Which Side of the Cross - Lesson 2
Courtney Hemenway · Jan 22, 2017
Which Side of the Cross, No. 03
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926546182259

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Alright, we are going to do Lesson 2. I'll begin with Question 1, so hopefully you have all of the questions. Do you have questions over here you guys? So, Lesson 2, and this is for which side of the cross you live on, Sunday School. So, Question 1. What was the result or penalty of Adam's sin and fall? So, first look at what happened to Adam personally, and then in the next question we'll explore kind of more what the ramifications of that. So, I guess we'll start out. First, were there laws in the Garden of Eden?

Yeah, there was one. We have none and one. One. There was one. And so, what did Adam do to sin? He listened to his wife. I'm not going to touch that one. I'm not going there at all. You can get in trouble in a hurry that way. So, well, but ultimately, what did Adam do to sin?

Ate the fruit. Ate the fruit. The fruit of what? Of the tree of life. No, that's the one you want to be in. It's the tree of life. The one good and evil. So, there was one law and he broke it. So, if we look at Genesis 2.16, from any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." So this was the only law that existed when Adam was in the Garden of Eden fellowshipping with God and that was the only thing he said not to do. So, what did he do? He ate of that tree.

I go back to, you can see the sin nature Exactly. There's one law. Don't eat of the tree. So what's the first thing you do? Eat of the tree. We see that same sin nature. How many times? Wet paint. Don't touch. What's your first reaction? Is it really wet? Is it really wet? Exact same response.

There's one thing, you have a law, and I'm going to break it. So I had one lot and it was, don't eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So, he wasn't able to keep that. Now the question is, would you have been able to resist eating from the tree?

No. And if so, what? No? And why? Why would you do the same thing? Maybe I had a sin nature. Well, assuming your same condition as Adam, in innocence, why would you do it? I was told not to. Well, told not to, but... Because we're the same. We're exactly the same. We're cut from the same cloth. We would do the exact same thing because we are, and this is getting to our principle of like reproduces like, We're the exact same way. It would only have been a matter of time before we would have done the same thing. Because we are the same. We are the same as Adam. And so, no matter how pious you think you are, or how strong you think you are, you would have done the exact same thing. It would only have been a matter of time.

So, Adam sins. What happened to him? Did he go poof, disappear? What happened to Adam when he sinned? He hid from God. He hid from God. But what happened to him personally? Well, I should say, why did he hide? Because then he knew what sin is. I don't know. Okay. Why did he hide? He was separated sometimes. He suddenly knew sin and he knew he'd done something wrong. He's hiding from him.

God wasn't hiding from Adam. Adam was hiding from God. So, Adam, by sinning, died positionally to God. So, at that point he sinned, he died, culminating in the total death or separation of his spirit, soul, and body. So at that point, he was separated. It was different. Up until that point, he was walking in the cool of the morning and fellowshipping with God, and now he's suddenly hiding from Him. Something changed. He'd been separated.

Actually, it was one of those things, just rabbit trail for 30 seconds. I always go back to one of the things. Why is it when God, he's walking the fellowship, you know, cool morning fellowshipping, walking with God, talking with God, and then suddenly God says, it's not good for you to be alone. Did anyone ever wonder why that?

He's with God. He's walking with God. Why was it that he needed a partner? You have a question? Maybe it's my engineering crazy brain. Ever wonder why that happened? I mean, what more could you want than to be walking in fellowship with God? Anybody have that weird feeling? No? Just me?

See, the thing is, at that point, he was creator and creation. They're on two different levels. Think of what we have now in Christ. We're in Christ. Our life is His life. We are now on a different level than what they were in the garden. That make sense? See, we have a different relationship in Christ now than Adam had with us. Adam was God the creator and creation. Now we are placed in the Christ, where is our position? Seated in the heavenlies? In Christ? Is that a different relationship than what Adam had? totally different. So now we don't need anything else or a partner or whatever. We have Christ. We have that relationship that's on a level without deity. We have that same relationship.

Anyway, this is one of those strange things that I always wondered. Yeah, God, what more did you need? Why did you need a partner? Well, because he needed somebody on his own level. to talk and fellowship with. Now we have that relationship in Christ. Anyway, rabbit trail.

