IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO

Though believers in Christ are heaven-bound, there are conditions to be fulfilled before we arrive at our final destination and claim our eternal reward.


Some say that God will never forsake believers and that nothing will ever separate us from His love (Hebrews 13:5, Matthew 28:20, Romans 8: 38-39).

But has this ever crossed our minds?

God may not leave us but we can walk away from God.

It takes two to tango.

                                                                         

Some also like to emphasise the fact that God keeps us in the faith (Philippians 1:6, Jude 1:24). Well, that is true to a certain extent.

But have we considered the fact that everyone has a will? That makes everyone capable of saying 'Yes' or 'No' to God, even after conversion (2 Timothy 2:12, Joshua 24:15).

And, because we have a will, we can choose the way we live our lives. In fact, the Christian walk is a moment-by-moment experience whereby we can choose to serve the spirit or flesh—as opposed to a ‘once and for all’ experience of victory. Notice our free will is operative even after we are saved. http://bit.ly/1awc42C

                                                                              

Though believers in Christ are heaven-bound, there are conditions to be fulfilled before we arrive at our final destination and claim our eternal reward.

Let’s examine some passages which are less “popular” but, nevertheless, are relevant in helping us understand why it takes two to tango.

Our faith endures till the end and we do not deny God:

If we endure,

We shall also reign with Him.

If we deny Him,

He also will deny us.

(2 Timothy 2:12)

We do not fall away or commit apostasy:

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

(Hebrews 6: 4-8)

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

(2 Peter 2:20-22)

We are not complacent that we are God’s chosen but remain faithful—not fall away like the originally favoured people, the Jews:

And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

(Romans 11:17-18)

For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

(Romans 11: 21-22).

We are able to overcome persecution, apostasy and deception

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

(Matthew 24: 9-13)

We are able to overcome sin and unbelief

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

(Revelation 21:7-8)

Our faith endures; we do not shrink back in our faith

But my righteous one will live by faith.

    And I take no pleasure

    in the one who shrinks back.

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

(Hebrews 10:38-39)

                                                                      

We continue to hold fast to sound doctrine—not led astray by heresies of wolves lurking within the church

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

(Acts 20:29-32)

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(2 Timothy 3:14-17)

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

(Galatians 1:8)

Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

(John 8:31-32)

We are able to overcome sin and unbelief—unlike the children of Israel who fell after being delivered from slavery in Egypt.

But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe.

(Jude 1:5)

Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

(1 Corinthians 10:6-12)

We ourselves are accountable in keeping God’s law. Starting out well is not enough; we must finish well.

The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

(Ezekiel 18: 20-21)

But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die.

(Ezekiel 18: 24-25)

Unless the righteous man who commits sin repents, he will face judgment. http://bit.ly/1rcYJzl

Many believers find it difficult to accept the HARD SAYINGS outlined in the above passages. Or they might rationalise them away and choose to cherry pick the more acceptable verses. http://bit.ly/1bus4hn

Many only want to hear the soft, comforting and pleasant truths that tickle the ears. http://bit.ly/Jk0DAA

                                                                          

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

(2 Timothy 4:3-4)

God plays a great part in our Christian walk. He is faithful when we are faithless, forgives us countless times and restores us when we fall. His grace also empowers us to follow His commandments.

But I think we have this tendency to shift the responsibility in our spiritual pilgrimage to God—and downplay our part through it all.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12b-13).

It is hoped that this article will set a much-needed balance in our Christian worldview.

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MORE THAN UNMERITED FAVOUR

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COMFORTING LIE, BITTER TRUTH

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CAN TRUE BELIEVERS DENY THEIR MASTER?

In light of the pressure faced by persecuted Christians in the Middle East, this is an important question that needs to be asked.

http://bit.ly/SFapBp

SAVED AND SECURE?

Is there eternal security for believers if they deny God or continue living in sin?

