And so, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father in heaven, we come to you thankful, thankful for the gift of life, thankful, Lord, for how you sustain Torrey and little Brooks. We pray that you would draw near to them, even this morning, and help them to have some rest. But Lord, we pray that you would draw near to us as well and that you would enliven our hearts as we consider the glorious truths of Scripture and how you work in our lives to save us from beginning to end. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Where did the name Marshall come from? It's a family name. Yes. So we're moving through the Westminster Confession of Faith. We're in this section right here, chapters 14 through 18. And an important question that from time to time we sought to answer is, why does this matter? Because one temptation is for people to think, well, doctrine is just for a bunch of nerds, egg-headed, stuffy Presbyterians who live in the ivory tower. I can guarantee you this, that last night, around midnight, when Tori gave birth, theology mattered, right? That mattered to her, that God is sovereign over everything, and that He loves her with an everlasting love, and that He loves His people. And theology matters. At the ground level, it matters. Yes, sometimes theology can strain our brains and it can hurt, And sometimes we scratch our heads and we think, I do not understand this. That's okay. Just because things are difficult doesn't mean it's not true. Aren't you thankful that your doctor knows a lot of difficult things? Just because they're difficult doesn't make it true. The same thing is the case when it comes to theology. Theology matters for us in the day today. Chapter 17 is where we are. It's on the perseverance of the saints. And really two things to remember here as we approach the section that we're going to focus on is in section one, last week you probably learned a little bit about what God has done. What has He done in the life of a believer? He has caused them to be born again, effectual calling. He has taken out their heart of stone and given them a heart of flesh. They were over here enslaved to sin, but now they've been liberated from sin. That doesn't mean that they don't sin and struggle with sin, but it means they're no longer a slave to sin. What has God done? He has caused us to be born again. Second part, though, is what God will do Because God has made us alive, He will keep us from falling. We have been rescued from life, we've been rescued from death to life, and we can't go back to death. We can't go backwards, right? Because God will keep us from falling away. And we'll get into a little bit of that today. Sections two and three is where we want to focus this morning. And we really want to address two questions, two rather straightforward questions. Here's the first one. How do Christians persevere? Now I put that question to you before we look at the confession. It's not to trick you. Okay. How do Christians persevere? Staying in the Word. We stay in the Word. What else? Preaching. We need the preaching of the Word. Anything else you can think of? All the means of grace. All the means of grace. And we'll get into some of this today. But the confession doesn't start with you and me. How do Christians persevere? It actually starts with God. That doesn't mean that we don't That doesn't mean that the Lord doesn't use means like our holy efforts. We are called to have a holy effort. But let's just think through how the confession puts it. This is section 2 in chapter 17, and we're going to look up some of these verses. The perseverance of the saints does not depend upon their own free will, but on the unchangeableness of the decree of election. Now, take your Bible. Let's go to some of these passages and look at them. This is John chapter 1. John chapter 1, this is verses 12 and 13. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. So notice how salvation begins with God. Begins with God. Anybody know Philippians 1-6 off the top of their head? I'll give you a hint. He who began will bring it to completion. Okay? Yes. So do you see how salvation begins with God? And it ends with God. God is all through. He is keeping His people. He is sustaining them. He will preserve them. He will preserve them. How about John 15? Let's go to John 15. Somebody read that. John 15, 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he may give to you. Now, there's a lot that can be said here from this verse. Just focus on one simple thing as it relates to what we're talking about here. He says, the perseverance of the saints does not depend upon their own free will, but on the unchangeableness of the decree of election. I did not choose you. Okay, I'm sorry. You did not choose me, but I chose you, okay? Jesus makes that rather clear. It's rather straightforward. You did not choose me, but I chose you. Okay? How about go back to chapter 10. Chapter 10, verses 28 through 30. I gave them eternal life, 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. I and the Father are one. So do you see how this relates to this topic? How does it relate? Absolutely. God is the one who holds us and causes us to persevere. If you go back to John 10 again in verse 28, Jesus makes it very clear, I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand. No one. Not even them. They do not have the power themselves to be snatched out of Christ's hands. And who was it that gave them to Christ? The Father. It's the language of election, the language of the decree. So here we see something very simple. How do Christians persevere? They persevere by the unchangeableness of the decree of election. But here's some more. The perseverance of the saints does not depend on their own free will but on the unchangeableness of the decree of election flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father. Go to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31. Somebody read verse 3. The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Does that say, I have loved you with a temporary love? No, everlasting love. What kind of love is that? No beginning and no end. That should blow your mind, okay? An everlasting love. The Father has loved us with an everlasting love. Ephesians chapter one, go there. Ephesians chapter one. with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. Keep going. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, Yes. So we see clearly there the love of the Father to save a particular people. And perseverance is built upon that. The one that God elects in Jesus Christ out of love is the one that the Father will preserve in Jesus Christ out of love to the very end of their days here in this world. How do Christians persevere? That is, by the electing love of the Father. How about some more, though? How do Christians persevere? It is on the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ. Go to Hebrews chapter 9. And it's verses 12 through 15. It says, he entered, that's Jesus, he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenants." Again, a lot there in those verses. Just get the big idea. Christians persevere on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done. He is the one who brings an eternal inheritance that is rooted in an eternal covenants. Jesus came into this world. He lived a perfect life. He died a sacrificial death. He rose victoriously. The one that Jesus dies for is the one that Jesus keeps all His days or all our days, okay? And you know Romans 8, 37 and 39, right? What does it say? Keep going. It's beautiful. for I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. You think that includes the sin that we continue to commit? Can that separate us from the love of God? No. Is that a license to act like an idiot? No. Is that a license to, well, I'm just going to live it up then? Of course not. That is the one that shows that they really have not embraced Christ. That's the one that doesn't really understand the gospel, because the love of God in Jesus Christ is meant to produce love for Christ, which is living a life for Christ. So we don't want to go into the realm of antinomianism over here. We're just kind of living it up because we think that that's what the gospel allows us to do. No, obviously not. We persevere, first and foremost, on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done. He died for us. He rose for us. He will secure us all our days. And then, how about this part right here? How do Christians persevere? Well, they persevere on the continuing presence of the Spirit and the seed of God within them. Now, we don't have time to get into some Very detailed nuance. The presence of the Spirit in the seed of God. Those two things are essentially the same thing. Essentially the same thing. What happens to a Christian when they are born again? Does the Spirit come and dwell within them? Yes. Is that mysterious? Yes. Okay? The eternal God who is omnipresent and who is immense, that is, creation itself cannot contain Him, fills the Christian, dwells within the believer. And who is He? He is the Holy Spirit. Who am I? Not all that holy at times, okay? And yet, that is a truth that the Scriptures make very clear. And because the Spirit dwells within us, the Spirit will indeed preserve us. Somebody read John 14, 16, and 17. You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you. Hmm, that's not what I was looking for. Oh, okay. That is good. Read 14 for us. No, that's all right. Excellent. So who did Jesus say that he was going to send? The helper. What do you think that means for the likes of you and me? But we need help. Otherwise Jesus wouldn't be sending a helper. Okay. What do you think we need help with? Fixing the flat tire? Well, maybe. Maybe my attitude. Okay. Fixing the flat tire. But I need help to be preserved, to persevere. I need help in that, in the Holy Spirit. dwells within me to enable me to keep going. This is Romans 8, verse 11. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Now, there's something, just a little, okay, nerd moment for a second, okay, just bear with me. Verse 11 at the beginning, you see the word if? In the Greek, the word that's used there, it's a word that means if and since, okay? And Paul, we could translate this both ways, and we would want to make sure that we understand it from both ways, because Paul is saying to his audience, if the Spirit dwells within you, are you really a Christian? But He's also saying to the believers in the room, since the Spirit dwells in you, guess what will happen? Since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. He will preserve you. He preserved Jesus. Won't He preserve you? You are united to Christ by the Spirit. And the Spirit preserved Him. He will preserve you. He can do it. We can trust Him. Verses 16 and 17 reiterate some of the same themes. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. So here you see that a little bit of the double emphasis of God will preserve His people, but we are called to persevere. We're not called to be spiritual bumps on a log, okay? We work hard for the glory of Jesus Christ, knowing that the only way that we are able to do that is by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, okay? And then the last part here, how is it that Christians are preserved? Well, it's on the nature of the covenant of grace. These are the grounds of the certainty and infallibility of their perseverance. Somebody look up Jeremiah 3240. Jeremiah 3240. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from me. Did you notice the I will? Wasn't there a will in there? Four of them. Yeah. What do you think that means? It's better than you should. Yeah, it's not. It doesn't say, I might. Oh, but you got to listen, Betty Jo, you got to make sure you work your tail off. Okay? And then maybe I will. Okay? No, I will do this. I will. Okay? I will do it. Because He's going to change our hearts. We have to remember last week's lesson about effectual calling. Our hearts have been changed and we're not going to go... The believer whose heart has truly been changed is not going to go backwards into a state of lostness. Okay? They will not go back into a state of lostness. And that should encourage us. Hebrews 13, 20 and 21 speak of some similar ideas. We'll move on from them. You can read it for yourself. But these are the grounds of the certainty and infallibility of their perseverance. So when we struggle, not if, but