Paul's Pep Talk
Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:16b
Text: 1 Timothy 4:11-16
A professing Christian should not feel secure about his salvation experience if he is embracing known sin and not pursuing holiness.
There are many Scriptures which warn people who claim to be Jesus-followers: God will not finally save you if you DO NOT persevere in the faith and good works.
But on the other hand, the Bible comforts Jesus-followers: God preserves all genuine Christians as eternally secure, and all genuine Christians continue in the faith.
Should a professing Christian live a life of fear and uncertainty?
He should not. If someone is genuinely saved, he has been made alive by the Holy Spirit and has a new heart with new desires. There is no way that one that has been “born again” can later be “unborn.” Because of His unique love for His children, God will keep all of His children safe from harm, and Jesus has promised that He would lose none of His sheep. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints recognizes that true Christians will always persevere and are eternally secure because God keeps them that way. It is based on the fact that Jesus, the “author and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2), is able to completely save those whom the Father has given Him (Hebrews 7:25) and to keep them saved through all eternity.
A true Christian will desire to be obedient to God and will be convicted by the Holy Spirit when he sins. True Christians will never “live any way they want” because such behavior is impossible for someone who has been given a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). (Got Questions).
If you struggle with doubts about your salvation, look up the following Scriptures and make a list of all the things God says about your salvation:
Matt 7:15-23; 13:18-23; 24:24, John 3:15-16; 4:14; 5:24; 6:35-40, 44, 51, 54; 8:31-32; 10:27-30; 11:25; 14:16-17; 17:9-26, Luke 22:31-34, Eph 1:13-14; 4:30, Heb 6:9; 7:25; 10:14; 12:2-7, Phil 1:6; 2:12-13, 2 Tim 2:16-19; 4:18, Tit 1:15-16, 1 Thess 5:23-24, 1 Cor 1:7-9; 15:10, Jude 1:1, 24, 1 Pet 1:3-9, 23, 2 Pet 1:10, 1 John 2:19, Rom 4:3-9; 5:1 10; 6:1-23; 8:1-2; 8:28-39; 11:29, 1 John 3:8-10; 5:18-19
Yesterday's Application:
