Slides: Your Past, Present, and Future

Your Past, Present, and Future
By David Feddes

Before and after

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard. (Colossians 1:21-23)

• Past: And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

• Present: he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,

• Future: in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

• A big IF: if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.

PAST: And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

• alienated: distant, far from God

• hostile in mind: hating God as enemy; thoughts and attitudes opposed to God

• doing evil deeds: defying God and doing what God hates; disgusting and destructive decisions and deeds

PRESENT: he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly… God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us… For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:6-10)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself… in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them… For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:17-21)

Reconciled

• Spouse:  Stop hatred and fighting by a peaceful divorce? Reconciled  means coming together and loving each other.

• Judge: Declare “not guilty” and release? Reconciled means embrace and friendship.

• Nation: End attack and sign non-aggression pact? Reconciled means welcomed to live in God’s nation as citizens of His kingdom.

 Barcode salvation?

Salvation is more than justification.
• Regeneration: new heart and spirit
• Reconciliation: close relationship
• Sanctification: growing in goodness

FUTURE: in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

• Jesus died not only to forgive your sin but to put you on the path to perfect holiness.

• God accepts, justifies and reconciles you now, as soon as you trust Christ crucified, even though you still have sins to fight.

• Our final future is to stand with Jesus before the Father with nothing to be ashamed of, with character as pure as Jesus.

A big IF

• Past: And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

• Present: he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,

• Future: in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

• A big IF: if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard

Three views of warnings

• Loss of salvation view: Believers can and do abandon their faith and lose their salvation. Warnings raise doubt of receiving the prize.

• Loss of rewards view: Believers can and do abandon faith but can’t lose salvation. Warnings refer only to loss of rewards.

• Means of salvation view: Those who profess faith but then abandon it did not have real faith and were never saved. Warnings keep true believers on the path to final salvation.

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1

Just show up at start and finish? Rosie Ruiz

If indeed you continue in the faith

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are cut down, thrown into the fire, and burned. (John 15:5-6)

Stable and steadfast

•  stable: well grounded, firmly established on solid foundations

• steadfast:  Not blown around by winds of doctrine. Not blown away by troubles.

Our age prizes novelty and thrills. Even in church life, many want a church that stirs adrenalin and emotion, not one that provides a strong foundation and produces a community of stable and steadfast people.

not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard

Jesus is the path and the prize. If you leave the path, you lose the prize. Don’t let go of your confidence in the gospel of Jesus. God appoints the way as well as the end result.

• God told Paul that everyone aboard would survive a shipwreck. (Acts 27:24)

• Later Paul said, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:31)

A Big IF

 • God protects believers from falling away. One way he protects us is by warning us what would happen if we fell away. He is not saying we will fall away. He is keeping us from falling away by stating the result.

“If you walk off the cliff, you will die.”

“If you drink poison, it will kill you.”

• He is keeping you in salvation by warning that if you don’t continue to believe the gospel and abide in Christ, you will perish.

Your Past, Present, Future

•Past: And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds

•Present: he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,

•Future: in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him

•A big IF: if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard.