The Race Set Before Us--MMEBS 1

8/14/2019 The Race Set Before Us--MMEBS 1

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The Race Set BeforeUs



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Why The Race Set Before Us?

Our Christian faith must be grounded inScripture.

No recent accessible exegetical-expositorybook on Christian perseverance & assurance.

The need for an urgent pastoral appeal topersevere in faithfulness to Jesus Christ.

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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 1. With conditional promises the gospel calls us to

receive salvation in Christ. “If you believe, then you will be saved.”

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—youand your household” (Acts 16:31).

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eatfrom the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”(Rev. 2:7).

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saysto the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt

at all by the second death” (Rev. 2:11). “If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white

robes, and I will never blot your name out of the bookof life, but I will confess his name before my Father

and before his angels” (Rev. 3:5).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 2. Divine promises to preserve his people safe unto

salvation in the Last Day. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in

me will live, even though he dies; and whoever livesand believes in me will never die. Do you believethis?” (John 11:25-26).

“My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and theyfollow me. I give them eternal life, and they will neverperish. No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John10:27-28).

“Indeed, just as the Father raises the dead and givesthem life, so also the Son gives life to whomever hewishes. . . . Very truly, I tell you, anyone who hearsmy word and believes in him who sent me has eternallife, and does not come under judgment, but has

passed from death to life” (John 5:21, 24).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 3. The gospel admonishes and warns us to persevere in

faithfulness to Christ in order to be saved. “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this

book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to himthe plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes wordsaway from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him

his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which aredescribed in this book” (Rev. 22:18-19).

“For if we willfully persist in sin after having received theknowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice forsins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire thatwill consume the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reapwhatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reapcorruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you willreap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary indoing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do

not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 4. The gospel announces the necessity to persevere in

faithfulness to Christ because they will face opposition. “We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that

suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us,because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the

Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:3-5). “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will

be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12).

“Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house orbrothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields,

for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who willnot receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses,brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, withpersecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark10:29-30).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 5. The gospel calls upon us to examine ourselves to see

whether our behavior corresponds to what the gospelrequires of all who believe. “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his

commands. The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does notdo what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly madecomplete in him. This is how we know we are in him” (1 John 2:3-6).

“Those who have been born of God do not sin, becauseGod’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they

have been born of God. The children of God and thechildren of the devil are revealed in this way: all who donot do what is right are not from God, nor are those whodo not love their brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:9-10).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 6. The gospel makes it clear that anyone who fails to

remain faithful to Jesus Christ was never an authenticbeliever. “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard

that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichristshave come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They

went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. Forif they had belonged to us, they would have remained withus; but their going showed that none of them belonged tous” (1 John 2:18-19).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 7. The gospel clarifies that everyone who does

persevere in faithfulness to Jesus Christ does so onlybecause God is doing a work of grace in them. It is Godwho enables them and causes them to desire and to dowhat he desires. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men

loved darkness instead of light because their deeds wereevil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will notcome into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, sothat it may be seen plainly that what he has done has

been done through God” (John 3:19-21). “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—

not only in my presence, but now much more in myabsence—continue to work out your salvation with fearand trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to

act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).



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Eight Kinds of Biblical Passages 8. The gospel explains that everyone who believes in

Christ Jesus and perseveres in faithfulness to him doesso because of God’s grace alone. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not byworks, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s

workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared for in advance for us to do”(Ephesians 2:9-10).

“We know that all things work together for good for thosewho love God, who are called according to his purpose. 29

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to beconformed to the image of his Son, in order that he mightbe the firstborn within a large family. And those whom hepredestined he also called; and those whom he called healso justified; and those whom he justified he also

glorified” (Romans 8:28-30).



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AnOverview of

the Book



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1. The Race Set Before Us: What Is There to Win or Lose?

2. The Prize to Be Won: Our Present & Future Salvation

3. The Race to Be Run: The Necessity of Obedient Faith

4. Running to Win the Prize: Heeding God's Admonitions &Warnings

5. Reflecting on Fallen Runners: Who Are Those Who HaveFallen Out of the Race?

6. Drawing on God's Grace: Going the Distance by God'sPower

7. Running with Confidence: Being Assured That We ShallWin the Prize

8. Running by Divine Appointment: Who Are Those Who

Run to the End & Win?



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Preview of

Chapter 1

The Race Set Before Us:

What Is There to Win orLose?



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Loss of Salvation View.Loss of Salvation View. Loss of Rewards View.Loss of Rewards View.

Tests of Genuineness View. Tests of Genuineness View.

Hypothetical Loss of SalvationHypothetical Loss of Salvation

ViewView

Four Views on

Warnings &Assurance

w ro ng



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Loss of Salvation View.Loss of Salvation View.

Loss of Rewards View.Loss of Rewards View. Tests of Genuineness View. Tests of Genuineness View.

Hypothetical Loss of SalvationHypothetical Loss of SalvationViewView

God’s Means of Salvation View.God’s Means of Salvation View.

Five Views on

Warnings &Assurance



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Hypothetical Loss of Salvation View of Warnings & Admonitions

The Prize is

salvation,

eternal Life

Warnings &admonitions

only cautionwhat would

happen if onecould fail to

endure to theend.

The race track represents salvation. One who is already saved cannot abandon the race.

AlreadySaved



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Loss of Salvation Means of Salvation

Tests of GenuinenessLoss of Rewards

A l l b e l i e v e r s

w i l l p e r s e v e r e i n

f a i t h f u l n e s s

t o

C h r i s t

N o t a l l b e l i e v e r s w i l l p e r s e v e r e

i n f a i t h f u l n e s

s t o C h r i s t

Retrospective view of Salvation

Salvation already

Salvation already but not yet

Prospective view of Salvation

Assurance is not of theessence of faith. Presentassurance is possible butonly as good as one’sperseverance

Assurance is of theessence of faith. Presentassurance of finalsalvation, but not apartfrom perseverance

G o o d

w o r k s

a r e n

e c e s s a r y f o

r f i n a l s

a l v a t i

o nG o o d w o r k s a r e n e c e s s a r y f o r f i n a l s a l v a t i o n

G o o d w o r k s a r e n e c e s s a r y o n l y a s e v i d e n c e o f s a l v a t i o n G o o

d w o r k

s h a v e

n o n e c e s s a r y

r e l a t

i o n s h i

p t o s

a l v a t i

o n

W a r n i

n g s & A d m o n

i t i o n s

a r e P r o s p

e c t i v e

W a r n i

n g s & A d

m o n i t

i o n s a r e P

r o s p e c

t i v e

W a r n i n

g s & A d m o n i t i o n s a r e P r o s p e c t i v e

W a r n i n g s & A d m o n i t i o n s

a r e R e t r o s p e c t i v e

Assurance is not of theessence of faith. Presentassurance is possible butonly as good as one’sperseverance

Assurance is of theessence of faith. Presentassurance is final andabsolute certainty, withoutany relation to one’sperseverance.



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The Race Set Before Us--MMEBS 1

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