Serious Use of Means of Perseverance

Review: The Doctrine of Perseverance and Paul's Concern

0:02 I invite you to turn with me again to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 3, as we continue our studies through this letter of Paul to the infant church at Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians, chapter 3.

0:28 I will back up to verse 18 and read through to verse 10, verse 18 of chapter 2. Wherefore, when we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

0:55 For ye are our glory and joy. Wherefore, when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone, and sent to the Lord Jesus Christ. And to Timotheus, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith. That no man should be moved by these afflictions.

1:18 For yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation, the same word, affliction, even as it came to pass, and ye know. For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain. But now, when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you, therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith. For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord. For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God, night and day, praying exceedingly, that we might see your face, and might perfect that which is lacking in your faith. In our study of this passage, we have sought to understand the verse-by-verse development of thought as Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica

2:42 and what it says to us standing here in the middle of the twentieth century. But we have also seen that this passage is couched in the context of some tremendous biblical themes which we do well to develop with this passage as the background. And so we've developed the theme of the Christian doctrine of affliction which stands central in this passage. The Christian doctrine of the nature of faith.

3:10 For five times in this passage, the Apostle used as a little phrase, your faith. The great concern he had for the faith of these people. What does this passage tell us about the nature and fruits of saving faith? And then for two large days, we have been studying this passage in the light of the fact that its whole mood is one in which the Apostle Paul is writing against the backdrop, the backdrop of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.

3:40 In fact, I have been so bold as to state that it's impossible to understand Paul's concern in this passage unless we have some grasp upon the biblical doctrine of the perseverance of the saints of God. Now when I use the term the perseverance of the saints, what do I mean? Well, I will use as a definition that which is given in the Westminster Confession of Faith under the section on perseverance, they whom God hath accepted in his Beloved, that is Christ, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved. Paul's understanding of this doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is what moved him to write as he wrote in this passage. And so, with this passage as the basis, we have sought to bring into focus those principles of Scripture which most clearly and succinctly define the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Briefly, by way of review, let me give you those three principles that we must grasp and which I pray the Holy Spirit is writing upon our hearts as we see them here.

5:00 First of all, the basis of Paul's joy as expressed in verses 18 and 19 and expressed in verses 18 and 19 and again in verse 7 and 8. His joy is based upon this fact that all who are savingly joined to Christ will be preserved for his eternal kingdom. Paul is confident that there at Thessalonia are people who have been so savingly joined to Christ that he will meet them in the day when Christ comes back again. What is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing are not ye, indeed, in the presence of the Lord Jesus.

5:39 If there was any possibility that one person who is truly joined to Christ could ultimately fall away and be lost, then there's the possibility that two may, and if two, then three, if three, then four, and if four, then everyone. And so Paul would have no confidence that he would meet Thessalonians at the coming again of Christ if there was any possibility that anyone savingly joined to Christ could ultimately perish. So the basis of Paul's rejoicing is simply this, his confidence that all who are truly called, Romans 8.30, and who are truly justified will be ultimately glorified.

6:20 But Paul is not only rejoicing in this passage, he's full of concern. He uses this term twice when we could no longer forbear. He says in verse 5 that there's the possibility that in some cases all of our lives labor would be in vain. Now what was the basis of his concern?

6:40 Well, it was this, and this is the second principle in understanding the doctrine of perseverance. Not all who profess faith in Christ are truly savingly joined to Christ. Just as surely as Paul knew that all who are joined to Christ will be found in that day in his presence, he also knew from Scripture and from bitter experience that not all who profess faith in Christ and who may give some glowing evidence of faith in Christ are truly joined to Christ. That's why he says there's the possibility, verse 5, I sent Timothy to know your faith lest by some means the tempter tempted you and our labor be in vain.

7:24 Well then this brings us to the third principle and this is the focus of Paul's exhortation. The focus of his sending Timothy unto the Thessalonians. Here's the principle. The focus of Paul's concern and exhortation is this.

7:41 Continuance in the way of Christ is the only proof of vital relationship to Christ. That's why he says now we live if you stand fast. When Timothy came back and said you're going on with God, we rejoiced. Why?

