CHAPTER FOUR

                                                                        Petitionery Prayer

I wondered at first why the lady included petitionery prayer as the third of her three P’s. Then I recognized that idea of predestination, as conceived by some people, could imply that there’s no point in praying for another’s salvation since God has decided that already. Thus you don’t need to pray for someone God has chosen, because they will be saved anyway. And there’s no point in praying for the unchosen, because you can’t change God’s mind. And likewise, there’s no point in missions or evangelism. As one man told William Carey, “If God wants to save the heathen, he can do it without you and me.”

On realizing this, my mind went first to a prayer list I had during high school and college. I can’t find it now, but there were at least 15-20 people listed on it who were not Christians so far as I knew. I was able for two or three years to pick up three high school friends and take them to Sunday School and worship with me in my Jeep. All three accepted Christ, and over the years I heard back they were actively serving Him in their churches. I added my grandfather to the list though he was a very old man. My mother told me he was baptized at around 90 years old.

I had a Jewish friend tragically killed in an auto accident while in med school. In the aftermath of that awful event, we learned that a few days before his death he had told his mother, “I dreamed I saw Jesus last night!” I also had a Jewish high school teacher whom I put on the list, not really expecting a result, but I prayed for him anyway. Then one day when I was home, I saw him down the hall at our church. Again I asked and was told he had been baptized that year and was very regular. Still another high school teacher on the list died in the last few years. I noted in the obituary the service was in an Episcopal church, leading me to believe that may have completed my list.

Do I think my prayers alone caused these people to be saved? No I don’t. But I do think they may have contributed. I’m sure others were praying and perhaps sharing their faith with each of them. Remember, I did what I could in bringing my three friends to church. I also wrote my grandfather a letter that presented the gospel and my wish for him to become a Christian.

Jesus repeated talked about prayer and encouraged his disciples to follow his example by praying themselves. He told his followers, “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” Paul regularly reported that he was praying for his readers.

The evidence is strong that the Lord calls us to pray for others, both for their salvation and spiritual well-being. Look at some of Paul’s prayers near the beginnings of his letters. He doesn’t pray for their physical health, but specifically for their spiritual health, reversing our usual practice.

AN ADDITIONAL NOTE ON PRAYER

I have taught courses on prayer and preached on how to pray effectively, but I have a confession to make. Much of the teaching, preaching, and books on prayer seem to take an attitude that prayer can be like magic. They imply that if one could only learn to pray better, God would be more likely to give them what they want. Well, that’s sort of true, but I really question the motives here, like can you give me a better magic word to make this mountain disappear? Or help me get a new Caddilac?

Prayer is simply talking with God. WITH God. A conversation. Talking and listening. I’m convinced God is trying to answer more of our prayers if we would only shut up and listen. I didn’t have to learn to talk to my parents. I just did. Likewise kids everywhere talk to their parents and ask for all sorts of stuff.

The important thing is to ask for the best stuff. Salvation. Spiritual health. God’s will and purpose for our lives. Direction for the day. Yes, you can ask for anything, even frivolities. But why?

And don’t forget to listen! The best part about prayer is what God tells YOU. And that’s often pointing out a better direction for you life.

CHAPTER THREE
Predestination

Perseverance my be historically rooted in predestination.

What does that mean? It means that it’s logical to believe that if God predestined you to salvation, then you will be saved, and nothing can keep it from happening.

Well then, what is predestination? It’s the belief that God chose some people to be saved. The idea comes from Romans 8: 26, which says, “those whom God foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”

Note a couple of things about this passage. First, it may imply salvation, but that is not specifically what it says. We may also read it to mean that God intends those who are converted to grow into the likeness of Jesus. Second, the concept never bothers Paul as it does us. Instead it introduces one of the most joyful passages in the Bible, including “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Related Areas

We find this problem, not only in theology, but in many disciplines. Psychology has determinists. They argue that if we had complete knowledge of a person, we could accurately predict everything they do.

