Eternal Security: Can Anything Separate Us From God? | Romans 8 Bible Study

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Good evening. Once again, it's good to have you all with us. And for those of you in television, that last half hour just went so fast. We're going to have to pick up where we left off on our stand on the eternal security of the true believer. So I'd like to have you turn with me tonight, picking that up in Romans 8 once again. And we'll drop down to verse 35, because even though Genesis is interesting and I always feel as though all those Old Testament teachings are so foundational, yet there are times when I think the Holy Spirit behooves us to jump into the New Testament and pick up some things that are so apropos for us today in 1991. All right, in verse 35, then, of Romans 8, on this same concept, are we secure once we have entered into that arc of safety and the door has been shut? Or do we have to somehow work and worry and strain and hang on lest we be lost? My, that would be awful. I've had so many people come in my classes, and I make no apology that I think the biggest part of my ministry is teaching believers and to bring them into this place of really understanding and loving the Word of God and the God that bought them, albeit God has certainly given me, I think, more than my share of lost people to His glory. But nevertheless, if believers can just come to this place of trusting, now, that's not license. Oh, I always have to follow that right up with that. Grace is not license. Now, it's a possibility. God does not hamstring us, but it's not license. All right, now look at the promises, then, in Romans 8, beginning in verse 35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Can any of those things take us out of that arc of safety? Verse 36, as it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Now, we've been fortunate in America. We don't know what that is. But you know why I read the Adonai? There are more Christians being martyred right now in the world in 1991 than at any other time in human history. I couldn't believe it, but somebody wrote that, and I have to trust that they knew what they were talking about. There are so many areas of the world where life is cheap, and religion, you see, is coming on so strongly, and most religionists have absolutely no tolerance for a Christian. And so, I tend to believe it. There are probably more people being martyred for their faith than at any time in human history in other areas of the world. We in America don't know. I hope it never comes. It certainly could. The setting is there, and I think it could come a lot faster than most of us like to think. But whatever, as yet, we fortunately don't know what it is to come under this kind of pressure. All right, then verse 37, Paul writes, "...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers..." You see, that includes everything. That includes the powers of Satan, that entails the power of the human intellect, because I've even had people tell me this, Oh, no, God won't cast me out, but I can take myself out. Oh, you can? You're greater than God? You better think twice before you say something like that, because God's power is supreme, and he has placed us in this arc of safety. So Paul says that nothing, principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, or anything in creation, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now go back to the flood a moment. Not in your Bible, but in your mind. "...have to destroy man." What does that next verse say? But Noah found grace, see? Noah found grace. It was that love of God for that righteous man Noah that brought about the instructions to build the ark and to have that place of safety. All right, now same way with us. It's the love of God that constrained us and that pulled us in to that place of safety. Now in Romans 9, 10, and 11, and I guess here I can put a little something on the board, you know that in English and in our grammar or our sentence structure, we can put in what we call a parenthesis, can't we? And we do it quite often even in our speech. Now something that is parenthetical is something that does not have to be there, because we've got the complete sentence. This together with this makes the complete sentence, doesn't it? And this is just complementary. But what can you do with a parenthetical part of that sentence? Well, you can take it out. You can just simply remove it, and what do you still have? Well, you've still got your complete sentence. It still makes sense, even with that section removed. All right, now this is the way chapters 9, 10, and 11 sit in the book of Romans. They're parenthetical. Now from chapter 8, which we've just been looking at, for 9, 10, and 11, Paul deals almost primarily with the nation of Israel, just sort of a departure from those first eight chapters. So they're parenthetical. All right, now let's use that concept. Let's just mentally take 9, 10, and 11 and lift them out and see if we haven't got a complete sentence. Now turn to chapter 12, verse 1. Chapter 12, verse 1, remembering what chapter 8 said, the last verse says, 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. Now chapter 12, verse 1, I beseech you therefore. See? What's the therefore? Because of what he had just instructed us in chapter 8. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. The what? The mercies of God. Not because we deserve it, but because of God's grace, His mercy. And because of all that He has done for us without putting any strings on it. But what does He beg of us? And that's what the word beseech means. It means I beg of you, see? It's still left up to you to respond however you want. But oh, what does God expect? And that's the word. He expects that we present our soul, no, what, body, see? The whole person. As a result of our regeneration, as a result now of our new life in Christ Jesus, what's it to do with this body? Well, it's to control it, to affect it. And what does it do? That we might present it a living sacrifice. Oh, not one that's put on the altar as Isaac was to be put to death, but what? A sacrifice that can continue on living. One just comes to mind. Keep your hand here in Romans. Turn back with me to Hebrews. I think it's in chapter 13. Yeah, Hebrews chapter 13. And I'll let this become a precious verse to you. Hebrews chapter 13. Go with me? All right, Hebrews 13. Let's just begin with verse 10. For we have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle. Now, of course, Paul is, and I'm sure Paul wrote Hebrews, Paul is addressing primarily again, if I may use the word, Hebrew believers. And so there's this constant bringing of the Old Testament economy and explaining how something far better has taken its place. So this is the reason for this. And then he says, verse 11, for the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned, where? Without the camp. Now, you know what a stench burning flesh is. And so it was repulsive. And so they were to be destroyed way outside the camp. All right, verse 12. Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered, where? Without the gate. Why wouldn't the Jews let him be crucified inside the city wall? It was so reproachful. The cross was a place of terrible reproach, and they weren't about to let that take place in the city wall. And so they crucified him outside the city because of its reproach. All right, let's go on. Verse 13, let us go forth therefore unto him outside the camp, bearing his what? Reproach. Now, again, in America, we've never understood this. But you go back and you read history, secular history of the Dark Ages, and I'm kind of amused when our present-day students in high school or college or university, the history books have almost totally removed any reference at all to Christianity. But someone who graduated from one of our Oklahoma universities several years ago, quite a few years ago, brought me his textbook on American history, not on American history, but on ancient history. And it was dealing with that whole period of time that we know as the Dark Ages. And you know, 99% of the context of that university history textbook dealt with the religion that was in Europe in the Dark Ages. Religion was in the basis of everything that took place. Now, that was the time of the Crusades, you remember. And the Crusaders were trying to liberate Jerusalem from the Moors, if I remember correctly. But everything that happened was based on religion. All right, now in the name of religion, then, they have always persecuted the true believer. I don't care what group it was that happened to have the upper hand. And so we don't understand what that was like. But you see, Christians have been the fodder of the mills of persecution for centuries. It's just that we've been so fortunate to be born in America. All right, so basically, Christianity has always been something of reproach, that is true Christianity. Now, verse 14, for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. In other words, the songwriter has put it how? This world is not my home. We're just passing through. Now, here's the verse I wanted you to see. Verse 15, by him therefore. In other words, because of God's grace, because we have now entered into the ark of safety by virtue of his shed blood, of his death, burial, and resurrection. What are we to do? Let us. Now, watch the language. It's not a command again. But what is it? Like beseech, see? Let us. It's up to you. But oh, please, God says, let us offer the sacrifice of what? Praise to God continually. Not just once a week, not just on Sunday morning at 11 o'clock. You know, that's what most people think is all that's required anymore to be a Christian. And if you're there every Sunday for 52 weeks, boy, you are the epitome of spirituality, huh? Listen, that is by far the weakest criteria for spirituality. Now, I'm all for the local church, and I'm all for, and in fact, I've always told my people that come to my class, if you have something that's in your church calendar that's important, that's where I think you ought to be. And I never want to interfere with any of the workings of the local church, not at all. But oh, here, this is a continual, all through the week, not just on Sunday, a continual, that is the fruit of our what? Lips, see? Not of your billfold, not of anything else, but in this instance, what does he want? The lips of praise. Now, is that so hard to fulfill? My, and the minute we get up in the morning, what does God want to hear? Oh, He wants to hear praise, that He's given us another day of His grace, that He's extended health or strength or whatever we need, and He wants to hear it from our lips. Don't just say, well, He can see it in my heart. No, God wants us to communicate with Him, and that's the whole idea of prayer. Now, read it again. By Him, therefore, verse 15, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Isn't that perfect? All right, now then, let's come back, and I want to look at one more portion in the New Testament before we go back to Genesis, and that would be in Ephesians. Now, this is in that same line of thought that we started last week as we left Noah and all the creatures in the ark, and God shut the door. Their safety has been made secure by the pitch, which, remember, was analogous to the blood of Christ. We also are in the ark of safety. Now, let's come into Ephesians chapter 1, and, oh, let's drop down at verse 6. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6, to the praise of the glory of His grace. Now, I didn't intend this, but do you see how that fit with what we just read? Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted, not by who we are, not by what we have done, but we're accepted how? In the Beloved. Who's the Beloved? The Lord Jesus. So, we're accepted in what He has accomplished on our behalf. Verse 7, in whom we have redemption through His, what? Through His blood. Do you see the emphasis now? We are redeemed through the power of His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. You see why I emphasize grace? Oh, so many people think that somehow they have to do something that merits all this. Well, that's human nature. There's nothing human race would love better than if God would have said, well, now, if you'll just do such and such, I'll save you. That's what the human race would like to be able to do, but we can't. We have to just lean back and say, there's nothing I can do because God has already done everything that's required of me. That's grace. Now then, verse 8, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. When we enter into His grace, what does He do with the Word? Oh, He just opens it up to us. I have seen people, got a gentleman sitting right here, and he'd be the first to admit that when he first came into my class, he knew nothing of this book, and oh, how he's grown in grace and how he has got so many of these things so absolutely right. Well, I didn't do it. The Spirit does those things. He opens it, and He gives us, as it says here, wisdom and prudence. Verse 9, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation or the administration of the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. In other words, it's all His, and He's going to bring it all together in His own time, in whom we also have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Now we're getting closer to the verses that I want to hone in on, and that is verse 12 and to the end of verse 14, that we should be to the praise of His glory, we who first, what's the next word, trusted. Now, how much work is involved in trusting? None. See, trusting is the same word as what? Believing, and believing and faith. So you've got trust, believe, and faith. They're