1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:04,200 All right, take your Bibles, if you will, tonight. 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:06,880 And let's turn to Galatians Chapter 3. 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,440 Galatians Chapter 3. I don't plan to be real long 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:11,960 tonight. Does anybody need a copy? 5 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:15,400 I do have a few copies of the of the lesson for tonight. 6 00:00:15,800 --> 00:00:17,320 Raise your hand. Charlie's got them there. 7 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:19,480 Let's do the adults first, Charlie, for me. 8 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:21,680 All right. And if we have some leftover, 9 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:22,760 then we'll give them to the kids. 10 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,400 Got a couple up here. There you go With Matt. 11 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,160 Yeah. There we go. 12 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,360 All right. Is that it? 13 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,440 All right. Anybody need a pen? 14 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:42,280 Because Josh has some pens in the back. 15 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:49,760 All right, All right. I didn't expect that many people 16 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,520 to forget their notes. I think I made 6 or 7 copies. 17 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:58,600 But now this is, let me, let me just preface what we're going to 18 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,520 talk about tonight by saying that this is for people who know 19 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:03,680 they're saved. All right? 20 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:05,960 This is building on everything that we've talked about. 21 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:09,200 This goes right along with everything that we talked about 22 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:14,200 last week with eternal security, our position in Christ, and of 23 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:16,000 course, then practice. And I'm going to explain a 24 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,280 couple things about that, but maybe you haven't had a chance 25 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,800 to look at some of the other lessons. 26 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,600 I would highly recommend that you go back, especially to the 27 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:29,760 repentance and faith and all the things that are the foundational 28 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,560 elements of what it means to know Christ as your Savior. 29 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:39,960 Great news on Sunday. You know, we had Ryan and Gray, 30 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:45,960 and why am I not thinking Eddiana and Steve? 31 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:49,360 That's right. All got baptized and after the 32 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,280 service, Gray's wife Caitlin wanted to talk in the office 33 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:55,440 and, and was kind of dealing with the exact same thing that 34 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,960 Ryan and Gray both dealt with. I just don't know if I'm saved 35 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:01,040 and I'm tired of I'm tired of not knowing. 36 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,440 So I want to get it settled. And so we talked for a while in 37 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:06,760 the office and she prayed right there and accepted Christ as her 38 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:10,280 Savior on Sunday afternoon. So tremendous, tremendous thing. 39 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,600 It's, it's why it's important that we go through what the 40 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,840 Bible says, not what, not what you've heard your entire life, 41 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:18,440 not what somebody told you somewhere along the line to make 42 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:21,560 you feel good about yourself. It's what does the Bible say 43 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:23,320 about it? And repentance and faith are 44 00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,200 absolutely necessary for salvation. 45 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,000 But once you know you're saved, you have that eternal security. 46 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,520 And then what we talked about last week, especially at the end 47 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,640 of last week, is what happens to a disobedient Christian, right? 48 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,560 If you're, if you're saved and you know you're saved, you can't 49 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,960 lose your salvation. But what does happen to somebody 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:45,320 who is a Christian that is not living for the Lord? 51 00:02:45,320 --> 00:02:47,160 But we talked about those seven things. 52 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,520 The sending believers out of fellowship with the Lord and his 53 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:54,240 people, grieves. The Holy Spirit is is helped by 54 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,280 the Lord Jesus Christ. The sinning believers helped by 55 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,160 the Lord Jesus Christ, sending believers chastened by the 56 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:00,840 Father, a sinning believer that reaps corruption. 57 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,680 The sinning believer loses irreplace, irreplaceable 58 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:05,200 opportunities for service and fruit. 59 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,040 And we said #7 that a sinning believer will suffer loss of the 60 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,080 judgment seat of Christ. So what we're going to talk 61 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,680 about tonight with position and practice goes right along with 62 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:13,920 that. And if you want to do something 63 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:17,600 like this at the top, it's what I did so that you could kind of 64 00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,800 see the difference. You put on one side, you put 65 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:26,120 position relationship standing, position relationship standing. 66 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,680 You can write those three things on one side and you can see 67 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:30,280 those. They're right there on page 37. 68 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,680 All of the terms that I just said, position, relationship, 69 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,320 standing, all of those three are the same thing. 70 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:39,160 And then on the other side, to help keep it straight, if you 71 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,240 want to, you can put practice fellowship and walk, practice 72 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,520 fellowship and walk. So one side is position, 73 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:47,760 relationship and standing. It's all the same thing. 74 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:50,640 We'll explain that and then practice fellowship and walk. 75 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:52,520 That's all the same thing. And we're going to explain that 76 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:54,600 they're just kind of they're opposites of each other. 