The Unconverted “Believer” (1): The Problem Stated

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Acts chapter 3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer the ninth hour and A man lame from birth was being carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate

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To ask alms of those entering the temple seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple he asked to receive alms and Peter directed his gaze at him as did

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John and said look at us and he fixed his attention on them Expecting to receive something from them

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But Peter said I have no silver and gold but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong and Leaping up he stood and began to walk and enter the temple with them walking and leaping and praising

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God and all the people saw him walking and praising God and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms and They were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him

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While he clung to Peter and John all the people of people utterly astounded

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Ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's and when Peter sought he addressed the people men of Israel Why do you wonder at this or why do you stare at us as though by our own power or piety?

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We made him walk The God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob the

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God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus Whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate when he had decided to release him

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But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you and You killed the author of life whom

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God raised from the dead to this. We are witness in his name by faith in his name has made this man strong whom you see and know and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all and Now brothers,

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I know that you acted in ignorance as did also your rulers But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets that his

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Christ would suffer and thus fulfilled Repent therefore and turn back that your sins may be blotted out that times of Refreshing may come from the presence of the

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Lord and that he may send the Christ appointed for you Jesus Whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which

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God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago Moses said the

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Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers You shall listen to him and whatever he tells you and it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people and All the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaimed these days

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You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers Saying to Abraham and in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed

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God having raised up his servant sent him to you first to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness

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Let's pray Our father we thank you for this time together

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Where we could gather around your word and we can sing it and we can pray it and we can hear it proclaimed

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We thank you for its truth And Lord, we pray that we would repent from our former ways that we would no longer live as the

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Gentiles live in in ignorance and darkness Alienated from the life of God being callous and being greedy for every type of sensuality

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Lord, we confess these things to you and we pray that we would live as new creatures that we would live as Christ So Lord in the power of your spirit, we pray that you would help us help us to hear the

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Word of God Help us to understand it help us to practically live it out in our day -to -day lives

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We pray Lord that we would be pleasing to you Help us now as we hear the word proclaimed

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We just pray that we would be sensitive to it. Keep us focused on it Lord and all throughout the week

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Thank you Lord in Jesus name. Amen Well, let's turn in our

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Bibles to the book of Proverbs and we'll read one verse Proverbs 30 verse 12 as we begin this morning

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Mary could I trouble you to get it bring up a block box of Kleenex, please for some reason we lost ours up here

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That'd be great It's a short verse

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There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes Yet is not washed from its filthiness.

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Thank you and that Verse is full of meaning as we will consider later

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Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior mankind gave a commission to his church To tell the people of the world the entire world everyone everywhere of the good news of salvation

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From sin through faith in him through faith in Jesus Christ And so, of course, we are to declare to all people everywhere that they might escape

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God's wrath upon them upon them for their sin That they might escape their sentence of eternal damnation and be assured of the gift of everlasting life

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Mark 16 15 and 16 record the Lord's words go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature

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He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned

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However, we're not just to Proclaim a message, but we are to make disciples

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We're followers of Jesus the Lord and we do so by proclaiming the message

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And so Matthew recorded our Lord's Great Commission in these words. All authority has been given to me in heaven and earth

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations Baptizing them in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things That I have commanded you and lo

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I'm with you even on to the end of the age and We're of course to have the same passion

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For the loss that characterized our Lord. We're to desire the salvation of all people everywhere rejoicing when they respond to our message when they come to faith in the

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Lord Jesus and When they join his people in following him as his disciples

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But not only is the church to proclaim to the lost world that people might receive salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ The church is to make every effort to assure that those in the churches

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Those who profess to be believers live as true disciples Following him in faith and obedience through life

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And so we're to labor So that professing Christians will be saved from their own sin when they face the

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Lord Jesus In their judgment on the last day We're to teach we're to warn

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We're to exhort one another lest any of us fails to live in a manner that characterizes true

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Christians For the failure to live as a Christian will result in one's damnation along with all

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Non -believers non -christians We were to come alongside one another helping one another in the faith so that we might all complete our journey of faith in The day that our

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Lord calls us on to himself But this is a great responsibility

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Really a great task a great duty and challenge when we consider the scope of the problem

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The Word of God reveals that there may be many churches that are comprised of many people

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Who believe themselves to have salvation but are yet in their sins?

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And I find Evangelicals even will express the great need and concern to go out into the world and to bring the gospel to the lost

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But they don't have a lot of concern and compassion for the people within their own walls The church in the city of Sardis which existed toward the end of the first century was comprised largely of unconverted souls

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Jesus dictated a letter to that church Revelation which reads I know your works that you have a name that you are alive, but you're dead

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They thought that they had eternal life spiritual life Be watchful strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die for I've not found your works perfect before God And remember therefore how you've received and heard hold fast and repent

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Therefore if you will not watch I will come upon you as a thief and you'll not know what hour

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I will come upon you And yet the Lord made this concession You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments

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They shall walk with me in white for they are worthy He who overcome shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of life

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Which I will confess it. I but I will confess his name before my father and before his angels

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And so this church congregation thought itself alive spiritually alive, but in fact they were spiritually dead

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There were only a few names of those in the church who would receive salvation And similar conclusions could be drawn

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Regarding the churches of in Thyatira and Laodicea from the other letters that are recorded in Revelation 2 and 3

