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Introduction: Friend from Chicago

Well, there are a lot of people in the room who have never been with us. So typically, I start sermons with some illustration or funny story or some insight from my life. Usually some ridiculous thing I’ve done recently. That’s typical in a lot of ways. But this morning I want to start with something a  little more sobering. I want to talk about a friend of mine who lives in Chicago, just a few years younger than I am. I did ministry with this man many years ago, back in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He and I were friends, and he loved Jesus. In fact, I would tell you, man, I was more confident that this guy loved Jesus more than I love Jesus.

I was more confident in his salvation than my own. I was so confident that he was more committed to the mission of God than even I was. But over the last several years, over time, he started to question elements of the Christian faith. He started to voice some concerns or thoughts. He had some doctrines that he wasn’t sure he quite believed in. Over time, he began to sort of shift away from Christian practice and began to neglect being around other believers. Then Covid hit, and that made it pretty easy for him to stop connecting with believers, and he never really reconnected to church after that. 

Then he started to dabble with some pretty gross sins, particularly when it comes to sexuality. Over the last few months, he began to post some things that raised the eyebrows of many of us. And just a few weeks ago, he announced on Instagram that he had left his wife and his two kids to go live with another man, to be in a same sex relationship. He says he’s no longer a Christian. He still holds to some elements of the Christian faith, or there are some elements of the Bible he thinks are valuable. But functionally, he’s not a believer. For the friends who have been in our friendship circle with this guy over the years, this has been immensely painful. And more than that, this is immensely painful for his wife and kids. Heartbroken.

So I’m concerned for his family and their welfare, and what’s going to look like for them in the coming years. But I’m also incredibly concerned for my friend’s soul. I’m heartbroken because I know that the trajectory he is on, he will one day stand before the living God in judgment, and he will experience the full wrath of God. That makes me really, really sad. So I’ve had to grapple with this question all over again. As I’ve been thinking about the situation with my good friend in Chicago and I’ve reached out to him over the last few weeks, and he wants nothing. He’s like, no, I don’t want to talk. Because he knows that I’m not going to just let it slide. I’ve got a reputation.

So he basically just ignored me and ghosted me a couple of weeks ago. I thought about looking on Priceline.com, and seeing what the tickets to Chicago cost. I thought about just showing up one day at his house. So we’re going to grapple with this all over again. Lord, was he ever really a Christian, or was he a fake, or was he genuine and then somehow lost his salvation? That’s the grapple.

 

Can Christians Lose Their Salvation?

This question has been hotly debated amongst Christians for pretty much the last 300 years. There are certainly moments in Christian history where this debate has come up throughout the last 2,000 years of Christian history. So it’s not a new debate. But the debates around this particular question have been particularly acute over the last 300 years or so. The question is, can a genuine Christian lose their salvation?

That’s the question. Let’s frame the debate properly. When a person comes to faith in Christ, when someone says, I believe in Jesus, we believe that that person is then ushered into a friendship with God where they can have a genuine, joy-filled, intimate friendship with God. Their sins are forgiven, and then the Holy Spirit comes into that person’s soul and transforms their soul.

There’s this supernatural, mysterious thing that the Spirit of God does in the life of the genuine believer that can’t even really be articulated or fully explained. It allows us to enjoy the happiness and joy of God. And this transformation gives us the power to fight sin. So there’s an expectation that we will be able to say no to sin. Over the course of time, that power in our life, it grows. So we should expect that someone who’s a believer, over the course of time they will sin less than they did earlier in their faith. 

They’re never going to be sinless. We’re always going to have sin in this life until we are fully in glory. But we should expect that over time, there should be less sin in our lives. If someone is sinning the same amount for decades, you have to question whether or not the power of God is really at work in that person’s life. But the question becomes, is it possible for that to all be undone? A person who comes to faith is forgiven; they’re transformed with the Holy Spirit. If they were to die at that moment, they would go to heaven. But could that be undone? 

