Tag: Eternal Confidence of believers in Christ

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How to Know Where a Deceased Loved-One Has Gone

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How to Know Where a Loved-One Has Gone

© 2026 by C. O. Bishop

2nd Corinthians 5:1-9

1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight🙂 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Introduction:

We have touched upon this passage repeatedly, over the years. Why? Because it is a universal concern and a frequent question, regarding a loved-one who has died. “Where is (name)?”

When people who have been believers for many years still have to ask this question, I am sad. They are fearful for their husband, wife, or other person they have lost. God wants us to know this truth, and to comfort one another with this knowledge.

So, How CAN we Know?

We read the twin passages with which we opened. We see that our confidence in the eternal life God has given is not based upon supposition or human reasoning. God gave it to us “By the Word of the Lord!”

Also, we immediately see that God commands us to comfort one another with these words. Why? Because it is something He wants us to KNOW. As individual believers, we begin by learning how we were saved. Then we try to understand why, and how permanent that positional change truly is. We are now His literal offspring, through the new birth, and we cannot become UN-Born-again!

Personal Assurance: What Should YOU Know?

If we read 1st John 5:11-16, we gain a personal assurance of our own eternal life. God clearly says He wants us to KNOW that we have eternal life.

1st John 5:11-13 says, “And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 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.”

Our initial, timid faith can grow strong as we consider the evidence binding us to The Eternal Savior, Jesus, the Messiah…the Christ.

The Beginning

Jesus promised in John 5:24, “He that heareth My Word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath eternal life, and shall not come unto condemnation, but has passed from death unto life.”

If you have heard the Good News that Jesus died in your place at the Cross, and have placed your trust in Him, trusting His finished work at the Cross for your salvation, God says it’s a done deal!

  1. You have eternal life! (Present tense! You do NOT have to wait until you die to find out!)
  2. God will never again Condemn You!. (Future tense…it will never happen!)
  3. You have permanently crossed over from death into Life! (Past perfect tense! It is a “done deal,” and you can’t go back to being lost!)

That specific promise of Jesus is the basis for our confidence before Him. We lay claim to that Promise by Faith. When we share that mutual confidence with one another, we gain confidence about others as well. Can I actually see inside someone else’s heart, and know for sure about their faith? No: But Their responses to God and to other believers, and to the ordinary trials and stresses of life can pretty well tell me where their heart really is.

Collective Assurance: What should “WE” Know?

In 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18, we read what is coming for all believers, living and dead. We see that Jesus will return to the Air, and collect all the church-age believer’s bodies.

How do we know the bodies are in view and not the souls…the Spirits…the non-physical portions of our three-part humanity? Because 2nd Corinthians 5:8 states that when we leave these bodies, we will instantly be present with the Lord. And 2nd Corinthians 5:2-4 states that we will simultaneously be “clothed upon” with an immortal body of some sort. It evidently is not our own physical body resurrected, but something temporary.

1st Corinthians 15:50-54 says that we will all get our own resurrected bodies at the same time.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible (body) must put on incorruption, and this mortal (body) must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

So, we seem to have found a paradox!

Is There Truly A Paradox?

One passage says we get an immortal body the moment we leave these mortal bodies. The other says “…we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.”

Let’s go back and read the 1st Thessalonians 4:14 passage again: It says that Jesus will bring the dead in Christ “with Him.” Yes, we could read it as merely saying that they will “follow Him in resurrection.” But the point of this passage, when combined with 1st Corinthians 15, is that all the dead bodies of dead believers will be resurrected immortal. That means regardless of where they are, or what has happened to them during the centuries in which they have undergone decay, or have been digested by scavengers, or even burned to ashes, and scattered who-knows-where.

And then (in the next moment, according to both 1st Thessalonians 4 and 1st Corinthians 15,) the living bodies of those who are still alive at that time will be transformed into the eternal, immortal state “in the twinkling of an eye!”

But, When?

It is also important to read 1st Thessalonians 5, understanding that originally, there were no chapter divisions. Chapter five developed directly out of chapter four. If chapter four describes the rapture of the church, then we see that the tribulation begins at that moment!