7:58 Because going on with God is the proof that one is saving related to God. And if we do not hold those three principles together, if we hold anyone at the exclusion of the others or omit anyone, we have a perverted doctrine. Block out the first and you have a terrible situation. The terrible possibility that the Lord Jesus may not see any of the travail of his soul.

8:26 Perish the thought. Cut out the second that not all who profess faith and give some evidence of faith are truly joined to Christ and you'll fill the church with people who have no evidence of grace, who think all is well because something happened in the past and that's happened in our evangelical circles today to an alarming degree. We must hold that second principle that Paul indicates in this passage and then the third principle which comprises the whole practical essence of the doctrine of perseverance, the proof of reality in Christ is continuance in the ways of Christ. Well, with those principles before us, we have then sought to develop the theme asking the question, why do the saints of God persevere?

Why Saints Persevere: Divine and Human Standpoints

9:10 Why is it that those who are truly joined to Christ against wind and storm and all the opposition of hell and the world and the flesh and the devil persevere to the end? Why is it? Well, we consider the fact that from God's standpoint they do so because of the covenanted blessings of God. In the new covenant God has promised that he would not only give his people a new heart and a new record, blot out their sin but he says in Jeremiah 32, 40 he would put their fear into their hearts that they should not depart from him.

9:45 When Jesus shed his blood it was the blood of the new covenant and every blessing which he purchased for his people must be applied and one of those blessings is the blessing of perseverance so that all who are truly in the covenant are those who will persevere to the end and then we consider the activity of the triune God the Father who purposed to glorify all of his people the Son who purchased them in order to present them to himself and the Holy Spirit who seals them and sanctifies them. So with the triune Godhead the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all pledged to keep the saints of God who shall ever pluck them from his hand. Now we are considering why the saints of God persevere from the human standpoint for they persevere not only because of what God is doing but in a very real sense because of what they do.

10:43 God's purposes come to light in their practices. God's keeping power comes to light in their persevering grace and we said last Lord's Day evening that the saints of God persevere from the human standpoint first of all because they are convinced they must. They are convinced they must and we looked at a number of scriptures which indicate that Paul indicates it here he says if you people don't continue as far as I'm concerned we've lived and ministered in vain no matter what glowing evidences you've had in the past if there isn't present tense evidence of grace our hearts are broken our ministry has been in vain. And so the scripture again and again in Revelation 2 and 3 the promises to the overcomers him that overcometh in Philippians 3 Paul said he pressed to the mark 1 Corinthians 3 9 etc. and then the best review I know and then we'll pick up our new material as much as we can cover this morning is that classic portion in Pilgrim's Progress that I very poorly quoted from memory last week because I forgot my book. Christian is down at the bottom of the hill difficulty and looks like a rough hill and a couple of his companions have said that's not for us we'll go another way. So they turn away and one goes down the path called destruction and the other one danger.

12:06 Now he scrambles up to the top of the hill and when he gets there he sees two men running down the one is timorous and the other mistrust to whom Christian said sirs what's the matter you run the wrong way timorous answered that they were going to the city of Zion but had got up that difficult place but said he the farther we go the more danger we meet with therefore we turned and we're going back again yes said mistrust for just before us lie a couple of lions in the way whether sleeping or waking up we know not and we could not think if we came within reach but they would presently pull us in pieces now listen to Christian's answer here's a man who has understood the doctrine of perseverance listen you make me afraid but whither shall I fly to be saved if I go back to my own country that is prepared for fire and brimstone and I shall certainly perish there if I can get to the celestial city I'm sure to be in safety there I must venture to go back is nothing but death to go forward is fear of death and life everlasting beyond it I will yet go forward so mistrust and timorous ran down the hill and Christian went on his way there it is why did Christian go on well from the human standpoint from the divine standpoint he persevered because

The Serious Use of Means: Reconciling Sovereignty and Responsibility

13:34 the father worked in him the father purposed he should but from the human standpoint he said I must venture to go back is death forward the fear of death but life beyond I must venture you see Paul was concerned that there might be some timorous I guess that's a plural of timorous some timorousness timorous is and he says I fear and I sent Timothy to know if some of you as you were climbing the hill difficulty threw up your hands and said what's the use let's go on back he said if that happened it would be proof that you never had the real thing and my labor was in vain well the second reason now from the human standpoint why the saints of God persevere not only because they're convinced they must but secondly because they give themselves to a serious use of the means that God has ordained for their perseverance and that's why I use the word serious not just for verbal filler but I use it because I'm serious about using the word serious there is a serious use of the means that God has ordained for their perseverance notice the context of 1 Thessalonians 3 Paul is confident that every true Christian at Thessalonica