Could they say, I choose to reject Jesus, I no longer believe in Jesus, and now I used to have a ticket to heaven, and now that’s been taken from me, and now I’m on my way towards judgment. Is that possible? There are two camps throughout church history. Two groups. There’s more than just two, actually. The conversation can be a little complicated. There’s some nuance to it, there are variations of it, but generally speaking, there are two big camps to this question. There’s one camp that says yes, one camp that says no. 

 

Two Viewpoints

So, group one, these are the Christians that would say, yes, that a genuine Christian can lose their salvation. They would say that this person, who was a believer, had they died while they were still believing, while they were still living for Jesus, they would have gone to heaven. But now, since they’ve stopped believing, since they’ve walked away from faith, now if they die because of their unbelief, they would face the wrath of God. 

This group would say to me, Kenny, yes, your friend in Chicago was indeed a genuine Christian. And had he died back in 2010, he would be with Jesus. But over the last decade or so, he has made some choices where he has now lost that promise of heaven. If he were to die today, he would be, unfortunately, tragically, in hell. That’s group one. Group one would say, yes, you can lose your salvation. 

Then there’s a second group. The second group would say, no, a genuine Christian cannot lose their salvation. That group would say that a professing believer, someone who claims to be a Christian, but later walks away from the faith, was actually never truly a believer. They may have believed some elements of Christianity, but there was still in their harder hearts, some level of unbelief, some seeds of doubt that they never really dealt with. That over time, those seeds can grow, causing the person to outright reject the Christian faith.

So group two would say to me, Kenny, your friend, no, he was never a genuine believer. All along, those seeds of doubt were there. The unbelief was in his heart. Maybe it was small, maybe he didn’t realize it. Certainly, you didn’t realize it, but it was there all along. He was never genuinely saved. He may have convinced himself he was a Christian. He may have fooled you, he may have even fooled himself, but he never fooled God. 

Eventually, inevitably, for maybe a myriad of reasons, the unbelief took root, grew, and this person walked away from their faith, but they were never genuine. That’s the idea. That’s group number two. Had he died at any point in his life, his trajectory would have been the wrath of God. His trajectory would have been hell. He was never truly ever headed for heaven. That’s what Group 2 would say. 

Now, I want to make it very clear. I believe there are faithful Christians on both sides of the debate. I think there are people who love God, who love the Bible, who genuinely love Jesus with all their hearts, who disagree on this issue. And that’s okay. I think there are faithful Christians in both group one and group two. There’s this element of American culture that’s evolved over the last 20 to 25 years, where anyone who is not like us, anyone who disagrees with me, is awful and terrible. That has seeped into evangelicalism. So, anyone who disagrees with you on any issue, that person is a heretic. 

That is not at all what this debate would be about. There are genuine Christians on both sides of the debate. However, one of them is wrong. They can’t both be right. It doesn’t work. No, they are fundamentally at odds. So I am in one of these two groups. Many of you may already know which group I’m in. That’s all right. I think the other one is wrong. But I don’t think they’re heretics. There are still a lot of great friends. I know a lot of people who love Jesus that I trust who disagree with me on this issue. And it’s okay to be friends with people who disagree with you. Can I get an Amen? That was an amen moment. That was a good one.

Anyway, so here’s our plan for this morning. For the next few moments, we’re going to look at this passage of Scripture, Hebrews chapter six, that Daniel just read for us. Because this passage, Hebrews chapter six, really is sort of at the heart of the debate. For those of you who have not been with us for the last few months as a church, we’ve been traveling through the Book of Hebrews. We believe in expository preaching. We’re going through the Book of Hebrews chapter by chapter, section by section, over the last few months, and we have finally come to the middle section of Hebrews chapter six.