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ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GRACE AND HYPER-GRACE BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK—IT’S ALL HERE FOR YOU IN A NUTSHELL

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HOW TO QUICKLY ACCESS PORRIDGE

                                                                            

For a quick overview: http://bit.ly/1ijiXHp

To access similar articles in Christiantymalaysia.com:

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TESTED AND TRIUMPHANT

Why do believers need to be overcomers? What will happen if they fail to overcome?

                                                                 

"Who wants to be an overcomer?" Almost everyone in a room filled with believers will probably raise their hands. But we cannot be deemed as overcomers unless there is something or somebody to overcome. Mention the fact that we need to overcome trials and tribulations and many will be just as quick to put down their hands.

                                                                    
James tells us that those who are steadfast in the faith amid trials will receive the crown of life.“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test hewill receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).

                                                                       

Why do you we need to be overcomers in these perilous end times? The reasons are obvious.

Firstly, believers will have to face persecution and deception during the period described as the ‘birth pangs’ or the ‘beginning of the end’ (Matthew 24: 9-13).

Secondly, believers will have to face the wrath of the antichrist in the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24: 15-28). http://goo.gl/kbBbSi

Letters to the Seven Churches

Let's now explore the theme of overcoming in the Letters to the Seven Churches. The theme of overcoming comes alive in the book of Revelation. Christians have to be overcomers in the last days before they can receive heavenly rewards.

Church at Ephesus: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). What did this church have to overcome? They have lost their first love and, therefore, have to repent.

Church at Smyrna: “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death” (Revelation 2:11). What did this church have to overcome? They will have to be steadfast in faith and overcome the tribulation inflicted upon them by the devil, including imprisonment and even death.

Church at Pergamum: “To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” (Revelation 2:17). What did this church have to overcome? They will have to repent for embracing the false teachings of Balaam and Nicolaitans.

Church at Thyatira: “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star” (Revelation 2:26-28). What did this church have to overcome? They will have to repent for tolerating the false teaching of Jezebel that promotes immorality and idolatry.

                                                                                                                                                  Church at Sardis: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels” (Revelation 3:5). What did this church have to overcome? Though they have a semblance of life, in God’s eyes, they are spiritually dead. They would have to awaken from their spiritual slumber and strengthen what remains. 

Church at Philadelphia: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Revelation 3:10-12).

Notice that this is the ONLY church among the seven singled out for commendation and without any negative comments. (The church at Smyrna also did not receive any negative remarks).

So far they have patiently kept God’s word and not denied his name. They merely needed to hold fast to their position so that they will not lose their crown.

The crux of the matter is this: How can we keep the Word if we do not have a firm grasp of it? If we are not diligently feeding on the Word, it is likely that we will come under the deception of the false teachers, who have made inroads into churches such as those at Pergamum and Thyatira—and many modern-day churches.

In this respect, Paul’s warning becomes relevant: “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). The implication from this verse is that failure to hold on to sound doctrine might cause believers to lose their salvation. This prospect of eternal damnation is a most horrifying scenario to contemplate.

Church at Laodicea: “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21). This lukewarm church has been seduced by the world’s riches. Spiritually blind—thinking they are rich but, in fact, they are poor in God’s eyes—they will have to repent of their love for worldly things.

If it is not important for believers to be OVERCOMERS, why is this theme on overcoming repeatedly mentioned in each and every letter to the churches in Revelation?

By the way, when was the last time we heard a message over the pulpit that we are to be overcomers and the reasons why we need to overcome?

The Tribulation Saints

Believers will have face persecution and suffering during the Great Tribulation according to the following passages in Revelation.

In Revelation 7, we catch a glimpse of the scene in heaven after the rapture. A great multitude of people from every nation are assembled together after having endured the great tribulation. Clearly, they have not been spared from having to go through the great tribulation.

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Revelation 7:9).

“Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13-14).

Notice, in the preceding chapter, the saints who cry out to God for deliverance from persecution are told be patient and endure ‘a little longer’ (Revelation 6:10-11).