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And so bringing professing Christians to experience true salvation is a great undertaking

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It also is a great undertaking when we consider the number of people that believe themselves to be

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Christians Who assume or at least hope that they will escape

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God's condemnation and be allowed entrance into the everlasting life And so let's consider the broad heading of Christendom for example

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Which is a term that refers to all people throughout the world who profess that they're

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Christians, this is their claim Of the present population of 7 .8

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billion souls living on our planet day today almost one -third of them

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Claim to be Christian. That's a total of 2 .4

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billion souls worldwide Does the world give evidence that one -third of the population are living as devout disciples of Jesus Christ But they think that they are

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Christians they claim they are The estimated number of Christians in the

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United States varies the Gallup poll and Pew Forum State that between 75 and 80 percent of Americans claim to be

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Christian Which projects to be from 250 to 260 million professing

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American Christians Most of us would agree that there may be a great difference between the large number of Americans who claim to be

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Christian and the Actual number of those among them who are truly committed living for Jesus Christ in their daily lives

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The evangelical pollster George Barna Asserted that 66 percent of Americans may be defined as casual

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Christians But only 16 percent are what he called captive Christians.

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In other words committed Christians 16 percent The Pew Research Center in 2014 stated that 25 .4

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percent of Americans identify with American evangelicalism

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That is those who claim to believe the Holy Bible is the authoritative Word of God 25 %

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Does America give evidence that 25 % of its adult population is living as devout disciples of Jesus Christ?

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Evangelicals are those who claim that they believe and follow the Bible as the Word of God, but we might ask What percentage of evangelicals?

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Again so -called Bible believers Are true Christians, and I fear that the number is strikingly small

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Even among those who believe themselves to be committed evangelical Christians There is an annual survey conducted by Ligonier Ministries as R .C.

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Sproul's Ministry, of course and Lifeway Lifeway research entitled the state of theology

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What do Americans believe about God salvation ethics in the Bible and their findings for last year

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Are not pretty to say the least almost one -third of American evangelicals

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Now these are people who claim to believe the Bible to be the Word of God One -third of them believe that Jesus was just a great teacher, but that he is not

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God incarnate one -third Among American evangelicals 42 % believe that God accepts the worship of all religions including

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Christianity Judaism and Islam 42 % of Bible believers incredible in America Here's one conclusion of these researchers these results reveal an urgent need for clear biblical teaching on the first of Christ the gospel of grace and The way that the truth of God informs our ethical decisions in everyday life

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There is much work to be done in this age of confusion But we hope the findings of this survey will serve the church and its calling to reach more people with the faithful proclamation of God's Word But I would argue that when we consider the

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Bible What the Holy Bible the Word of God teaches regarding salvation I must conclude that the percentage of evangelicals who are truly converted by the

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Holy Spirit are relatively few in number Perhaps after you've read and reflected on the biblical passages.

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It will be addressing Over the course of this whole series not just today You may also conclude that there must be a scarcity of Authentic biblical

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Christians and even so -called Bible believing churches. I Hope I'm wrong about that As a pastor,

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I'm concerned for the eternal destiny of souls This is a universal concern in some ways and that we desire to see all people

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Everywhere be delivered from sin and its punishment of eternal hell Through Salvation in Christ, but more specifically and perhaps with a greater sense of urgency and distress

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I'm burdened for the souls of those who are members and attendees of local churches Those who profess to be believers in Jesus Christ Those who believe themselves to have salvation but do not

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One of the most common calls I get from radio listeners A Pastor, do you know of a good church where I live when

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I go to church? It seems like these people have no common Faith or love for the

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Lord Jesus that I have There have always been among the professing people of God unconverted believers

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Just as there was a mixed multitude among the people of Israel that came out of Egypt in the days of Moses But this seems to be a systemic problem in churches today and sadly again even so called evangelical churches

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There is a spiritual pandemic which has infected the churches of Jesus Christ with ignorance and error with respect to the biblical gospel of Christ and the nature and the way of salvation by him crass ignorance and error

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So today we begin a new sermon series to address this great problem The unconverted believer and you notice

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I put believer in quotation marks Implying he's not a true believer He's unconverted

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This is a matter. It's always on my heart. I think about it frequently Pray about it just as often.

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I Fear for the soul who believes himself to be a true Christian, but in truth, he's still in his sins

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He's a nominal Christian that is he's a Christian in name only He and many like him have assurance of salvation just ask him.

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Yeah, I'm a Christian He'll tell you it's so When his faith and practice are examined by the

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Word of God it reveals the likelihood And he possesses false assurance that he's a true Christian.