This particular passage is really at the heart of this debate. When group one and group two are debating, this is the passage that many of them are looking at. There are certainly others, but this is typically the most common or the most controversial one that people look at. So we’re going to look at this passage. I’m going to tell you: Here’s how group one interprets it, Here’s how group two interprets it. Then I’m going to tell you what group I’m in, although many of you already know. Then what I’m going to do is we’re going to end the morning with just some pastoral insights, I think, on how to use this passage in our everyday lives. How does this passage actually apply to me? Right, so that’s the plan.

How does group one interpret this? How does group two interpret this? What group is Kenny in and why? And more importantly, how does this passage apply to our lives? That’s the plan for the next few moments together. Before we do that, let’s pray and ask for God’s help one more time. 

God, as we look at this passage, would you help us? Help us to understand it? And I pray that every single one of us will walk out of this place loving you more than we did when we came in. In Christ’s name, I pray these things. Amen. 

 

Deeper Look at the Two Viewpoints

If you have your Bibles, look at Hebrews chapter 6, verse 4 says this, 

“For it is impossible in the case of those who…” 

Let’s stop there. No, he didn’t get very far. He’s about to tell us that there’s a group of people, a category of people, that cannot do something. It is impossible. There’s something that’s impossible. For in the case of those who. There’s a particular group of people, he’s like, there’s a category of people who can’t do something. That’s what he’s about to tell us. He’s going to explain to us who this is. But before we look at who the category is, I want to highlight what they can’t do. Look at verse six. He says this 

“To restore them again to repentance.” 

So there’s a category of people for whom it is impossible to restore them again to repentance. There’s a particular category of human Beings that are so lost, so far from God, their hearts are so jaded that they’ve actually lost the ability to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Yikes. I do not want to be in that category. That would not go well for us. So, who are these people? Who are these people that have seemingly reached a point where they are now incapable of asking God to forgive them; therefore, they will never be forgiven of their sin. Who are these people? Look at verse four, the middle part of verse four, he says 

“It’s those that have once been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the ages, of the age to come, and then have fallen away.” 

So these people who were once enlightened, their minds understood something. They tasted the heavenly gift, they tasted the goodness of the word of God, but for some reason, at some point, they fell away. My friend in Chicago is in this category. These are people who seemingly have tasted in some genuine or profound fashion the goodness of God. Look at how each group, group one and group two, thinks about this category. So, group one would say this clearly describes a genuine believer. Group one would say, Hebrews 6 is talking about Christians who are headed for heaven but then reject Jesus and walk away and lose their salvation. And now they’re headed for hell.

Isn’t that obvious? They were enlightened. They tasted the heavenly gift, they shared the Holy Spirit, they tasted the goodness of the word. Like that’s clearly describing Christians who have then fallen away. That’s how group one would describe these people. 

However, group two would say, this does not describe a genuine Christian. It describes the person who has gotten really, really close but never truly believed. If that is right, that should frighten us. Group two would say, yes, these people in Hebrews 6, this category of person that Hebrews 6 is talking about, these people, yes, they’ve come so close. They went to church, they did the Christian stuff. Maybe they were super generous and hospitable. They got baptized, and they went to Bible study.

They may have even done some supernatural miracles at some point in their life. They came oh, so close, but never truly digested the glory and goodness of God into their souls. That’s how the two groups would interpret this passage. Group one would say, Hebrews 6 is talking about Christians who have then fallen away. Group 2 would say, no, Hebrews 6 is talking about this group of people who looked like Christians. They were in church every week. They did all the Christian stuff. But down deep in their heart, there was still a significant unbelief that kept them from ever really fully experiencing what God has for them. 

 

Pastor Kenny’s Viewpoint

So that’s how these two groups interpret this passage. Which group am I in? I told you I would tell you what group I’m in. I don’t think it’s a shock to anyone. I am in group number two. If you disagree with me, we can still be friends. I think you’re wrong, but we can still be friends. I would say that my friend, who lives in Chicago, who has walked away from his family, as shocking and as disorienting as it is for me, was never truly a believer. I’m going to tell you why I believe that. There are some clues in the text that I think give us that. 