The “Rapture of the Church” is the portion of the “Day of the Lord” that “Comes as a thief in the night.” It is the only portion of all the grief that is to come and the joy and peace that follows, that can (and will) come as a “surprise.”

All the rest of it is literally “laid out” just as tightly “choreographed” as a play! The Book of the Revelation of Jesus gives us the script, and the world will see those events unfold exactly as written. And all of it follows the removal of the Church, simply because we are not a part of the Coming Judgment on Earth and Israel. (If you have questions about that, read Daniel 9:23-27.)

Nor are we part of the Millennial Kingdom, in the strictest sense: We will all have resurrected, glorified bodies, whereas the Tribulation Saints will enter the Kingdom in their mortal bodies, marrying, bearing children, and living for the full age of the Kingdom in most cases.

So, Where IS Grandma? (Grandpa? Dad? Mom? Wife? Husband?)

It ultimately depends on one thing. Jesus died for their sins, because He died for the Sins of the Whole World. (1st John 2:2 states it undeniably! “And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”)

But…did they believe His promise, and so receive Him as their Savior?

Each of us has the choice: we can choose the way of life or the way of death. Jeremiah 21:8 says, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.”

Hebrews 9:27 says, “…it is given unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Two Possible Destinations

To an unbeliever, that judgment is the “Great White Throne Judgment” in Revelation 20:11-15.

To a believer, that Judgment is the “Judgment Seat of Christ,” in 2nd Corinthians 5:9-13, but explained in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15.

If your loved-one was a believer, having placed his or her trust in Jesus’s shed blood as their only hope for salvation from the final judgment of Sin, then I can say with full assurance, that they are with Jesus right now. (And they are looking at Him, by the way, not watching over you!)

If they died still rejecting His offer of eternal life, then, sadly, all I can say is what Jesus said. “They died in their sins.” Can I know whether they, in fact, rejected Him to the end? No! But I can say that Jesus said most of the human race will do just that, and be lost forever!

In Matthew 7:13, 14 Jesus says, “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.”

That is just Reality. Hard truth, but honest.

Now: Do I Like That Judgment?

No! But I see the justice in it: God hates sin, and He judges sin! He has offered one escape from the destruction that His Judgment is bringing. We can either accept it or reject it, but the Judgment is already in place.

I spent my first eighteen years on God’s “Death Row.” Had I died during that time I would be in hell today. But Jesus stepped in and died in my place, just as he did in your place and in the place of the entire human race. But it took me over eighteen years to realize and to confess that I was a lost sinner, and that I needed a Savior.

That was in 1973. Since that time, the Lord has worked to teach me to walk with Him, and to believe His Word. I certainly have not “arrived.” I am increasingly aware of the fact that I can literally do nothing without Him. I’m sure that the majority of the people here would fervently agree with that conclusion.

But we want our lives to count for eternity. Some friends we have watched pass out of this life and we were sad, because we don’t know for sure where they are. But when those died, whose lives had been transformed by His Grace and His Power, we knew that they had simply “graduated early.” So, we comfort one another in our losses and in our hard times, and we support one another in our striving to walk with Jesus.

Lord Jesus, teach us to love Your Word, and desire Your constant presence and oversight in our lives. Let us rejoice to press on to the mark of that high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

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Do You Know How to be Sure That You are Secure in Christ?

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Biblical Support for the Security of the Believer

© Richard Banham

(“Once Saved, Always Saved”)

I. Scriptures that Guarantee Security “in Christ.”

John 5:24 – Jesus says that the believer has passed (past tense) from death to life – will not come into judgment – has everlasting life. The life given is not “everlasting” if it can be lost again.

John 6:37 – Jesus said that those who come to him will never be “cast out”. We are the Father’s gift to the Son. The Father is not going to take the gift back.

John 10:27, 28 – His sheep will never (under any circumstance) perish (be lost) Vs. 29 states that no one can pluck them out of the Father’s hand.

John 17:15, 24 – Jesus’s prayers are always answered. He prays that we will be kept from the evil one (the Devil) and that those whom the Father gives Him will be with Him in eternity.

Paul’s Epistles

Romans 8:38, 39 – Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. (Neither time, space or matter or all creation).