15:02 is going to be found in heaven at that day he says you people are our joy or hope or crown of rejoicing in the presence of Christ and yet he said I'm full of concern for you and I tried to come to you and I couldn't I sent Timothy and I sent Timothy to know your faith and when Timothy came back with good news he didn't rest on his oars he said night and day I'm praying that I might come and I might perfect that which is lacking in your faith you see his consciousness that though God has purposed that every true Christian at Thessalonica make it to the celestial city he's also ordained certain means to help them on their way in this case it was the presence of the apostle Paul who fathered that church it was the exhortation and instruction that he would give as an inspired apostle it was his prayers and his pleadings with God all of these were legitimate means and Paul was dead in earnest about using them he was confident that just as surely as the purpose of God could not be frustrated that every true Thessalonian Christian would ultimately be glorified none would be lost he was confident that that same God of sovereign keeping power had ordained certain means to preserve them and those means were necessary that's why he said I would have come unto you but was hindered and I tried again and was hindered and when I couldn't stand it any longer I bought some airplane tickets

16:31 for Timothy and lo and behold no fog at Newark airport that morning all the money came in he made it so I just have to accept the direction of the Lord and let Timothy be my representative at this time that's what I mean by a serious use of the means that God has ordained for the perseverance of his people now immediately anyone who's thinking carefully not anyone but I would imagine most everyone comes up with this problem this is where I mentioned in the men's class that Jerry stole some of the thunder this morning someone says but wait a minute now if God has purposed that everyone who's truly joined to Christ will be glorified there's no possibility that they'll be lost the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit together are working for their preservation and perseverance why should there be any serious use of the means if a man is truly saved he'll be saved no matter what happens no that's not true and I want to show you how you live with these two things constantly a deep conviction of the sovereignty of God in a certain area but a serious use of the means that he's ordained we touched on it a little bit last Sunday night Hebrews 9.27 declares that it is appointed unto men once to die the scripture says in Ecclesiastes there's a time to be born a time to die a time to laugh a time to weep a time to be merry a time to dance etc

17:58 now the time of your death is fixed every one of you believes it I'm sure I doubt there's anyone here who believes that the time of your death or the time of your birth was just chance fixed in the councils of eternity God has the day with your name in it and when the death angel gets up that morning to look at his black notebook and see who he should visit your name's gonna be there mine's there maybe on tomorrow's page I don't know you don't know we're confident all of us that in the sovereignty of God the day of death has been fixed anyone fight that? anyone disagree with that? I think not alright if that's so that God has sovereignly purposed the day of my death and there's nothing I can do to alter it why spend fifteen hundred two thousand dollars a year buying a house and heating it and furnishing it not gonna preserve my life if God's purposed I should live why not just make my bed tonight in Bloomfield Avenue or out on Route 46 if you want to go a little quicker why take any concern to preserve life why regard health rules and regulations why be concerned about the preservation of life why use your seatbelts obey the speed laws check out your rear mirrors when you go to pass if God's purposed to take me in an accident no matter how carefully I drive I'm gonna die so I might as well just push it down the floor

19:27 never look at my mirrors never signal and just go oh you don't act that way you say that's foolish it would be presumptuous for you to think that God will preserve your life if you didn't use the proper means now as careful as you are you know if God's purposed to take you you could choke this afternoon on a piece of meat and die no matter how careful you are nothing you do is gonna preserve your life one moment beyond the time that God ordains you should live but at the same time you're not careless to be careless would be presumptuous now if we can do that with regard to the extent of physical life to the duration of physical life why should we have any problem with regard to spiritual life believing that I am savingly joined to Jesus Christ and that he is keeping me and no one can pluck me out of his hand what does that lead to? does it lead to presumption to say oh well since the Lord's keeping me nothing I can do can get me out of his hand so I'll do as I please I won't regard the means that he's ordained to preserve my spiritual health I'll be indifferent about spiritual diet I'll be indifferent about spiritual safety rules no no that's not faith in the keeping power of God that's sinful presumption and an insult to God and to common sense isn't it? so the man who's convinced that I must persevere proves it by a serious use

