BeachCast.TV: Bible Exploration, Apologetics and Church History with Dr. Chase A. Thompson:

Hebrews 11 gives an excellent and God- breathed definition of faith, and it probably doesn't mean what most Westerners might thing. According to the Bible, faith is an assured conviction and evidence with substance. Today we talk about faith, and how faith produces action and life-change and big decisions. Featuring some assists from: John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Kay Arthur, Charles Spurgeon, Augustine, Hudson Taylor, William Gurnall, Jonathan Edwards, Richard Baxter and more!

Hello friends, and Happy Tuesday to you. I realize with some chagrin that I missed wishing you a happy Star Wars day yesterday, but I can wish you a happy Cinco De Mayo today. Today's Bible readings include Numbers 11 and 12, Psalms 49, Isaiah 2 and Hebrews 10, which is our focus passage. Today we finish up our discussion of The Perseverance of the Saints, or Once Saved Always Saved, which basically deals with the question: Can a Christian lose their salvation?

Part One of the series was episode 121

Part Two was Episode 124

And today is the finale, The Return of the Jedi of our discussion of the Perseverance of the Saints. This is an important theological discussion, but it is a very, very important practical pastoring and real life spirituality question to consider, especially in the West. The fact is that there are many in the U.S. and other Western countries that proclaim Jesus with their lips, but deny Him with their lifestyle, as the old quote goes. In other Words, they are Christian in name only. Perhaps this is because they made a one time decision eons ago in their childhood, or perhaps it is because they grew up in church, or grew up with a very religious mom, or in a very religious area, or what have you.

In the same way that almost everybody that grows up in Alabama is either an Alabama fan or an Auburn fan - whether you like/know anything about football at all - many people born into religious families or churchy areas consider themselves Christians. However, it needs to be understood that Jesus Himself did not consider being a follower of His to be something you are born into, something you naturally inherit from your parents, or a decision you make in the heat of the moment when the choir is on the third verse of "Just as I Am," and the preacher is pleading for sinners to come, and you walk the aisle simply because you got caught up in the moment. Generally, when Jesus called people - He told them to FOLLOW HIM, and He meant that quite literally. Matthew left his money and his tax collecting business and began to literally FOLLOW Jesus all around the country. Peter, James, John and Andrew abandoned their fishing business and followed Jesus. Mary Magdalene and the other ladies that took care of Jesus and the disciples left their lives behind, and literally travelled around the country with Him - hanging on His every Word, and serving Him actively.

The Jesus way, however, is not how usually how churches have treated following Jesus over the past few decades. Instead, many churches, pastors and evangelists have preached for 'decisions,' which is when you give a message and an invitation at the end of it, and invite people - usually with a strong emotional appeal - to give their lives to Jesus - usually by praying and 'asking Him into your heart." I think there are many good things about proclaiming the good news in a way where somebody should be led to make a decision, but the fact is that most Western churches don't follow the pattern of Jesus and the disciples when proclaiming the Gospel, and that has led to many more people making decisions for Christ than actually becoming genuine followers of Christ. As we discussed in episode 124 - this is not a terribly big surprise, because Jesus shows in in Mark 4 - the Parable of the Sower - that many of the people who receive the Word of God - even some who receive it joyfully - do not ultimately go on to be saved. They believe for a moment in time - maybe an extended moment in time - but their belief is not actually a saving belief in Jesus, because 'they have no root,' and they don't persevere in following Him.

Hebrews 2, 3, 6 and 10 all contain strong warnings to followers of Jesus - urging them to not quit, but to persevere and continue on in the faith. Hebrews 10 contains a particularly sober warning for any who would backslide (a fancy old-school religious term that basically means moving away from Jesus and His teachings.):

26 For if we deliberately go on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who disregarded the law of Moses died without mercy, based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, who has regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who has said,

Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,

and again,

The Lord will judge his people.

31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God....

35 So don't throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will, you may receive what was promised.

37 For yet in a very little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith; and if he draws back, I have no pleasure in him.

39 But we are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved.

Hebrews 10

Some see in those verses a strong warning against falling away - a warning that true Christians can and do fall away, and when they do, they are potentially lost forever, unless they quickly turn back and follow Jesus. Others see a strong exhortation to hold onto faith, and find great assurance (in other Bible passages) that genuinely saved Christians won't lose their salvation because they are held secure not by their own strength, but by the power of God.

