Pastor Al Q&A - Salvation

We got a couple of question here that I think are really important. Let me just read a couple of them to ya. What do you think really makes a person a Christian? That's a pretty basic and really important question. A couple that go with it are, can you lose your salvation? and If a person was once a Christian but when they are older they fall away and live a worldly life, what happens to them for eternity?

So, these are good questions to ask, and I don't want to give you some surfacy kind of simplistic answer. Cause I really want you to understand and know what it really means to be a Christian, and how you can know for sure that your salvation is forever, as I think there's probably nothing more important in all of life than knowing that. And I want you to be able to think that through and understand it because in the future, there's gonna be a lot of people giving you a lot of different answers. And you're gonna have to defend what you think from the Word. I don't expect you just to defend it because I think it's, the way I think it is. But I want to show you how the Word helps you with that.

One of the problems that we have here, a lot of people think that you can lose your salvation. And that’s because I think they have a couple of false conceptions about what it means to be a Christian. That's why I think these two answers go together.

One, being a Christian could be kind of like this: [offers Alex a dollar bill] Would you like that? You can have it. Great. Fortunately all I had in my wallet was two ones, so, you know, that's all I got. Now, Christianity could be kind of like that, where God just gives you something. Alex, that was free, right? And if that's what Christianity was, we're just given something, then, "You know, I really don't care for your attitude," I could just take that back, just like that. "Shape up. Maybe I'll give it back to ya." If that's what Christianity was, just something that you were given, then [God] could [take] it back. In fact, he could decide, "I don't want that after all," and he might just give it back to me. Is that what Christianity is? Is it just something that God gives you, like a ticket to heaven, or something like that. The second thing that is wrong with that is, "Alex, what did you do to deserve that?"

Nothing.

Yeah, you did. You're sitting here in the front row. You guys in the back, too bad. You didn't have a chance. You see, why would I give something to him and not to the rest of you? What would be different about him that would make me willing to give him something like a gift of salvation? And I'll tell you exactly what it would be, that would be required for you to get it, would be the very thing that would be required for you to lose it. What do you think would cause a person to lose their salvation? Take some guesses. What do you think? No idea? Well, what if you just, you know, murdered somebody? Would that work? Any kind of action, sinful action, might cause you to lose your salvation… Well then, what would we have to say would cause you to get your salvation? That you don't do that, or at least, you promise not to, even if you later might fail. So whatever it is that would cause you to lose your salvation, you'd have to say would be reason you got it in the first place, and that's simply, somehow earning a relationship with God. One way or another, either by being good, or even believing the right thing. If that's what it takes, then you're in trouble. Cause you might change your mind; you might change the way you live and then you lose it. There's two things wrong with that. One, the Bible says we're saved by grace, aren't we? Anybody, can you quote to me Ephesians 2:8 and 9, anybody, quote that?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one should boast."

Yeah, good old AWANA training. Hey, couple of things about that. Salvation is a gift of grace. So, it's not something you earn; that's quite clear, that you can't earn it, you can't get it that way. There's another problem with it, and it's not just that it's not earned. It's that that’s not what salvation is. It's not something that God gives you; it's an all together different kind of thing than that. You got your Bibles with you? Pull them out there. Let's look at a couple passages and see what Jesus had to say about this. John, chapter 3, verses 3 through 6; somebody read that for me, quick, will ya? John, chapter 3.

Jesus answered, and He said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born can he?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

So, Jesus is saying here that salvation is something more than just getting something. It's experiencing something, isn't it? What do you think that is? What did He call it there? Being born. Well now, you've been born, right? You wouldn't be here if you hadn't been. But, being born again, right? That means a second time. And what's he talking about? What did Nicodemus say? What was his response to that? "What? I can't go back inside my mother and be born a second time. That doesn't make a lot of sense." And Jesus said, "No, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about being born of the Spirit." So there's an external part of us that's physical, and there's an internal part of us that's spiritual. And the spiritual part has to be born, has to come into being, has to become alive for us to be Christian. So the first thing we learn there is that it's not just something that God gives you. It's somehow, something He does to you that fundamentally and radically changes you on the inside.

Now let's say, "Alex, let's say you're not a believer, and you're just a guy sitting here, and you got a lot of weird attitudes, and I don't particularly like your attitude. You're kind of sullen and you got earrings in your ears and stuff like that and you're kind of a tough guy. I might convince you to change your behavior and your attitude if I give you a good enough incentive, wouldn't you think? Maybe a few more dollars? You know, I might get you to change a lot of things. I might get you to change and put on a decent shirt and stuff like that. You might look more like me when you got done, you think?" That'd be a lot of incentive, wouldn't it? You know I might do all that stuff for him, but the fact is, I would not change his heart. I cannot change what's on the inside of him.

