APOSTASY Man is a moral agent, before and after conversion. If man cannot fall after conversion, he is not free, but is no more than a machine. CANNOT--NOT, WILL NOT. Let me insist that you keep in mind the issue. It is not "will", but "can". It is not what a child of God "will do", but what they "can do". Can. Is it possible for one to become a child of God, and then so act that he will be lost? God No Respecter of Persons: Acts 10:34. "Of a truth I percieve that God is no respecter of persons." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek.18:20 Devil's Doctrine: That a child of God cannot so act as to be lost, is the doctrine the devil taught in the Garden of Eden. "Ye shall not surely die" Gen.3:4 The Devil a Fool: If a child of God cannot so far fall as to be finally lost, the devil is the biggest fool I ever heard of,for he has been trying for 6000 years to get a child of God, and if he has not succeeded he is a fool for not quitting. Are We More Secure Than Angels? 2 Pet. 2:4 "God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgement." Make Calling and Election Sure: 2 Pet. 1:10 "Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall." Take Heed Lest Ye Fall: 1 Cor. 10:12 "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he Fall." Keep Under Body: 1 Cor. 9:27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." If Keep Sayings: Jno. 8:51 "If a man keeps my sayings, he shall never see death." Live After the Flesh--Die: Rom. 8:13 "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Abide in, Remain in: 1 Jno. 2:24 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you shall also continue in the Son, and in the Father." Wilful Sin: Heb. 10:26 "For if we sin willfully after that we have recieved the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." Was Sanctified. Does Despite to Spirit: Heb. 10:29 "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Believers Condemnded: 1 Cor. 11:29 "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation unto himself." The disbeliever is "condemned already", Jno. 3:18, and could not eat and drink "damnation" to himself. If the child of God that eats and drinks "condemnation" will not--cannot--be lost, then why will the sinner that is "condemned" be lost? Are not all God's ways equal? Lost State: 2 Peter 2:20, 21 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again tangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse than the beginning. For it had been better for them to not have known the way of righteousness than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." Note--(1) Escaped the pollutions of the world. (2) Entangled again therein. (3) Overcome. (4) Latter end worse than the beginning. (5) Better not to have known the way of righteousness (6) after they had known it, to (7) turn from the holy commandment. In Kingdom--Gathered Out Jno. 3:5 "Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." It is positive: if a man is not born again, he cannot enter the kingdom. Then all in the kingdom have been born again, and are children of God. Gathered Out of Kingdom--Cast Into Fire Matt. 13:41. "The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity: and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." They will gather out of the kingdom, but there are none in the kingdom, but those who have been born again: then some who have been born again--the ones that do iniquity- -will be gathered out, and cast into a furnace of fire. The furnace of fire is hell. Rev. 19:20. Utterly Forget You: Jer. 23:39-40 "Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten." (1) Utterly forget you. (2) Forsake you (3) Cast you out of my presence (4) Everlasting reproach on you (5) Perpetual shame. I Will Disinherit: Num. 14:12 "I will smite them with pestilence, and disinherit them." Will not Clear the Guilty: Num. 14:18 "The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty." ISRAEL God's Children: Deut. 14:1 "Ye are the children of the Lord your God." Deut. 7:6 "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God." Fell, Destroyed: 1 Cor. 10:1-10 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea: and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual rock which followed them: and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day tree and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpants. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer." Note--(1) Baptized unto Moses (2) Ate spiritual meat. (3) Drank spiritual drink. (4) Overthrown in wilderness. (5) Lusted after evil things. (6) Idaolaters. (7) Committed fornication. (8) 23,000 fell in one day. (9) Tempted Christ. (10) Murmured. How Some of Them Died: Num. 25:8 "And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through the belly." They were killed in the very act of fornication. Fornicators Cannot Be Saved: Gal. 5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication... They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Forget God My People Have Forgotten Me: Jer. 2:32 "Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number." Forget God--Cast Into Hell: Ps. 9:17 "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." (1)"My people have forgotten Me" (2) Those that forget God shall be "cast into hell" (3) Are those that are cast into hell saved? Book of Life God's Children Have Name There: Phil. 4:13 "I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labor with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life." Botted Out of God's Book: Ex. 32:33 "Whosoever hath sinned against Me ,him will I blot out of My book." Not Written in Book--Cast into Hell: Rev. 20:15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Depart From Faith 1 Tim. 4:1-2 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having thier conscience seared with a hot iron." Note--(1) Depart from the faith (2) Heed seducing spirits (3) Heed doctrines of devils. (4) Speak lies in hypocrisy. (5)Conscience seared Faith Having Damnation: Cast Off Faith: 1 Tim. 5:12 "Having damnation, because they have cast off thier first faith." Overthrow Faith: 2 Tim. 2:18 "Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the ressurection is passed already; and overthrow the faith of some." Made Shipwreck of Faith: 1 Tim. 1:19 "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck." Believe For Awhile: Lk. 8:13 "For a while believe, and in times of temptation fall away." Own Servant: Matt. 25:14 "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods." Of the number of his "own servants" he said there was an unprofitable one, which he directed