Wednesday, January 23, 2008

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

This teaching was a part of the Friday Workshops, and was given by Pastor Redditt Andrews of Soaring Oaks Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Sacramento, CA. The basis of this session was to prove that once a person is truly saved they will be kept in the grace of God until the day of redemption.

This is a subject that has become very controversial in the church (and I don't really know why). In doing a jail ministry for 5 years, I have constantly been bombarded with men who have been very insecure in the salvation they share. I often get asked the question, "What if you get saved and then sin. Do you lose your salvation"? And while I have constantly taught and shown that our salvation is not depended on our works but the works of Christ, there are still some men who cannot rest in this truth. However, after listening to Pastor Andrews' teaching, I feel that I have learned new insights on how to explain this doctrinal truth and--even more comforting--have had my confidence grow more in the amazing saving preservation of Christ in my own life.

Pastor Andrews began his teaching by reading the Scripture that he would work from : 1 Peter 1:1-17. He then sets up his instruction the story of Robert Robinson, the writer of one of my favorite hymns, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". He tells us about Robinson's conversion to Christ via the preaching of George Whitefield, and how--after writing the hymn--he fell into the Unitarian cult, which is known for denying the full deity of Christ. He went on to tell about a time when Robinson was riding in a stagecoach with a lady, who was engrossed into his hymn, and asked him his thoughts on the song--not knowing he was the one who wrote it. Robinson responded, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then". I personally thought that this illustration was excellent. It showed the thoughts of a man who believed that he was somehow disconnected from God's salvific grace despite writing powerful words within the song such as:

Hither to thy love has blessed me, Thou has brought me to this place; And I know thy hand will bring me, Safely home by thy good grace.

O to grace how great a debtor, Daily I'm constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

It is from this thought that Pastor Andrews starts his direct teaching, keeping in mind the sorrow that Robinson (and a lot of Christians) felt. He states three biblical facts about Sovereign Preservation:

1. Hypocrites fall away from the church (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 2:19).

2. If God left us to ourselves, we would all fall away (Romans 9:29; 10:20-21). It was here that he gave a great quote from Charles Hodge who said, "If God relaxes His grip for one moment on us, we would spontaneously combust into all types of sins and transgressions".

3. Saints can fall into sin (1 Samuel 11).

With these facts stated, he gives his proposition that genuine believers will always complete the journey towards redemption.

Next, Pastor Andrews takes us through the 1 Peter passage by looking at vs. 2-3. Here, he points out four ideas from Scripture that builds on the truths of this doctrine. He states:


1. Preservation is based on the electing love of the Father: Since God is omniscient and has elected those whom He wants in His Son for salvation, He is more than willing to see that He receives glory for their coming into the Kingdom.

2. The Sprinkling of Christ's blood: It was here that Pastor Andrews gives an insight that is often known in Reformed circles, but not often expressed. That is, Christ's blood did more than atone for our sins, but it also was a necessity in planting the active and passive obedience of Christ to our account. Thus, for the true believer, Christ's obedience has become our obedience.

3. The Sanctifying work of the Spirit: Pastor Andrews tells us three important duties of the Holy Spirit in the work of salvation: (1) His primary goal is to apply the fruits of Christ's labor (Gal. 5:22-23), (2) He is the "down payment" of our inheritance (Eph. 1:14), and (3) He is our "seal" once we come to faith (Eph. 1:13). Thus, the presence of the Spirit alone shows that God will bring us to glorification at the appointed time.

4. Living Hope: Peter says that the true believer is "born again into a living hope" (v.3). So, the first thing Pastor Andrews says is that this hope is not dead. In other words, it is not a hope (which, by the way in Greek, means "a confident expectation") that has a "dead end", but rather a secure promise. It was also at this point that Pastor Andrews made a soul-pleasing statement, quoting from 1 Corinthians 15:20, which tells us that Christ is the "first fruit" of the resurrection. He explains that the first fruit is not only the best of the full harvest, but that it is always connected with the harvest in and of itself. So Pastor Andrews tells us that in the mind of God there is an inseverable link between Christ and the believer in the resurrection. So, if we can lose our salvation, then Christ can go back on the cross and the Father's power to resurrect Him can be ineffective. This statement, I believe, was the most powerful one probably in the whole conference.

Next, Pastor Andrews goes to vs. 4-5, and talks about our heavenly inheritance. Once again, he gives 3 points:

1. Our inheritance is preserved by God
2. God preserves it from moral impurity
3. It will never lose it quality

The he looks at vs. 7,9 and gives points about our faith in the preservation process:

1. Faith is the conduit that keeps us walking in grace.
2. Faith saves our souls.

Finally, he wraps up his teaching answering two questions: How do we persevere? (vs. 13-17) and the Means of Preservation (taken from selected passages in 1 Peter).

He gives some ways that the true believer perseveres:

1. They must be "sober minded" (v. 13)
2. They must be heavenly minded (v.13)
3. They must not be like the world (v.14)
4. They must walk in despite of fear (v.17)

And the means how one perseveres is:

1. By Fellowship (v.22)
2. By following Scripture (1:23-2:3)
3. By Prayer (3:7; 4:7)

Overall, this teaching was marvelous. Pastor Andrews handled this subject with doctrinal clarity and common sense. Thank you Pastor Andrews for your labors, and may the LORD richly bless you in much of the same way He blessed us through this workshop.

Monday, January 21, 2008

I WILL BE BACK

I know there are some of you that are wondering, "What has happened to the updates on this blog"? Well, in an effort to give more deep insights on the messages of the conference, I decided some time back to suspend the updates until I receive the Conference CDs.

The goal of this blog is to share with the other attendees the portions of the conference that were the most powerful and strengthening. Also, to "wet the appetite" of those, who have neither heard of or have come to the conference, to attend this coming year. I feel this goal would be better accomplished if I were to review the conference material again to pick up on ideas that I had previously not been aware of at the time of the event.

But there is good news: I was down at Glendale Baptist Church last week, and I am glad to announce that they are in the process of sending out the CDs at this time. So please continue to check the site for new entries, as we continue to celebrate this great event that God has designed for the glory of His name.