Colossians 1:23 - Not Moved Away From The Hope, Pt. 1

Good morning everyone. So good to see you all. We've got a lot of things going on in our country right now, don't we?

Last month has been quite amazing to watch and I've seen a lot of stuff in my lifetime. I'm pushing 70.

I'm not there yet so I'm not 70 yet, but About the time of Jesus's birth.

I will be which I think was around October 4th Scholars scholars say which is also my birthday, but in case you want to send something it's

October 4th And I'm gonna be 70 can you believe that I feel

I was telling a group one time We were speaking in a trade way meeting with a bunch of people in Dallas And I said,

I feel 18 and some guy shouted out. Yeah, you act like it too, whatever that means No disrespect to our 18 year olds.

I thought it was a good thing. But anyway, good to see all of you and and so great to see

Bethany Brown with us visiting today and her friend Walker. Thank you so much for being here and and Russell and Ann's daughter, of course, and she and I had not seen each other in quite some time.

We had to go. Okay, this is us she looks Adult and I look older.

There we go. But we're us. So that's cool Time is a funny thing, isn't it? You know the thing that I've spoken to a lot of folks my age and they always agree on this the thing that helps us

Know our age is watching our children, you know as they as they go through the changes and you go

Wow, okay, so I must be older. Look at this. And so anyway God's plan is a blessing, isn't it every single stage?

I like being a grandpa. It's a lot of fun anybody else like that Yeah, it's like it's one of the best parts of life

I think Anyway, so glad to have you. I mean I Needed to be at church today because sometimes

I try not to read the news much. I have to read some of it Because of trade way,

I just have to keep up with what's happening in the markets, you know less of that now fortunately, but So I read you know what

I have to read but you you read some of the political stuff going on out there and You know

In in logic or debate if you can't keep up with the

Argument, then you attack the person right? That's a strategy.

It's actually cheating in debate You're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to stay on point and deal with the subject but We see a lot of ad hominem

Arguments today where you just destroy the person because you don't agree with their policies

Wasn't that way? most of my life between Democrats and Republicans they actually both

Did could disagree on policy but still admire one another and get along and even get things passed and things like that That is long gone.

I don't know if it'll ever come back, but it's long gone. It's very dangerous time we're living in so I'm sure you're aware of that, but Sometimes it actually can affect my mood.

So it's good to get to church today. We're not gonna we're not gonna read any political Stuff while we're here.

We're just gonna read the Word of God and you know what? That's one thing that never changes It stays the same it remains the same and it's our spiritual food and it's what gets us through Whatever times we live through I mean we study history

There were a lot of times worse than what we live in now weren't there think about the Dark Ages Or think about living under any

King and he just doesn't like you it says off with your head And that's the law and you're dead, right? So we we still have the greatest country in the world and the most freedom of any other

Country and I travel pretty extensively I can tell you where we have the most freedom of any other country

But it's less and less every year Because there are certain political Creatures in our country who want us to be more like Europe in other words to be social show

Socialistic and to be under the rule of government and have less and less freedom and that's dangerous

But that's where we're headed But you know what? I don't see the Apostle Paul worrying too much about the politics in Rome.

Do you he didn't try to save Rome? he just tried to save Romans and Not that we can save people but we can sure give them the gospel of salvation.

That's our job well, let's turn to Colossians chapter 1 and So good to see each of you and be glad when

Katie and Dave and and His parents get back. We always miss them if they're traveling and quite a few others traveling today

But so good to have exactly who God wanted to be here here today. So Colossians 1 and 23

Let me pray and we'll get started Lord. Thank you so much for the service already the beautiful singing beautiful music and Beautiful lyrics and Lord, we just Ask you to speak to each one of us feed us with your spiritual food

Your words are spirit and they are life and energize us Lord and help us to be salt and light as we go out into The world this week and we ask it in Jesus name

Amen. Well, let me tell you a little bit about where we are in context where we're starting because this verse the starting place today is

Going to take some some bit of detail to study The Bible says to study to show ourselves approved and that doesn't mean just read the

Bible We have to read it. We have to be reading it But we also need to be meditating on it We also need to be studying it and that means going down to the jot and the tittle the cross the

T and the dot of the eye Everything that's in the Bible every little word like the word of can be very important Every little word is important.

And so the passage we're going to study today. We may not get past one verse today But you're used to that.

But the point is really fascinating Subject we're gonna look at today to me fascinating and also something that many people are not equipped to deal with But you will be after today and it's important that we be equipped

Because we have so many friends and family that You know

There's a lot of winds of doctrine going around in this country and around the world today That are anti Bible and against scripture and we need to be able to have answer for why we believe what we believe

And so I believe this will be a help. I don't know how far into it will get but It's very important.

