(# 300) Romans 8 - God’s Unconditional Love is Eternal Security for the Few

Class Outline:

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Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

a Christian Church

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…a Christian Church based in Mesa, AZ…my name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Barah Ministries teaches the Word of God from God’s perspective and not from the human perspective.  We want to know what God has to say to us though His Word, because we’re convinced that God knows exactly what He’s talking about.  And our God is the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God’s Unconditional Love is Eternal Security for the Few

 

The older I get the more chilling these verses become…in Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 13 and 14, the Lord Jesus Christ says…

 

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.//For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to the resurrection life, and there are few who find it.”

 

The reason the verses are so chilling is because if the Lord Jesus Christ says a thing, it’s true.  What He is saying here is that few will find the small gate and the narrow road that leads to the righteousness He demands for salvation…His own righteousness…absolute righteousness…the free gift that comes from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sovereign God of the Universe, for salvation.

 

It is chilling because more and more, as I get older, I am experiencing His statement to be true.  There are many people who display an outward righteousness…the “righteousness” of “I am a Christian” … the “righteousness” of “I go to church” … the “righteousness” of “I study the Word of God” … yet these people do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ of biblical Christianity.  Instead, they actually believe in another Jesus…one who did not accomplish their salvation at the Cross.  In Second Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 4, Paul describes the Corinthian church, and many of the members are engaging in the willing acceptance of a counterfeit god, a counterfeit power, and a counterfeit salvation…

 

Second Corinthians 11:4

For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, and they do, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received (from us…and you do), or if you entertain a different gospel which you have not accepted (because you accepted our gospel…and you do), you bear this beautifully (you willingly indulge in it).

 

There are many people who believe that Jesus exists, while simultaneously believing they have to do something to create their own salvation, just as the Pharisees of the Matthew 7 passage did.  Yet Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 6 says…

 

Romans 11:6

But if salvation is by grace, and it is, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

 

Those who follow the Pharisaical teachers are following them through the wide gate and down the broad road.  It is my sincere hope that the things I am saying don’t apply to the people who are listening to Barah Ministries.

I want to make it clear to you that there is only ONE WAY to get to heaven…faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.  Jesus said this, and it is true, just as everything the Lord says is true…John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

John 14:6

Jesus said to Thomas, the doubting one, “I am the way (to salvation), and the (I am the) truth (through the Word of God), and (I am) the (resurrection) life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

It is my hope that while you are learning through Barah Ministries, that you realize it is not only important to know what the Lord Jesus Christ is saying, but it is just as important to live what He is telling us.

 

MUSIC AND REFLECTION

Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ

Enjoy the Singing of His Praises

 

THROUGH ALL OF IT

Colton Dixon

 

The opening song for this lesson is THROUGH ALL OF IT sung by Colton Dixon.

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father, we know that from our physical birth we were sinners, and we fell desperately short of Your essence…we know that the sin in us and the sinning that we do leads to death…thank you for sending Your Son as the way, the only way, to the resurrection life…thank you for being so clear about how to get to heaven…

 

Illuminate our salvation status within our souls so that we might not be putting in the time under a false illusion that we are saved, only to be disqualified in the end…and for those of us who are saved, help us to get beyond our self-consciousness to reach out to others with the gospel message…

 

We ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...

Amen.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

Let’s begin this lesson by giving you a chance to make an offering…in just a moment we’ll welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall to take the offering.

 

Making an offering to the Lord that can be used for the benefit of those who are without money and without a Pastor is one of the most selfless things you can do...thank you for making it possible for others to hear the Word of God taught from the Lord’s perspective here at Barah Ministries.

 

Please welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

James 1:26

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.

