Among Three Greatest

[alex2165]

Last Sunday our pastor had a theme concerning salvation. In his sermon he specified and emphasizing on assurance that we must know for sure if we saved or not. He even presented himself as a man, who if dies today, he will be saved and go to Heaven.
On the other hand he did not provided any particular place in the Bible which supports such claim, but I am sure that some people will find some general terminology and verses taken out of context to prove this point of view, as it is usually done.

My brother in Christ Bill who sat next to me turned to me and said, “Alex, are you sure that if you die today you will go to Heaven?” I answered Bill and said, “I do not know, I leave it to GOD to decide.” This answer seems did not satisfied Bill and he said, “You better hurry up to know Alex.”

So later I went home and tried to find the answer on this question. I went through the Bible but did not found any direct evidence of such claim as to know for sure if I am already saved, and if I die today, I will certainly go to Heaven.
What about tomorrow then? If I die tomorrow would I also go to Heaven? How about next week, next month, next year? Do I already saved, and for me is nothing anymore to worry about?

While I was searching for answer, I found very important thing in the Bible, the key to the question. And the key is HOPE!

HOPE usually do not mentioned in sermons, this important word completely forgotten and generally ignored by main stream evangelists, and personally I do not remember at all hearing anything on the subject of HOPE neither on TV, nor on the radio, or in the church.
HOPE just not popular and insignificant in the eyes of preachers who mostly preach that salvation and Heaven already have been granted and pre-approved to us by Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and really is nothing left to worry about, we are saved and this is it.

But Paul gave HOPE a very special status and place among two other greatest qualities.

1Corinthians 13.13
13.And now FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE, abide these three and the greatest of these is LOVE.

Faith and love are the most popular subjects in the church, but how you often you heard about HOPE? I didn’t. Why love is the greatest among these three, because love in it self have all the greatest and important qualities that all Christians need in order to be a Christian and satisfy the Lord by living according to His commandments and statutes. Only from true love derive all the best qualities of goodness, righteousness, integrity, honesty, kindness, FAITH, and HOPE. And this is why Paul put HOPE among the three greatest.
HOPE is very similar to FAITH, but also is very different then it comes to specific things under certain conditions.

IN HOPE WE WERE SAVED

Romans 8.20.24-25
20.the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but by the will of the One Who subjected it in HOPE,
24.IN HOPE WE WERE SAVED. Now HOPE that is seen is not HOPE. Who HOPES for what is seen?
25.But if we HOPE for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Colossians 1.4-5
4.we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
5.because of the HOPE laid up for you in Heaven.

1Thessalonians 5.8
8.But since we belong to the day, let us be sober and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, THE HOPE OF SALVATION.

Titus 1.2-3
2.IN THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE that GOD Who never lies promised before the age began,
3.in due time He revealed His word through the proclamation with which I have been entrusted by the command of GOD our Savior.

To Titus 3.7
7.so that having been justified by His grace we might became heirs, according to THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE.

And below some verses describing HOPE, of which you perhaps never heard in the church.

HOPE IN CHRIST

Matthew 12.21
21.And in His name the Gentiles will HOPE.

1Timothy 1.1
1.Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of GOD our Savior, AND OF CHRIST JESUS OUR HOPE.

1Timothy 4.10
10.To this end we toil and struggle because we have OUR HOPE SET ON THE LIVING GOD, Who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Hebrews 3.6
6.Christ however was faithful over GOD’S house as a Son, and we are His house if we hold firm in the confidence and the pride that BELONGS TO HOPE.

Hebrews 7.19
19.the Law made nothing perfect, there is on the other hand the introduction of a BETTER HOPE through which we approach GOD.

1Peter 1.3.13.21
3.Blessed be the GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
13.Therefore, prepare your minds for action, discipline yourselves, SET ALL YOUR HOPE ON THE GRACE that Jesus Christ will bring you when He is revealed.
21.Through Him you have come to trust in GOD, Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that YOUR FAITH AND HOPE ARE SET ON GOD.

HOPE IN LOVE

Psalms 33.18.22
18.Truly, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, and those who HOPE IN HIS STEADFAST LOVE,
22.Let Your steadfast love O Lord be upon us, even as we HOPE IN YOU.

Psalms 147.11
11.but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those WHO HOPE IN HIS STEADFAST LOVE.