So I think you'll like it. But let me let me get up to where we are if we started about verse 12 or 13

The main points that we've covered so far is the book of Colossians begins to talk about First the father but now it starts to talk about the eternal

Son of God Who we now know his name is Jesus Christ, but even before his name was

Jesus Christ. He was the eternal Son and This book that we're studying verse by verse through Colossians is huge on talking about exactly who

Jesus is So here's what we've learned just in these few verses from verse 12 to where we are today Number one who is

Jesus? He is the king of God's kingdom. He is the king of Kings No, and that's in verse 13 number two

He is the image are a better translation the embodiment of the invisible

God is all of the fullness of the Godhead in a body number three he is the firstborn from the dead of all creation and that's in verse 15 the last part of verse 15 and The next thing is he is the creator of everything that exists both in heaven and on earth

Both visible and invisible. He is not a created being. He's not an angel He is the creator of all things and the fourth thing and that by the way is in verse 16

Can't be said more clearly if the Holy Spirit wanted to say it more clearly even he couldn't say it more clearly than he did

In verse 16 as far as Jesus being the creator of all things Therefore he is God and then the fifth thing we saw in verse 17.

Jesus is before all things That's another proof that he's God if you could go back to the beginning before anything was made in Genesis 1 1

Jesus is already There it's kind of interesting because the grammar sounds funny in the verse. It sounds incorrect

It should say he was before all things But it says he is and it's on purpose God put it in the

Greek in the present tense Because if you go back to before Genesis 1 1 he already is is always existed is the point

So he is God and then we see the sixth thing. He holds all things together that's the last part of verse 17 of him all things consist he holds all the molecules and Atoms in your body together all the time

Some people think God threw everything out there and created everything and then he just folded his hand arms and says well

Let's see how this turns out the God of the Bible says of him all things consist He is constantly every minute every second of every day holding you together

Holding everything you're the pew you're sitting on together holding this globe that you're traveling around at Thousands of miles per hour together as it goes around the

Sun. He is holding everything together at all times That's who Jesus Christ is that the seventh thing is he is the head of the church and he has all preeminence in the church modern

American churches don't seem to know that Because humans think they are the heads of the church and they are not and the next thing

I see is he is all of the fullness of the Godhead In a body and that's in verse 19 and then we see

Jesus made peace through his blood Reconciling the entire cosmos everything he created was out of order after man's sin now

He's put he died to put it back in order. That's what John 3 16 means, by the way So in that little starting from there about verse 20 going down is what we talked about last time the fivefold

Eternal security that God has given to us and we talked about that last time those are in those final little verses there

It's beautiful five different aspects of the fact that once you are truly born again, you cannot lose your salvation

I mean, it's all through the Bible I've got hundred I've got a Trail through my little pocket New Testament starts in the

Old Testament Tells me when the next verse is and next all the way through the end So over 200 of them that prove eternal security is the truth

There might be five verses in the whole Bible that when you read them at first they sound like it's not true

So I ask people quite often Do you think I need to? Change my 200 verses or do you need to maybe work on your five if they don't match all the rest of the scripture?

Maybe you're misinterpreting those five and that is the way it is But I mean eternal security is is is is based on two things as we talked about last

Sunday Can you remember what they are? I know you remember my sermons about as far as till you get to lunch, right? I mean, I'm the same way, right?

I don't even remember what been taught for some school this morning. But anyway, it was great No, I'm kidding. So so can you it's my name the two things eternal security is based on or even one of them

The finished work there's one of them very good I don't have to quit because if I'm not apt to teach

I don't fit Ben's rules that he talked about for the pastor this Morning, I'd have to quit. All right, that's we got one of them

What about the other one? First one was the finished work of Christ And and his continuing work right his like he's our intercessor in heaven, but what's the second one the big one?

That's the big one. But I mean the second equal one Has to do with God in general his nature

Sovereignty of God, right? Remember that this eternal security is based on God being sovereign if he's not sovereign.

You're not eternal. You're not eternally secure Right. I mean these are doctrines people don't love anymore, but I love them

I think they're the most majestic doctrines in the Bible some of the most Majestic the Bible says for who he is in Romans 8 for who he for knew and by the way

That doesn't just mean he looks out there and sees what people are doing. This is what's taught by false teachers He looks out and sees what people that's not what for knowledge means in Bible language.

It means it's an intimate love Like Adam knew Eve and she got pregnant.