77 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,040 All right. And, and, and we'll get to a few 78 00:03:57,040 --> 00:03:59,040 verses, really just a couple passages. 79 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,560 And that's why I said I don't really plan to be real long 80 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,120 tonight because this is not a long lesson and it's not really 81 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,680 something that's very difficult to understand, but it's 82 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:10,760 important to understand. So another essential thing in 83 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,520 the Christian life is to understand the difference 84 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,320 between position and practice or relationship and fellowship. 85 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:18,880 And if you're just reading this, you might think that they're the 86 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:20,600 same thing. They're not the same thing. 87 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,160 Position and practice are two different things. 88 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,680 Relationship and fellowship are two different things. 89 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,600 And then as we'll see, standing and walk are two different 90 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,480 things. What we mean by this is that the 91 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:34,240 believer has a new position and relationship before God that is 92 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,480 eternal and perfect and unchanging, and that depends 93 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,080 entirely upon Christ. But the believer also has to 94 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,920 practice in this present world that is less than perfect, and 95 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,440 that depends on his obedience. So the salvation side of it is 96 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:50,080 100% on God. Once I accept Christ as my 97 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,760 Savior, I have a position in Christ. 98 00:04:53,640 --> 00:04:57,000 He gives me that. Nothing that I can do can change 99 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,200 that. Nothing that I can do can get my 100 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:01,240 position in Christ. Nothing that I can do can take 101 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,560 away my position in Christ. The same thing with my 102 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,880 relationship. That's on Him. 103 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:08,440 He establishes that relationship. 104 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,600 I can't do anything to change the relationship. 105 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,240 What I can do is something to change, though. 106 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,280 Is the fellowship right? The standing? 107 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,320 I don't. I can't do anything about my 108 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:21,040 standing before God. Once I've accepted Christ as my 109 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,880 Savior, I am in Christ. That's on him. 110 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,960 That's his work. My standing before God relies on 111 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,560 the finished work of Jesus Christ. 112 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:30,600 I can't do anything to make it better. 113 00:05:30,600 --> 00:05:33,320 I can't do anything to make it worse, but I can do something 114 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:35,800 about my walk, right? And that's what we're saying 115 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:38,520 that the first 3, the position, the relationship and the 116 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:42,560 standing are our our position before God, if you will. 117 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,280 I know it's using the same word, but that's what it is. 118 00:05:44,280 --> 00:05:46,440 It's our position. It's how God looks at us, how 119 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,680 God sees us as his child, as those who have accepted Christ 120 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:53,000 as their savior. The other side of that coin has 121 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,280 everything to do with whether I'm going to be obedient to what 122 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:57,760 God told me to do or not. So hopefully this will help 123 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:00,880 multitudes of Christians have become discouraged or even 124 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:03,200 shipwrecked from failure to understand this truth. 125 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,160 And this is a great little story that he gives about Harry 126 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,400 Ironside. Many of you have at least heard 127 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:10,720 his name. He's a, he's been dead for, for 128 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,240 many years now, but he wrote books. 129 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,720 He, he, he made a huge impact for Christ through his preaching 130 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,800 ministry. But this, this is what that what 131 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:20,440 Harry Ironside had happened to him. 132 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,400 He was a famous Bible commentator as well, but he 133 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,440 began his Christian life as a zealous member of the Salvation 134 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,400 Army, believing their doctrine of a second blessing of sinless 135 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,760 perfection. Harry set out to obtain this 136 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:35,360 experience. Now the first blessing is 137 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,080 accepting Christ as your savior. The second blessing is that you 138 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:40,480 can become sinless. You can live in this life 139 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,160 perfect before God, meaning you. You can get to the point where 140 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,680 you never sin. And it's a blessing that God 141 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,160 basically bestows on people, right? 142 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,320 You think about before we even read the rest of it. 143 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,840 You can think about how difficult that would be for 144 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,280 trying to be a good Christian. OK, the Bible makes it very 145 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,880 clear that we cannot be perfect. We'll never be perfect until we 146 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,280 get to heaven. So could you imagine trying to 147 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:08,840 be perfect? Could you imagine trying to 148 00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:11,440 never sin? How difficult it would be to 149 00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:15,200 never think a wrong thought, never lose your temper, never 150 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:19,800 fill in the blank right? It's in, it's, it's, we ought to 151 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:22,640 be trying to get to that point, but we never will because we're 152 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:25,280 we're, we're humans and we still deal with the flesh. 