redemption - Drew Boswell

“Holding On to the World” 2 Kings 5:14-27

The Gospel B.C.

“Discovering God’s Redemptive Plan”

Naaman Part 2 of 2

“Holding On to the World”

2 Kings 5:14-27

Introduction

Men who trap animals in Africa for zoos in America say that one of the hardest animals to catch is the ring-tailed monkey. For the Zulus of that continent, however, it’s simple. They’ve been catching this agile little animal with ease for years. The method the Zulus use is based on knowledge of the animal. Their trap is nothing more than a melon growing on a vine. The seeds of this melon are a favorite of the monkey. Knowing this, the Zulus simply cut a hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to insert his hand to reach the seeds inside. The monkey will stick his hand in, grab as many seeds as he can, then start to withdraw it. This he cannot do. His fist is now larger than the hole. The monkey will pull and tug, screech and fight the melon for hours. But he can’t get free of the trap unless he gives up the seeds, which he refuses to do. Meanwhile, the Zulus sneak up and nab him.

In our faith, there are some things that we must let go of. We have to let go of our plan for our lives, and trust in God’s plan. We have to let go of our understanding of how things are supposed to work, and trust in His wisdom and His understanding. This morning we will look at a man who saw many miracles and worked right beside a great prophet, but could not let go of greed in his life, and it greatly affected his life.

Prayer – Lord, show us this morning where we are holding on to things that we need to let go of, and give us the wisdom to cling even tighter to your promises found in your word.

A Repentant Man’s Faith Displayed (vv. 14-19a )

“14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. 17 Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord. 18 In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.” 19 He said to him, “Go in peace.”

Notice Naaman’s process and display of faith; First, Naaman goes down to the Jordan and dips seven times. He follows the instructions that were given to him. If you dip seven times, you will be healed – so he does and he is.

The same process is true for us today, how are we to be ultimately and completely healed? Romans 10:9 “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Second is a confession of faith “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel.” He believes this because it was only the Lord that could heal him. Jesus begins his public ministry and it is the mention of Naaman and this declaration that causes the Israelites to try and throw him off a cliff.

Jesus said; Luke 4:23-30 “And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away.”

When Jesus is speaking to the crowds they understand that he is rebuking them, because of their lack of faith in Him. Others on the outside were experiencing being fed, while they starved. God’s own people were not living a life of faith that pleased God, so others (from the outside) were being healed.

When God’s people stop living a life based on faith, and begin to live in their own strength based upon what they can see, they become powerless and lack the one things that makes them different. God’s people were embracing other gods that could not heal. But God, will show His glory.

Third, upon experiencing healing (which was free), His heart’s desire is to commit himself to God in new ways. He tries to give Elisha a gift as a way of saying thank you, which indicates his gratitude for the human instrument of healing. He no longer desires to purchase his healing through someone else’s God, he wants to worship his God by giving gifts to Him, because of a cheerful heart.

Luke 17:11-19 “On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,6 who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Fourth, Naaman says this, “please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the Lord.” He is desiring to take dirt home, in order to build an alter for his home, so that he can worship God where he lives.

Where Naaman lives, there is no place for him to worship God. All the temples in his homeland are to foreign and false gods, who do not heal. He wants to sacrifice and worship God the right way, and to be able to present proper sacrifices. We know that Naaman’s faith is genuine because he desires to worship regularly.

Fifth, there is conviction of sin and a need to figure out actions in his life, that he needs to seek permission and advice regarding, “In this matter may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon your servant in this matter.”[1]

Naaman has already announced his belief in God, as the one and only God – he believes that there are no other gods and that he will never worship another god. So Namaan is not worshipping Rimmon. But he finds himself in a career, in which he has to be apart of assisting his king, in helping him up and down, during worship. Part of this assisting requires that he bow before a statue, and rise again.

When a person makes a genuine commitment to follow God, through Jesus, he immediately begins to become convicted of sin in his life. An example would Zacchaeus in the New Testament. Jesus had pointed him out of a crowd, gone to share a meal in his home. While the crows calls him a sinner, Jesus saves him. Luke 19:8 “And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Sixth, Naaman has peace in his life. The peace that Naaman receives is not just because of the physical healing, it is also because of the restored relationship between man and God. Jesus says in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

“This text contains one of the great Gentile conversion accounts in the Old Testament. Like Rahab (Josh. 2:9-13), Ruth (Ruth 1:16-18), and the sailors and Ninevites in Jonah (Jonah 1:16; 3:6-10), Naaman believes in the Lord. From Genesis 12:2-3 onward, God desires to bless all nations through Israel.”[2]

Naaman placed his trust in God,

followed His plan for His healing, and leaves having peace in his life.

