Transcription
This is lesson number three, and Biblical distinctions, in which we are seeking to rightly divide the word of truth by interpreting the Bible in a normal, grammatical, historical, contextual way. And I will be sending you David L. Cooper's Golden Rule of Interpretation for you to get to know that and memorize that. There isn't a lot of memorization in this class, but that's one thing I do want you to know.
Now, as we get started on our first biblical distinction, we want to look during this lesson at the distinction that is so basic, it's almost as if you think we don't need to cover it, but we do, namely the lost versus the saved. So, let me invite you to take your Bibles and open them to Ephesians, or I think, in fact, the passage is right on your handout, isn't it? You don't even need to turn there, so we can move even a little quicker. Ephesians chapter 2.
But before we get started, let me just comment on what is missing in so much preaching today. One of the things that's missing in so much preaching today is the distinction between the lost versus the saved. Preachers preach as if everyone's a believer, everyone's a Christian, everyone is saved. There isn't this distinction. There isn't the sense that if you're here today and you're not saved, this doesn't really apply to you, or the fact that this is family truth, this is growth truth, this is in-birth truth, and so forth. And so, as a result, unbelievers get the impression that if they would simply apply Christian life truth, somehow they would become a better Christian, when in reality, if they're not saved, they're not a Christian at all. And that is why it is helpful to make that distinction at the beginning of a message, somehow, and for sure at the end as well.
And so, let's observe the contrast between the lost versus the saved. And we're going to see a number of different descriptions you're going to have to use, observe, in order to come up with interpretation, in order to address application. Ephesians chapter 2, okay, verse one. "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Do you see any contrast in that verse? The word "but" is not found, but is there a contrast? What is the contrast? It is between "and you He made alive" and let's go back here and bring this up, "made alive who were dead." See the contrast? Alive versus dead. By the way, is there anything in between? Nope. Either you are alive or you are dead. There's no such thing as "I'm almost a believer" or "I'm almost saved." Now, either you are spiritually alive or you are spiritually dead. And before you became spiritually alive, you were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
So, notice here's another description: before you're saved, you are considered a "son of disobedience," among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we're by nature, here's another description, "children of Wrath," just as the others. So, we see here, when we were spiritually dead, we were sons of disobedience, we were children of Wrath, not children of God. That's why we needed to be born again. That's why we needed to become spiritually alive.
So, how did that happen? Now look at verse 4. And here's where we observe, "but God." No, the word "but" is what? What part of speech is it? It's a conjunction, and it's a contrasting conjunction, right? It's contrasting what was just mentioned in verses one, two, and three with what's going to follow. In fact, these two words, "but God," make all the difference. But though you are a son of disobedience, but you are children of Wrath, but though you were spiritually dead, "but God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love," notice "rich in mercy," notice "great love," "in which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ."
Now, what is dead and alive are contrasted again. And "with Christ" speaks of our identity with Christ, our union with Christ. "By grace you have been saved." You were spiritually dead, now you have been saved and raised up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show, or put on display, the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. You see the word "kindness," see the word "grace." That's where we get the definition of grace: undeserved kindness, comes right out of that verse right there. Undeserved kindness. And apart from Jesus Christ, there just wouldn't be grace. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and notice the contrast, that's not of yourself, it's the gift of God, and it's not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we, we who have been saved, are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
And so, we see here the contrast: we were spiritually dead, now we're spiritually alive. We are a child of Wrath, now we are saved and we are God's workmanship. Now, notice again the difference between who they were before they came to salvation and who they are now. Look at verses 11 through 13. "Therefore remember that you once Gentiles," that was His primary audience, "in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, you were aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, you were strangers from the covenants of promise, you had no hope, and you are without God in the world." What a description of the unbeliever: without Christ, without hope, without God. Wow.
But here's the contrast conjunction again: "but now in Christ Jesus you who once were," here's another term, "you were far off, you have been brought near by the blood of Christ." So, we see as we're working our way through the passage, you've got this description of the lost versus the saved. You were dead, now you're alive. You were a child of Wrath, you were a son of disobedience, now you have a new life in Christ. You've been saved, you've been united with together with Him. You were a Gentile, you're without Christ, you're an alien, you're a stranger, you had no hope, you're without God, you were far off, and now you're brought near by the blood of Christ. Notice these are contrasting conditions and positions that are being described, and there's no middle ground. It's either one or the other. And that's exactly what the Bible teaches: either you're saved or you're lost. You're a child of God or a child of Wrath.
