Psalm 103:10-13

That Door is Closed

If I had died as a child, I would be assured of a place in glory; but, THAT DOOR IS CLOSED. I am an adult. If I had been holy in birth and perfect in life, I would reign with Christ; but, I was born in sin and even my righteousnesses are filthy rags, so THAT DOOR IS CLOSED.

What shall I do? Is there no door open to such as I? Yes, there is ONE! Christ said, “I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture” (John. 10:9). Am I such a fool that I will turn from that one, God-given door, and perish? God forbid! Pastor Henry T. Mahan (bulletin 1988)

PRESERVATION OR PERSEVERANCE?

There has been some discussion among Calvinists whether the letter “P” in the acronym “TULIP” should be “preservation” or “persevering.” Some say that the word “persevering” leads folks to think that salvation is something that the sinner does. It is! “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. (Matthew 24:13) The only reason a child of God “perseveres” is because God Almighty preserves them. “The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord.” (Psalm 37:39)

In 1 Peter 1:5, the apostle speaking of God’s elect wrote, “Who are kept by the power of God.” That’s preservation! But the next two words of the text read, “through faith.” That is persevering! God preserves and keeps us by His power, but it is through faith that we persevere unto salvation.

In Jeremiah chapter 32:40, God says, “And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good…” That is preservation. But the next line says, “But I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” And that is persevering.

In John chapter 10 the Lord Jesus, our great Shepherd made several statements about preservation and persevering. He said, “I know my sheep,” that is preservation. “They follow me,” and that is persevering. Christ said, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” That is preservation. “A stranger they will not follow.” That is persevering.

Our Lord Jesus said in John chapter 6, verse 37, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; (Preservation) and him that cometh to me (Persevering) I will in no wise cast out. (Preservation and persevering)

So, it really doesn’t matter to God’s people whether you use the word “preservation” or “perseverance.” For unless God preserves us, we will never persevere! Pastor David Eddmenson

To Him That Overcometh

In the letters to the 7 churches in Revelation chapters two and three the Lord gives us some exceeding great and precious promises for us to enjoy right now and to enjoy for eternity (2 Peter 1:4).

Rev. 2:7; “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Rev. 2:11; “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev. 2: 17; “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Rev. 2:26-28; “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star.

Rev. 3:5; “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev. 3:12; “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Rev. 3:21; “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”

How do we overcome the power of the devil and the evil of our sin against God; only by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Rev. 12:11; “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

How do we overcome the evil of our sinfulness and unbelief in this life? By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; 1 John 5:4-5; “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?