A Man’s Unguarded Heart Is Compromised (vv. 19b-24)

But when Naaman had gone from him a short distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “See, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.” 21 So Gehazi followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, “Is all well?” 22 And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me to say, ‘There have just now come to me from the hill country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’” 23 And Naaman said, “Be pleased to accept two talents.” And he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of clothing, and laid them on two of his servants. And they carried them before Gehazi. 24 And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, and he sent the men away, and they departed.

If there should be anyone in the story other than Elisha whose heart should be at peace, it should have been Gehazi. He worked, ministered to and with, and served the Lord beside a prophet. He had every need taken care of, and he saw regularly the miraculous hand of God.

But, there is a lack of peace that we see in the heart of Gehazi. He gets to be apart of healings, and miracles as Elisha’s assistant, but he is not gracious over this – for him it is a job, and believes he should get paid every time he is “working.” He should “get something.” What he doesn’t realize is that he is getting something, he is getting to be apart of God’s work.

There was a lack of peace in Gehazi also because he has allowed his heart to become compromised. He undermines Elisha’s desire that they not receive payment. Gehazi, didn’t agree, so he waits until a good time, and then lies to Naaman. Then he hides what he has done, by placing the goods in the house, and sends the men away. One sin, leads to another, and then another, and then another.

Gehazi’s character is described to us as being, greedy, not respectful of authority, he is a liar, and deceptive. Working in ministry and even seeing and being in the group where God’s Spirit is moving – doesn’t mean that you are where you need to be spiritually, or that your character cannot become contaminated and diseased. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”

This whole process began with a thought, and I believe it began when Naaman appeared at the door the first time – “wow, look at all those chariots full of stuff.” Clothes, silver and gold – we have hit paydirt.” “we are going to be rich!” But instead of dealing with the greedy thoughts, he allows it fester within him. One sin leads to another, and he finds himself running after the chariots.

(v. 21) “And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him.” Earlier in the chapter when Naaman went to prophet’s door and a servant appeared before him he was angry, but now when a servant comes after him, he stops, and gets down from his chariot[3] – showing again Naaman’s heart change – contrasted with the heart of a person who should be forever changed.

Gehazi allows his own greed to potentially

compromise Elisha’s teaching of healing ministry.

A Selfish Man’s Reward Is Given (vv. 25-27)

“He went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant went nowhere.” 26 But he said to him, “Did not my heart go when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow[4].”

After all that he has done, he then goes and “stood before his master Elisha,” as though he has done nothing wrong. Elisha asks, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” He gives him one last chance to confess his sin. – but he lies again. “Your servant didn’t go anywhere.”

If God is going to punish Gehazi for his greed, why did He give him leprosy? “. . . the leprosy taken from Naaman on account of his faith in the living God, should pass to Gehazi on account of his departure from the true God. For it was not his avarice only that was to be punished, but the abuse of the prophet’s name for the purpose of carrying out his selfish purpose, and his misrepresentation of the prophet.”[5]

Naaman was supposed to learn that “there was truly a prophet of the One true God in Israel.” Gehazi threatened that realization, and stood do discredit the name of the Lord. How many people have not placed their trust in the one true God, because someone has discredited the gospel by greed and deception. The message becomes contaminated by how those that are supposed to be healed live are though they are not.

Naaman comes as an unbeliever who has leprosy, and leaves a believer being healed of leprosy – he goes home in peace. Gehazi begins as a believer, but he leaves the story having inherited the leprosy and disease – a lack of peace. The love of money becomes a corruption in his heart. Gehazi inherits Naaman’s leprosy, and Naaman seems to inherit Gehazi’s faith.[6]

It is possible to be a believer in Jesus, and still live an absolutely miserable life, because you refuse (like the monkey’s fist in the melon) to let go of sin in your life.

2 Kings 5 shows us that Gehazi remains Elisha’s assistant in ministry. He is able to continue to do ministry, but the consequence of his sin (leprosy) remains. When we don’t guard our hearts, and sin, we can seek the Lord’s forgiveness, but the Lord does not take away the consequences. Gehazi’s reward for his greed is that he has the problems that the unhealed world has – and it controls his life.

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[1] “Rimmon is another name for Hadad, the storm god and the national god of Aram. He wants to avoid any appearance of unfaithfulness to the God to whom he just committed himself.” David T. Lamb, The Story of God Bible Commentary, 1-2 Kings (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Academic, 2021) 329.

