Colossians 1:23 - Not Moved Away From The Hope, Pt. 4

Bible Interpretation, Context, and the Meaning of “If”

So what it sounds like it says is not important at all. What it means is what's important. And the only way you know that is use 10 rules of Bible interpretation. One of the greatest ones is look at the context because it's never written as one thought.

It's written as a letter, at least in the New Testament, most of the time, other than the Gospels, they're written as letters. And even the Gospels are written as, you know, like history. So you have to look at the context.

The only book that's a little different is Proverbs, but even there, a lot of the Proverbs, you have some context you can look at. So we've been looking at the context. Now, what we did last time, oh, let me just say this for those of you who may be here the first time in this study.

What's interesting about this verse, the one we're actually studying, and today I'm gonna go out to a parallel passage in the book of Hebrews, which is one of the rules of Bible interpretation is let the Bible interpret the Bible.

So we're gonna do that this morning. But another rule is you gotta look at the words. So that's definitions. And you gotta look at the Greek grammar. It's like math, and a lot of times it ends an argument.

It just proves it one way or the other. So we've done a little bit of that part right there where we looked at the word if here, and we found that it's not always translated if in the New Testament because it can mean other things.

And we'll actually see that in the parallel passage that we're gonna look at a little bit later.

In a few moments.

So sometimes it's translated for as much as, or because, or since. In English, it's total opposite meaning of if. But in Greek, the same word means both. So what does that tell you? To know what it means, you gotta just look at the context and you get a better idea of which word to choose.

In English.

So the other thing is this, where it says if you continue in the faith, grounded, settled, and be not moved. It's interesting because the word grounded is in the passive. The word perfect is an adjective, so you can't tell on that.

But the other word, phrase, not moved away, that's also passive. Now passive in the grammar means someone greater than you did it to you. So if it really means if, in other words, if you don't continue and if you don't, and if you are not moved away or if you are moved away, then you lose your salvation.

The interesting thing about it is in order to continue and in order to not move away, God has to do that to you. So why would God save you and then move you away? You see my point? So when you look at the grammar, it sort of solves it.

You don't even have to worry about the word if. But it is interesting to look at that word and that's kind of what we're doing. So that's just a review of some of the things that we've already looked at.

This word that's translated if in verse 23 is often translated if doubtless or for as much as or since. I'll give you, this is a review, but Hebrews 2 .14, which we looked at last Sunday, Acts 11 .17, for example, says for as much then as God gave them the light gift, that's the same word that's translated if in the other one, for as much then.

So you think about that for a minute. If you were to translate it that way in verse 23, then it would say for as much then since you do continue in the faith, grounded, settled, and so forth, then there's no issue, right?

Because you are going to do those things. So that might be a great translation. It's used in Acts 11 .17, Hebrews 2 .14, Hebrews 3 .1, and other places. The same word is transferred for as much as, wherefore, and different words like that.

So that's a little review of what we've already covered. Now, let's go to the parallel passage, and it's Hebrews 3 .1, and you notice it starts with the word wherefore, which means you now have to go read chapter two, because it's telling you to look up there and see what that stuff says to understand this part.

That's what we did last Sunday. So we were in chapter two last Sunday. Now, here's what we found out in chapter two, if you read through it, which I'm not gonna do, but for review, we found out that there are about five things that it teaches.

And all of these things happen before we get to chapter three and in chapter three, we're gonna read down several verses and we're gonna find that word if again. And it almost sounds again like if you don't do this stuff, you lose your salvation, but can it mean that if you look at the context?

So part of the context is chapter two, because it said wherefore, so you gotta look up at chapter two. So in chapter two, starting with about verse 15, we saw that Jesus through death destroyed Satan.

And here's what this chapter taught. We looked at it last Sunday. Number one, Jesus through death destroyed Satan. Now that's talking about his finished work, what he did on the cross and what it accomplished, right?

First thing it did was it destroyed Satan. Now, wouldn't you agree that it's Satan who would try to make you lose your salvation if you could? Would you agree with that? So if he has been positionally destroyed, maybe not de facto yet, but someday he'll be cast into hell, and the reason for that is because of what Jesus did on the cross.