It's an infinite Intimate love for us. He knew us

Intimately before he made anything and of those who he foreknew it says he predestinated

And those he predestinated it says he called and that happens in time in your lifetime There's a calling when the

Holy Spirit wakes you up and says look you're a sheep. You're hungry. You don't even know it Jesus is your shepherd there.

He is look at him. He's got the food. What will you do with him? That's called the calling no one gets saved without that because we don't want him we like us

We're God we like that I like to be in God up to the second Jesus the Holy Spirit woke me up and showed him to me and then

I didn't Like it anymore and I said I want you to be my boss not me and it changed my life I was in my car driving to work one day when that happened.

It was like last week. I'm kidding. It was like when I was 24 24 years old seems like last week

So those he called he also justified the same group Do you understand it's the same people?

The ones he for new or the ones he predestinated the ones he predestinated the ones he called in time and the ones he called it

Says he justified. What does that mean? You know what we teach our little kids in Sunday school? Justified means just as if I'd never sinned so Jesus blood

Takes our sins away from us and from the father's viewpoint. We never have sinned never will sin

And that's a fact of Scripture now. Jesus is in time with us He can see us and he'll whip us when we sin, right?

The Holy Spirit can make us feel really guilty. So he's in time also, but the father who is outside of time and space

From from a place that's not a place where there is no time. He does not see your sins it anymore

That's not the Rapture. So don't worry about it because if it is we all missed it, but He doesn't know about your sins anymore, that's what justified means and then it says and those who he justified the same group

Hath he past tense Glorified now, don't you think glorified is a future thing?

But it puts it in the past tense. So from the father's view, it's already it's already real from the father's view

It's already you're already glorified. He sees you that way and that's a remarkable thing

But that's called the sovereignty of God and without that you have no eternal security

If God doesn't if the father doesn't already see you as his and already saw you from our viewpoint as his

Before he made anything and down through the ages when it came your lifetime he awakened you at one point showed you

Jesus and made Jesus irresistible to you because You were his and you weren't going to be lost because Jesus said

I've them I will lose nothing So if that hadn't happened you'd never been saved But there was never a chance you wouldn't be saved either because he always knew you

This is the truth of the scripture and you don't hear it preach much anymore Now it's all about well if you'll do this

God will save you But my Bible says you're not saved by works Do is a work word, isn't it?

You see that you see the problem in American Church So we want to believe once saved always say but we don't want to believe

God's in control we want to be in control, but the two don't go together so the rock the rock is the finished and continuing work of Jesus and The sovereignty of God I said that one

So two things eternal security is based on number one the finished and continuing work of Jesus and number two

Sovereignty of God God is in control. He is in fact sovereign He is not a God who folds his arms and watches to see how it works out.

Nothing will surprise him He's already told us how it's going to end and You cannot tell someone how it's going to end if you don't already have if you haven't already seen now it ends and been there

And that is our God. So these are these are the things we talked about now.

Let's let's go into this next verse because this gets pretty interesting, so I've got to I've got to read a little bit of this for you, though.

Let's see You see verse 21 here shouldn't have thrown that away already.

So I'm gonna start with verse 21 and read up to verse 23 Now this is beautiful. I hate to go fast because this is

I'm gonna start with verse 20. This is so beautiful This is some of the most beautiful passage in the whole Bible about your salvation and mine

Okay, look at verse 20 and having made peace through his blood That is the finished work of Christ and what it brings is this thing called peace and the doctrine that that's called in the

Bible And theology is is propitiation It's something Jesus did for the father not for us

Although we benefit greatly from it because we don't go to hell But but it was for the father and what it did was when he died with our sins in his body

He propitiated God's wrath He satisfied God's wrath and holiness and perfection and law and Justice so that his justice could also be free to show forth his love and that's what

Jesus did on the cross And so there's where it starts We have peace with a holy God and we are not holy because listen the moment you and I got saved it says why we were

Yet in our sins hath he quickened us. We were not wanting to be saved when we got saved now I know

American Theology says oh wait, you just got to ask Jesus in your heart The problem is you don't want to you didn't want to yesterday.

You didn't want to the day before you didn't want to the year Your whole life you didn't you'd like to be in God. So did I this is called the depravity of man?

That's just how we are. We're blind. We're deaf. We're dead Spiritually, and he saves us when we're in that state.

So obviously salvation is a work of God It's called the operation of God He saves us why we were in our sins hath he quickened us who did that God did how much did you play in it?

That is not a trick question. You played zero in it. How much does a baby play in his own birth none?

