Eternal Security by Gordon Olson

It seems very clear to me that what Charles Finney means in his systematic theology, and what Gordon Olson (founder of the modern Moral Government Movement and also the considered “grandfather” of YWAM and the former AGAPE Force) meant by “Perseverance of the Saints” is what some of us would call conditional security.

Namely what Finney and what Olson mean is that those who persevere are true saints with God who presently have salvation. If however they stop persevering, they stop being saints, having not met the conditions of salvation.

But those who do met the condition, and persevere, are true saints of God.

And to that doctrine or form of “perseverance of the Saints” I give my hearty “amen” seeing that it is clearly what the bible teaches.

ETERNAL SECURITY
By
GORDON OLSON

(Being an answer to a friend’s inquiry)

The term “eternal security”_a doctrine whose view is commonly held by many believers_is generally applied to the belief that all who have ever believed will enter heaven regardless of their
walk following such an act of faith. Thus, it is said to be just as certain as though they were already there; that such a one will enter heaven and is not dependent upon any conditions whatever. This is an entirely different doctrine from the perseverance of the saints, which holds that all who do know the Lord through faith will persevere in faith and obedience to the end of life and finally be saved. The many scriptures that teach that all who do exercise true faith in the Lord Jesus do continue or persevere have been misapplied, because of other doctrinal errors to be spoken of later, to infer the teaching that the saints cannot be lost.

Many arguments can be put forth from the Bible to prove that the true saints do persevere in holiness to the end of life through great care and grace on the part of God (Jn. 10:27-29). (27)
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (30) I and my Father are one.” The proof of true faith is works. It is the faith that “worketh by love” that is saving faith (Gal. 5:6), “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” And so “by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (James 2:24) “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” Peter says that we are to “give diligence to make (our) calling and election sure” (II Pet. 1:10). “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:”

If I understand the bible correctly, not one soul will be found in heaven throughout eternity who has not persevered in holiness to the end of life, except it be a case of saving faith exercised at the instant of death. Upon reflection, it will be found that the opposite doctrines of “eternal security” and “the perseverance of the saints” are doctrines of opposite systems of theology, both which, of course, cannot be right. It is apparent that the doctrine in question bears a direct relation to the nature or supposed nature of regeneration and justification.

The idea of “eternal security”, or “once saved, always saved” is the only consistent conclusion if the following view of justification (which appears to be the common opinion), is correct.

There is said to be presented in the bible a threefold imputation or a doctrine of imputation having three branches, as follows:

(1) the sin of Adam is said to have been imputed to all his posterity;

(2) the sin of those who believe or shall believe is said to have been imputed to Christ; and

(3) the righteousness of Christ, or His obedience while on earth, is said to be imputed to the
believer.

If asked when this imputation took place, it must have been in the councils of eternity, “before the foundation of the world.” The whole human family, according to this, stands condemned in Adam and are condemned for Adam’s sin and not their own. Justification is in some sense a governmental act, pronouncing a sinner just. It is said that justification is a forensic or judicial proceeding, a court scene. It is said that the sins of the believing sinner are all literally imputed to Christ so that Christ suffered the literal penalty, the Father punishing the Son precisely as much as all the elect deserved. This would be retributive justice. This is called the negative side of justification. The positive side is said to be the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the believer, or that the believer stands “in Christ” in such a way that Christ’s obedience while on earth is set down to the sinner’s credit, or that God looks at the justified sinner as though he had always obeyed the law.

This is said to be his standing “in Christ” and is unchangeable. Thus, since Christ is said to have perfectly obeyed the law for him, he is not under the law, and can never be condemned by the law, do what he may. Thus, there may be broken fellowship by sin, but never condemnation.

Is it not evident that “eternal security” follows consistently if this be the true doctrine of justification? Since Christ once suffered for sin, if that suffering was on a basis of retributive justice, then He must have borne not only the past sins of the believer but also his present and future sins as well. If this be so, how then could he possibly be lost, do what he may? In passing, I might add that this theory must require a belief either in a partial atonement, or that Christ did not die for the whole world which the bible plainly tells us that He did; or in universal salvation.

This theory of justification holds that sinners are saved by grace on principles of justice, or that all the grace of God is found in two things: the provision of His Son to be a sin-bearer and the acceptance of Christ’s suffering in place of the sinner. I cannot see how it can be said that God pardons or forgives sin, since the sinner is regarded as suffering as much as he deserved to suffer in his substitute and at the same time to have always perfectly obeyed, for this is what imputation means. I will now hasten to what I regard as the true view of justification and salvation.

