Christ died for the ungodly. The point is unmistakable, if while we were God’s enemies, sinning and spitting upon God and His glory, if He loved us enough to send Christ to die for wretched sinners, how much more can God’s love save, guard, keep, and perfect those who are in His family!
This verse guarantees that for the true and genuine child of God, he cannot do anything bad enough to “fall out” of God’s love. If God loved us when we were His enemies, He can certainly love us when we are His sons! If God loved you like this when you were ungodly, He can certainly love you now that you are His cherished possession. We were once enemies and God loved us; we recognize that we will never be there again as God’s enemies, so certainly God can love us the same now as His saints just as He did before when we were His enemies! This is Paul’s logical argument in Romans 5.
Take encouragement and believe that your salvation is secure and safe because it is anchored in the unchanging and sovereign character of God! However, it behooves you to examine yourself and see whether you are even in the faith (2 Cor 13:5)!
Continuing our study on the security of the believer’s salvation leads us to the third proof that the sinner who has been saved is absolutely secure is that the believer has the hope of glory.
Note Romans 5:2b-5a“and we exult in hope of the glory of God.3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;5 and hope does not disappoint…”
These verses declare in no uncertain terms that the believer who has been justified by faith (5:1), and who has peace with God (v.2), now exults in the hope of the glory of God. The believer can—and should!—exult in the hope of seeing the glory of God fully revealed in the beatific vision in heaven (1 John 3:2).
The verb “we exult” in 5:2b signifies an ongoing and emphatic exulting or boasting in that future day of beholding the glory of God! And because of this unshakable hope that the believer in Jesus Christ possesses, he can withstand and persevere through any—any!—trial that may arise in life regardless of its severity (cf. 5:2-4).
Paul concludes this by stating that all the persevering through trials, and the proven character that comes, and the hope that results is NOT in vain. It is not worthless. Rather, biblical hope does not disappoint. Indeed, this hope cannot fail. The believer in Jesus Christ has the confident joy and boast that the glory of God will be seen for all eternity—in perfection!
And note, this hope of the glory of God is not a mere wish. It is not something that can ever be lost. When God elects and saves a sinner, He does not save that sinner only to justification, or even to sanctification. Rather, God saves that sinner all the way to glorification. There is no break in the chain of salvation from the moment of conversion till that day when the believer stands face to face glorified and like the Savior!
Salvation must include a living hope. Peter affirms this when he writes:
1 Peter 1:3-4 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
This is a living hope. The hope of glory is a certain hope. The glorious day of being made like Jesus Christ is most certain to happen and, in fact, it must happen if God is true—and He is (Rom 3:4)! Therefore, the hope that the believer has is not one that fades away, nor is it one that may be lost. It is a sheer impossibility. The salvation that the penitent sinner has received by means of faith in Jesus Christ is so absolutely certain and sure to reach glorification in heaven that Paul writes in Romans 5 that “we exult (“boast”) in the hope of glory!”