Then there are some other passages elsewhere in the New Testament that I want to look at as well. So we’ll look at that. Skip down with me in Hebrews 6 to verses 7 and 8. He’s going to give a farming analogy, which is an analogy as far away as my brain can understand. My idea of farming and fishing is walking down aisle three of Publix. But he gives a farming illustration here, verses seven and eight. Look at verse seven. He says this,

“For the land has drunk the rain that often falls on it and produces a crop useful to those whose sake it is cultivated, and receives a blessing from God.” 

So he’s like, there’s a plot of land and there’s rain that’s falling on it. And the plot of land produces good crops, fruit. That’s useful. Then he says this in verse 8, 

“But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.” 

So he’s like, imagine a bunch of plots of land and there’s rain falling on all of them. All of them, it seems like, are being watered well, and the rain is getting into the land really well. There looks like there’s some action in all the plots of land. There’s some greenery popping up, and there’s some animals running through, and there’s some flowers. It seems like all these plots of land are receiving the rain, which is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. They’re all receiving the Holy Spirit, and they’re all doing good, they’re all about to grow up. 

Then all of a sudden, after a lengthy period of time when they all look like they’re all doing good, some of them produce good crops and some of them produce thorns and thistles. This would be a shock. All of these plots of land look like they’re all doing well. There’s action, there’s stuff, there’s foliage, there’s stuff growing, there’s stuff happening. But all of a sudden, one of these is producing. Some of these plots of land are producing fruit, helpful, beneficial crops. And some of them are producing thorns and thistles. 

That’s the illustration. When you’re interpreting Hebrews 6, this is the illustration I want you to think about. The plots of land that eventually produced thorns and thistles. They were always going to produce thorns and thistles. They were never going to produce good fruit. The seeds that are in that dirt were not for good crops. It was always going to produce bad crops. 

So to us, we thought good crops were going to come of this. But then, eventually, the things that were truly planted in that dirt come to fruition. So the person who looks like they believe in Jesus, but then some thorns and thistles, some, metaphorically speaking, some things come from their life that are negative. That was planted in their heart all along. They were never going to produce fruit. They were never a plot of land that could be relied upon for a crop that would be helpful. Here’s what he says about those plots of land, worthless, near to being cursed, will be burned.

God, I don’t want that to be of me. Please, God, would you root out the seeds of thorns and thistles in my heart?

If you are a plot of land, spiritually speaking, where thorns and thistles are planted and may grow, you are close to being cursed by God, and you will face being burned. I didn’t write it. Don’t get mad at me. It’s there. He wrote it. That should make every single one of us shake in our boots just a little bit this morning.

I love preaching on the goodness of God, the grace of God, the love of God, the mercy of God; it’s like my favorite things to preach on. So when I get to this kind of passage, I gotta be honest, I wish I could tell you I’m like, you know, so thick-skinned that these passages don’t bother me not at all. These passages sit in my soul. They’re hard pills to swallow. I’ve been hanging out in this passage all week, and it’s been heavy. 

The reality that there are people in my life that I think are good plots of land, but inevitably, eventually are going to bring forth thorns and thistles. That haunts me. So this is the imagery of Hebrews, chapter six. I don’t think, again, with all due respect to my friends who disagree with me on this, I don’t believe that a genuine Christian can lose their salvation. But it is possible for someone to think they are genuine and not be. It’s possible to fool yourself into thinking these people who have been enlightened there’s some understanding of scripture. 

They share in the Holy Spirit. They taste the goodness of God. They’ve tasted the powers of the age to come in the future, the perfect age. There’s power in that age that is seeping back into this age. And sometimes we can taste them. Even these people they can taste that they come oh, so close, but never cross over into true belief. How tragic. Earlier, I mentioned that I think some of these people can even do miracles in moments. And that may be shocking to some until you hear the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 7. Jesus is talking about this exact group of people, this category of really close people, and they come to him on judgment day. In Matthew 7, verse 22. This is what it says. 

