October 8 Sermon: Held by God

Here we are today. We're finishing up our five week series on understanding grace, and what we have been doing is we've been looking at the doctrines of grace and we'll review those here in just another second but today we are considering the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Now, during our journey through these five points in the doctrines of grace, I have been pointing out that there is a logical progression and consistency to these doctrines, and so it all starts out with our understanding of total depravity. We see that in the tulip acronym here that we have that total depravity is the first one, and that is important because our understanding of grace starts with that idea. This doctrine of total depravity teaches that in the fall, we become separated from God. We are dead in our sin and because we are dead, this renders us incapable of moving towards God on our own. And because this is the state that sin has plunged us into, we need intervention by God. We need His unconditional election, because we aren't moving towards God on our own, because dead people don't move and so we need God to appoint us unto salvation, and because it is God that is doing this work, we understand that this is a definite salvation that we have.

We talked about limited atonement or definite atonement, and we came to an understanding that the work of Jesus was not for every person who ever lived, that everyone was saved in a blanket way, a universalism, but instead Jesus died for His people. Jesus was not on the cross thinking I hope this works. Instead, he was there, dying for the particular people that he will bring to faith, and so we saw that the atonement, then, is limited in its scope of who it's effective for. And so we then saw that we come to this great, definite salvation because we're changed by God, we're transformed by the Spirit. It's through the work of the Holy Spirit that we are brought to spiritual life, and we understand our deep need for this irresistible grace that God has given to us, that we are changed, and because of all of this being a work of God and not our work, we trust that the people of God are going to persevere to the end. God has done this work, and so he holds on to us and he keeps us in the faith, and that is the big idea that we're looking at today. 

It's important that we understand this doctrine because it's something that's extremely practical for you and I as we live in God's world, because we face adversity not only from without, but you and I have adversity within, don't we? We have days where we may find it easy to hold on to the promises of God, and the next day might be a struggle for us. And, as the people of God, we have a great blessing to know that we are God's own and that, because he has laid a hold of us, we don't need to feel as though we're going to lose God's hand of blessing upon us. He has pulled us from sin and death and hell, and he has not placed us on the top of a sin wall where you and I walk our lives wondering which way we're going to teeter. Are we going to teeter into the heaven side or fall into our doom on the hell side? He has not done that for His people. Instead, he gives us confidence. God rescues His people and he lays hold of them. He does not let us go, and this idea is a theme that we see all throughout Scripture. 

So back earlier this summer, when we were in the Psalms, I pointed out a familiar phrase that we see in the Psalms and we saw it again in these three verses that we read from Psalm 57 today. And as I was pondering verses to express this idea of the perseverance of the saints this week and I was trying to think of what we should have from the Old Testament, there were a lot of ideas that came to mind for me, lots of stories that point to this idea. But as I was considering it, it was these words that we see the steadfast love and faithfulness of God. Those are such powerful words here in Psalm 57 and we see them all throughout the book of Psalms. But along with it here we get some really powerful imagery. We're crying out for the mercy of God. Here we see that the psalmist understands that this is a gift from God. He says that his soul takes refuge in God, but he does it because of the steadfast love and faithfulness that God has shown to him. And I love when Scripture uses the word refuge, when it says that we take refuge in God, because I think that is a word that we can deeply understand, that we can feel that we know it deeply resonates with us, because most of us have been in some sort of circumstance in our lives where we have sought refuge of some kind.

Now, most likely for us, this was in a storm, and I'm also guessing that there have been times where you have had refuge that you felt pretty good about in a storm. But I'm also guessing there's been times where you were thinking this ain't holding up. Now, in my many years of doing youth ministry, there were several times when we would be at, say, a music festival or a summer camp when we would find that there was a summer storm warning. Those happen, right, we had to find shelter from these strong storms that were coming. And there were many times where I stood in a beach bath house or in a rickety cabin Wondering how is this any better than me standing outside, other than I'm staying dry? And I've also waited out a tornado warning at a music festival with students crammed in the back of our minivan Boy, did I feel safe there? If the storms had actually hit With any force in any of those circumstances, we would have been in serious, serious trouble. All we were doing was keeping dry, getting out of the elements.