Justification consists in a governmental decree of pardon in setting aside the execution of the penalty of the broken law and in restoring to favor the sinner, treating him as though he were righteous. In the atonement Christ removed an insurmountable obstacle, thus rendering it possible for God to forgive sinners. He died to satisfy public justice or to render it safe for God to forgive sins.

As far as God the Father is concerned, He could have on certain conditions forgiven sinners without the atonement because He has a heart of love. The atonement was not rendered to satisfy God’s justice or holiness but to enable Him to act justly in the forgiveness of the sinner. I trust you get the distinction, which is a very beautiful one, between an atonement being made to God so that He would be disposed to forgive sins and an atonement being made for God to enable Him to do what His love wanted to do, but which His wisdom forbade under any other circumstances. Thus, Jesus Christ is not any more the friend of sinners than God the Father or the Holy Spirit. The whole Godhead loved sinners equally well and sought their salvation through the whole plan of redemption in which all took part.

There are certain conditions of the justification of sinners which are not arbitrary. A condition should be distinguished from a ground of justification as being that without which the sinner could not be justified. The ground of justification, or the source of fundamental reason back of the movement to save sinners, was the love of the whole Godhead. The following may be said to be the conditions of justification:

FIRST, the suffering or atonement of Christ, apart from which God could not exercise wisely His mercy. It would not be safe to forgive sin without a suitable public expression of its horror which would enable God to uphold His holy law. Since Christ obeyed the law, its wages of sin was not upon Him. Therefore, he could die for us who receive him in particular and for the entire world in general. The atonement makes it possible for God to extend mercy to all men.

SECOND, repentance is also a condition of justification. Not that there is any merit in repentance, but it is a state of heart in breaking with the course of sin that renders it possible for God to exercise His mercy.

THIRD, faith in Christ and toward God which accepts the work of the entire Godhead and embraces them as actual facts.

FOURTH, present sanctification or a state of full present consecration to God. This is involved in repentance and may be thought of as a positive state while repentance is a turning from sin, taking God’s side against ourselves as sinners. To sanctify is merely to set apart. This condition then is a present state of devotion to God (I Cor. 6:11; “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” II Thess. 2:13) “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:”

FIFTH, perseverance in faith and obedience, or continuing in a state of consecration, is a condition of pardon or acceptance with God at any moment in the Christian walk and of final acceptance. “The saint as well as the sinner is condemned whenever he sins and needs to repent or be lost” (James 5:19-20; (19) “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; (20) Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” Rev. 2:4-5) (4) “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” (5) “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

But I must leave many things unsaid in order that I may make the last mail. May the Lord bless you and teach you.

Your friend and brother, in Christ,
Gordon C. Olson

A Man in Heaven and Christ in You

by T. Austin-Sparks

“Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:54-60).

It is wonderful that the first man to be a witness unto death in the Christian era should be the embodiment of all the great spiritual truths of Christianity. It is as though the Lord placed right at the beginning of the dispensation a representation on this earth of those great spiritual realities.

The two great basic features of living Christianity are here definitely set forth. Those two things are (1) A Man in heaven, and (2) Christ in you. Stephen saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. He said: “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” That is the Man in heaven! Then as to Christ in you, the Word says: “He, being full of the Holy Spirit…” This is a fulfilment of the words of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John: “If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I go, I will send Him unto you” (John 16:7). It is by the Holy Spirit that the Lord Jesus is in us.

Those are the two major features of a living Christianity. They are two things which have opened up into two of the great doctrines of Christianity: Christ glorified, Christ in the presence of God, the Man in the Throne and all that that embodies and represents; and, on the other hand, the indwelling of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Everything in a living Christianity is gathered into those two things; you cannot get outside of them. It is marvellous that the word is used: “He… saw… Jesus” (v.55). This man whose name is mentioned for the first time at the end of this chapter, Saul, not so long afterwards had a similar vision. “I am Jesus”, said the glorified Lord to him on the Damascus road.

Satan thought he had triumphed absolutely when he succeeded in turning the first Adam away from God’s purpose, a Man in the glory, but this speaks of the absolute triumph of the Lord over what Satan thought to be his triumph. This is God’s answer: Jesus as the Man in the glory!

Then how will He bring the many sons to glory? “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” So that to be filled with the Spirit becomes necessary to the very purpose of God. Notice the effect in this model case! A Man in the glory, the Spirit filling, an instrument mirroring that Man in the glory. They looked upon his face, and it was as the face of an angel. Then: “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Is not that the character of the Man in the glory reproduced? Is not that conformity to the image of God’s Son?

