Once again, good evening. It's
such a blessing to be here with you folks tonight, and I'd like
to have our final lesson or message on the acronym TULIP tonight. We often call it Perseverance
of the Saints, and that's what has been brought down to us.
But tonight I'd like to rename it The Lord God Almighty presenting
Saints spotless it is his ministry and his purpose to present all
those whose names were written down in the Lamb's Book of Life
before the foundation of the world and that the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world and the Holy Spirit promised
to go and raise them from their spiritual death that he would
give them the new birth and It has been the purpose of the great
theme of grace, that in the end, none would be lost. The dear
pastor that brought me the gospel many years ago shared with me,
he does not debate or argue eternal security or perseverance of the
saints. He said, it just boils down to
this, who saved you? If you saved you, you will fall
away. If God saved you, you shall be
presented spotless. This subject, one old theologian
said, the scriptures declare that in virtue of all the original
purpose and continuous operation of God, all who are united to
Christ by faith will infallibly continue in a state of grace
and will finally attain to everlasting life. Those who are truly regenerated,
effectually called and really converted and internally sanctified
by the Spirit Grace of God shall persevere in grace to the end
and shall be everlastingly saved or shall never finally and totally
fall So as to perish everlastingly perseverance of the Saints is
declared throughout all the scriptures and boils down to who saved you
and As that pastor said, if you saved you, you will be eternally
lost. If you had anything to do whatsoever
with your salvation, you will be eternally lost unless God
should work a work of grace. If God saved you, you will be
eternally saved. Believers are left to stand on
their own merits and on their own righteousness They would
fall away Turn with me if you would tonight in the scriptures
to the book of John John chapter 10 John chapter 10 and I'd like
to read three verses there beginning with verse 27 John chapter 10
verse 27 28 and 29 and My sheep hear my voice. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus as he's teaching. He taught his disciples at that
time, he's taught his disciples all down through the ages, and
he continues to teach his disciples from the same wonderful words
of life that he brought, as if it has as much vitality, has
as much life today in the word of God to the saints as it did
then. And these words may not have
been brought exactly in the Old Testament, by the mouth of the
Lord Jesus, but the principle is found throughout all the scriptures
that my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me. There's a whole group of folks
today in religion that don't believe that God is strong enough,
that Christ's word is effectual enough, and that the Holy Spirit's
power is powerful enough to lead his people to the end. They think
that they save them and then turn them loose, but that's not
what God does. He has loved his people with
an everlasting love, and he will continue to love them. He has
loved them in old eternity. He loves his people today, and
he will forever love his people, and he cannot and will not let
them eternally fall away. Going on in verse 28, and I give
unto them eternal life. My sheep I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. And I've had people tell me,
well, you can pluck yourself. That's if you've saved yourself.
If you are depending upon your own works and righteousness,
if you're depending upon your own works of merit, your own
sanctification, then that's true. But if you have Jesus Christ,
and you're depending completely and wholly upon his blood and
righteousness, then no man can pluck you out of his hand, and
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which
gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. So the promise is given to us
that is the work of grace goes out through all generations from
the very beginning there Adam and Eve and Abel and down to
today wherever the sheep are being saved This promise is given
to them my sheep hear my voice. I give unto them eternal life.
No thing Nothing is able to pluck them out of my father's hand.
And once again, we just have to interject here It all depends
on who saved you. If you're saved by your own works
and righteousness, yes, you will fall away. There will be no way
that you could stand before God in that merit. But if you've
been saved by the grace of God through the preaching of the
truth of the gospel, and the Holy Spirit has regenerated you
and given you life, then you will persevere to the end. My
sheep hear my voice. This wonderful teaching is based
upon a central theme of the Bible, and Jonah succinctly, with such
clarity, in that great time of distress in his life, when he
was in that great fish's belly, summed it up when he said, salvation
is of the Lord, beginning to end. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the author and finisher
of our faith. He, as it tells us, and I'd just
like to go over to the book of Hebrews at this point and read
the scriptures there that share this wonderful truth about the
Lord and about salvation and about God and about what He performs
and does. Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and
2, Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, Wherefore, seeing we
also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witness,
let us lay aside every weight in the sin which does so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. He's the beginning and the ender.