[2] Paul R. House, The New American Commentary, 1, 2 Kings (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995) 273.

[3] John Gray, The Old Testament Library, 1 & 2 Kings (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Westminster Press, 1963) 458.

[4] Exodus 4:6-7 “Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. 7 Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.” God used leprosy as a sign to show his prophet to be authentic.

[5] C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary om the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, Volume III (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983) 323.

[6] House, 274.

“What Happened?” Genesis 3:1-24

The Gospel B.C.

“Discovering God’s Redemptive Plan”

“What Happened?”

Genesis 3:1-24

Introduction

Prayer

The Same Old Temptations (vv. 1-6)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

I Can Make God’s Word Mean What I Want It To Mean (Temptation #1)

The serpent wants to draw the woman into a conversation, so he begins with a complete distortion of what God had commanded Adam, who then passed on the command to Eve (2:16). He is subtlety suggesting that maybe Adam got it wrong when he passed on the command, or maybe he was telling her something that God really didn’t say at all.

While the serpent intentionally misquotes the Lord God’s command, Eve quotes what she has been given. She is still one with her husband, she says, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees .” Eve responds, and as it turns out, Adam has failed to give Eve the name of the tree, and has also added to the original command, she does not name the tree, but instead calls it “the tree that is in the midst of the garden”

“according to its location instead of its significance. And she says “neither shall you touch it, lest you die,” – God’s original command named the tree, again giving its importance, and they were not to eat it, and if they did they would surely” Both the serpent and Eve get God’s command wrong.

Genesis 2:16 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” We don’t know if Adam added to the original command, or if Eve changed it – but what we see from Eve’s response is a changing of God’s Word. Also, notice that up to this point, God was referred to as Lord God, and Satan drops the word Lord – and Eve follows his example.

When the serpent presents this hidden knowledge of something called “the knowledge of good and evil,” he presents it as something hidden or kept from her. She has not been privy to this tree being called, “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

Why have a single tree, that produces fruit that gives a person knowledge of good and evil? In the Garden of Eden are three types of trees: the trees they were allowed to eat from daily, then there was the tree of life that gave them potentially “eternal life,” and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The fruit trees fed the birds, animals etc., the tree of life kept them from aging, but what ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?

Why was it there? What purpose did it serve? The tree means choice – what is love if you have no choice but are forced to love? Can you dictate loyalty? God really only asked Adam and Eve to do one thing, trust Him. Have faith in that He only wanted good for them, that He was God, and they were the created order, just be what God created them to be, and trust Him.

“They” Are Keeping Something Good From Me (Temptation #2)

(v. 4) “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The serpent claiming to know God better than Eve, makes the bold claim that God is lying, “You will not surely die.”

It is true that if she eats the fruit, she will know good and evil, and it is also true that she doesn’t drop dead instantly. The serpent’s comments go straight to God’s motive – the serpent is insinuating that God is maliciously keeping something from Eve, something He doesn’t want her to have. Something that if she were to have it would put her on the level with God. Hidden knowledge.

The serpent is encouraging her “to move from obedience and faith in God’s Word toward her judging God and his command as though from a neutral position.”[1] Whenever we stand in judgement of God’s Word, we place ourselves at least on the same level as God, or even above Him.[2]

God has placed a restriction, a boundary, that you are not to go past – The serpent wants Eve to ask, “Why can’t I go into that territory?” “Why can’t I experience that?” – The serpent whispers, “Because God is morally corrupt, and is evil, and wants you to be miserable, He wants to keep you at this lower level.”

“He doesn’t want you to have something that you want (you don’t even know what it is, but because you have been told you can’t have it, you feel you deserve it). “The serpent spoke only about what she would gain and avoided mentioning what she would lose in the process.”[3]

Why does the serpent go to Eve, instead of Adam? 1 Timothy 2:13-14 “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” There was an order of creation, Adam was the head, and Eve was the helper, made as a perfect companion and spouse.

Together they each played a role in bringing life into the world, and together had dominion over creation. The serpent strikes at their different roles – deceiving Eve into thinking she is inferior. She, on her own, decides to act. The man needs the woman, and the woman needs the man – they complete each other.

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

(v. 4) the serpent says, if you have this hidden knowledge, then “you will be like God,” – but they were already “like God,” because they had been created in His image (1:26). God did want them to be like Him, He wasn’t keeping this from them, He created them that way.[4] Our heavenly Father does not keep any good thing from His children – we must trust Him for the timing, and His purpose and plan – it is always good.

3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

There is a quick progression that Eve follows. She looked at the fruit and in her evaluation there was nothing about the fruit that would make it bad for food in fact it was delicious looking. She believed that this forbidden fruit would give her knowledge – but it is a knowledge apart from God. 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Then Eve turns to Adam, fruit in hand, and extends it to him. 1 Tim. 2, tells us “Adam was not deceived,” He saw straight through all the craftiness, all the half-truths, all the emotional attempts at division. Why did Adam eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil?

I Can Fix This (Temptation #3)

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The serpent’s promise was that “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” And indeed “Then the eyes of both were opened.” But in this new knowledge, there is sudden compulsion to cover their nakedness.

Eve thought she could possess that which God was keeping from her, but now she is not like God. She now has a division between her husband (which comes in a moment), between her and her Creator, and even her own body. Her soul is now fighting against her body – which results in shame. Innocence is lost.

(v. 7) “And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Who are they ashamed of seeing them? Who do they not want to see their nakedness? To hide from God, they go to the trees. But they cover their nakedness with leaves – to hide their shame from each other. That which was made, “very good” now there is division.

(v. 9) God knows what has happened, He even already has a plan to fix their mistake, but guilt has to be assigned first, and He wants them to recognize how their sin has impacted them, so God asks, “Where are you?” – fear and shame has driven them to hide amongst the trees. God asks, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” But instead of simply saying, “yes, we believed the lie of the serpent” – they try to blame others.

Just Blame Someone Else For Your Behavior (Temptation #4)

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The man blames God for giving him an inferior woman, “whom you gave to be with me” – She gave him fruit of the tree, and he ate it. Genesis 2:18 “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” And then later on, it says, “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” They were very good in their creation. The woman blames the serpent, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” –

The Consequences of Adam & Eve’s Rebellion

The Serpent’s Curse (vv. 14-15)

14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

We are introduced to two races of people – the offspring of Adam and Even, and the offspring of the serpent. These two groups of people will have enmity between them.

(v. 15) “contains a puzzling yet important ambiguity: Who is the “seed” of the woman? It seems obvious that the purpose of the verse has not been to answer that question but rather to raise it. The remainder of the book is the author’s answer.”[5]

Eve’s Curse (v. 16)

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

The original blessing for Eve was to “be fruitful and multiply,” and in the marriage relationship she would have with her husband as they had dominion over the earth. Now it was in these greatest times of blessing, there would also pain and now that sin has entered into the world, she would still play the same role, but now her husband and herself would have a sin nature,

“Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, (you will no longer be united) but he shall rule over you.” Eve believed that God (her Creator who only gave her good things) was keeping something good from her, and that she deserved more, how much more of this would she show this attitude toward her husband?

But also, in the pain of delivering a child was the promise that eventually, Eve’s offspring would eventually defeat the one that led her into this fallen state.

Adam’s Curse (vv. 17-19)

17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Work is given to man in 2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” So it is not working that is the curse, working was his assignment from God originally, so it was good. But now, “cursed is the ground.” Adam and Eve will be forced to leave the garden with its’ many fruit bearing trees, to outside the garden where Adam will have to plow fields and work hard to produce food.

His work will produce “thorns and thistles;” his efforts will result is wasted time and resources. Before the fall everything his hands touched bloomed and produced fruit – now it is painful, and some of his efforts result in nothing but wasted time.

“for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 2:7) – Man’s work and toil is tied to his death. Every loaf of bread he produces, it will cost him the sweat of his brow.

Consequences Remain, But Grace is Given (vv. 20-24)

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Grace Between Man and Woman

Adam and Eve both are well aware that they will now die, and have been cursed because of their decision to rebel against God – “the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” (literally) Life has to go on, in spite of their mistake. They still have a command from God to follow. So Adam, as an act of faith, calls his wife, Eve.

Grace between Humanity and God.

(v. 21) “And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Originally, no animals were to be killed for food, the animals didn’t even kill eath other. Everything, was a herbivore. But, God kills animals, to cover Adam and Eve with skins. To cover their shame, something had to die. The Lord God himself made them clothes. Genesis 3 shows us that the pain we encounter, why there are all the horrors of this world, and why we act, and others behave the way they do – it’s not God’s fault.

“Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.” – humanity no longer is in obedience with their Creator, he has rebelled and in that fallen state, has become independent and autonomous. He places himself on the same level with God, thinking he can determine right and wrong, good and evil.

Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This is the fallen state of humanity, they will no longer look to God to provide “the good,” but will always be bent toward what they think is good and evil. (making ourselves god).