Seminary professor and author Wayne Grudem addresses this question head-on in his most excellent Systematic Theology, making a convincing case to believe that a genuinely saved Christian will not be lost:

There are many passages that teach that those who are truly born again, who are genuinely Christians, will continue in the Christian life until death and will then go to be with Christ in heaven. Jesus says,

I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:38–40)

Here Jesus says that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. He says that he will raise that person up at the last day—which, in this context of believing in the Son and having eternal life, clearly means that Jesus will raise that person up to eternal life with him (not just raise him up to be judged and condemned). It seems hard to avoid the conclusion that everyone who truly believes in Christ will remain a Christian up to the day of final resurrection into the blessings of life in the presence of God.2 Moreover, this text emphasizes that Jesus does the will of the Father, which is that he should "lose nothing of all that he has given me" (John 6:39). Once again, those given to the Son by the Father will not be lost. Another passage emphasizing this truth is John 10:27–29, in which Jesus says:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Here Jesus says that those who follow him, those who are his sheep, are given eternal life. He further says that "no one shall snatch them out of my hand" (v. 28). Now some have objected to this that even though no one else can take Christians out of Christ's hand, we might remove ourselves from Christ's hand. But that seems to be pedantic quibbling over words—does not "no one" also include the person who is in Christ's hand? Moreover, we know that our own hearts are far from trustworthy. Therefore if the possibility remained that we could remove ourself from Christ's hand, the passage would hardly give the assurance that Jesus intends by it. But more importantly, the most forceful phrase in the passage is "they shall never perish" (v. 28). The Greek construction (οὐ μή plus aorist subjunctive) is especially emphatic and might be translated more explicitly, "and they shall certainly not perish forever." This emphasizes that those who are Jesus' "sheep" and who follow him, and to whom he has given eternal life, shall never lose their salvation or be separated from Christ—they shall "never perish."3

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 788–790.

He further elaborates on the perseverance part of the Perseverance of the Saints doctrine here:

While Scripture repeatedly emphasizes that those who are truly born again will persevere to the end and will certainly have eternal life in heaven with God, there are other passages that speak of the necessity of continuing in faith throughout life. They make us realize that what Peter said in 1 Peter 1:5 is true, namely, that God does not guard us apart from our faith, but only by working through our faith so that he enables us to continue to believe in him. In this way, those who continue to trust in Christ gain assurance that God is working in them and guarding them. One example of this kind of passage is John 8:31–32: "Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." ' Jesus is here giving a warning that one evidence of genuine faith is continuing in his word, that is, continuing to believe what he says and living a life of obedience to his commands. Similarly, Jesus says, "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 10:22), as a means of warning people not to fall away in times of persecution. Paul says to the Colossian Christians that Christ has reconciled them to God, "in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him, provided that you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard" (Col. 1:22–23). It is only natural that Paul and the other New Testament writers would speak this way, for they are addressing groups of people who profess to be Christians, without being able to know the actual state of every person's heart. There may have been people at Colossae who had joined in the fellowship of the church, and perhaps even professed that they had faith in Christ and had been baptized into membership of the church, but who never had true saving faith. How is Paul to distinguish such people from true believers? How can he avoid giving them false assurance, assurance that they will be saved eternally when in fact they will not, unless they come to true repentance and faith? Paul knows that those whose faith is not real will eventually fall away from participation in the fellowship of the church. Therefore he tells his readers that they will ultimately be saved, "provided that you continue in the faith" (Col. 1:23). Those who continue show thereby that they are genuine believers. But those who do not continue in the faith show that there was no genuine faith in their hearts in the first place. A similar emphasis is seen in Hebrews 3:14 (NASB): "For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm to the end." This verse provides an excellent perspective on the doctrine of perseverance. How do we know if "we have become partakers of Christ"? How do we know if this being joined to Christ has happened to us at some time in the past?10 One way in which we know that we have come to genuine faith in Christ is if we continue in faith until the end of our lives.

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 792–793.

