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LOST RIVER CHURCH OF CHRIST | |||||||
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It's Hard To Be Lostby Lawrence Kelley
Here is an idea we may all have thought about before, but maybe not in exactly the way I want to put it this morning; is it easy or hard to be lost? On the one hand, we might say, "it is easy to be lost since so many people have drifted away," but on the other hand, think about all that God has done both to save us and to keep us saved and you may be astonished at the fact that anyone could be lost. I want to pursue this line of thinking today and make the case that it is hard to be lost. It's hard to be lost because you must kick against the goads God uses to prod you in the way you should go. This was the point brought to Saul's attention when the Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. It appears that Saul had already been badly beaten by Stephen in debate and who knows what other influences were working against him as he continued on his unmeasured rampage against "The Way." At some level Saul knew he was wrong and this feeling was now absolutely unavoidable as Jesus confronts him. This leads us to ask, "what goads we have to kick against to be lost?" According to 2 Cor 13:14 we must swim upstream against The Love of the Father, The grace of the son and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Let us consider each of these goads in detail: First there is the Love of the Father (Rom 8:28-30). The primary role of God the Father in our salvation is provision. That is He conceives the plan by which to create and sustain our lives in the creation and by which to save us in redemption. According to this passage the Father has: predestined (determined ahead of time) how we would be saved and set in motion the means of accomplishing our salvation, called or summoned us through the gospel, Justified, declared us not guilty on the basis of our faith in the death of Jesus for our sins, and glorified us in the final act of redemption when we will be raised in glorified bodies and finally made free of all sin. Second is the Grace of the Son (Rom 8:31-39). Jesus freely died on the cross for our sins. He did not do this out of obligation, but in response to the love of God and as an expression of utter grace for us sinners. This grace completely removes all grounds for condemnation. And though Jesus work of atonement was completed at the cross, He continues to pray for us before His Father's throne in Heaven. So perfect is this grace that nothing in hell or heaven, nothing in earth or space can come between you & God. It's Hard to be lost! The only way to be lost is to fall away from this grace in unbelief. Third is the Communion of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:26-27). Communion is sharing, communicating and fellowshiping. The Spirit communicates our innermost desires to the Father. He also communicates God's best to us. This includes God's Love (Rom 5:5); God's Hope (Rom 15:13); multiplied fruits (Gal 5:22-23) and God's word in general. To be lost you must resist the Spirit and grieve the holy spirit of God which is in you. It's Hard to be lost. In addition to all of this, you have to buck the encouragement you receive from your brothers and sisters in Christ. Unlike the gifts of the Father, Son & Holy Spirit, the help of the brethren is not perfect, but it is nevertheless considerable. The question is whether or not we will make the most of the encouragement they have to offer (Heb 10:24,25). This is not some, head in the sand, outlook that pretends that going to heaven is a cake walk. Again, as Jim reminded us last week, there are dangers at every turn and we must take care lest we drift away. But one of the ways to take care is to take heart in the enormous provisions that God has made for our perseverance in the faith (2 Peter 1:2-11). |
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Copyright © 2006, Lost River
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