We didn't have a true refuge and a fortress, but this is not the idea that we get about how God shelters his people. He is described as a refuge, as a fortress, many times and we see that when God takes hold of his people, they shall not be moved. That's the imagery that we get from scripture and it is strong imagery that we see here. Not only is there speaking of a refuge, but we see that God holds his people in the shadow of his wings. Now, if you'll remember, back To this past summer, we saw the same imagery in one of the Psalms that we were looking at and I said we need to remember that there's a double meaning of us being in the shelter of God's wings. Yes, there's that familiar imagery that we understand, that idea of a mother bird Holding and nurturing her chicks close. But we also have to remember in scripture there is the wings of the seraphim. They are pictured in the temple. They have these strong wings. These are the angels of God who go and do his bidding and protect his people. So there is not only the nurturing of God as a refuge, but there is power and there is strength. There's an emphasis here on what God does. He has the power to hold and to keep his people. He is able to protect them. He is able to hold on to them and he is not a God who will let them go. And I remind you, but the reason that this is the case, because it is so clear to us that God is able to do this, because it isn't what we have done. 

The psalmist doesn't merit God being his refuge. Here he says it is because of his steadfast love and his faithfulness. God has rescued his people and so he keeps them, he protects them, and we get this idea not only in the Psalms, but also in the stories of God's people throughout the history of the Old Testament. Now, of course, there are peaks and valleys to the history of God's people. Right, there are times where things are going well and there's times where there's nothing but a remnant left. But the ultimate story is that God is keeping his promise, that God is showing his steadfast love and faithfulness To his people, no matter what. That is the big theme coming through in the story of the people of God. God continually keeps a people for himself, and it's all because he is the one who brings his people to this salvation that they desperately need. 

And we get this idea as we move to the New Testament and we see first Peter 3 through 5 tell us this story of not only salvation but of God keeping his people. And we actually get the idea here, in first Peter 3 through 5, much of what we've been looking at in the doctrines of grace. Right In verse 3 we get the idea that this is all a gift from God. It is God that has done something for his people, and we read what he has done here. He has caused us to be born again. It is the work of God, it isn't of our doing. God is the reason that we are born again. And in this we get this idea of total depravity right, because it shows our inability, because if we need to be born again, there was something wrong with where we were before. We need this new life, we need this restart. That's the idea of rebirth in the Bible new life and, as I always say, the image that scripture gives us helps us to understand the clarity of our problem. You and I, in our sin, are not in need of a little tweak here or there, or Maybe a little bit of medicine to make us well.

The idea in scripture is inability, and only God can do this Salvation for his people. And how is it described here? It's described as a living hope, and those two words together are powerful Just on their own. Living hope is a powerful statement, but what do we see here? Peter gives these words even more authority. This living hope is due to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This isn't just a promise of words. Peter isn't just talking about a living hope. It is a promise that was fulfilled in action. It's not just words saying you're gonna have a living hope. It is a promise delivered by the work of the Messiah for his people, and it is the work of Jesus that does this.

And it's paramount, absolutely paramount, that we understand that this is what the apostles taught. This is what the New Testament is about. They didn't walk around teaching. Well, there may have been this guy named Jesus. We're going to tell you stories about him. Maybe or maybe not they're true, and maybe or maybe not, he was crucified by the civil and religious authorities and maybe or maybe not, he rose from the dead. But the truth is important that there's these stories that tell about how we can have new spiritual life. That is not what the apostles wandered around Palestine preaching. That's not why they were martyred. They were martyred because they proclaimed Christ and him crucified and resurrected, that he rose bodily from the grave.

It is a living hope and because this is the living hope, we trust that this is something that God does for us, because it's not rooted in the abstract or in the ethereal spiritual world. It is rooted in the actual bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is why it's called a living hope. The New Testament teaches an actual bodily resurrection of Jesus, which is the guarantee of an actual bodily resurrection for those who have been united to Jesus by faith. And this is the deliverance that we have from our state of total depravity. And we receive that deliverance by this unconditional election, by a definite atonement, and we receive by grace, through faith, because we have been transformed and given new life by the Spirit. All of this is because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and because of this unbelievably good news.

What do we have? What do we read about here? It's an inheritance, and that's good enough as it is. If you found out after you left here from today, that you have an inheritance, you're going to wonder what it is, but you're happy with anything you get because you didn't have to do anything to receive it. That would be exciting news for us, right? You're getting essentially something for nothing, but Peter lets us know that this gets even better.

Let's look at the words that Paul uses to describe this inheritance. It shows us this perseverance of the saints we're discussing today. He says that they are imperishable, undefiled, unfading. Those are strong words. Those are really strong words. This inheritance isn't going to run out and it isn't going to end up in a landfill. This inheritance can't be stained or ruined by the world and the inheritance that the people of God have it does not fade.