Humanity can no longer eat of the tree of life and now will eventually die. To live a life that runs counter to how you were created is a miserable life, so God in His grace allows them to die. Man’s nature is bent toward rebellion against His Creator.

They have obtained being “like God” but they are no longer with God. The fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is for God alone to eat from. The tree in midst of the garden guides us to ask the question, “Do you want to be God, or do you want God to be God?” For you to be God is for you to be separated from the One true God. For you to trust Him, as God, is to have eternal life.

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[1] Gerhard Von Rad, The Old Testament Library, Genesis (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; The Westminster Press, 1961) 86.

[2] “Whenever man attacks the concrete Word of God with the weapon of a principle or an idea of God, there he has become the lord of God.” (Bonhoeffer, Creation and Fall, 68).

[3] Kenneth Matthews, The New American Commentary, Genesis 1-11:26 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 1995) 237.

[4] John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1990) 51.

[5] Sailhamer, 56.

Genesis 45 “I am Joseph!”

Drew Boswell Ministries

Genesis 45 “I am Joseph!”

00:00 / 00:47:19

“I am Joseph!” Genesis 45

“Wilderness” The Life of Joseph

Sermon Series

Genesis 45

“I am Joseph!”

Introduction

Prayer

There is a Good Plan Before You (vv. 1-8)

Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him. He cried, “Make everyone go out from me.” So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. 4 So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.[1] 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”

“But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.” – This whole drama started with needing to go to Egypt to get food, for there was a famine – and they all sat around and looked at each other (in guilt). Then through a series of events they cried out, “In truth we are guilty” (Genesis 42:21). They have repented of their sin against Joseph “For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father” (Genesis 44:34). But now everything, all of it is brought to the surface, Joseph has all the power over them, and they are terrified.

This is the same realization of a person who has come to the true understanding that he has offended an all-powerful, holy God. They are without excuse, and completely without hope. All that anger of being sold into slavery, having lived in prison, mistreated and falsely accused, for over twenty years – now can, having absolute power to have his vengeance upon them – and they would deserve it, they “could not answer him, for they were dismayed.”

The great preacher of old, Jonathan Edwards once said, “Thus all you that never passed under a great change of heart, by the mighty power of the Spirit of God upon your souls; all you that were never born again, and made new creatures, and raised from being dead in sin, to a state of new, and before altogether unexperienced light and life, are in the hands of an angry God.”[2]

Does the hammer fall? Does Joseph have his revenge? No. Grace abounds. During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.[3]

(v. 5) “for God sent me before you to preserve life” and (v. 7) “7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth” and (v. 8) “So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” “Joseph’s words pull back the narrative veil and allow the reader to see what has been going on behind the scenes. It was not the brothers who sent Joseph to Egypt, rather it was God. And God had a purpose for it all.”[4]

God took these men through a lengthy gut-wrenching journey so that they would repent of their sin and turn to God, and it is through these brothers (the sons of Israel) that the world would be turned upside down with the gospel. They would be redeemed, and so would the world. These lying, deceitful, hateful, wicked men would give their lives to God and through them millions would be saved.

(v. 5) “do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here” – Don’t focus on the past, or how you once were lost. Now is the time to focus on preserving other people’s life. They are the beginning of a long story of redemption. Moses is coming, and Joshua, and the tabernacle, and the ark of the covenant, Samuel, and King David, and Esther, and Ruth, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel – the story of redemption is coming.

And there will be a voice crying out in the wilderness, a man named John who will point us to Him, the promised one who will save the world from their sin by dying on a Roman cross – Jesus. The story of redemption is coming! Then the disciples and Paul, and the church spreads out. Today the story continues with you! And one day Jesus will come, with a shout, and we will meet him in the air. Eternity will begin and our redemption will be complete. Today, the story is not complete, there is one more who needs to hear your story of redemption and she needs to hear it from you. Have you ever asked, “why am I here?” There are two answers, 1) you need to hear the story or 2) you need to tell the story.

A Renewed Picture of a Promised Land (vv. 9-20)

9 Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not tarry. 10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come, so that you and your household, and all that you have, do not come to poverty.’ 12 And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 You must tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Hurry and bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. After that his brothers talked with him. 16 When the report was heard in Pharaoh’s house, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. 17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, 18 and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ 19 And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. 20 Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

The book of Genesis begins with everything being good, 1:31 “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” And now (at the end of “the Beginnings”) everything is made right again, where there was destruction and famine, now God’s people would live in Goshen, a special place where they would be safe and be provided for. “The picture of Joseph is a picture of restoration – this was a restoration of the blessing that was promised through the offspring of Jacob.”[5]

After the fall of Adam and Eve we see a promise. Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” There is a promise of one who will come to defeat sin and death and restore all things to the way God created them to be.