Now, as we consider some similar contrasts here, Luke 19, verse 10: "But the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." You see a contrast there. The word "but" isn't there, but there's clearly contrasting terms used. See that? We're lost. What do, what do lost people need? They need to be, to be saved, right? And that's why Jesus Christ came. He came to seek Him, and He came to save that which was lost. So, that's why you're either saved or you're lost.
Look at Matthew 7:13 and 14: "Enter you in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate." Now, notice there's the strait gate and there's the wide gate. "And broad is the way," there's the broad way, "which leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat." They go in at the wide gate. The wide gate leads to the broad way. The broad way results in destruction, and many there be, they go in thereat. "Because strait is the gate." Strait again is referring back to here, and is in contrast to wide is the gate. "And narrow is the way," in contrast to broad is the way, "which leads to life." Life is contrasted with destruction, and few there be that find it. Few is contrasted with many. You can see Jesus' teaching is filled with at least four contrasts right in those two verses. And again, we see either you're saved or you're lost, or either on the narrow way or on the broad way, you've even come through the strait gate or the wide gate, you're either headed for destruction or you are headed for life, you're either part of the many or part of the few. And by the way, we see from this verse that the majority of people will not ultimately enter the presence of God, and in this context, really, the kingdom of God. This is part of the Sermon on the Mount. Okay, everyone see the contrast there? Pretty obvious, I think.
Now, let's see another contrast. John 1:11 and 12: "He came to His own." Who's the "He" in the passage? Jesus. "Came to His own." Who's His own? Israel, right? Actually, there's a little, little Greek nuance here. The idea is He came to His own creation and His own people. "And His own did not receive Him." A little Greek nuance there, but I won't take time to explain. But they, notice, they did not receive Him. They did not receive Him. No, is that an absolute, blanket, total statement? No, speaking of the majority. Why do I say that? Because the next verse qualifies it: "But as many as received Him," which means some did, "to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."
Now, I say this because there are some people who misunderstand the gospel, and they tell you there's two things you need to do. We need to number one, receive Him by calling on His name, and number two, you need to believe in Him. But according to this verse, the way you receive Him is to believe in Him. I got a phone call a number of years ago now from someone who was involved in evangelistic work, and he says, "Someone gave me this booklet called 'Seven Reasons Not to Ask Jesus Into Your Heart,' and if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying there's only one thing necessary in order to be saved: it's to believe in Jesus Christ and that He comes in." You don't have to call on Him, you don't have to ask Him in, and so forth. And I said, "Yeah, that's exactly what the Bible says." So, I took him right here, and we walked right through it. And frankly, it's this plain. They, unless you have a previous theological conclusion that you now have to impose on the passage, and that's why I said, "What must I do to be saved?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." No mention of calling in that passage. No mention of asking, for sure. And even when it says "call in the name of the Lord," it's not asking, it's calling, simply a reflection of dependence.
Okay, number four. If you're pretty familiar with John 3:16 through 18. Well, that one: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." So, what's the contrast? The word "but." There's got to be something before and something after the contrast, right? Perishing and everlasting life, right? So, either you're perishing or you have everlasting life. If you don't have everlasting life, you're still perishing. And the whole issue is believing in Him.
Now, notice the next contrast: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world," that's one possibility, "but that the world through Him," here's the second, "might be saved." So, either you're condemned or you're saved. That's the contrast there. So, the Bible is filled with contrasts. And notice, it didn't say you're "kind of condemned" or you're "kind of saved." It's one or the other, absolute terminology. Verse 18: "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but" contrasts "he who does not believe is condemned already." Not condemned versus condemned already. Why? "Because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." And so, again, we see contrast. Either you're not condemned. Now, notice "not condemned" is tied to it being saved. Saved is also tied with me having everlasting life. If you go earlier in the passage, it's also tied with being born again. In contrast, you have "should perish," you have "condemned, condemned, condemned." Notice again, the antithetical, contrasting terms that are used to teach us again: you're either saved or you're lost. Either you're condemned or you're not condemned. Either you are perishing or you have everlasting life. It's one or the other.