153 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:28,280 And I mean, boy, look at, look at any book in the New 154 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:29,760 Testament. It'll tell you that, right? 155 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:34,480 So but the Salvation Army has this doctrine of a second 156 00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:37,960 blessing of sinless perfection. So naturally, if you want to be 157 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:40,120 a good Christian, why wouldn't you try to get that? 158 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:42,840 That's what he did. So Harry Ironside set out to 159 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,400 obtain that experience. He fasted and prayed and sought 160 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,520 God as earnestly as he knew how. Finally he went out into the 161 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,800 woods, determining to stay as long as necessary, and he 162 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,040 experienced what he thought was the second blessing. 163 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,560 He returned to a Salvation Army meeting and stood up to testify 164 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,800 that he had found it. Soon, though, he realized that 165 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:03,040 the old man was still present in his life, and he became so 166 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,120 discouraged that he had a breakdown and ended up in a 167 00:08:05,120 --> 00:08:08,200 hospital. He determined to forget about 168 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,160 the Christian life since it didn't work. 169 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,160 But God sent some proper, some properly educated, educated 170 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:17,200 believers to instruct him properly in biblical 171 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:19,680 sanctification. It was then able to establish 172 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:22,240 his Christian life on a proper foundation and to go on to be a 173 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,640 very fruitful servant of Jesus Christ, which means this, we'll 174 00:08:25,640 --> 00:08:28,840 never be perfect, right? But we can, we can get to that 175 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,640 level of sanctification where we are trying to do everything 176 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,760 that's pleasing to the Lord, where everything in our in our 177 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:37,799 hearts is trying to be lined up in obedience to God's word. 178 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,400 But we'll never be perfect. We're never going to get to that 179 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:43,880 point because we are flesh and it still fights against the 180 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,160 Spirit and the Bible is very clear about that. 181 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:48,840 But here's the difference. Then we've already kind of 182 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:50,360 talked about our position and practice. 183 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,680 So your position is who you are in Christ. 184 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:57,800 When God looks at you, does he see someone whose sins are 185 00:08:57,800 --> 00:08:59,400 covered under the blood of Jesus Christ? 186 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:03,720 If you're saved, that's you. If you, if you've repented and 187 00:09:03,720 --> 00:09:06,240 and turned to Christ in faith, then that is you. 188 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:11,160 That is your position in Christ, and nothing you can do can earn 189 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:13,760 you that position besides accepting Christ, and nothing 190 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,000 you can do can lose that position. 191 00:09:16,240 --> 00:09:18,920 That is who you are when when God looks at you, that's your 192 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,640 position. But your practice is what you do 193 00:09:22,680 --> 00:09:25,840 with the obedience that you have in your life, what you do with 194 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:28,160 what you're supposed to be doing and following God's Word. 195 00:09:28,640 --> 00:09:31,040 Relationship and fellowship is the same thing then. 196 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,560 So the believer has been adopted into God's family as a son 197 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:40,880 because of Christ's blood. Let's look at Galatians 326 For 198 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:46,040 ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 199 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:51,480 OK, so it's a gift that was purchased at a great price. 200 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:53,360 It's a new relationship that we have. 201 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,400 It's never going to change. God will never kick the believer 202 00:09:56,400 --> 00:09:58,600 out of his family. At the same time, in this 203 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:01,040 present world, fellowship with God depends on whether or not I 204 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:02,800 walk in the light. So there's two things we're 205 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,200 talking about here, relationship and fellowship. 206 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:09,120 Now, when we say relationship, a lot of times we use that word 207 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:11,760 for fellowship. I have a great relationship with 208 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:15,000 him. That's that's not what we're 209 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,520 talking about here. Relationship is how are you 210 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,000 related, right? That's what we mean by 211 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,480 relationship here. Fellowship is do you get along? 212 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,840 What is your relationship like with him, right? 213 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:27,880 The way that we use relationship a lot of times. 214 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:31,880 So relationship is how are you related and it's this way. 215 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:33,960 All right. I've used this illustration many 216 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,440 times when I'm sharing the gospel with somebody. 217 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:44,920 If Jackson, all right, Jackson's my son and nothing can change 218 00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:48,120 that right now. I can, I can fall out of 219 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:50,080 fellowship. He can do all kinds of things to 220 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,240 me that just stabs me in the back and and makes me so 221 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:54,800 disappointed in him or vice versa. 222 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:58,600 I could do many things that that that he doesn't want to be 223 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:00,680 associated with me. He doesn't want, you know, he 224 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:02,120 might try to change his last name. 225 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,200 He might try to do everything he could to disassociate himself 226 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,160 with me or me with him, but nothing can change the fact that 227 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:13,520 he's my son. That is a fact. 228 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:16,520 That, that, that that's just, it's a biological fact. 229 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,920 Nothing can change that, right? I can say I don't even know who 230 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:22,320 you are. You're not my son. 231 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:27,240 Don't ever call me dad again. That's a terrible fellowship. 