Lesson 14, if you can't lose your salvation, what can the believer lose? Let's have you open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 is where we want to get started. 1 Corinthians chapter 3. As we've been making our way through the Book of Romans, again, we've come to this section in which we're looking at the results of justification, the blessings and eternal security of the believer. In doing so, we've taken the opportunity to expand these truths. We've had a couple studies on if you've trusted in Christ, is your salvation eternal and secure? And we've looked at many reasons why. You cannot lose your salvation. In fact, if you don't have a copy, I would certainly recommend you get a copy of my book on Shall Never Perish Forever that will cover many, many reasons why. Because I believe there's at least 30 passages in the Bible, especially the New Testament, that covers that subject very clearly. Now, having done so, we're starting to look at, if you can't lose your salvation, what can the believer lose? And in doing so, in 1 Corinthians, actually chapter 2, not 3, but chapter 2. We want to begin in verse 14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ." Now we see in this passage not an artificial categorization, but an exegetical one of three kinds of people that you do need to recognize in the Bible, as God divides them all into three groups. The first is the natural man, and he is someone who is unsaved, someone who has never believed in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. You see, that word natural in chapter 2, verse 14 is the Greek word psychikos. Psych or psych is the word for your soul or your life. And ikos speaks of the dominating factor of this person's life. And thus he is a soulish man. Now, we know that he is an unbeliever from the context where we also know it from comparing scripture with scripture. For in doing so, Jude chapter 1, it should say verse 19, or just Jude 19, says, these are sensual persons who cause divisions not having the Spirit. And if you don't have the Holy Spirit according to Romans 8 verse 9, you are not saved. So the first individual that we need to recognize is the natural man. He's unsaved, he's never believed in Jesus Christ, he doesn't have the Spirit. The dominating factor in the life of the natural man, again, is his soul. Now, what characterizes the natural man? There are many things that could be said, but look at verse 14 again, and let's draw from the passage. You see, first of all, the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God. That's the first thing we see. He doesn't receive the things of the Spirit of God. The word receive is the Greek word dekomai. It means to welcome to yourself, to receive it to yourself. Now it could be that he's heard the gospel, but he hasn't received it personally. He hasn't welcomed it to himself by faith. He hasn't believed the truth that Jesus Christ died for his sins and rose again to save him. In fact, the second thing we see is that they are foolishness to him. The things of the Spirit of God are the truths of the Word of God, and to him it's macaroni and spaghetti. They're foolish. They don't make sense to him. He reasons from himself to God, and he says in essence, it really can't be that way. And as I think of that, when I look at chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians, we read in verse 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. Verse 21, For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached, namely the gospel, to save those who simply believe. So again, the natural man is an unbeliever. He doesn't welcome to himself the things of the Spirit of God. Now that doesn't mean that he has no understanding of them. He doesn't receive them and therefore personally know these truths. Nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned or understood by means of the Spirit. I have had people tell me, for example, on one occasion, as a fairly new believer, I visited a high school friend who had become a Jehovah Witness through getting involved with this gal who became his wife. And I went over and visited him with another believer friend of mine that was a classmate. And we began, I think it's seven in the evening and about right before three in the morning, she says, You mean to tell me that if I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose again, I can receive eternal life and I don't have to do anything to work for it, da-da-da-da-da. Is that what you're saying?" I said, that's it! That's it exactly! She goes, I could never believe that. Now, did she understand? Yes. Did she personally welcome it, receive it? No. It was foolishness to her. Because this was contrary to her entire religious works-based system of salvation. And thus she didn't really know these truths, nor other truths of the Bible on any personal level, because they were discerned spiritually or understood by means of the Holy Spirit, which she did not have. Now remember that the natural person may be uncultured or cultured. refined or coarse, educated or uneducated, morally or moral, religious or agnostic, but the unsaved cannot truly understand on a personal level or receive the things of the Spirit of God. That's the first person you've got to understand. By the way, how much of the Bible is written to them? Some things, right? Some things in the Bible. How about the book of John? that's written to them. Other passages that certainly relate to