Here is a trinity of examples …
(A) … Romans 6 (NKJV):
1 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not!
15 Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness?
18 … you became slaves of righteousness.
19 … so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
22 But now … having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Romans 6, Paul goes to great lengths warning these believers NOT to sin,
i.e. to STOP sinning … for sin results in eternal death (re: verses 16, 21, 23).
Then he says they became slaves of righteousness and slaves of God, so …
their reasonable service is to present their bodies as slaves of righteousness
and as holy living sacrifices to God:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
He is tactfully saying that they are supposed to be these things!
But, they are not living like they are these things.
They are living like they’re on the way to eternal death.
(B) … Hebrews 10 (NKJV):
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,
but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
The writer of Hebrews warns that God’s judgment will fall upon believers (v.29)
who draw back (v.39) from the faith … because these draw back to perdition (hell).
Then he tactfully says that these Hebrew Christians are NOT in this group (v.39)
… meaning that they had better NOT be found guilty of such unfaithfulness!
(C) … Philippians 1:6 (NKJV):
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
… Philippians 2:12-16 (NKJV):
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Paul says he is confident that Jesus will be successful in completing His work
(of fully sanctifying) ALL of the members of the church at Philippi. Okay, great.
Then in Chapter 2, Paul warns them to work out their salvation with fear and
trembling because it is God Himself who is working in them to make them blameless.
He tells them to hold fast the word of life so that he has not labored for them in vain.
He is saying that if they fail to endure in the faith, they will lose their salvation
and his work with them will have been a waste of his time.
How can he have this fear of failure, if he is so confident in them (1:6)?
(A) … Romans 6 (NKJV):
1 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not!
15 Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey,
you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether (slaves) of sin leading to death,
or (slaves) of obedience leading to righteousness?
18 … you became slaves of righteousness.
19 … so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
22 But now … having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In Romans 6, Paul goes to great lengths warning these believers NOT to sin,
i.e. to STOP sinning … for sin results in eternal death (re: verses 16, 21, 23).
Then he says they became slaves of righteousness and slaves of God, so …
their reasonable service is to present their bodies as slaves of righteousness
and as holy living sacrifices to God:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
He is tactfully saying that they are supposed to be these things!
But, they are not living like they are these things.
They are living like they’re on the way to eternal death.
(B) … Hebrews 10 (NKJV):
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful.
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy
who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay”, says the Lord.
And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God,
you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith;
but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition,
but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
The writer of Hebrews warns that God’s judgment will fall upon believers (v.29)
who draw back (v.39) from the faith … because these draw back to perdition (hell).
Then he tactfully says that these Hebrew Christians are NOT in this group (v.39)
… meaning that they had better NOT be found guilty of such unfaithfulness!
(C) … Philippians 1:6 (NKJV):
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you
will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
… Philippians 2:12-16 (NKJV):
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Paul says he is confident that Jesus will be successful in completing His work
(of fully sanctifying) ALL of the members of the church at Philippi. Okay, great.
Then in Chapter 2, Paul warns them to work out their salvation with fear and
trembling because it is God Himself who is working in them to make them blameless.
He tells them to hold fast the word of life so that he has not labored for them in vain.
He is saying that if they fail to endure in the faith, they will lose their salvation
and his work with them will have been a waste of his time.
How can he have this fear of failure, if he is so confident in them (1:6)?