Therefore his position became manifested in his condition when he sinned. He began to die experientially and it took 930 years to finally have the death of Adam. But that process began the moment he sinned. Was there death before the sin? No. So this changed everything. Now there was death, there was separation. There's death physically now and death spiritually. So everything changed. The relationship, everything changed. Now it was separated.

Adam became flesh in body and soul and spirit. Therefore the race following after Adam is also flesh. And this goes to the like produces like. So Adam was flesh, we are flesh because we are offspring from him. So it is not the natural man has flesh or is in the condition of flesh, he is flesh. And so if you look at John 3, 6 it said, this backs this up, that we are now flesh. John 3, 6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. So, we're now flesh. And flesh reproduces flesh. So that's why from Adam to us is through flesh. Okay?

So now, If we take that again, this is, bear with us a lot on this beginning part of this class. We're trying to really instill the importance of like reproduces like. That's a bad thing and an extremely good thing and we'll find out. The bad thing is because what Adam did is now through the like reproduces like, that means at conception we are sinners. We have a sin nature. So, like produces like.

Well, the good part is, we'll look at when we have Christ and what that means. So, question two. Why are all men condemned? So, as the head of the human race, he took all of humanity into the position of death. So, do you understand why we're condemned? from birth.

I think Mike always uses the example. I wouldn't do it because I have kids in the class. But I'll use Mike. Mike, you know, says when John was born, you know, she thought he was perfect. within about 15 minutes of crying and changing diapers and as you grow up, all the things, you realize that there is a sin nature in your wonderfully perfect children, which also realize you have the same thing. So again, we're all condemned because we're following after Adam. Did we have a choice in this? Did you have a choice? No. No. Because Adam sinned, we have that sin nature. So, he's given a few verses here.

1 Corinthians 15, 22. For as in Adam, all die. So, like produces like. So, we're an Adam, he died, we die. We were separated at birth, spiritually, and then physically we will die. Same thing with Adam. I always put the spoiler alert. There are three or four times in here where I'll give you the spoiler alert. So like produces like. Adam, flesh after flesh, we have that sin nature because of him so we all die. The spoiler alert is the second half of 1 Corinthians 15, 22.

So also in Christ all will be made alive. So that same principle of like reproduces like is in Christ. And that's a wonderful thing. Atmos part is where we're condemned and dying and separation and all those things. But we have that same reproduction or the same like produces like. Spirit reproduces spirit. The life that we have is in Christ. So that same principle is a very good thing when we talk about our relationship with Christ.

So also looking at Ephesians 2.3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." So, we're by nature children of wrath. And why is that? Why are we by nature children of wrath? Because of what Adam did. We didn't have a choice. By nature, we are children of wrath.

Good? Alright. So, I guess the question I had here is, so why are we condemned at conception? Right? From conception on, we're condemned. And that's because of this trail of, through the flesh, from Adam on, we have that sin nature. So it isn't that at minute of conception we are a sinner. That life has a sin, sin nature. So it doesn't matter when you're born, it's not like we learn how to sin.

Mike brings that up a lot too. Did John need to go to sinning academy to learn how to sin? Don't put it all on John. Did I need to learn how to go to sin school? Before kindergarten I went to sin school and figured out how to sin. Now, I had a sin nature the minute I was conceived.

So, and then the last one is Romans 5.12. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Again, this is no question about we have a sin nature. No matter how good you are, no matter how philanthropic you are, no matter how many times you walked a little old lady across the street, or how you work for Habitat for Humanity, or how much you give, or anything, you have a sin nature. You've sinned. So, pretty bleak. What options do you have? You're a sinner. You're separated from God. You're dying. You will die. Not really good. So I said the spoiler alert again. Romans 5, 18 and 19.

So that is through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men. That's our sin passed through Adam. Even so, through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, Adam's line, even so through the obedience of the one, Christ, the many will be made righteous.

So again, the same concept of reproduction, like reproduces like. As much as that drags us into the sin nature and the sin side, we have the glorious side of being after Christ. We have that same life reproduced in us. So, as much as the like reproduces like can be dragging us down, it can be very, on the Christ life side, it's a wonderful thing.