them are there in the Bible. But the majority of the Bible is written to believers. And the second kind of person we need to recognize is the spiritual man. The spiritual man. We find him mentioned in verse 15. But he who is spiritual, He was spiritual. The spiritual man is someone who is saved and who is controlled by the Holy Spirit. You see, the particular Greek word, spiritual man, is the Greek word pneumatikos. Pneuma is the word for spirit. Ikos, dominating factor. In other words, the dominating factor of this person's life is the word of God and the Holy Spirit's influence in his life. He is spiritually minded, and the Spirit of God is free to direct him, and control him, and dominate him, as it were. He is spiritual. Now, all believers are saved, all believers have the Spirit, but the Spirit isn't free to dominate all believers. Because there's a volitional component to that, as we'll see in a minute. Now, what characterizes the spiritual man? Well, first of all, we see in verse 15 that he judges all things. He judges all things. Now, what does that mean? All things in the passage are the all things of the Word of God. In other words, the Spirit of God is free to bring this believer, based on the Scriptures, to correctly discern the will of God from the will of man. And while the Spirit-led believer is responding to the Lord in His Word, the unbeliever, we see, cannot rightly judge Him. He is rightly judged by no one. They can't figure him out. For the unbeliever can only think naturally, while the spirit-filled believer is thinking supernaturally. The unbeliever can think in terms of earth. The spiritual believer is living in light of eternity. He's thinking about what the Lord wants, what the Word of God says. And as a result, the spirit-led believer is thinking on a different level than the different mindset, or with a different mindset than the unsaved. The natural man cannot figure out the spiritual believer. You see, it's kind of like after I was saved, my parents really liked some of the changes, but they didn't like where I was going to church. And they thought that the church was the reason why I was changing. Oh, no, it wasn't. But I was learning the Word of God at Beacon Bible Church in those days, now called Heritage Trail Bible Church. It wasn't the church that was making the changes, it was the Word of God. But the natural man doesn't say, oh, I know what you're doing, it's because of the Lord, because of His Word. No, they have to pin the tail on something visible. Because that's all the way they can think. They couldn't understand. why I turned down a college scholarship. They couldn't understand why I made the decisions I made. And I didn't expect them to. Don't expect the unsaved to understand the decisions you're making. In fact, if they can fully understand the decisions, that means you're thinking like they're thinking. That's what that means. The third thing we see is that the spiritual man has the mind of Christ. Verse 16, For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. And we means that Paul includes himself as a spiritual man. We have the mind of Christ. Where are you going to find out the mind of Christ? Where are you going to find out the will of God? Where are you going to find out how to think like Christ thinks? It's in His Word. Remember, the spiritual believer and the Word of God are going to go hand in hand. And I say that because, again, in some Pentecostal charismatic circles, they think in terms, he's a spiritual believer, look it, he's speaking in tongues. He's a spiritual believer, look at this supernatural kind of experience he seems to be having. He's stuck to the floor and can't get up. Remember, the true spirituality isn't any of those kind of things. It's the believer responding to the Lord according to the Word of God with an attitude that's yielded and dependent on the Lord. So the Spirit of God is then free to bring that believer to the right conclusions in fulfilling the will of God because that's what they want to do. So we've seen the natural man, we've seen the spiritual believer, but the third group of people we need to recognize is the carnal man. Chapter 3, verse 1, and I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people. Now let me pause for a minute. Imagine if the word spiritual just meant believer, instead of a kind of a believer. He's saying, I could not speak to you as to believers. Well, that wouldn't be true. They are believers. But to spiritual people are believers, but instead I speak to you as to carnal. As to babes in Christ. Now, the word carnal is the Greek word sarkikos. Some translation sarkinos. Some manuscripts. The idea is that of a fleshly man. He is saved, he is in Christ, but he is controlled by the sin nature. The word sark is the word for flesh. The dominating factor or characteristic of this person's life is his flesh, his sin nature. And so, again, the carnal man is someone who is saved, but who is controlled by his sin nature. has sin nature. By the way, that was true of Paul, even in Romans 7, 15, when he felt sold under sin. The things I want to do, I don't do, and the things I don't want to do, I do. But keep in mind, we're talking here about a believer. Notice, first of all, he is in Christ. Verse 1, and I, brethren, cannot speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. They're brethren, and they're in Christ, they're believers. Now, don't get misled, because there's some people