The Daily Word of Righteousness

Death and Resurrection, continued

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34)

Each day a portion of evil confronts us in the form of lust, unforgiveness, rage, doubt, fear, discouragement, drunkenness, sorcery, or some other aspect of spiritual darkness and death.

Each day we choose either to call upon the Lord to help us put down the evil and live in His eternal Life, in His body and blood, or else to yield to the invitation to dwell in the darkness of sin.

If we choose to live in Christ's eternal Life, a portion of our adamic personality dies and is replaced with eternal life.

If we choose to yield to the invitation to continue in sin and rebellion against the righteous ways of the Lord, no change occurs in our sin nature and the eternal life we received in the beginning is weakened.

It is entirely possible to lose the eternal life given when we received Christ. It is entirely possible to slay our own resurrection unto life.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. (Luke 8:13,14)

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:2)

"Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away."

Well-intentioned teachers make plays on words and draw analogies to "prove" that once we have eternal life we cannot lose it. The Scripture clearly states otherwise.

Eternal life is not a legal state or an intangible we cannot perceive. The mature Christian will know of people who began in the way of righteousness and then drew back into the pleasures of the world. The difference in their personality is noticeable. The glow of the Lord has departed. The "oil" has gone from their lamp. Eternal life has slipped away. That which would have raised them at the appearing of Jesus has departed. By choosing sin they have died spiritually.

Today's teaching that we cannot lose our eternal life by sinning is a deadly error, a destructive teaching. As we have said, the blind are leading the blind and they both are in the ditch of spiritual death.

The Word states "the end of those things is death."

Are we to claim that these words are addressed to the unsaved? Is it not indisputably clear that the Apostle Paul is warning believers that if they choose to be servants of sin they will die spiritually?

For if ye live in the appetites of the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)

"If ye [believers] live in the appetites of the flesh, ye shall die [spiritually]."

"Ye shall die"!

To be continued.