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He's not yet been saved from his sin through Jesus Christ He may have

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Spiritual confidence that he is safe, but this is not true It's not saving faith, but rather damning presumption presuming that he has salvation in Fact he's on the ledge of an eternal precipice into which he will most certainly fall forever

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Unless he is set right in his thinking it is believing and the way he lives

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But again, he does not know his danger ignorance and error have shut his spiritual eyes so that he cannot perceive his true condition and Even if he did open his physical eyes in attempt to read and learn he is incapable of perceiving the truth

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Regarding his condition for the devil has spiritually blinded him Yet he believes himself saved

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There may be those about him maybe family friends fellow church members maybe even its pastor

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Who believe this poor soul has been saved and these well -intentioned ones bolster his sad condition

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Helping to seal him on to his damnation This deluded soul believes he's been washed clean of his sin, but actually he is filthy still

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He remains polluted by his sin before God for he has never been spiritually washed in the blood of the

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Lamb of God and he'll remain in his sorry condition unless and until God does a supernatural work of saving grace in him

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Now It's not our desire or effort through this study to trouble souls who are truly safe in Christ Of course we run that danger

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I'm always concerned about unsettling the tender -hearted and the easily troubled soul

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We want to be as our Lord who would neither break a bruised reed nor quench a smoking flax

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But this is difficult To avoid doing when we shout our message loudly and clearly to awaken and stir the careless and hardened soul

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I've often said that the most difficult task of the preacher is to awaken the soul who is ignorant and Insensitive to his lost condition while at the same time comfort and encourage the truly gracious soul

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Who may be weak or easily shaken in his faith? And This is especially a problem because the devil is skillfully at work

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To keep the unawakened soul fast in his spiritual slumber at ease in his lethargic spiritual condition even as he attempts to disrupt confuse and torment the true

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Christian who may be rather weak in his faith and Ultimately only the

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Holy Spirit Can apply his truth rightly and appropriately to the people in whom he is working?

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But this is always a concern that weighs heavily upon me and So I hope that in this series if you become troubled

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That you not prolong your difficulty by failing to speak with me or one of the elders

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Come to us. We're always desirous always available to speak with you Actually, it's my hope that most of you will not hear anything new in this series on nominal

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Christianity Hope that's the case frankly. I Suspect I'll be rehearsing and repeating everything.

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We've declared to you before today But it's hope that what we say and consider together will confirm and reinforce these important matters upon the

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Upon which rest the eternal destiny of our souls. I want to put it all together in one place at one time

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And of course, it's also hope that this study will benefit us all so that we become better equipped to help others

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Each of us probably knows at least one possibly a number of professing Christians for whom we have grave concerns

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Loved ones family members friends who believe they're Christians, but we question

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Whether there's reality there Maybe you've not voiced your concern directly to him or her because you've doubted whether your perception of him or her is accurate

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Or maybe you have voiced your doubts directly to that one, but your concern and warning went unheeded

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Maybe you've spoken to that soul very directly quite frequently to the point of having Alienated yourself from that one.

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He doesn't want to hear you anymore And he'd made that clear He's Grown weary and agitated because of your repeated expressions of concern and attempts to warn and instruct

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For him to turn and seek the Lord Well, let's hope through this study that the truths of Scripture may be made clear to better equip you in your ongoing task of witness

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Or perhaps by placing these notes themselves into the hands of another the

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Lord may use them to lead others to experience true life in Jesus Christ May the

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Lord illuminate us to the truth that's in Jesus Christ so that he may use us to rescue many doomed souls about us

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For unless the Lord delivers them from their sin washes them from their filthiness They will remain unclean before him and will be damned from his presence forever

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However, let's realize at the same time It's biblical for us to be concerned about the salvation of one another as professing

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Christians in the church We ought to be concerned for one another and our salvation It's really easy to talk about those other guys, but what about you and me?

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Let's make certain that we ourselves have biblical assurance that we've been delivered from the danger damnation and that we will inherit

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Everlasting life the Apostle Paul expressed his great interest and deep distress for the salvation of those in the churches of Galatia He Wrote my little children for whom

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I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you I would like to be present with you now and to change my tone for I have doubts about you

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These people in these churches had come to faith in Christ earlier When Paul had first proclaimed the gospel to them or at least he thought they'd come to Christ he thought they'd come to faith

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But Then he had learned that they had departed in a measure from the content of that gospel they departed from the understanding of grace and So he feared for the salvation of their souls

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When he was first among them, he described himself as as a woman in labor

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About ready to bear a child struggling because they were lost and he wanted to see new life come forth

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That spiritual labor, of course ended when they fed first embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ But in his epistle of Galatians, we read that his concern for their salvation had been renewed in his soul

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He was once again suffering as a woman in labor pains He was afraid all his labor had been sewn or done in vain

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And so Paul would continue to have this great burden for these professing Christians until he became convinced

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They had truly come to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that Christ was formed in them

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And so in a similar way I as do other pastors have doubts and fears of many who claim and believe quite

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Confidently, they have salvation because of what they've been taught about the nature of salvation what they believe about the way of Salvation about the grounds of assurance of salvation.

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We have cause of great concern for them And I would not want any of us to be found in this condition when our

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Lord summons us before him So we'll address this matter of nominal Christianity Attempting to understand expose it and correct it clearly will make every effort to do so biblically and thoroughly as the

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Lord enables us And some of you can testify this is how you were

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I was a nominal Christian for years But the Lord broke through and wonderfully mercifully graciously saved my soul

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And I fear there are many like that may that not be true of us That's my concern

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So may the Lord help us to take these matters to heart And so it's my desire through these messages to awaken and form you biblically to this most important matter of life

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If that is your need or that you would obtain the salvation of your soul The Lord Jesus, of course spoke about the important value of this matter.

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There's nothing more important for you What's it profit of man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?

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The Eternal well -being of your soul is the most important matter of your life

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The eternal condition and destiny of your soul is most important It's the most pressing issue for each and one each and every one of us.

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It should be a matter of your primary interest Concern and effort to understand what it is.