And the question arises in daily life, “How much freedom do I have?” Do I really have free will? I think I do, but do I really? Am I pre-determined to marry this person, take this job, buy this house, or stop at the diner for a sandwich?

As far as the Biblical discussion goes, Scripture doesn’t touch on other areas being predestined. You’re on your own what you believe about those.

Salvation and Mission

Old Testament scholars speak of a doctrine of Election. This idea includes several things, but basically it speaks of the freedom of God, He does what He chooses. In the OT He chooses particular people. The first is Abraham, who is chosen to found what became the Jewish race. He chose Moses to deliver the people from Egypt, establish a nation, and give them the Law.

In the same spirit, He stopped Saul on the road to Damascus, and elected him  to follow Him, and serve as a missionary to Gentiles. To interpret Paul, one does well to remember the power of his conversion experience. Paul was not seeking God; at the time he believed he already had found Him. Rather, God powerfully sought out Paul.

I choose to believe Paul has in mind his conversion when he talked about predestination. God knew ahead of time Paul would obey, so He stopped him in his tracks and called him. That gave Paul the assurance that God would support him in the mission He gave him.

And to Paul, this means God also knew you would receive Christ and endorsed that by calling you to follow Him. And if God did that, He will not allow His will to be thwarted by losing you.

Double-Barrel Predestination

Most theologians who believe in predestination say only that God elected some to be saved. But doesn’t that imply that God is thereby choosing the rest to go to hell? Most theologians sort of shrug and say Scripture only speaks of predestination in a positive way.

But there are others who take the bull by the horns and claim that God does indeed choose both groups, electing some to go to heaven and others to go to hell. This view has been called double-barrel predestination. It takes courage to state this and a type of honesty.

And yet, the thrust of Scripture is the call to repentance and the call to discipleship. Jesus called his disciples, who left whatever they were doing and followed Him. He called the “rich young ruler” and allowed the man to go away by his own choice.

Always keep in mind the first part of that verse: whom God foreknew, he predestined. It makes all the difference. To the Lord, past, present, and future are all before Him. We are free to choose, and faced with the choice to receive or reject, but He already knows which way we will make that choice.

Remember that predestination strengthens two things. First, if God knew you would be saved and predestined you, then you can rest in the confidence you are in His hands. Second, being predestined to conform to Christ’s image means you will continue to grow as a Christian, understanding more and more, and finding yourself more and more effective in His service.

CHAPTER TWO
THE MAJOR ARGUMENT

When I wrote the first book in 1974, I reported many scriptures that had a bearing on the subject, including Galatians 3:2-3. Since that time, the argument of this verse has strongly impressed on my mind that this one thought alone is enough to convince me that we cannot lose our salvation. Take a look:

“Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” Galatians 3:2-3.

To lose one’s salvation, you would have to change the rules. Having been saved by grace through faith, you would have to keep your salvation by your own efforts - by doing good works and abstaining from sin. I don’t think so. In fact, I know this is NOT so. If we were unable to save ourselves through works (Ephesians 2:8-10), neither are we able to keep ourselves by our works. We are saved by grace, and we are kept by grace.

Remember, I am talking about those genuinely saved by grace through faith. We were not worthy of our salvation in the first place, and we are not worthy to keep our salvation. Let me emphasize that more strongly. The best of us Christians (whatever that may mean) is not worthy to keep our salvation. We are saved by grace, and we are kept by grace.

If we must retain our redemption by our own efforts, what would this say about the nature of God? Doesn’t it picture a somewhat maniacal deity who chuckles sinisterly, cackling, “Aha! I’ve saved all those people just for the heck of it. Now let’s see how many of them can be good enough to keep their salvation.” God is not like that, and the scripture repeatedly says He is not like that. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
If the Father loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us, He certainly loves us enough to keep us.

I sincerely believe, whether consciously or unconsciously, many churches have kept to possibility of losing salvation in order to keep its members in line. If you don’t come to church, behave yourself, tithe, etc., you may go to hell. Well that has nothing to do with whether you go to hell or not. Hopefully, genuinely converted Christians will do most of those things and more. But those things are not done to retain salvation.