Finally, Grudem concludes with a pastoral call to hold fast and hold firm to the Gospel and to Jesus:

At this point, in terms of pastoral care with those who have strayed away from their Christian profession, we should realize that Calvinists and Arminians (those who believe in the perseverance of the saints and those who think that Christians can lose their salvation) will both counsel a "backslider" in the same way. According to the Arminian this person was a Christian at one time but is no longer a Christian. According to the Calvinist, such a person never really was a Christian in the first place and is not one now. But in both cases the biblical counsel given would be the same: "You do not appear to be a Christian now—you must repent of your sins and trust in Christ for your salvation!" Though the Calvinist and Arminian would differ on their interpretation of the previous history, they would agree on what should be done in the present.

But here we see why the phrase eternal security can be quite misleading. In some evangelical churches, instead of teaching the full and balanced presentation of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, pastors have sometimes taught a watered-down version, which in effect tells people that all who have once made a profession of faith and been baptized are "eternally secure." The result is that some people who are not genuinely converted at all may "come forward" at the end of an evangelistic sermon to profess faith in Christ, and may be baptized shortly after that, but then they leave the fellowship of the church and live a life no different from the one they lived before they gained this "eternal security." In this way people are given false assurance and are being cruelly deceived into thinking they are going to heaven when in fact they are not.

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 806.

Hebrews 10 contains one of the starkest warnings in Scripture to those who might fall away from faith. Does it mean that Christians can actually lose their salvation? Today we discuss Once Saved, Always Saved with an assist from Dr. Wayne Grudem and his great Systematic Theology book.

Hello friends, and happy Monday. Another week begins. A week of uncertainty in the U.S. as many are still in lockdown - such as us in California, and others are beginning to come out of lockdown, and wondering if it is safe to do so. Regardless of your situation, I want to encourage us all to remember that God is our ever-present refuge. Whether you are locked down and antsy, or being released back into work and other situations, the safest place we have in all of the earth is in the refuge of God Almighty. Go back to Psalms 46 again and again this week if your heart tries to stray into fear, frustration, anxiety and other tough emotions.

Today's Bible readings are Numbers 11, Psalms 48, Isaiah 1, and Hebrews 9. Tomorrow we will continue our series on the Perseverance of the Saints, but today our topic is a more basic and central topic: Is God pleased by our religious activities. Most people would probably answer 'yes,' to that question, but the answer isn't quite as cut and dried as that, as Isaiah 1 is about to show us. Dictionary.com gives a definition of religion as, "the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith." And Merriam Webster's second definition of religion is, "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices." So in the eyes of many, religion is a ritual observation of faith in one's beliefs, attitudes and practices. The basic question of religion in almost all of its forms is this, "What can I do to please God?" Or, if one's faith is polytheistic, "what can I do to please the gods?" Most of those who are not Bible-believing Christians would assume that Christianity is much the same as that - basically a set of dos and don'ts (as typified in the Ten Commandments), mixed with the call of Jesus to love people, mixed with going to church regularly enough to keep God and the pastor/priest/rector/bishop/whatever happy. Is that what God requires? Let's read Isaiah 1 and find out!

Here's the pertinent part for us to review again:

"What are all your sacrifices to me?" asks the Lord. "I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, who requires this from you— this trampling of my courts? 13 Stop bringing useless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons and Sabbaths, and the calling of solemn assemblies— I cannot stand iniquity with a festival. 14 I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them. 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look at you; even if you offer countless prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

Isaiah 1:11-15

What's the deal here? A good observant Jewish person, upon hearing the words of the prophet Isaiah, would probably be thunderstruck, thinking, "I thought God liked us to pray, and go to times of worship, and make offerings and celebrate the festivals of the Bible and sacrifice animals?!" And the issue here is that God is NOT pleased with outward and external works of religion that are not accompanied by inward heart change, repentance, the no-compromise embrace of the truth of God's Word, the practice of biblical justice/love and compassion and relationship with Him. Put it another way, God does not want us to merely go to church and then live however else we want to live otherwise. God is not pleased by our church attendance, our offerings, our outward religious practices, our sacrifices or our worship if we are not transformed followers of His bringing His Kingdom and His ways to the world. You don't just have to take my word for it, or Isaiah's either, because this theme permeates Scripture:

I hate, I despise, your feasts! I can't stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. 22 Even if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; I will have no regard for your fellowship offerings of fattened cattle. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. 24 But let justice flow like water, and righteousness, like an unfailing stream.

