True Believers Continue to Believe

Q: What does the Bible say about true believers continuing to believe?

The Bible teaches that true believers continue in faith, as seen in Colossians 1:21. According to Colossians 1:21, true believers are reconciled to God through Christ and, importantly, are called to 'continue in the faith, grounded and settled.' This implies that perseverance in faith is a hallmark of genuine belief. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that while all believers were at one time separated from God, their ongoing faith is crucial for their status as saved individuals. True believers do not simply make a one-time profession of faith; they must actively continue believing to the end.

Q: How do we know that salvation is a continuous state?

Salvation is characterized by ongoing belief and union with Christ, not just a one-time decision. The nature of salvation in a sovereign grace context is one of an ongoing relationship with Christ. Scripture teaches that true belief encompasses a lifetime commitment to Christ, as evidenced in verses such as Hebrews 3:14, which states, 'we are partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.' This indicates that salvation isn't merely a past event, but an ongoing state of relationship and commitment that reflects a transformed heart and a new nature in Christ. True believers continue to grow, repent, and come to Christ, demonstrating their salvation through their sustained faith and reliance on Him.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to adhere to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints?

The doctrine assures that true believers will be kept by God's power to continue in faith until the end. The doctrine of perseverance of the saints holds significant importance in the Christian faith as it assures believers that those truly saved by God's grace will not fall away. Verses like Hebrews 10:39 affirm, 'but we are not of them that draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.' This doctrine underlines that genuine faith results in a lifelong commitment to God, which is maintained by His power, not our own volition. Therefore, the assurance of salvation is tightly coupled with the persistence in faith and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit in a person's life.

Q: What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?

Being a new creation means having a transformed heart and ongoing desire to grow in faith. The concept of being a new creation in Christ signifies a fundamental transformation that happens at the moment of salvation. As indicated in 2 Corinthians 5:17, 'Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.' This transformation leads to a new nature that seeks to grow in grace and knowledge, resembling a newborn that desires the sincere milk of the Word (1 Peter 2:2). True belief manifests in a continual process of repentance and faith, which shows a living, dynamic relationship with Christ where believers increasingly reflect His character and truth in their daily lives.