At the end of the sermon pastor mentioned that sometimes when he said this to people that if he dies today, he completely sure that he is saved and will go to Heaven, people call him arrogant, and now I know why, because he made this decision for himself and not GOD. He did not ask GOD, and if he did, I doubt that GOD answered him. He gave no room for GOD to decide his own future, because he already made that decision for himself.

And I think in such approach to salvation and revealed certain arrogance of the people who literally “saving themselves” without knowing what GOD think about them and what His plans concerning their salvation.

Such people do not HOPE, they pre-approved themselves for salvation, they think that they are good enough on any day of the week, or month, or a year, to be accepted in Heaven without GOD’S decision and His participation, unless somehow they opened a Book of Life and saw their name in it.

I think that such attitude gives FALSE HOPE to the people, thinking that they are good enough, and already pre-approved themselves for destination to Heaven without authority of the Almighty GOD.

Alex

 

[miamited]

Hi Alex,

While I'm sure I understand what he was trying to impress upon his listeners, none of us are saved yet. According to the Scriptures, on the day of God's judgment, those whose names are found in the Lamb's book of life will be saved. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers:

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

and again:

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

and he wrote to the believers in Ephesus:

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

In nearly every example in the gospel and new covenant writings, when we find someone speaking of 'being saved', it is in the future perfect. This is what Paul is saying.

When we are born again, born of the Spirit of God, we are given His Spirit and our names are written in the Lamb's book of life. We then have the deposit of the Spirit which is our assurance that we will receive the promise of God on the day of His Salvation. We will find our names written in the Lamb's book of life on the day of God's judgment and He will turn to those on His right hand and say, "Well done, though good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest." Then I will be saved.

I am not saved! I have however received the Spirit that Paul wrote to the believers about that gives me assurance and guarantees me that I will be saved. How do I know that I have the Spirit of God. Firstly, because I love God. If we love God then God loves us and we have the Spirit of God to testify of this truth. Secondly, because I am convicted of sin and righteousness. I cannot with clear conscience just go about doing whatever my mind thinks to do. Sometimes I grieve the Spirit and I know that I have because I come under conviction for something that I have done.

So, in your position, I would have turned to my friend Bill and said, "No Bill, I know that I am not saved. However, I do have the assurance of God's Spirit that I will be."

That's my two cents worth.
God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[tall73]

We may see a bit more emphasis on this in John.

1Jn 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1Jn 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.
1Jn 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

Generally when I have seen this emphasized in modern contexts it is over against legalistic tendencies that attempt to earn God's favor rather than resting in God's provision.


I suppose a related text in John:

Joh 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Joh 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
Joh 5:27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.
Joh 5:28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
Joh 5:29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

In the above we see a crossing from death to life through belief, but a literal future resurrection yet to come.

In John's works we tend to see eternal life having a present reality, that continues on past this life. Since we now know God and trust in Him eternal life now begins in that sense in this life. It does not deny future realities, such as the resurrection, etc. it just points out that eternal life is about Christ, not just longevity. And that life of Christ starts now.

Joh 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

 

[alex2165]

Thank you guys for your replies.

I agree with you that salvation lies in the future of our life, and our goal in life is to achieve it. Not everybody deserves salvation and eternal life, and many scriptures and passages in the Bible support this notion.

But some people think about themselves that they deserve and good enough already to be saved and to be in Heaven without even completing their life cycle. They think about themselves that they are already perfect and worthy and good enough to go to Heaven at any moment notice.

I faced this doctrine practically in every Baptist church I ever went to. And the church I attending currently preach this dogma almost every Sunday. The church is good and the pastors are very knowledgeable in Holy Scripture, but they preach this doctrine as a main subject of their sermons making emphasis on immediate salvation and assurance of it.

But beside this particular dogma they are very close to the Word of GOD on many other different subjects and issues of the Bible and life in general.

The church name is Solid Rock, you can easily find it on the Internet.

Thank you for your responses.

GOD bless you.

Alex

 

[JLR1300]

I believe the original poster is using the word Hope in a slightly different way than was meant. The Hope Paul spoke of was a confident Hope. An assured hope. It is like saying that my hope is not in money but in God. That means that what I am trusting in is God not money. It doesn't mean that I am merely hoping that God is worthy of my trust.
To say that my Hope is in Christ rather than my works with regards to my salvation does not mean that I am merely hoping against hope and keeping my fingers crossed that perhaps Christ will save me. It means that I am trusting confidently that Christ will save me and I am not depending on my works.