Really trying to just get around the fact that how we got a sin nature and how we have life through Christ and a different nature through that lineage. Alright, so now this is kind of an interesting one, question three. I'm curious about the answers. Just what do you mean when we say a person is saved? What does that mean? What do you say when a... What do you mean when a person is saved?

Nobody knows what that means. Because you're no longer separated. No longer separated. Okay. What else? Saved from the penalty of sin and death. Saved from the penalty of sin and death. Right. What else? When we die with Christ and we're raised. And she did it. Very good. That's getting to lots of the foundational, beyond even the spiritual birth truths, we're getting beyond the substitutionary, what we have at Christ's crucifixion. So, saved means free from the penalty. What did you have? No longer separated. No longer separated. What else?

I like John 3.36, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. So, when we're saved we don't have God's wrath on us anymore for our unbelief. Penalty removed and eternal life. So, freed from the penalty of sin and now I have eternal life.

So, I looked up Ephesians 2.8 For by grace you have been saved, so same terminology, through faith, which I think is the important part, the process, which is through faith. That not of yourself, it is the gift of God. So, I asked, what is the gift of God? You're saved, so that's it. And that not of yourself, it is the gift of God.

What is the gift? All our sins are erased. Penalty? Penalty paid for. And his gift is grace. Through the operating system we now live in. New life. I'll say the word and you fill in. We'll just keep going down, yeah. So, Inger touched a little bit on it too. It's life. Eternal life.

And you see that in Romans 6, 23. For the wages of sin is death, So that was Adam. Sin created death or separation. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. So the gift is eternal life. The gift now, when somebody is saved, is life. Eternal life in Christ. Completely different picture than being an Adam. In Adam, there's death, separation, sin, penalty, all the different things. Once you are saved, you now are in a different whole lineage, a different life. We have eternal life in Christ now. That's the gift. The free gift is eternal life in Christ. So it's a life.

I also looked at John 3.16, obviously very familiar. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. That's the gift again, eternal life. So salvation is eternal life in Christ as opposed to death or separation from God and our sins. Again, I think the key is, the gift is life, an eternal life. And I kind of always want to put an asterisk on this a little bit.

What happens to people who don't accept or are saved? What happens to them when they die? Somebody who doesn't know Christ, hasn't been saved, what happens to them? Poof. I don't want to say they'd go to hell. What? Eternal. It's eternal. And I kind of think they will go on but under eternal separation and condemnation. They'll go on but under condemnation and eternal separation. We have eternal life, but it's in Christ.

We're positionally right now, right now, positionally, as God sees us, seated next to God in Christ, Colossians 3.3, or in Ephesians, seated in the heavenlies. That's how God sees us right now. But for those who don't know Christ and who die, Do they have a life? Eternal life? Yeah. But it's separated from God. Condemnation. Forever. Eternally.

Do you know how important it is for our salvation? This isn't just a bad week. This is eternally separated from God or eternally in Christ with His life. The importance of salvation is critical. You know, this life is like a poof, a twinkling of an eye compared to eternity. So, whatever decision of salvation is, is taking this little poof of time of life to either have eternal condemnation and separation or eternal life in Christ, fellowshipping with him for eternity. Salvation is important in this life.

I also, a little spoiler alert, the 2 Corinthians 5.17, which is one of my favorite ones, too. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ saved, he is a new creature.

The old things passed away. Behold, new things have come. So, this leads to Mike's famous troubling question that it took me a while to figure out. It kind of took me aback at first. Are there such things as saved sinners? Well, we're still sinners. Why? So we're saved. A saved sinner. So you're saved. Are you a saved sinner?

From his perspective. Terminology. Well. Name one perspective. From God's perspective. From God's perspective, can there be a saved sinner? It's somewhat of a trick question in semantics, but it takes you a while to figure this out. Can you be a saved sinner? No. Brave woman, brave woman. And the infamous question is, why? She flipped and she got there. God does not see us as sinners.

I just read that verse, 2 Corinthians 5.17.

What happens when you are saved? Your history is no longer yours but Christ's. Yeah, you're a new creature. Brand new. So, what a lot of people, and the misconception is, and this takes, you know, you see this on church, you know, boards outside, you know, save sinners, welcome, you know, this, that, or whatever.