Amos 5:21-24

Wow - God can HATE church assemblies?! That's fairly mind-blowing. What is the problem here - we see it a little bit in vs 24, and more clearly a few verses earlier:

Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from him, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. 12 For I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable. They oppress the righteous, take a bribe, and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.

Amos 5:11-12

God cares deeply about the poor and the oppressed - He cares deeply about justice, and He calls His people to care deeply about the same things He cares about!

More evidence:

10 "I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle a useless fire on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord of Armies, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.

Malachi 1:10

One more bit of evidence, from Isaiah 58:

Tell my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 They seek me day after day and delight to know my ways, like a nation that does what is right and does not abandon the justice of their God. They ask me for righteous judgments; they delight in the nearness of God."

3 "Why have we fasted, but you have not seen? We have denied ourselves, but you haven't noticed!"

"Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast, and oppress all your workers. 4 You fast with contention and strife to strike viciously with your fist. You cannot fast as you do today, hoping to make your voice heard on high. 5 Will the fast I choose be like this: A day for a person to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 Isn't this the fast I choose: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into your house, to clothe the naked when you see him, and not to ignore your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will appear like the dawn, and your recovery will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the Lord's glory will be your rear guard.

Isaiah 58:3-8

Our conclusion is this: God does not merely call people to be religious and to engage in the trappings of religion - going to church, giving offerings, worshipping, praying, etc. Yes - those things are good and Godly and Holy, and profitable - but, unaccompanied by a life transformed by Jesus, they are empty and hollow and meaningless. We are not saved by offerings, or church attendance, or sacrifices, or ANY external act of religion. Rather, we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone. As saved followers of Jesus, our lives are to be characterized by transformation, by love and mercy, justice for the oppressed, acts of kindness to all, and intimate abiding with Jesus, His Spirit, and His Word. Apart from those things, the external trappings of religion like church attendance, giving offerings, etc - don't really matter. God is not looking for church attenders - as good as that is - but followers of Jesus who exemplify God's call in Isaiah 1:

Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil. 17 Learn to do what is good. Pursue justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow's cause18 "Come, let's settle this," says the Lord."Though your sins are scarlet,they will be as white as snow;though they are crimson red,they will be like wool.19 If you are willing and obedient,you will eat the good things of the land.

Isaiah 1:16-19

As a closing, let's ponder this wisdom from the book of James:

26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

James 1:26-27

Most people would assume that God wants His people to do religious things, but when we actually read God's thoughts on the matter (in Isaiah 1, Amos 5, Malachi 1, Isaiah 58 and other places), it turns out that God has no interest in external manifestations of religion like church attendance, offerings and worship that are not accompanied by real transformation and the following of God's commands. Let's talk about God's opinion of religion today!

Happy Lord's Day, Brethren and Sistren. Today is a wonderful day to celebrate the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! If you don't have a digital church home - what a strange thing to say! - please consider joining our digital church home - just go to Facebook and search VBC Salinas, and join us for our service at 11am Pacific. We would love to have you! Today's Bible readings include Numbers 10, Psalms 46 and 47, Song of Songs 8, and Hebrews 8. Our focus question comes from Hebrews 8. Don't ask me to explain what's going on in Song of Songs 8. That's a very unusual passage, and I need to spend some more time researching the meaning of Song of Songs. Some believe it to be a book with a dual meaning - on the surface about the marriage and intimacy of Solomon and his bride, but deeper below that a commentary on the relationship between God and His people. I lean pretty strongly in that direction, but there are some scholars, pastors and teachers who are pretty adamant that Song of Songs is ONLY about Solomon and his bride. Either way, Song of Songs 8 is pretty perplexing to me. Today's big Bible question comes from a small part of Hebrews 8:

By saying a new covenant, he has declared that the first is obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old is about to pass away.

Hebrews 8:13

That's interesting language, to be sure - is Hebrews 8 (and many other Hebrews passages) teaching that the Old Testament is obsolete - no longer binding on New Covenant Christians?