Jesus said this is like being born God birthed you now from that point

Everything forward is an effect of it not the cause of it and all the reason we have all these denominations

Split up and hating each other some and somewhat is Because everyone argues over these effects and says that some of those are the cause and none of them are

They're all effects. You can talk about what they are. You know what they are. Anyway, so here we have

God working in Our salvation from the moment Jesus died to bring peace to us

Having made peace through the blood of his cross by him That's Jesus The Greek word is

DIA means through the channel of Jesus like a pipeline through through what Jesus did

Through that is how we're saved and what he did was he died he gave his blood To do what to reconcile all things unto himself.

Do you notice that's not just about us John 3 16 has never been just about us, but the whole world thinks it is and they get it wrong

John 3 16 is about the cosmos being put back in order Jesus died to do that.

Now. Does that include the elect those who will be saved? Absolutely puts us back in order too, but it's not just about us

He said he died to reconcile all things unto himself by him I say whether they be things on earth or things in heaven

So he's going to put it all back in order like it was before the fall in the garden So then it moves on down and says in you that were once upon a time

Alienated enemies in your mind by wicked works. That's the depravity of man you always have to put that before you put salvation stuff because no one can understand salvation unless they understand that we need it and We need it because we're dead deaf and blind and and and don't want

God That's the state all humans are in when they come into this world Cute as little babies are doesn't take them long to start showing that sin nature

Doesn't take long at all about it long before they're in the high chair. They're already showing it and You who were sometime

Alienated that means once upon a time. It doesn't mean sometimes it means all the time once upon a time in the

Greek You were enemies in your mind by wicked works Yet now hath he what?

Reconciled made right with God restored a good relationship with God by what the blood of Jesus Christ All of that has been said now as you read through this you just don't see any stronger

Eternal security stuff anywhere in the Bible look at verse 22 in the body of his flesh through death

He is going to present you and me holy That means doesn't mean perfect.

It means different. It means different than the world more like God and less like the world

He's gonna present us. Holy Unblameable means in the Greek unblemished like the little lamb without blemish

So when the father looks at you you have no blemish you have no sin on you and he's gonna present you

Unreprovable that is a justice word Which means I'm gonna go drag this person in to court because he broke the law and he's gonna be held accountable

You're not gonna have to ever be held accountable Think about that Not not with regard to salvation.

We'll be held accountable for our you know rewards and so forth I understand that but this is a salvation passage and so we're gonna be held

Unreprovable and then the last beautiful thing it says in God's sight Wow, how can you how could you give a better five fold?

Definition of what eternal security is all about than that passage. Would you agree? Okay. Now look at verse 23 and tell me what the next word is

What is it? If does that bother you a little bit as a if you had a

Baptist background, which I did I don't know what we are now. We're not we're part Meadows Church now

I don't know what we are now, but we're we're we're biblicist, right? We like to go by the

Bible, but does that bother you if you believe in eternal security a little bit? It should bother you a little bit

Because it's a verse that Church of Christ uses Methodist use Pentecostal Catholic Everyone that believes you can lose your salvation will pull this verse out of context and just read this verse

What do you what about wait a minute? Wait a minute says if If you continue let's read it if you continue in the faith

Grounded so you've got listen to me it sounds like you've got fivefold promise of eternal security that you never lose your salvation if Now all of a sudden it sounds conditional

If you continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel

Which you have heard and which was preached in every creature which is under heaven where have I Paul and made a minister

How do you deal with that? well, I will tell you why you have to deal with it is because if it means if Like it does in English if it means you're only eternally secure if you through your own effort

Remain grounded and settled half of us in this room are lost this morning

Because look at your week last week Okay, if if means if you are lost this morning and maybe you could get saved next week

But the problem with that is Hebrews chapter 6 says if you ever lost it, you can never get it back again Check that out sometime at your leisure

It says if you lost your salvation You could never get it back because you would have to recrucify

Jesus in other words If his blood when he died once is not sufficient to save you forever

Then you'd have to recrucify him if you lost it and put him to open shame, which means blaspheme

God All right, so so if it means that then the whole Bible falls apart

That's why we got to deal with it. Now. Listen, I'll say again I would much rather deal with about five verses that seem to teach you can lose it then over 200 that I personally know

There's more than that. They're just the ones I found that teach you can't lose it wouldn't you so we're gonna deal with this one

Now this might take a month Yeah, that's what I say brother. Amen We all like studying for a month on one word.

Do we not? All right. That's great. Okay. Anyway, so all right, so Let's talk about this verse a little bit and the words in it and then later

We'll talk about the word if a little bit but then more importantly we're going there's about ten rules of proper

Bible interpretation We're gonna use one big time on this and that is let the other let this

Bible interpret itself Let the Bible interpret the Bible So we're gonna look at some other parallel passages that also have the word if in it in context talking about salvation

And we're gonna look at those and see if they shed light on this one So we're gonna do the whole thing here with this because if you don't know how to answer this

Your neighbor is gonna try to get you to join the Church Christ pretty soon, right where you can lose your salvation

And your whole doctrine you're all of your doctrine is going to just get blown up This is a hugely important verse.

