Behind the Scenes of Biblical Scenes, Pt. 8
Study Guide, October 27, 2024
Pastor Clay Olsen
So, today is our annual Trunk or Treat, along with our super chili cook-off. Really looking forward to it all. I’ll always remember the year that the winning chili had ‘Bear meat’ in it! It was ‘beary’ good chili. Way to go Cecil Bell! But these annual times are also referred to as Fall Festivals, and, of course, the traditional holiday of Halloween. And since the reputation of the holiday itself has been a mixed bag…pun intended…candy bag…many Christians have tried to make it as positive of experience as they can.
Going through the whole history of Halloween would take quite a while, but to get to where we are going today in our continued look behind the scenes of our salvation, particularly in continuing our study of our ‘Eternal Security’, we’ll notice something we can use even from this holiday. It’s this: From around 800 AD in medieval England, this Celtic originated festival began also being called “All Hallows”, with its eve known as ‘All Hallows Eve’. It also had an ‘All Saints Day’ on November 1st, followed by an ‘All Souls Day’ on November 2nd. And we could expound on those as well, but we point out part of this to say that ‘All Hallows Eve’ later morphed into the commercial holiday of ‘Halloween’. But it’s this ‘All Saints Day’ that we want to expand upon because of what is one of the most surprising things that many followers of Christ are surprised to learn about their very own identity.
So, what is a ‘Saint?’ And who qualifies to be identified as a ‘Saint?’ Some traditions hold that in order to be identified as a ‘Saint’ you have to have accomplished several different tasks and have performed several specific religious feats…and, oh, by the way, you have to be ‘dead’! What? Yeah, well, let’s take another look at this. In fact, let’s take a look at the name that God calls His redeemed children, not only those who have passed through death and on into Heaven, but also those still alive on Planet Earth. Here we go…
Ps 16:3- “As for the saints who are in the earth, they are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight.”
Ps 34:9- “O fear the Lord, you His saints; For to those who fear Him there is no want.”
Rom 1:7- “…to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Rom 8:27- “…and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
1 Cor 1:2- “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…”
Col 1:12- “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” NASU
And we could go on for another 62 verses, because 68 times in both the Old and the New Testaments God has a special name for His redeemed children…and it is ‘Saints’, His ‘Saints’, God’s ‘Saints’. The word ‘Saint’ is in the Greek, ‘Hagios’. And ‘Hagios’ is the same word that is used for ‘Holy’. Thus, a ‘Saint’ is by definition a ‘Holy One’. And before we begin injecting ‘behavior’ into the concept of being a ‘Holy One’ God tells us exactly how we, who were ‘Sinners’ by nature and practice, but now saved by God’s grace through our faith, are now identified by God as His ‘Saints’, His ‘Holy Ones’. Look at Heb 10:10 – “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” NIV And these two words ‘made holy’ is one word in the Greek, also meaning ‘sanctified’. And here’s the power affect of it: It is in the ‘Middle Perfect’ tense, which in the Greek means… ‘it is a completed action that produces continuous effects!’ That’s eternal security!
One of the great ‘freedoms’ that many Christians discover in working through a study like ‘Freedom in Christ’ by Dr. Neil Anderson, is this very discovery of the name that God has given to His spiritually reborn children of God. And when you learn your true identity in Christ and begin to think of yourself as God thinks of you, and begin to identify yourself as God identifies you, it can give you both…a whole new sense of your freedom from the bondage of an unbiblical self-image, plus a whole new attitude toward others, especially toward your fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
Mark it down: When, in repentance, you turned from sin and self to follow Christ and, in faith, to trust in Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, God not only resurrected your dead spirit into union with Jesus’ own eternal life, but you were eternally ‘set apart’, or ‘made holy’ in your identity as now belonging to God and to God’s forever family! This ‘holy condition’, or ‘holy position’, was part of the ‘gift of salvation’ that Christ accomplished through His perfect works and through His perfect sacrifice. In fact, this gift is also called something else by God that confirms our eternal security in Christ. And we’ll come back…
The point is back to this: Again, in order to rightly understand who we are in our union with Christ and to understand our true identity in Christ we first need to see ourselves through God’s point of view…or to see ourselves as God sees us…and to understand who we now are according to who God says we now are! And who we now are…who you now are, as a Born-Again child of God’s, is that you are a ‘Saint’, both by calling and by conversion. Saints who unfortunately still sin, and need God’s forgiveness for fellowship and service, but ‘Saints’ nevertheless!
You want to experience something rather unusual? Okay…we talk about people like Saint Paul, or Saint Mark, or Saint Patrick, and so on. Try this out and see how it feels…think about your name, but first add the title to it – ‘Saint’ and ‘your name’! Whoa! How about that? How does that make you feel. Kind of weird huh? Kind of like, “Wait a minute. You don’t know me. I’m no ‘Saint’.”
Oh, to the contrary. If you are a Born-Again follower of Christ, you certainly are a ‘Saint’. Now, whether you have been or are living up to your calling and your position in Christ, that’s another matter. That’s an ‘obedience’ matter, or a ‘behavioral’ matter. But again, your eternal identity is not a matter of your temporary behavior, but of your eternal ‘Birthright’! Now certainly, your fellowship with God certainly is related to your behavior…your obedience, and your usefulness to God as a child of God certainly is, and your privileges in God’s Kingdom certainly are dependent upon your obedience and behavior, but in relation to ‘who’ you eternally are and what is your eternal identity since you came into a saved relationship with Jesus Christ, you certainly are a ‘Saint!’ You are a ‘Saint’ by calling and a ‘Holy One’ in your position in Christ!
And not only that, but since you truly are a ‘Saint’ by calling and conversion, even though conscientious Christians would no doubt think that they don’t feel worthy of being called a ‘Saint’, it is right here that we should stop and thank the Lord Jesus, that although we are not worthy in and of ourselves, our worthiness is found in our ‘Union’ with Jesus, Who has clothed us in His perfect righteousness, granted to us His worthiness, and removed the penalty of our unworthiness, our sin, and is providing even now for the provision of daily forgiveness and cleansing of the presence of our sins!
And it is right here that we have both the right and the privilege to fully enjoy both the assurance of our salvation and the eternal security of our salvation, because our salvation is God’s eternal gift to us based upon His sinless obedient life and His perfect sacrifice to justify us from the penalty of our sins! And once, in repentance toward God and in faith in Jesus Christ, that you ask for Jesus’ gift of His salvation, God not only gives you His gift, but God Himself makes this pledge to us, His Born-Again children…Rom 11:29- “…for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” NASU The pledge that God has given to us is that once God gives to us His gift of salvation, that gift of salvation can never be taken back or removed from His Born-Again son or daughter. And our God cannot lie or break a promise of His to us.
Again, our God wants us to be secure in our saved relationship with Him…to ‘feel’ secure in our salvation. In fact, it means even more to Him than it means to us that we have assurance of our salvation because it not only inspires us, but it honors Him. It comforts us and it pleases our God. It motivates us and it glorifies God.
And, of course, it also means that along with our great privilege of our eternally saved position, that we also have a great responsibility for our daily service in our practice…in our faithfulness and obedience. For while we rejoice in Christ’s righteousness and rest in our position of having been made righteous in Christ, made holy in Christ, and made a ‘Saint’ in Christ, we are now called to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. Notice: Eph 4:1-4- “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Col 1:10- “…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
1 Thess 2:12- “…so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.” NASU
God is calling us to commit to living up to the name that we have inherited in our union with Christ. ‘Christian’ is now our spiritual name…actually our spiritual ‘Surname’. ‘Christian’ is our spiritual ‘last name’. When people call you a ‘Christian’ they are really calling you by your ‘last name’, the family name of Christ. You are one who has been spiritually birthed into the family of Christ. And your first name is now not only the one given you by your Parents, but also this additional name that has been given to you by your Heavenly Father, which again, is ‘Saint’.
Now, you may not want to go around introducing yourself by your full name: “Hello, my name is Saint Tom Johnson-Christian”, or “Hello, I’m Saint Jane Smith-Christian”, and so on… Most people wouldn’t understand that this really is your God given identity. And we wouldn’t feel comfortable calling ourselves ‘Saints’ to people we meet, like ‘Hi, I’m ‘Saint Bob’ or ‘Saint Rebecca’ and so on, even though a ‘Saint’ truly is the true identity of a Christian!