232 00:11:28,560 --> 00:11:30,280 But the relationship will never change. 233 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,280 No matter how hard I try. He can never not be my son 234 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:37,160 because he's my son, right? I can never not be his dad 235 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,240 because I'm his dad, right? That's relationship. 236 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:43,200 We have the same thing before God. 237 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:46,320 When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we become the 238 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,080 children of God. We become the sons of God. 239 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,520 So we might be in terrible fellowship. 240 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:58,400 Our fellowship may be very, very bad because of my sin, because 241 00:11:58,400 --> 00:11:59,920 of the way that I'm living my life. 242 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:04,120 But if I'm genuinely saved, then nothing can change that 243 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,520 relationship. God is still my father. 244 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,120 I am still his child, but that doesn't have anything to do with 245 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,160 me, right? That has everything to do with 246 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,600 what Christ did for me. That has everything to do with 247 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,160 what God has promised me in his word. 248 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:19,520 Because I'm, I've accepted Christ as my Savior. 249 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,520 I've repented and I've accepted Christ. 250 00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:24,120 Now I should be in fellowship with him. 251 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,400 If he is my father, I should want to have the relationship 252 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:28,880 with him that he wants to have with me. 253 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:31,280 But you understand that what we're talking about here with 254 00:12:31,280 --> 00:12:35,760 relationship and fellowship is how are we, how are we related? 255 00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:38,200 But what is our relationship like? 256 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,000 Relationship fellowship. So let's go over to 1st John 257 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:47,000 chapter one. First John chapter one, Walking 258 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,720 in fellowship with God is the main subject of first John. 259 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:53,280 And we've already talked about this and that's why I'm saying 260 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:54,920 we're going to, we're going to cover this pretty quickly. 261 00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:57,680 We spent a good amount of time on this just last week. 262 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:02,280 But First John chapter 1 and verse #5 This then is the 263 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:05,240 message which we have heard of him, and declaring to you that 264 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:08,360 God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. 265 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,120 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in 266 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:13,040 darkness, we lie and do not the truth. 267 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,640 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have 268 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:20,240 fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His 269 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:23,920 Son cleanseth us from all sin. So if I walk in darkness, I'm 270 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,760 out of fellowship, but that does not change my relationship. 271 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:31,000 I may not have a good, I may be out of fellowship with him, but 272 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,040 that doesn't change the fact that he's still my father, 273 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:35,320 doesn't change the fact that I'm still his son. 274 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:39,120 Relationship, fellowship, relationship cannot change. 275 00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,320 Fellowship can based on my obedience to God's Word. 276 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:43,840 God doesn't throw away his children. 277 00:13:43,840 --> 00:13:45,760 He chastens them to bring them back into fellowship. 278 00:13:45,760 --> 00:13:48,440 And we looked at that passage in Hebrews chapter 12 last week 279 00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:50,560 about God chastening His children. 280 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:53,760 But that's taught also very clearly in first John chapter 2. 281 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,400 My little children verse #1 these things write I unto you 282 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:02,120 that ye sin not. Now listen, can you reach 283 00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,440 sinless perfection? Well, He's talking to us as 284 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,400 children. Hey, kids, my children, don't 285 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,840 sin. Don't sin means if He's telling 286 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:15,440 us not to, that means that we can, right? 287 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:19,840 He's got to tell us that. And if any man sin, we have an 288 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,040 advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 289 00:14:22,040 --> 00:14:26,280 So don't do it. But if you do, Jesus Christ goes 290 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:28,600 to the Father on our behalf. If we're willing to get those 291 00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:30,920 things right with him. He is the propitiation. 292 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:35,920 He's the he is the go between for our sins and not for ours 293 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:37,920 only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 294 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:41,960 So if a believer sins, Jesus Christ is his advocate with the 295 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,040 Father. The sinning believer is still 296 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,080 the child of God, though, and he still uses that term, right? 297 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,520 We have an advocate with the Father. 298 00:14:50,160 --> 00:14:54,400 You sin, your fellowship is broken, but your relationship is 299 00:14:54,400 --> 00:14:56,920 not, because we still have an advocate who's going to go to 300 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:01,600 the Father on our behalf. Right now, relationship and 301 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:04,280 fellowship can be illustrated by human relationships, and that's 302 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:07,880 exactly what I just did. I illustrated that with that, I 303 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:09,520 can be out of fellowship with my dad. 304 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,400 I cannot be talking to him. I could hate him, but it doesn't 305 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,320 change the fact that he's my dad and then I'm his son. 306 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,800 Relationship can't change, fellowship can, and that depends 307 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,040 on me. Now, position and practice we 308 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:27,000 already talked about, but standing and walk, same thing. 