20:54 of the means that God has ordained for his perseverance see it? and you see that in Pilgrim's Progress in fact Pilgrim's Progress really is an exposition of the doctrine of perseverance and when he'd get weary along the way he'd pull his roll out of his bosom what was that roll? that was his assurance that he was going to go to heaven now what did he pull it out for? did he pull out his roll his assurance his assurance his assurance his assurance his assurance his assurance his assurance his assurance in order that he could take it easy?

21:23 no to get strength to go up hill difficulty then he'd say he'd look at his shining robe he'd think about being justified why? to build a case for his shining robe? no to get fresh strength to face Apollyon face the devil you see he looked at the promises of God's keeping power and the privileges of grace to give him strength to use the means that God had ordained for his preservation who was it that said trust the Lord and keep your powder dry that captures the thought trust the Lord and keep your powder dry Nehemiah building the wall they had the trowel in one hand and the sword in the other trusting God to get the wall built and watching for the enemies that's the biblical concept so perseverance then as one has rightly said means the engagement of our persons in the most intense and concentrated devotion to those who are those means which God has ordained for the achievement of his saving purpose and those two things are brought together beautifully in Philippians chapter 2 this is old hat for the men now but maybe the repetition won't hurt them here you have the command of God given through the apostle Paul in verses 12 and 13 wherefore my beloved as ye have always obeyed not in my presence only but now much more

22:53 in my absence work out your own salvation with fear and trembling in other words you better be serious about persevering this is not shadow boxing oh well I know no matter what I do will keep me but in order to keep up the semblance of things I better go through the motions no he says work it out with fear and trembling this is serious business for it is God who is working in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure he said I'll put my law on their hearts and cause them to keep my statutes and to do them I think Paul probably had in mind the promise of the new covenant is found in Jeremiah and Ezekiel I will put my law on their hearts cause them to keep my statutes because he is causing me therefore I'm to work out with fear and with trembling so much then for the principle why do the saints of God persevere I hope you've got those basic thoughts before you from God's standpoint they persevere because God has covenanted that they shall in the new covenant the fathers son and the Holy Spirit are working together to preserve the saints from the human standpoint they persevere because they know they must and because they seriously use the means God has given now what are those means well we could mention and list many of them but for the sake of brevity and I trust clarity may I suggest that all the means that God has ordained

Private Means of Perseverance: Secret Prayer and Devotional Reading

24:22 for the saints of God in their perseverance can be broken down into two categories the first is the private and public means private means and I start here because the soul of godliness is its inwardness may I repeat that the soul of true godliness is its inwardness it's possible to maintain the public means long after the inward reality has died and has lost all semblance of life the whole first chapter of Isaiah is the indictment of God against the public means of grace of a people who long since had left off the private means of grace and though God says I'm tired of all this public means of grace your sermons and your fast days and your sacrifices I've had enough of it I'm done with it why because there was no inward means of grace no private humbling for sin no private self-examination no private confession no private longing after God and so all the public means of grace were a sham you read the same thing in Isaiah 58 you read it in Mark chapter 7 where Jesus said this people draw nigh unto me with their lips

25:51 but their hearts are far from me you know what the first thing is that goes in the road to apostasy here's a group of people like the Thessalonians and they all profess faith in Christ are baptized come into the fellowship of the church they have some evidence of life then after a period of six months some have dropped along the way some have gone back to the old life I think of some of those that profess to be converted the same time I was in a moving of the spirit of God amongst some young people and they've dropped along the way and I find this rule applies almost invariably where I've been able to check it out you know what the first step to apostasy is a neglect of the private means of grace not the public that comes after there is a neglect of the private means of grace coupled with presumption well I don't really need to pray since my salvation is dependent upon the work of Christ I don't need to pray and since the promises are just as real he that believeth shall be saved even though I'm not reading the word and sucking sweetness from the promises so I can go on a past stock of grace the first step to apostasy is a neglect of the private means of grace