It's a great question that is actually somewhat divisive - there are good and Godly men and women on both sides of the debate. Some believe that the Old Testament is no longer binding/authoritative on Christians, some believe that both the Old and the New Testament are BOTH equally binding on Christians, and some believe that the Old Testament ceremonial laws and commands are no longer binding, but the moral commands are still binding. My view, as discussed in a previous episode, is that non-Jewish New Covenant believers in Jesus are NOT under the commands of the Old Testament, but the New Testament, and I believe that this is what Hebrews 8 is referring to. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, and, though it is still Scripture and useful and the Word of God, we are not under the authority of the Law and Old Covenant, because it has been fulfilled - we are under the New Covenant. I like how Michael Houdman of GotQuestions.org phrases it:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)

It could not be any more clear. Absolutely nothing in the Law will disappear until everything is accomplished. In order to demonstrate that "everything is accomplished," all we need to do is demonstrate that something from the Law has disappeared. Is there something that has disappeared? Yes! What? The sacrificial system!

The Old Covenant sacrificial system is no longer in effect, and it was a major aspect of the Old Covenant Law. Not even the most ardent defender of the Hebrew Roots Movement will argue that God still wants us to be offering animal sacrifices today. So, if the Old Covenant sacrificial system has "disappeared," what does that mean? It means, according to Matthew 5:17-18, that "everything is accomplished."

If "everything is accomplished," what does that mean? It means that the Old Covenant Law has been fulfilled. How was it fulfilled? It was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect obedience to both the letter and the spirit of the Old Covenant Law. Jesus Christ died to fulfill the Old Covenant sacrificial system. Jesus fulfilled/completed the entirety of the Old Covenant Law. Therefore, followers of Jesus Christ, those who have accepted by grace through faith His death and resurrection as the atoning sacrifice for their sins, are not under the authority of the Old Covenant Law.

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans 10:4)

"So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian." (Galatians 3:24-25)

"…by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances…" (Ephesians 2:15)

It is not complicated. Jesus fulfilled all of the Law. The Old Covenant has been fulfilled. Observance of the Old Covenant Law is not a requirement, or even a recommendation, for New Covenant believers.

Now, if you want to observe the Old Covenant feasts and festivals in remembrance of the fact that Christ perfectly fulfilled them, wonderful! If you even want to attempt to live under the Old Covenant Law, there is nothing in the New Covenant that would prevent you from doing so. It would be part of your freedom in Christ.

But, I still have no idea why anyone would want to exchange what is described in Hebrews 8—10 as "more excellent," "with better promises," and "greater and more perfect," in order to live under what is described as "a shadow," and "obsolete."

Source: https://www.gotquestions.blog/old-covenant.html

Does this mean that the Old Testament isn't valuable, or is no longer the Word of God? Of course not! It is valuable and profitable in every way, but we are now no longer under the Law/Old Testament, but under grace/ the New Testament. (Go read Acts 15 for more, and also check out episode 15 - are we still under the Old Testament.)

Hebrews 8 seems to imply that the Old Testament is 'obsolete' and has been replaced by a superior and New Covenant. Is this the case - are Christians still obligated to follow the Law and Old Testament, or are they only under the New Testament? Is the Old Testament still God's Word?

Happy Saturday, Friends, and welcome into the first ever NFY episode Bible Reading podcast. This particular episode, if I was recording it from my home state of Alabama, deep in the hollers of L.A. - lower Alabama, of course, I would rate this NFY - Not For Young'uns. Don't worry -we're not going to get too saucy, but it is a bit of a mature topic.

Short episode today, because I have a massive plumbing job to go finish up on, so that's good news for some of you, and maybe not so good for others. For those that prefer the longer shows, know that I'd much rather be podcasting than plumbing!

Today's Bible readings include Numbers 9, Psalms 45, Song of Songs 7 and Hebrews 7. I don't know if you've noticed it, but Song of Songs, AKA Song of Solomon has a lot of sexual language in it, and some of it is fairly explicit. I'm not going to quote anything, but chapter 5 in particular is very, very....colorful in its language, and today's chapter is too. Some of the language is quite strange to us - some very funny and odd euphemisms and metaphors were used thousands of years ago:

Song of Songs 1:9 "I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots."