And it took me a while to figure, you know, Mike and I got into discussions about all this, but it's really, can you, once you're saved, are you a sinner? I mean, from God's perspective, positionally. No, you're a new creature in Christ, totally new, new in time, new in quality, everything's different. You still, when we're here, we still have a sin nature, that we drag along, but when we pass into eternity, will we have that same nature? No, that's gone. So we have life in Christ, a brand new life in Christ.

The problem with the save sinner aspect is why we go through the identification truths. It's about the co-crucifixion and how we go from the lineage of Adam to the lineage of Christ. It's a key thing. There are so many people who think that once I'm saved, I am now, because I have been saved, I can now, in Adam, be a better person, follow the law, I can do things righteously now, just because I'm a saved sinner. Our whole thing in identification, when I learned the identification truths, completely changed things. It is not now that I have been saved I can now empower the old Adam to be a better person and to do the things that are pleasing to God or any of those things.

That is the problem with a lot of believers and teaching. That is not what happens. You're not a saved sinner. You're not the same sinner. Can I step into eternity as a sinner? and be before God? Stand with Him, right next to Him, as a sinner? No, you can't.

So there had to be something that changed for us to be seated next to God, Colossians 3.3, there had to be some change because I can't be a sinner and sit right next to God in Christ. There had to be a change. Well, that's the whole crux of the identification is our co-crucifixion getting us out of the lineage of Adam and putting us into the lineage or headship of Christ. So we're totally new.

2 Corinthians 5.17 tells us we're new in kind, new in quality, totally different. We're not a refurbished Adam. I'm empowered at them. We are a new creature in Christ. That's how we move in the Life Produces Life. We get out of that lineage and that reproduction pattern into the lineage of Christ. So that we're not saved sinners. We're new creatures in Christ. So it's an important thing, especially as you get to try and grow in Christ. I use my own personal aspects. elder and all sorts of things and brethren, which is a lot of these truths that we speak of come from the brethren.

I never knew that. I was always trying a different program. I've said this many times, a flat forehead from hitting a wall so many times because the latest program didn't work. So you try the next program that's the thing that God really wants and you try and get better by all these programs. the prayer of Jabez, the porpoise-driven life, all these different things, they don't work because you're trying to improve the old Adam. And that doesn't work. And so many people don't grow because they're trying to improve the old Adam. If you're trying to improve the old Adam, you're on a dead-end street. Now, it's to know Christ. That's in our conforming to Christ. It's getting the mind of Christ. That's where the renewing and the growth comes as we realize who we are in Christ. And as we study who Christ is through the Word, that's who we are.

That's where the growth is, not by trying to fix up the old atom. So it's a real critical thing to understand when Mike puts that question out, or save sinners, to understand what the identification truths are really, why they're important. After realizing it, I think there is very little growth that can happen until you understand the identification truths, because you're always trying to fix up the old Adam. The thing is, when we get to the identification truths, Romans 6, the bulk of them is, what was God's solution to Adam, or to us in Adam?

Crucifixion. Death. Separate. Get out of there. And once you start understanding, that was the best thing to ever happen. Is co-crucifixion with Christ, we're out of Adam, all that is in God's positional truth of us, it's now, is gone. That's the best thing. So, a lot of people are still trying to make Adam better. Well, what was God's solution? Get him out of here. So why are we trying to improve that when God's solution was crucifying? We got a better plan than God? I don't think so.

Important to understand as we get into identification truths why this is important. Question four. What are the so-called birth truths? We have a lot of verses to look up, but before that What do or what does birth trues mean? We're going to get versed but we don't know what it is. What is birth trues?

As opposed to growth trues? How we're saved. How we're saved. Okay. Maybe more positional versus conditional. Okay. In a way, yeah. Other thoughts? Birth Truths. We use that a lot. Birth Truths and Growth Truths. Get your thoughts before I paint your minds with my answers. Any other thoughts? Birth Truths. What do you have to be? I was just looking. You have to be born again. Now that's not something that...