27:18 that's the first step and so the true child of God in whom the Lord has put his fear and who like Bunyan's Christian knows that he must venture up the hill difficulty is the man who seriously uses the means ordained for his perseverance the private means namely secret prayer and secret devotional reading of the word of God what is the relationship of secret prayer to perseverance well outside of that time when we get to heaven in those unusual times when God by the Holy Ghost comes down upon a group of people there is no time when you are dealing in a more direct way with the living God than when you're on your knees in your closet now the exceptions are when the Holy Spirit comes down in power upon a group of people and as it were insulates everybody from everybody else and all they're conscious of is God is in this place and I stand before my God and they forget everyone else those are rare would to God that we had more of them but those are rare so that by and large as a general rule you are having your most direct dealings with God in the secret place of prayer and it's when you're having your most direct unadulterated dealings with God that you're you are

28:46 what you really are so a man who's been truly brought into a vital relationship with God through Jesus Christ he cannot long neglect the place of secret prayer why? because having tasted the reality of vital first hand communion with God he's not satisfied with anything less than that and he's restless until he knows the sweetness of the closet again in his life and if this isn't your experience I tremble to think where you may be a few years from now and if not then you may still hang on to the external life of the church where you will be found in the day of judgment if you're a stranger to a serious regard of secret prayer I doubt that you're persevering and if you're not persevering you have no grounds to claim that you ever came through the gate because a true child of God has tasted vital communion with God he must pray oh at times the spirit of prayer is more than in others granted my own heart says a loud amen to this at times the habit of prayer is less consistent than at other times granted all of the flocks and all of the rest but take the true child of God at his lowest point and there is within his breast a restlessness if he's not

30:15 enjoying vital communion with God in the secret place the first evidence that the call of God had come home with power to the heart of Saul of Tarsus was what behold he prayeth he prayeth he's not content with external religion anymore not content to know that he's doing everything a good Pharisee's supposed to do he's come to know God and because he's come to know God he's seeking him he prayeth is that evidence in your life if you're a true child of God persevering it can be said of you behold he prayeth it's in that secret place that we deal first hand with God it's in that secret place that our sins appear in all their ugliness you remember what the psalmist prayed I think it's the psalm of Moses he said thou hast set our sins before thee our secret sins in the light of what thy countenance thy countenance the persevering saint cannot long be absent from the place of secret prayer because he knows what it is to feel that backlog and iniquity that begins to build up and cut off realized communion with God and sin again becomes ugly in that secret place well I don't want to labor the point I trust I've said enough to show why the saints seriously regard secret prayer

31:45 but then there's the matter of secret devotional reading of the word of God I'm not talking about threading words through our eyes as part of an evangelical pharisaic legalism Christians are supposed to read the Bible therefore I'll thread a chapter through my eyes I'm talking about that kind of reading that we've been dealing with in Psalm 1 meditating chewing mumbling the word of God that kind of reading which leads to self examination here's what God says what does it say to me that kind of reading which is an experience of the soil meeting the plowshare and the plowshare ripping through the crusty areas of the heart that kind of reading which could be likened to the relationship of the rain upon thirsty soil when we come in our barrenness and the spirit of God through the word of God sends the rain of heaven upon our parched spirits and we come away quickened and refreshed we've met God we don't come away saying I feel good I've read my chapter oh may God deliver us from that kind of hypocrisy that's pharisaism to feel good because we've done something oh no I feel good because I've heard the voice of God I may not feel too good I may feel bad because I've heard God speak and I felt his wrath but I come away satisfied only when I know I've heard God I've met God in the word

33:14 see the difference in one there's no basic difference between the man who goes before his little idol and when he rings off the head of his chicken and spills out his blood he feels good he's done something to appease his God what difference is there between that and the professing Christian who reads his chapter and feels good who can't remember five minutes later what he's read nothing of what he's read has stuck to his own heart and life and shaped and molded his mind he's read his chapter what difference is there just a little more refined paganism isn't it is there any basic difference in one there's been no communion with God in the other there's been no communion with God so the persevering saint takes seriously the private means of grace secret prayer secret devotional reading of the word therefore the true child of God fears the decline of the private means of grace as much as the hypocrite fears outward disgrace you see the hypocrite who wants to be recognized as a Christian by others the only thing he fears is that he'll do something that will let people see him for what he is therefore he's careful to guard his outward life he'll not go into immorality he's careful not to go into open apostasy and denial of the faith but a true Christian fears the loss of vital