2:9 "My love is like a gazelle or a young stag. See, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice."

4:1 "Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead."

4:2 "Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn sheep coming up from washing, each one bearing twins, and none has lost its young."

4:4 "Your neck is like the tower of David, constructed in layers. A thousand shields are hung on it— all of them shields of warriors."

5:12 "His eyes are like doves beside flowing streams, washed in milk"

But don't laugh too hard, because some of our metaphors and euphemisms are kind of odd too. Most people think Christians are prudes, and that the Bible is anti-sex, but is that true? In fact, there is a word in our culture, puritanical, that is named after a particular group of Christians and means, "having standards of moral behavior that forbid many pleasures." The only thing is - the Bible itself is not at all anti-sex (within certain bounds) and the Puritans weren't puritanical either. Consider a few of these quotes from our Puritan friends:

Puritan William Gouge, writing in the 1600s says, ""One of the best remedies that can be prescribed to married persons (next to an awfull feare of God, and a continuall setting of him before them, wheresoever they are) is, that husband and wife mutually delight each in other, and maintaine a pure and fervent love betwixt themselves, yielding that due benevolence one to another which is warranted and sanctified by God's word, and ordained of God for this particular end. This due benevolence (as the Apostle stileth it) is one of the most proper and essentiall acts of marriage: and necessary for the maine and principall ends thereof: as for preservation of chastity in such as have not the gift of continency, for increasing the world with a legitimate brood, and for linking the affections of the married couple more firmly together. These ends of marriage, at least the two former, are made void without this duty be performed. As it is called benevolence because it must be performed with good will and delight, willingly, readily and cheerefully; so it is said to be due because it is a debt which the wife oweth to her husband, and he to her (1 Corinthians 7:4).

Source: (Gouge, Of Domesticall Duties, 215-216; cf. 234-235)

Richard Steele at around the same time wrote:

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 . . . plainly shows that even the sober use of the marriagebed is such a mutual debt, that it may not be intermitted long without necessity and consent. . . . Neither desire of gain, nor fear of trouble, nor occasional distastes, nor pretence of religion, should separate those from conjugal converse and cohabitation, (unless with consent, and that but for a time,) whom God hath joined together.

(Steele, "Duties of Husband and Wife," 275)

It is also worth knowing that one man, James Mattock, was excommunicated from the his Boston Puritan church for denying his wife her conjugal/sexual rights for two years.

As well, there are several sex-positive passages in the Bible - all written in the context of marriage:

each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband. 3 A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another—except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

1 Corinthians 7:2-5

How beautiful you are and how pleasant, my love, with such delights! 7 Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. 8 I said, "I will climb the palm tree and take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like clusters of grapes, and the fragrance of your breath like apricots. 9 Your mouth is like fine wine—

Song of Songs 7:6-9

Let your fountain be blessed, and take pleasure in the wife of your youth. 19 A loving deer, a graceful doe— let her breasts always satisfy you; be lost in her love forever. 20 Why, my son, would you lose yourself with a forbidden woman or embrace a wayward woman?

Proverbs 5:18-20

And that last passage really kind of nails the Bible teaching on sex overall - that sex was designed for husband and wife - not merely for procreation (as some Christians in the past misguidedly thought) but also for PLEASURE. Yes - the Bible points us to the pleasure of knowing God and following His ways - including the blessing of pleasure of sex inside of marriage. That said, the Bible is explicit in its condemnation of sexual pleasure apart from the marital relationship as we see here in Proverbs 5:20. So -

is the Bible anti-sex? Not at all - the Bible encourages husbands and wives to have delightful and pleasurable and regular sex. Sex is made for marriage, and it is created to make marriage pleasurable and fruitful. Yes, all sex outside the bounds of marriage is forbidden by the Bible, but sex inside of marriage is never treated like a gross or unclean thing in the Bible, and not at all like a necessary evil, but rather like a beautiful gift that is designed to bless and sustain both husband and wife. God is not anti-pleasure, He is the source of the greatest pleasures!

You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.