The fact that believers will have to go through the great tribulation is further reinforced in the later chapters of Revelation. During the Great Tribulation the wrath of the Antichrist is unleashed upon believers. Only those who refuse to worship him or take the mark of the beast are considered overcomers; these will receive God’s reward. Notice that the cowardly are lumped together with the worse of sinners to be condemned.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).

“He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:7-8).

Now what does the preceding passage in Revelation 21:7-8 tell us about the fate of those who fail to overcome? These are the ones who are lumped together with the worst of sinners. Did they merely lose their reward or, much worse, did they lose their salvation? I think it is not difficult to figure that out.

Jesus’ end time warning to endure

Persecution, deception and falling away from the faith (apostasy) are some of the important signs of the end times Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24: 9-13).

It is implied by Jesus that if we fail to persevere, if we fall away because of persecution or become victims of deception, we will NOT be saved (Matthew 24:13). A most serious warning indeed. Only overcomers receive the prize.

It isn’t surprising that Jesus sounded the warning in Matthew 24 about standing firm in the faith—that believers have to be overcomers to be saved—reflecting the same overcoming theme in the Letters to the Seven Churches.

Why? This is because it is the same person who walks through Matthew 24 and Revelation. Jesus in Matthew 24 is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5.

Aren't these two passages in Revelation 21:7-8 and Matthew 24: 9-13 referring to the dire consequences of not standing firm—that those who fail to overcome might lose their salvation?

                                                                                                

Necessity for persevering faith

Elsewhere in the New Testament, the theme of overcoming is being reinforced. Believers need to persevere, endure and remain firm in the faith.

Paul puts it succinctly:

If we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us.

(2 Timothy 2:12)

1 Timothy 6:12

Hebrews highlights the fact that persevering faith is needed to remain saved:

But my righteous one will live by faith.

    And I take no pleasure

    in the one who shrinks back.

But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

(Hebrews 10:38-39)

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ 

(Hebrews 3:12-14).

Jude reinforces the truth that persevering faith is needed:

"I wish to remind you, as you all know, that God, when once he had brought the people out from Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe” (Jude 1:5). Instead of taking possession of the Promised Land after leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, God’s chosen people fell.

If we still cannot accept the fact that we will be put to the test and that overcoming trials and tribulations are part and parcel of God’s plan for believers, then we just need to take a look at Jesus’ example. 

Before embarking on His ministry, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After having overcome various temptations, He set out to preach, heal the sick and set the captives free (Matthew 4:1-11). http://goo.gl/xHlQbV

Servants are not greater than their master. Even so, believers who are His servants cannot be exempted from trials and testings.

The fact that believers will have to experience tribulation is totally consistent with the teachings of the New Testament:

• Paul exhorts the disciples to continue in the faith, saying that “we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

• Paul writes that we “glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance” (Romans 5:3).

• “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake” (Luke 21: 12, 17).

There are probably two groups of believers for whom the theme of overcoming seems  irrelevant:

• Adherents of hyper-grace because they believe that it all depends on God's grace. Once believers are saved their eternal destiny in heaven is forever assured based on the imputed righteousness of Christ.  * *

• Adherents of pre-tribulation rapture who expect to be airlifted to safety before the Great Tribulation.

But for the rest of believers, this sober message that we have to be overcomers should have greater relevance.

                                                                           

‘Feel good’ teachings—such as hyper-grace and pre-tribulation rapture—paint a rosy picture for believers and that’s why they are popular. But such false teachings not only create a false sense of security but are totally inconsistent with the fact that believers have to be OVERCOMERS, a theme repeatedly stressed in the above passages in Matthew 24 and Revelation chapters 2, 3, 7, 20 and 21.

                                                                        

To be forewarned is to be prepared: We will have to face trials and tribulations. However, a close walk with the Master, empowering of the Spirit and faith in His promises will enable us to be overcomers. 

