The Gospel, Perseverance & Assurance - Dropbox
The Gospel, Perseverance & Assurance - Dropbox
The Gospel, Perseverance & Assurance - Dropbox
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Good News Fellowship<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Gospel</strong>, <strong>Perseverance</strong> & <strong>Assurance</strong>
<strong>Gospel</strong> Summary: 1 Corinthians 15:1–5
1 Corinthians 15:1–5<br />
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the<br />
gospel I preached to you, which you<br />
received, in which you stand, 2 and by<br />
which you are being saved, if you hold fast<br />
to the word I preached to you—unless you<br />
believed in vain...
1 Corinthians 15:1–5 (cont.)<br />
3 For I delivered to you as of first<br />
importance what I also received: that<br />
Christ died for our sins in accordance with<br />
the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he<br />
was raised on the third day in accordance<br />
with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared<br />
to Cephas, then to the twelve.
<strong>The</strong> promise of salvation has the<br />
necessary condition that the believer<br />
hold fast to the gospel to the end.
What does it mean to hold fast to the<br />
gospel?
Hold Fast<br />
Greek: Katecho (kat-ekh'-o)<br />
1. to hold back, detain, retain<br />
a. from going away<br />
b. to restrain, hinder (the course or progress of)<br />
...<br />
2. to get possession of, take<br />
a. to possess<br />
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/katecho.html
To hold fast to the gospel refers to the<br />
biblical doctrine commonly known as<br />
“<strong>Perseverance</strong> of the Saints.”
Points on <strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
Point 1: <strong>The</strong> believer must persevere in the<br />
faith to the end to be saved.<br />
Point 2: God promises to persevere all true<br />
believers.<br />
Point 3: <strong>The</strong> person who does not persevere<br />
was never truly converted.
Points on <strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
Point 4: <strong>Perseverance</strong> is God continuing the<br />
saving work that He has begun in a believer.
Point 1:<br />
<strong>The</strong> believer must persevere in the faith<br />
to be saved.
Hebrews 3:5–6<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's<br />
house as a servant, to testify to the things<br />
that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is<br />
faithful over God's house as a son. And<br />
we are his house if indeed we hold fast<br />
our confidence and our boasting in our<br />
hope.
Matthew 24:9–13<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
9 “<strong>The</strong>n they will deliver you up to<br />
tribulation and put you to death, and you<br />
will be hated by all nations for my name's<br />
sake. 10 And then many will fall away and<br />
betray one another and hate one another.<br />
11 And many false prophets will arise and<br />
lead many astray.
12 And because lawlessness will be<br />
increased, the love of many will grow<br />
cold. 13 But the one who endures to the<br />
end will be saved.
Point 2:<br />
God promises to persevere all true<br />
believers.
John 10:26–29<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
26 but you do not believe because you are<br />
not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my<br />
voice, and I know them, and they follow<br />
me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will<br />
never perish, and no one will snatch them<br />
out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has<br />
given them to me, is greater than all, and<br />
no one is able to snatch them out of the<br />
Father's hand.
1 Corinthians 1:7–9<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as<br />
you wait for the revealing of our Lord<br />
Jesus Christ, 8 who will sustain you to the<br />
end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus<br />
Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were<br />
called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus<br />
Christ our Lord.
Philippians 1:3–6<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of<br />
you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for<br />
you all making my prayer with joy,<br />
5 because of your partnership in the gospel<br />
from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure<br />
of this, that he who began a good work in<br />
you will bring it to completion at the day of<br />
Jesus Christ.
Point 3:<br />
<strong>The</strong> person who does not persevere was<br />
never truly converted.
Hebrews 3:12–14<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any<br />
of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading<br />
you to fall away from the living God. 13 But<br />
exhort one another every day, as long as it<br />
is called “today,” that none of you may be<br />
hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For<br />
we have come to share in Christ, if indeed<br />
we hold our original confidence firm to the<br />
end.