When he died, it really destroyed his power over Christians. Satan no longer has any power over any of God's children unless you let him. He has no, let me put it, it's better this way. He has no right to have power over you unless you give him that right, and you should never give him that right.

So he has no power. So he is taken out of the picture to make you lose your salvation. Jesus died and killed Satan, basically. Someday he will be cast in the lake of fire forever. He'll be dead forever except he'll be alive.

That's called living death. That's what happens to people and angels that are in hell. They live, they don't cease to exist, but they live in the lake of fire forever. That part of God's word is tough to deal with, but it is the truth.

It is the truth. I've said so many times, if we were God, we might not do it like he did it. Probably what I would do if I were God, I would just snuff out people that weren't saved. Actually, what I would have done is snuff out them all and start over.

With the flood, there wouldn't have been eight souls left when I was done with it. If I were God, I would just snuff them out and start over, make better people, but God didn't do it that way. And for some reason, we don't like how God did it.

Now, we do in this room because we've been in the word enough to love the Lord and understand a lot about why he does what he does and how he does it. So the second thing in that passage last week up there in Hebrews chapter two is that Jesus through death delivered the seed of Abraham or the children of God, that's us.

Now, if your standing is that you have been delivered and the best word to translate the word salvation that we talk about in the New Testament, I've been saved, is the Greek word that means delivered.

It's not that you're just saved in the sense of how Baptists mean it, because a lot of us grew up Baptist, where it just means I go to heaven when I die. It's not just that. It's the word delivered, and that means in this life, you're delivered.

You're delivered from any sin habit you wanna be delivered from. You're delivered from the enemy, the world, flesh, and the devil. Your standing is you stand as a delivered person. So it's because of his finished work.

And then the third thing is it says basically that Jesus through death made reconciliation for the sins of the people. That better translation would be propitiation, which means when Jesus died, it satisfied God the Father that our sin debt has been paid in full.

So that's part of his finished work, all right? Now, it keeps going on, and it says, let me see where this little verse is. In verse 17 of Hebrews chapter two, it said, "'Wherefore, in all things, it behooved him to be made "'like unto his brother, that he might be merciful "'and a faithful high priest.'".

Now, that high priestly role of Jesus is his present work, not his past finished work, but it's what he's doing now. So every time Satan accuses you before God because you sinned or something, Jesus' priestly role is that he stands up and he looks at the Father and says, look, look at my hands, they're scarred.

Look at my chest, it's scarred. Look at my feet, they're scarred. I died and removed the sin, they're not guilty. And he does that every time. So how can you lose your salvation? You see, all of these things are listed in chapter two before it ever gets to the word if in chapter three.

And if you know all this, then when you see that word if, you go, well, now, wait a minute, that word, is that an old English word that meant something different? I mean, something's a little off there because it's not a conditional.

And we'll see that as we get to it, but we're still looking at the context. So the fourth thing that we saw was Jesus, through death, is able to bring aid and relief to them that are tempted. So if it's true that because Jesus was tempted in all points as we are and yet without sin, and he lived on this earth for 33 years, and that he is a high priest who can understand our condition, and that therefore, when we are tempted, he comes to help us every time.

And he says, there's never a temptation which he doesn't give you a way out of it. If that's true, how are you gonna lose your salvation? So all these things are very powerful. The next thing it talked about, and now we're getting into the chapter we're studying today.

So you can look at that if you want to, Hebrews chapter three, verse one. Wherefore, an interesting point, that word is the same word that's translated if, later on in the same chapter, same word. So it could be translated wherefore, or because, or since, or sometimes if.

The only way you know which one is by the context. So that's why we're looking at context. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our profession, who was faithful to him that appointed him.

So the fifth thing that we see is that Jesus is a faithful shepherd. Now in John chapter six, verse 39, Jesus said, and this is the father's will that sent me, that of all which he has given me, I would lose nothing, but will raise it up again in that day.

