OceanSide church of Christ
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ETERNAL SECURITY
Defined in Conviction (1)
Victor M. Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A. If an individual is convicted, he can never be swayed or moved.
B. If a person has little, or no conviction, he will be blown as a leaf in the wind.
C. The power of conviction cannot be underestimated. It has been the key ingredient in every success story ever told.
D. It is one of the keys to the eternal security of the believer.
E. We will look at two things in this lesson:
1. The Definition of Conviction
2. A Directory of Core Convictions
I. THE DEFINITION OF CONVICTION
A. A fixed or firm belief
B. Conviction involves a knowledge that something is true.
C. A person with conviction is fully persuaded.
D. The flip-side of conviction is doubt and uncertainty.
II. A DIRECTORY OF CORE CONVICTIONS
A. God exists.
1. This belief is based upon solid evidence (i.e., design).
2. Our belief in God is not “a blind leap into the dark.”
3. Hebrews 11:6
…for he that cometh to God must believe that he is…
B. God created the Universe.
1. Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2. Man is included in this creation.
a. Man is not the product of the evolutionary process of the humanist.
b. God created man (Gen. 2:7) and made him in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27).
c. This makes man far different than the animal kingdom.
C. Jesus is the Son of God.
1. Jesus was not “just a man” or “just a prophet.”
2. Jesu was God in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:5-8).
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
3. The deity of Jesus rests upon solid evidence (i.e., birth, miracles, resurrection) See John 20:30-31
4. Paul was right (Col. 2:9).
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
D. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again the third day.
1. These are the fundamental facts of the gospel (I Cor. 15:1-4).
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I have preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
2. In his death, Jesus redeemed man and conquered Satan.
3. However, had He not come forth from the grave, His death would have no significance.
4. He was “declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4), an event that was well attested (I Cor. 15:6).
E. The Bible is the Word of God.
1. The only divinely authorized book on the earth is the Bible.
2. It is inspired, that is, God-breathed (II Tim. 3:16).
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God…
3. If is the Bible not from God, it is a hoax, and we might as well live as we please.
4. If it is from God, its instructions mean everything.
5. There is plenty of evidence to prove it is from God (i.e., unity, prophecies, historical accuracy, scientific accuracy).
F. The church is God’s eternal plan.
1. Jesus promised to build His church (Matt. 16:18).
2. It was purchased with His blood (Acts 20:28).
3. In this body, salvation is found (Acts 2:47; Eph. 5:23).
4. The church was not an after-thought in God’s plan, it was an eternal thought (Eph. 3:8-11).
5. It was brought into existence on Pentecost Day following our Lord’s resurrection (Acts 2:47).
G. God has a plan whereby man can be saved from his sins.
1. The gospel is God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16) and in it is the way man is made righteous (Rom. 1:17).
2. The plan involves being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:3, 5).
a. Those who obey the truth revealed by the Holy Spirit (I Pet. 1:22-23)
b. And, those who are immersed in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16) are saved (Mark 16:16).
3. If they are faithful till death, they will receive a crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
H. Evangelism is the primary work of the church.
1. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
2. Jesus commissioned His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15).
3. Those who believed and were baptized were saved (Mark 16:16).
4. Now the church, as the pillar and ground of the truth (I Tim. 3:15), must continue to spread the saving message of the gospel (I Cor. 15:1-2).
I. Men must worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
1. The worship must be conducted as God has authorized in His Word (Col. 3:17).
2. Worshiping God contrary to His will is vain, empty worship (Matt. 15:7-9).
J. A day of judgment is coming (Heb. 9:27).
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
1. When the Lord returns, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed with fire (II Pet. 3:10-12).
2. All nations will be gathered before the judgment seat of Christ (Matt. 25:31-32).
3. All will be judged according to the truth of God’s Word (John 12:48; Rom. 2:2)
4. The righteous will enter into eternal life, but the ungodly will enter into everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46).
CONCLUSION
A. Conviction is a firmly held belief.
B. There are truths that we must hold firm (II Thess. 2:15).
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or by our epistle.
C. If we give up these beliefs
1. We will drift from God.
2. We will lose our distinctiveness.
3. We will become a mere social club.
D. If we do not
1. The church will remain steadfast.
2. We will pass on a legacy to the next generation.
3. Salvation will be proclaimed upon the earth.
4. We will be extremely pleasing to the heavenly Father.