Welcome back to my blog. We are in the middle of a wonderful discussion of eternal security. This is a vital theme in the Christian life that gives us confidence in our relationship with God and allows us peace of mind, spiritual growth as well as to better serve our Lord and man. Please review the last blog for more details on its importance.
Last time we discussed direct statements in scripture that our salvation is secure, and it is God Himself causes us to persevere. This week we move into deeper and exciting biblical points of reasons we are secure and not a superficial hope or fallacy.
We begin by discussing our four primary positions in Christ that result from salvation and are unchangeable. We will discuss the first two positions in this blog and the next two in the next time.
The Spirit’s sealing
We are marked as God’s possession at salvation and the Holy Spirit is given to us (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9). This is a great promise and is a part of the results of our belief to salvation by faith alone in Christ’s substitutionary work on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9).
o Seals were used in the ancient world as a legal means to close a document. If a king had given a new order, molten wax might be poured on the document to seal it and the king’s signet ring pressed into the wax. The king’s symbol in the wax would tell the carrier or the recipient that the contents of the document were the king’s will and breaking the seal inappropriately or ignoring the order was done at a person’s own peril (1).
o We are sealed by our King and it reflects the same legal and unbreakable character as ancient law. Further, the Spirit seals us throughout our whole life on earth as God’s own possession, until we go to heaven. Importantly, all those who believe by grace in Christ’s forgiveness on the cross are Christians and possess the Spirit and the seal (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9).
Spiritual baptism
This important biblical truth is vital in understanding who we are as Christians.
o Meaning of ‘baptism’ - Let’s consider the word itself. Although controversial, in the Epistles when baptism is mentioned it speaks of spiritual baptism. Water baptism might be considered as an external ritual to signify the internal event. The word is βαπτιζω (baptizoo) in the Greek (the original language of the New Testament), and was an old term borrowed from the dye trade. It meant that a piece of cloth immersed in the dye became ‘identified’ with the new color (2).
o Significance of spiritual baptism to eternal security - How is being ‘identified’ with Christ associated with eternal security? Fortunately, a lot!
§ We are a new person - When we believe at salvation we are identified with Christ’s gracious death and His resurrection. At this time, our old self dies and is buried with Christ. We are raised now to new holy person acceptable to God and able to enter heaven (Romans 6:2-12; Ephesians 2:4-7; Colossians 2:12-13; Hebrews 10:19-22). Similar concepts in scripture that also appear to speak probably to spiritual baptism are: regeneration (Titus 3:5), born again (John 3:5) and new man (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Why is this concept so important?
§ Unchangeable salvation – Baptism helps us know we cannot lose our salvation because scripture does not indicate that if we commit a sin our new self can be killed and the old dead self-resurrected!
In other words, we are transformed permanently to a new life, resurrected with Christ and are free to serve Him. We cannot be defeated by the misdeeds of our old self. These changes cannot be reversed. What a great comfort we have in the truth of scripture.
Wow, what great promises and what a great Salvation. God is so good and gracious. Please join us again next time as we continue with the last two points of our positions in Christ which help guarantee our security in our salvation.
1. http://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/seal.html
2. https://www.westernseminary.edu/transformedblog/2014/02/25/baptisim-meaning-and-mode/
William C. Stewart
Email - info@teleiosresearch.com
Website - http://teleiosresearch.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TeleiosResearch
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/TeleiosResearch
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/TeleiosVideos/
Disclaimer - This blog and its content are provided only as information and are intended for visitors 18 and older. No content on the website should be taken as advice or recommendation to any personal or institutional situation. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily either shared or endorsed by Teleios. Both the blog and the contents are subject to change at any time without notice. Although I endeavor to ensure that the blog and the content are current and accurate, it may contain errors. I do not represent that the blog or the content is current, accurate or complete, or appropriate for your specific requirements. I do not accept any liability from any person for the blog, the content or any other information (or the use of such information) I provide. I do not have a seminary degree, but I have trained myself in the scriptures to teach and provide this information. For any specific question, I suggest you contact experts in that field and or do your own research into the scriptures.
No comments:
Post a Comment