1 Cor. 1:29-31 – To avoid boasting, God has put us “in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 12:13) by baptism into His death. In effect, we have already died for our sins by the death of another and according to 1 Corinthians 1:30 He has already become our sanctification and redemption. This is because God sees us “in Him” (Read Gal. 2:20).

Gal. 2:20 – We have already died (been crucified) with Christ. To die (or be lost again) would be “double jeopardy.” We died for all our sins by His death.

Eph. 1:13 – We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit. This is the pledge of our inheritance until our bodies are redeemed. We are God’s possession. Nothing can break this seal.

Eph. 4:30 – We are sealed even if we grieve the Holy Spirit who sealed us (2 Cor. 1:22).

Phil. 1:6 – The good work that God has begun in us, He will perfect (finish). (He doesn’t start the foundation of a house without eventually putting on the roof.)

Col. 3:3, 4 – We, as believers, have already died for our sins (all of them) by the death of Christ. Our life now is “hidden with Christ in God.” How can we be lost again?

2 Tim. 1:12 – He is able to keep us, having committed ourselves to Him.

Heb. 7:25 – He is able to save forever those who come to Him because is praying for them.

Peter’s Epistles

1 Pet. 1:5 – We are kept (protected) by His power for a salvation (of the body) to be revealed in the last time.

John and Jude

1 John 2:19 – those who are not saved (but look like they are saved) go out from us, because they are not really of us.

Jude 1 – We have been called and we are kept for Jesus Christ (by God).

II. Biblical Truth that Defines Salvation.

  1. The Biblical doctrine of Justification by faith precludes any concept of works (self effort). Romans 3:24-25 states that justification (being declared righteous by God…resulting in salvation) is a “gift”. In verse 25 it says that Christ’s blood satisfied the holiness of God’s anger against our sins (propitiated means God is satisfied). 1 John 2:2 – He (Christ) is the propitiation (satisfaction of God’s Holiness and Justice) for our sins – all of them (They were all future when He died). We do nothing to get our salvation (but believe) and by the same token there is nothing we can do to lose it.
    Romans 4:4-5 says “Now to the one who works his wage is not credited as a favor (grace), but is what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies (saves by declaring righteous) the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness”. To feel that we have to “hang on” to be saved is just another way of teaching salvation by works.
  2. Roman’s 5:1-9 – This Scripture passage tells us that already having been justified (declared righteous) by faith we now have peace with God. It goes on to say that we stand in the grace of God (and we rejoice in the hope of His coming).
    Vs.9 tells us that “we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
    Justification by God is a once for all time finished gift.
  3. The possibility of a real believer losing their salvation would put them under the Law of God again. Galatians 3:23-25 tells us that before we were saved we were under the law. That the law “was our schoolmaster to bring us Christ” but now that faith has come we are not under the schoolmaster. “Christ is the end of the law to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). Eph 2:8-9 tells us that salvation is a gift. One does not work for a gift. “Not of works lest any man should boast.” Romans 8:1-4 tells us that the law was weak through the flesh. We could not keep the law, so God sent His son and with His death “condemned sin in the flesh.”
  4. To believe that a truly saved person can lose his or her salvation is to mix up justification with sanctification. Justification is instantaneous. It happens the moment we believe in the cross of Christ.
    Sanctification is a process for which we begin to develop holiness in our lives. This is accomplished in all who are saved, (justified) by the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit living in them.
    Romans 8:4 tells us that righteousness is (after we are saved) produced in us by “walking in the Spirit”. Through the Holy Spirit we are to put to death the deeds (sins) of the body (Rom. 8:13).
    This is the “normal spiritual life.” But though it began with free justification, the normal spiritual life has nothing to do with producing justification. Justification is the work of Christ. Sanctification (walking in the spirit) is the work of the Holy Spirit after we are saved.

III. Biblical Examples:

Those Who Appeared to be Saved as Opposed to Those Who Really Were.

It should be noted that nobody in Scripture that was truly saved ever lost their salvation. Also, the Bible describes nobody that was ever “born again” more than once.