Let's open our Bibles today to
the book of Colossians. I'm going to be speaking in a
little while on this subject, True Believers Continue to Believe. Now, this is interesting. I believe
I'll hold your attention. I think you'll be interested
in what I have to say. True believers continue to believe. Now here
in Colossians 1, look down at verse 21, Colossians 1, 21. And Paul says, And you that were
at one time separated from God and enemies, enemies in your
mind by wicked works, hath Christ now reconciled to God in the
body of his flesh by death, to present you holy, unblameable,
unreprovable in His sight if you continue in the faith. Grounded and settled and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel." Now, my friends, listen
to me. I often get letters, often, or
talk to people who say something like this, well, so-and-so made
a profession preacher, made a profession of faith, a profession of Christ
years ago, but now they have no interest. They have no interest
in spiritual things at all. They never worship God and have
no interest in the gospel. Do you think that person's still
saved? Or I hear someone say something
like this, well, he accepted Jesus. He walked down the aisle
and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior back when he was a...
I have mothers tell me their sons did this, or daughters.
But now they're back out into the world completely and they
have no interest, but they're still saved, aren't they? Are they? Nearly every church, nearly every
church, the church of which you're a member, has a roll full of
members. Oh, they've got members on the
roll, members who rarely attend, some never, members who have
no interest in the Word of God, members who are, yes, dishonest,
worldly, filthy mouth, profane in word and deed. They have lots
of members. I took a Baptist church in this
area many years ago, 1951. They had 1,243 members on the
roll. 800 of them never attended. 800 of them were never seen,
never attended the services ever. Hadn't been there some of them
in 10 years. But they made a profession of
religion. They joined the church. They
were baptized. They used to attend. Nearly every
church has hundreds of members like that. And the churches today
have a constant turnover, pastors and people. Most pastors aren't
there over two or three years, and they're gone. And the people
are gone. Where are all the people that
used to make their professions? All those people that walked
down the aisle and shook the preacher's hand, said to a saint,
where in the world are they? Have you ever stopped to think
about that? They come and go, but they ever one claim to be
a Christian. Every blessed one of them claimed
to be saved. They claimed to be Christians.
Are they Christians? Are they believers? Are they
saved? Let's read the text again, one
more time. And you that were one time separated
from God, Colossians 121, enemies in your mind by your wicked works,
hath Christ now saved, reconciled you to God, peace between you
and God. in the body of His flesh by death
to present you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in His sight." There's
no period there. There's a colon. That sentence
is not finished. You who were lost are now found. You who were at war are now reconciled. You who were separated from God
are now holy, unblameable. if you continue in the faith,
not if you quit, not if you fall out of the way, not if you go
back into the world, if you continue in the faith. That's what it
says. You have no right to the promise without the condition. Grounded and settled and be not
moved away from the hope of the gospel. Let me read you some
scriptures. If you don't want to take the
time to look these up, just write them down and read them later.
This is what God says. Listen, Hebrews 3 verse 6, right
along this same line. I'm saying that true believers
continue to believe. True believers don't quit. True
believers don't leave the gospel. True believers don't drift away.
I beg your pardon. True believers continue to believe.
Christ, Hebrews 3.6, now, Christ is the Son over His own house
whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence in
rejoicing firm unto the end. The end of what? The end of this life. Hebrews
3.14, listen, we are partakers of Christ if we hold fast the
beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Hebrews 10.38, listen. Now Paul says, the just shall
live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. No pleasure. But thank God, he
continues, we are not of them that draw back unto perdition. But we're of them that believe
to the saving of the soul. Matthew 10, 22, He that endures
to the end, the same shall be saved. First John 2, 19, listen
to John. He's talking about some folks
that have left the gospel and left the church and left the
body of Christ. And John says, they went out
from us. They quit. But they were never of us. For
if they had been of us, if they had been true believers, if they
had been true members of the body of Christ, they would no
doubt have continued with us. But they went out that it might
be made clear that they never were of us. I tell you that's
pretty plain. And the next time someone comes
to you, and says, so-and-so made a profession many years ago,
and now they have no interest in the gospel. They've quit.
They've gone out. They've departed. Then you read
that verse of Scripture to them, and you tell them that you don't
have an opinion, but God has a strong opinion. And in God's
Word, it says, they went out from us, but they were never
of us. For had they been of us, they
no doubt would have continued with us. But they went out that
it might be made clear, manifest, that they were not all of us."
You see, these Scriptures are plain. They really don't need
any comment from me. They're very plain. They're very
clear. True believers continue to believe. Those in the faith
continue in the faith. They live by faith. The just
shall live by faith. We begin living by faith. We
continue to live by faith. And like the prophets of old,
we die in faith. And I'll tell you, we preachers
are really concerned for the glory of God. And I wonder how
many preachers today are more concerned about their homes and
salaries and popularity and fame and all these other things. rather
than the glory of God Almighty. If we're concerned for the glory
of God, if we're concerned for the truth of God's Word, if we're
concerned for our own souls, for our own spiritual well-being
and for the well-being of our hearers, we're going to quit
