"This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck..."
Even Timothy was not
exempt from the danger of making a shipwreck of his faith. To avoid it, he
needs to wage a good warfare, holding fast to faith and a good conscience!
-------
Sing
Some
sincere and misguided folks sincerely believe that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God's
children to make a shipwreck of their faith despite the fact being clear stated
in the Scriptures.
They
would rather believe that Apostle Paul was just wasting his words in his charge
to Timothy, warning him against something which will never happen to him! They
make Apostle Paul look foolish, warning of dangers that will never happen to
God's children!
And
where do they get such an idea from? They get such an idea from another big lie -
'the perseverance of the saints'. By this, they meant, "all true children
of God will persevere in a life of faith and holiness. Those who do not can't possibly
be God's children to begin with." They sincerely and with great conviction
believe such a notion.
But that is a plain PERVERSION of what is taught in the Bible. Also, such a FABLE does not match the REALITY revealed to us in the Scriptures.
Sing
This
is a common expression of such a FABLE: "In order to be saved and spend
eternity enjoying God's presence, a person must persevere in faith to the end
"
This
is a MOST COMMON perversion of the biblical truth of perseverance. There is a very subtle and dangerous shift.
God,
by His free and sovereign grace, EFFECTUALLY CALLS the elect out of their STATE
of sin and death, in which they are by nature, into the STATE of grace and
salvation.
A
child of God will always IMMUTABLY REMAIN in that STATE of grace and salvation -
nothing, absolutely nothing can remove him from that STATE into which God's
free and sovereign grace has accomplished. The free and sovereign grace that
BROUGHT him into that STATE will be the same free and sovereign grace to keep
them in that STATE.
The
Bible does not say that every child of God will persevere in faith - i.e.
live a LIFE OF FAITH and HOLINESS.
Did
Lot persevere to the end? Did Solomon persevere to the end?
Did
those who make a shipwreck of their faith persevere to the end?
It
is true, that the Bible exhorts and commands God's children to pursue holiness
and live godly.
It
is a serious error to turn that into a statement of fact, and conclude that
every child of God will therefore live holy and godly, and that to the end, and
therefore whoever does not meet that criteria was never a child of God! This is
just a big lie!
God's grace does not guarantee a life of faith and holiness. That's something a child of God must work out for himself with fear and trembling, in obedient response to God's grace working in him.
Sing
This
is a common expression of such a FABLE: "In
order to be saved and spend eternity enjoying God's presence, a person must
persevere in faith to the end"
This
statement appears DAMNABLE because it NOT ONLY conditions the eternal bliss of
a man on how well he perseveres, BUT ALSO whether he perseveres to the end!
It
is just a subtle form of Arminianism trying hard to parade itself as Calvinism
- and that is the Calvinism that is embraced by so many today.
Our
eternal bliss is from beginning to end wholly, solely and completely purposed,
applied, and to be consummated, by the free and sovereign grace of God alone,
PLUS NOTHING.
The
temporal bliss of God's children is CONDITIONED upon their obedience to the
will of the Father.
Among
God's children, there are many Lots, but there are few Abrahams. The Lots suffer
great loss, they make a shipwreck of their faith.
This
exhortation is addressed to disciples:
13
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way,
that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it.
Their
manner of discipleship determines whether they find life or destruction here as
a pilgrim. This passage has NOTHING to do with eternal salvation, unless they
want to make eternal salvation conditioned upon how godly and righteously a man
lives.
The
life spoken of is NOT eternal life, and the destruction is not eternal
destruction. Lot suffered great destruction but Abraham enjoyed an abundance of
life.
Sing
Apostle
Paul soberly cautioned himself: "And
every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do
it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run,
not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
Even
Paul was not exempt from becoming a CASTAWAY!
adokimos
- reprobate 6, castaway 1, rejected 1; 8
1)
not standing the test, not approved
1a)
properly used of metals and coins
2)
that which does not prove itself such as it ought
2a)
unfit for, unproved, spurious, reprobate.
Obviously not a castaway in the eternal sense, because that is impossible with an elect. But if he is careless and negligent, not exercising vigilance and diligence, he failed in his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ!
Don
Brother
Sing, what you have written is the plain truth of the Bible even though there
are so many preachers in this day trying to promote the opposite here in our
country. Keep expounding on the Truth of scripture! We need your influence here
in America!!
Sing
God's
children being barren and unfruitful is not a fable or fiction. They are HARSH
reality. They are real dangers that God's children are constantly warned
against.
2Pet
1:
5 ¶
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue
knowledge;
6
And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience
godliness;
7
And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8
For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither
be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
And
Peter was writing to those he described as: "them that have obtained like
precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ... according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called
us to glory and virtue." All these concern the eternal salvation by the free and
gracious acts of the Triune God.
But
if God's children, already bestowed with eternal salvation, FAIL to work out
their own salvation by giving all diligence... they shall be BARREN and
UNFRUITFUL. Add to that what is said in verse 9!
What
GREAT LOSS! Not only to themselves, but to others also. And to the Lord who redeemed
them!
Sing
Instead
of admitting such reality among God's children, and dealing with the problem,
MANY choose to explain away the problem by saying that those people are NEVER
God's children to begin with! What a TRAGEDY!
Don
AMEN!
Charles
It
is just a subtle form of Arminianism trying hard to parade itself as Calvinism
- and that is the Calvinism that is embraced by many today - so very true - ex.
John MacArthur
Jerry
Brother
Sing, What a great Exegesis of the Scriptures...explained so that even a child
could understand them...