  1. In Hebrews 6:4-8 there is a description of a type of person who, upon a casual reading, seems to have fallen away from the Lord and, as we might suppose, has therefore lost their salvation.
    It should be noted in this passage that if indeed they did lose their salvation, they can’t get it back. It says “for it is impossible, if they should fall away, to renew them again unto repentance”. They would “put the Lord to open shame.”
    The person described was once “enlightened” and tasted of the heavenly gift” and “made a partaker of the Holy Spirit, tasted of the good word of God and the Powers of the world to come.”
    It would certainly seem (on the surface) that they had been a Christian but lost their salvation.
    But let us stop and think for a moment. Have we not known people that were in the church, seemed to take part in everything others did and yet eventually left and acted as though they were never saved?
    This is what John tells us in 1 John 2:19. He says that they (in this case many antichrists) “went out from us, but they were not (really) of us”. They had to leave to prove to us that they were not “of us.”
    The Hebrews 6 passage aptly describes the traitor, Judas Iscariot. He looked and acted so much like all the other apostles that on the night of the last supper, after Jesus had announced that one of them would betray him, each disciple asked Jesus, “Is it I”?
    Matt 26:22 – “and began every one of them to say to him, “Lord, is it I”?
    This description fits Judas, who, though he had walked with the Lord Jesus three years and had partaken of the “heavenly gift.” was not really one “of them.” In fact, Jesus had said, “Have I not chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil”? (John 6:30) Judas even cast out demons! (Mark 3:14, 15; Mark 6:12; Luke 9:1)
    The person described in Hebrews 6:4-8, though heavily involved in “Christian Things” and having had the advantages of even the Spirit, was never really saved, any more than Judas was.
    Peter, on the other hand, appeared not to be a believer, when he denied the Lord at a crucial time (John 18:15-27). Christians don’t always act like Christians. Nevertheless, Peter was saved. Jesus had said that Satan had desired Peter, but he had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail (Luke 22:31, 32).
    Our confusion about the idea of people losing their salvation comes from our limited knowledge of who truly is saved, and who is pretending, like Judas Iscariot.

  2. The parable of the wheat and the tares (weeds) in Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43 shows us how the authentic and the false can easily be confused. The tares looked so much like the real wheat that the angels were prohibited from plucking up the tares, lest they inadvertently pull up the real wheat also (vs 29). The wheat was a picture of real believers. The tares were not.
    Another example of the false among the true is in 2 Peter 2. (The false teachers.)
    It should be noted that these “false teachers” that shall come (and have come) were not really saved. The Greek word for them being “bought” (agorasanto) used here indicates that though the price was paid for them, they remained on the “slave block.” They are not saved. They ignored the price paid for them, and taught false doctrine in the church.
    In the end of the chapter, we have those that “have escaped the pollution of the world” turning back to it (2nd Peter 2:20-22). The characteristic of them is they are not called “sheep,” (who turned back into dogs or pigs:) They are called “dogs” and “sows,” both regarded by the Jews as unclean animals. There had never been a true conversion. They were never saved. And, as described in this chapter, the enemy has always used evil people infiltering the church, to corrupt it.

IV. Other Scriptures Seeming to Suggest that Once Saved, You Could Be Lost:

Matthew 24:13 “He that endureth until the end, the same shall be saved.”.

The question becomes “saved from what?” Those who remain faithful to the Lord until the end of that Terrible Tribulation Time, described in the context, will be physically delivered to enter the millennial kingdom in their physical bodies. The passage is not talking about personal salvation from sin.

There will be those who are not killed during the “Great Tribulation” and do believe in Christ.

These are those who will still have their physical bodies so that they can produce the children described in Isaiah 11:6, 8; 65:20.

1st Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”

Again, the context of the verse is very important. The context of this passage indicates a tendency of Christians going back into their old practices of sin, just like many in ancient Israel did in the desert. Obviously Christians “fall”, but this does not mean that they are lost again or that God is even through with them. I can fall. You can fall. But our salvation doesn’t depend on us. He has already bought us (Philippians 1:6.)

