WBS.039
FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
A KINGDOM HEART - IX
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.
2 Peter 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Master and Saviour Yahushua Messiah, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Our last posting ended with this comment: “The moment we move away from a present continuous trust in Messiah to having confidence in being born again, we begin to walk in darkness and the Truth is hidden from us. We must be renewed again unto repentance.”
Recently, a brother in Messiah shared some of the concepts from this blog with people he knew who were members of a particular protestant denomination. They became upset with him because the information had caused them to “doubt their salvation.” Some, apparently, decided that he was a member of a cult. Rather than deal honestly with the claim of the Scriptures upon their lives, they sought the comfort zone provided by their doctrine and labeled the bringer of the offending message a member of a cult. This way, they no longer had to deal with the Scriptural challenge to their belief system and religious culture. Turning a blind eye and a hardened heart to the Word of Elohim, they secured for themselves comfort in a doctrine that could not stand up against the challenge of the testimony of Scripture. This might sound absurd to the casual reader or to the uninitiated, but it is the daily experience of millions of professing Christians around the globe; who, having responded to a false gospel, have embraced a promise of eternity with IAUE in exchange for uttering a simple prayer of acceptance of His marvelous gift.
By now, the readers of this blog should be aware that I am not an adherent to the doctrine of “Once saved, always saved.” My principal objection to this doctrine is due to the common misunderstanding of what it means to be saved. When a person says, “I am saved,” or asks “Are you saved?” he is not thinking scripturally. He is thinking religiously. “Being saved” to that person means something to him/her that is not a scripturally-based idea.
I love the response I heard a minister give to this question many years ago. When asked, “Is it once saved always saved, or can a person lose their salvation?” he replied, “Who wants out?” This answer perfectly captures the real issue behind this doctrine. Most believers simply want to be sure their eternal destination is secure. They do not want to have to sacrifice anything to have it; they simply want to know what is the least that can be expected of them in order to have that peace of mind that they are going to Heaven when they die. This mindset is not borne of the gospel that begins with, “Repent, for the kingdom of IAUE is at hand.” No, it is a mindset that may acknowledge that the Master will have the right to rule over them in the ages to come; but for now, they will continue to do as they please, and pursue their own dreams and interests. For the one who has responded to the true gospel through genuine repentance and has come under the authority of IAUE, the logical response would be, “Who wants out?” Life lived in obedience to His will has become the meaning of that person’s existence; so why would anyone like that entertain the question of whether or not their salvation was forever resolved in a fixed point-in-time?
There is a difference between being “saved” and “having salvation.” We have looked at the prophecy of Zacharias in Luke 1:67-79 a couple of times, already, to discover that:
1.
IAUE
has raised up a horn (a kingdom) of salvation.
2.
IAUE
has saved us from our enemies and from them that hate us.
3.
IAUE
has freed us from that which has prevented us from doing His will.
4.
IAUE
has given knowledge of this salvation through the remission of sins.
We looked at 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, to see that the ministry of reconciliation is to report this release from sins to the people, so that the knowledge of IAUE’s salvation might be made known by them. IAUE has “saved” mankind…all mankind, both believer and non-believer has been delivered from that which has prevented them from doing IAUE’s will. The “point-in-time” experience when forgiveness of sins was obtained was at the death of Yahushua on the stake. The “point-in-time” experience where the remission of sins (freedom from the power that sin has held over man) was procured for mankind was at the resurrection of Yahushua.
Without the knowledge of what IAUE has done for man, man cannot benefit from what He has done for them. Let’s imagine, for example, that due to wrong choices, perhaps evil choices you have made, you fell on hard times and became destitute. You alienated yourself from your family thinking that what you have done has surely driven a wall between you and them. You find yourself homeless, living on the street, eating whatever scraps you can find, and sleeping wherever you can find a place to rest at night. In the meantime, a relative passes away and leaves in his will a provision for you to take over ownership of a home, some land and provides a monthly stipend that would enable you to live more than comfortably for the rest of your life. That relative’s death secured your legal right to all of this. The fact he named you favorably in his will demonstrates that he forgave you whatever wrongs you may have committed; but you do not know about his will, yet; so it does not benefit you one bit. Someone must find you and tell you about his will for you to know what has happened. It is through learning of your relative’s death and his will that you are able to choose to be reconciled to your relative. You also, must come to accept the terms of the relative’s will in order to receive the benefits provided therein for you. You must leave your current circumstances in life to accept the life that your relative’s will has made possible for you. It is possible, however, for you to return to the streets and be alienated from your family in order to resume living according to your own will.
This is an over-simplified illustration, but it makes it easier, perhaps, to see how the knowledge of something can open the door to new possibilities. Being told that IAUE was in Messiah reconciling the world unto Himself, and no longer holding their sins against them (the ministry of reconciliation) allows man to embrace the reality of His forgiveness of their sins. They do not have to ask for that forgiveness, as it has already been given. The forgiveness opens the door to that person being able to choose to live their life according to the provisions of His will. In doing so, that person may walk in salvation---doing the will of IAUE free from the oppression and interference of those things that formerly prevented him from obeying His will. Through this illustration, then, we can see that the person was “saved (rescued) on paper” the moment the relative died, having placed provisions for his personal security within his will. The heir’s rescue was provided for, though not realized until a proper response was made toward the will. When the heir responded to the will, he was “saved” from his former life. The freedom procured by the will, however, is sustained only so long as the heir complies with the terms of the will. Salvation is an on-going process of walking within the Father’s will.
The title of this blog is “Fundamentals of Discipleship.” The objective of this blog is to provide the tools for the believer to enhance and cultivate genuine discipleship to Yahushua Messiah. One can never experience genuine discipleship until one is honest with the Scriptures. No matter what doctrinal axioms one may create by subjecting the Scriptures to mathematical empiricisms (see last week’s post) you still have to resolve the conflicts to those doctrinal axioms. The Bible is not a textbook that you can shake at IAUE and say, “YOU MUST DO THIS!” It is a platform through which you come into dialogue with the Holy Spirit, to learn the will of IAUE and to empower you to come into humble submission and obedience to His will.
The will of IAUE is everything to the disciple. If we would be disciples of Yahushua Messiah, we must learn of Him. Is that not what it means to be a disciple?
Hebrews
10:9 "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O Elohim..."
John
8:29 "And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me
alone; for I do always those things that please him."
This was the very essence of the Master. He came to do his Father’s will.
The apostles were very concerned with this basic element of our life. The apostle Paul told the Romans:
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE.
He told the Colossians:
Colossians 1: 9 "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not
cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the
knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 "That ye might walk worthy of the Master unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim;
10 "That ye might walk worthy of the Master unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of Elohim;
The apostle John wrote:
1 John 2:16 For
all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust
thereof: but he that doeth the will
of IAUE abideth for ever.
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