Saving faith is this.... Instead of looking to my works, I believe and trust that I am now automatically accepted by God, forgiven of all sin, and guaranteed eternal life, simply because Jesus has paid the penalty for my sin by dying on the cross and rising again. I believe and have a confident hope and assurance that Jesus saves me by His blood.

That is faith. Faith is not the bare hope against hope that perhaps I will be saved if in the future I don't mess up. That is not saving faith. If you don't abandon that type of faith you cannot be saved.

Finally it is not being arrogant or presumptuous to have a confident belief and assured hope that Christ saves us by His blood. How can it be arrogant to do what we are invited to do by God? Revelation 22:17 says "whoever desires let him take the water of life FREELY." God invites us to take the water of life freely... so how can it be arrogant to just take salvation freely by faith?

Jesus told the people that violent people take the Kingdom of Heaven by force. Matt. 11:12 What does that mean? It means that instead of trying to earn Heaven we are just to claim it by faith. That may seem arrogant but that is the only way to obtain it. We cannot earn it so we must just rush in and claim it by depending on the sword of the Spirit (the promises of the word) Hebrews 11:33 says that believers "through faith subdued kingdoms." That is a perfect example of what we are to do. Stop depending on your works and by force violently claim the kingdom by a bold faith in what Jesus did for you at the cross.

 

[twin1954]

I believe the original poster is using the word Hope in a slightly different way than was meant. The Hope Paul spoke of was a confident Hope. An assured hope. It is like saying that my hope is not in money but in God. That means that what I am trusting in is God not money. It doesn't mean that I am merely hoping that God is worthy of my trust.
To say that my Hope is in Christ rather than my works with regards to my salvation does not mean that I am merely hoping against hope and keeping my fingers crossed that perhaps Christ will save me. It means that I am trusting confidently that Christ will save me and I am not depending on my works.

Saving faith is this.... Instead of looking to my works, I believe and trust that I am now automatically accepted by God, forgiven of all sin, and guaranteed eternal life, simply because Jesus has paid the penalty for my sin by dying on the cross and rising again. I believe and have a confident hope and assurance that Jesus saves me by His blood.

That is faith. Faith is not the bare hope against hope that perhaps I will be saved if in the future I don't mess up. That is not saving faith. If you don't abandon that type of faith you cannot be saved.

Finally it is not being arrogant or presumptuous to have a confident belief and assured hope that Christ saves us by His blood. How can it be arrogant to do what we are invited to do by God? Revelation 22:17 says "whoever desires let him take the water of life FREELY." God invites us to take the water of life freely... so how can it be arrogant to just take salvation freely by faith?

Jesus told the people that violent people take the Kingdom of Heaven by force. Matt. 11:12 What does that mean? It means that instead of trying to earn Heaven we are just to claim it by faith. That may seem arrogant but that is the only way to obtain it. We cannot earn it so we must just rush in and claim it by depending on the sword of the Spirit (the promises of the word) Hebrews 11:33 says that believers "through faith subdued kingdoms." That is a perfect example of what we are to do. Stop depending on your works and by force violently claim the kingdom by a bold faith in what Jesus did for you at the cross.

Hope in the natural sense is a desire for what may be but the hope that Paul speaks of is not a wish but a conviction. Hope in the writings of Paul is a conviction that what God says is true and can be relied upon. We base our whole life and expectation of the future on the veracity of God and it is called hope. It is a looking forward to that which will come to pass because God never fails rather than a wish for what may happen.

 

[mikenold]

Here are some verses that show once we have been saved that salvation cannot be lost:

Joh:10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh:10:28: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Joh:10:29: My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
Joh:10:30: I and my Father are one.

Ro:8:30: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Ro:8:31: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Ro:8:32: He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Ro:8:33: Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Ro:8:34: 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.
Ro:8:35: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Ro:8:36: As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Ro:8:37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Ro:8:38: For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Ro:8:39: 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.

1Jo:5:13: These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

It is Satan that wants to cause doubt and confusion. It matters not when we are assigned to die that physical death (today, tomorrow, etc) or if we would not die a physical death at all (rapture). What truly matters is where we will go when we die. I am assured by God that I will spend eternity in heaven. In my opinion, the only reason we spend even a millisecond here on earth after being saved is to do God's will and tell others our testimony and sow the seed of salvation. Salvation is for everyone.