In Galatians 5:4 we have the expression “fallen from grace”

Again, we must not read into the word “fallen” the idea of being “lost” in regard to salvation. The writer to the Galatians (Paul) was showing that when they, as a group, were including circumcision as part of salvation, they had fallen away from the doctrine of Grace. Remember that Grace excludes any human ritual or work.

In John 15:6 the passage is talking about “fruit bearing”. Those that remain in Christ will bear “much fruit”. The word in the Greek is meiné, meaning “remain.” The idea of remaining in Christ has to do with the behavior of the person in regard to fruit bearing.
(Compare 1st John 1:7… “walking in the Light,” with Him.)

It is not the same as the believer being placed into (baptized into) the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. (1st Corinthians 12:13). That is his position, brought about by Christ (or the Holy Spirit) when he was saved. The “remaining in Christ” in John 15:1-8 is his action: his subsequent behavior, if he is to produce fruit.

Notice in verse 6 that if he does not abide (remain) in this way, he is thrown into the fire by men, not angels, as in Matthew 13:41, 42. The believer who is not fruitful, who does not “remain with” (walking with) Christ is cast aside by men, “and trodden under foot.”

(Matthew 5:13). Paul spoke of such people as “castaways” (put on the shelf). Not useful to God. Again, this passage is not talking about salvation, but service: how to produce fruit for the Lord.

V. Eternal Security:

The relationship that exists between us and God is a personal relationship. Throughout the Bible the Heavenly father is always coaching us on how to live, because He deeply loves us.

This love is to be returned by us and so we find many scriptures that try to show us the unhappy consequences of not returning His love. We need Him.

Like any good parent (and God is the best), He does not want us to languish in insecurity. How can we love a parent if we are never sure whether that our relationship with them is secure and settled? A believer in that doubtful condition is unsettled, fearful and insecure.

This is certainly not His will, as we have tried to show by His precious Word.

Remember that the “Helmet of Salvation,” described in Ephesians 6:17, is designed to protect your head…your mind…your thoughts.

In 1st John 5:11-13, God says that He wants you to know that you have Eternal Life. If you ignore this truth, and/or deny that you can know you are eternally secure in Christ, by His completed work, alone, then you simply cannot “wear” the Helmet of Salvation: Your thoughts will be “fair game” for the enemy, continually suggesting that God is going to reject you.

Richard Banham

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No Condemnation: (Part Four)

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“Eternal”

© C. O. Bishop 1/26/16 THCF 2/7/16

Romans 8:28-39

Introduction:

We have been studying through the epistle to the Romans, and have spent the last several weeks in chapter eight, where the overall theme is that “there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ.” That is a key “positional truth”, and it dovetails perfectly with the rest of the positional teaching in scripture: “things that are true of the believer, simply on the basis of his or her position, in Christ.” We have come to the last section of chapter eight, where Paul concludes his teaching on our position in Christ, and how we should live as a result of our position.

This passage includes several verses that we commonly use to encourage ourselves: We say that “All things work together for good.” We remind ourselves that “If God be for us, who can be against us?”, and, sometimes, we confirm that “Nothing can separate us from the Love of God.”

But all of these are part of a larger context, in which we are told of our perfect, eternal standing with God, and the results of that standing, both general and specific.

Let’s look at some of those verses, as we finish up the eighth chapter of Romans:

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

God’s Eternal Purpose

What is the purpose and plan of God? Why did he even create this world? We have all sorts of “pat” answers that various religious leaders give us. But what does God’s Word actually say? We are not left to “guess” at the answer to this question, though we may not understand all of it.

If God’s eternal plan were only to “produce worshippers”, he has them in the angelic host. The angels worship him in spirit and in truth, just as Jesus said He wanted. It may shock us to hear it, but His purpose actually may not center on us! God may have even bigger things in mind. For instance, in Ephesians 3:9-11 Paul states that from the beginning of the world, the “hidden mystery” was that His purpose and plan is to demonstrate to the Angelic hosts through the Church the manifold wisdom of God. Now: do I understand that? Absolutely not! I have some theories about it, but, ultimately, while I can read those verses and tell you what it says, I do not have authority to speak outside the confines of God’s revelation, so I can’t tell you much more than the fact that it was from the beginning of the World, not the fall of Man.