So it is the shepherd's responsibility to keep you saved, not your responsibility. So when you see a sentence that looks like it says, well, you're saved, if you do good stuff, or you keep going, or you do this, then that doesn't fit the whole concept of everything we've been taught in Hebrews chapter two so far.

It doesn't fit the concept that it's Jesus that's responsible for you to stay saved, not you, the stupid sheep. Sorry, folks, me too, me and you, the stupid sheep. It's not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to be a sheep and sheep stray.

God said he made us that way on purpose. One of the favorite verses I found the last two years is the one that says, this treasure is hidden in earthen vessels. My body, my old man is weak, yours is too.

You can't say your old man's stronger than my old man, it's not. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things, who can know it? That's your flesh, that's your old man. But when God saved you, he made you a new man.

We're gonna look at that too. This takes a little while to get through this Hebrews thing we're in, more than today. But you will get there where it talks about that new man. But the point is you are a new man, and the key is your new man has to stay in control of your old man.

And when you do that, you're called spirit-filled. And when you're spirit-filled, you cannot and will not sin. How about that? So you could go long periods of time with no sin if you chose to. But this is interesting that it is the faithful shepherd's job to keep us saved.

The Bible teaches that through and through. It also teaches it allegorically. When you look at a human shepherd watching the sheep, the sheep cannot protect themselves. King David, before he was king, he was a boy who watched his father's sheep.

And one time with bare hands and a knife, it might've had a spear, I don't know, but bare hands, he killed a lion to protect one sheep. That is a picture of Jesus. And the lion is a picture of Satan, by the way.

And so with his bare hands, he killed, he risked his life. For one little sheep, he could've just run and got the rest of the herd away and been fine, but he didn't. It wasn't even his sheep, it was his dad's, but he was responsible for it.

So he killed the lion, saved the sheep. Now, Jesus says this, this is the father's will. So he's keeping his father's sheep, Jesus is. It's his sheep too. I know that's a little different than the human example, but it is the father's sheep, but it's also his sheep.

And he says, this is the father's will who sent me that of all which he gave me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again in the last day. A lot of stuff in that we could talk about, but this is the will of him that sent me that everyone which beholds the son and believes on him may have everlasting life.

Now, let me ask you this. If the Bible teaches, and this is in 1 John chapter five, where it's really beautiful. He that has the son has life, he that has not the son of God has not life. Okay, so if you already have Jesus, then you already have life.

And the kind of life you have is called everlasting. When does everlasting stop? Can't hear your heads rattling. When does it stop?

Say it.

It does not stop. So if you already have it and it can't stop, you can't lose it. Duh, my favorite word when I'm talking to a church of Christ person is duh. Okay, anyway, it's very theological. All right, so the faithful shepherd says you already have everlasting life at John 6, 40, and I will raise him up at the last day.

He did not say I might. It is whose responsibility to get you there on the last day, yours or Jesus, say it. Jesus's, there you go. So if you lose it, he fails. He's a failure. Is that gonna happen? So bad doctrine, bad doctrine.

The worst doctrine I've heard in Christianity is that you can lose your salvation. And some really sweet people believe it, but you know, we need to pray for them. They just don't know their Bible very well at all.

I mean, they've never analyzed this passage like we're doing it here ever, or they wouldn't believe that unless they're lost, playing like they're Christians, and that happens. But anyway, so here we go.

Christ as Builder, House, and Son Over His Own House

Now, let's go back into Hebrews chapter three.

Look at verse three.

For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses inasmuch as he built the house. He that builds the house has more honor than the house. So that's a little cumbersome, but what it teaches is that Jesus created everything.

So he's depicted here as the builder of the house. We as Christians are the house that he built. You know how he lives in our heart, right? So isn't that a pretty good picture? So he created us, he built us a house for himself to live in.

Now, Moses was part of the house, and he had great authority over Israel during the time of the law, but he was not greater than Jesus because Moses was a house and Jesus built him. So Jesus has the higher level and higher authority because he's the creator of the house, and that's what this is talking about.