309 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,320 Another way to describe this position and practice is 310 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,720 standing and walk. Let's go to Ephesians and we'll, 311 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:36,800 we'll pretty much stay here for the rest of the time. 312 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:41,520 Ephesians, let's just go to chapter 1 because another way to 313 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:46,680 describe that is our practice. Sorry, our standing and our 314 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,240 walk. My standing is who I am before 315 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,720 God. When I stand before God, does he 316 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:56,160 see me as a guilty Sinner or does he see me as a redeemed St. 317 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:00,720 If I'm if I've repented and come to Christ in faith, as we've 318 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,760 talked about many times, I've accepted Jesus Christ as my 319 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:08,480 Savior, then my standing before him is that he doesn't see me as 320 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,680 a guilty Sinner that's condemned to hell. 321 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,800 He sees me as a redeemed St. who has the blessing of heaven. 322 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:19,000 But the the the book of Ephesians, the first 3 chapters 323 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:22,320 describe our position or our standing in Christ. 324 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:25,120 The last three chapters of Ephesians talk about our 325 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,040 practice or our walk in this world. 326 00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:30,040 So we'll end with this. The key phrase in chapters one 327 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,000 through 3 is in Christ. Look at Ephesians one. 328 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,800 We're going to look at a bunch of verses real quick. 329 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:39,360 Ephesians 11, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of 330 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,080 God to the Saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in 331 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:47,440 Christ Jesus. What is that in Christ Jesus? 332 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:53,800 What is that position relationship standing right? 333 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:58,160 It's in Christ Jesus. All right, verse 3 Blessed be 334 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,240 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us 335 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,839 with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 336 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:10,640 What is that position? Relationship standing right? 337 00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:14,760 Verse #10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of 338 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,640 times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, 339 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:22,040 both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him. 340 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,319 Verse 12. That we should be to the praise 341 00:17:24,319 --> 00:17:27,280 of His glory, who first trusted in Christ. 342 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,040 Verse 20. Which we wrought, which He 343 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:32,840 wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and 344 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:35,360 set him at his own right hand in heavenly places. 345 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:40,360 What are all those position, relationship standing? 346 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,800 It's it's my position before God, right. 347 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,440 Let's go over to chapter 2, and look at verse #6 And hath raised 348 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,360 us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in 349 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,200 Christ Jesus. Verse #10 For we are his 350 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:58,360 workmanship created. Say it in Christ Jesus unto good 351 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:01,840 works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in 352 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,480 them. Verse #13 But now in Christ 353 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,320 Jesus ye who sometimes were far off, or made nigh by the blood 354 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:11,040 of Christ. Chapter 3. 355 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:15,320 Verse #6 That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of 356 00:18:15,320 --> 00:18:19,360 the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the 357 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,000 Gospel, verse 11, according to the eternal purpose which He 358 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,640 purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 359 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:27,320 What is that? What is in Christ? 360 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:32,080 It is our position, relationship, standing, right? 361 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:34,600 All of those, it's our position, our relationship, our standing. 362 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:36,080 They all, they all mean the same thing. 363 00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:40,160 It's who we are before God. We're in Christ Jesus, and that 364 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,560 is something that we cannot do anything about. 365 00:18:43,360 --> 00:18:47,400 Being in Christ is something that only He can do, right? 366 00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:52,200 So in God's eyes, the believer is in Christ. 367 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,640 He's forgiven. He's justified, which means 368 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:56,840 declared righteous. I've said this many times. 369 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,560 Justified means when I stand before God, it's just as if I'd 370 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:02,280 never sinned. That's how God sees me. 371 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,120 That's an easy way to remember what justified means, right? 372 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,280 But redeemed, adopted, given eternal life, the believer is 373 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,600 blessed verse chapter one, verse 3 blessed with all spiritual 374 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:14,640 blessing in heavenly places in Christ. 375 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,600 But that new position is not based on on on anything that 376 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,320 I've done. It's not based on a believer's 377 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:21,680 works. It's God's free gift in Christ. 378 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,880 Ephesians 289 for by grace are you saved not of works. 379 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:27,080 The price was Christ's own blood. 