1 John 2:18–19<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
18<br />
Children, it is the last hour, and as you<br />
have heard that antichrist is coming, so<br />
now many antichrists have come.<br />
<strong>The</strong>refore we know that it is the last hour.<br />
19<br />
<strong>The</strong>y went out from us, but they were not<br />
of us; for if they had been of us, they<br />
would have continued with us. But they<br />
went out, that it might become plain that<br />
they all are not of us.
Point 4:<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong> is God continuing the<br />
saving work that He has begun in a<br />
believer.
Romans 8:29–30<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
29 For those whom he foreknew he also<br />
predestined to be conformed to the image<br />
of his Son, in order that he might be the<br />
firstborn among many brothers. 30 And<br />
those whom he predestined he also<br />
called, and those whom he called he also<br />
justified, and those whom he justified he<br />
also glorified.
<strong>Perseverance</strong><br />
1 <strong>The</strong>ssalonians 5:23–24<br />
23 Now may the God of peace himself<br />
sanctify you completely, and may your<br />
whole spirit and soul and body be kept<br />
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus<br />
Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he<br />
will surely do it.
<strong>Assurance</strong>
<strong>Perseverance</strong> is one way believers can<br />
examine their lives and gain assurance<br />
that they are indeed saved.
Points on <strong>Assurance</strong><br />
Point 1: <strong>The</strong> Bible teaches us to examine our<br />
lives in order to find assurance.<br />
Point 2: <strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance<br />
from the evidence of the indwelling of the<br />
Holy Spirit who grants power over sin and<br />
produces good fruit in them.
Points on <strong>Assurance</strong><br />
Point 3: <strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance by<br />
evaluating his life according to the tests of<br />
the book of 1 John (obedience, love,<br />
righteousness, etc.).<br />
Point 4: <strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance if<br />
he perseveres in the faith and does not leave<br />
his commitment to Christ.
Point 1:<br />
<strong>The</strong> Bible teaches us to examine our lives<br />
in order to find assurance.
2 Corinthians 13:5<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you<br />
are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you<br />
not realize this about yourselves, that<br />
Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed<br />
you fail to meet the test!
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
1 John 2:3 - 3 And by this we know that we<br />
have come to know him...<br />
1 John 2:5 – 5 ...By this we may know that<br />
we are in him...<br />
1 John 3:10 – 10 By this it is evident who<br />
are the children of God, and who are the<br />
children of the devil...
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
1 John 3:14 – 14 We know that we have<br />
passed out of death into life, because...<br />
1 John 3:19 – 19 By this we shall know that<br />
we are of the truth and reassure our heart<br />
before him;<br />
1 John 5:2 – 2 By this we know that we love<br />
the children of God...
Point 2:<br />
<strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance from the<br />
evidence of the indwelling of the Holy<br />
Spirit who grants power over sin and<br />
produces good fruit in them.
Romans 8:9<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in<br />
the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells<br />
in you. Anyone who does not have the<br />
Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Romans 8:12–17<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
12<br />
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to<br />
the flesh, to live according to the flesh.<br />
13<br />
For if you live according to the flesh you<br />
will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death<br />
the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For<br />
all who are led by the Spirit of God are<br />
sons of God.
15<br />
For you did not receive the spirit of<br />
slavery to fall back into fear, but you<br />
have received the Spirit of adoption as<br />
sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”<br />
16<br />
<strong>The</strong> Spirit himself bears witness with<br />
our spirit that we are children of God,<br />
17<br />
and if children, then heirs—heirs of<br />
God and fellow heirs with Christ,<br />
provided we suffer with him in order that<br />
we may also be glorified with him.
Galatians 5:18–24<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are<br />
not under the law. 19 Now the works of the<br />
flesh are evident: sexual immorality,<br />
impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery,<br />
enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,<br />
rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,<br />
drunkenness, orgies, and things like<br />
these.
I warn you, as I warned you before, that<br />
those who do such things will not inherit<br />
the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the<br />
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,<br />
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,<br />
23 gentleness, self-control; against such<br />
things there is no law. 24 And those who<br />
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified<br />
the flesh with its passions and desires.
Point 3:<br />
<strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance by<br />
evaluating his life according to the tests<br />
of the book of 1 John (obedience, love,<br />
righteousness, etc.).