I mean, Jesus tried to explain that Who is that that came in the middle of the night? Nicodemus. Nicodemus. Yeah, Nicodemus. And we'll touch on some of those verses actually. Yeah. So, work throughs, salvation, positionally. Basically, the Birth Truths are initial truths that give us an understanding of the substitutionary truths of Christ's death as payment for our sins and a rebirth. The foundation of the Birth Truths are laid out in Romans 1-5. Basically, if you read 1-5, Do you get a sense that you could do it on your own, that you're a swell person, that you are a great person, can make it into heaven, you can have a relationship with God forever, if you read Romans 1-5? No. If you read Romans 1-5, you pretty much get the idea that God was right by crucifying us on the cross.

There's nothing good about us. And what this lays out is the substitutionary part. Who paid for the penalty of sin? Who paid for that? Christ. Substitutionary. We should have taken those the penalty of that, but we have a substitutionary person, Christ, who took all the sins, that's the thing, for all the world, all the time, forever, took all sins upon Him, and took them upon the cross, and paid for those. So as we say, he's probably moved now, the guy in the White House next door, somebody we've got to meet him, the guy next door, even though he doesn't accept Christ, or if he's not saved, were his sins paid for? Yes.

He just didn't accept, as we said, the free gift of God. He didn't accept the gift that was free. He didn't accept it. So, the consequences are when he dies, he is still attached to the flesh and all the penalty and the condemnation. even though it was free to him, he did not receive it. That's assuming he's not a believer.

So, we'll look at some of the verses regarding birth-throughs. I have John 3, 3-6. Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? He can't enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he? Jesus answered and said, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit is spirit. Again, you see the like reproduces like, flesh to flesh, spirit to spirit. So, again, the like begets like. So, we must be born again. So how do we get born again? Well, what is the water? There are several different things that commentators have put on that. some rather strange some You know what one come here.

I looked and said it's like the amniotic fluid on a birth Yeah, you know and then a couple different ones two of them that really I think the water is the Holy Spirit or the word and and you can look up Ephesians 5.26 and John 15.3 and those are talking about washing of the Word by the Word and then Titus 3.5-6 which I can say He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy by the washing of the regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. So it's either washing of the Word or the Holy Spirit. Those are the two general associations with water. So the Word or the Holy Spirit.

I had that same question when I looked this verse up. I wanted to make sure. I thought, yeah, what is the wash? Like I said, several commentators had a bunch of different things, but those are the primary ones I think are matched up by scripture. It's the word of our Holy Spirit is the washing, or the water. I have another question.

With my sister, when she was very sick, and we were talking on the phone, and I said, I just want you to You know, I wanted my Baptist. Whatever. I was going to save her no matter what. And I said, just repeat the words that I say. And she said, I already believe. And I said, well, I know you do, but I'd like, you know, just for me. So does that count? Good two points.

You know, it's not up to you, it's not up to me, it's up to that, and we'll never know. I can only speak for myself. I can never say whether you're a believer, you're a believer, nobody is a believer, because I can only speak for myself. So it's really up to her, if she believed in her heart that that is true, the gospel, Jesus died, buried, resurrected for us, you know, if that, then she's a believer. And again, that's the thing, the simple faith, and Mike and I got into this early on, and I think about the simple faith. I believe there are billions of Christians who are there that have, through the simple faith, the simple gospel are there.

Now, what we're teaching in the identification, I think, is important for the growth. And that's where, you know, I think there are billions that are still in the nursery, still working on milk and they're not growing. And the growth comes from the understanding of the identification where our co-crucifixion and our identification with Christ. Once you understand that, that's a whole different pattern of growth. than being stuck trying, as I said, trying to fix yourself. Now you're in Christ. Now I have a new life. Now I don't have to worry about it.

We'll get to actually one of the verses that's funny, what Mike had put in as a verse that I used to cling to until I knew the identification was true. So then he, I think he had Ephesians 1, 6, but it should be 7, I believe. In him we have redemption. through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace and then Colossians 3 and 4 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God what a great verse I love that you have died which again how many times I read through this without understanding what the identification what do you mean I died How did I get through all that? How did I read Galatians without understanding the identification through?

Somehow I justified it. But now when you understand the identification or co-crucifixion, Romans 6, you have died. I understand that. And now my life is hidden with Christ in God. What a place to be! In Christ, in God. Is there a safer, better place to be than in Christ, in God? When Christ, who is our life, again, how do you read that? He's now our life. Well, I guess you can say it came into our heart and now He empowers me, but we have a brand new life.