(v. 10) “You shall dwell in the land of Goshen” – This was a land set aside for Joseph’s family. Genesis 47:11 “Then Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.”

It is in this area that the tribe of Israel will grow into a nation of people. Later, it was there that God showed grace to His people once again, “Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail” (Exodus 8:22, 9:26). This is a picture of the Garden of Eden, Adam having to leave because of sin, now there is restoration and at the end of “the beginnings,” now a return back to a land of safety and provision.

The Numb Heart and the Revived Heart (vv. 21-28)

21 The sons of Israel did so: and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. 22 To each and all of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five changes of clothes. 23 To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and provision for his father on the journey. 24 Then he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the way.” 25 So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. 26 And they told him, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And his heart became numb, for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. 28 And Israel said, “It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

(v. 25) we see again, “So they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob.” Jacob means “deceiver, trickster” but Israel was his covenant name, the name God gave him when they wrestled in the wilderness. Whenever we see Jacob turning back to a lack of faith, a numb heart, back his old ways he is called Jacob. Look at the transition, “the spirit of their father Jacob 28 And Israel said, . . .” By Genesis chapter 47, Jacob is 137 years old. Jacob had spent his entire adult life (since wrestling with God) being a man of faith, and then a man of doubt – up and down, back and forth.

You may say, “yeah but Jacob had a hard life.” His father favored his brother Esau over him. His uncle Laban treated him harshly, Genesis 31:40 “by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep fled from my eyes. 41 These twenty years I have been in your house.” He had a dislocated hip. His beloved wife died giving birth to Benjamin, and his son Joseph was killed by wild animals (or so he was told). But look if we were compare Jacob with his son Joseph – Joseph was mistreated and hated by his brothers, sold as a slave, lied about so that he ended up in prison, forgotten. But through all that Joseph endured – he never waivered in his faith.

Throughout the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) at key sections, at major mile markers, in the story of God’s people there is an emphasis on whether they respond in faith, or a lack of faith. Where there is a lack of faith, there is a numb heart. Where there is faith shown, there is a revived heart.

Jacob, his entire life has wanted the blessing of God. As his brother was being born, he grabbed his heal as if to pull him back in to the womb so he would get the blessing. Then He tricked his father to falsely get him to give him the blessing. Then in the wilderness he wrestles with God and demands him for a blessing – His entire life Jacob has perused the blessing of God.

Let’s go back to Genesis 32:32 this is where Jacob wrestles with God. They have wrestled through the night, The man “Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,6 for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

The man Jacob is wrestling with says, “what is your name?” Jacob has to say his name which means deceiver, trickster “grabber of the heal.” God is saying “You have tried to receive God’s blessing your entire life – your way.” You have tried to steal it, to trick people for it, to wrestle it away.” But God changes his name to Israel which means “God fights.” After a long night of wrestling with God, “And there he blessed him.” Once Jacob quit fighting, trying to do it his way – God fought for Him, and he was finally blessed.

Stop fighting God, and let Him fight for you!

God will let us know His will, we will know Him personally, and our sin will be remembered no more. When you stop fighting God, and let Him fight for you, look what happens: Jeremiah 31:33-34 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel (those following after Israel who put their faith in God) after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Our stone, Numb, hard heart is changed.

Ezekiel 36:26 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Psalm 51: “Create in me a pure heart, o God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

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[1] Ad astra per aspera “through hardships to the stars.”

[2] To read the entire sermon, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/edwards_jonathan/Sermons/Sinners.cfm

[3] https://bible.org/illustration/net

[4] John H. Sailhamer, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1990) 256.

[5] Sailhamer, 257.

The Fundamentals of Our Faith; What We Believe Sermon Series, “We Believe in Salvation” Miscellaneous Verses

The Fundamentals of Our Faith;

What We Believe Sermon Series

“We Believe in Salvation”[1]

Miscellaneous Verses

Introduction

Muddy mirror

Prayer

Humanity Is Made in the Image of God

We will begin our talk today with the question of where did men and women come from? What is the origin of humanity? Both the Old Testament and New Testament writers viewed Adam (and Eve) as a person, a person as historical as Jesus Christ Himself.[2] These accounts leave no room for a mythical or allegorical interpretation.

Genesis 1:26 tells us, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” We are carefully though out and purposely planned. It also says in Genesis that God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” and to complement man, He made woman to be Adam’s helper (Gen. 2:18), 22).