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You are to believe and what it is you are to do in order to inherit Everlasting life and escape the everlasting damnation of all those who fail or refuse to experience biblical salvation

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So may the Lord enable each of us to take to heart the importance of careful and serious self examination

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Bible exhorts us to do so Respecting our true spiritual state before the

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Lord May he motivate every one of us to conduct a thorough and extensive Examination of all matters that impinge on this great need of salvation

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And it's a difficult task to assess rightly the spiritual condition of one's soul as one once wrote all investigations of the exercises of the human mind are intended with difficulty and never more so than when we attempt to ascertain the religious or spiritual state of our hearts

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We must not presume that any understanding we presently hold concerning critically important matters should not undergo serious examination

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In other words, we must become truly teachable We are to strive to be as those in the city of Berea who were more noble than those of Thessalonica Paul wrote of them now.

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These Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with all eagerness Examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so or if these things were true

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Paul had recently come among them. He taught them new and somewhat strange things about salvation through Jesus Christ Well, these

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Bereans were not like those in Thessalonica Who apparently had gone to the scriptures to prove that Paul was a false teacher the things he was promoting were error the

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Bereans heard Paul and then went to the scriptures to determine if what he was saying was true

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In other words, these Bereans doubted themselves more than they doubted Paul Or rather they believed that only the scriptures could lead them to discover and affirm the truth of these matters

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May we be characterized with such a spirit and that we're skeptical of ourselves

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Better men and women than you have been deceived by themselves made that not happen to us

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And so may we look to the scriptures as our guide to assess and know the truth and again

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I've said this frequently I've learned through experience over the years

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It's much more difficult to unlearn than it is to learn Because once people have it settled in their minds that they know and understand themselves rightly

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It's very difficult to unsettle them to shake their confidence and to lead them to examine themselves honestly and thoroughly on what they believe in how they live

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May the Lord grant us grace to know him and his word more clearly and fully may the

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Holy Spirit Undeceive us instruct us and then comfort us with a true and sound assurance that we are his own.

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I Think booked up so many different matters that have to be addressed.

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I think and I hope that we're all Helped and strengthened by this

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Well, where do we begin? Well, we already read the verse at the beginning. Here's a good place to start

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Proverbs 30 verse 12 It reads there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes

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Yet is not washed from its filthiness that pretty much says it doesn't it?

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There's the problem Here's a verse of scripture that states the widespread ignorance and erroneous perception of people in their in the self appraisal of their souls before God They believe themselves to be pure when actually they are terribly defiled

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They believe themselves to be right with God, but they're still in their sin They have false assurance, basically

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The writer of this portion of Proverbs was a man named Agur He's identified in verse 1 of chapter 30, which reads the words of Agur the son of Jaka his utterance

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In verse 12 Paul Agur wrote of what characterized a generation of people

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Presumably who are living in his day And through these words God has revealed and affirmed that it's possible even commonplace

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For many people even a generation of people to be sadly mistaken about their spiritual condition before God They believe themselves to be pure, but they are actually polluted

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They believe that they had been washed but they were filthy still in other words

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They possess a false assurance that they have salvation from sin, even while they're still condemned before God due to their sin

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So let's work through this consider this verse in some detail and we're going to give attention to the main words in Proverbs 30 verse 12 and So the first is the word generation

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There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness

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Agur was not writing of one or a few that had this errant view of themselves.

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He wrote regarding a generation The Hebrew word for generation is door

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This is a word commonly used in the Old Testament Sometimes the word is preceded by an adjective for example an evil generation a crooked generation or Rebellious generation.

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He was stated condition that was common among the people of you that most all had of themselves a generation

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That is pure at its own eyes But then he set forth the truth of the matter

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Actually verse 12 Speaking of a generation is but one of four verses in this context in which the author referenced a generation

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And so here's the larger context Proverbs 30 verses 11 through 14

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There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness

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There is a generation. Oh, how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up And there is a generation whose teeth are like swords whose fangs are like knives

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Who devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men? So Agor described four classes of people

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He declared that each group was guilty of egregious sin these generations Were not unique to that time in history

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It would seem that in every age there have been those guilty of these sins. There's no new thing under the

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Sun as One wrote for these four generations belong to every age.

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They always have and always will be to the end of time The first generation of verse 11 depict the people that reject parental authority

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There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother There was an ancient

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Greek philosopher and lawmaker named Solon Who lived about from about 630

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BC until 560 BC? He was regarded as one of the seven wise men of Greece in his day

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And he was once asked a question. Why have you never made a formal law in Athens against Parasites in other words those who had murdered their parents

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And he replied he could never envision of anyone being so impious and cruel as to ever commit such a crime

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But our God was of course much wiser than this wise man for he set forth in his law

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That the son who but cursed his father or mother would be subject to capital punishment by the community

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This was the same way the community was to deal with a murderer God views the crime of cursing one's parents to be similar evil and warranted the same punishment

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The second generation that we're going to consider in some detail Describes a class of people who are self -righteous

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There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness These people have assurance that they are clean for they have been washed.