Psalms 16:11

Most people think that Christians, and the Bible in general, are anti-sex, but is such a stereotype based in fact, or is it a myth? It turns out that the Bible views sex as a gift and a deep pleasure when shared by husband and wife - the kind of pleasure that one can't deny to the other. (Bonus: Were the Puritans actually puritanical?)

Hello friends, and a happy May to you! Today's Bible readings include Numbers 8, quite a bit shorter than chapter 7, and also Psalms 44, Song of Songs 6 and Hebrews 6. Today is part two of our continuing discussion on the Perseverance of the Saints, and our big question is, does Hebrews 6 indicate that a saved person can become unsaved? Here's the pertinent section:

4 For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who tasted God's good word and the powers of the coming age, 6 and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt. 7 For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned.

Hebrews 6:4-8

That's a pretty sobering passage, and its not the only one in Hebrews - there are several. In fact, it is one of many 'warning' passages in the Bible, where people are warned to not fall away from God. Consider these others:

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. - 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. - Colossians 1:21-23

12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. - Hebrews 3:12

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; - 2nd Timothy 2:11-12

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. - James 5:19-20

These are some sobering passages, to be sure. Hebrews 6 as a whole is also sobering, so let's go read it, and come back and discuss our big Bible question.

Again - we see and hear a strong warning in Hebrews 6. May nothing I say today take away from that warning in the least. Our main question is this: Does Hebrews 6 demonstrate that a saved person might lose their salvation? I believe the answer to that question is a firm "no," BUT, I do believe that Hebrews 6 demonstrates that one who appears in every way to be a believer might indeed lose that appearance. I know that is as clear as mud, but I believe we can explain things as we go forward.

Can somebody who is saved by Jesus, somehow or someway become unsaved? I believe the answer to that question is a firm and clear 'no!' as demonstrated by these Scriptures:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. - John 10:27-29

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. - john 5:24

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. - John 6:37

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 1:6

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, - Ephesians 2:8

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, - Ephesians 1:13

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." - John 6:40

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:28-31

Hebrews 7:5 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

How do we reconcile all of these passages with the first passages we read - the warning passages? I believe the answer is given to us as something like a clue in Hebrews 6:7-8 " 7 For the ground that drinks the rain that often falls on it and that produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and about to be cursed, and at the end will be burned." This passage should remind you of the parable of the Sower that we referred to in episode one of our series on the Perseverance of the Saints, and I believe that the author of Hebrews is indeed referencing that teaching of Jesus. Let's refresh our memories:

13 Then he said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand all of the parables?14 The sower sows the word.15 Some are like the word sown on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them.16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,19 but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.20 And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown."

Mark 4:13-20

Four different types of soil - four different types of people who the Gospel seed is delivered to. Person/soil #1 hears the Word of God, but immediately loses/forgets/ignores it, according to Jesus. These people are not saved at all. Person/soil #2 is like rocky ground - they hear the Word and respond with joy - but it is a SHALLOW joy without root - it is a surface response that does not go into the soul and mind. Have you ever had a friend eagerly make a commitment to you to do something, and then blissfully blow it off as if the commitment has never happened? This is what is going on here. This is a person who hears the Word and seems to believe and accept it, but they do so in a most shallow way. Because their acceptance is shallow - any sort of trouble or distress that comes along (whether immediately or a long time down the road) the shallow-hearer and responder to the Word of God will immediately fall away. Was this person a saved Christian? NO! But they appeared to be. They looked like somebody who truly believed, because their emotions demonstrated interest, but they were bandwagon fans of Jesus and not committed followers. Hebrews is written as a warning to such shallow-believers - those who have heard the good news and had an emotional response to it, but they are not true-believers.