“On that day, many will say to me, (this is Jesus speaking.) Many will say to me, lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name?” 

Didn’t we do all the great Christian stuff? We cast out demons. We were prophesying Jesus. We were miracle workers on your behalf in heaven with you now. And Jesus says to them, 

“I never knew you. Depart from me.”

There are people who have done all the Christian stuff really well. People who’ve even done miraculous things that stand before Jesus, and they’re like, Jesus, look at my resume. All the good stuff I did. And he’s like, I don’t know you. We’ve never been friends. You came oh, so close. But you never genuinely allowed my goodness to get into your heart. The seeds of thorns and thistles, the seeds of unbelief, were still there. Depart from me, he says to them on that day, and we should beg God that that not be us. 

 

Additional Scripture References

There are a few other passages of scripture. There are dozens in the New Testament that we could go to, but there’s one clear one. This is the verse that I think most clearly answers the question, Can a Christian lose their salvation? That’s First John 2:19. He says this, He’s speaking of people who were once a part of the church and then walked away from faith. He says, 

“They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out for us. That it might become plain that they were not of us.” 

These people who were with us they went out from us. They rejected us. They no longer believe in Jesus. But I want you to know they left us because they were not of us. How do I know that they were not of us? Because if they were of us, they would have stuck with us. The reason why this was made plain, the reason why Jesus allowed them to be exposed, is that we would know which were the good plots, which were where. The plots with thorns and thistles.

Genuine Christians will stick with Jesus all the days of their life, but it’s not because of your effort or what you have done. If you could lose your salvation, you would. If you could walk away from Jesus, you would. But you can’t because he has promised to keep you. Listen to God’s word. Isaiah 41:13 says this,

“I am the Lord your God. I will take hold of your right hand. Do not fear, I will hold you.” 

Isaiah 46:4.

“I will be your God throughout your lifetime. I made you, I will care for you.”

 I made you, I will care for you. He says. Psalm 37:28,

 “The Lord will not forsake his saints. They will be preserved forever.” 

If you are truly one of his, you will be preserved forever. There ain’t nothing you could do about it. Philippians 1:6 says this,

“I am sure of this. (The Apostle Paul speaking.) I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will complete it to the day of Christ Jesus.” 

He, the one who started it. Jesus. He started the work. He’s going to finish it. You didn’t start the work that made you a Christian, so you’re not going to end the work that keeps you a Christian. He started to work in you, and he will bring it to completion as he sees fit. You will not be able to get away from him. Jude 24 says this,

“He is able to keep you from stumbling.” 

He is able, not you are able to keep yourself from stumbling. Not, you are able to figure out a way to stop stumbling. No. No. He. He. He will keep you from stumbling. John 10, Jesus speaking. John 10: 28-30 says this, speaking of true believers, 

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, He is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them from my Father’s hand.”

There’s a group of people, genuine Christians, that the Father has given to Jesus. The Father said, Jesus, they’re yours. This is my gift to you, son. And the Father says to Jesus, You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to make sure that none of them gets lost. So if you’re a genuine believer, the reason you will stick with Jesus is not because of what you can accomplish, it is because of what the Father has promised to his Son.

 

How Do We Apply This Passage to Our Lives?

One of the things that I’ve noticed amongst those of us who are in group two, those of us who would say genuine Christians cannot lose their salvation. One of the things I’ve noticed is that, while I believe it to be true, God will hold us fast, He will hold us strong. He will hold us tight. He’s never going to let us go. That is true. So sometimes what we do is we see passages like Hebrews chapter six, and we go, whoo. Glad that doesn’t apply to me. We ignore it and move on to the next chapter.