In fact, I'll bet Alex, you wish you could change your heart sometimes, don't you? I wish I could change mine. Don't you wish you could change some stuff about you that's deep inside of you? There's only one person that can do that. And that's the person that created you, the person that made you the first time can make you a second time. Let's look at a verse that talks about that. 2 Corinthians 5:17. Anybody quote that? Read it.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

So, what's that talking about? What's it say we become?

A new creature.

Or a new creation, some versions say, same kind of thing. The whole idea is how did God make us in the first place? He made us just by a word, didn't he? He just said, "Come into existence." He created out of nothing, right? So, this is talking about a new creation, a second creation, that corresponds to that second birth, that says, "I'm gonna recreate something new inside you. In fact, I'm gonna create in you a different heart. I'm gonna change something inside of you. So, salvation is not just receiving something. It's having God do something to you that just radically, fundamentally, transforms you and makes you into a different person on the inside. So much so, that it's like being born a second time as a different kind of person. It's like being recreated altogether. You start from scratch, and you put a whole new person inside of there, and the person that was there, what'd it say, "Old things are passed away; new things are come."

Now, let's say I did that with Alex, if I had the power to do that, I'd change the inside of you, just like that. Do you think he'd look different? No, I don't think he would, not, not right away. He might change some of his actions and attitudes and perspectives. But you can't see that, can you? It's something that takes place on the inside of a person. What is that? What causes that to happen? And what does it have to do with Jesus Christ? How does coming to faith in Christ cause you to be a different person on the inside? That's what it means to be a real Christian. I want to look at one more passage of Scripture. This one's a little bit more complex, a little bit more hard to understand. John 17, verses 20 through 23. Somebody read that for me, will ya? Go ahead; you can read it.

"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."

Who's talking in that verse? Jesus. Who's He talking to? He's talking to His Father. So, Jesus and the Father, how would you describe Their relationship together? Communicative. What else? Good, yeah. Good, open communication, why? Cause They're both God. Ever heard of the concept of the Trinity? Somebody tell me what that means. What's the Trinity mean? … Sure, come on, you guys know what that is. Three in one? Three "what" in one? Three persons, one God. Can you understand that? I can't. Except the Bible says that Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God, God the Father is God, and yet there's only one God. So they're really tightly connected, aren't they. At least in our conception, we would say, as Jesus said there, that, "You and I, Father, are one. We're one God." You can't get any closer than that, can you? But what else does He say in that verse? What does He say about us, who believe in Him? Look at it again. Somebody tell me what He says about us who believe in Him.

"The glory which He has given to Me, I have given to them, that they may be one, just as we are one."

Keep going.

"I in them, and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent me."

Okay, what's He say there? "I in them, and You in Me." What does that mean? We're together with God, that the same kind of relationship that Jesus has with His Father, He's praying that we will have with Him, when we believe in Him. Now, I want you to think about that. What's the relationship between Jesus and the Father? One. Absolutely one. What's the relationship then between us and Jesus, when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior? We're one with Him. We're one with Him. Which makes us one with God, one with the Father, one with the Holy Spirit.

Now, what do you think would happen to Alex if Jesus came inside of Him, and made Himself one with him, on the inside? What do you suppose would happen to him. How would he change? He'd stop being like Alex and start being like Christ, wouldn't he, because he's sharing in the very life of Christ Himself. Now you think he'd change on the outside, altogether, all at once? No, not yet, although the Bible says someday that he's going to be resurrected with Christ and share a body like Christ has now, but on the inside, that's what it means to be born again, and that's what it means to be recreated, is that Jesus Christ Himself comes to live inside of you, and gives you his life to share with Him. It's a total transformation of who you are. You become a different person. You become a CHRISTian, rather than a human, just naturally. You share the life of Christ. That's what makes you alive, is His life is what makes you alive. It's His life that causes you to be born a spiritual person. It's His life that He shares with you. And that's what makes us a Christian. Why do we need Christ in the first place? Somebody over here know? Why do you need Christ? Nobody knows? What are we doing here if we don't need Christ? Come on, come on, let's don’t waste our time. What happens to you if you don't have Christ?

You go to hell.

Why?

Because you're not forgiven.