Okay, so let's look at some of the words First of all where it says if you continue and in the faith grounded, let's look at this word grounded

Well, one thing that's kind of interesting about it is it's in the passive part of simple perfect passive participle now perfect In any grammar

Greek or English it describes an action which has happened in the past Never to have to be done again

Okay, that's what Perfect means When you say that it's perfect passive participle perfect in grammar means it's an action

Which is viewed as having happened in the past or been completed in the past once and for all never needing to be

Repeated okay, you got that. So the word grounded is Also in the passive now, what is the difference in grammar between active and passive if it's active?

Who's doing the work? The subject like so if this is talking about us If this time about the believer it is talking about the believer, isn't it?

If you continue right if you continue to enter grounded, so if the believer Has to ground himself it would be in the active.

Does that make sense? But this is in the passive now you can tell me what passive means Someone bigger and stronger than you did it to you

So let me ask you this if God promised fivefold eternal security in the previous verses in fact all the way back to verse 12, basically and that he is

God and that he made everything of him all things consist so he controls everything and Here he says you got to stay grounded but ground is in the passive.

Who is it that grounds you you or is it him? See see I've said so many times

Greek is like math and if you know the math it will solve most arguments

With your friends and family that have their doctrine messed up This one grammatical issue

Proves that it's not talking about you Keeping yourself grounded or else you lose your salvation because it's passive It's something

God does now Would you say it would make sense that if God who here for new he also? Predestinated to be saved and those he predestinated in time

He called him and woke him up so they'd be saved and those that he woke up always get justified Which means saved forever as if they never sin and those are already glorified in God's eyes

And it's up to him to keep you grounded. He says now let him slip. I'm gonna let that one go Well, I'd love to tell my story again about what it's like to raise cows

Russell could tell it too But but I will just say this my grandfather was a pretty mean, dude

And I kept his cattle for him till I went to college from the time It was about eight me and another man one other man And I will promise you when his bull got through the fence, which they always will and when they want to go visit the other cows

My grandfather did not hold the bull responsible. He didn't say all well the bull

You know if I went to him said well the bull exercise his free will and just decided to leave my grandfather would say yeah

But you're responsible go get him and bring him back With a few flowery words he would throw in there with it, and then he would end with now

So whose job was it the shepherds job or the sheep's job to keep them in the right place?

You tell me is it up to the sheep to do that or up to the shepherd? Who will very good and who will be held accountable if the sheep is lost the sheep are the shepherd

Shepherd and who is the shepherd? Who is the shepherd? Jesus Christ is the shepherd right who is

God you got it, right y 'all need to be on the front row But that's good. That's good So so like like you you see this idea that you can lose your salvation is totally

Nonsensical when you know the Bible and the God of the Bible But most Americans today don't so they're easily led astray

So now we got to the one two three four five six we got to the seventh That's got a perfect number by the way

We got to the seventh word and we've already destroyed the idea that this is teaching if or unless You do this you're gonna lose it right.

We already destroyed it, but we're still having fun So let's don't stop there. We're not done yet.

What about this you're supposed to be grounded and Settled Well, let's look at the

Greek word settled now. What's interesting about the Greek word? is that it is

It's not a noun and it's not a verb. It's an adjective. So you can't say it's perfect passive or whatever

So It's just an adjective, but the word itself means sedentary or Immovable, okay, so that's what it says.

You're supposed to be grounded, which is passive and Now this is an adjective.

So it tells you what kind of grounded person are you and remember? Grounded is perfect passive, which means it's an event that happened in the past never to be repeated in this passive Which means

God did it. So do you think let me just stop it It's not really a rabbit trail, but I got to make sure you get this

If you're gonna look at Romans 8 and you see the whole the whole Arena of salvation is named from before time started

So you go to a time when there is no time in no place and it's only just God exists the

Father Son Holy Spirit God exists. There's nothing There's no time and he's perfectly pleased and happy because he has himself to love

The father loves the son the son loves the father. Holy Spirit loves both and everything's fine, and he didn't need anything

Except for one thing what is Genesis 1 1 through 5 teach about God He is part of his character.