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They would tell you so The implication is they thought that they were in a right relationship with God That God looked upon them favorably that they had been forgiven of their former sins, but they were deluded they were filthy still

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They remained defiled by their sin The third generation is described as ones who are very proud sinfully proud

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There is a generation. Oh, how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up This large segment of population was characterized by sinful pride even arrogance

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Perhaps they were proud of their race or the class into which they were born

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Maybe they were proud due to their achievements in life But it's also implied that they were proud before God They were self -righteous

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Usually those who look upon themselves quite highly will tend to look down on others quite lowly This of course was how the

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Pharisee was that Jesus spoke about Who came into the temple court at the same time a broken and apparently repentant corrupt text collector?

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And So Jesus spoke a parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. That's Proverbs isn't it 30 verse 13 and They despised others.

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That's usually what What is present with the self -righteous? Two men went up to the temple to pray one a

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Pharisee the other text collector the Pharisees to it and prayed thus with himself He wasn't praying to God.

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Although he maybe thought he was God. I thank you I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adultery or even as this text collector.

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I Fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess the text collector standing too far off Would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying

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God be merciful to me a sinner. I Tell you this man went down to his house justified

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No There's right with God rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted

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And then the fourth generation at agor Identified is in verse 14.

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It reads. There is a generation whose teeth are like swords And whose fangs are like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men these people are

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Described as being cruel and barbaric who oppressed those who are weaker and unable to resist them

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Now It suggested that each of these four sins may be related to the other three in other words

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It may be that agor was referring to one wicked generation. That was guilty of all four of these sins

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And it could be shown that a self -righteous Pharisee was guilty of these offenses It's common for the rebellious man verse 11 to be a self -righteous man verse 12

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Who will be a proud man verse 14 who will be a cruel man verse 15

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Adam Clarke Commented about this generation with all four of these characteristics. There are such persons in the world in this the wise man referred to Agor the wise man points out four grand evils that prevailed in his time

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The first those who not only did not honor but who evil treated their parents

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The second those who were self -righteous supposing themselves to be pure and were not so The third those who are full of vanity pride and insolence the fourth the greedy cruel and oppressive especially oppressive to the poor

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But then again we would say of course this generation With these four characteristics are not just evils that prevailed in his time when he wrote these words

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But they depict persons that prevail in their evil in all times in all places

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It's a common spiritual malady of the fallen human race And so of these four kinds of people

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Charles Bridges who wrote wonderful reformed commentary on Proverbs Indeed the four generations teach us a lesson most valuable yet most humbling thoroughly to know

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Yet so depraved is man that he does not understand his own depravity Nothing is so hidden from him as himself

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He keeps a good opinion of himself by keeping the right low light out Out of the heart and conscience his imagination fancies good where there's nothing but hateful deformity

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And under this delusion we deal so gently and tenderly with sin that no conflict is maintained with it

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No sorrow or burden felt concerning it How deeply do we need the searching light and convincing power of the

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Spirit of God to show us our abominations? To make us tremble at the sight of them and to let us see that our remedy must come from God every moment

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That no partial change no external polish Nothing less than the creating power of God can reach the case for a cure

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Takes the work of God's grace to bring salvation, doesn't it? Now that's all for generations probably one we're going to focus of course upon the second of these four

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Again Proverbs 30 verse 12. There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes

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Yet is not washed from its filthiness This problem was no small matter that characterized just a few people here and there an entire generation of people

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Was characterized by this condition. This is a general problem a common malady is apparently true of people in general

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It was true in the days of Agor it's true today most people and certainly most people in churches

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Believe themselves to be pure that they are in favor with God, but they're wrong they have not been cleansed of their sins a

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Generation and then secondly, let's consider there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness a

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A Generation of people may believe themselves to be pure the Hebrew word translated in Proverbs 30 verse 12 as pure is

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Tahor The English word pure is an adjective which describes a quality of something or someone

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It's used to describe a high quality of gold pure gold Refined gold the words of God are to be pure Psalm 12 6 the words of the

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Lord are pure words like silver tried in the furnace of earth purified refined seven times

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Another common English translation of this Hebrew word a synonym is the word clean

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Again, it's an adjective so it describes the condition of something or a person the

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Bible speaks of clean animals clean hands or clean persons and And here in Proverbs 30 12 the word pure perhaps clean describes a quality that these people thought they possessed before God This generation of people thought themselves to be pure or clean before God with respect to sin

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Sin, of course renders one unclean in the sight of God to be clean is to be without sin without the pollution

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That is the result or the manifestation of sin They thought God regarded them as pure or clean rather than sinful and guilty

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How wrong they could be were they this generation was pure But the problem was that this was only true in their own eyes pure in their own eyes

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This was their understanding They wrongly thought that either sin was not present in them or that God had no regard for their sin that he overlooked their sin

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Perhaps they thought that God had forgiven them of their sin even as they continued to live in their sin these people thought

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God regarded and treated them as pure in Spite of what they actually were or what they did

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They were wrong. They were ignorant and perhaps they'd been deceived as to their true standing before God So it is today this is the false understanding of many nominal

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Christians There are I fear many who claim to be Christian perhaps

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Multitudes who see themselves as clean or pure before God with respect to sin in their own eyes.

