THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE THE SAINTS

When God calls a man, He does not repent of it. God does not, as many friends do, love one day, and hate another; or as princes, who make their subjects favourites, and afterwards throw them into prison. This is the blessedness of a saint; his condition admits of no alteration. God's call is founded on His decree, and His decree is immutable. Acts of grace cannot be reversed. God blots out his people's sins, but not their names THOMAS WATSON

I hear so many people say that they believe that we can loss our salvation. How can that be when the bible clearly teaches that we are His forever by His Power, He will never abandon one His own. He gives us the grace and perservance to continue on in our walk. It is not to say we will not sin, because we know we will, but the difference is that the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin and we will repent. God is faithful to keep us till we join Him in Glory. Eternal Security is embedded in the doctrines of Perseverance.

It is a promise of God to keep us and mold us into His image.

Eph.1 13-14 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

When you look at the words “sealed” and “pledge” it is telling us, as believers if we are endwelled with the Holy Spirit that His promise of salvation is that if a believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit then the promise of salvation is permanant!

Romans 8:3o 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.

The problem some folks have is that if believers believe that they are saved and will never lose their salvation, that gives them the right to continuelly sin, which some see as "Free Grace". Well that is not so! As soon s you become a believer, you are a new creature.

2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

I think sometimes some think those that believe in the Perseverance of the Saints don't care about Sanctifaction only Justification, that is so untrue. Perseverance teaches that we are comform to the image of Christ. When we become a christian, the Holy Spirit within us grieves when we sin. Our desire will be to please God. It is not works we are doing but the Holy Spirit guiding our spirit to do good.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 10:27-28 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

This my favorite promise verse concerning Perseverance

Romans 8:38-39 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 created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing, I mean nothing is going to take ot of the hands of Jesus, we are sealed and preparing for delivery. His love is eternal as is our life with Him. There is nothing that will seprate us from His love.

Here is another great verse that speaks about how much Jesus loves us.

Matthew 18:12-14 12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 "And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 "Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Wow, is that not love. I pray that those that believe you can loose your salvation that they come to the "Saving" knowledge of Christ...I really don't know what to say about their salvation because if they do not believe that Jesus can keep them, how many times are they saved? My bible teaches you are only saved once..once and for all.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Php 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform until the day of Jesus Christ

And again another wonderful quote by C.S. Spurgeon. Ca you imagine sitting in the "Metropolitan Tabernacle" listening to him preach. What a blessing that must have been to those that were blessed to see the Lord work in Him!!

"Nay, where the Lord begins he will complete; and if he puts his right hand to any work, he will not stay until the work is done, whether it be to smite Pharaoh with plagues, and at last to drown his chivalry in the Red Sea, or to lead his people through the wilderness like sheep, and bring them in the end into the land that floweth with milk and honey. In nothing doth Jehovah turn from his intent. “Hath he said, and shall he not do it? hath he purposed it, and shall it not come to pass?” He is God and changeth not, and therefore the sons of Jacob are not consumed. There is a world of argument in the quiet words Which the apostle uses. He is confident, knowing what he does of the character of God, that he which hath begun a good work in his saints will perform it until the day of Christ."

Keep, keeping on Brothers and Sister, Heavena and Glory awaits us!!

Cristina

A CALLING

A CALLING

"I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love."
C.S. Spurgeon

What truer words spoken ! If God did not reach out to us, we surely would not seek Him out. It's not the thought that He would save the world, but just the thought of the depravity of man that, He would even choose one?
We do not deserve His forgiveness. We deserve hell. We are born with a sin nature, we are astranged from the womb.

Ecc 7:20 For not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Ephesians 2:1-3 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

When I think of the Lord choosing me as one of His children, it humbles me. I look at others that I find more worthy of Salvation then I am. When I look back now at my life before Jesus called me, I am totally amazed that He would choose me. I failed so much, there was so much sin in my life, so much rebellion.Why would He even think I was worthy of Him saving me, calling me, forgiving me? I read in the bible he choose me before the world was created. His plan was for me to be His child, His elect and ask Why Lord, Why me?