But look at verse four. In every house is built by some man, but he that built all things is God. And as you read on, especially in the book of Colossians, it says Jesus is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

It says all things were made by him and for him. Jesus is the builder of the house. All right, so we start to see that there. And so look at verse five. So therefore we now see Jesus as God. And Moses verily was faithful in all of his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which are to come.

So now we see that Jesus is faithful just as Moses was. And then look at verse six. And Christ as a son over his own house, whose house we are, and here's the word if. Now, if you just leave the if part out for a minute, and you look at this little passage we just read, we've already seen seven things about Jesus that show that he's going to keep us saved.

Seven things starting last Sunday all the way through till right now, seven things. And then it says if. So would the context support the translation if, or the translation since better?

Since.

All right, so what if we read it that way? But Jesus as son over his own house, whose house we are, since we do hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end, makes perfect sense.

If you say if, now you're Church of Christ unless you have a whole Bible and you've read it. If that's the only verse you have, that makes you be Church of Christ. And I've got friends that are Church of Christ, so I'm not meanly picking on them.

I'm just saying it's the truth. They believe you can lose it, they love this verse. Well, I love this verse too because it doesn't teach what they say it teaches. It teaches the opposite. It teaches since they're going to follow through to the end, they're saved forever.

That's actually what it teaches. Now, we'll see more of that as we go. Now, the next part of Hebrews chapter three, as we continue in the context of this word if, if we hold fast the confidence and rejoicing of the hope firm to the end, then we're the house Jesus built.

And if we don't, we're not. Well, what if you allow the translation if? And we could very easily. I'm not going to, but we could. If we allow the translation if to be what we use, and we understand all of the rest of the scripture that the shepherd has to keep us saved, then wouldn't you agree it would be his job to keep us holding fast, confident, and rejoicing in hope to the end?

Would you agree with that? That that would be his job to do that, which would mean we will do it. So if is okay. I don't mind leaving if there because I am going to hold out to the end. So are you, because Jesus will make sure you and I do.

It's not because I'm strong or you're strong. It's because he's strong and he's the shepherd. You understand? So I don't really care, but it's very interesting. I like the minutia of scripture. I like every jot and every tittle Jesus said would be true and would be fulfilled.

That's the cross, the T, the da, the I, sort of in Hebrew. Every little word is important. So if is important here. Now in Greek, it's the word I. It looks like EI in English. And like I say, it's translated if, it's translated wherein to, it's translated since.

So you pick, and the King James translators for some reason picked if in some places and since in some places and so forth. So let's keep looking at context to see what this if should be. Should it be if or should it be since or because we do these things?

Well, look at verse seven, Hebrews chapter three, verse seven, because here's what happens when we get to verse seven. This next part of the passage begins to shed light on who the people are that don't hold fast.

Who are the people that don't remain confident, rejoicing in hope firm to the end? Who are those people? It starts to tell us who they are. Well, all we have to do is examine the context of who they are and ask yourself, am I that person or not?

And if you're not, don't worry about it. Okay, but if you are, you should worry about it. You should do something about it. You should seek the Lord, but anyway. So let's look at it. Look at verse seven.

Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. It goes back to an Old Testament example that all the, by the way, we're in the book of Hebrews today.

So this was a book written to Jews, Jewish believers or Jews that aren't saved so they might get saved. It's to the Jews. So they all understand this story. Now we sometimes forget them, but this is talking about when they were in the wilderness and they provoked God, right?

There were people that took gold and turned it into a golden calf and worshiped it while dancing inappropriately. If you're a Baptist, there is no appropriate way to dance, but that's a joke, sorry. So, got to keep myself awake somehow.

Okay, so, all right. So harden not your hearts as in the provocation of the day of temptation. So now apparently Paul is speaking to a group of people and with this letter to the Hebrews that has three kinds of people in it.

And those three kinds can divide into two groups of those three kinds. So maybe you could say there's six kinds. Let's just divide it into Jew and Gentile first. So that's times two of the three and here's three kinds.

There are lost sheep in there listening to him. There are saved sheep listening to him and there are lost goats. And then those three, you got a bunch of Jews that are all three of those and a bunch of Gentiles, all three of those.