We functionally render the entire chapter obsolete. If you rightly interpret a passage, the response ought not be, I guess I could ignore that one and move on to the next one. That’s totally illogical. So, what do we do with this passage, this warning in chapter six? Of course, there are many other warnings, as those who’ve been traveling with us through the Book of Hebrews, there’s almost every chapter, there’s some significant warning. There are multiple warnings throughout the Book of Hebrews. What do we do with this passage, then? 

It’s our last thing to hit on this morning. I told you. How do we apply this passage to our lives? There are several moments in scripture that I think we could look at, some narratives that help us understand how to use some of these passages. But we only have time for one this morning. So my favorite passage, I think, models for us how to use a warning passage like Hebrews 6.

If this passage is not talking about us, genuine Christians, how does it apply to our lives? Well, the best narrative I think, models this for us is in Acts, chapter 27. If you want to turn there, you can. In Acts chapter 27, the apostle Paul had just been on trial in Judea, and he ends up being put on a ship to head to Rome because he’s going to be on trial in front of the Roman Emperor, in front of Caesar. So he’s traveling there. While he is traveling, He’s on a ship traveling across the Mediterranean Sea. There’s a massive storm that hits, and there are choppy waters and multiple storms happening in Acts chapter 27.

An angel of God, the angel of the Lord, comes to Paul and gives him a vision and tells him that not one of the men on your ship is gonna die. 100% of them are gonna make it. There are 276 men on board, Acts tells us, and they’re all gonna make it. The boat’s gonna make it. Everyone’s gonna survive. Great. That’s really good. God has sent a message so these men can feel secure and know, I’m going to make it. Several days pass by, and there have been several bad storms, multiple near misses.

So around the 14th day, around midnight, late at night on the 14th day of the trip, they are getting really close to some rocks. Some of the men on the ship are going to jump ship. So Paul goes to the Centurion. He’s the leader of the crew. He’s the highest-ranking official on the ship. You would expect that these men who are about to jump ship, you would expect that Paul might say something like this, I heard an angel, that all of us are going to survive. So it doesn’t matter if they jump or not. They can jump. It doesn’t matter what they do. Everyone’s going to survive. 

That’s not what Paul says. It’s a little odd, actually, at first. He says to the centurion, Unless these men stay on the ship, you cannot be saved. If any of these men jump off the ship, the ship’s not going to make it, and we’re all going to die. Well, Paul, that seems contrary to what the angel of the Lord told you, that everyone was going to survive. That doesn’t make sense. So Paul tells the Centurion and all the men stay on the ship. Here’s what we see: God makes a promise, you’re going to survive, Christians. Then, later, he issues warnings. 

Our obedience to the warning is the thing that keeps us close to him to fulfill the promise he gave us, right? So he says the angel said, Paul, all 276 men, they’re all going to make it. 14 days later, he’s like, guys, if you jump, we’re all gonna die. And they go, whoa. No one jumps. And they all live. By obeying the warning, the promise is fulfilled. I think that’s precisely what we get in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews chapter 6 and elsewhere in the book of Hebrews, elsewhere in the New Testament, there are these warnings for Christians, and it would be easy for us to go, well, I know I’m gonna get to heaven no matter what, so I can do whatever I want.

Sometimes people live that way. Well, I’m a believer. I know I’m going to heaven. And they go live like hellions. No, no. The warning of scripture is to obey Jesus. That’s the warning. Although I know I’m going to heaven, I know I’m saved. I know I will be with him and that I cannot walk away. The warning of scripture tells me, Kenny, if you disobey God over and over and over and over and over again, you should expect to be thrown into hell. That’s a warning. I’m going to obey the warning.

I’m not going to sin over and over and over and over again. I’m going to obey what he tells me to do, and that will keep me close to him. The warnings of scripture, when we obey them, are the very mechanism that God uses to keep us close to him. But if you are a Christian, you are a professing Christian, and you hear God give commands in scripture, and your response is, I don’t know if I really need to obey that one. Yikes. You might be a plot of land with some seeds of thorns and thistles in your heart. The genuine believer will want to obey small commands of scripture or big commands of scripture. 