(John 6:39 KJV) And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

(John 17:24 KJV) Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world

Some folks statements are, "well if He chose you for salvation, he chose the others for damnation, what a loving God?" Well that is not true, God did not choose folks for damnation, we are all on our way to hell, only by God's grace and mercy are we saved. Sovereignly, God chose some for salvation, It was His sovereign choice to do so.

"(Rom 9:11-13 KJV) (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) {12} It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. {13} As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."

"(2 Tim 1:9 KJV) Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
God is in control, we are not the one that calls Him, He calls us. We have nothing to do with our salvation except responding to His calling.
You have to say to yourself if God did not predestine us unto Election, no one would be saved because the human heart is dead in sin and does not want anything to do with God.

Jer 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
"Christ did not die for any upon the condition, if they do believe; but He died for all God's elect, that they should believe."

C. S Spurgeon once said...
I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will. Free will carried many a soul to hell, but never a soul to heaven.


Here is a song I heard for the first time at church today and the words are so beautiful.

HE KNOW MY NAME

I have a maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hand
ChorusHe knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call
I have a Father
He calls me his own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go
ChorusHe knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call...


He knows my name and if you one of the Elect, He knows your name. He has always known us. WOW. When I heard this song this morning it brought tears to my eyes because it tells us how important we are to Him. Praise God, He knows me by my name. He knew way before I was born that my name would be Cristina without an "H". He knows my every thought...humbling. He sees every tear I cry and when you think about,when we are sad or hurting, who is it we reach out to...God. Oh Lord how can I thank you for what you have done in my life, what you have given me, the joy of a family, the joy of friendships, but mostly the joy of Salvation. I am humbled by the fact that you knew me and all my sin and yet you loved me any way.

I'm so glad that God chose me before the foundation of the world, because he never would have chosen me after I was born!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Cristina

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIM!!

August 24, 2006

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR HUSBAND!!

I pray you have a wonderful Birthday. I love you with all my heart and I am so glad that the Lord brought you into my life!! I am truly blessed!!

Love Cristina

TOLERANCE

"We are called to peace as God's people. We are called to war as God's people. We are called to peace with those who are like-minded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are called to war with those, to contend for the faith against those, who oppose the truth of the Word of God."

I once heard "Religion Tolerance is an act of terrorism on the truth", and I have to agree 100%. How can we compromise the truth for the sake of Tolerance. The problem is truth divides, the bible speaks of it. Doctine should be enbraced instead of being feared. We should want to study it, speak about it and apply it.

ALL Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3.16-17).

When I hear people speak of tolerance, when discussing the Word of God, when people say, "Well we need be tolerant and watch the words we speak, just in case we offend someone." I say, "Phooey!!!" No mater how loving you talk about the truth of God, if the other person is not regenerated, they will be offended! The Truth offends and it divides! Biblical love will never minimize how import Bible Doctrine is.

We should not fear doctrine, we should embrace it, and we should want to discuss it. That's what mature Christians do as they seek to grow up in the faith. A church that is will grow and thrive on doctrinal discussions, and the results will be believers who understand the mind of God better, and who love one another more through the process.

(Revelation 3:15-16) "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

There are too many churches out there that are sacrificing the Word of God in the name of tolerance. The Purpose Driven Life is a good example of that. If you go the Lighthouse Trail site you can read up on it and so much more. I would encourage you to do so...

Getting back to Tolerance, you hear about and see it so much in the churches now a days. People will be first comers and I hear members say to one another, let's take this slow we don't want to scare them away. Phooey again!! This may be the only chance that you may get to share the gospel with that person.

I am amazed at the lack of knowledge folks have concerning the Word of God. (I'm not saying I know it all, because I have so much to learn yet) My husband taught at the last church we we were members of and I was amazed when he taught about the "Doctrine of Grace" how some of the folks were offended by the fact that God elects. They came a couple of times as Jim taught through the Doctrines of Grace and by the time he got to "Limited Atonement" they never returned. Again, because Jim did not give them the answers they wanted and tolerate their unbelief, doctrine divided again, with even christians???