So How Are We Made in the Image of God?

Moral likeness. God has given humanity an inner sense of right and wrong (Eccl. 3:11; Rom. 2:15). We call it our conscience[3] (or they were self-conscience), in intended to prompt us to act in a moral way, and when we do we reflect God’s moral likeness.

Spiritual likeness. Like God is a spirit, humanity also has a spirit (John 19:30; Acts 7:59). We relate to God in prayer, praise, and in worship (John 4:24). Since God is spirit, our spirit reflects His likeness. God made Adam from the dust (body), and breathed life into Him (soul) – God is spirit, and there is a part of man that is spirit as well.

Intellectual likeness. Mankind can reason, think logically, and learn in a way that sets us apart from the animal kingdom. Adam was given the responsibility to name the animals when they were presented to him (Gen. 2:19-20). Only humans ponder the future, create beauty (music, art, literature), and make scientific and technological advancements. As we use our intellect we reflect the image of God.

Social likeness. God is a Trinity, there is one God existing in three coeternal and coequal persons. It takes all three members of the Trinity to make up God. Likewise, both male and female make up humanity. Humanity reflects the trinity in how men and women cooperate together, each being equal to live out different roles assigned by God.

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” When God created human beings, He created them in His image. This image has been distorted by sin, but not lost completely because of man’s sin (Gen. 9:6). This distorted image of God will be restored when Jesus returns (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49).

Humanity’s Image of God Has Become Corrupted.

At the beginning of time, Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. Before the rebellion man’s natural inclination was toward God. This rebellion contaminated their spirits so that their inner nature now tended toward sin (Rom. 7:14-15), and while they were still capable of doing good, they became incapable of not doing wrong.

The very nature of man changed with the fall. Before the fall mankind’s heart was oriented toward God, but after the fall mankind’s will was to war with God – to fight against Him. We are not sinners because we sin – we sin because it is our nature to do so. An apple tree is not an apple tree because it produces apples. It produces apples because it is an apple tree.

John 3:19 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” Mankind’s nature is bent toward sin, and we don’t like it when our sin is called what it is – wrong, sin, corrupt, etc.

Why did God not stop this evil from happening in the beginning? There, at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He could have kept the serpent from tempting Eve, or stopped her before she took a bite, or done something to keep sin from entering into His perfect creation. He is all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere. God could have created Adam and Eve so that they would not sin – but to do so would remove the freedom of choice.

The consequences which God warned them of involved both physical and spiritual death, that is a separation from their creator. This “Fall” involved all of the natural creation (Rom. 8:21-22).

This corrupted nature is passed down from generation to generation (Rom. 5:12-25). This condition is called “total depravity.” This does not mean that we are totally bad, or as bad as we could be – but it means that every part of our humanity has been corrupted by sin (physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, socially – in every way).

In Romans we can look at two verses and from there we cannot avoid the fact that humanity is lost and in need of salvation. Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is no room for debate, humanity is lost and needs to be saved.

There are typically two schools of thought with regard to this problem. 1) everyone has to earn his or her salvation. 2) thinking everyone will be saved, regardless, the idea that God is too loving and kind to send anyone to hell. The Bible shows that both of these ideas are false. Titus 3:5 shows that you are not going to heaven based on your good works,“ . . . he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,” and,

Matthew 7:13-14, Rev. 20:15 shows that not everyone is going to heaven, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

Humanity Needs a Savior.

Humanity must have God’s grace, or “unmerited favor.” God is love, and from that love He has provided you a way (the only way) to be spared the normal consequences of sin, which is eternal separation from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The gift that is given to humanity is God’s grace and mercy offered to a person who places their faith in Jesus as the way to be saved from their sins. The faith mentioned here is not just acknowledging that God exists, — to believe information about something. It means to place our trust in that information.

The Smithsonian tells a story of the Daredevil of Niagara Falls. During the winter of 1858, a 34-year-old French acrobat named Jean François Gravelet, better known as Monsieur Charles Blondin, traveled to Niagara Falls hoping to become the first person to cross the “boiling cataract.” He always worked without a net, believing that preparing for disaster only made one more likely to occur. A rope 1,300 feet long, two inches in diameter and made entirely of hemp would be the sole thing separating him from the roiling waters below.[4] Blondin would say, “do you believe I can cross without falling?” The audience would say, “yes, we believe.” “Then he would say, then get on my back.” Or “get in the wheelbarrow.”

There is a difference between saying you believe in something (while standing on the shore), and then place your whole life in their hands (sitting in the wheelbarrow).