1 John 1:8–10<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive<br />
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we<br />
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to<br />
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from<br />
all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have<br />
not sinned, we make him a liar, and his<br />
word is not in us.
1 John 2:3–6<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
3 And by this we know that we have come to<br />
know him, if we keep his commandments.<br />
4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not<br />
keep his commandments is a liar, and the<br />
truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his<br />
word, in him truly the love of God is<br />
perfected. By this we may know that we are<br />
in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought<br />
to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:15–17<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
15 Do not love the world or the things in the<br />
world. If anyone loves the world, the love<br />
of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is<br />
in the world— the desires of the flesh and<br />
the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is<br />
not from the Father but is from the world.<br />
17 And the world is passing away along with<br />
its desires, but whoever does the will of<br />
God abides forever.
1 John 3:7–10<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
7 Little children, let no one deceive you.<br />
Whoever practices righteousness is<br />
righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever<br />
makes a practice of sinning is of the devil,<br />
for the devil has been sinning from the<br />
beginning. <strong>The</strong> reason the Son of God<br />
appeared was to destroy the works of the<br />
devil.
9 No one born of God makes a practice<br />
of sinning, for God's seed abides in him,<br />
and he cannot keep on sinning because<br />
he has been born of God. 10 By this it is<br />
evident who are the children of God,<br />
and who are the children of the devil:<br />
whoever does not practice<br />
righteousness is not of God, nor is the<br />
one who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:14–20<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
14<br />
We know that we have passed out of<br />
death into life, because we love the<br />
brothers. Whoever does not love abides in<br />
death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is<br />
a murderer, and you know that no<br />
murderer has eternal life abiding in him.<br />
16 By this we know love, that he laid down<br />
his life for us, and we ought to lay down<br />
our lives for the brothers.
17 But if anyone has the world's goods<br />
and sees his brother in need, yet closes<br />
his heart against him, how does God's<br />
love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us<br />
not love in word or talk but in deed and<br />
in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we<br />
are of the truth and reassure our heart<br />
before him; 20 for whenever our heart<br />
condemns us, God is greater than our<br />
heart, and he knows everything.
Point 4:<br />
<strong>The</strong> believer can have assurance if he<br />
perseveres in the faith and does not<br />
leave his commitment to Christ.
John 8:30–32<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
30 As he was saying these things, many<br />
believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the<br />
Jews who had believed him, “If you abide<br />
in my word, you are truly my disciples,<br />
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth<br />
will set you free.”
1 John 2:24–25<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
24 Let what you heard from the beginning<br />
abide in you. If what you heard from the<br />
beginning abides in you, then you too will<br />
abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And<br />
this is the promise that he made to us—<br />
eternal life.
2 John 7–9<br />
<strong>Assurance</strong><br />
7 For many deceivers have gone out into<br />
the world, those who do not confess the<br />
coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a<br />
one is the deceiver and the antichrist.<br />
8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not<br />
lose what we have worked for, but may<br />
win a full reward.
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and<br />
does not abide in the teaching of Christ,<br />
does not have God. Whoever abides in<br />
the teaching has both the Father and<br />
the Son.
Conclusion<br />
<strong>The</strong> promise of salvation has the<br />
necessary condition that the believer hold<br />
fast to the gospel to the end. This<br />
perseverance is promised to be<br />
accomplished by God for all genuine<br />
believers. If a person does not persevere,<br />
he was never truly converted.<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong> is God's continuing work of<br />
salvation that He has begun in a believer.
Conclusion<br />
<strong>Perseverance</strong> is one way the Bible<br />
teaches believers to examine their lives<br />
and gain assurance that they are indeed<br />
saved. <strong>The</strong> believer can also have<br />
assurance from the indwelling of the Holy<br />
Spirit and the Bible's tests of true faith.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Holy Spirit grants power over sin and<br />
produces good fruit. <strong>The</strong> tests of true faith<br />
are described well in the book of 1 John<br />
(obedience, love, righteousness, etc.).