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“ Summary, Part 4 (final) ” 3. FACTORS IN GOD’S PRESERVATION [45:47]. First, God keeps you by instructing you in His truth; ignorance is dangerous and can be deadly. Gospel truth possesses preserving power. Second, God keeps you by warning you. Third, God keeps you by gracious acts of providence that prevent you from following detours off the narrow road. We can think of times this happened in our own lives (cf. Ps 119:67). Fourth, God keeps you by giving you a bitter taste of sin. Painful memories can be powerful preventatives. Finally, God keeps you by the Holy Spirit’s producing in you a longing to be holy even as God is holy. Preserving grace not only protects; it also perfects. CONCLUDING APPLICATIONS [49:17]: 1. Beware of abusing the promise of God’s preservation. “Once saved, always saved” is true but often misunderstood. Many who live by this were never saved in the first place because they didn’t pursue the Lord. You cannot contend for the faith and compromise with sin. 2. Always thank God for the means He uses for your preservation. They keep us on the narrow road to aim us toward the gate that few ever find. 3. Bless God for His preserving grace as one who strongly feels his proneness to wander.
Ian Migala (8/14/2015)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 3 ” B. GOD PRESERVES YOU FROM STUMBLING [31:30]. 1. YOUR NEED FOR GOD’S PRESERVATION. First, notice that there is no safe place on earth where you could not stumble. Simpler times and places never saved anyone. Not even rites and rituals save. How many perished in sin because they believed they were saved by their christening or confirmation? Second, mere outward obedience preserves no one. Legalism can conceal serious inward sins. Third, exalted religious experience preserves no one. Emotionalism without truth is deadly. But though God may permit His own to fall grievously into sin, He will always restore them. David repented of his idleness and Peter repented of his unbelief. 2. THE FACT OF GOD’S PRESERVATION [40:22]. Jn 10:27-30 – We are beloved in God the Father and kept in Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ. First, God is able to keep you from stumbling since He knows you. This is the biblical sense of knowing: an intimate, affectionate love, like husbands and wives for each other (2 Tim 2:18). Second, God is able to keep you through the prayers of His Son (Jn 17:50). Third, God is able to keep you from stumbling through the power of His indwelling Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). Finally, God is able to keep you by His power through the gift of saving faith (1 Pet 1:5).
Ian Migala (8/14/2015)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 2 ” 2. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLE BECAUSE YOU FACE MANY OCCASIONS FOR STUMBLING [20:20]. a. STUMBLING FROM FALSE DOCTRINE. This comes from an inadequate understanding of the truth. New truth and ideas are very appealing to the flesh, but this uproots us from the solid foundation of the Scriptures and the early church, which even contended with many of these same ideas. b. STUMBLING FROM A CARELESS SPIRIT [22:10]. This includes a weak love for God, the Bible, or the church, or just a lack of discernment. Even miscategorized priorities can shipwreck our faith. Many professing Christians are practical atheists. There is also fanaticism: zeal without light, not to mention arrogance: knowledge with pride. c. STUMBLING THROUGH THE INFLUENCE OF UNCONVERTED FRIENDS [26:55]. No matter how dear these people may be to us, they are still unregenerate and their examples and ideas are not to be entertained. Peer pressure is more powerful than we often understand. Think of what it does to younger ones. d. STUMBLING FROM NEGLECT OF ORDINARY DUTIES [29:30]. Idleness is the devil’s playground. Then there is backsliding: not confessing sins regularly. Unconfessed sin is the road to apostasy.
Ian Migala (8/14/2015)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
“ Summary, Part 1 ” The epistle of Jude urges us to contend for the apostolic message and to beware of those who would come into our midst to deceive us. It ends with a doxology to the God whose Spirit helps us endure in our own obedience and in His strength. I. GLORIFY THE GOD WHO PRESERVES YOU FROM STUMBLING PRESENTLY (v. 24) [starting at 11:11 of the audio]. A. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLING. 1. YOU ARE PRONE TO STUMBLE BECAUSE YOU ARE IMPERFECTLY SANCTIFIED. We’re in the state of sanctification, between regeneration and glorification: we aren’t what we once were, but we’re not yet what we will be. a. YOU HAVE AN IMPERFECT KNOWLEDGE OF THE DANGERS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE [12:53]. Knowledge is safety. We can’t be naïve to the fact that the unholy trinity of the world, the flesh, and the devil are still after us, even more now that we’re God’s. b. YOU MAY FAIL TO EMPLOY THE MEANS GOD INTENDS FOR YOUR SANCTIFICATION [16:50]. God intends to bring us to heaven with the body of Christ, and many are deceived into thinking that they can do it on their own. We also risk shirking transparency with the brethren. We’re not a member of a club, but of a body. Also, we neglect regular prayer, devotion, and study, all of which are means of strengthening us as Christians.