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They're convinced. This is so You cannot convince them. Otherwise, this is what they've been taught led to believe they're saved and Then the third portion of this verse there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed

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From its filthiness The Hebrew word for wash is hots in This verse it might be understood as this generation is having not been washed off The people were defiled they were unclean

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They were in need of thorough washing But they did not see that this was their need they thought themselves quite clean

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They were prepared and qualified to be in the presence of God or so they thought to receive blessing from him

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They were sadly tragically in ignorance and error regarding themselves The form of this

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Hebrew word is used in one other place in the Old Testament just one God described the nation of Israel as having been a newborn infant a

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Girl a female baby not washed after its birth He's equal 16 for and as for your birth talking about Israel on the day you were born

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Your cord was not cut nor were you washed with water to cleanse you nor rubbed with salt or wrapped in swaddling cloths

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The idea is that Israel in the beginning was unclean Israel was an infant that had not yet been washed of its birth and it would remain unclean unless and until God had cleansed it and Then the fourth aspect of this verse there is a generation that is pure in its own eyes yet is not washed from its filthiness

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The Hebrew word translated filthiness is Zohar But it's a compound form and that's it's preceded by a conjunction and a single letter preposition

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Hebrew words commonly have a three consonant root and then they put the preposition and And the pronoun right with the same word and that's what you have here and so it's vomit so Otto And this one word in Hebrew conveys the phrase from its filthiness

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Got the preposition as well as the possessive pronoun actually the

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English word use filthiness is somewhat sanitized The same word is used by Isaiah to refer to a drunkards vomit

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Isn't it intended to be graphic Isaiah 28 5 through 8 speaks of God bringing salvation to ones who are clean over against those who lie in their filthy vomit

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They're in a drunken stupor In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of his people

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For a spirit of justice to them who sits in judgment and for strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate

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Those are the redeemed But they also have heard through wine and through intoxicating drink are out of the way

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The priest and the prophet have heard through intoxicating drink. They are swallowed up by wine

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They are out of the way through intoxicating drink They are envisioned they stumble in judgment for all tables are full of vomit and filth.

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No place is clean Elsewhere, however, this same

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Hebrew word translated filthiness depicts human excrement

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Or what we might say colloquially crap You get the picture

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They were as unwashed ones who are covered and soiled with crap. That's the word that's used

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The Assyrian general used this word when he spoke to the Jewish defenders on the walls of Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah He described the great hardship that the

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Jews would experience in a siege of the city if they did not surrender to Assyria But the rapture cut said to them as my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you and not

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To the men sitting on the wall who are doomed with you to eat their own dung. There it is and to drink their own urine

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That's what they would do if they were starved out as a siege Again as we conclude our consideration this verse of Proverbs 30 verse 12, it reads

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There is a generation that's pure in its own eyes Yet it's not washed from its filthiness The contrast between how this generation thought of itself and how

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God thought of them could not be farther removed from one another They thought themselves to be pure God regarded them as unwashed covered with drunken vomit and human feces

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You get the picture To God they were as a drunken man having vomited all over himself and fallen into a cesspool

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Who was standing before him saying I am clean That's the kind of contrast that's being drawn

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The fact is that sin has resulted in a person not capable of perceiving his true spirit condition and just how holy

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The triune God of the Bible views him. He thinks himself to be pure in his own eyes

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He presumes that this is how God also regards him and only the Holy Spirit Can reveal to you or me our true spiritual condition and how

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God actually regards us And so is your perception of your spiritual condition more like this sinful generation of Proverbs 30 verse 12

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Or as your perception biblically informed and confirmed to you by the comfort and assurance only the

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Holy Spirit can rightly impart Well, may the Lord enable us to rightly assess our condition before the

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Lord Before him we will before whom we will one day stand in judgment Now as we wrap things up, let's give a few words of application

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First we affirm the universal uncleanness of all humans everywhere

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Total depravity Would have set forth in Proverbs 30 12 Respecting the generation should not be viewed as something that is only true of certain people at various times in history

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It describes the spiritual malady of all people everywhere at all times and other statements in Proverbs itself

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Shows this is the case All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the

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Lord weighs the spirit All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes

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It's incredible what people can justify and they think is true and right and good

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Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart This is a spiritual condition of all people unless and until they've been washed

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By the grace of God found only through Jesus Christ King David Spoke of this universal sinful condition in Psalm 14

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The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there are any who understand who seek

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God They have all turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There's none who good does good.

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No, not one the Universal uncleanness of all humans everywhere

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Apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ. This is us This is how we were born and the only escape from there to being born again

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Be let's answer the question what is conveyed by the metaphor of being washed it is a metaphor

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What idea is being conveyed? Most people in churches would probably answer the question quickly without much thought of course

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This speaks to the great need and of God's gracious provision for us to be forgiven of our sin

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But that would be a wrong answer Washing does not speak of being forgiven of your sins this would be a common answer to the question, but it would be a mistake and Although receiving the forgiveness of our sins by God is the great need and great blessing of all who are in Christ The metaphor of having been washed or made clean is not a metaphor for the forgiveness of sins.

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What then does it signify? Spiritual washing speaks to the need and the experience of ceasing to live for sin and in sin

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This is incredibly important. I believe it's at the heart of much nominal

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Christianity People generally think they're forgiven of their sins that they have been washed or forgiven by God for all their sins

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But washing speaks of a very real change in the way one thinks and lives It does not speak directly of God's forgiveness of sins

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But of God's deliverance from sinning in short being washed speaks more to our sanctification by God From sin than it does our justification by God with respect to our sin

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Consider this New Testament passage again the idea of washing or cleansing Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

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He's writing to a church Do not but see me deceived neither fornicators nor adulterers or adulterers or homosexuals or sodomites

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Nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards or revilers or extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you

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He doesn't say but you've been forgiven that's not all he says Yes, they've been forgiven but you were washed you were sanctified

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That's what being washed is and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the

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Spirit of God These Christians were no longer living as they had formerly before they came to Christ.

