Relationship And Fellowship

Your RELATIONSHIP with God doesn’t break even if you happen to commit a sin. But your FELLOWSHIP with God does break because of sin.

After reading my article, “Once Saved Always Saved?” a man wrote:

Thanks for the teaching. I also wanted to know this for sure. How about a truly born again Christian who tell lies once in a while or doesn’t pray for others (sin according to 1 Sam 12.23) or even cowards. Will this not stop them from going to heaven despite being saved?

Here’s the verse he quoted:

23 Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. (1 Samuel 12:23)

The Apostle John wrote:

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life— to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. (1 John 5:16~17)

John is identifying are two kinds (two levels) of sin:

  • Sins that “lead to death” (meaning, of course, spiritual death).
  • Sins that do NOT lead to death.

John also teaches us that when we pray (ask – intercede) God will “give him life”. But only when the sin does not “lead to death”.

Relationship and Fellowship— Consider this analogy:

Suppose you had a child who disobeyed a rule that you had established as to “how we do things here at our home”. You might have to discipline your son or daughter, but you certainly would not “dis-own” the child. You would not kick your son or daughter out of your house, right? In other words:

Once my child, Always my child”!!

Jesus offers a relationship of love:

Note the underlined text:

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. (John 14:23~24)

This relationship is with both The Father and Jesus!
also…

31bIf you remain in My Word, you will truly be My disciples; 32 and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:31b~32)

That implies that if we choose not to remain in His Word, we won’t be set free! Instead, we will remain in bondage to the devil!

God establishes a pattern: An Oath And A Promise:

Watch for those two words — “OATH” and “PROMISE” — in the following passage from the book of Hebrews:

God swore by Himself to Abraham: “Surely I will bless you and multiply you”

Hebrews 6:13-20
The Certainty of God’s Promise

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:13~20)

In the same way:

  • Verse 18: two unchangeable things — an oath and a promise
  • Verse 19 begins: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…”. His promise is SURE and STEADFAST! And He is encouraging us to hold on to Him!
  • Verse 19 continues: we have “a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain”. It’s like an anchor chain: we are holding tight to one end, and Jesus — who is in heaven — is holding the other end and drawing us to Himself!
These Are His Promises!

AND because His promises are UNBREAKABLE, our lives are UNSHAKABLE!


Here a just a few of the many Scriptures that I could add:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16a)

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:6~10)

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:1~6)

Romans Chapter 8:1-11

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

- Jan

 
 

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