• He has promised to never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). 

• And when we stand before our persecutors, we need not meditate beforehand how to answer them for the Spirit will give us the wisdom (Luke 21: 12-15).

• “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Now what is the opposite of overcoming? It is giving up our faith or apostasy.

One of the reasons, I believe, for the great end time falling away is that believers are not prepared for the worst—they do not expect the magnitude and severity of the trials that will befall them. Neither have they been sufficiently enlightened on the need to be overcomers. 

Coupled with tribulation, persecution and deception, the result is a perfect recipe for the great end time apostasy (Matthew 24: 9-13, 2 Thessalonians 2: 3-4, 2 Thessalonians 2: 9-11, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Highlighting an end time scenario where many believers fall away on account of tribulation, persecution or deception is highly disturbing. But this is the realistic, biblical view. 

FOOTNOTES
 * *   The camp that overemphasises grace—hyper-grace—states (in blue) that:

The truth is you are saved by grace and you are kept by grace. It’s grace from start to finish! Don’t let anyone frighten you into doing dead works, but rest secure in His finished work. Just as you did nothing to earn salvation, there is nothing you can do to lose it.

God has already forgiven all the future sins of believers and, as such, we should put the ‘sin issue’ behind us and banish ‘sin consciousness’ from our lives. So we no longer need to confess our sins. When God looks at us, all He is going to see is Christ’s blood, not our sins whether it is past, present or future. We merely rest in the "imputed righteousness of Christ".

More: http://www.gotquestions.org/hyper-grace.html

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RAPTURE BEFORE TRIBULATION?

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WILL CHRISTIANS GO THROUGH THE GREAT TRIBULATION?

A popular teaching tells us that Christians will not have to go through the Great Tribulation because they will be raptured first. But is such a 'pre-tribulation rapture' view valid? Is it true to say Christians will be airlifted to safety before the Great Tribulation begins?

http://bit.ly/1w2LYfH

HANG IN THERE, DON'T GIVE UP

Sometimes, we don’t like to admit that trials are an integral part of the Christian experience as much as blessings and victories. However, the process of growing into maturity involves learning to persevere through trials and arriving at a place of unshakeable faith.

http://bit.ly/1imb1GN

THE GREAT FALLING AWAY

Spiritual decline is characteristic of the end times we are now living in. Will believers be affected by this turning away from the faith?

http://bit.ly/1j1YYA1

“FEEL GOOD” TEACHING AND TRIALS

Does “feel good” teaching prepare believers to face trials?

http://bit.ly/1lI8TJp

ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT GRACE AND HYPER-GRACE BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK—IT’S ALL HERE FOR YOU IN A NUTSHELL

http://goo.gl/KDNIJ9

MORE THAN UNMERITED FAVOUR

As believers, have we come to a point in our faith walk when we say to ourselves, “Thank you God for taking me as I am,” and then happily go on our way? After all, as some teachers say, believers always enjoy God’s unmerited favour—grace beyond measure—whatever we do or don't do. Does it mean then we don’t need to improve ourselves in areas such as self-discipline and character? Does it mean then that we need not strive for excellence? 

http://goo.gl/w8gpZt

FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY

"I am afraid too many today are being lulled into thinking that when things get really bad, we as believers will be suddenly snatched out of it all ("the great snatch," the rapture is sometimes called). This is indeed poor preparation for what is yet to happen—and a serious misreading of the prophetic message." 
http://bit.ly/10hmG3k

APOSTASY IN THE CHURCH

How it is accelerating and how it relates to the return of Jesus.

http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_signs5.php



HOW TO QUICKLY ACCESS PORRIDGE

                                                                            

For a quick overview: http://bit.ly/1ijiXHp

To access similar articles in Christiantymalaysia.com:

http://christianitymalaysia.com/wp/?s=porridge

To access similar articles in Asian Beacon magazine:

http://asianbeacon.org/?s=Lim+Poh+Ann