2 Corinthians 5.17. Who is our life is revealed and you also will be revealed with Him in glory. And then the last verse. Ephesians 2, 4-8, but God being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we are dead in our transgressions, and that's the Romans 1-5 explaining who we are and why. made us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved, and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, that it is not of yourself, it is the gift of God, the free gift of God. So again, these are the basic birth truths about Christ paid the penalty and we received the benefit of that. He paid the penalty and now through the simple gospel message we receive the free gift of God. So, those are the basics, the substitutionary aspect. Christ, we needed a Savior, we needed somebody, and somebody who took the penalty of sin for us, and now we have eternal life in Him through the simple Gospel message.

So, that's the birth truths. So, kind of know where that is. The growth truths, I think, happen when we get into the Romans 6. explaining the co-crucifixion and what that means. That's where the growth truths begin. So as I said, I think the birth truths are where millions and billions of Christians are, and then as you understand the growth truth, that's when you really start to understand who we are in Christ, and we're not trying to fix up the old Adam.

Okay, list four things that the word salvation might include. Gift. Other thoughts? Justification. Justification. Okay. Rescue from sin and its penalty. Others? What do you think about salvation? What words? Grace? Well, that's what we're put in now. The reigning principle we live in right now is grace. That's a principle of operation. And in Romans it says we now reign in grace, or grace reigns. So that's the operating system we now operate in is grace. What about deliverance from power of sin? Safety. Soundness. New life. I put in dwelling in the Holy Spirit.

The one that really boggles my mind, 1 Corinthians 2.16, we now have the mind of Christ. That one really boggles my mind. When I'm traveling on the highway and the guy cuts me off and does something, do I have the mind of Christ? Challenging sometimes. When the drill rig their mom blows up or does something, do I have the mind of Christ at that point? Scripture says we have the mind of Christ.

The other thing is, I listed too, if you're not familiar, was Lewis Perry Chaffer's, the 34 things that are true of you at salvation. There are 34 things that he put together that's immediately, instantaneously true of you when you are placed into Christ.

And there's just amazing things. If you want, I can get you a copy of this. We've handed it out several times. But Louis Spirit Shaffer put down 34 things that are immediately true of you the instant you believe. Okay, now we're getting down. We might be able to get this done. So, how many... This is a tough one. This is tough. I think there's going to be numerous answers on this one. How many different ways does God offer for salvation? Oh, come on.

One? Is that fair? Is that fair? One? Are you kidding me? Just one? There's only one tree to fall. Well, now we're talking. There's only one. And this is where I kind of get kind of a little bit of a laugh. Did anybody watch the National Prayer Inaugural Service yesterday? Yes. I just thought, this is rather interesting.

They had multiple faiths there. And it was, you know, I didn't even know what half of them were. There was a guy in a bright red-orange thing with silver painted on his bald head down to here, and speaking in a language I didn't even know. I don't even know what it was. I think they had a little program that said what he was saying, and there was a Muslim guy there, there was Jews there, there were 18 different Christian denominations and I'm thinking of it, they're all sitting there. What are they all thinking when they're sitting there? This was Trump. No politics. What do you think they're all thinking? That they're all saved. Well yeah, but kind of, they may not have saved. Maybe if I hear all these and consider everything that I'll have a higher chance of being saved. Maybe. I guess I have a different thought.

They all think they know it. That's the key. They all think they all think they have the one way. You know, I'm sitting there thinking, and they're sitting there going, oh, that guy's crazy. I have the way. That guy's crazy. I've got the way. You know, they're all very politic and very political and being very nice and all that, but you know they're sitting there going, no, that guy's crazy. You know, he doesn't know. I have the way. I'm whatever. They had, what are they, Sikhs? You know, they had this, they had that, they had everybody. And all I'm thinking is they're thinking they have the only way. We have the way.