Consider the thief on the cross. He did nothing to receive salvation except ask for it. He was probably a violent man, a revolutionary, terrorist or highway robber. His past was horrible by his own admition. He had no future. He was dying. All he could do was ask Jesus, and he did. And Jesus assured him they would be together that day in Paradise. In fact, for those who believe Jesus, we are more certain of this man’s redemption than of anyone else, ever. To no one did Jesus say they would be with him that day in Paradise.

Summarizing this brief discussion: we are kept by the grace of God just as we were saved by the grace of God. Again, I emphasize we are talking about those genuinely converted as discussed in my last post.

CHAPTER ONE
SALVATION

People usually think of “once-saved, always-saved” something like this:

If I accept Christ and walk down the aisle and am baptized, will I go to heaven regardless of what happens between then and my death?

The short answer is yes, but there is a lot more to it. Salvation is far more than a one-payment insurance policy. “Accepting Christ” is like getting married. If you stand before a minister and say, “I do,” you are married. But then comes the “happily ever after,” or at least the “ever after.” I once heard a pastor say he had to decide every morning whether to be married or not. That makes a fellow think.

Sure I’m married. But what kind of husband am I? Regardless of yesterday, what kind of husband am I today? Marriage is a lifetime commitment.

And salvation is a lifetime commitment. We use the expression “giving your life to Christ.” And that is exactly what you do when you “accept Christ.” To be saved means to become a disciple, a follower. Genuine salvation transforms one’s life.

Consider the man once named Saul. He was filled with anger and hatred against the church of Jesus. On the road to Damascus, the risen Christ stopped him, and radically remade him. He was so different now that he needed a new name - Paul. He had become an ambassador for Christ.

And if you’ve been saved and become a follower of Jesus, you have been equally changed. People often say. “I didn’t have a Damascus Road experience.” But they did. Every Christian does. No, they don’t see a vision and hear voices, but the living Christ does enter their lives and radically change them.

The New Testament expects salvation and discipleship to make a difference.
The change is so radical it’s like being born again (John 3:3). A follower of Christ is a new creation. Old things are passed away all things have become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)


When I speak of salvation in this blog, I am speaking of those who have been genuinely converted. those who are saved, have met Jesus Christ, heard or felt his claim on their lives, and surrendered to that claim, becoming his follower. In turn, God has forgiven their sins, and his Spirit has entered them as a Guide and Encourager (Philippians 1:6).

Salvation in one sense is complete in the initial transaction. One can say, “I am saved,” pointing to a historical event in the past. But they can also say, “I am being saved,” meaning that the process began when they received Christ and is still continuing. Finally, there is a future sense of the word, pointing to the future culmination as one comes finally into the Heavenly Kingdom of God.

I would first argue that one cannot separate those three stages. One cannot be saved only in the past. Conversion is a beginning. As we often hear at commencement exercises, “you have not ended anything, you are just beginning.” A graduate is just beginning to live and learn. I don’t know how many teachers, preachers, and nurses have told me that it’s only after you get into your first job that you begin to learn your trade. (A pharmacist did just yesterday, in fact.) Even then you continue to learn when you change jobs. When a nurse leaves the surgery ward for the emergency room, she soon learns it’s a whole different job.

Being a Christian is like that. You begin at your conversion, walk away from your baptism to your home. Then you begin to discover what it means to be a Christian at home. How can I live as a Christian at work or school. What claim does Christ have on my recreational life?

Some people learn faster than others. Some seem to be better Christians than others. Some drift away or rebel violently. But the Spirit of Christ entered them when they were saved and never leaves.

So when I am discussing the perseverance of the saints, here, I am speaking only of genuinely converted believers, not “camp followers,” That’s the first point, and nothing else I say makes sense without it.

Thanks for reading. Soon I plan to post a second blog giving the #1 reason I believe if you once belong to God, you will always belong to God. Meanwhile, please comment or ask questions. Let’s make this a conversation.