Now, a little further in John's third chapter, look at verse 36. Do you see any contrast going on here? Now, remember, you don't have to have the word "but" to have a contrast. You can have just two contrasting statements. Okay, notice: "He who believes in the Son" versus "he who does not believe the Son." There's a contrast, right? "Who believes the Son has everlasting life." Here's the contrast: "shall not see life, but instead of seeing life, the wrath of God abides on him." Let's check out our English grammar a little bit. What tense is "abides"? Present tense, right? That means for the unbeliever, the wrath of God keeps on abiding on him until the day that he believes in the Son and has everlasting life. So, notice the contrast: either you're a believer or you're an unbeliever. Either you have everlasting life or you've never had everlasting life, and instead you have the wrath of God still abiding on you. What's another way of saying that? You're still condemned.
Okay, another passage that we see a difference. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." Now, we have a contrast: either in Adam or you are in Christ. If you're in Adam, you will die. If you're in Christ, you're gonna be made alive. Bible is filled with contrasts.
Now, this one's more difficult. In fact, I want you to turn in your Bibles here because not every verse that you need to see is found on your handout. First Corinthians chapter 6. Now, this is a classic passage that is misunderstood by many because they failed to pay attention to context, they fail to observe content, they fail to compare Scripture with Scripture, and therefore they've wrongly concluded. Verse 9: "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." And such were some of you. "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
Now, there's two ways that people misunderstand this passage. Number one is they misunderstand it by saying, "If you ever do these sins, you can't enter the inherit the kingdom of God." Okay, now some will say, "Well, no, no, no, no. You, you can do them, but you just can't do them as a pattern." That's something else. And I would ask, how many times do you have to fornicate before you're a fornicator? How many times do you have to commit idolatry before you're an idolater? You have to commit adultery before you're an adulterer, or a homosexual, or a sodomite, or a thief? How many times do you have to steal before you're these? How many times do you have to get drunk before you're a drunkard? See, obviously, it's problematic.
Now, there's a third way that people interpret this. Is there are those who will say, "This is in reference to believers and inheriting the kingdom of God is in reference to not getting a reward in the future at the judgment seat of Christ. If you live your life in sin as a believer, you won't inherit the kingdom of God." The immediate problem with that is notice the contrast to verse 11: "And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified." Is that talking about their lifestyle has changed? No. It's talking about their standing before God. Now, the key to understanding this verse is this word "unrighteous." The unrighteous. If you do not properly identify the unrighteous, you will misinterpret this passage.
Now, I want to show you this is a passage dealing with Paul addressing the problem of believers suing one another in court. Now, go back to chapter 6, verse 1. "Is any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?" You see the word "unrighteous." What is it in contrast to? The saints. So, is it talking about a kind of a believer, or is it talking about an unbeliever? An unbeliever. Notice the differences between the unrighteous and the saints. The saints, which is a term for all believers, right? Which means the unrighteous must be an unbeliever. Now, if one isn't convinced yet, we continue on. "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?" And if the world will be judged by you, by the way, "you" is in reference to who? The Corinthians. What kind of saints were they? Yeah, carnal saints, weren't they? But they were still a saint. "Are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? I say this to your shame. Is it so that there's not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? But now watch this: brother goes to law against brother, and that before who? Unbelievers. What were they called in verse one? You go to law before the unrighteous, which means the unrighteous are who? Unbelievers, or seven. Now, therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law into one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourself be cheated, though you yourselves do wrong and cheat? And you do these things to who? Your brethren, in contrast to before unbelievers, or before the unrighteous."
Verse 9: "Do you not know that the unrighteous," who are the unrighteous? Now, their unbelievers, right? They're the unsaved. Now, once we've identified that, then all of this is gonna start to make sense. "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Question: What he's saying is the unrighteous don't inherit the kingdom of God. And if you're unrighteous, you're unsaved. If you're unsaved, you don't have the righteousness of God put to your account, so God still sees you in your sin pattern.
Verse 11: "And such were some of you, but you were washed." Washed? What does that speak of? What was being washed mean? Yeah, cleaned. You're forgiven. Washed your sins away. "But you were sanctified." Notice this isn't talking about progressive sanctification. You were washed, you were sanctified, in the past, completed. "And you were justified." What does it mean to be justified? From Romans, what does it mean? Declared what? Oh, declared righteous. The opposite of the unrighteous. And he's just made the full circle. Don't you know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, but you've been washed, sanctified, you've been justified. You're not unrighteous, you are righteous in the courtroom of God.