380 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,400 Therefore the new position is sure and unchanging. 381 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,680 I mean, this is a, this is a just a tremendous book for, for 382 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:37,640 giving us this thing all kind of in one nut in, in a nutshell, 383 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:40,760 but in one place, Chapter one through 3 is all about our 384 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:43,280 position, our relationship and our standing. 385 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,240 It's who I am because of Jesus Christ. 386 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,680 But then chapter 4 through 6, the subject changes to the other 387 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,240 side of it. And what are the what is the 388 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:56,200 other side? It is the practice, the 389 00:19:56,200 --> 00:20:00,760 fellowship and the walk, right? We said position and practice. 390 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:03,240 Relationship and fellowship, standing and walk. 391 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:06,800 So practice, fellowship and walk all has something to do with me. 392 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:11,240 The keyword here is walk. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse #1 393 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,040 I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk 394 00:20:15,040 --> 00:20:18,600 worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. 395 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,880 What is that? That's walk. 396 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,840 But that's the last one. Practice, fellowship, walk, 397 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:31,400 practice, fellowship, walk. Verse number 17. 398 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,080 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you 399 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,520 henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of 400 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:43,840 their mind. Chapter 5 and verse #2 And walk 401 00:20:43,840 --> 00:20:47,600 in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself 402 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,520 for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet 403 00:20:51,520 --> 00:20:54,920 smelling savour. Verse 8 For you are sometimes 404 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:59,440 darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of 405 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:02,840 light. Verse 15 See then that she walk 406 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:05,400 circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. 407 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:10,880 So what is that? It is our practice, fellowship, 408 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:12,520 and our walk. Right? 409 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:17,520 So the word describes Christian living, practice, fellowship, 410 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:19,200 walk. It is our Christian living. 411 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:20,920 It's our practice. What are we doing? 412 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:22,760 How do we live our lives? Our fellowship? 413 00:21:23,120 --> 00:21:24,840 What? What am I doing in my life 414 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:27,960 that's either building that fellowship or destroying that 415 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,880 fellowship? And how am I walking? 416 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:34,080 I'm walking circumspectly. Walk as, as, as wise, not as 417 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,600 fools. I mean, those are all things 418 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:40,080 that describe my Christian life. If the believer doesn't walk in 419 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:42,120 obedience, he doesn't have the right fellowship with the Lord. 420 00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:44,640 If he walks in sin, he's displeasing the Lord, grieving 421 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,000 the indwelling Spirit. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 422 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:50,440 #30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed 423 00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:52,200 unto the day of redemption. We talked about that. 424 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:54,960 Obviously, if we sin, then we can do all those things. 425 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:58,000 We can't lose our position in Christ, but definitely our 426 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,240 fellowship can be tainted. That's our position in Christ, 427 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,640 as it says here is settled and sure it's eternal, but the two 428 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,880 aspects of the Christian life are seen together and we we 429 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:13,440 bring it all together in verse #8 for ye, chapter 5 and verse 430 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:15,760 #8 for you. Or sometimes darkness. 431 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,120 But now are ye light in the Lord. 432 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:23,120 That is our position, our fellowship. 433 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,040 No, you missed it. Sorry, it's not. 434 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,360 It's not, it's not fellowship. It's our position, our 435 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:32,680 relationship. I trusted you. 436 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:36,520 Our position, our relationship, our standing. 437 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,080 That's the first half of that verse, right? 438 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,240 You see that for you were sometimes darkness, but now are 439 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,720 you light in the Lord? That's our say it again 440 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,120 position. All right, now the second-half 441 00:22:49,120 --> 00:22:52,040 of that verse walk as children of light. 442 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:57,080 That is our practice, fellowship, walk very good. 443 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:58,600 All right, you're getting it. You're getting it. 444 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,720 So we can't lose our salvation. We can't lose our position in 445 00:23:01,720 --> 00:23:04,080 Christ, but we can lose the other things. 446 00:23:04,080 --> 00:23:06,000 And so the believer is a child of light. 447 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,280 Now that is our position in Christ. 448 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:11,320 It's a present possession and a position that was purchased by 449 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,440 Christ and received as a free gift through faith. 450 00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:17,000 But since we are children of light, we should walk as 451 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,040 children of light. In other words, since we're 452 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:21,480 saved and have eternal life and our children of God, we should 453 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,120 live like it. That's that's what this entire 454 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:25,400 thing is about. And that's what I'm saying. 455 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,880 There's not not much to it. It's pretty simple, but this is 456 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:33,880 what the Christian life is all about because you're in Christ, 457 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:40,200 your position, walk like you're in Christ, act like you're in 458 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,440 Christ, be in fellowship with him like you're in Christ, 459 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:45,040 right? That's that's that's what this 460 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:50,720 whole thing is about. If there's any theme that I 461 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:53,560 preach on more than anything, and I don't, I may not even use 462 00:23:53,560 --> 00:23:56,560 these words, but I have two themes that I that I focus on. 463 00:23:58,120 --> 00:23:59,760 You'll see. You'll hear it in almost every 464 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,800 message if you're listening for it, Holiness and witnessing. 465 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,080 Those are the two things that that really everything in our 466 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,520 life focuses around. If you are trying to live holy, 467 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,960 which is your walk, your fellowship, your you're not 468 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,240 position. I was going to say that your 469 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,080 practice right, But if if you're trying to do those things, then 470 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:23,080 you're going to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord. 471 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:25,680 You're going to be righteous, you're going to be godly. 472 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,280 And if you want to be holy and if you are holy, then you will 473 00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,160 tell others about Christ. If you genuinely have a desire 474 00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,280 to tell others about Christ, then you're going to be holy at 475 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:35,880 the same some time. Those two things go hand in 476 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,320 hand. They cannot be separated from 477 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,160 each other. But what, what else did Christ 478 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,560 command us to do other than those two things? 479 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,200 I mean, there's a lot of commands in the Bible, but you 480 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:47,760 really think when it comes down to it, pretty much all of them 481 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,040 hinge on those two things, holiness and witnessing. 482 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,920 And that's exactly what this is about, right? 483 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:59,120 Because I'm in Christ, I should live holy. 484 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,240 I should live like a Christian. I shouldn't be ashamed of the 485 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,360 gospel of Jesus Christ. I shouldn't be ashamed to tell 486 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:09,960 other people that I'm his. I shouldn't be. 487 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:13,000 I shouldn't be ashamed for other people to find out that I'm a 488 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,520 Christian. It should be something that they 489 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:19,120 find out first because I'm telling everybody about it, not 490 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,320 because I'm trying to hide from that fact, right? 491 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,320 That's, that's exactly what God tells us to do. 492 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,520 So conclusion here then two things. 493 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,520 If the believer doesn't understand these things, he will 494 00:25:29,520 --> 00:25:31,560 be very discouraged and confused when he sins. 495 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,280 Those who believe that a born again child of God can lose his 496 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:36,360 salvation do not understand this clear teaching of the 497 00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:37,880 Scriptures. There's two things in there. 498 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,360 Number one, if you don't understand that you'll never be 499 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:44,720 perfect, then you're going to get very discouraged very 500 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:45,920 quickly and you're going to quit. 501 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:52,080 You, you cannot, you can try. It says be holy, for I am holy, 502 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,840 right? God's holiness is absolute 503 00:25:54,840 --> 00:25:56,480 perfection. It's absolute holiness. 504 00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,520 And he tells us to be like him. But then all the way throughout 505 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,200 the rest of the New Testament, he tells us don't sin. 506 00:26:02,200 --> 00:26:07,440 But when you do get it right, so you can't lose your salvation 507 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,360 and you, you're not going to be perfect. 508 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:14,600 And the sooner you understand that, the more you'll be able to 509 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:17,760 go on and do for Christ, right? Second thing is the fact that 510 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,440 the believer's position is not affected by his daily walk is no 511 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:23,000 excuse to sin. Meaning just because I can't 512 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,280 lose my salvation doesn't mean that I should go sin and do 513 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:27,800 whatever I feel like in my life. That's what a lot of Christians 514 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,120 have in their minds. Well, I'm saved, I know I'm 515 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,920 going to heaven, I've got my fire insurance, so I can just go 516 00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,400 live however I want to. I can do whatever I want to with 517 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,040 my life and I don't have to worry about it because it's all 518 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:41,440 covered under the blood. That's what the grace. 519 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:44,480 That's what grace is all about, isn't it? 520 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,840 He said, what shall, what shall we? 521 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,000 Shall we sin that grace may abound. 522 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,520 We just are we going to sin just because there is grace? 523 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:56,920 No, he says, God forbid. How shall we that are dead to 524 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:01,560 sin live any longer therein? If you're dead to sin, why are 525 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:05,200 you living in it? If you have a position in 526 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:09,440 Christ, why don't you practice like you have a position in 527 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,080 Christ, right? If you, if you have a 528 00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:17,000 relationship, if your, if your relationship is in Christ, then 529 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:19,800 you should have a fellowship that proves that you're in 530 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:23,720 Christ. If your standing is in Christ, 531 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:26,360 then your walk should prove that you're in Christ. 