All of those things are difficult for us to comprehend, because everything around us perishes, everything around us is defiled, everything around us fades, and so we struggle to understand this idea of something that's imperishable, undefiled, unfading. But as we look at all those things around us that don't reflect those characteristics, we understand that that is not the case of the gospel. All that has been done to rescue us from sin, death and hell is preserved for us. This salvation that you have in Christ is no small thing. It came at a cost, and it was the precious blood of the beloved Son that secured it for us. Our sin and rebellion against the Holy God required the ultimate price and it was all paid for by God Himself. And if he acquired it at great cost and acquired a people for Himself through this, he is going to secure it, he is going to hold onto it. 

It will be imperishable, undefiled and unfading, and so this statement here about it being revealed at the last time doesn't mean that there's going to be new information about how we're saved at the end of history or something like that. The idea being expressed by Peter here is that this undefiled, great gift from God is going to be seen by us fully when Christ returns at the end of history to deliver His Kingdom to His Father. And we know that the power of God will be displayed to us when we're brought up from our graves to this living hope, when the faith that we have becomes sight. That is the promise that we have that God keeps us to the end, and we will see it with our own eyes. And I can honestly say this doctrine of the perseverance of saints is something that's a delight to preach. 

I don't know that I would want to preach without this assurance, backing up my proclamation of Christ to you, because I'm not coming before you each week and telling you you have to reach a higher level, you've got to get better, to keep your favor with God. And I'm also not burdened with standing in front of you and warning you that you might have done something this past week that will put you below the threshold of heaven. No-transcript. I stand before you each and every week in proclaim Christ and Him crucified, trusting in its power to not only bring you to faith, to build you in faith, but to keep you in the faith. That is the confidence. I stand before you each week in proclaim Christ crucified to you. What a gift to the people of God that you have been given this gift of faith. You have repented of your sins, and so God only has given you this gift, but he keeps you in that faith.

And before we move on to consider the assurance that we get from the words of Jesus in John 10, I want to address the difference between what we are considering today and what people call once saved, always saved. You probably heard those phrases. Now, those four words together are most assuredly what we are talking about here. We do believe that once you are truly saved, you are always saved, but the way it is talked about in the greater Christian culture isn't what we are talking about today With that statement of once saved, always saved. 

It is usually viewed by a view of salvation that is transactional. There is something that you need to do. You need to choose God and once you make that choice, hey, the transaction has taken place. You are good to go for eternity. You know how this works. If you, say, walked in aisle at a youth event and you said a prayer after hearing a speaker make you scared of hell and you cried a certain amount of tears, then you are in, no matter what. You just have to do that. That is the transaction. 

Now, I am not saying that legitimate conversions don't come from those experiences. That is not what I am saying. What I am saying is that our understanding of eternal security is that, because we don't do this on our own, we are not the ones who keep it, but God has brought us to faith and he keeps us. We don't have salvation forever because we put our name on the heaven contract. We have salvation forever because salvation is of God and he is the one who keeps us. Once again, we are trusting that the God who laid hold of us in Christ is faithful to keep His people in the faith, and, honestly, I find so much more comfort in this idea than the idea that one day I said a prayer or walked an aisle and now I am good to go for eternity. I don't want a feeling of I am saved no matter what I do. I want an assurance that God won't leave me in those things and that he is working in me, that he is continuing to transform me, he is keeping me, and, as you know, in moving to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, both myself and the elders had to be examined, and while Presbyterian and Reformed bodies hold the same framework of doctrine, we do have different confessions.

We have talked about this before. The Reformed on the continent of Europe have the three forms of unity, and for the English and the Scottish Reformed, the Presbyterians, there is the Westminster Confession of Faith and the larger and shorter Catechisms. Well, anyway, as I was preparing for my examinations, I obviously spent more time in the Westminster than I had in the past. I'd read it multiple times, but I'd never really dwelled on a lot of it, and so I really enjoyed studying, because I was finding myself finding statements that express things in a different way. Those same things were in the Canons of Dorot, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Belgian Confession, but they were saying them in different ways.

In the Westminster standards that were little nuggets of truth, and I found myself highlighting so many things just because it was exciting to hear it in a different way, expressing the same thing but differently. And one of those nuggets of truth that I highlighted and I think I underlined it too was from chapter 14 of the Westminster Confession on saving faith, where it talks about growing in faith, and for me it shows what I'm saying about this idea that it's God that preserves this in the faith, and I want to share this statement with you. It says this faith has different degrees of strength and weakness. It may be attacked and weakened often and in many ways, but it gets the victory. In many believers it matures and becomes completely assured through Christ, who both creates and perfects our faith. And this is powerful because it not only reminds us that God creates this faith in us, but he also perfects it. But the line that gets me more than anything is that middle sentence it may be attacked and weakened often and in many ways, but it gets the victory.