Now, look at verse 18, please. "Sexual immorality." You don't tell someone to flee sexual immorality unless number one, they're involved in it, or number two, they could be involved in it, right? Now, he moves to their condition. But first of all, he stated clearly their position and their possessions in Christ of being washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So, is this passage saying if you are a believer and you live in sin, that you're gonna go to hell? No. He's not talking about believers. He's talking in verses 9 through 10 about unbelievers. The unrighteous versus the justified. The unrighteous versus the washed. The unrighteous versus the sanctified. Everyone seeing this now?
Why does he tell them that? Why does he tell them the unrighteous aren't going to inherit? Because they're going to court before the unrighteous, the unsaved. He says, "Listen, these guys aren't even going to go to heaven. These guys aren't even going to go into the kingdom, as it were. Why in the world would you go before the unsaved when you're saved and you're going to actually judge angels one day?" Now, this is insane. It's never allowed by God for a believer to take another believer to court. It's not prohibiting that. What it's saying is it should never really get to that. For example, if you are in a partnership with another believer and he embezzled two hundred thousand dollars from you, would you go to court? I would. I definitely would go to court. Go to him and do what to him? That's the question. You would go to him and so this is insane that there aren't times when believers have to have legal dealings with believers, but it's really saying is it's unfortunate it ever would get to that point. In fact, it would be better if the church would handle it than having to go before the unsaved. That's what it's saying. But again, notice the contrast: either you're saved or you're lost. Either you're unrighteous or you're declared righteous.
Here's another contrast. 1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." Notice the contrast between perishing and saved. Notice the contrast between seeing the gospel as foolishness versus the power of God that can bring salvation about in your life. Notice over and over again, we're seeing this contrast. We see it again, just a few, in Colossians 1:21: "And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled." Before you were saved, you were alienated from God. Yeah, you're an enemy. Now He has reconciled you. Notice again, stark, absolute contrast, abstract, total contrast.
And one more. Colossians 2:13: "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." Notice, "being dead" is contrasted with "He's made you alive." And in the meantime, in addition to that, He's forgiven you all trespasses when He made you alive. And so, we see from all these passages, either saved or lost, narrow road, broad road, strait gate, wide gate, many or few, or many, you know, dead are made alive, enemies reconciled. And you see that's how the Scriptures talk because that's reality. And that's why every person you meet, every person you come in contact with, they're either saved or they're lost. There is no in-between. If they're saved, you can fellowship and encourage them in the Lord. If they're lost, they need to hear the gospel, and God wants to use you to pray for them, to plant seed, to be a hopefully a good testimony to them, and perhaps even should be able to share with them the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Okay, any questions about the contrasts? Pretty simple, right? Pretty clear, pretty basic, but it's all over the place. And this is the very thing. So, the world hates these distinctions. Does the world? Don't they hate when you classify people into one of two categories? They hate this because they really want to think everyone's going to heaven. They don't want to talk about hell. In fact, I saw a poll recently, 0.5 of one percent of people think they're going to hell. Now, there used to be a poll that was out, and I can't remember what the percentage was. It was something like, you know, 10 percent thought they were going to hell, but 25 percent thought they knew of someone else who was going. Yeah, that's the norm, isn't it?
Okay, students, any questions here as we wrap it up? Okay, so this was our first distinction of many. Next time, we'll look at the three tenses of salvation, and we're just going to keep rolling as fast as we can. Some classes, like last hour, took over an hour. This one took a half an hour. We'll just move as fast as we can. The important thing is that you're comprehending what is being communicated. Sometime by Sunday, Lord willing, you will get a test two over the material covered tonight, and doing so, you will have a week to have it done, so it's done before our next class session. And again, we will meet every other week. You have the schedule, you know the routine, and hopefully, by the grace of God, you'll be successful in understanding this and being able to use it. And you know what Christine went through even recently, and going up to the fair. I'll tell you, when you're dealing with people and you're talking with people, this is where you really learn this stuff and you get it down because you know what, you think you know it, but then it's like, man, I can't remember what I thought I knew, you know, until you get put on the spot. And then it's like, I know that, I know that I should know that. Where is that? Where's that passage? And you know what? That's somewhat how you really learn. You know, you don't go ahead. Yes. Yeah. A lot of people in Alaska. Yeah. See, you in Alaska, there's a lot of quote evangelicals in the Anchorage area. And so at the fair, they, they repeatedly deal with, well, what's the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? And your dad, Pastor Shot, told me they really need a booklet next year on eternal security up there because there's a lot of people who think you can lose your salvation.
Okay, well, let's pray, and we will go home early. Father, thank