532 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:28,800 That's that's the whole point of what he's saying. 533 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,960 Meaning this what happens when a believer sins? 534 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:36,040 Well, number one, you're out of fellowship, right? 535 00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:40,040 Your, your practice, you're out, you're out of practice, if you 536 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:42,240 will. And your walk is not becoming of 537 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:47,680 a Christian. That's all on us right now. 538 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:49,400 Can we ask the Lord for help? Absolutely. 539 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:51,680 We can ask him for help and he can help us with those things. 540 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,640 The others we can't. We can't lose our position in 541 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,640 Christ. We can't lose who we are in 542 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,520 Christ. But I can I can be out of 543 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:03,800 fellowship with him. And so we have already seen in 544 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:07,520 these studies the terrible price that believers must pay if we 545 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,360 don't walk in fellowship with the Lord. 546 00:28:09,600 --> 00:28:12,600 But we've also seen that it's possible to be a professor of 547 00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:16,040 salvation without being a possessor of salvation. 548 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:18,280 And there's many, many, many people. 549 00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:23,560 And that's why the Bible says broad is the way that lead us to 550 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,920 destruction. And many there be which go in 551 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:30,160 that in there at narrow is the way which leadeth to life, and 552 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:34,560 few there be that find it. What do you think that means? 553 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,240 There's a lot of people out there who are professing to be 554 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,040 Christians who are not because they've never come to Christ in 555 00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,200 repentance and faith. They've made some profession. 556 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,120 Somewhere along the line, they prayed some prayer, they got 557 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,320 baptized in a tank, and that was their salvation experience. 558 00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,040 But nothing changed. We don't change in order to be 559 00:28:55,040 --> 00:28:57,080 saved, but we should change because we are saved. 560 00:28:57,080 --> 00:28:58,960 And that's exactly what this whole thing is about. 561 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:02,400 Because you're in Christ, you should walk differently. 562 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:08,360 Simple as it is, simple as that. Not a lot to it, but very, very, 563 00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:14,960 very important. So to end here tonight, what is 564 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,360 your fellowship like #1 are you in Christ? 565 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:20,920 Do you know Christ as your Savior? 566 00:29:21,480 --> 00:29:24,560 Are you 100% sure that your sins are forgiven, that they're 567 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,640 covered under the blood of Christ, and that you're on your 568 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,280 way to heaven? If the answer to that question 569 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:32,800 is yes, then what about your practice? 570 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,000 What about your fellowship? What about your walk? 571 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:42,800 Does it show people that you are in Christ? 572 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:48,080 You know, the problem with some people, with a lot of Christians 573 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:54,280 is that they're not in Christ and yet they're trying to have 574 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,320 that fellowship with him, trying to walk with him. 575 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,200 They're trying to, to practice the things that a, that a 576 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,640 Christian practices. And they're just spinning their 577 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:05,920 wheels. And that's what gets them so 578 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:10,920 discouraged too, because unless you're in Christ, that is 579 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,760 impossible. That is putting sanctification 580 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,040 in front of justification. And you can't do that. 581 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,880 Not at least according to the Bible, justification comes first 582 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:23,120 and then the sanctification that can follow. 583 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,480 But once you've been justified, you should live sanctified. 584 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,520 That's the that's the simple lesson for tonight. 585 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,400 I hope you get it. Let's pray. 586 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:33,520 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 587 00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:35,840 Thank you for the fact that we can have salvation. 588 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:38,160 I thank you for the fact that we can know for sure that we're 589 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,960 saved God for those who do. And I suspect that that's the 590 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:44,760 majority of people in here tonight. 591 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:48,480 I, I, I'm sure that there are some who are still lying to 592 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:50,760 themselves. There are still some who are 593 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,280 deceiving themselves into thinking that they're saved God. 594 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,480 May they, may they come to themselves. 595 00:30:56,480 --> 00:31:00,920 May they display the the humility that's necessary for us 596 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:05,880 to come to you in faith. But God, once we know Jesus 597 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:07,720 Christ as our Savior, may you help us. 598 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,120 Please help us to walk as Christians walk. 599 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:11,760 May you help us to live in holiness. 600 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,160 May you help us to live in righteousness and godliness. 601 00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:19,000 And may our fellowship with you be exactly what you wanted to be 602 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:20,960 with us. May our relationship with you be 603 00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:24,440 close. God, May we may that reflect in 604 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:27,360 our lives in the way that we share the gospel with others and 605 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:31,000 the way that we try to influence others for righteousness sake as 606 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:32,960 well. Thank you again for all you do 607 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,480 for us. Jesus name Amen.