all basically synonymous. All right, so it's in Him that we believe, we placed our faith, we trusted. When? After what? After we heard the word of truth. And what's the word of truth? The gospel of your salvation. And remember, what's the gospel? First Corinthians 15, that Christ died, was buried, and rose again. That's the gospel. Nothing more, nothing less. All right, when we heard that, when we heard the gospel, then the Holy Spirit, look what happens now. Then you heard the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after you, what's the word? Believed. You see the emphasis? In whom you trusted, you heard the word, you believed. Now look what God did. You were, what's the word? Sealed. See? You were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now, before we go into verse 14, turn back with me to the little book of Jude, way at the back of your Bible. In fact, you can just as well go to the book of Revelation, that's the last one. Turn to the left, and you come to the first little epistle, Jude. Book of Revelation, turn back to the left, and there's Jude. First verse, first verse, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James, to them that are sanctified. So, who's he writing to? Believers who are sanctified by God the Father, and what's the next word? Preserved. Now, I imagine most of you gals no longer put up preserves and not much canning, but I think it's coming back. Maybe you know anyway. But when you preserve something, when you put something in that fruit jar and you seal it, how long do you expect it to be good? From then on, if something wrong doesn't happen, that material is safe. It's preserved. It means the same thing here. Now, come back with me to Ephesians, and we have that same word, see? That we have been sealed. It's a mark of ownership, but it is also a mark of preservation. And how long is God going to preserve us? Read into verse 14, that this sealing by the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption. Now, you're going to say, well, I thought we were already redeemed. Oh, we are. We're redeemed, but yet not totally because, see, this old body is still here. It's still in the flesh. It's still prone to sickness and weakness and sin and all the rest. There's coming a time when even this body is going to be redeemed. It's going to be changed. It's going to be like His glorious body. Now then, verse 14 again, which is the earnest. Now, our real estate lady isn't here, otherwise I was going to put her on the spot and say, now, what is earnest money in a real estate transaction especially? It's a down payment. But a hundred dollars on a $200,000 home, that's no down payment. Somebody could skip town and forget about that hundred dollars. But when you have earnest money, what is it? It is such a big payment that nobody's going to walk away from it. And that's what God has done with us. He has sealed us. He's preserved us. He has made us His own, and it is His earnest money until we finally enter into that great day, the resurrection day, and we receive our new body and we'll be with Him in glory. Now, this is all the act of God Himself. We haven't done a thing with this. It was all triggered the moment we what? Believed. Oh, and people want to work. But now, here, we have to be careful. And we touched on this the other night. And I've got a retired pastor, and his wife is retired from the mission field. He came up afterward, and he said, my, Les, he said, I appreciate this tonight. He said, this is what people need. All right, we've only got a couple moments left. Go back with me quickly, if you will, to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and I hope I can wind this up and then so that our next half hour we can go back to Genesis chapter 7. So, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, now verse 9, here is what God is expecting of us. Even though salvation is a free gift, we are totally set at liberty. We're free. This is what God expects. Verse 9, we are laborers together with God. You're God's husbandry. You're God's building. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder. Now, Paul doesn't claim that he's anything but the contractor. He's merely carrying out what God has already established. A wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereupon. Now, Paul is using here an analogy of building something. And so, I like to tell my client, now just imagine there's a long block wall or even a brick wall, and every one of us have been given a little section of that wall to put in our bricks. We're laborers in that great work of God, but let's just picture it now as a building made of bricks. All right, Paul laid the foundation, but he's not the foundation. Who's the foundation? Jesus is. See, he says, verse 11, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, verse 12, now if, and that word if is conditional, if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, you've got two different categories of material. Look at them real quickly. Gold, silver, and precious stones, fire can't hurt them. Wood, hay, and stubble, fire puts them up in a puff of smoke. Now, those are the things that every believer is given to put in his little section of the wall. All right, now then quickly, verse 13, every man's work, that is as a believer now, every man's work as a believer shall be made manifest. It's going to be put in the spotlight someday, and I think it's going to be at the bema seat, the judgment seat of Christ. For the day shall declare it. Declare what? What have we done with our Christian life? What have we done with our little section of the wall? Because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall test every man's work of what it is, gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, and stubble. Now then, verse 14, if any man's work abide, it's gold, silver, and precious stones, he shall receive what? A reward. And if any man's work shall be burned, in other words, he's put in nothing but wood, hay, and stubble, nothing really that counted. All right, it shall be burned, and he shall suffer loss, not a salvation, but loss of what? Reward, because the rest of the verse says it. Yet he himself shall be saved. Now, in that plain English, there's going to be a multitude of Christians going out to meet the Lord with nothing in their section of the wall but a bunch of old sticks like the three pigs, nothing that stood for anything. Oh, they're saved. They're going to be there, but they'll have no reward. And Paul alludes to this throughout his letters. He uses the Olympics so often. He said, everyone that enters the Olympic race runs for what? The prize. And so he says, so run you that you might receive the prize. And then he says, and they ran for corruptible, you for an incorruptible. And so he says, and they ran for corruptible, you for an incorruptible, you for an incorruptible.