He is a creative being He is creative so he needed

Something I've heard preachers say. Oh, he doesn't need us. How many of you heard that? I've said amen to that a million times, but the older I get the more

I think well, that's stupid Do I not need Jenny do I not need Katie and Paul and Ben and Matt my children

Do I not need them and want them and desire them and be nothing without them and that's stupid But I know what they mean when they say he didn't need it

He could do what they mean is he could have existed in and of himself and been fine forever and in a sense

Yeah, cuz he's God but but let me ask you this though Did he desire us?

Obviously and did he have a need to be creative obviously so that's why everything is here everything that is is here

So now when you look at this if you go back though before he did any creative acts when it was just God no time

No space just spirit pure spirit being you don't even know what that is. By the way, neither do I it's something you can't see though I can tell you that So you go to that Time when there's no time the only way

I can talk about it as a man is to say it's a time in the past our past go to that time and place and All of a sudden

This is exactly the place where it says whom he foreknew He also predestinated all of that happened

Outside of time where there where there is no time in space. So let me ask you this Could you be correct as a theologian to say there's a sequence there then where first he looked out and saw everybody and then he chose

Who'd be saved? First and then can you say first and then if there's no time

Trying to get you to think a little bit. This is more fun. If we go a little deeper So can you say first he did this and then he did this if there's no time?

Can you have sequence if there's no time? Thank you. Thank you. They sitting back there I see where you're going.

So so so that just happened It just like you can't say God foreknew something first and then he predestinated and you can't say he

Predestinated first and then he foreknew it just it's it's it's just there It's just there and when you understand that for no doesn't mean he looked out there and had to see stuff before he decided what?

To do that's not what the word means. It means he loved us He loved us with eternal perfect love before anything was made all of us everyone who will ever be in heaven he already knew you like that and he also predestinated that you would get saved and how and the means of it and everything and Who would talk to you about the gospel how you'd hear all of that was predestinated before there was time?

All right. Now when you really get hold of that you start to see how eternal security has to be true Because Jesus goes forward into time when he was on the earth and he said no man will come to me unless the father draws him and Of them

I will lose nothing but will raise it up at the end why because he is the one it'll be held responsible

He's the shepherd He would have to answer to the father God, I don't like to say father

God, but the father who is God He would have to answer to him if he lost a single one of The father's sheep who the father by the way gave to him as a love gift.

They're his sheep, too So eternal security is based on this now grounded

Is something that happened at that place? That's not a place you understand that that was there was no place in no time yet When you got grounded

Because God the father said here is the method that I will save my sheep. I will make them be grounded

They're not gonna fall away. Do you get this? Is everybody seeing this? Do you need some proof let's see when he got some proof hold on a second get turn in your

Bible I don't have this in my notes. I'm gonna actually use a real Bible This one turn to Hebrews chapter 10

This would be a good test for me to see if I can find the book of Hebrews I Remember when

I first got saved I used to use that table of contents an awful lot Okay, go down to the very last two verses in the book of Hebrews and What I'm suggesting that this scripture we're in today verse 23 of Colossians 1 is saying that we were grounded as part of God's method

For saving us. He had already determined that would be how we are. It's not something we need to achieve

You see the difference it would be in the active if it's something we need to achieve it's something we have as a gift

It's part of who we are. It's how God made us and it happened before time began

So let's see if that fits scripture. Look at Hebrews chapter 10 verse 38 Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back now, doesn't that sound like someone lost their eternal security?

If any man draw back my soul will have no pleasure in him boy A lot of people like to Church Christ to pull verse 38 out and use it

They won't even look at verse 39, but look at verse 39 But we now you'd have to go back in the context to see who we is there

But I'll promise you it means we Christians we saved people We elect the ones

God knew and predestinated and chose and justified We are not of them who draw back unto hell perdition

But we are of them that believe into the saving of the soul Sounds like that fits pretty well what we're talking about.

So this is something that God Arranged before he made anything and before he began time now the word settled is just part

It's an adjective of the word grounded. It tells what kind of grounded are you? I'm a settled I am a settled grounded person why because God made me that way the day he saved me

And he always knew I'd be that way but on my spiritual birthday, that's one of the gifts he gave me There's over 33 things.

He did in a nanosecond the day the moment you got saved This is one of them. And so now this word settled.

It means immovable. You like that? immovable So not only did he make you grounded in the truth?

But the adjective of what kind of grounded person he made you to be is you cannot be moved away from it

So you want to talk about apostasy which the Bible does talk about you want to talk about falling away

Which it does talk about you want to talk about the parable of the soils where it says you got rocky soil you got

Thorny soil, right? Well, you got good soil Rocky thorny. Well, that's the last one rocky thorny, right?

