In Revelation 2:25 and 3:11 the Christ "who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands" ordered two churches to "Only hold on to what you have until I come" and "Only hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown".
He warned Christians...his own believers...his acknowledged disciples...heirs of his promises...to repent of sins they tolerated in the church. They had the responsibility of taking action that would KEEP THEM in grace. The very opposite of Calvinist doctrine that anyone turning from Christ never possessed grace. Careful attention to obedience secures our discipleship. For we can lose what we have in Christ. Judas HAD BEEN one of the disciples, Acts 1:17, but lost his place through sinning without repentance. Right there, in Peter's first reference to Judas after betraying Jesus, the apostle could have said, Judas NEVER WAS "one of our number and shared in this ministry." But no. "Judas...was one of our number and shared in this ministry," but lost his share of leadership by disobedience. All Bible teaching, and the New Testament particularly, emphasizes the responsibility each believer has in HOLDING ON to faith in Christ. A religious chimera teaches the impossibility of losing what we HAVE, though in careless disregard of Christ's treasure we lose interest in persevering in obedience. And the corollary chimera teaches that we won't DESIRE to lose what we HAVE. That theory ignores the Master's teaching that we need to WATCH and PRAY lest we fall into temptation. For while our spirit wills obedience our flesh weakly implements it Matthew 26:41. It also discounts the spiritual conflict constantly ebbing and flowing in us between the Spirit of Grace and the works of the flesh Galatians 5:16-26. HOLD ON! Christians.
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