Person/soil #3 is in a similar place. These are people that are busy, or successful, or popular, or lovers of the world. They hear the Word of God and respond to it - it sounds good to them, and they say yes to Jesus in the same way they might say yes to anything that sounds good. They are interested, but busy, and have other priorities. They decide to follow Jesus, but they are already following so many other things, and they will continue to follow new things as well. They make a commitment and appear to be a Christian based on their words, but a close look at their lives show they aren't really following Jesus, but merely going to church and doing some religious things. They may feed the poor. They may pray when in trouble. They may thank God when they win an award. They may read popular Christian books, and wear cross necklaces and such...but they aren't followers of Jesus - the thorns of this world (the concerns of the modern age, the desire to be wealthy and successful and many other sorts of desires) effectively choke them out. They care about Jesus and church and stuff like that, but not really any more than they care about other things. This person is not a genuine follower of Jesus, but believes themselves to be, and will identify as a follower of Jesus. However, verses like Luke 9:23 ("Then he said to them all, "If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.") would strike them as the Word of a fanatic, and not the Word of 'their' Jesus. Again, the warning passages of Hebrews are written to people like this - they've heard the Word and sort of believe, but they are being choked out by every other thing that is important to them. I believe the Hebrews 6 reference to thorns and thistles is a direct reference to this Mark 4 teaching of Jesus which identifies the thorny soil as unsaved soil.

Let's close with a great challenge from brother Spurgeon:

God save us from a lifeless profession! May we never be like certain trees, of which John Bunyan said, that they were green outside, but inwardly they were so rotten that they were only fit to be tinder for the devil's fire-starting kit. Many professors are too beautiful appearing not to be false; too obviously saintly outside not to be loathsome within; for there is an over-doing of the grave's white paint. You feel convinced that there would not be so much whitewashing and repair-work on the outside if there were not so much rottenness inside to be concealed. The smell of roses or of lavender is sweet, but much scent excites much suspicion - what smell are the scents meant to mask? Oh, let us, each one who professes tonight, say to himself, "I was baptised on a profession of my faith, but was I ever baptised into Christ? When the Holy name of the triune God was named on me, did I then enter into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit? I have come often to the communion table; but have I communed with Christ there? My name is on the membership-roll, but is it written in heaven? I have said to others I am a Christian, but am I in very deed known unto Christ? Or will He say to me on that day of judgment, 'I never knew you: depart from me you workers of iniquity'?" (Matthew 7:21-23)

These are solemn questions. Many persons are temporary followers of Christ, and outwardly, as far as the human eye can follow, they appear to be real followers of Christ. I believe in the final perseverance of the saints; but I do not know, nor can any man know, how near a man may approach to the likeness of a saint and yet after all apostatise (fall away.) Nor is any one of us able to say of himself, or of his fellow churchmembers, "We never shall fall away."

Now, beloved, what was the beginning of our confidence? Well, the beginning of my confidence was, "I am a sinner, Christ is a Savior; and I rest on him to save me." Long before I began with Christ he had begun with me; but when I began with him it was, like I was a completely bankrupt man who had nothing of his own, and looked to Christ for everything. I know when I first cast my eye to his dear cross and rested in him, I had no value of my own, it was all demerit. I had nothing deserving in me, except that I felt I was hell-deserving: I had not even a shade of virtue that I could confide in. It was all over with me. I had come to an extremity. I could not have found a quarter's worth of goodness in myself if I had been melted down. I seemed to be all rottenness, a dunghill of corruption, nothing better, but something a great deal worse. I could truly join with Paul at that time, and say that my own goodness was as if it were dung. "Dung" is a strong expression that he used; but I do not suppose he felt it to be strong enough. He says, "I count my goodness and good deeds as worth the same as dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him."

Well, that is how we began with Christ. We were nothing at all, and Jesus Christ was all in all. Now, brothers, we are not made partakers of Christ unless we hold this fast to the end. Have you got beyond that? Are you something creditable in your own reckoning? I am worried about you. Are you in and of yourself a better person now than you were then? I am afraid for you, friend. Do you remember the place you were in when you found Jesus? you dared not lift your eyes, to heaven, but cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Now in Christ you walk in a far more noble place than that, for you are made to sit with Jesus in the heavenly places. But, I ask you, apart from Christ, have you any different place from that of deep self humiliation? If you believe yourself to be something, apart from Christ, then you have not held the beginning of your confidence fast even until now. Begin to suspect yourself. This is the position to always take, namely that you , "have nothing, but in Christ, possess everything."

Let your mindset be, "I am the worst of sinners, and yet - Christ died for me! Where else was the beginning of your confidence in salvation? May we not say of it that it was only and wholly, fully and exclusively, in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Source: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1042.cfm

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began ha good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Philippians 1:6