He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the A and the Z. He is
the all and in all. Salvation is in Him. As Simeon
said, I have seen the Lord's salvation. It is a person. He is a person. Looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, as we read here
in Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God. That means that
he was absolutely successful, and that is symbolized to us,
shared with us, declared to us, that he's set down. The work
is finished. He cried it is finished from
the cross and that means the work of Redemption is complete
Every prophecy of the Old Testament was fulfilled Every declaration
that was made in the law was fulfilled and Jesus Christ is
our righteousness Jesus Christ the author and finisher of our
faith in John chapter 5 Turn with me to the book of John chapter
5. As we read here, John chapter 5 and there in verse 24, this
wonderful word of God once again shares with us, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life. When we compare Scripture
with Scripture, we find that the only way that we'll ever
hear the Word is that God opens our spiritual ears. We may hear
it with our physical ears for years. We may go through our
entire life hearing the Word of God with our physical ears.
But when the Holy Spirit reveals the Word to us, the preaching
of the truth of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ is the only Savior,
There is none of the name given under heaven, given among men,
whereby we must be saved, but this name. If we ever are privileged
to hear that, then God has opened our ears that we might hear. And he that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and
shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death into
life. There's a trend that I noticed when I was in religion when I
was a kid, and it's been there for, I suppose, ever since the
very beginning, that those who made a profession of faith in
order to keep them in line, and that the Holy Spirit wasn't powerful
enough, if you did something wrong, The preacher would declare
from the pulpit or in your face and say, you're going to have
to answer for that. My friends, if we have to answer
for one sin, we are lost. Sin was taken care of by Jesus
Christ on the cross. It doesn't give us a license
for sin and that's what the Apostle Paul was bringing up when he
wrote to the Romans. that there's a whole bunch of
folks, and they are around today. One man told me, if I believed
what you believed, I would go out and do this sin. Well, you
know, if you believe what the truth of the Word of God says,
the Holy Spirit is able to put a restraining hand about us.
Now, we sin a whole lot more than we ever want to. God's people
sin and we wish we could be without it. And we wake up every day
saying, Lord, keep me from it. But we have this nature that
was given to us in the fall and we'll carry it to our grave.
and it sins, it rebels, but that which indwells us, the Holy Spirit
indwells us, that is what allows us to hear the Word of God, and
that's what allows us to persevere to the end. It's not our righteousness,
but it's Christ's righteousness. And it says, it shall not come
into condemnation. Never again. Who is it that will
bring a charge against God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
So all that say, all humans, everything, everybody, ourselves
included, who can bring any charge against God's elect? It is God
that justifieth. So we trust God in this matter. He hath everlasting life, it
says here. and shall not come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life." The problem with people
who don't believe in this perseverance of the saints, or eternal security,
or however you want to put it, is that they have not passed
from death unto life, and they're depending upon their own works
and their own righteousness to make God accept them. In the
book of Hebrews chapter 5, excuse me, Hebrews chapter 7, Hebrews
chapter 7, let's turn there to the book of Hebrews chapter 7 In verse 25 Hebrews chapter 7
and verse 25 wherefore on basis of all that's gone on wherefore
he God is able to save Able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him Seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. He's able also to save them to
the uttermost and This wonderful declaration of the Word of God
magnifies the Father, who predestinated His children to salvation, as
well as Jesus Christ, who has become the mediator of this covenant. He lived for us, He died for
us, and He rose again for us, and the Holy Spirit, who regenerates,
reveals, and restores the broken fellowship lost in Adam, the
triune God, ever works, ever has worked, and continues on
our behalf to do all that is required and all that is necessary
for us to have eternal life. In the book of Romans chapter
8, backing up a little bit to the book of Romans chapter 8,
and we read here in verse 1, Romans chapter 8 and verse 1,
there is therefore now No condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit if we have
a tendency all our life to walk after the flesh then no doubt,
we have never been regenerated. It is the regeneration that God
gives us through the preaching of the gospel, through the work
of the Holy Spirit that raises us from death into life, that
that is what gives us this life. And also in the book of Romans,
down there in verse 33, Romans chapter 8 verse 33, Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. God
has done this work. He's taken it to the courtroom
of the justice of God and all his people has been found justified. Just as just law, just Noah,
just Abraham, just justified. The saints have been justified
before God. Verse 34, who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long,
we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, Nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord We're
going to take God's word for it, or we won't We don't have
to see Noah's ark to believe that it was there by faith We
believe that God preserved those folks in the ark. We don't have
to be in the days of Christ I have people telling me on they're
looking forward to going over to the Holy Land. There is no
Holy Land and The Holy Land is at New Jerusalem, at the Temple
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't have to go see the tomb.