34:43 communion with God as much as the hypocrite fears the loss of his reputation what do you fear this morning what do you fear that's what happened to Bunyan's Christian I can't recount referring to him because it's all there so beautifully stated he slept a little too long in the hill difficulty on the way up he found a nice little place and when he got going the next day he said uh oh I've lost my role he lost his assurance his vital sense of the presence of God and what did he do did he say oh well since I'm really on the road I'm going to make it to the celestial city no no it said he went back three days and nights weeping till he found his role and when he found it he clutched it to his bosom why he came back to the place of conscious realization of his acceptance with God and he wasn't unsaved when he didn't have his role but he had no inward delight in the salvation of God well so much for the private means may I touch just briefly upon the public means I've been impressed in the past perhaps six months as never before that God has ordained that spiritual life be developed cultivated and aided in community not in isolation in fact I think I've come as far as to say that the Bible nowhere recognizes any such thing as a non-churched

Public Means of Perseverance: Corporate Worship and Exhortation

36:11 Christian I challenge you anyone to read through the New Testament and find a non-churched Christian by that I mean someone who is called a believer who is not vitally involved in the fellowship and worship of a local assembly all the church all the letters all the epistles are written not to individuals for the most part but to churches and wherever they're written to individuals like the pastoral epistles they're full of instruction to these men Timothy and Titus as to how they should direct churches God has ordained that spiritual life should be developed in community again I refer to Pilgrim's Progress how often do you find Christian alone in some of his deepest conflicts he's alone but for the most part he's got companions on the road and when one gets killed the Lord sees to it that another one comes along he's traveling on that way with others what does Paul say flee also youthful lust call on them but follow after righteousness faith godliness with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart and so the saints of God persevere because they seriously use the means for their perseverance private means yes but public means the corporate life of the people of God well what are those things and how do they aid or assist may I suggest just several briefly this morning I cannot develop them I trust you'll give some further thought to

37:38 them there is the matter of the corporate worship of the people of God the people of God how does this help us to persevere well you see we live in a world of sense and of time you and I move in the work a day world you students you fellows and girls at school you're moving with people whose whole portion and interest is temporal this world the now generation and what happens well let's liken it this way after a Lord's day when your heart has been full of the reality of spiritual things you've tasted of that eternal soul you've tasted of Sabbath when you'll gaze upon his face with no veil of sin or sense between and you'll see him and be like him and your eyes are there fixed upon eternal things your feet are still here your feet have got to be here till the Lord puts your feet where your eyes are and where your heart is on Monday as you move amongst people even though you may be reading the word you're standing alone and maybe your sight comes down a little bit more Tuesday down a little bit more maybe Wednesday you come to prayer meeting gets pushed up a little bit more Thursday Friday till sometimes by Saturday you feel that your eyes are where your feet are right down here in earth's mud and you say oh for the Lord's day to come again quickly when as I get together with the people of God and we worship the unseen God when we praise the God whom we cannot see my eyes are once again lifted upward

39:07 and spiritual things come into sharp focus again changing the analogy we can use the focus on a camera you know what it's like for a thing to be just an eighth of an inch of a turn out of focus you could watch the film or the slides and it wouldn't hurt you you know what it's like for it to be about a quarter of a turn to be a whole turn when you see God has ordained that as we meet with others their worshiping voices and worshiping hearts should bring the focus right around till it's sharp and clear again and we gaze upon things eternal that's why a true saint who's persevering he fears to be absent from the worship of God's people not because it's part of a legalistic requirement but because he knows that he dare not rob himself of the benefit of corporate worship the corporate hearing of the voice of God then I want you to turn briefly to a passage in Hebrews 3 the corporate exhortation of the people of God for this is couched in a perseverance passage and I want to look at it have you look at it with me and get it through the eye gate as well as the ear gate Hebrews chapter 3 Hebrews chapter 3 now notice carefully verses 12 and 13 take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God that's a warning against apostasy