when we struggle with sin and doubts begin to creep into our mind, maybe it's the devil who is bringing them or just our own conviction We wonder, Lord, am I actually a believer? Maybe we struggle with assurance, which is the next chapter in the confession. When we struggle with assurance, what do we do? We go back to truth like this right here. I've told several of you in this room that probably the number one question that I have had in ministry, 20 years of doing ministry, is, Pastor, I'm not sure that I am a Christian. because I've sinned in a horrible way, and I have doubts about whether I am a believer. That's a real question that people struggle with. Maybe you have in the past. Maybe it's something you struggle with now. What do you do? You go back to truth like this right here. Our perseverance, while we play a role in our perseverance, right? Ultimately, our perseverance happens because of what God has done. How do Christians persevere? Through God the Father, because of his electing love in Christ's redemptive work, by the Spirit, which fulfills the covenant of grace. That is, those promises in the Old Testament to send a Redeemer who will save a people. So how do Christians persevere? You see the answer before you. Think about an example of somebody in the Bible. that God preserved. I'm just gonna give you one, there are tons of them, okay? Here's one, Abraham. God's electing love, how do we see it in Abraham's life? Yeah. You, I want you to go, okay? It's not like he was surrounded by a whole bunch of godly, wonderful people. No, they were pagans. Absolute pagans. And the Lord chose to reveal Himself to Abram and told him to go. And then, of course, we see how Abraham, we learn in the New Testament, in Galatians particularly, how even Abraham, Hebrews chapter 11, looks back to the promised one. His hope was not in himself, but was in the Lord Jesus Christ. He certainly had the Holy Spirit at work in his life. He functions as a prophet at times. And he certainly is a part of the covenant of grace as God makes promises to him to send a promised seed who will save a promised people and bring them into a promised land, as we'll talk about in the sermon this morning. So Abraham is a good example of what we're talking about here. Did he sin along the way? Is he like a poster child for uprightness all the time? No, definitely not. You had the whole Hagar thing, like sort of an extra wife, which wasn't that good. And then on top of that, you know, he pretends that his wife is his sister because he's scared to death, and that happened on more than one occasion, and it's just a mess, okay? Absolute mess at times. So how do Christians persevere? It's not because of us, it's ultimately because of God. However, what impact might temptations and sin have on the persevering saints? What would we say here? What impact might temptations and sin have on the persevering saint? It can cause doubt, okay? It can cause doubt, yes. Yes. Right, as we are convicted of our sin, yeah, we'd hopefully, hopefully learn to trust the Lord. Daryl, what were you going to say? Yeah. Yes. Yes. And what impact might temptations and sin have on the persevering saint? It could also show that one is not a saint. That's like the last step there. Okay. If there's no repentance in life, a constant going back to Christ. Okay. But notice what the confession says. 17.3. Nevertheless, so section two really focuses on the, the grounds of our perseverance. It's God and His electing love, the work of Jesus Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our souls. Then it says, nevertheless, they, that's the persevering saints, right? The believer, the one who's been born again, they may, through the temptations of Satan and of the world, the pervasiveness of the corruption remaining in them, which is what? What is that? the pervasiveness of the corruption remaining in them. Think of a synonym. Total depravity, indwelling sin, the flesh, and the neglect of the means by which they are to be preserved. What is that? Means of grace. So, let's just say for a second, hypothetically, maybe I'm not coming to church a whole lot. Would you expect that I would be able to live a godly life? Probably not. Now, what if I'm providentially hindered? Okay, that's different, okay? I've been sick for a long time and I can't come or, you know, my children are sick and I can't come. There were times when we had four kids and 18 months apart, there were times where Melody didn't come to church for like six weeks, okay? Because somebody was sick. It happens. That's not what this is talking about. This is talking about somebody who is intentionally choosing to neglect the means of grace, intentionally choosing to not come to church. Well, you would expect them to fall into grievous sin and for a time continue in them. You would expect that, okay? Because we need the means of grace to preserve us. The temptations of Satan in the world and in our own flesh are powerful. We need the means that God uses to give us spiritual muscles to be able to stand against these enemies. If we don't put ourselves in front of them, then we will struggle unnecessarily with sin and continue in it. Let's go to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew chapter 26. Matthew 26, and this is verses 70 through 74. This is an example of what we're talking about here. We'll start at verse 69. Now, Peter was sitting outside the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him and said, You also were with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied it before them all, saying, I do not know what you mean. And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, this man was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again, he denied it with an oath, I do not know the man. After a while, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you. Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, I do not know the man. And immediately the rooster crowed, and Peter remembered the sayings of Jesus. Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly. Peter, through the temptations of Satan and the world and the flesh within him, he fell into grievous sin. And he continued in it for a period of time. That's an example. If we keep going here, it says, in so doing, they incur God's displeasure and grieve His Holy Spirit. Some measure of God's graces and comforts is taken from them. They have their hearts hardened and wounded, hurt and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves. So if you notice in this first part, in so doing, they incur God's displeasure and grieve His Holy Spirit. What does that tell you about the Holy Spirit? What are some things that that tells you about the Holy Spirit? Yes? That the Holy Spirit is for us. Yes. Yeah, we see the Holy Spirit's heart, okay? As we learn an emphasis on the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit does not want us to fall into sin, and it grieves Him. But the other side of that is, well, it shows the Holy Spirit's love and care for us. Sin hurts God's people. It hurts you. It hurts me. And the Holy Spirit doesn't want that for us. He cares too much for us. And so it grieves Him. And as a result, some measure of God's graces and comforts is taken away. We may not know the comforts of godliness, which does say something to us about how holiness does actually bring happiness to the soul. I know. I get it. I've been there. Holiness can bring opposition and it can cause pain in life. Okay, that's true. But here's the beauty of the gospel. Even when you face opposition for holiness, your heart is comforted and warmed with love for the Lord. You know His peace and help. They have their hearts hardened. They grow stubborn in their sin, and wounded, hurt, and scandalize others, and bring temporal judgments upon themselves. Can you think of an example of somebody in the Old Testament where this, like, classic case? Yeah, how about this guy right here, David, okay? David and Bathsheba. This went on for a while where he was stubborn in his sin, he covered it up. All of the things that are described here in these two sections, or in this section here, in section three, happened with David. He was tempted, Satan, his own flesh. He perhaps had neglected the means by which they were to be preserved. He did not remove himself from circumstances of sin. He hung out in the city when he probably should have been out there with the men in the army, right? He put himself in a situation where it was easier to fall into sin, and as a result, God's displeasure. Do you know that in 2 Samuel chapter 11, God's name is not given until the last verse. The thing that David did displeased the Lord. So you're reading that chapter and you think, where's the Lord in all of this? It's at the very end. Displeased God what he did. And so we go on here. David is a great example of what we're seeing here. And we could use Solomon as another example. Solomon, someone who fell into sin, how did he fall into sin? How did he give himself over to sin? What did he do? Do you remember from 1 Kings 11? Yeah, that's one way to put it, okay? He had lots of wives, and as a result, he gave himself over to idolatry. And if the wisest man in the world can do that, what about you and me? It's meant to shake us a little bit and say, hey, stick close to the means of grace, be wise, be careful, get yourself in the Word, be around the faithful who can encourage you in the things of God. Remember that you are weak and that you need the Holy Spirit to help you to fight sin and to persevere and depend upon Him every day. So as we close, what are some key takeaways here? What do you think? We looked at two sections in the Confession. One is focusing on God's preservation, how He preserves us, the ground of our perseverance. And the other one is saying something to us about how easily we can fall into sin, not perilously as Christians. We can't fall away. But boy, we can fall into grievous sin, and it not only hurt us, it hurt other people. What are some key takeaways, do you think? Yes. Yes, it has to start there. Otherwise we have no hope. Okay. Now, does that mean that they just kind of let's go and let's gone? No, of course not. We work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who is at work in us. Okay. So yes, we do work, but we start with God. What else? Yes. whether great or small, we can return. And God is there for us. And when we feel guilty, when we feel shame, it's because He's loving us with His Holy Spirit. And our own misery is proof of His love. Yes, absolutely. What's the difference between Peter and Judas? Peter repented. And Judas did not. Peter came back to Christ. Judas never did. They both committed grievous sins. In a sense, they both betrayed Christ. But Peter, he came back and threw himself on the mercy of Christ. Judas never did, showing that he was not a Christian. Which should say something to us about perseverance. So often we think that perseverance is really about all the good things that I do. There's some truth in that. I do need to do good things. But do you remember, I've said this before, I'm sure you remember Martin Luther's first of the 95 Theses. Do you remember what it was about? It's about repentance. The Christian life is a life of repentance. Perseverance is filled with repentance. Filled with it. From beginning to the very end. We're always persevering in repentance, depending upon the grace of Christ to help us each day. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank you for the grace of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Father, thank you for your electing love and for the efficacy of Christ's work on our behalf and for the spirit who dwells mysteriously within us. and that you will hold us fast all our days. You will keep us from stumbling. May that encourage us. Lord, may it make us more and more dependent upon you that we might not fall into grievous sin and give into the temptations of the devil and the world and our own sinful flesh. Lord, we don't want to commit sins that would displease you and that would grieve the spirit. We don't want to commit sins that would hurt ourselves and hurt others. We want to stay away from sin and fly unto Christ and seek godliness all our days. But we are utterly dependent upon you. So please, the work that you've started in us, would you, would you complete it in us and hold us fast all throughout? We rest in you. We pray in Jesus name.