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They repented of their sin That is they turned from practicing their sin to believing and following Jesus Christ.

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That's what what being washed is that's what's being cleansed means and And that washing conveys the idea of becoming more holy before God is all suggested by Paul's instructions to husbands

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Husbands love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify

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And cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word Notice the husband is working to help his wife grow more holy in her

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Faith in her practice her life That he might present her to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing

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But that she should be holy and without blemish Paul wasn't speaking about the husband's sense of value for his wife

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That he loved her but that the husband should be attempting to help his wife to become more holy in her faith and practice cleansing speaks of ceasing to sin and living in a holy manner

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John in the Revelation set forth those who had been washed who had washed their robes and made them white by the death of Jesus Christ John asked his heavenly messenger the angel who are these ones that he saw before him revelation 714 records the angels answer

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These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation In other words this whole kingdom a church age and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the

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Lamb So they washed their robes the robes are white Washed in the blood of Jesus and then later in the revelation the meaning of these washed robes is set forth

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Let us be glad and rejoice and give glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready and to Her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the

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Saints He's talking about the clean cleaning up of a life not just forgiveness of sins

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Washing Speaks about a change of behavior a change of the way you live

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And so here white garments are not speaking about imputed righteousness of Christ through justification

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They are white because their sins have been forgiven Although this is taught in other places in Scripture here the washed white linens are the righteous acts of the

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Saints Here's a metaphor of washing speaking of the grace of sanctification Cleansing from sinful living not the grace of justification deliverance from sins penalty

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Peter wrote a false teachers unconverted men in the churches for 2nd Peter 2

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Who nevertheless had cleaned up their lives in a measure? through their knowledge of Jesus Christ Only to return later to their sins they were never saved they were never regenerated

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He described them as having formally washed themselves in a measure But it don't only been temporary

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For if after they've escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ They are again entangled in them and overcome the latter end is worse for them than the beginning

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For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness and having known it to turn from the

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Holy Commandment delivered to them but it has happened to them according to the true proverb a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow having washed to her wallowing in the mire

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These men false teachers were never regenerate never born again. They were never

01:00:14

Christians They never had the new nature that's characteristic of all Christians Rather they had cleaned themselves up in a measure

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Regarding their sins having washed themselves through the Word of God They made some reform in some areas of their life

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They looked like pretty good Christians in the church They weren't And it was indicated when they returned to that which was natural to them

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That which was congruent with their sinful nature They were never saved and I believe this by the way gives a little insight into a rather cryptic statement in 2nd

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Peter 1 9 for those of you who are interested Which reads he who lacks these things is short -sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins

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The whole passage goes this way But also for this very reason giving all diligence add to your faith virtue to virtue knowledge to knowledge self -control to self -control

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Perseverance to perseverance godliness to godliness brotherly kindness to brotherly kindness love

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For if these things are yours and abound you will neither You will be neither bared nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our

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Lord Jesus Christ for he who lacks these things is Short -sighted even to blindness and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins

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Now the question arises was Peter referring to backslidden Christians Who were truly saved but through their neglect and failure had fallen from their sense of assurance of salvation.

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That's how it's commonly Understood, but I think not I Don't think he was addressing true

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Christians here They were as the false teachers described in the very next chapter

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They had experienced a measure of cleansing from their sin through the influence of the gospel Hearing the

01:02:09

Word of God proclaimed and taught to them I could name you names of people that went through a period of cleansing of their lives

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By the Word of God, but it was just temporary They weren't truly born again.

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They were cleansed in a measure But the time came when they apostatized they walked away from Christ.

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They forgot the former way when they had cleaned up their lives in a measure and One of the reasons is they failed to add to their faith, which is what every true

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Christian should do Their cleansing was temporary

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Not that a true salvation But only a temporary influence had affected them just like the false teachers

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They returned to their sin though. They had been for a time like washed pigs

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That's what Peter declared last verse of 2nd Peter 2. I Can always remember

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J. Vernon McGee talking about this story in contrast to the story of the prodigal son

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All prodigal sons come home. This is the story of the prodigal pig pigs always returned to their mire

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What was natural to them? And that's what that's what is described

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Now, of course in saying all this If you're still living in sin for sin, you have not been washed from your sins if you're living in sin and for sin, you've not been forgiven of your sin if Your repentance was only temporary you've returned to your old ways of thinking and living in sin your repentance was not true repentance

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It characterizes born -again people Yes, it's possible that you're a true

01:03:51

Christian that you've fallen into sin you've backslidden, but how do you know this is the case for you?

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Unless you repent afresh you will die in your sin and be damned due to your sin Cleansing can't just be a temporary thing.