 

OFFERING

FLIGHT OF THE EAGLE

Dave McClure, Instrumental

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God’s Unconditional Love is Eternal Security for the Few

 

We’re studying Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39…

 

Romans 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life…nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons…fallen angels), nor things present nor things to come…nor powers…

 

Romans 8:39

…nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

In these verses, the apostle Paul is asking us to consider the ten supernatural things that we might think could separate us from the unconditional love of God.  Here’s a reminder of the list…ten things…in four pairs…with two individual items…

 

FOUR PAIRS OF SUPERNATURAL THINGS
 

Death and Life

 

Angels and Principalities

 

Things Present or Things to Come

 

Height or Depth

 

TWO SINGLE SUPERNATURAL THINGS
 

Powers

 

Any Created Thing

 

The final item on the list…

 

NOR ANY CREATED THING

 

Nothing that has ever been made (including nuclear warheads)…no created thing…no creature…can ever separate you from the unconditional love of God.  There is no way that God’s purpose in you will ever be thwarted.  Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, Verse 14…

 

Ecclesiastes 3:14

I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked it that men should respect Him.

 

God’s unconditional love for you is one of those things that will remain forever.  Do you believe that, or do you doubt?  And if you doubt, do you connect your doubt to a giant dose of self-righteousness in you?  I was talking to a friend recently, and he was telling me that he is going through an intense period of self-doubt.  I started clapping.  He asked me why.  I said, “I’m clapping on God’s behalf…He is probably saying, ‘Finally!  We’re making some progress if you’re doubting self.’”  Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 18…

 

Romans 7:18

For I (Paul) know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing (to do good) is present in me, but the doing of the good is not present in me.

In other words, Paul is saying, “I want to do well, and I simply don’t” … so Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 21 must be true…

 

Romans 7:21

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

 

Yes!  What a great reason for self-doubt!  There is nothing good in you!  Yet do you connect your self-doubt to your own self-righteousness?  When you doubt yourself, you are actually thinking there is something good in you.  There isn’t.  When you accept that there is nothing good in you, it puts you in a position to relax and to trust God for everything.

 

How much more true of those who are working to improve themselves so they can be acceptable to God and worthy of salvation?  How about all the Pharisaical Pastors who will teach people today that they have to clean up their acts to be acceptable to God?

 

I started today’s lesson with this idea…the older I get the more chilling Scripture becomes.  Why?  Well because I am asking Christians questions to hear their version of their own Christianity.  Their answers are chilling.  For example…the question, “Do you think you can lose your salvation?”  Well?  Do ya…punk?!  The crime of asking these questions is the punishment.  I have to listen to the answers.  Babbling.  What if I ask you, “Can you lose your salvation?”  What’s you answer?  And can you prove your answer biblically?  I can… Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39…

 

Romans 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life…nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons…fallen angels), nor things present nor things to come…nor powers…

 

Romans 8:39

…nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

There is no stronger biblical description of your eternal security that the two verses we are studying right now.  Nothing can separate a believer in Christ from God.  NOTHING!  And especially not a created thing!  Your uncertainty…your self-doubt…is self-righteousness!

 

God loves you, and the love God has for you is not the love you have for Him…First John, Chapter 43, Verses 7 to 11…

 

First John 4:7

Beloved (divinely loved ones), let us love one another unconditionally, for unconditional love is from God the Father; and everyone who loves unconditionally is born of God the Father and knows God the Father.

 

First John 4:8

The one who does not love unconditionally does not know God the Father, for God the Father IS unconditional love.

 

First John 4:9

By this unconditional love the unconditional love of God the Father was manifested in us, that God the Father has sent His uniquely born Son into the world so that we might live the resurrection life through our union with Him.

 

First John 4:10

In this is unconditional love, not that we loved God the Father unconditionally, but that He loved us unconditionally and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

First John 4:11

Beloved (divinely loved one), if God the Father so loved us unconditionally, and He did, we also ought to love one another unconditionally.

 

When humans say they love us, most of the time they don’t mean it like this.  They mean they love us conditionally.  You can always tell someone loves you conditionally when you do something wrong and they start criticizing you for it.  They judge you and call you to change yourself…a call for self-righteousness.  This is the subtlety of Satan’s deception.  You see “train wrecks” people, who by the world standards are the scum of the earth, best do God’s work.  These are the people God uses…people like the apostle Paul.

 

So can you lose your salvation?  Let’s take a music break and then we’ll

address the subject.