So he's got six kinds of people he's talking to. He's got to be aware of who he's speaking to. Any good speaker does that. So when he does, if we want to leave the word if in there, wouldn't you agree that if there's someone in this congregation today that claims to be a Christian because someone told them they were because whatever reason, but they're really not walking with the Lord.

And if I read this and I said, well, look, you are Jesus's house, which means you're saved forever if you do this other stuff. Well, if you're a lost person, you hear that it bothers you because you know, you're not doing the other stuff.

You're not holding fast to the truth. You're not walking with the Lord. You're not rejoicing that the end is coming. And we have to be with Jesus forever because you love this world so much. And it bothers you if I put that if in there, do you understand?

That may be why the King James authors who were such godly people. And there were many of them, what was it? 65 or 66, I don't remember. Ben knows, I don't know. But they were godly prayerful people and they put if there.

And maybe Paul used the word in the sense of, we'll check you out and see if you're real or not. Does it bother you if I say if? Because if it bothers you, you might want to talk to the pastor about that or anybody in here that's saved.

Talk to him and say, why does it bother me? And find out, you know? But it's interesting because he uses this example of some Old Testament people that lost their soul because they acted like they were God's people following Moses out to the wilderness, but they didn't like the wilderness because it wasn't good and comfy and safe.

It had trouble. And just like the seed that falls on the stony soil where it takes very shallow and it springs up quickly, but there's no root, which is a picture of Jesus. So they don't have Jesus, they just have religion.

And then they fall away when things get tough. Like we start arguing over the color of the carpet, they leave, right? You see what I'm saying? So here you had people in the wilderness that were like that.

Things got tough, so they just build a calf and worshiped it because they didn't believe God was taking care of them. Well, what did that do? It revealed who is who.

And you know what?

God killed a bunch of them because they weren't true.

They weren't real.

So they didn't follow through to the end and they couldn't. And now God is using that as an example and teaching us why the word if is there. I still think since is a better translation, but if you think about it, he's kind of talking about this group of people that do fall away seemingly.

So let's keep going.

Let's see who are they.

First of all, they are people who have hardened hearts. They don't listen to God when he speaks to them because the Holy Spirit's voice.

Is a little bitty quiet voice.

As powerful as he is, he does not force you to do anything. He moves you to do things. He woos you back to Jesus. And so they harden their hearts against that and they quench the Holy Spirit again and again and again.

And they grieve the Holy Spirit again and again and again. And it says in verse nine, when the fathers tempted me to prove me and saw my works for 40 years, wherefore I was grieved with that generation.

The Holy Spirit was grieved because they had a hard heart. They wouldn't listen to his moving in their heart. And he said, they do always err in their heart and they have not known my way. So now we know who these people are.

So if you wanna say there are people that lose their salvation, I can agree with you if what you mean by that is there are people that come to church and spring up quickly and give a testimony of how God did wonderful things in their life.

And then all of a sudden they go back and they live for the devil the rest of their life. And you say, well, they lost their salvation. Well, did they really? Or were they these kinds of people that were feigning to be God's people, but they weren't really saved?

That's why when I define eternal security, I say, if a person is really saved, they cannot lose their salvation because there's a lot of false professors. There are a lot of people that claim to be saved that don't know God and have never been regenerated.

You have to be called to be regenerated. Now, I don't wanna scare you away from your salvation. Maybe you came down the aisle and some preachers have prayed this little prayer, dear Jesus come to my heart, amen.

And you did that and now you think you're saved.

Well, guess what?

You might be. Because if God moved you from that pew to come down here, then you were saved before you got down here. And the preacher told you a wrong message, but he can't mess it up, can he? It's God that saved you, not the preacher, right?

He can't mess that up. So I don't wanna talk you out of your salvation just because maybe you prayed a prayer because you were probably already saved before you prayed the prayer because here's how you know if you're saved.

Whosoever, listen to me, this is in Greek. Whosoever desires to call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So if that desire was there, you're saved. So don't worry about the religious stuff you did or didn't do.

But there are people who like the religious stuff. They come to sell insurance to you. They come to get you into their business at church. Not so much, it'd be stupid to do that here.