How does that purpose work out through us, and in what way can we be “the called, according to His purpose?” Well, here are some other ideas: God responded to the fall of Man in one specific way—He moved to offer saving Grace to the fallen race of Man, and He has continued to do so throughout Human history. From that point on, in scripture, we see His purpose working out to provide a substitutionary sacrifice, who, being believed in, is the means of salvation from God to Man. (Remember Romans 1:16?)

Adam believed the promise of God, regarding the coming savior, the Seed of Woman. Abel understood (at least in a minimal sense) the blood sacrifice that God used to cover the sins of Adam and Eve, and he, too, believed. He brought that sacrifice…a blood sacrifice… by faith.

The Children of Israel believed the message of warning that Moses brought, and they huddled under the blood of the Passover Lamb, which is demonstrably the blood of the Cross, in picture-form. Jesus stated that He came to give his life a ransom for many. He also stated that God sent Him to be the Savior of the whole World: “for God so loved the World…” Do you suppose those are “statements of purpose?” A “mission-statement”, if you want to call it that?

How does all this work to teach the angelic host about the wisdom of God? I don’t know for sure, though I have some ideas. He does specify that it is to the angelic beings in heavenly places that he intends to demonstrate His wisdom…not just the fallen ones, perhaps. I can’t say for sure. But in this age, at least, it seems that, in keeping with His actions from the fall of Man, the purpose of God is to extend His saving Grace to sinners, through the preaching of the Gospel. Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work.” And then he preached to the people of Samaria. He has consistently demonstrated in the scripture what His purpose is, in this age. I’m not sure we can really understand anything beyond this age, though I know that His purpose is eternal.

But the question remains: Are you “the called, according to His purpose?” Maybe we need to re-examine our motives and priorities, before we claim that all things work together for our good. It says they “work together for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” This is where positional truth becomes vitally important:

Our Eternal Position

But, if you are in Christ, because you have trusted Him as your Savior, then, according to this passage, you are called!

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
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.

In fact, he says you were foreknown, and that, since you believed, you are now predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. (Notice it doesn’t say, it will happen if you behave yourself and obey God. No: you will be conformed to his image at the rapture or the resurrection, just because, as a believer, you are “in Christ”. That is positional truth!)

Further, it says that all who share that destiny are called, and justified (that means “declared righteous”), and that we are (already) glorified in Christ. We are already seated with Him in the heavenlies, according to Ephesians 2:6, though we are not consciously experiencing it at the moment. What is the result? 

Our Eternal Confidence in Christ

The result in our lives, because of our position in Christ, should be a fearless loyalty to Him, and an unshakeable confidence in Him. Read on!
31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

It really doesn’t matter who our enemies are: It matters who our friend and defender is.
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?

There may be a temptation to misuse this verse and to attempt to teach a “health and wealth” Gospel by it. Before you think that, remember what Paul said to the Philippian Church (Philippians 4:18). He said, on the basis of their gift to him, “I have everything, and abound!” What was the gift? I can’t tell you but, whatever it was, it couldn’t have been very much: they were very poor people, and under persecution as well.

The real key here is to remember where Paul was when he made that statement. He was in a prison cell, with virtually nothing in the way of belongings, and with very little in the way of human comforts. If that is what Paul called “having everything” and “abounding”, then I seriously doubt that the passage here in Romans can be taken to mean “we should be healthy and wealthy as a result of our position in Christ.” In fact, I suspect that the next verse, Philippians 4:19, may tell us how to use the promise here in Romans.

He says, “But my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.” We have a problem discerning the difference between “need” and “desire”, I think. The people in Hebrews 11 who were most highly praised by God, of whom He says that “the World was not worthy” of them, were the ones who lived in abject poverty, having lost everything they owned because of their position in Christ, and who died in faith, seeking His eternal reward, rather than Earthly satisfaction and gratification. Now, that is a tough act to follow, but I would really rather follow that one than the one of the church at Laodicea, where the believers were physically healthy and wealthy, but spiritually sick and impoverished.

And what about accusations? We are maligned by the public and the press: they love to find someone who claims to be a believer, but who is caught in some sort of foolishness or sin, and plaster his or her shame all over the news. But what does God say?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth  (declares us righteous.)
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.