 

MUSIC BREAK

FORGIVENESS

Matthew West

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

God’s Unconditional Love is Eternal Security for the Few

 

Welcome back…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39…

 

Romans 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life…nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons…fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come (the future)…nor powers…

 

Romans 8:39

…nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Can a Christian lose his salvation?  Anyone who believes you can lose your salvation is engaging in heresy…they are deviating from the truth.  Ask them to prove it with biblical proof.  Their proof will always connect to self-righteousness and never to grace…their proof will always take out of context verses that infer what we must do to be saved, and will never refer to verses that site what an immutable, unchanging, faithful God does for us.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 1 to 4…

 

First Corinthians 15:1

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which gospel also you received, in which gospel also you stand…

 

First Corinthians 15:2

…by which gospel also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

 

First Corinthians 15:3

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…

 

First Corinthians 15:4

…and that He was buried, and that He was raised (resurrected from the dead) on the third day according to the Scriptures…

 

If you want to work for your salvation, here’s what the Lord Jesus Christ says is the work you must do…John, Chapter 6, Verses 28 and 29…

 

John 6:28

Therefore the apostles said to Jesus, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God the Father?”

 

John 6:29

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God the Father, that you believe in Him whom He has sent (ME!).”

 

When you believe, an immutable, unchanging, faithful God does all the work of salvation for you.  Titus, Chapter 3, Verse 5…

 

Titus 3:5

The Lord Jesus Christ saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in self-righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing by God the Holy Spirit (the baptism of the Spirit)…

 

Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 5…

 

Romans 4:5

But to the one who does not work for salvation, but believes in Christ who justifies the ungodly (the unrighteous sinner), this person’s faith is credited as righteousness…

 

In John, Chapter 5, Verse 24, the Lord Jesus Christ says…

 

John 5:24

“Truly, truly, I (the Lord Jesus Christ) say to you, he who hears My word (the gospel message), and believes God the Father who sent Me, has eternal life (the resurrection life…the ZOE life…right that moment), and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of spiritual death into spiritual life.”

 

John, Chapter 10, Verses 28 and 29…

 

John 10:28

…and I (the Lord Jesus Christ) give eternal life to them (believers in Christ), and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

 

John 10:29

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 (either).

 

We are in His grip!  First John, Chapter 5, Verse 13…

 

First John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.

 

Hebrews, Chapter 13, Verse 5…

 

Hebrews 13:5

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

 

Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14…

 

Ephesians 1:13

In Christ, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in union with Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise…

 

Ephesians 1:14

…who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God the Father’s own possession, to the praise of the Father’s glory.

 

When we start to realize how sinful we are, we’ll know there is no way we

could ever save ourselves…there is no way that we could ever think that our way is righteous…Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39…

 

Romans 8:38

For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life…nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons…fallen angels)…nor things present nor things to come (the future)…nor powers…

 

Romans 8:39

…nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to separate us believers in Christ from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

So, after studying Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 31 to 39…to what conclusion are we forced?  We have to acknowledge that NO WHO…NO WHAT…NO THING…NOTHING will be able to separate us from God’s unconditional love.  The term “will be able” to means…WILL HAVE THE POWER TO… Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 19…

 

Second Corinthians 5:19

…namely, that God the Father was in (through the agency of THE) Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and the Father has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

 

Colossians, Chapter 2, Verse 15…

 

Colossians 2:15

When God the Father had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Christ.

 

God loves you unconditionally…and that’s just one of the many facts that make you eternally secure…and if you believe it, you’re one of the few. 

 

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

The Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

Matthew 19:25b

(The disciples asked the Lord) “Then who can be saved?”

 

Romans 3:10

…as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…

 

Romans 5:7-8

For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.//But God the Father demonstrates His own unconditional love toward all mankind, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died instead of us.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith (alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone); and that (grace and faith and salvation is) not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;//it is not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

Titus 3:5

The Lord Jesus Christ saved us, not on the basis of deeds we have done in self-righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and by the renewing from the Holy Spirit…

 

CLOSING SONG

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BEG

June Murphy

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

          THANKS - INTERCESSION - PETITION

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com