40:34 take heed brethren the possibility is there that some of you may depart from the living God now how are we to counteract that but exhort one another daily while it is called today lest any of you be heartless and hardened through the deceitfulness of sin for we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end one of the strongest verses on the necessity of perseverance we must hold the beginning of the confidence steadfast to the end well what will keep us from that the deceitful process of sin hardening the heart blinding the eyes now what's going to keep us back that deceitful process of sin here's what it is exhorting one another lest being hardened you depart and departing you have no interest in the promise there's the connection so why do the saints of God fear lest they should miss the exhortation of the preached word and the mutual exhortation of the saints of God because they know they must persevere and they don't want to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin they know they must hold the beginning of the confidence steadfast to the end so they welcome the corporate exhortation of the people of God because the individual involved is not here I'll feel free to use this as an illustration one

42:02 of the young ladies from the hospital came to me last Sunday and said you know pastor I was invited to go somewhere else today they're having a special affair for international students but she said I told them I'm not going to go I fear to go because I desperately need a word from God today and I believe God is going to do it and I believe God is going to do it to me and I'm so glad I came because I've heard from God in the area of my need she's not even six weeks old at least in a fresh experience of the Lord if not having just been born again and she knows more than some of you people who professed to have walked with God for 15 or 20 years to be absent she failed to hear a word that would spur her on in the Christian ways oh may God give us that kind of regard not because I keep attendance and I'm embarrassed to tell people we were down five this week I don't keep attendance because I fear when some of you seem to be so apparently unaware of the danger to your soul when you for one reason or another will absent yourself from the stated assembly of the people of God you jeopardize your soul and expose yourself to the hardening process of sin and of course there's the ministry of mutual confession confess your sins one to another

43:28 pray all the time and pray all the time get a good relationship with one another we had a wonderful illustration of that just this morning in between services one of the brethren complaining it's such a battle such a battle I asked one of the other well how about you you said I got a battle to it how about you I've got a battle too and we were strengthened just confessing our sins long to another and we're encouraged to press up the hill difficulty because somebody else is getting a few scrapes in his knees we don't feel so bad if we got a few bumps and bruises and we encourage one another when we're Then there's the effect of discipline, all of these things, communing together the other means of grace. I can't go into them, I want to close.

Fear Declension and Add to Your Faith

44:10 If a true saint knows he must persevere, and if a true saint is convinced that these means are necessary for his perseverance, then he will seriously involve himself in those means. He will fear to relinquish those means, and now listen carefully, he'll cry to God that those means will be a means of grace, and not an empty form. I've said on other occasions, and I think it bears repeating, I think it would be embarrassing if I were to ask a show of hands this morning, how many of you spent at least just five minutes, not ten, twenty, a half an hour, just five minutes, that's all, five minutes, alone with God before you came this morning, and praying, O God, prepare my heart, that the preaching of the word today will be a means of grace, that worshipping with your people will be a means of grace, clear away the cobwebs of time and of sense, make bright and real eternal issues, O God, don't let me go through a Lord's day without seeing your face. I think it would be embarrassing to see how many of us have really just come to church.

45:23 May God stir us up. I say this not to disturb you for disturbance sake, but that we together might persevere. In the ways of God. My last word of exhortation, fear, declension in the private or public means of grace, apostasy begins in this neglect in the private, which then begins to evidence itself in neglect of the public, until finally you do not find people anymore amongst the people of God, or even professing the name of God.

45:58 The only safe course for the saints, is to keep on, and adding to their faith as Peter says in 2 Peter 1, add to your faith virtue into virtue, knowledge into knowledge, temperance into temperance, self-control into self-control, brotherly love and all of these things. He says, if you do these things, you shall not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and Jesus, Savior Jesus Christ. So there shall be given unto you an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom. You say, where's the line between the saints who simply in a dry spell and one who's apostatizing?

46:31 I don't know. And I don't want to. I don't want to find it. Do you?

46:34 So the only safe thing is add to your faith by the grace of God. The Lord willing, we'll conclude this series on perseverance in our study of the scriptures tonight. Well, I've chosen a closing hymn that was very appropriate, but we'll leave that for this evening in the light of the time, and just bow together in prayer. Let us pray.