And, you know, as you look at how in Scripture and the prophecies that were fulfilled and the history that we have and the historical record that backs up the Bible, I think we have a provable or substantiated path that lays out Christ and what he's done. You look at others and they don't have the historical or the prophetical things that were completed. Thousands of years ahead were told and fulfilled. And you don't see any other religion like that, that has that provable background. It always comes down to faith, no matter what, but we have such a history and such a fulfilled prophecy that substantiate the Scriptures, that I think, I stand comfortable that this is the only way to suit Christ.

So, looking at 1 Timothy 1.15, it's a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. So, He came to save sinners.

Luke 19.10, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, And Acts 4.12, and this is the key one, I think. And there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

So, pretty much... That was Acts what? 4.12. Thank you. Acts 4.12.

And then again, the Ephesians 2.8. For by grace you've been saved through faith. So it always comes down still to faith. That not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. So again, there's one way. And it's through Christ. He was the Savior. So, question 7. And this is one I want to quickly get to. Can one lose one's salvation? Can you lose your salvation? No. Any possible way? No. Okay. Why? Because God said so. That's a great answer, actually. That's a perfect answer. God said so.

There's nowhere that says there's a temporary salvation after Christ. Well, there is no temporary salvation ever in Scripture. And it's funny, Mike had the verse, John 10, 28 through 30. And it says, I give eternal life to them and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. And I and the Father are one.

It's kind of funny, that was the verse, before I knew the identification truths, that was the verse that was my anchor verse. Whenever I doubted my salvation, I ran back to this. This was the anchor. I would go and I said, well, I can't get, I've never perished, I can't get out of his hands. Well, that kind of has the appearance that I'm kind of still, guy in there and I'm in God's hand and I could possibly jump out or I could crawl right to the edge and he still gets me. Or somebody could try and snatch me out of there. And I always had that doubt, you know, that I still kind of, well, yeah.

The identification truths, since the day I understood them, I have never doubted my salvation. Never. Because if we look at what the As we get into Romans 6 and the identification, our co-crucifixion. We have died and been placed into Christ. If you understand that, how do I ever get back to that position of being an Adam? I've died. Now I'm in Christ. Is there a better position to be in?

Colossians 3.3, we're in Christ, in God. I have a new life. I don't have a refurbished old man that could try and get out of God's hand or anything. I am in Christ. Can anybody take me out of Christ and His life? Can't.

I have never doubted my salvation since understanding the co-crucifixion, doing away with my old man, and now I have new life in Christ. Never doubted it one minute since I understood that. I don't have to go back to this verse. Because I have a new life in Christ.

Can anybody take me out of that life? Is there ever a danger of that life going away? Never. It's Christ's life. So I've never doubted my salvation from that day forth. I've never had to go back to this verse and wonder about it if I tried to climb out of his hand. Because I'm placed in Christ. You know, some of the verses which now I, as I said, how did I read this before?

Galatians 2.20, 21, or 2.20, I've been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I live, but Christ lives in me. How do I ever get out of that? And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. I think that's kind of the next part of that is When you're worried about yourself, those are all the things that you deal with, but if you even just look at what Christ did, to think that you could lose your salvation is implying that He didn't do enough on the cross and that His work isn't finished.

It's just so, I don't know, I grew up being taught that you could. Oh yeah, which is a horrifying position. It really is. It puts so much pressure and stress on you. But it's always about yourself. Everybody that would question it, I would just sit there and watch them talk about what they're doing or how they messed up. It's very self-focused and not looking at what Christ did. Absolutely.

And what peace and rest you have knowing that you will never leave that position. When you screw up, when you sin, when you do, that cannot change that position. That was last year's class about position and how important that is. Because if you know that, no matter what you do, it's already been paid for.

You can never lose that. But it's a life, and a life in Christ that can never change. And so, salvation is never a doubt. Never a doubt. Alright, we need to close. Sorry. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. We thank you, again, just the opportunity to open up your word and to see about the birth truths and getting into the growth aspects and our identification with you and how important that is and the life that we have in Christ. As we are saved, we have that position in Christ that will never change. Never. And we have that life that is lived out through us.

And we thank you for all that you've done. It's all on you and what you've done. Nothing that we have done. The only thing we have is believe. In faith, believe what you've told us. And we just rest in those facts. We just thank you now and ask for the next service through Vern that you bring forth the Word and prepare our hearts to receive it. Father, we just thank you for this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.