It was in the time of suffering, pain, opposition, antagonism, hatred, malice, bitterness. What a difference in these two pictures! On the one hand: “They gnashed on him with their teeth.” That is one picture of the fangs of a beast uncovered. On the other hand: “His face… the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). What a contrast! What religion can do, and what Christianity can do! What tradition can do, and what revelation can do! This truly is what Paul meant when he said, later than this: “We… beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” That word “beholding” in the Greek is a much richer word than our English word; it is a combination of two ideas. It is beholding and reflecting, and there is only one word in the English which gets near it, and it is “mirroring”. That was Stephen. He beheld, he reflected, because he was filled with the Spirit.

The spiritual course of the age is summed up in this first witness. He saw the Man in the glory; he was filled with that Man in the glory; he was like that Man in the glory. And it was all produced through suffering, emptying.

Lester Roloff – The Bible Way To Health

Feel free to download many of  these sermons here: http://www.lumelonline.net/sermons/downloads/

Pastor Dennis Blythe – Shaking The Sin of Gluttony Part 1 & 2

Definition: Gluttony is the willful and insatiable desire to over consume, excessively elevate, and be preoccupied with that which God created for good. It is more interested in consuming than in what is being consumed.

God considers gluttony a character trait of an evil person, and so He tells us to avoid those who eat and drink too much.

Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk; don’t eat too much food and get fat. Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row, in a stupor and dressed in rags.
Proverbs 23:20-21, MSG

For it is possible that a wise man may use the daintiest food without any sin of epicurism or gluttony, while a fool will crave for the vilest food with a most disgusting eagerness of appetite. And any sane man would prefer eating fish after the manner of our Lord, to eating lentils after the manner of Esau, or barley after the manner of oxen. For there are several beasts that feed on commoner kinds of food, but it does not follow that they are more temperate than we are. For in all matters of this kind it is not the nature of the things we use, but our reason for using them, and our manner of seeking them, that make what we do either praiseworthy or blameable. -St.Augustine, Confessions

I fear not the uncleaness of meat, but the uncleaness of desire. -St. Augustine, Confessions

—————————————-­——-

The Sin of Gluttony
Author: Unknown

Overeating and obesity are becoming an epidemic in America. “All you can eat” restaurants with buffets are springing up all over the place. The Bible warns about the dangers of gluttony, but these warnings seem to go unheeded in America with restaurants that are little more than human feed troughs. Christians who go into these glutton cafes and eat too much are not giving a very good witness of the real Christian lifestyle.

Howard Guinness in his book “Sacrifice” wrote: Food, Do we eat in moderation? Some of us eat until we can’t comfortably eat any more and then stop. This is what the animals do. I know of at least one unconverted student who was put off from coming to Christ by the gluttony of a Christian. (Pg. 52).

Our gluttony can ruin our testimony, and hence, our chances of winning souls.

Gluttony is a sin, but today, most people see gluttony as no big deal. Gluttony will shorten your life, and most definitely will affect your quality of life, with loneliness, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and an impaired lifestyle.

The problem may lie in trigger foods and drinks. Whatever food or drink substances that we are addicted to and cannot get through the day without may be the cause of why we eat too much. Artificial chemical mixtures like soft drinks and fake genetically modified sweeteners may be the very things that trigger us all to eat and eat and eat. Carbonated soft drinks, besides having chemicals in them, have carbon dioxide in them, which swells the stomach and causes us to need more food to feel full. The human body was designed to take in oxygen and emit carbon dioxide, and here we are doing just the opposite – pouring tons of carbon dioxide into our bodies. The acid in these drinks affects the ph balance of our bodies, making us overly acidic instead of the naturally occurring neutral or alkaline. These soft drinks also make fried foods with lots of salt taste even better, which causes us to eat more of them, thus packing on the extra pounds. Soft drinks with caffeine in them also keep us up at night, robbing us of our needed sleep. God did not invent gassy acidic chemical soft drinks, but instead gave us all natural water to drink. Drinking lots of water during the day not only hydrates our bodies, which are mostly water, but creates a sense of fullness, thus keeping us from eating too much at the next meal. Water also is the neutralizer of acids.

