'An Independent Baptist Church'

          Once Saved, Always Saved (Part 2)

31. The Believer who lives FAITHFULLY for the Lord during his lifetime will be counted WORTHY of great inheritance and reward in heaven....and the privilege to CO-REIGN with Christ!  Not all believers will receive such an inheritance!  All believers are counted worth to ENTER heaven when we trust Christ as our Savior during this lifetime, BUT reward and acclamation from the Lord at the Bema Judgment is another matter! 

2 Thessalonians 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:

32. Believers can be led astray into false teaching and GO SHIPWRECK in the faith;  Believers can DEPART from the faith by falling prey to false teaching and 'doctrines of devils';  The LOVE OF MONEY can cause some Believers to ERR from the faith and get away from good sound Bible teaching and preaching!   HAVE you seen the love of money get folks away from church?

1 Timothy 1:19  Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

1 Timothy 4:1  Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
 

1 Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:19-21  Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: 21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith."

The Believer who stays true to the Bible and does not get led stray into false teaching and apostasy will certainly 'LAY HOLD' on the full and complete benefits of 'Eternal Life' when rewards and inheritance are given at the Bema Judgment!

33. A Christian DENIES the FAITH of Christianity and all it stands for if he won't work  to support his family because he is LAZY.  If a person CAN work and will not, because it is easier to get a government check or a church hand-out, this person is a shame to the Christian name! But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

1 Timothy 5:8  But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

This Christian is worse than an 'infidel' or unsaved person!  He is a hypocrite to others watching his life.  This believer is a shame to his testimony and brings great reproach to the name of Christ and will have much to answer for at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ.

34. Christians can be DECEIVED and led astray by false teaching....and ERR from the Truth so badly...even perhaps into apostasy...to the point evidently that others can't even tell that this person is a Christian!  Nevertheless, God knows if this person has trusted Christ and is born-again!

2 Timothy 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

35. Young Widow believers who turn to the Church for financial help and pledge to devote their lives to serving Christ in that church which is helping now to support them....shame the name of Christ if they meet another man and leave and forsake the Church and the Lord they were serving.  If they leave church completely and stop serving the Lord because they've found another man, they look hypocritical to the unsaved who are watching because they have broken the pledge they made publicly.

1 Timothy 5:12-15   Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. 13 And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. 14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. 15 For some are already turned aside after Satan.

These hypocritical believers, having cast aside their original pledge to devote themselves to serving the Lord, have now turned aside to Satan's leading and have forsaken the Lord!  This young widow receives 'damnation' in the eyes of the public.  This doesn't mean she has a believer is going to hell, but simply she is judged as a hypocritical laughing-stock by the public, much like when a preacher falls prey to immorality and the shame that brings!

36. The Believers who DENIES serving Christ in this life with the many opportunities he has been given....will be denied reward and privilege by the Lord Jesus for all eternity at the Bema Seat of Christ!

2 Timothy 2:11,12  It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:  13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

The New International Version (NIV) changes this verse to say the Christ will 'DISOWN' His own child!  The NIV teaches therefore that Salvation can be lost!  Stay away from these altered 'perversions' of God's Word and stick to the reliable King James Version!  No wonder so many people believe salvation can be lost....the NIV teaches just that very thing!

37. The Believer who departs from a faithful life for Christ either doctrinally or morally and continues in a hardened state of mind that no one can change..... will face severe chastening in this life and will fail to PARTAKE of Jesus' rewards and 'co-reigning' privileges on the millennial earth!

Hebrews 3:12-15 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

38. The Believer should fear being led astray later in life by false teaching to believe that simply trusting Christ for salvation is NOT ENOUGH....and that we must keep lots of rules and regulations to be truly saved and to be truly kept saved!  That would be a terrible state to live your Christian life in...if we fail to enter the 'REST' from all the Old Testament Rules and regulations that Christ delivered us from when He died at Calvary!

Hebrews 4:1 and 4:11  Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.  11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

At Calvary, the Believer has entered into His (Jesus') REST.  We are no longer trying to save ourselves.  Jesus did that.  Believers who have been deceived into thinking they must live 'good' to KEEP it...have FALLEN SHORT of that rest!

39. The born-again Christian who is not grounded well in Bible Truth can be led astray by false teaching and apostasize in the Christian faith....and can come to the point that they become 'HARDENED' in their mind about it.....to the point that other Christians can't help change that Christian's mind and bring them to repentance!  They truly have come to believe that just trusting Christ ALONE is not enough to save you...and that religious works and performance must be ADDED to Christ's Work at Calvary!  Publicly, these believers are putting Christ's death to shame by mocking it when they imply Jesus' death' was not enough to save us and keep us saved!

Hebrews 6:4-6   For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. 9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

While some see this verse to refer to people who come close to being saved but never do, it seems to me Paul is bending over backwards, so to speak, to imply that SAVED PEOPLE are referred to here.  I believe he is saying if we turn our back on Christ after we're saved, we're in danger of hardening our heart to the point no human being can convince us to come back to fellowship to Christ.  Only God can, if if it possible at all, through severe chastisement being sent to our life!  Remember, God did make us robots...He made us with a WILL to choose and make our own decisions!

Humanly speaking it may be 'IMPOSSIBLE' to ever change that believer's mind....the only HOPE would be for God to send severe chastisement that would bring the apostasizing believer to repentance over his doctrinal heresy!  Otherwise, this believer will probably die prematurely and stand ashamed at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ!  Notice that Paul closes with a word of encouragement that he 'expects' better things of these believers...and expects that they will 'see the light' and come back to the Lord. 

The goal of farmers in that day with some fields that were overtaken by weeds was to burn them to the ground and start all over.  It may be that God might have to send severe chastisement to the believer who has turned his back on God to bring him back to fellowship.  Even that might not do it and that believer will die prematurely and stand before the Lord ashamed!   There is a very serious warning to believers in this verse who have gotten away from church for some time.  You are in danger of hardening your heart to the point of no return!

40.  The Believer who has been taught better.....but continues to sin WILLFULLY after being taught what is right and wrong...doctrinally and morally...stands to face SEVERE chastisement from God's Hand in this lifetime....and shame and loss of reward at the Bema!

Hebrews 10:26-39   For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; 33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. 35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

No words for 'HELL' are mentioned here.  It is not talking about a believer losing salvation, but rather the temporal chastening of the Believer in this life and loss of reward at the Bema Judgment!  There is no mention of the Lake of Fire, Gehenna, or hell, here.  The phrase 'fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries' (v27), in context here, speaks of God's intense displeasure with the Believer who turns his back on the Christian faith and turns to doctrinal apostasy, a cult, etc.  This believer, in a sense, practically speaking, becomes an 'enemy' to the true Saving Gospel and Simple plan of Salvation!  It will NOT BE A LIGHT OR TRIVIAL MATTER WHEN THIS BELIEVER STANDS BEFORE THE LORD AND GIVES ACCOUNT OF HIS ACTIONS!  It is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the Living God for such a believer...in this life and at the Bema Judgment.

"Fire" is often used in the Bible as a metaphor in reference to Believers and in these contexts does not refer to 'hell'!  For example, recall in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 where 'fire' will test the 'works' or life of service of believers at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ.

It is an understatement, indeed, to say that God will not be 'pleased' with that Child of God!   Such a Believer who 'DRAWS BACK' into 'perdition'...a word that simply means 'destruction and ruin'....and by the way, the wasted life of such a Christian is certainly destruction and ruin, is it not?  A life that could have been used by the Lord to win other people to Christ, actually ended up destroying the 'faith' of other people who watched, and probably kept other people from coming to Christ until later on in their lives because of shameful Christian's hypocrisy and wasted life!   There will be 'ruin' and shame as far as this life is concerned, and in the one to come when they lose reward and inheritance!  This fate is truly 'worse than death' as far as this lifetime is concerned.  My friend, let me explain it like this.  I would rather die right now than to know that later on in life I could turn my back on the Lord and bring shame to Him and to others, especially realizing what that could do to my own children!  That would be...worse than death.

41. The believer is encouraged to PURSUE HOLINESS and live a holy life during this lifetime, since we will all be holy when we get to heaven with our new bodies and see Jesus!  This should be our goal and should motivate us to live as Holy as possible and get along with people as much as possible during this lifetime.  However, I believe this verse in Hebrews 12:14 is saying that if we strive to live a holy life in this lifetime, in close fellowship and obedience to the Lord and treating other people properly, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and we will 'SEE' the Lord on a daily basis do wonderful things through us!  When we live in obedience to the Lord and we will really 'know' Him and 'See' Him in our daily lives!  As Job said in Job 42:5 after his trials, "But now mine eyes have SEEN you.."  As we live a Holy life on a daily basis, Paul is saying here in Hebrews 12:14 that we will grow in fellowship with our Lord!

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: 15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

This verse is not teaching that one must live a Holy Life in order to get to heaven because no one can do that as long as we live on this earth with our human bodies.  First John 1:9 declares if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves!

42. A Christian is to be a  DOER of the word, not a hearer only.....Lest he deceive himself and  be ashamed miserably at the Bema and not inherit the reward and privilege he could have received!

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

The Christian who sits in church week after week and hears sermon after sermon, and yet does not OBEY what he hears, is going to be in for a big surprise if he has a smug attitude that everything is alright between him and his Lord!   There will be loss of reward and much suffering of shame for this Christian!

43. A Christian must live a HOLY LIFE for other people to know he is saved!  That is the only way your neighbor knows that Jesus Christ has changed your life....if they can see EVIDENCE in how you behave and treat other people, and how you serve the Lord in your local church!  Other people can not look into our heart and see Jesus residing thru the Holy Spirit!  In the 'eyes' of other people watching us, 'good works' are necessary to 'JUSTIFY' us...in their eyes!  Faith alone, without any good works.....in not enough to justify us in the eyes of other people watching us.  Before God, we're justified by the simple act of faith and believing and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior....apart from any works....but not so in the eyes of other people!  This is what James is saying in this passage:

James 2:14-24  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Notice the key phrases in this second chapter of James......"a man may say" and "show me thy faith".   James is talking about being 'Justified' or 'saved' before OTHER people so THEY can know you are born-again!  He is not talking about being justified before God!  Galatians 2:16 clearly says that man is justified by 'faith alone' and not by any works.   Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

44. The Christian who defects into doctrinal error and apostasy faces the very real possibility of premature physical death.....the ultimate chastening from the Lord!

James 5:19,20   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.

Notice our responsibility as fellow believers to TRY to convince and persuade the sinning believer to CONVERT...turn around and go in a different direction...from his DOCTRINAL ERROR.....and this could result in not only preventing this straying believer's further backsliding....and cover a 'MULTITUDE OF (future) SINS'...but it could also possibly save this person's life from premature death!  The Bible seems to teach God can just call such an erring brother or sister home to heaven thru premature death!  Don't be confused by the word 'SOUL' in this verse in the phrase 'SAVE A SOUL FROM DEATH' and think it means loss of salvation.  Often in the Bible, 'SOUL' and 'PHYSICAL LIFE' are used synonymously.  For example, in Revelation 16:3 Scripture says when the sea turned to blood that 'every living SOUL died in the sea' and this clearly is meaning physical life.   Also, in 1 Peter 3:20 where it describes Noah and his family being spared in the flood, it says 'eight SOULS were saved by water", meaning that their physical lives were saved from drowning because they were safely in the ark!

45.  The Christian is to live a Holy and faithful life so there will be no doubt in the minds of others that we are truly born-again!

2 Peter 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:

Being a CHAMPION for the Lord during this lifetime will assure us an ABUNDANT 'ENTRANCE' into Christ's Kingdom.....meaning we'll receive acclaim, honor, & reward at the Bema Judgment!

46.  The Believer is urged to stay close to God's Word & faithfully attend the preaching of God's Word so we can grow spiritually!  This is the best way to assure that we won't be led astray doctrinally or morally by others....and fall from our stedfastness in our Christian walk!

2 Peter 3:17,18  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

47. The Christian who returns to a life of MORAL SIN or DOCTRINAL DEFECTION to a cult, etc.  after serving as a Christian for months or years in his/her church....is a SHAME in the community and to the name of Jesus Christ....A Christian Pastor or SS teacher breaking up his marriage with an adulterous affair or molesting children, etc.  and the shame it will bring to him and to Christianity....is a fate WORSE THAN DEATH!   Would you agree that losing your reputation and respect in the community and your family and relatives is worse than dying?

2 Peter 2:19-22  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

While many believe this passage is referring to FALSE TEACHERS who never were born-again to start with, I believe Peter is talking about Christians who go astray seriously.  Notice in v19 the change in pronouns.....two 'theys' are in this verse and two different groups of people are referred to:  Those being duped by false teachers.....and the false teachers themselves.

I believe the passage in 2 Peter 2:20-22 refers to the Christians being led astray by the false teachers.  To turn one's back on Christ after years of serving the Lord, and losing one's respect from family and peers, by bringing shame to the Christian name, is a fate WORSE THAN DEATH!  We CAN ALL think of People who at one time served the Lord, even preachers or singers, and later they have abandoned Christianity completely.  What a shame this is to the eyes of unsaved people watching!  The hypocrisy!  IN some ways, as far as this life is concerned, it would have been fetter that this backslidden Believer would never have known all the details from the Bible on how to live the Christian life. That person will have more to answer for! For that Christian then to fall prey to the very sins they preached from the pulpit about to others is the ultimate hypocrisy and shame!   This verse is NOT saying it would have been better that this person never to have been SAVED...BUT it is saying, I believe, if we do this, we are doing more harm with our life as far as the cause of Christ is concerned, than the unsaved drunk down at the tavern!  The shame brought to our family and people in our church is unimaginable!   To know right, and then turn right around and do just the opposite, is the ultimate hypocrisy!  It would be better that some of we Christians don't know all that we do know!  Do you see what Peter is saying to these apostasizing, backsliding Christians?  That person will have more to answer for when he stands before the Lord than will the Believer who didn't know very much about the Bible!   

This is nothing more nauseating than a pig wallowing in a manure-filled and urine-saturated mud pit!  What is more disgusting than a dog eating its own vomit?  Yuk!!

Peter is saying there is something comparable to that.....A Christian who turns his back on his Lord, his church, and his family....to abandon the Lord and run off with another woman or man.....and live in sexual adulterous sin while leaving behind a precious family and children!!  Or one who leaves a good church and ministry to join a Christ-denying cult!  God have mercy when that believer stands before the Lord at the Bema Judgment!  What makes it so bad is that when preachers and other Christians do this, it bring irreparable harm to all Christians and church everywhere!   Think of the recent TV evangelists and preachers who have fallen and how that has hurt all Churches and Christianity as a whole.

48.  Believers who don't live their lives for the Lord the way they should will be ASHAMED when they stand before the Lord when He returns!

1 John 2:28  And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

47.  It is not in the SPIRITUAL NATURE  of the Christian to SIN now that we are born-again!  That part of us.....the NEW NATURE imparted by the HOLY SPIRIT when we are saved.... does not sin AT ALL!   When we sin, it is because we yield to our old fleshly sinful nature!  We don't have to sin NOW like we used to when we were unsaved!  BACK THEN, we had no choice!  Now that we're born-again, we have help now to choose to do right!  This should be a motivation for us to live holy lives and not be enslaved to that sinful bad habit or moral sin!

1 John 3:8-10 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

When we sin as a Christian, we are following and heeding the devil's temptations; it is not because we are obeying our new Spiritual Nature!  How we live manifests to other people whether we are saved or not....because other people can't look inside our heart to SEE if we're born-again or not!  Other people can only tell if we're born-again or not by HOW we live!  This passage is just encouraging us now to not yield to our sinful fleshly nature and follow the devil's temptations, because we now have a NEW 'holy' Nature, imparted by the Holy Spirit at our New Birth, and it can help us to choose right now!

Some well-meaning folk have tried to say this passage is teaching that a TRUE Christian does not 'PRACTICE' sin....habitually....but that is not what this passage is saying at all.  If I understand the Bible correctly, a Christian CAN practice sin...to the point God calls him home thru premature death!! The Bible is full of examples of Christians who did 'practice' sin all their life! Moses had his temper til his death....Peter had his problems....David dealt with lust all his life and couldn't stay faithful to one woman, etc. and the list goes on and on!  Some of us 'practice' WORRY...habitually...our entire life;   Some Believers deal with pride and anger their entire life;  Some deal with LUST;  Yes, Christians DO practice sin...and we're deceiving ourselves if we deny this....

This passage in 1 John is simply saying we have a choice NOW...and when we do sin, THAT desire is not coming from our NEW NATURE...for it does not SIN at all!  We sin when we YIELD to our human fleshly Nature!

50. The Christian who commits MURDER will answer to God for this terrible, heinous sin.  A terrible price will be paid at the BEMA Seat, and Believers who commit such a terrible sin as taking life of another, such as King David did with Uriah, certainly do NOT have 'ETERNAL LIFE' abiding in them in a practical sense, when they committed this terrible sin! 

1 John 3:15   Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

This verse is not saying that a Christian can not murder anyone.  David committed murder with Uriah.   It is saying that this Christian does not have ETERNAL LIFE 'abiding' in him the way it should be if he was in fellowship with the Lord!  'ABIDING' is the key word here to understand this passage and the Book of First John!  The Epistle of First John was written to Christians to let them 'test' themselves' to see if they were walking 'in fellowship' with the Lord Jesus!  Many Bible teachers 'err' when they teach that First John's purpose to help us 'test' to see whether we're saved or not!  This is not the purpose of First John at all!

52.  We should continue to pray for every Christian who has fallen into moral and doctrinal sin with the hope that the person will repent and come back to the Lord!  It is possible for the Child of God to go beyond the point of NO RETURN because their heart and mind has become hardened, and God will just have to kill them and bring them home!   Does that language sound to strong to you?

1 John 5:16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.

52.  The Believer who is faithful to the end...of his life...even during intense trial and tribulation and suffering...will receive special reward at the Bema Judgment, namely the CROWN OF LIFE! 

Revelation 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Not every Christian will receive the CROWN OF LIFE reward!  Salvation is free, but rewards are earned!  Salvation cannot be lost, but living an unholy life, we can forfeit the right of earning crowns or other rewards!

Revelation 3:11  Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

51. The Believer who remains faithful to the Lord his entire life is called an "OVERCOMER" in the Book of Revelation!  While every believer is an 'overcomer' in the sense of being born-again, the phrase in Revelation here is used to mean those faithful Christians who stay true to the Lord even during intense trial and suffering!  Not every Christian will be an OVERCOMER in this sense as described in Revelation chapters 2 & 3!  Here 'OVERCOMER' MEANS to be a Champion for Christ and remain faithful to the Lord one's entire life until death!

Such a Believer who is faithful to the Lord his entire life will not only never have is name blotted out of the Book of Life, but will be CONFESSED publicly before all at the Bema Seat because of his or her faithfulness!

Revelation 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Wouldn't this verse IMPLY that a Believer's name CAN be blotted out of the Book of Life?   No.  A little background about this city of SARDIS helps to understand this verse.  The city of Sardis kept a registry of all its citizens and any citizen which committed a serious crime had their name blotted out of the city registry, an act of public shame!  Christians in Sardis were persecuted so much, that anyone found out to be a Christian had their name erased from the city registry of Sardis!   God is just saying "Sardis may blot you out of its book, but I won't blot you out of mine!" 

54. NAUSEATING, lukewarm Christians who compromise and won't take a stand for the Truths of the Bible, disgust God, and using human descriptive language, make God 'sick to his stomach'!

Revelation 3:15,16,19  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.  19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Notice in v19 that Jesus says He still loves these carnal Believers who have made Him 'sick to His Stomach'....and He is chastening them to bring them to repentance from their backslidden state!  "CHASTEN" in the Bible is always a father's term used in reference to His Children!  It is not talking about unsaved people here!   I believe the Laodicean Church describes so many churches so prominent today....no doctrinal stand...for that is too divisive...a mushy, seeker-friendly church that doesn't take a stand on Bible Truths...doesn't want to offend anyone....it is the Politically-correct Church of today....Not Judgmental of other Beliefs..even when the Bible says they're wrong....the ecumenical Church that wants everyone to join hands!   But ironically this 'Laodicean' ecumenical church will 'judge' harshly the Local Church and Pastor that takes a stand on such issues!

55. The terrible thing about HELL, amongst other things, is that the unsaved will still have their unbridled desire and lust to sin thru out eternity in HELL!

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Be careful to note that the Bible is not saying that simply committing any of these sins in v8 sends the Christian to Hell, but rather UNSAVED people who never trusted Christ are described here and their life in its unsaved and lost state!

56.  Any Believer who promotes the use of the altered newer Bible versions when they know they have made changes, additions, and deletions to the Word of God......will suffer loss of Reward and privilege when they do get to heaven!

Revelation 22:18,19  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Now we don't know exactly what all will be involved when it says "add unto him the plagues" that are written in this Book.....does it refer specifically to Believers during the Tribulation Period?  We don't know.  The warning of 'God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life' is something else we don't have enough insight from Scripture to know all that is exactly involved here, but this we do know.....there will be serious loss of reward and privilege if we have been guilty of promoting the altered, newer Bible versions of today like the NIV, NASB, NKJV, etc. when we can clearly see that serious doctrines have been altered and changed!   It is not saying a Believer who does this...or any other sins...after he is saved...can lose that salvation!  Thank God we have ETERNAL LIFE, not PROBATIONARY LIFE!.  Make sure and study our companion study on ETERNAL SECURITY which looks at 43 reasons from the Bible why we know that salvation can not be lost once a person is saved!