A Clarification from Last Week’s Sermon

You may remember that last week’s sermon had to do with obeying our Father’s many “one another” commands, for example, love one another (John 13:34), bear with one another (Eph. 4:2), encourage one another (1 Thes. 5:11), and spur one another on (Heb. 10:25). To summarize the spirit and content of these commands I led us to read Hebrews 10:19-24 and then I made a few comments on it.

One thing I said was that we desperately need one another to hold fast to our confession of hope in Christ, in other words, we desperately need one another just to stay saved. I took this idea mainly from the language of Hebrews 10:23 and also from the direction the author takes us in the rest of the chapter. I think it’s clear that the reason he’s so serious in calling us to do life with one another is that we weren’t meant to persevere in Christ on our own.

A couple of days ago a kind, Bible-loving soul from our church asked me if this means I believe people can lose their salvation. I answered that I do not believe someone who is truly in Christ can lose their salvation. Rather, I do believe that someone who is truly in Christ will persevere to the end based on texts like John 10:28-30 which says, “28 I [Jesus] give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

One of the means Jesus uses to keep us in his hands is the Body of Christ. He has designed things so that our spiritual growth and nourishment is intimately tied to our connection to his Body. So I say again—but now hopefully with more clarity—we desperately need one another even just to persevere in Christ and therefore woe to us if we willingly disobey him in this.

Thank you, Kind, Bible-Loving Soul, for bringing this to my attention. I am overjoyed by the fact that I preach to a people who love God’s Word and me enough to ask good and sometimes hard questions. May the Lord continue to grant us a spirit of careful teaching and careful listening at Glory of Christ for the glory of his name and the good of his people!

With thankfulness for you in Christ,
Pastor Charlie