crying, peace, peace, when there is no peace. You can't speak peace where God
Almighty does not speak peace. You can't tell a man he's saved.
You can't see a human heart. Only God knows who knows Him.
And I'll tell you this, if we'll deal honestly with the Word of
God and have the glory of God in our hearts and the well-being
of our hearers, we'll preach this, that repentance and conversion
and faith And coming to Christ is not, I repeat, is not a once-for-all
decision. Repentance and faith and conversion
and coming to Christ is not a once-for-all decision or an emotional experience. Faith and repentance and conversion
is a state of heart and a state of mind that continues to repent. A man who truly repents keeps
on repenting. A man who truly believes keeps
on believing. A man who truly is converted
and comes to Christ keeps on coming to Christ. It's not a
once-for-all thing that you get fixed up with like you have your
tonsils out. To repent, it never stops. To
repent is to keep on repenting. To believe is to keep on believing.
To come to Christ is to keep on coming to Christ. And let
me tell you something, to cease to have a need for Christ, to
cease to have an interest in the mercy of God is to reveal
that we never had an interest in the mercy of God. One day our Lord's disciples
were about Him and all the multitude was out there. He had fed them
and preached to them and made them angry. And they all left,
they all departed, they all went away. And after the 5,000 went
away, he turned to his disciples and he said, will you also go
away? And Peter answered and said,
Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and we're sure that you're the Christ,
the son of the living God. We found all we need in you.
We found all we want in you. We found all that God requires
in you. Now, where shall we go? We've
got nowhere to go. And that's what I'm saying. I'm
saying that very thing. And I say the Word of God says
that when a person truly comes to Christ, repents and believes,
it's a state, it's a new heart, it's a new nature, it's a new
creature. And he continues to believe and continues to repent
and continues to come to Christ. You see, the Word of God, my
friends, listen to me, and I wish preachers would sound this note.
They don't, they won't, they're not going to. But the Word of
God reveals that salvation, salvation is a union with Christ. It's
not just a decision. It's not just an acceptance of
doctrines and facts. It's not just changing a lifestyle. It's a living, vital, personal,
growing, lifetime union with the Son of God in Christ. I in
them and thou in me, Christ said. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. When Christ who is my life shall
appear. Christ is not the most important
thing in my life. He is my life. Paul wrote and
says, I'm dead to the world. I'm crucified to the world. I'm
dead and buried. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not
I, but Christ lives in me. He's not a fire escape that I've
adopted. He's not an insurance policy
I've taken out. He's not someone I'm going to
grab hold of before I slide out of this world. Christ is my life. Salvation is not acceptance of
a religion or a lifestyle. It's a union with a person. It's
a new life Those who are saved have been saved. They are being
saved and their salvation is nearer now than when they believe See that's what the Bible says
it uses the The three tenses in reference to this thing of
being saved Ephesians 2 8 and 9 the actual Translation is,
for by grace, have you been saved? Have you been saved? And I Corinthians
1.18 reads like this, To those who are being saved, Christ is
the wisdom and the power of God. And Romans 13.11 says this, Now
is our salvation nearer than when we believe. And I'm saying
this, and the Word of God teaches this, that this thing of redemption
and salvation, eternal life, is not a decision. It's not a
once-for-all emotional experience. It's not just accepting some
facts and changing a lifestyle. It's not just investing in a
church and staking your claim to a plot of land somewhere in
the sweet by-and-by. It is a new birth. It is a new
creature. It is a new life. It is a union
with Christ Jesus. It is Christ in you and you in
Christ. And there's no way to go back.
There's nothing to go back to. The old man is crucified with
Christ. The old life's dead. The old
creature's gone. We're dead. That's what baptism
says. I was alive. Now I'm dead. I'm buried. And
I'm risen in Christ to walk in newness of life. There's no going
back. There's nothing to go back to. Four times the scripture says,
the just shall live by faith, shall live by faith. And it declares that we're kept
by the power of God through faith. Now this is what this is saying.
A person is quickened, a dead sinner, a lost man, woman, child,
is quickened by the power of God. to acknowledge his sin and
his need of a Redeemer, his need of a Mediator. He comes to see
he's lost. He's convinced of sin. And that
individual looks to Christ. God reveals that Christ is his
righteousness and Christ is his sin offering. And Christ, through
Christ, he has forgiveness and eternal life through his life
and death before God. And he looks to Christ. He believes
Christ. By faith, he's justified. By
faith, he's redeemed. By faith, he's accepted in the
beloved. And that person receives a new
heart, a new nature, is a new creature. He now loves the things
of God and he hates the things of the world. He now loves the
things of God and he finds his rest and peace and joy in the
Lord. That's right. And it's not just
talk, it's experience. And He will continue in that
faith. And not only continue in that faith and in that relationship,
but He will grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ,
our Lord. It's not a matter of going back,
actually a matter of growing. Actually, it's not a matter of
leaving Christ, it's loving Christ more. There's no question at
all about turning back. The question now is, how much
of the Word do I discern and lay hold of and understand that
I may grow more like Christ? And then when life is over, that
person whom God awakened, whom God quickened, whom God justified,
whom God called, who was saved by grace through faith, dies
in that faith. Loving it more, believing it
more strongly, looking to Christ with a firmer gaze, still coming
to Christ. That's right. True believers
continue to believe. Now, the Apostle Peter, I want
to show you this before I close. The Apostle Peter wrote in 1
Peter chapter 2, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the