Forgiven for what?

For your sins.

Boy, give that guy a dollar. That's terrific, the smartest, don't you all wish you had answered that question, now. He's right! Our problem is we're sinners; we're under God's judgement, and He's gonna punish us. The wages of sin is death. You're going to hell, forever, unless you're recreated, unless Jesus Christ comes inside of you, and makes you into a different person and shares His life with you. And what kind of life does He have? An eternal life, that's right Brad, a life that never ends. And that's the only way that you can get a life that never ends, is if you share Christ's life.

Now, how does that cause you to be forgiven? Like my two buddies here, Alex and Brad. Let's say Brad is a real numskull, well, more than he actually is. Uh, let's say he does some horrible thing, goes down town, robs a bank, and shoots the teller, you know. He's a bad, bad dude. And yet, Brad comes to realize, "Man I'm in trouble. I'm going to hell." What if I could just take Brad, and suddenly transform him, just magically make him into Alex? Do you think they'd send Alex to prison? Why? He didn't do it, did he? He didn't do it. Brad did it. But Brad wouldn't be there any more, would he? All that would be left would be Alex.

That's kind of what Jesus does when He comes into our lives and says old things are passed away, who you used to be is gone. The person that was guilty is gone. That's why he's forgiven. And the new person is, who? A person joined together with Christ, a new creature, who's not guilty, who shares in all the characteristics of Christ, has all of His righteousness, His life, His glory even. Didn't that verse say that the glory You've given to Me, I've given to them? We share even in the very glory of Christ. That's what makes a real Christian.

What about those sins? What happens to them? You know, robbing the bank and shooting the teller? What about that, is there no payment for that? They were put on the cross. That's a pretty good deal. Let's take another scenario. You're the bank robber, and you kill the people, and I'm the judge, you're in my court. Brad comes up and says, "Hey, put me to death instead of…" shoot, I forgot your name… Loren. Do you think they'd do that? Why not? He said, wouldn't you? Wouldn't you die for Loren?

Oh yeah!

Yeah, he says, "Sure, I'll do that." Why not? Give me two reasons why they wouldn't put Brad to death. He didn't do it. Who said that? You did, oh great. And you're letting him go free. Two injustices. This guy didn't do it, and this guy did. This guy gets killed; this guy doesn't. How is it that Jesus can pay for your sins? What do you think? There's only one way. And that is if I can somehow join myself to you, we can become one, become a person who shares life, who shares our identity, who becomes like God and Jesus, one person, then I can pay for your sins, and you can be credited with my righteousness. And that's the only way. That's the only just way. God put Christ to death on the cross, for people who are willing to join themselves to Him by faith, and their sins are paid for.

What's it mean to really be a Christian? It doesn't mean to get something. It doesn't mean to have a ticket to heaven. It doesn't mean to believe some stuff, although certainly there are things that we believe. It really at the foundation means to have Jesus Christ join Himself to you and share His life with you, and to take your sins upon Himself and pay for them on the cross on your behalf so that you'll never be held accountable for them again. There's one more thing there. What do you suppose would happen if God came and lived in Brad? Who'd be in charge, do you think? Brad or God?

God.

Good answer. There you go. Why? He's God. He's infinite. He's powerful. He has all authority, all wisdom, all this kind of stuff. And Brad, he's just a kid. Yeah? That's also what it means to be a Christian. Is that Jesus Christ, not only becomes you're life, but He become your Lord. He's in charge, but that's not a bad deal because He is a good God, who really loves us.

Now, sometimes we kind of rebel against that. You ever do that Brad, kind of do your own thing and kind of, yeah, I do too. What does God do? He comes along, grabs you by the back of the neck and shakes you up a little bit and says, "Hey, who's in charge here? Me or you?" You ever had that happen to you? Eh, maybe not physically, but you know what I'm talking about. God gets a hold of you and convicts you and says, "You know what? I'm in charge; start following me instead of your own way. What's it mean to be Christian? It means to become a different person because you share the life of Christ.

Now tell me, what would it take for you to lose that? It would take Jesus to leave your heart. In fact, He'd have to kill you to leave you because He's already given you His life. He's sharing His life with ya; He'd have to put you to death. Now, you think He's gonna do that? On what basis would He ever do that? And that's why the Bible says, "Who will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ?" Nothing, because it's not something that God gives you. It's someone. He gives you His Son, to live inside of you, to be your life. And that life is eternal. It's the life of God. He's not gonna take it away from you. You're gonna have it forever and ever.