You would go broke.

There's not enough people. Unless you're selling million dollar cars and you just need to sell one a year,.

You could do that here.

Maybe not, maybe not. Well, Pence, can I get that on? Can I write a check for that?

You don't get it.

Okay, I thought that one would go over really big. Can you write a check for that? It's like Dave, it's in a movie. Y 'all didn't see the movie. But anyway, so there are people in churches around America today.

I would say the majority of the people, I hate to say it this way, the majority of people in churches around America today have hardened hearts and they err in their heart because they don't interpret scripture correctly because they don't listen to the Holy Spirit and they have not known God's way.

Now that last phrase is really important. They have not known God's way. So that's who these people are. They don't hold fast till the end because the Bible says they are like rocky soil and when the sun comes out and scorches it, that represents persecution or stuff going wrong, everything's not working right, they fall away.

Those are the people that, the wrong people who teach it wrong say they lost their salvation, but the Bible never said they were saved. In fact, it says they weren't because it said they had no root. See, they misinterpret scripture to believe what they want to believe.

People that have false doctrine, they always do it. You have a hard time with them because as soon as you show them what it really means, they go, what about this one over here? So you got to know about five or six of their verses to beat them, but they only got five or six.

So that's encouraging. Pays to kind of learn what they are. So we're teaching one or two of them right here. So now we see these people have not known God's way. So here's the thing. Look at John 10, verse 11.

Let me get you to turn there right quick. And I want to remind you, I didn't get to start until 22, so this is not a long sermon. John 10, verse 11. So here's what you need to ask yourself today. Are you one of these Hebrews who has a hardened heart, who errs in your way and you don't know God's ways, or are you a person who does know God's ways?

So look at John 10 and verse 11. Jesus says this, I am the good shepherd. Now he's going to lay down the fact that he is responsible for you and me, if you're a sheep. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.

King David, when he was a boy, teenage boy, maybe Sam's age, I don't know, maybe a little older, he killed a lion with his bare hands to save one sheep because it was his dad's sheep and he was responsible.

That is a picture of Jesus. I'm the good shepherd. I am a shepherd who gives my life to save one sheep. But he that is the hireling, that is what David talked about in Sunday school this morning, false religions, false teachers like Muhammad, Islam, like Buddha and Buddhism and like gods with a thousand arms and Hinduism, all of that stuff, they are hirelings.

They are in religion to make money. And let me say this, they're a heck of a lot, and I shouldn't use that word, I got saved late in life. There are a whole bunch of Christians, so-called Christian preachers preaching this morning that are doing it for money, all right?

So that is a hireling, and I'll promise you when Satan comes after you and your family, they will run because they don't know how to deal with it because they're not a good shepherd, they're a hireling.

And Jesus says, I'm not like that. I'm not like a hireling, but he that's a hireling and not the shepherd who's owned the sheep or not, like they don't own the sheep, when they see a wolf coming, they leave the sheep and they flee and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters the rest of the sheep and eats one of them.

The hireling flees because he is a hireling and he does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep. Now listen to this last phrase. Look at it in your Bible, and am known of mine.

So the Bible teaches in Hebrews chapter three, verse 10, that these people that don't hold out to the end have not known God's ways, but Jesus said, my sheep are known. I am known by my sheep, so you do know God's ways.

You know God, you know his ways, you know Jesus, you know his ways. So it's not even talking to you, it's talking to people that don't. So we can ask who are the people who do not hold fast, firm to the end, but we can also see who they are not.

Those people are not Jesus's sheep because Jesus's sheep know his ways. Now, verse 14 says these people who do not know God's ways cannot be Jesus's sheep because the sheep do know God's ways, they do know God.

So in Hebrews chapter three, verse six, where it talks about the house, that we are his house if we hold fast. The truth is we do hold fast, so I would prefer to put the word since instead of if. You see my logic?

If I want to let the Bible help me interpret this verse, the Bible tells me we do know God's ways, it's not like if we follow the end, it says we do know his ways, so it's since we hold fast, hold on to the Lord fast to the end because we're not false believers, all right?