Sisters and brothers, what we proclaim in the doctrines of grace is that God not only gives you faith and salvation, but he keeps you in it and he grows you in it. When your faith feels attacked, when it feels weakened, hold to the truth that God has brought you to this faith, and that faith gets the victory. Cling to Christ, knowing that he has clung to you and he is not going to let you go. And as we close up, I want the words of Jesus himself from John 10 to give you this comfort and to give you this confidence, because this is exactly what we've been talking about in this series on the doctrines of grace. What Jesus says here expresses the fact that, in order to hear his voice, we need to be his sheep. We need to be brought from death to life by the Spirit. And we know the shepherd because he has made us his sheep. He gives eternal life to his people. And then what does Jesus say about it? They will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. And then Jesus drives his point home even further. God, the Father, is greater than all. He has given the sheep to the Son and no one can snatch them away. No one can snatch them away.

Now there's something that we need to address before we close up. It is really important. We're going to think about the application of this for us, but we have to address the elephant in the room. If this is true, then what about those who fall away? What about my loved one who tells me they don't believe anymore? What about that? Well, because we understand that salvation is the work of God.

We're really only left with two categories for this, and neither of them are easy. The first is that we would understand that they never truly had faith. Despite outward appearances, they never really had it. They never truly understood the grace of God. They hadn't been transformed by the Spirit. And the second option it's hard as well is that they're in a state of backsliding, in a state of rebellion. But if their faith is genuine, God will continue the work that was begun in them and they will be saved.

While neither is easy to see as a friend or as a family member, we can actually find some hope. As we have observed, loved ones turn away from the faith. There really is hope here, because we know that they were in the presence of the proclamation of the Word and we know that it is that Word that's used by God and the Holy Spirit to bring people to faith and to keep them in it. And so we can pray that the Word that they have heard would be effective, even if it's latent, even if it seems as though it's been forgotten. We can trust that that Word has been heard and that the Holy Spirit can work for it, and we can pray that they would hear God's call to repentance through that Word that they have heard. And we can do that boldly, because we trust that it's God who does this work through His Word, and we trust that God is able to do this good work, and we trust that God is sovereign and he does all things for the good of His people. 

And so, as we, close up, are considering these doctrines of grace, I hope that these five weeks have shown you why you can have a great confidence in who you are, in Christ, because he called you out of darkness into light. He took your heart of stone and gave you a heart of flesh to live to Him. And he has done this good work in you, and it wasn't because of anything that you've done or will do. It's all of God and it's all of grace. And so often as we struggle in this life, you and I are tempted to despair. When we feel weak, we feel as though we are unable to hold on to God. But the doctrines of grace remind us that it is God who laid hold of us, and it is God who will not let you go. He keeps you as though, as an application for the truth of God's grace.

I want to point us back to the closing of question and answer, one of the Heidelberg Catechism You'll remember. We say it every month. The closing of that question and answer says Because I belong to Him, Christ, by His Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on, to live for Him. It's, though, our application that we take into the world each and every week is that, because we belong to Christ, his Holy Spirit assures us of eternal life, so we can live to Him. We can live in confidence in this world because we know that we've received this grace from God, because he has given us faith in the work of Jesus on our behalf. It is all of Him, it's all a gift from God, and so may you and I not live in fear in God's world, but instead may we look at this gift of His grace, this glorious gift that we have in Christ, and live to His glory in all that we do. May we be wholeheartedly willing and ready not only to serve Him, but may we have the word of the Gospel of grace on our lips that others might hear and be brought to faith in the Lord Jesus, that he might be glorified for the mercy that he has shown in saving His people and keeping us in His grace. 

Amen, let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God. We praise you for the gift of your Word, because in it we not only learn that you reach out and rescue your people, but we also understand that you keep us in the faith. We pray, oh Lord, that we would continually be hearing your Word, that your Holy Spirit might be at work in us to assure us of this, not that we would simply feel better when we have doubts, but that we would step forth into the world serving you, because we understand that this grace is the best thing that we have got and it's the best news that we could have ever heard, and so we want to proclaim it to others and live to the glory of Christ. May we put our trust in Him and not in ourselves, and may we be your faithful servants, wholeheartedly willing from now on to live for Him. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray, amen.