Part of placing our faith in Christ and being saved, is that a person must repent of their sin. Repentance means “changing one’s mind.” It is the other side of the coin of belief – faith and repentance go together.

CS. Lewis in Mere Christianity once said, “Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement; he is a rebel who must lay down his arms . . . This process of surrender – this movement full speed astern – is what Christians call repentance.”[5]

What Happens with Salvation? There are several words that help us to understand the meaning of salvation:

Redemption – this means “to purchase from the marketplace.” This would be the same word agarazo, that you would use for buying a piece of fruit from the grocery store. You will pay the price that is required for the piece of fruit.

With regard to our salvation, there was a sin debt that was owed, or in order to pay the price for our redemption. But it does not just mean we have been purchased, it also means that it takes us out of the market. Just like your piece of fruit is yours, it’s “out of the market.” We have been removed from the marketplace of sin.

Justified – this means to be declared righteous by God. We can not be declared righteous by God unless we are righteous in God’s eyes. But how can God see us being righteous when we know we have sin in our lives?

Romans 4:2-3 “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” We are justified before God by our faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus acts as our representative, and by dying in our place we are justified by our faith in His act (1 Cor. 15:45). When we give our lives to Christ to follow Him, our sins are forgiven, we are born again, and Jesus’ righteousness becomes ours.

Adoption – when a person is adopted, they are made a legal member of another family, with all the rights and privileges of that family. Ephesians 1:5 “he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

We were in the power of sin, of the world, and we belonged to the family of Adam – we were lost and without hope. But God, through Jesus took us from that family and adopted us into His, and adoption wipes out the past and makes us new. God knows all the sins that we have ever committed and will commit in the future and they are true even if we don’t feel different. The earth is round and rotates, whether you believe it or feel it – its still true.

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” This is a deeply person term, Abba, Daddy – God has chosen us to show love and kindness to us forever.

How Do I Know If I Have Been Saved?

It is not uncommon for Christians to struggle with doubt as to whether or not they are saved. But the Bible gives assurance that we can know that we are saved.

Psalm 130:4 “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” It is possible to be forgiven.

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” A person must come to Jesus, believe in Him, and ask Him to save us – but when we do, God will not ignore our pleadings for forgiveness.

1 John 5:13 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” God has given us the Word of God, so that we may know that we are saved.

Can I Lose My Salvation?

Eternal security is the belief that once Christians are saved they will always be saved. So in order to see if eternal security is true, then we need to remember what happens when a person is genuinely saved:

1) They are made a new creature: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” A new believer is not simply an improved version of who they were, he is an entirely new creature, in Christ.

2) You have been purchased at the price of the death of the Son of God. Your sin debt has been paid – there is nothing left to pay. All your sin past, present, and future have been taken care of. You can not lose that, it is already been done.

3) The have been declared righteous by God (justified) – God has told those that place their faith in Christ that they are declared righteous. God would have to go back on His word and declare unrighteous that which He already declared righteous.

4) You are sealed with the Holy Spirt – Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

When a person placed their faith in Christ they are sealed with the Holy Spirt until eternity. The guarantee of our inheritance of eternal life in heaven is the presence of the Holy Spirit – not our actions. There is nothing that a person can do for the promised seal to be broken.

There will come a time when the Christian will be glorified in eternity. Romans 8:30 “And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (not will glorify)

A Christian is guaranteed glorification. According to Romans 5:1, justification is ours at the moment of faith. According to Romans 8:30, glorification comes with justification. A Christian cannot lose salvation.

Most, if not all, of what the Bible says happens to us when we receive Christ would be invalidated if salvation could be lost. Salvation is the gift of God, and God’s gifts are “irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

A Christian cannot be un-newly created. The redeemed cannot be unpurchased. Eternal life cannot be temporary. God cannot renege on His Word. Scripture says that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

Do you realize that you have a nature corrupted by sin? Is the Holy Spirit convicting you of sin, and pulling you to give your life to Christ today? You need to be saved – God in His limitless love and compassion provided Jesus as the way to fix your sin problem (that you can’t do on your own). Won’t you accept His free gift of salvation today

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[1] Alternate title, “Man’s Disorder and God’s Design”

[2] Paul Little, Know What You Believe, A Practical Discussion of the Fundamentals of the Christian Faith (Colorado Springs, Colorado; Cook Communications, 1999) 71.

[3] 1 Tim. 1:5

[4] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-daredevil-of-niagara-falls-110492884/

[5] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York; New York; Macmillan, 1960), 38-39.

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