We don't have to go see the place where He was crucified. We don't
have to go see the place where He was born. That's of no interest
to believers, that they are going to depend on that to confirm
their faith. My goodness, the Word of God. By the grace of God and by the
Holy Spirit, by the Son, by the Father, confirms our faith in
the Lord Jesus. In Psalm 125, way back in the
Psalms in the Old Testament there in Psalm 125, much said in the
Old as well as the New about this wonderful subject that it
is really God's salvation. And He has much at stake. His
Word is at stake. Can he keep his word? Yes he
can and he will and he will present spotless all those that he has
chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Psalm 125 and verse
1 and 2 They that trust in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about
Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth
even forevermore. They that trust in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed. Notice that they
trust in the Lord. Not in the creature and no not
in the creatures services or works The Lord is around about
his people He is the one that preserves his people. He's the
one that makes them presentable in 1st Corinthians chapter 1
1st Corinthians chapter 1 let's go back to the New Testament
here another letter that Paul was used to pin and But remember
always, holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy
Spirit. This is God's word. He used Paul to pin them. We have it here now in 1 Corinthians
1, verse 8, who shall also confirm you unto the end that ye may
be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful. Whom you are called unto the
fellowship of his son Jesus Christ our Lord God is faithful we are
often like Saints recorded in the Old Testament as well as
the new David Noah Abraham Moses Lee Aaron The list goes on and
on and on. You bring up a crime against
God and saints have committed it. Peter denied the Lord three
times and yet the Lord He said, I pray for you. He never prayed
a word for Judas. Judas did far less in many ways
than Peter ever did. But Peter was the Lord's. And
He kept him. He preserved him. Came to him. Peace be unto you. Peter, do
you love me? And Peter finally confessed,
Lord, thou knowest. That's the truth of the matter.
It's not by our ability to say, I love Jesus, I love God. But
He knows. He's created that life within
us. Kept by the power of God is what we read over here in
the book of 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 5. Who are kept by the power of
God. Now, when we went over in this
series about who is the one He's the Lord God Almighty, who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation,
ready to be revealed at the last time, who are kept by the power
of God. The believers depend upon God's
power every day, and we are kept by that very power. The very
person of God His character, His attributes demand that all
He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world will
finally be presented spotless before His great presence. Jude. Oh, this wonderful book of Jude,
over here, Jude. one chapter here, but it's just
filled, verses 24 and 25. As he comes to the conclusion
of this book, now unto him that is able to keep you from falling. and to present you faultless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only
wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and forever. Amen. He's able to keep us from
falling. He is able. We're kept by the
power of God. It was His power that raised
His people from the death, lifted them out of the pit, brought
them to Christ. It is His power. The same power
it took to raise Christ is the power that He uses to raise His
people from the spiritual dead. And this wonderful thought about
it is His power, we're kept by the power of God, and He's able
to present us spotless. And again, in the book of 2 Timothy,
2 Timothy 1.12 For the witch cause I also suffer
these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I have committed unto him against that day. He's able to
keep that which I've committed. God is so powerful. Almighty God. The God, Lord God
Almighty. We are kept by Him. We are delivered
by Him. We're raised by Him. We're made
spotless by Him. It is His righteousness. It is His blood that was shed.
It is His payment that was made. And therefore, we are secure
in Him. It's His promise. It is His promise. Saints' perseverance depends
on God and His word. He has made the promise. He is
powerful enough to keep His promise. We fail in that. We don't intend to many times,
but we just fail. We cannot keep what we promised.