But, again, don’t get your behavior confused with your birthright! Your birthright is not based upon your behavior as a Christian. Your birthright is based upon your spiritual birth as a son or daughter of God. And your birth was God’s gift to you based upon Christ’s works and sacrifice and then your repentance and faith in Him. And thus, your relationship with God is based upon Christ’s works for you and Christ’s gift to you of His eternal life, which makes your spiritual life ‘an eternal in union with Christ.’ And therefore, your salvation is thus eternally secure.
In fact, your spiritual birth into God’s family makes your salvation so secure that it would be impossible for you to lose your salvation. Think about it: If a child of God could lose his or her salvation, that would mean that along with the unsaved, unregenerate, spiritually dead people in Gehenna Hell, that there would also be some regenerate, or spiritually Born Again, children of God in Hell with them who are there, due of their disobedience to their Heavenly Father. As though, God, the Heavenly Father would cast His own children into Hell! Never!
Do you realize how dishonoring and disparaging that kind of reasoning is to the Name and Character and Personhood of our loving God and Father! How unbiblical, illogical, and unreasonable is that kind of thinking! There could never be a Born-Again child of God in Gehenna Hell. Once you become saved by Grace through faith, you are an eternal child of God’s and an eternal citizen of Heaven. You share God’s own spiritual DNA and become united to His own eternal life! So keep your position in Christ and your practice as a Christian separate in their place and separate in your understanding. Yes, we know that there will be children of God in Heaven who were not as obedient and faithful as they should have been in their days upon Earth. That’s why God meets with each of His children to review their faithfulness to Him and their service for Him after He saves them. Their spiritual behavior will certainly affect their spiritual privileges and rewards in the Kingdom of Heaven, but once a person is born into the family of God, they will always be God’s children, a spiritual member of His family, just as someone born into a human family is always a biological member of that family regardless of their obedience or disobedience. There may have been times or seasons when we were not as obedient or responsible to our earthly parents. But our behavior could not change our biological identity or our biological relationship as a son or daughter related to our parents. And neither can behavior change the spiritual identity and spiritual relationship of a son or daughter of our Heavenly Parent…our Heavenly Father.
This is the very issue that Paul was addressing the Corinthian Christians about. Remember, to these believers, whom he addressed this way: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…”, he now says this: “…the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” 1 Cor 2:14-3:4 NKJV
So Paul reveals that there are three identities of people in the world: The Natural man…or the one that is still unsaved, not yet Born-Again. Then there is the Spiritual man…or the one that has been saved, been Born-Again, and a ‘Saint by calling’. And then the one who is Carnal man…or one who has been saved, been Born-Again, a ‘saint by calling, yet is behaving like a natural man, or an unsaved person. Again, yes, God has some children who behave like they are not God’s children. But still, even though their behavior affects their fellowship with God now and their privileges for God later, their spiritual behavior doesn’t change their relationship that was established through spiritual birth.
And we need to expound on that further in connection with the difference between Judicial forgiveness and Parental forgiveness, but the solid point we are pointing out today is the fact that our eternal security is part of our eternal salvation that God wants us to enjoy in our eternal relationship with Him as our eternal Heavenly Father. It means a great deal to God that we trust in His promises to us and then rest in the assurance of this eternal security that He has given to us. And one of the greatest ways we can honor our God and Savior is to rejoice in our eternal security that is part of the gift of His great salvation to us and for us. One of the greatest ways to please our Savior is to trust that He did indeed save us just like He promised. Jesus has promised us this: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” John 6:37-38 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.” John 6:47 NASU “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent Me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” John 5:24 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 6:23 NLT
So Brothers and Sisters, let yourself rest each day in the gift of your eternal security which is part of the gift of the eternal salvation that our eternal Heavenly Father gave to you when asked Him to save you and grant you His free gift of eternal life in an eternal relationship with Him. It will change your life and you will more fully experience your true freedom in Christ and your worship of Christ and your service for Christ!