When God makes commands, even if you don’t understand it, even if it doesn’t make sense to you, even if you can’t articulate it, just do what he tells you to do, obey him. In your obedience, that will keep you close to him. I’ve been asked this before. How do I know if I’m a legit Christian? How do I know if I’m really headed for heaven? Your heart’s response to the warnings of scripture will expose where your heart truly is. When I read these commands, these warnings, I go, whoo. I want to run back to you, Jesus. I want to run away from my sin and towards you. 

 

Closing: He Will Hold Us Fast

If that’s a humble, genuine response of your heart, if that’s you, that is the evidence that there’s a true work of the Spirit of God in your heart, and you can take heart in it. You can be comforted by that you are genuinely his, that you will be with him forever and ever and ever, that he will hold you fast, that he will finish the work in you that he began, and that you will enter into that eternal rest and experience the joy and happiness of God forever and ever and ever.

If you are here this morning, though, and you would say, Kenny, I’m not sure that’s my heart. I’m not sure I’m the person that, when I hear the commands of Scripture, I’m like, yes, I want to obey that. When I hear the doctrines of the Christian faith, do I embrace them wholeheartedly? Yes, I believe that this is what the Bible teaches. Yes, I believe it. I may not understand it, but I believe it. Is that your heart? If the answer is no, then I want to challenge you this morning. If your heart’s response is not immediately, yes, embrace what the Bible says.

If that is not you, this warning is for you. You might have some seeds of thorns and thistles in your heart, and you might be headed on a trajectory that will not go well for you. This morning, I implore you, repent of your sin, ask God for forgiveness, and allow him to wipe you clean. You may have gotten oh, so close, but allow him to usher you over that threshold to truly experience the glory and goodness of God. I challenge you this morning: Repent of your sin and come to him.

If you have any questions about what that means, what does that really look like? I’d love to sit down, have a conversation with you. I’d love to, while we have barbecue later, talk about that. Or we can grab lunch or coffee later this week. It would be a joy of mine to sit with you and discuss that with you. I’ll rearrange my schedule to make that happen. But for those of us who love him, for those of you this morning, you’re like, Kenny, you know, I do blow it a lot. I sin a lot. But, you know, my heart’s desire really is to want to obey him. I really do love him. I really do.

I’m listening to this going, I think I’m one of his. I sin a lot. I make mistakes every single day, but I know that I’m one of His. That he has started to work in me and he will finish the work for you this morning. I want you to be comforted to know that he will hold you fast. We’re going to sing a song in just a moment together. It was originally written back in 1906 by a woman by the name of Ada Habershon. We’re gonna sing the modern Shane and Shane version. There are some lyrics from this song. He will hold me fast. It’s so great:  

 

For my life, he bled and died 

Christ will hold me fast 

Justice has been satisfied 

He will hold me fast 

Raised with him to endless life 

He will hold me fast 

Till our faith is turned to sight 

Until that day I see him 

He will hold me fast 

When he comes at last 

He will hold me fast 

He will hold me fast 

For my savior loves me so 

He will hold me fast 

 

Would you pray with me? 

Father in heaven? We thank you for the promise that you will hold us fast. For those who know you, for those who believe on you. You’re going to hold us fast. You’re going to hold us tight, strong, close. You’re never going to let us fade away. God, I pray that you would continue to strengthen us and comfort us. And I pray if there’s anyone in this room who’s not a genuine believer, maybe they’ve convinced themselves, but they’re not. I pray that today would be the day that Holy Spirit, you would truly open their eyes. May they see it. May today be the day they choose to believe on you. May today be the day they whisper. Yeah, I want to believe with all my heart. God, would you grant them the gift of repentance? I ask all these things in Christ’s name. Amen.