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It's lifelong Now again, we're not saying that a true

01:04:13

Christian can lose his salvation. That's false teaching The Lord keeps his own by his power through faith according to Peter but there are many even

01:04:25

Multitudes of people who have either grown up in the church or who at one time aligned with the church in their profession of Christ But later walked away from the faith or disregarded the faith as the governor of their lives

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They were never truly converted. They've never been washed They're Christians in name only they're unconverted believers unconverted

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Christians Although they may have cleaned themselves up from egregious sin for a time

01:04:54

And then the third point will emphasize The work of God's grace in the center that results in repentance from sin and turned into God is what the

01:05:03

Bible sets forth as cleansing repentance Repentance We're cleansed of the grace of regeneration which brings to the center the desire to depart from sin and To live according to the will of God that is the

01:05:16

Word of God Paul wrote of himself what is true of all Christians. We ourselves were also once foolish disobedient deceived

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Serving various lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful hating one another

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But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness, which we have done but according to his mercy saved us through the washing there it is cleansing of Regeneration and renewing of the

01:05:43

Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ Regeneration is another term for being born again

01:05:53

Regeneration does not speak directly of the forgiveness of sins Forgiveness of sins is due to God's grace in the sinner's justification

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When a sinner truly believes the gospel God counts his faith as righteousness Upon true saving faith

01:06:08

God pardons the guilty ungodly sinner of all this sin Instantly forever and God also at that time declares the gift of righteousness of Christ to be credited to the account of that believing sinner but please understand

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Forgiveness of sins and the gift of righteousness and justification says nothing with regard to an actual change in your life

01:06:29

It has to do with the change of your status before God it takes place in heaven

01:06:35

Although you believe that he justifies you But regeneration does speak of an actual change.

01:06:46

It takes place in the heart and life of a sinner by which God sovereignly imparts a new heart and new mind and The result of God's act of regeneration is shown forth in that one turning from sin unto

01:07:00

God believing on Jesus Christ his Savior and Lord in other words washing and Then because that believing sinner is born again or regenerated

01:07:11

He begins to grow in his faith and love for God in his word and gradually over time

01:07:16

He increasingly conforms to scriptures to his scripture to the scriptures in his faith and practice growing more like Jesus Christ It is progressive sanctification

01:07:27

It's a work of God's grace in regenerating and sanctifying the sinner that the Bible refers to as being cleansed from sin

01:07:36

Cleansing doesn't speak of forgiveness. It speaks about an actual purifying of a life and then lastly

01:07:46

There's a great need of the church To reveal to people their true condition before God and their need to be cleansed from sin

01:07:55

Just as the greatest need of this generation Proverbs 30 12 was for someone to declare to them their true standing and condition before God the great need and great responsibility for the church and for preachers is to proclaim the gospel of faith and repentance

01:08:12

We must use every means God has given us to enable people to see the truth of their standing before God that people may be

01:08:19

Smitten with a sense of their great need and possess a desire to seek a remedy for their miserable spiritual condition

01:08:26

Repentance from sin is an essential element of gospel preaching but perhaps one of the greatest errors present among evangelicals today is the absence of the call to repentance and gospel preaching

01:08:41

Sadly in these days if one comes along and says the scriptures teach you must repent of sin believe on Christ for salvation

01:08:47

That voice is dismissed as someone teaching salvation by works That's what

01:08:55

Chuck Swindoll teaches. That's what Charles Ryrie teaches in his study Bible Repentance isn't turning from sin.

01:09:03

It's just changing your mind as who Jesus is as false teaching. That's another gospel It's subtle But it's important It was

01:09:13

William Booth the founder of the Salvation Army who once said in the 19th century The greatest danger to Christianity in the future will be the promise of forgiveness of sins apart from repentance

01:09:25

That was prescient Did he see what was coming? And so we'll have to deal or address this matter repentance at a later time

01:09:35

And so it is taught by the Word of God that we've examined today is that it's an easy thing even a natural

01:09:41

Thing even a common thing for many people to be tragically mistaken about their standing before God they think that they are pure in God's eyes, but God regards them as defiled and damned and What we've suggested today is that the way of salvation that's proclaimed by much of Christendom is not what is set forth in the holy scriptures

01:10:02

The Word of God declares to us if you live in sin, you'll die in sin. You'll be damned in your sin

01:10:08

It does not matter what you believe if you fail or refuse to repent while believing the gospel

01:10:15

Sadly, the message most frequently heard is this believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you need not do anything

01:10:22

After all, it's not of works Might sound good on the surface

01:10:29

He'll freely forgive you regardless of how you live It's based on how

01:10:34

Jesus lives That's not biblical salvation and this leads us to draw one final conclusion

01:10:41

Not only is a deficient understanding of salvation popularly proclaimed But a deficient gospel is all too often taught and believed

01:10:50

One which has not resulted in the true conversion of many Who sadly but wrongly believe they are right with God May our

01:10:59

Lord help us to be right and true respecting this important matter May the Holy Spirit help us to see and understand these things clearly so that we can be good witnesses of Jesus Christ for those

01:11:12

For those for whom we're concerned and we love and we desire their salvation

01:11:18

Amen God help us. Let's pray. Thank you father for your word

01:11:24

We pray that you would be merciful to us Again, our God we need the grace of the

01:11:29

Holy Spirit to comfort your people as we talk about these difficult things

01:11:36

We do not want to break the bent over Flax or quench the smoking wick our

01:11:45

God We pray that is each of us go forth from this place We would do so with total dependence and confidence upon Jesus Christ Not only to forgive us of our sin

01:11:57

But to deliver us from the power of sin that we might live on to you as Christians as true disciples