To read full article go here:

http://www.oldpathschristianity.com/a…

Lester Roloff – Death In The Pot

Lester Roloff was born on June 28, 1914, to Christian parents in Dawson, Texas. Raised on a farm, he learned the value of hard work at a young age. In his early teens he was saved and later committed his life to becoming a preacher. He knew he needed an education and set his sights on attending Baylor University in Waco, Texas. To help pay for his expenses, he took a family cow to Waco and milked it daily in return for room and board.

In 1935, he met Marie Brady at the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, during a State Training Union Convention. They were married on August 10, 1936. Early in their marriage, Lester pastored small town churches and preached as an evangelist during revival meetings. On June 20, 1937, Lester and Marie were blessed with a baby daughter, Elizabeth Ann. After Lester’s graduation from Baylor, the family moved to Fort Worth, Texas, so that he could attend Southwestern Seminary. During seminary he served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Trinidad, Texas. During World War II, the Roloff family moved to Houston, Texas, where Brother Roloff became pastor of Magnolia Park Baptist Church.

In 1940, Brother Roloff accepted the call of Park Avenue Baptist Church in Corpus Christi, Texas to become their pastor. Park Avenue Baptist, later known as Second Baptist Church, flourished during the time Lester was pastor. While serving at Park Avenue, Brother Roloff became a sought after preacher for revival meetings and evangelistic services. And, in 1944, the Roloff family grew to include an adopted daughter, Pamela Kay.

Faith, Fasting & Food

As a young preacher and father, Brother Roloff continued to battle chronic health problems. He searched for answers and in his thirties made “discoveries that completely altered his health.” As Marie Brady Roloff wrote in her book entitled “Lester Roloff — Living by Faith,” Lester believed,

“there were three ‘F’s, which if followed, could revolutionize one’s life.

The first ‘F’ –faith- was well known by his radio audience and those who heard him preach. Over and over through the years he has said, ‘Now the just shall live by faith,’ and he has practiced it. …

There was a second ‘F’ he found in the Bible that he began to practice. It became a tremendous truth that he could not neglect. Jesus said, ‘Then shall they fast’ (Mark 2:20; Luke 5:35). … When the truth of this got hold of Lester, like any other Bible truth that became real to him, he grabbed onto it and didn’t let go. ‘Fasting isn’t an ordinance or a church doctrine,’ he said, ‘but just plain Bible truth and is a practice between the individual and the Lord. Like other great truths, it has been abused and misused and therefore has come into bad repute. But why should we leave out a practice that has such a prominent place in the Scripture?’ ….

Lester came to some practical conclusions regarding the third ‘F’ –food. He became convinced that four things are killing the American people- too much food, bad food, wrong combinations of food, and anxiety and worry, which stem from an absence of faith, trust, and wisdom from God.”

He recommended that foods be consumed in their natural state as much as possible and also encouraged exercise. He said, “you’d be surprised to know what a brisk walk of at least a mile every day with the proper breathing will do for you.” Truly, Brother Roloff was ahead of his time as evidenced by the increased emphasis in today’s world on proper eating and exercise.

To read full biography:
http://christianbiographies.blogspot….

Brian Leversee – Recognizing The Hand Of God On Your Life

Feel free to download many of  these sermons here: http://www.lumelonline.net/sermons/downloads/

Charles Crismier – New Sex Trend: It’s Frightful, Frightful, Frightful!!!

Younger Generation More Prone to Immoral Behavior, Survey Finds

Young adults under 25 are more than twice as likely as all other adults to engage in behaviors considered morally inappropriate by traditional standards, a survey released Monday shows.

Two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans under 25 years old said they used profanity in public, compared to just one out of five Baby Boomers (persons born between post-World War II and the early 1960s), according to The Barna Group survey.

The Baby Boomer generation is known for rebelling against traditional standards of morality.

But the younger generation — known as Mosaics — was nine times more likely than Boomers to have engaged in sex outside of marriage (38 percent vs. 4 percent), six times more likely to have lied (37 percent vs. 6 percent), nearly three times more likely to have gotten drunk (25 percent vs. 9 percent), and twice as likely as Boomers to have watched pornography (33 percent vs. 16 percent).

“We are witnessing the development and acceptance of a new moral code in America,” commented George Barna, who directed the survey. “Mosaics have had little exposure to traditional moral teaching and limited accountability for such behavior.”

“The moral code began to disintegrate when the generation before them – the Baby Busters – pushed the limits that had been challenged by their parents – the Baby Boomers,” he noted. “The result is that without much fanfare or visible leadership, the U.S. has created a moral system based on convenience, feelings, and selfishness.”

In May, researchers asked a random sample of 1,003 adults across the United States via telephone if they engaged in any of eight behaviors considered morally objectionable during the past week.

The behaviors included exposure to pornography, using profanity in public, gambling, gossiping, engaging in sexual intercourse with someone to whom they were not married, retaliating against someone, getting drunk, and lying.

A majority of adults had engaged in at least one of the behaviors over that past week.

The most common behavior was using profanity in public. About three out of every ten adults (28 percent) admitted to using foul language. The second most popular behavior was gambling (20 percent), which included purchasing a lottery ticket. This was followed by watching pornography (19 percent), gossiping (12 percent), getting drunk (12 percent), and lying (11 percent).

Having sexual intercourse with someone that respondents were not married to (9 percent) and retaliation (8 percent) were the least common behaviors among those surveyed.

When looking at faith identities, evangelicals were the group most likely to adhere to traditional morality while atheists and agnostics were most likely to reject these values.

For evangelicals, profanity (16 percent) and pornography (12 percent) were the most common behaviors. Less than five percent engaged in inappropriate sex (3 percent), gambling (2 percent), lying (1 percent) or drunkenness (less than one-half of one percent).

In contrast, sixty percent of atheists and agnostics used profanity in public, half watched pornography, and a third got drunk over the past week, according to the survey.

“The consistent deterioration of the Bible as the source of moral truth has led to a nation where people have become independent judges of right and wrong, basing their choices on feelings and circumstances,” Barna said. “It is not likely that America will return to a more traditional moral code until the nation experiences significant pain from its moral choices.”

Al Lacy – The Book

The Importance and Duty of Meditating on the Word of God

by I. C. Herendeen

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that (in order that) thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein: for then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)

God was not here giving Joshua mere good advice which he would be free to heed or not as he might desire, but instead He was giving him a commandment which he was to “obey, and that “day and night,” i.e. constantly. And this commandment was not for Joshua alone but for you and me and every other servant and follower of the Lord as well, for “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning” (Rom. 15:4) and obedience. God told Jeremiah in 7:23, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.” God expects and demands that we shall be an obedient people, keeping (observing and practicing) whatsoever He has commanded us. We profess to have received Him as our “Lord and Saviour” and therefore we are to look to Him at all times and in all things for His directions as to what He would have us do or refrain from doing. “We are not our own, we have been bought with a price” and are therefore to “glorify God.” As our Creator and Lord He has the right to command us what He will, and it is ours to obey His will gladly and cheerfully.

Joshua, great commander of Israel that he was, was to be guided and governed wholly by “This Book of the law.” He had received his orders from God through “this Book,” and he was to regulate his conduct by it. “The Lord said unto Moses, Write this in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua” (Ex. 17:14). From this we see that the Book was prepared for Joshua, and now he is to fulfill Its words. This Book of the law was to have absolute supremacy, and all Joshua’s actions were to be regulated by it. It is “the Book of the LAW” and as binding on us as on Joshua. It is more than good advice, for it is a law clothed with Divine authority, a Rule for us to walk by.

Once every seven years the whole Book of the law was to be read in the hearing of the entire congregation of Israel: “that they may hear, and learn to fear the Lord their God, and observe to do all the words of this law” (Deut. 31:10-14). This was the Book which was to regulate Joshua’s actions. God warned him that “This Book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth.” And this is God’s warning to us too, for no man is above the law of God, be he clothed with great power and authority, or one of the common people, all must be in subjection to the Divine law, and regulated by what is “written” if we would have the smile of God and prosper in whatsoever we do (Psa. 1:3).

“Thou shalt meditate therein day and night.” Most important as it is, meditation is a lost art today with multitudes of professing Christians. It is one of the most important means of grace and spiritual growth. It is not optional whether we obey or not but obligatory, something that God has “commanded” us to do. How about you? Have you obeyed this Divine “command”? Have you? How much time do you spend each day reading the Word of God, let alone meditating on it? Alas, in so many homes of professing Christians the Word of God receives scant attention, if indeed it be opened at all from day to day. At best many may hastily read a few verses of it after supper, then the Book is closed and laid on the table until the next night when perhaps a few more verses are thoughtlessly read. The usual excuse given by those who neglect it is that they are too busy with a multiplicity of duties and concerns of life for quiet and leisurely meditation. If this is your excuse then be sure you are acting in the energy of the flesh and are little better than a slave to it.

To read full article click below:
http://www.eternallifeministries.org/…