And so which is which all of those are discussed throughout the Bible But as far as talking about the good soil when that seed hits in the heart of an elect person who

God knew before the found It takes root and Jesus is the root and at that point that person becomes grounded and immovable now there are other people that go to church with that person by the way who can say all the right words and Act all the right way and by the way

Usually want to run something or teach something or be in power in the church in some way and have an office in the church

But they're not really born again and God never knew him and someday he'll say well I haven't that didn't I do many wonderful things in church and he'll say yeah, but I never knew you depart from me

So he knew you that's that word. He knew you then he predestinated you I never knew you

That person someday is gonna get carried away by the things of the world By Satan and by the trouble in the world and he's gonna fall away and people gonna say look at there

He lost his salvation. Well, you can say that all day long But the truth is he was never saved.

He was a false professor Jesus Christ because he probably followed someone's

Instructions on how to quote get saved and by the way get is a work word, too I'm gonna get or do something you cannot be saved by works

So how do I get saved and they give you some prescription for that down there at the altar that ain't gonna save you

You have to be called The Holy Spirit has to awaken us and make us desire him and then we can be in the car driving to work

We don't need an altar. We don't need church We don't need a person We have to have heard the gospel which requires people in churches and preachers and just church members telling how

Jesus died For his own was buried and rose again but if you've heard that you can be anywhere by yourself and the

Holy Spirit calls you and awakens you and you receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior because all of a sudden you desire him for the first time that's how salvation works and At that moment you are grounded and settled now,

I understand you get more and more grounded as you read the scriptures and And that's your part is to grow.

But as far as this word for grounded and settled This is this is positional not experiential This is something

God gave you the position of being a grounded person and I bet not I don't know how many people probably

I They people today Do even pastors do not bore down and look at the words

They don't look at the Greek which is like math so they don't know this so they're easily moved into a bad position

Doctrinally, and I hate that I see our job at Park Meadows is the Bible tells us we're supposed to be the pillar of the truth

Anyone in here that hears anyone teach something from this pulpit and you see it's wrong in the Bible You must show it to us and you must convince us with the ten rules of Bible interpretation that you've got it, right?

We've got it wrong and we will apologize for it. And the day that stops we need to we just need to sell it and Stop, okay

But as long as we're here, we will to the best of our ability and with this

Bible we will preserve the truth so we are passive We are by done by God.

We are grounded It's something done once it never has to be repeated by the way and God did it so we are grounded and we're settled now

Look at that last phrase not moved away It's interesting because This is two little

Greek words, which means to stir one means to kind of stir up and the other one means sort of to Put it elsewhere

So it means to be stirred up and move from where you are to another place Now it's interesting

The other one was perfect passive which means God did it once and it'll never have to be done again You were already in his heart and mind went before he made anything you were not going to lose your salvation

But this one is present tense But it's still passive So if it's not active

Then who is it that makes us where we won't be moved? we'll not someone won't be able to stand up here false someday and Stir you up with an emotional sermon and get you to change your doctrine into believing.

I better live writer I'm gonna lose my salvation No one will ever be able to do that to you and it's in the passive which means

God put that in you, right? Someone bigger and stronger than you did this Someone has made you where you are not easily stirred up and moved away from the truth.

It's not easy to move you I know people in this very room that grew up in all different kinds of denominations that believed all this weird stuff

I know you grew up with Pentecostal. They believe you lose your salvation I don't know

Sharon and Raymond. I know you were exposed to some of that But you know what and they try to get do you mind me sharing a little bit

Sharon's? I'm gonna share a little bit of Sharon's Test private testimony.

She tells me Some of this she hadn't ever said in front of the church, but I'm gonna say it she won't care I don't think because if she does

I'll be in trouble but but she she was trying there were people they were very

Close to that. They loved dearly. They were having Bible studies and Tried to convince her she need to speak in tongues, which by the way tongues in the

Bible does not mean gibberish It's not an ecstatic utterance. It's a length of foreign language It's known in the world, which is not what this group was doing

But they wanted her to do it and they kept a chair and you just got to learn this you got to get the second Blessing and all this stuff and she kept telling

Raymond Raymond. I just don't have a piece about that It's not something I think I'm supposed to be doing it Raymond said in the leadership voice that he would have

Sharon if you don't feel God wants you to do it. Don't listen to him Give him a hand

Good leadership, but sharing you too Why because when

God saved you didn't matter who you're around you are not easily stirred up and moved over into a false position

And you ask yourself though Why are so many of your and my friends so easily stirred up and moved to a false position?