who will say this. This is kind of one of the latest twists that I've heard. They'll say, believers can live carnally, but there's no such thing as a carnal Christian. Now, what are they saying? Well, we'll leave a little bit of wobble room for sin in your life, but not too much. If there's too much sin in your life, then you're never saved. So they deny, quote, the carnal Christian. And notice chapter 1, or verse 1, says, And I, brother, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal. Verse 2, I have fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. Why? For you are still carnal. For where there is envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal, and behaving like mere men? For when one says, I am a Paul, another, I am a Paul, are you not carnal? Four times in four verses? And then they say, well, there's no such thing as a carnal Christian. What Bible are you reading? Four times, he says, they were characterized by being carnal. But you see, Reformed Calvinistic soteriology tends to look at passages in light of lordship, salvation, teaching, and therefore conclude, well, if you are living in ongoing carnality, well, you must not be saved. Well, if that's true, then the Corinthians weren't saved. So you are still carnal, which means it's been going on for a while. In fact, think about the Corinthians for a minute. They had a problem with pride. Is it possible to be saved and have a problem with pride? They had a problem with division. Is it possible to be saved and have a problem with division? They had a problem with someone committing unrepentant immorality by way of incest in the church. Is it possible to be saved and be involved in something like that? Is it possible to be saved and be involved in prostitution? That's what they were involved in, 1 Corinthians 6, some of them. Is it possible to be saved and divorce your mate, or have a wrong view of singleness, or misuse your authority, or use your spiritual gift to puff up yourself, or to get drunk at church, or to deny even a future resurrection? That was true of all the Christians. All those things were true of the Corinthian church, and yet Paul starts out the epistle by saying they were sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, they were the temple of the Holy Spirit, they were in Christ, and yet what characterized them as a church is carnality. In fact, I'll raise a question maybe you haven't thought about. With all this going on, and even the church discipline, why doesn't Paul tell the leaders to execute the church discipline? Why doesn't he ever appeal to the leaders to correct these problems? You know, one idea, and I'm not dogmatic, but one thought, is they might not have had any spiritual leaders. Because none of them may have been mature enough to have been a leader. They were characterized by carnality as a church. They had failed to keep growing. They were a babe in Christ. Nothing wrong with being a babe, something wrong when you remain a babe. I have fed you with milk and not with solid food, for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able. Something is wrong. Over time, you should be walking with the Lord, you should be growing in the Lord, but you're not. Thirdly, they behave like the unsaved. Verse 3, For you are still carnal, for where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men, unbelievers? Is it possible to be saved and live like an unbeliever? Does a cat meow? Does a dog bark? Of course that's possible. Sad, unnecessary, unfortunate, but clearly true. So is it possible for the carnal believer to lose his salvation through carnality by behaving like the unsaved? Well, it's interesting to note as you continue to go down in the same passage, verse 5, since they were rallying around human leaders and putting them on a pedestal. You know, it's really amazing, and this is true of carnal believers. On the one hand, Paul has to say, get us off the pedestal. We're just servants of Christ. But then in chapter 4, if you look for a moment, verse 15, he says, It has to remind them who led them to Christ, who was their spiritual father. So you've got both problems, don't you? On the one hand, some have him on the pedestal. On the other hand, some don't remember he led you to Christ. He's the one who's been teaching you the Word of God, giving you his due respect. You've got both problems. I'm seeing the same thing here at Duluth Bible Church. Sometimes people put me on a pedestal, and there's no way that I could ever be to them what they think I am. And so when they see some discrepancy, they're like, you know, like Satan, I fall from heaven, you know. On the other hand, there's some who don't recognize the proper place of the pastor-teacher. And according to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, to esteem them highly in love for their work's sake. You have both sides. Verse 5, who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but just servants through whom you believed. Chapter 3, 5. As the Lord gave to each one, I planted a pollis water, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one. Pollis and Paul weren't divided at all. They were unified. And each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. In other words, while God gave the increase, God also recognizes the labor of his servants and will reward them accordingly at the judgment seat of Christ. Verse 9, for we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, you are God's building. Notice, you belong to the Lord. And as we think of God's building, verse 10, according to the grace of God which was given to me, Paul never lost sight, he was what he was by the grace of God. As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation by preaching the gospel, people getting saved, and another builds on it, but let each one take heed how he builds on it, by way of this local church and even by way of his own ministry and life. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." So we see here, using that building motif or metaphor, that every believer has as a foundation Jesus Christ. Now the question is, how will you build on that in your life and in your ministry to others? Will you operate under human wisdom or divine wisdom? Will you operate as a spiritual believer or as a carnal believer? Will you operate in a way that brings glory to the Lord or glory to yourself? Will you operate in a way in which you're filled with the Spirit or controlled by the flesh? Will it be about Christ's glory or your glory? And those are the kind of issues that will be evaluated when you stand before the Lord one day. But one thing is clear, you have a foundation namely Jesus Christ, which was given to you based upon the Gospel. Verse 12, now, if anyone builds on this foundation and you have a choice with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw. Let me pause for a minute, which one would you prefer? Been watching the papers lately? What's happening with silver? Gold, precious stones. They will always have intrinsic value in every economy, even back then. Wood, hay, and straw, depending on your need, wood, hay, and straw might sound pretty good, but not when compared to gold, silver, and precious stones. which refer again to divine wisdom through the Spirit to the glory of God versus human wisdom. Because throughout chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4, Paul is contrasting this whole idea of human wisdom with the Corinthians were enthralled and enhanced about. They were thinking in terms of human philosophies and human wisdom and Paul says, it's not about that at all. And God doesn't need an editor, God doesn't need you to mix human philosophy with His Word. God's Word can get the job done. Verse 13, each one's work will become clear. Each believer's work will become clear when, for the day, the day of Christ, which is speaking of the rapture, the judgment seat of Christ that follows, will declare it. Because it will be revealed by fire. Now let me pause for a minute. Fire in the Bible doesn't, of necessity, refer to hell. You know, some people think fire in the Bible always refers to hell. The fact is that wasn't true. They had burnt offerings in the Old Testament in which they used literal fire to do that. Fire does oftentimes speak of some kind of judgment. In some cases it does speak of eternal hell. In this particular context, and context always determines, is that at the judgment seat of Christ, it's like taking fire and applying it to the building material. By the way, the Catholics use this verse to teach purgatory. which is nowhere found in scripture. You've really got to read that into the passage to try to get that out of there. And the Father will test each one's work of what sort or quality it is, with its gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, endures the fire test, he will receive a what? A reward. A reward. Now keep in mind, salvation is a gift. Rewards are for believers. There's a difference between the two. You must have this difference clear in your mind. In other words, if you're willing to live your life after you're saved to the glory of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, responding to His Word so that your life is like building on the foundation with gold, silver, and precious stones, and your ministry to others is that, God says, I'm going to reward you one day for that. I'm going to reward you. On the other hand, if you waste your life, God says you're going to lose out on what you could have had. So really, yes, verse 14 says, if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss. Loss of what? loss of the reward he could have had. Are you sure? Yes. For the verse goes on to say, but he himself will be saved. Yet so as through fire. Will be saved is a future passive indicative. In the future it is guaranteed he will be saved by God himself. This is salvation third tense. Salvation third tense guaranteed. So notice again here, this is an old drawing by Pace, but it communicates the point. The foundation is Jesus Christ. You can build on the foundation. Gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw. When you do things for the glory of self, when you do it through your own strength, when you do it Again, based on human wisdom, it's like building on that great foundation with wood, hair, and straw. And at the judgment seat of Christ, it'll be evaluated by fire, and it'll go up in smoke. But what will be true, verse 15, is that you will still be saved. Yet so as through the fire. The idea is, if you were to put something, a fire to something, I mean it would go up in smoke, but if you remained in that house and it all went up in smoke and you were able to survive, you'd walk out of that house smelling like what? Like smoke. Like you came right through the fire. Boy, she smelled like smoke. You ever been around a smoker? You know you're on a smoker? You know right away, don't you? Why? Because they've got the smell of smoke on them. In the same way, he's saying that if your whole life goes up in smoke, you'll still be saved, but you're going to have the smell of smoke on you. Because your life, you wasted, as it were. You will still, however, be saved. Thus, this passage, like many others, teach the eternal security of the believer. So if you've trusted in Christ alone and you can't lose your salvation, you can still lose through carnality your reward in heaven. Your reward in heaven. We've just seen that in verse 15. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss. Loss of what? His reward in heaven. When he's evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ. Now, while it's handy, go to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 for a quick moment. And in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul continues this theme and the proper use of your Christian liberty. Now every believer has been freed from the power of sin, has been freed to live a life that honors the Lord, and has much liberty in this. In other words, there are things in the Bible that aren't commanded or condemned to allow functionality and flexibility depending upon who you are ministering to. And legalists never understand liberty because they tend to have everything as a cookie cutter and a black and white. And while there are much black and white in scripture, there are areas of liberty, of personal conscience and flexibility. On the other hand, licentious people never understand liberty either because they think liberty is freedom to do what they want instead of freedom to do what the Lord wants. And so you've got both ditches that believers tend to fall into. Now, in 1 Corinthians 9, he's continuing his thought in 1 Corinthians 8 about the proper use of liberty and not stumbling others. And for our sake, we're going to pick it up as it were. in verse 19, verse 18. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free from all men, I am not a slave to any man, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more. You see, Paul saw his life in terms of winning others to Christ. Either by way of salvation, justification, or by way of salvation, sanctification, as we'll see in the passage. Verse 20, And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews. In other words, when I was around Jewish people, I became like Jewish people. I didn't make issues out of things that don't need to be issues. And by the way, we do well to remember that. Sometimes believers have made issues out of things that they didn't need to make issues of. That was true with me. As a newer believer, there are a few times I can look back now with my family and realize, you know, I made an issue out of something I didn't really need to make an issue out of. I'm not talking about compromising convictions. I'm talking about an area of liberty flexing. And he says, when I was with the Jews, you know what? I flexed with the Jews without compromising conviction. Not practicing the end justifies the means, but recognizing that there was not intrinsically a right or wrong in that particular situation. And I did it that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law, because remember all Jews weren't following the law as under the law. that I might win those who are under the law to those who are without law, who would that be? Who's without law? Who would that be? Gentiles, right? Gentiles. So I'm with the Gentiles, guess what? I flexed again. As without law, I functioned with them. Without law, I didn't make a big deal out of something that I shouldn't have made a big deal about. I flexed with them. Not being without law toward God, let me qualify that, but under law toward Christ. In other words, it's not that I don't believe that I have some responsibility to the Lord. I am in law to Christ, I function under the law of love. And why do you do this towards the Gentiles? That I might win those who are without law. You know, when you're with Gentiles, you can flex in ways. When you're with religious people, you want to be conscious of their hang-ups, so as to not unnecessarily offend them in something that doesn't matter. To the weak, verse 22. And based on 1 Corinthians 8, and throughout this passage, the weak are weak believers in this passage. Weak believers. Who are weak believers? Those who don't have much Bible under their belt. I became as weak, that I might win the weak. Not to salvation, but win them in the sense of towards sanctification. I think it's the best way to understand that. You know, I've been conscious of that. I recognize there are certain things as a believer, and even as a pastor, that I have the liberty to do. But I have willingly restrained myself I limited my liberty and love to win the week and not create a stumbling block for them. I know I have liberty in that area. And when I'm with a believer who understands liberty and they want to exercise liberty in certain ways, I'm relaxed about that as long as they're not a stumbling block to others. Verse 22, I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. By the way, save some, first tense, But when it comes to the weak, it would be second tense even. This word seems to be used of referring to both. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. Can I ask you a question? Would you be willing to flex? Would you be willing to limit your liberty and love for the gospel's sake? If you're thinking, you know, I have that liberty and no one's going to tell me what to do. You've missed it already. You're not thinking for the gospel's sake. Would you for the gospel's sake be willing to say, I have that liberty, but I won't exercise it there. I'm willing to flex there, I'm willing to flex there, I'm willing to flex there. I don't prefer that, but that's okay for the gospel's sake. You know, let me use an illustration. You know, personally, I don't like cigarette smoke at all. I mean, I just hate it. You know, I've been in situations where I've visited unbelievers and they're smoking like a chimney. And I don't tell them, please get rid of that cigarette. I just flex with it. I do that with believers who smoke. Just flex with it. In my house, I want them to smoke. But if I'm in theirs, they have every right to smoke in their house. I was in one situation once where I went to visit this unbeliever with another believer. We went to visit him. He was smoking pot. Now that becomes a little more tricky. Because I'm afraid if they make a raid, I'm going to be in the paper too. You know, even though I'm not doing anything. So that was a short witnessing opportunity that night. We cut it a little shorter than normal. You get put in different situations over the years. But for the gospel's sake, are you willing to flex at times? Verse 24, do you not know that those who run in a race all run? But one receives the prize at the Corinthian games, only one, but as a believer, not only one can receive that prize. By the way, a prize, is that a gift or is that a reward? It's a reward, right? Run in such a way that you may obtain it, the prize. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate or self-controlled in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus, not with uncertainty, I know the direction I'm moving, thus I fight, not as one who beats the air, but I discipline my body and I bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, which is what I want to do, yet I myself should become disqualified. Why? Because I failed to exercise discipline in my body. And by the way, the key to discipline in your body is walking in the Spirit, so you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. But notice the idea of prize, that I myself should be disqualified. Disqualified is the Greek word adakamos. In other words, you don't get rewarded. You're unqualified because you failed to pass the test. You're running the Boston Marathon and you took the bus. Guess what? Disqualified, just like that gal did a few years ago. So again, you can lose your reward in heaven. And again, we have a chart that we cover in Biblical Distinctions, per se, regarding this. It's kind of hard to see, but salvation is offered to unbelievers. Rewards are offered to believers. By the way, this is in my book, if you want to get my book. I keep making little plugs, don't I? Kind of fun, I've never been able to do that before. Salvation is appropriated by grace through faith alone in Christ alone apart from works. Rewards are obtained by grace through ongoing faith resulting in Christ honoring works. Salvation is the believer's present possession. Rewards are the believer's possible future attainment. And so forth and so forth. Salvation can never be lost, but what can be lost are rewards. Now remember, what did Paul say by way of reward? At the end of his life, he says, for I'm already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown. Not crowns, plural, but singular. A reward. A crown of righteousness. Which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day. What day? The day, remember 1 Corinthians 3, the day will declare it. That day, the Lord comes again and the beam of seed happens. And not to me only, but also unto all those that have loved his appearing. As we think of crowns in the Bible, there are three specifically mentioned. First of all, there's the crown of righteousness mentioned here by Paul, a reward for fighting the good fight of faith, for finishing the course God had for you, for keeping the faith. I would just say it in doing the will of God. There's a crown of righteousness. Furthermore, number two, there's the crown of life. It's mentioned in James 1.12 and Revelation 2.10. Revelation 2.10 goes beyond James 1.12. where the crown of life is for enduring trials, Revelation 2.10 says that you may be tested and have tribulation, be faithful unto death. I'll give you the crown of life. In other words, if you endure the trials of the Christian life and perhaps are even martyred for your faith, God will give you the crown of life. The third crown that is mentioned in scripture is the crown of glory. 1 Peter 5.4, and when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. And in the context, he's speaking to elders or pastors. This is a crown given only to pastors, and not just to any pastor, but to faithful pastors. The crown of glory, hold by the grace of God. I would love to obtain that one day. Why? So you could peacock around? No. But do you realize it's those very crowns that the resurrected, raptured, rewarded Church will cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in giving honor and glory and expressing gratefulness and worship to Him based on Revelation 4 and 5. And by the way, this crown is not available to Paul only, but to all those that have loved his appearing. You see, it's not the crown itself that is the great motivator. It's your love for the Lord that motivates you to be faithful to Him. But the crown does remind you it will be worth it all. when the Lord Jesus comes again. In fact, the idea of loving Him, loving His appearing, is found repeatedly in those passages on crowns. So you can lose your reward in heaven, and secondly, we will underscore today before we're done, you can lose your fellowship with God. You can lose your fellowship with God. Again, as we go to 1 John chapter 1, 1 John chapter 1, The book of 1 John is written, chapter 1, verse 3, to declare Jesus Christ that you also may have fellowship with us. Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, and these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. Fellowship, fellowship, fellowship, fellowship. Now, interesting enough, after chapter 1, he doesn't mention fellowship again by name. Instead, he uses phrases like abiding in him and knowing him. But clearly, this book is all about your fellowship with God. It's writing about fellowship. It's not writing about how to be saved from hell. Salvation, first tense. It's about salvation, second tense. And again, we recognize the moment of faith in Christ. You're placed into the family of God. You're born again. You have eternal life. Your salvation is secure. As a believer, sin can break fellowship with the Lord. Confession of sin or yielding to the Lord restores fellowship, but no child will ever penetrate through this outer wall. You can lose your fellowship, but you can't lose your salvation. And by the way, isn't that true with your own parents? In fact, last Sunday when I was talking to this woman who ended up getting saved right in my presence, when I explained the Gospel and then I explained family versus fellowship, lights came on and she understood and got saved. She understood when she was born again she became a child of God. And just like with her mother, she could never stop being a daughter of her mother. In the same way we could never stop being a child of our Father. God the Father, though we can clearly break fellowship with Him through disobedience or sin. And so, 1 John 1.6 says, if we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. It's not talking about salvation, talking about fellowship. Verse 7, if we walk in the light as He's in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. in a practical sanctification way. It's like Jesus taught in John 13 about having our feet cleaned. And 1.8, if we say that we have no sin nature, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Again, the concept of fellowship. Verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And the concept of 1 John 1.9 is in the context of fellowship. What does confess mean? It means to speak the same thing. It means to agree with God. God says what you did there was sin, what you thought there was sin, your motive was there was sin. Nobody else may have seen it, everyone's applauding you, but you know in your heart that you did it for yourself, or you did it through your own strength. And that was sin. And confession says, you're right Lord, I was wrong. Lord, you're right, I'm wrong. Oh, by the way, and it says in verse 9, if we confess our sins, we don't even have to ask Him to forgive you. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Verse 7 is the preventative side of the Christian life. If you walk in the light, it's His light, you have fellowship. Walking in the light is responding to the Lord in His Word. It's what the spiritual believer is all about again. Verse 9 is the corrective side of the Christian life. After you sin, how do you deal with it? How do you deal with it? You confess it to the Lord. You claim His forgiveness by faith. You learn from it, but you don't live in it and you move on in your Christian life. Verse 10 again shows us that this is dealing with fellowship, not salvation. If we say we have not sinned, the opposite of confessing, we make him, God, out to be a liar, and his word is not in us when it comes to this issue. A great example of this is the story of the prodigal son. You can read that on your own in Luke 15. Remember, the prodigal son gets his inheritance and he goes and he wastes his life with unrighteous living. He finally turns to the pigpen. He was hoping even to fill his stomach with the carob that the swine was eating. And finally he comes to the end of himself and he says, my father. And my father's house has food enough to spare and so forth and so forth. I'm going to go back and I'm going to say, Father, I have sinned against you and before heaven and I'm not worthy to be called by son. Make me as one of your hired servants. And he goes back and before he ever gets there, his father sees him afar off because he's waiting for him to come home. When he gets there, he hugs him and he kisses him. Why? Because he loves him, he's missed him, he's wanted his fellowship. And what does the son say? Father, I have sinned against you. It's a confession of sin passage, it's not a salvation from hell passage. He never stopped being a son, but he was a son that lived out of fellowship with his father. And as a result of being restored to fellowship, they killed the fatted calf and were married. Because the result of being restored to fellowship with the Lord is there can be joy again in your life. The Prodigal Son is a wonderful illustration of this wonderful truth. Those are two things that every believer can lose. But you can't lose salvation, and we'll look at eight more next time. Let's pray.