But God is powerful enough to keep what He promised. Saints'
perseverance depends on the power of God. He is powerful enough
to keep what He has said. He's able to do all things according
and everlastingly to His perfect will. Saints' perseverance depends
on God's electing love. We didn't elect God. He chose
us in Him. And we love Him because He first
loved us. And we chose Him because He first
chose us. And we have all things because
He had all things for us in Christ Jesus. Saints' perseverance depends
on the believer's union with Christ. We've been grafted in.
We are at union with Him. He is the head. We're the body.
Where the head is the body will soon follow Saints perseverance
depends on the nature of the purchase What was the purchase
price not works of righteousness, which we have done, but but it
was his precious blood That was the purchase price and it will
not go wasted it will go Absolutely redeeming there is a Redeemer
that actually pays the price of our redemption and his name
is Jesus Nobody is going to fall away
except those who are called, as Jesus did with Judas, the
son of perdition. They're the ones that will fall
away, those that were never chosen, those who were never quickened,
those who never heard the gospel. They're religious, and when they
stand before God, the great separation of sheep and goats, as is recorded
in the book of Matthew, Those that on the right hand were declared
welcome to the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. When he begins to delineate and lay out the things
that they perform, they said, when did we do those things?
It's not something that God's people keep track of. They don't
have notebooks. They don't write it down and
say, well, I helped this person today. I served God today. It's
not works of righteousness which we have done. We do what God
determines that we will do because we are His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which He hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. So when it comes to that time,
we will never say, oh, I did so much for you. The church will
say, when did we do that? But those goats on the left-hand
side, they're so quick to say, we did all of that. We did all
of that. We did all of that. We built. We had hospitals. We had gymnasiums. We had all of these things. And
we raised the dead, and we removed mountains, and we did all of
these things. When did we not do those things? And the Lord Jesus Christ, because
they're depending upon their own righteousness, their own
self-righteousness, their own works of righteousness, depart
from me, ye workers of iniquity, for I never knew you. So those on the right hand, those
sheep, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me and I give
unto them eternal life because they were chosen in Christ before
the foundation of the world. Those that are, that As declared there the the son
of perdition I've lost none except the son of perdition The book
of Proverbs declares to us in chapter 16 in verse 4 He hath
made all things. Yeah, even the wicked for the
day of evil And he receives glory in that he has no no great joy
in the death of the wicked, but he will receive glory in this.
And let me, as I close, bring up something, a false teaching
that has crept into the church over the last centuries, no doubt,
maybe it's been always around, and that is to take something
that is brought up with regard to Israel, and that's the word
backsliding, apply it to people that have made a profession of
faith that had an experience or had some religious thing happen
to them and You know They just can't hang on and soon they leave
and they're off in the world and they're doing their thing
and they spend the rest of their life doing that This is not what
backsliding is God's people in the Old Testament as well as
the New Testament had those days of Those moments, those periods
of time when even as Peter denied the Lord, but he wept bitterly,
God did not leave him outside for the rest of his life. He
continuously woos his people. I will woo them. I'll bring them
in. I'll attract them. I'll bring
them back. But this, this is only to those that have come
to Christ or accepted Jesus And they go on. And then their parents
and the preachers and husbands and wives say, well, they're
just backslidden. They're just backslidden. They know Jesus, but they're
just backslidden. No, they don't know Christ. God does a better
job than that. I remember hearing about an old
preacher. And somebody in the congregation
came up to him and said, do you remember me? You were saved in
one of your meetings and he said it must have been because God
does a better job than that. Well, God does the work of grace
and his people that he works a work of grace in. Will deliver
spotless before the throne of grace. He is a great God He works
all things after the counsel of his own will and we rest in
Him He is the architect of salvation He is the completion of salvation
and he will have his people Brought before him there will not be
one empty chair if I can use that term, before His presence,
and there will not be one chair extra, one chair too many, it
will all be filled, all of His people will be presented spotless,
and every one of them will sing the songs of Zion, worthy is
the Lamb that was slain. We depend upon His work, His
blood, His purpose, His love, everything, We depend upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you and trust you'll
have a good week.