That is a question that bothers me Does it bother you a little it bothers me and I deal with it all the time and I think about it

And I'm not sure I can answer it. All I know is it ain't supposed to be that way According to this scripture we're looking at right now today

Alright, so there those are the things That the Bible says along with this word if and and we're about out of time

So I'm just gonna I'm not even gonna get to the fun part of this yet But but I will say this it's kind of interesting is

This Greek word for if EG It can mean if or it can mean if indeed or it can mean seeing that which is more like saying because You see the difference or it can be

Translated unless But what's interesting? Is it it comes from two little

Greek words? the first one is it sounds like a but it means for as much as and Sometimes often throughout the

New Testament is translated as much at for as much as now That's kind of an old

English usage. We don't you we don't say that a lot today like well For as much as this blah blah blah, but I mean we understand what it means and it doesn't mean if for as much as means because Because it's this way for as much as because it's this way then blah blah blah blah

It is translated that way in several places in the New Testament either this exact word or the root word that it comes from so it can also mean if doubtless or for as much as or Since which means because so so now just think about it.

What if you read this verse? using that translation where the same word is translated that way in other places in the

New Testament and You read it like this Colossians 122

Goes in the body of the flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unapprovable in his sight

Instead of saying if you continue to the end it said if Doubtless you continue to the end or what if it said for as much as then you continue to the end

What would that sound like? So now it sounds like the five -fold eternal security

Actually means what God said when he said it is you can't lose your salvation instead of if you would read it this way

For as much as then you continue in the faith It's not a conditional it's the same word

Translated that way in several places. I'll give you a couple of them Hebrews chapter 2 verse 14

Starts out for as much as then as the children are partakers of the flesh and blood He also himself likewise took part of the same for as much as it's the same

Greek word That's translated if in our verse that we're studying today So, how do we know that was the best translation?

It's the same Greek word Why wouldn't we put for as much as then there's no conditional there?

so Acts chapter 11 verse 17 for as much then as God gave them

The light gift as he did unto us who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ What was

I that I could withstand God so where it says for as much as then that is the same root word

That's translated if in our verse So I'm suggesting we could we could simply translate the verse for as much as We continue in the faith and it fits perfectly.

But let me say this What if? The King James translators who

I've studied them in depth They were extremely godly people from several different denominations

Who prayed far longer than we do because they did not have the distractions that we have in this world today they studied most of them knew at least five languages and So I would say

They're pretty good translators, wouldn't you? so what if it is supposed to be if what if we choose to use if rather than for as much as Well, that's what we're going to look at next time

Because what we're going to do in the case we choose to use that translation We will go to the rule that says let the

Bible interpret the Bible. We will go to a parallel passage in Hebrews the book of Hebrews where it uses the same worth the word if in a salvation passage and we will get more light on What it means if it does in fact mean if because I don't have a problem with it either way.

I Don't have a problem with it either way because because this is what I know the words that we already studied are passive participle and also

Perfect which means at least want the key word grounded Which means it's already happened once never to be done again and God did it to us.

I have that so if the word is if then for me

The if is going to be fulfilled Because it's part of who I am and for you the same way if you're born again, right?

so I don't have a problem if it is if and When we look at the Hebrews passage, it's the same way

It could be for as much as but if you if you translate it if Then you have to understand in that passage

Paul's talking to who the Hebrews who's that the Jewish people now? I know there were Gentiles in the congregation where he was speaking, but Predominantly speaking to the

Jews and he's got three kinds of Jews in the room and three kinds of Gentiles in the room

He's got lost goats lost sheep and saved sheep

Same congregation I speak to except in a little bitty church You don't always have goats and you don't always even have lost sheep probably but sometimes you might but if a bigger church you've got all three and so Obviously if I'm gonna preach and I've got a mix of people in the room and some of them may be false

Professors who are just sitting there trying to be a Christian, but they hadn't been born again yet Then I'm gonna read

I'm gonna translate that thing if for their sake I'm gonna say look God will save you forever as long as you stay grounded

Because that's a lost person and they're thinking well, I'm not grounded What do I do with that and maybe it'll put them under conviction you see in the

Holy Spirit could use that to draw them to Jesus so there's a good use for the word if if you want to translate it if and you're gonna see that next week when we

Talk about it in the book of Hebrews. Anyway, we're out of time. So let's Stand and have prayer together

And we'll get into that next time You did well to stay with me this long. Very good.

Good job Lord Thank you so much for your word. Thank you that it is the truth. It is it is spirit and life for us it gives us all of the equipment that we need to be men and women of God and to walk in this world and fulfill your

Will for our lives to be salt and light to the world help us to be stronger in those areas and Walk with us

Lord when we're out there and helps to be sensitive to people that have a need to hear a word from you through us and Give us boldness and love when you do that Lord and we ask you to bless our meal