Ultimately, though we are warned to not feed that fire, so as to not give them ammunition against us, we are still to rest in Christ. The believers in Hebrews 11 also endured trials of cruel mocking, and were even imprisoned for their faith, had all their property confiscated by the state, and many were executed. Our position in Christ is what matters, and our faith is to be demonstrated in our proper behavior…not public sin and shameful acts. Don’t give them legitimate cause to attack you; but if you suffer for your right acts, because of your right beliefs, then bear up joyfully. Jesus says there is a great reward coming! That gives us Security!

Our Eternal Security in Christ

We are frequently called upon to defend our position in Christ: the accusation is that our condition as fallen sinners, still subject to the “sin that so easily besets us,” (Hebrews 12:1) somehow renders us “unfit for God’s Grace.” Please remember that the very definition of Grace is such that it can only be received by those who do not deserve it. Grace specifically means “un-earned” favor… unmerited favor. If you feel you deserve it, then it isn’t Grace at all! You must be thinking that God owes you something, because you are so good. You cannot earn God’s Grace—so quit trying to do so. Serve Him because He is worthy! Not to make yourself worthy!

But; in case you are worried about your security in Christ, look what He says about it:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (Notice that the first word is “who”, not “what.” This becomes important in verse 39.)
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Give that line some thought: He does not say, we “will be” more than conquerors. He says we “are” more than conquerors…it’s a “done deal!” How? Through Him that loved us!

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
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.

We can read through all these things and be properly impressed, and all, but still wonder, “But what if I just give up and quit? Won’t that separate me from Him? If I just completely rebel against His Grace and Love, and throw a spiritual “hissy-fit,” and blaspheme Him in my self-centered tantrums and anger… won’t that disqualify me?” (Do you remember Peter doing some stuff like that while he was in the process of denying he ever knew Jesus? Hmmm….)

Look at that last verse again: It says, “neither height nor depth, nor any other creature” (literally it says “any other created thing”)….

You just have to answer one question: “Am I a created thing?” (This is not a silly question: it is absolutely serious.) If you can admit to yourself that you are indeed a created thing…one of the “creatures” within God’s Creation, (beside the fact that you have been re-born; re-created in the image of God), then you must admit that you are also completely incapable of separating yourself from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus your Lord…your Master…your Savior.

You know what happens if you say “I quit!”?  He doesn’t! How do I know? Philippians 1:6 says, “He who has begun a good work in you will continue to perform it, (perfect it…carry it on to completion…) until the day of Jesus Christ.” He has begun a work in you, and He is not about to let you ruin it. Can you make it less profitable than it might have been? Sure…but do you really want to? He will not abandon you under any circumstances; but wouldn’t you like it to be a profitable relationship, with eternal results? That’s God’s desire for you, too!

Conclusion:

Now…what are you going to do about it? Are you willing to be conformed to His image? Are you willing to allow your life to be changed, to fulfill His purpose? Do you recognize that you truly have been called to serve Him: to lay aside your own selfish life and dreams for the sake of carrying out His desire?

Then open up your Bible and read it! Learn what He has for you to do. Learn how He wants you to respond to Him. Allow His Holy Spirit to teach you and Guide you. Fellowship with other believers around the person of Christ and around His written Word. Learn to share your faith with others, and begin to joyfully look for and anticipate opportunities to do so. Pray for God’s guidance, and expect Him to provide it.

Allow the realities of Romans chapters six through eight to transform your life, and make it a joyful experience. I pray that all of us can step into the realities of this passage. It isn’t easy: but it’s worth it!

Lord Jesus,

We do not claim to “have a handle on the Christian life.” Too frequently we allow the fears and griefs and desires of this world to saturate us and bring us down, so that we do not feel the Joy of your Salvation, though it has not left us. We want to experience that Joy, by Faith, and live in such a way as to be an encouragement to others. We want to serve you with our lives, and not drag our feet, resisting You. Please fill us with your Peace and Joy, and teach us to walk in the light of your Word. Let us be the ambassadors you have called us to be.

Amen!

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