"11It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
12If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
13If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself."
People have no problem with verse 11 and verse 13 but they get hung up on verse 12. This passage is dealing with the Millennial reign of Christ. Verse 11 is a statement of certain fact if the condition is met. Verse 12 is a conditional statement to us believers that deals with a reward for suffering.
What does verse 11 say, "IF we be dead with Him, we SHALL also live with Him." That is a promise based on simply if we died with Him. Paul said essentially the same words in Romans 6:8: "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him." There are several verses elsewhere that talks about us dying with Him (see Romans 6:3-6) positionally. Another verse that speaks about our certainty is in Romans 5 and it is based on His death and not our suffering:
" 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
Have you died (once, for Scripture said that we died in the aorist tense in Romans) with Him? It doesn't ask "Are you dying daily for Him?" We die the moment we place our confidence in the total savior-hood of Christ. If you have died with him then you SHALL live with Him!!! If you suffer (doesn't imply a past event like verse 11) for Him then you shall reign with Him in the Millennial kingdom. Only those that believe you can lose your salvation will want to mingle the two together to mean the same thing. If you believe that suffering with Him is required of us to be saved then you are a stranger to grace and have yet to savingly believe. You are teaching that you must suffer in order to be saved showing yourself to be a stranger to grace and Christ.
He will deny you what by the context? To reign or heaven? To say "reigning" and "heaven" represents the same thing is to show a very limited understanding of Scripture. To say "heaven" even though the passage is referring to the millennial reign is to deny verse 11 and make salvation by works. Verse 11 makes it clear that we will LIVE with Him if we had died with Him. Verse 12 makes it clear that we shall reign with Him if we choose to suffer for Him. To deny Him is to deny us what then? Don't be foolish and simply write "heaven" into that verse when it clearly is not referring to it. This is the problem with those that believe you can lose your salvation as they will always insert words or phrases into a passage or verse that doesn't contain it and that is not only wicked but extremely dangerous.
Salvation comes by faith in Christ and not by suffering for Him. Not one verse says, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" anywhere. There will be a future glorification for those that suffer for Him. We do not know exactly what this reigning with Him in the Millennial kingdom will be exactly but only those that suffer with Him will share in His glory.
Verse 13 is the death blow to conditional security. Dan Corner explanation of this verse is laughable. He simply wants to view it that Paul is merely stating that Jesus will always be faithful regardless of anyone else. I guess Jesus abides faithful to Himself is what some conditional security believers like to make it. No, it would be a death blow to those that believe in eternal security if Paul were to say, "If we believe not then we will neither live or reign with Him."
Here is why Dan Corner and other conditionalists arguments are laughable. Verse 11 clearly states "if" followed by "shall live with Him." Verse 12 starts off with "if" followed by "shall reign with Him." The second half of verse 12 starts off with "if" followed by "He will deny us." The "if" of those two verses are conditional statements to the hearer. If the person meets those conditions then it follows with the promise relating to the hearer. So, if YOU died then YOU shall live. Dan Corner has deceitfully made verse 13 that begins with "if" separated from what the promise is to the hearer. The "if" follows with what Christ will do with such a person as it has been consistently flowing in the two prior verses. Sorry Dan, "if you believe not" is the condition and here is the result if you continue not believing, "He SHALL abide faithful. Only a fool will seek to separate the two as Dan so cleverly had done. Verse 11 determines the saved, verse 12 determines the reward, verse 13 refers to our ever faithful Lord abiding faithful to us even though we are anything but with Him.
There is another passage that makes it clear that unfaithful Christians will be saved. Look at 1st Thessalonians 5:10:
"Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
How many looking at that verse tried arguing that "wake" or "sleep" simply means "alive" or dead"??? Do you know that many try rendering it that way but it is impossible? There actually is one version that I know of off the top of my head that has deceitfully translated it that way (New Living Translation). Wake and sleep are defined by the context as I will share in a minute. The word "sleep" is not the same Greek word that Paul used elsewhere to describe the death of the believer. In fact, Paul never once used that Greek word to describe the "dead" and he never once used the Greek word for "wake" to describe the living. Look at the context where Paul already used the same Greek word in verse 10:
"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep (lazy or indifferent), as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
I have seen many deceptive articles on this passage where people attempt either to not argue from the Greek or they will argue outside of Paul and the context. I have seen those that simply focus that the believer must be wake (alert, watchful) but nothing about the believer that is not watchful and is lazy as a lazy believer has no place in their theological position. Some have changed "wake or sleep" into "good or bad" even though those words do not have such meanings anywhere. They simply wanted the verse to say that Christ died for the good and the bad so that they might be saved if they trust Him. This is what I mean about people wanting their heresy and will do anything they can to distort God's Word to advance their damnable folly. These fools have taken clear cut verses applying to us believers personally and then tried their best to make it impersonal because it hurts their position.Sorry, whether you are watchful or lazy and indifferent, you shall be saved from wrath through Him and you shall live with Him!!!!
Verse 13 of 2nd Timothy is a clear reference to unbelief of believers. If we believe not.... I believe it was the missionary Hudson Taylor that came to see the beauty of this verse. He struggled so much with his faith and doubts and this verse spoke volumes. He came to realize that he doesn't have to be so consumed with his unbelief as Jesus would always remain faithful and this served to actually strengthen his faith. He was no longer worried about his faith failing knowing that Jesus would always remain faithful to Him regardless of whether he believed or not. It was such a belief that took away his struggle to believe and cured him of doubts!!
How many Christians today struggle with believing today? They believe that God's faithfulness to them depends on their faithfulness to Him. Remember, it is only humans that have a love that gives and takes but not our God. Have you ever heard a married person claim that only they are giving their half to the marriage and not the other? They see marriage as a "give and take" loving marriage. Many problems in marriage happen because of that, if the husband doesn't take out the trash then the wife doesn't do the dishes as a punishment. God's love and faithfulness to us is not the same as many view marriage. God doesn't fold His arms and pout like we do. He doesn't lock Himself in a room until He felt that the silent treatment has done its job with you. Read 1st Corinthians 13 because the love of God is a love that gives and gives and doesn't expect anything in return. This is why Christ can remain faithful when we are faithless. If you struggle with the faithfulness and love of God then be sure to examine your own love and faithfulness with others as we often view God through ourselves. You can't expect to be a forgiving person when you struggle with the forgiveness of God.
Hudson Taylor was freed when he realized that even if he were to stop believing that Jesus would still abide faithful. Christ will be faithful regardless since we are in Him and He in us and that is all that matters. The reason that it frees is because your eyes are taken off of yourself which is imperfect and allows you to focus on Christ who is not only perfect but abides faithful regardless of our faithfulness. This is why those that believe in eternal security can rest assured that if they have died with Him that they too shall live with Him!! They are not like the conditionalists out there that must "continually believe" and "continually obey" in order to stay saved making it now all by works. We that believe in eternal security believe because of a heart set free of condemnation and fear. We serve with a reverent fear and not a fear that God will get rid of us if we don't persevere. Praise be to God, if we believe not, He shall abide faithful!!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment