“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” – Heb 3:14
As believers’ we must ever be on our guard against the enemies of our souls who have sent out his ambassadors disguised as angels of light to deceive and to entrap the unwary ones. If they cannot prevent a true Christian from entering into heaven, they want to cause as much damage as to make him enter heaven empty handed, bruised and battered. Though the Christian is saved purely “by faith alone in Christ alone, but the faith that saves is never alone” (Martin Luther). It is surely accompanied by the fruits of the Spirit. We cannot continue in sin and claim to be under grace; the hope of the hypocrite shall perish.
Many are now preaching a strange doctrine of eternal security, which posits that a “born-again” Christian cannot loose his salvation come what may. That is an evil twisting of Holy Scripture. Also, this is an evil interpretation of the Bible doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints which the Reformers preached. The true Bible position is that a truly born-again Christian is one who will never be severed from Christ because he will surely and unfailingly persever in santification and holiness from inception to the very end, even to death, nothwithstanding his seeming weaknesses for it is his heavenly Father that “worketh in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, and “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6, Phil 2:13, etc.)
“Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil…” 1 Jn 3:7-8
Excerpt from Matthew Henry’s Commenrary on Hebrews:
“The saints’ privilege is, they are made partakers of Christ, that is, of the Spirit, the nature, graces, righteousness, and life of Christ; they are interested in all Christ is, in all He has done, or will do. The same spirit with which Christians set out in the ways of God, they should maintain unto the end.
“Perseverance in faith is the best evidence of the sincerity of our faith. Hearing the word often is a means of salvation, yet, if not hearkened to, it will expose more to the Divine wrath. The happiness of being partakers of Christ and His complete salvation, and the fear of God’s wrath and eternal misery, should stir us up to persevere in the life of obedient faith.
“Let us beware of trusting to outward privileges or professions, and pray to be numbered with the true believers who enter heaven, when all others fail because of unbelief. As our obedience follows according to the power of our faith, so our sins and want of care are according to the prevailing of unbelief in us.”
Excerpt from John Calvin’s Commentary on Hebrews:
“For we are made partakers, etc. He commends them for having begun well; but lest, under the pretext of the grace which they had obtained, they should indulge themselves in carnal security, he says that there was need of perseverance; for many having only tasted the Gospel, do not think of any progress as though they had reached the summit.
“Thus it is that they not only stop in the middle of their race, yea, nigh the startingposts, but turn another way. Plausible indeed is this objection, “What can we wish more after having found Christ?” But if he is possessed by faith, we must persevere in it, so that he may be our perpetual possession. Christ then has given Himself to be enjoyed by us on this condition, that by the same faith by which we have been admitted into a participation of Him, we are to preserve so great a blessing even to death.“
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May God help us to abandon confidence in our own thoughts and the thoughts of others that do not stand true on the infallible, inspired and inerrancy of the Holy Scripture. But should please help us stand true and firm to Scripture which is our only divine guide and that which truly testify of Jesus to us.