to be Cast Into Fire: Matt. 25:30 "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Vine and Branches: Jno. 15:1-6 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit is taken away...If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Note--(1) Christ is the vine (2) The branches are in Him (3) If a man abide not in Him (4) he is cast into the fire Left First Love: Rev. 2:4-5 "Nevertheless I have somewhat aginst thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do thy first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Turned Aside After Satan: 1 Tim. 5:15 "For some have already turned aside after Satan." Fall From Grace: Gal. 5:4 "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." Fail of The Grace of God: Heb. 12:14-15 "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail [fall back from, R.V.] the grace of God." Saul 1 Sam. 10:6-10 "And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shall prophesy with them...For God shall be with thee....Seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do...And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he prophesied among them." Note-- (1) Spirit of the Lord came upon him. (2) Prophesied (3) God shall be with thee. God Departs From; Becomes Enemy Of: 1 Sam. 28:16 " Then said Samuel, Wherfore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" Note--(1)God departs from Saul. (2) Becomes the enemy of Saul. Saul Kills Himself: 1 Sam. 31:4-5 "Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And when his armour bearer saw that Saul was dead.." Do those who are guilty of murder go to heaven? Brother Perishes. 1 Cor. 8:11 "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died," What does "perish" mean? God's Way Equal The Way of The Lord Is Equal. Ezk. 33:17-19 "Yet the children of thy people say, the way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and commiteth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live therby." Keep Yourselves In The Love of God: Jude 21 "Keep yourselves in the love of God." Apostasy From the foregoing we learn that to be in harmony with God one must be in harmony with his will, i.e., you are in harmony with God only when you conform to his will. It follows: When men cease to conform to the will of God, they cease to be in harmony with God. This is what is meant by "apostasy" or "falling from grace". The above scriptures show people who were in harmony with God--in the favor of God, and some of them rejected the law of God, and as a result did not continue to enjoy his favor. In the face of the above scriptures, some declare that you cannot fall from grace or apostatise. As "grace" means "favor",if you "cannot fall from grace," then a child of God cannot so live as to cause the displeasure of God. Can a child of God lie? You answer "yes". Did he fall from the grace or favor of God when he lied? If "no" then God favors lying. Do you ask why? Because, he did not fail of God's favor when he lied, if he did not fall from grace or favor. So it is with every sin. If a child of God can lie, what will the results be? "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." Rev 21:8. so be certain as a child of God lies, and does not repent, he will be lost. If a child of God cannot sin, and be lost, why did God give a law of pardon for his erring children? You read: "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." Jno 5:24. They "passed out of death". How were they dead? "Dead in trespasses and sins." Eph 2:1. Then life from death is life from sin--it is pardon or forgiveness. One cannot live to God and live in sin. The "life" from sin is "eternal life" from them. Sins once pardoned are never remembered against you. In this sense you have "eternal life", i.e., you will not come into condemnation for those sins again. As man became dead in sins by violating God's law, it follows that he will die a similar death each time he sins-- violates God's law. If this is not true, then the same cause ceases to produce the same effect; in fact you will have a cause without an effect. God says: "The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die." Ezk 18:20. Die how? In sin. Hence, if a child of God sins, he dies. What is the effect of this death? God saya: "Yoiur iniquities have separated between you and your God." Isa 59:2 When the child of God sins, he is certainly separated from God. Earnestly praying for the people of God, Solomon said: "If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy...yet if they shall bethink themselves...and repent, and make supplications unto thee." 1 Ki 8:46-47 Here we learn that God's people can, and did sin, and that he became angry with them; and that they must"repent, and make supplications" to be restored to the favor of God. It is self evident that man cannot sin prior to his existence, for prior to his existence, he did not exist. You must exist before you can sin. This being true, every sin you commit must be while you exist. As there is no pardon for you after death, you must be pardoned of all your sins while you live; if you die in your sins, and Jesus says: "Wither I go, ye cannot come." Jno 8:21. The man that dies in sin cannot be with Jesus in glory. Pardon is confined to time, i.e., you cannot be pardoned after you reach eternity, and eternity is not time, why did Jesus say: "Hath everlasting life?" In the sense I have shown above, viz., life, pardon, from death in sin.When God pardons, he remembers that sin no more; hence "everlasting life" from that death. When you sin again you pass into a state of condemnation, death. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." That soul will remain in death until pardoned, and as there is no pardon beyond the grave, then you must be pardoned during your life here, or die in your sins, and to diee in your sins, you cnnot be with Jesus in eternity. You can be saved from past sins, only, i.e., sins of your past life; for you have not lived in the future, and you cannot sin during a time that has not existed. Future time has no existence. I mean "tomorrow", as time, does not exeist until you reach it, or until tomorrow comes. We have today, and live now, and not in the future; and for that reason all the sins you have pardoned were sins of the past life. Sin must exist before can be sin. When committed it is charged against you as a deed that is done, hence, past. I am fully persuaded that if you will study the above carefully you will see the necessity of getting right and remaining right, or be lost. Downloaded from: The Christian Connection of Palm Beach 300/1200/2400 bps 407/533/5216