If we truly love a brother or sister,we will not tolerate their ignorance of the Word. We will do our best to help them understand and turn it over to God. God is more than able to open the persons heart to understanding, but then He uses His own also to help. True Unity never come at the expense of Truth. True unity can only happen when we can function together in the truth. (Eph. 4 1-6) The ones that hold back on unity are the ones that do not stand obidient to the Word Of God. When doctrine becomes the problem, truth must prevail!

Good Quote.."... The response to these people? 'Turn away from them' ... We as believers are to pay close attention, to watch out for, those who are causing dissension and hindrances by teaching contrary to the Word of God, and we are to turn away from them. Have nothing to do with them ... Anyone who advocates doctrine contrary to the Word is creating conflict within the body of Christ ... And dissension/division is always the result ... We must carefully, carefully evaluate the content of what is being presented. There is no other way to discern evil.

Tolerance is not something a christian should ever do to go against God's Word. The more we become tolerant the more we are going to see the building and the growth of The ecumenical Church. We are at war with the world and the more we don't water down the Word of God, the stronger the battle will be. Satan is cheering for the tolerance the churches are practicing today. We need to put the full armor of God on and fight the good fight! Get the true Gospel out there!

Cristina

INTEGRITY

As a christian I ask, "Does our integrity matter"? I sometimes wonder if we worry more about the outer man, then the inner man? The outer man is harder to hide. We can't always hide behind makeup or bigger clothes or masks. But the inner man is easier to hide, by phoniness. But what is more important to God?

1 Samuel 13:14, "But now your kingdom shall not endure, 'The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart.'"

What is more important to God is the heart of man, not how he looks, but by the way he lives his life. We all battle with desires in our life, but integrity is shown when we follow the Lord's leading. We have to decide which prevails, pleasing God or pleasing self? We struggle every day making the right or wrong decisions. If we are a man/woman of itegerty we will do what God would want us to do.

We have to keep remembering that God sees all, sometimes I forget this, God Please forgive me. Psalm 44:21, "Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart." He sees everything we do! Now this is very humbling. When I sin, I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit working in me and I sometimes actually feel like lowering my head in shame, and rightfully so.

Hebrews 4:13, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."

It is just like Adam and Eve felt when they sinned in the Garden, they felt naked before the Lord.We have to remember sin grieves our Lord, yet when we repent He is joyous over it, Wow!! What a Lord we serve, such a love for His own, that He continuelly forgives us and restores us.

Now I look at the description of The Virtuous Woman and think to myself, now there's "Intergerity." http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-bible-text/Pr-31.html
To follow what the Word of God says by being "A Virtuous Woman" is something we as women should strive for.

Integrity for the position of Pastor is so important too because without integrity how can you lead a church.

Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain.

So, when you look at that verse, you have to ask yourself, "What should a leader of a church be like?". The leader of a church should be a man of integrity. He should be a husband that loves his wife and is a good leader of his home, because if there are problems at homes, he will surely bring them to the church. He should be a humble man, not self willing. How can you serve two masters and have integrity, it's impossible. We must serve him selflessly, Him and Him alone. Integrity never comes cheap. It also reveals who, or what, you worship.

Prov 29:23 A man's pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. (KJV)

Christians must seek to behave among men in a way that brings praise to their Father in heaven.J.I. Packer Now that's Integrity!!

You see, we are successful when we are steadily becoming the unique person God intends us to become and when we are doing what he asks us to do.

We are to conform to His likeness, and when we compromise our integrity for sake of pleasing ourselves we are taking the Glory from the one who deserve it. Integrity falls in the same line as Humility, we are to walk with the Lord so that others that are watching see Christ in us. He was fully 100% humble and had 100% integrity. How much of a percentage do you have , how much do I have? Integrity, is what the world sees of you as they look at us under a microscope watching and waiting for us to sin. What a responsibility we have!


Your character is who you are when no one but God is watching you.

Cristina

A WIFE IS TO SUBMIT TO HER HUSBAND

(1 Peter 3:1-3) 1 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 3 And let not your adornment be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. 6 Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear .

Submission started at the beginning in Genisis. In the beginning when there was no sin, there was no one that had authority over man or woman to obey except God. When sin entered the world through Adam and Eve disobeying God, Authority was needed and that authority was given to man, Adam. In Genesis, it tells us that Adam is to submit to God as Christ did to God and women are to follow that instruction.

As a wife we are to submit to our husband's leading, it should be a natural response of a christian wife to the leader of the home, her husband. It sure does help when a husband is obeying God in his role as a husband by loving the wife like Christ loved the church. And it helps the husband also when we as women submit. There maybe be times, no there will be times, when submission may be tough, but even in those times we are to sumit if we want to please God.

Ephesians 5:25-33

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

I remember when I first became a christian and we we attending a church in which a couple shared their story of salvation and submission. This couple were married for a few years and the wife Maria, came to know the Lord. Well her husband was in the Navy and was not a saved man. Marie's walk grew in Christ in leaps and bounds. Her husband Rick told us, he loved his wife very much but could not grasp this "Christianty" stuff. Marie, walk the walk of a christian and Rick seen this. She submitted to His authority and he was most amazed by this. She would tell him, God's word tells me that I am to submit to you as a husband. There were times she had a hard time doing it but she knew it was what God wanted her to do. Rick would sometimes ask her not to go to church but stay home with him and she did. He noticed those times that it bothered her not to go church so he stopped asking her to do that. As I said previously, Rick loved Marie very much. Finally one day as Marie was leaving for church, Rick asked if she minded him tagging along and Marie was so thrilled and said yes, it would mean the world to her for him to be sitting beside her at church. Rick attended that Sunday and God drew Him onto Himself and Rick was saved. Rick will tell you today that it was the Lord that drew him onto salvation but it was Marie, He used as the tool to show Him the way. He said it was her submission to him that made a big difference to him because it showed him how much she loved him.

Submission is a continual attiude we should all follow not just as husband and wife but submission to our bosses, our friends, our family but mostly to God. We should be able to yield to one another as husband and wife. I think when we look at where the woman came from, the rib of Adam, I think God meant for us to work side by side with each other, excepting the roles God has bestowed on us, obeying God and submitting to our husbands.

Cristina

ANGER

Charles Spurgeon once quoted that "Anger is temporary insanity" and in some sense I have to agree with him. When we get angry we usually loose control of the situation or someone has gotten us so mad we loose it and blow up.

I think we all vent sometimes and I think that is ok. We should have the freedom to say how we feel but, when that venting crosses the line and turns into anger then I think that is sin. God does bring things into our lives to help us grow in grace and I believe sometimes He allows situations to happen to us to test our walk. I mean how do we grow in grace if life was just plain easy. The grestest growth in a christian's walk is when a trial comes into our life and we deal with it like Christ would. We can learn so much by, like I said in my previous post by "Waiting on the Lord"

Anger never solves anything! What we need to do is focus on Christ and maybe ask Him, "Why He has brought this into my life and what can I do to deal with it without getting angry?"

Now saying all that, I think sometimes we are justified for being angry. I think when we see someone being hurt or abused, we have a right to be angry. But, even then we can use the situation to bring glory to God by the way we react. Seeing someone hurt a little child get's me riled up, I can not understand the abuse of a child that can not deffend themselves, so that would be tough for me.

I know when I have anger on my heart, I find it very hard to sleep. It eats at me, it causes me to not be in full fellowship with the Lord or with the person I am angry at. The bible teaches us not go to sleep until we have resolved our anger.

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. (Ephesians 5: 26-27)

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. (Proverbs 16: 32)

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:8-10)

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.--(Proverbs 15:1)

A few good quotes on anger.....

An angry man opens his mouth and shuts up his eyes.


A truly humble man is sensible of his natural distance from God; of his dependence on Him; of the insufficiency of his own power and wisdom; and that it is by God's power that he is upheld and provided for, and that he needs God's wisdom to lead and guide him, and His might to enable him to do what he ought to do for Him.
—Jonathan Edwards

Cristina