word, that you may grow thereby. If so be that you have tasted,"
that word is experienced, that the Lord is gracious, have you? To whom coming, to whom... This generation says, to whom
I came. That's not what Peter says. He
said, to whom coming. Oh, I repented. You mean you're
not repenting now? No, you never did. Oh, I once
believed. You're not believing now? You
never did. As newborn babes, newborn, yeah, we're born of
God. That's what salvation is. It's
a new birth. We're sons of God. We're born
into the family of God. We're born by the Spirit and
the grace of God. That's not a decision. It's a
birth. Born of God. As newborn babes, that is children,
babes, we're not masters. I'm not a master. I'm no graduate. Paul said, I haven't apprehended
yet. I haven't laid hold upon that
for which I've been laid hold of by Christ. I'm not perfect. I haven't arrived. I'm just a
baby, just a child, and children need to grow. Children are always
growing, maturing, learning, being taught. As newborn babes,
children desire The average church member, you
have to rope him and hogtie him to get him to read his daily
Bible readings, let alone desire to hear the message. If they
can think of any excuse not to come and hear the Word of God,
they'll stay away. But these newborn babes desire
the milk of the Word like an infant desires a mother's breast.
Have you ever seen a hungry two-week-old infant? His little mouth just
works all the time. He just wants nourishment. He
wants milk. He wants food. And that's the
way God's children are. It's the children's food, the
children's bread is the Word of God. That's how we grow as
a newborn babe. Desire the sincere milk of the
Word that you may grow thereby, if so be that you taste it. You never had a taste of it.
You don't desire it. If you've never tasted that the
Lord is gracious, you never tasted of his grace, all you've done
is feed on the briars of your good works. If you've never tasted
the clover of his grace, then you're satisfied with the goat's
tin cans. But if you've ever tasted, if
you've ever tasted that the Lord is gracious, you'll never, never,
never be satisfied till you awaken his likeness. You'll never get
enough, never get enough of the gospel, never get enough of the
word of God, never get enough of the children's bread if you've
tasted that the Lord is gracious. Huh? As newborn babes desire a mother's
breast, you desire the milk of the word that you may grow. That is if you've tasted, experienced
that the Lord is gracious. You ever tasted that milk? You
ever drunk from that well? Have you ever experienced that
mercy? You never get enough. Watch this now. To whom coming?
To whom coming? Yes, but preach, I came to Christ. No. Those who come to Christ
are still coming to Christ. They're still coming every day,
every day. To whom coming? To whom coming? That's a person.
It's not the what coming. It's not the being. It's to whom? It's not to a position, it's
not to a doctrine, it's not to a law. That's not living. It's coming to a person. To whom? Coming. Not to a ceremony, not
to a church building. To whom? To what? Coming. No. To whom? Coming. What is coming? It's always believing, always
trusting, always looking, always obeying. Always comes to whom?
Coming. As to a living stone. Now, often our Lord is referred
to as a rock, as a stone, but not as a position. He's a living
stone. He's a living stone. He's a foundation,
but He's not a position that a person comes to and establishes
a legal position. No, sir, He's a living stone. This is a living union. This
is a living Lord to whom we come. And He's disallowed indeed of
men. He's rejected of men. He's hated of men. Watch that
next verse. But He's chosen of God and He's
precious. Who's precious? Christ is precious. His promises are precious. His
Word is precious. And the faith He gives is precious.
Now watch this. You also are living stones built
up a spiritual house a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices
to God by Jesus Christ. We come to Him coming constantly,
to a living stone. But we, we're not just guests,
onlookers. We are built up by God a spiritual
house in which Christ dwells. That building down there you
call the church is not where God dwells. God dwells in living
temples, in His people. They're living stones. Back in
the Old Testament, there was a tabernacle. There was a priest. There was an atonement. In that
tabernacle, God met men. By the hand of that priest, the
sacrifice was offered, and men, the atonement was made. Jesus
Christ came, tabernacled among us. He's our great high priest. He offered His blood, the only
sacrifice for sin and redeemed us. Now it says here, you are
a temple. The believers are a holy spiritual
house. That's right, of living stones. Our Lord has laid these stones
in His spiritual house And we too are priests. He hath made
us kings and priests to our God. And we have a sacrifice to offer,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. What's that sacrifice? The sacrifice
of praise and worship and faith. And you mean to tell me that
those folks who never praise Him and never worship Him and
never offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, that they're in this temple?
in which my Lord dwells. I'll give you an old Alabama
expression, you're full of baloney. True believers continue to believe. And I'll base that on this word
right here. They are living stones in a spiritual
house. They are a holy priesthood and
offer sacrifices to God. Acceptable by Jesus Christ. If
the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly appear?
You want this tape? Call True Believers. Continue
to believe. On the other side is How Can
One Know God? Send $2 and we'll mail it to
you right away. Till next week, God bless you,
everyone.

True Believers Continue to Believe

What does the Bible say about true believers continuing to believe?

How do we know that salvation is a continuous state?

Why is it important for Christians to adhere to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints?

What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?

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True Believers Continue to Believe

What does the Bible say about true believers continuing to believe?

How do we know that salvation is a continuous state?

Why is it important for Christians to adhere to the doctrine of perseverance of the saints?

What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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