If the Gifts of the Spirit Have Ceased, Can Salvation Also Be Taken Away?

If the gifts of tongues in prophecy have ceased, can the gift of salvation cease? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. Our phone lines are open right now and you can call us for the next 25 minutes or so. Here's the phone number.

It's 833-THE-CORE. We're also open to your questions about doctrine, theology, you name it. Adriel, we'd love to answer it for you. Again, it's 1-833-843-2673. You can also post your question on one of our social media sites and you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, here's a voicemail from one of our listeners named Marsha. I'm in the work of Revelation right now at your home church and I have a question about Revelation chapter 19 verses 7 and 8 describing the marriage supper of the Lamb. I know that those who are at the marriage supper are those who are redeemed in Christ. But in my Bible, and I'm reading from a Lutheran Study Bible, NIV translation, it says regarding the linen that the bride of Christ is arrayed in. Find linen.

Bright and clean was given her to wear. And then in parenthesis, it says, find linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. And that's confusing to me, given that we know that our righteousness comes from Christ.

I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on this. Thanks very much. The church is rejoicing here in the context of this chapter because Babylon has been destroyed. This beastly entity that was persecuting the people of God has finally been dealt with.

That's what you have in the previous couple chapters. And so here the people of God are rejoicing, verse 7. Again, hallelujah. For the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. That's the end of verse 8.

From my studies, here's what I found. There are, one, a couple of different ways of translating the end of verse 8. This could be referring to specifically the righteous deeds of the saints or the focus could be on God's vindicating actions.

In other words, his righteous deeds during the wedding. Some commentators, there's a commentator named G.K. Beale who has a commentary on the book of Revelation, over a thousand pages, and he talks about that as being one legitimate way of taking this. And you sort of see how that might fit in the context because judgment has come on Babylon and now God is vindicating his people. But at the background, it does seem like there's this relationship between the righteous deeds or actions of the saints and these garments.

Now, if you look at the Old Testament, the parallel passage, we might say, or what this text is echoing in Isaiah chapter 61, I think it's really helpful because it helps to give us some clarity. Isaiah 61 verse 10 says this, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall exalt in my God for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation.

He has covered me with the robe of righteousness as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. In other words, God is the one who is doing the clothing here with this robe of righteousness. Now, what we would want to say is, yes, we do believe in the imputation of Christ's righteousness given to us, that that's what justifies us. That's what gives us confidence on the day of judgment. But as the people of God, we're not against good works. We do believe that the same Spirit of God who is at work in us justifying us through Christ is also sanctifying us day by day. And so our works are imperfect. They could never justify us. They can't be the basis for our justification or our salvation, if you will, in that sense.

It's not like our works merit any of those things. But they are evidence of the fact that we have been justified that we belong to Christ and that the Spirit of God is at work in our lives. And so I don't think we have to shy away from or shudder at that language of the fine linen being the righteous deeds of the saints there. What John is getting a picture of is the church having persevered out of this great struggle and tribulation and war with the beast, having remained faithful to the testimony of Jesus Christ and being clothed by God in that beautiful wedding garment.

Again, not something that we can ever merit or earn, but a gift that God gives to us, his people. Marsha, thank you for that question and God bless. And thanks for that explanation, Adriel.

Appreciate that. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, maybe some kind of struggle in your Christian walk.

Hey, we are open to hearing from you. Here's the number 833-THE-CORE. We'll be taking calls for the next 15 minutes or so.

1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Jim calling in from Missouri. Jim, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? If you are a dedicated Christian, but you have a slip up on something you've been having a lot of problems with and if Christ returned and if you're in that state to do something wrong, what would happen to you on the day of judgment?

Yeah, Jim, thank you for that question. I mean, it's not too different from the question of what happens if the last thing you do is a sinful act and then you have a heart attack or something like that. I believe for those who are in Christ and you have faith in Christ, you're born again justified, that nothing can take you out of the hands of God. Yes, our sin grieves the Holy Spirit and there are temporal judgments, discipline that we experience on this side of things because of our sin.

Sometimes it's just the natural sort of reaction. What happens is natural consequences, if you will. Other times it is the judgment of God in a particular way to discipline us because he loves us, but that judgment doesn't mean that we're condemned. That discipline doesn't mean that God has abandoned us. And so I don't think that if Christ returns and as a believer you're in the middle of gossiping or something like that, that that just means you're gonna be eternally condemned.

And so that's my simple answer to your question, Jim. We just need to recognize that it's not like when we sin we are removed from the grace of God or now all of a sudden out of God's hand, out of God's care. There are some, I think of Roman Catholic theology here, that do teach that there are some sins that will take you out of a state of grace. The Roman Catholic Church is referred to as mortal sins. There are some Christians who do have this idea, but again, for me, I don't think that's what the Bible teaches. I don't think the Bible teaches that for one who is truly justified, a child of God, that you can never go from that state to then being condemned or rejected by the Lord, even though we do, as I said, experience those disciplines, those loving disciplines that God gives to us.

Thanks. You're listening to Core Christianity and our phone lines are open. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a call right now. 833-THE-CORE is the number.

That's 1-833-843-2673. I want to take a moment to say thank you to a very special group of people. We call them our inner core.

Yes. Well, as Bill said, thank you, and we want to invite those of you who aren't a part of the inner core, and if you've been blessed by the broadcast, to consider joining the inner core. It's a group of people that supports us with a monthly gift of $25 or more. So you sign up to be a part of the inner core as a thank you for signing up. We'll send you a copy of the book, Core Christianity, which I want to encourage everyone to read, whether you're a part of the inner core or not. It's a wonderful introduction to the core truth of the Christian faith, the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

And maybe you've been told, you know, what's the big deal? Why doctrine, theology? Don't we just need love? Isn't it about the, you know, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We can get so caught up in doctrine and theology and debates and arguments.

So here's the thing. True love, true love for God and true love for our neighbors should flow out of a sound understanding of what God has revealed about himself in his word to us. And so we want to help you understand who God is so that you might love him rightly, and so that we might love each other rightly as well. So that's what this book will help with. And so again, we'll send you a copy for joining the inner core.

And Bill, you can share a little bit more about how to do that. Just go to our website, corechristianity.com forward slash inner core. That's corechristianity.com forward slash inner core, all one word.

And you can learn more about joining that special group of people. We'd love to send you that book, as Adriel mentioned, which is just a wonderful introduction to the core doctrines of the Christian faith, something that you or perhaps a friend of yours would appreciate. Well, we do receive voicemails here at Core Christianity.

You can call us 24 hours a day and leave a voicemail for us and we do our best to review those each day. Here's one that came in from one of our listeners named Calvin. I was just listening to your show and I have a disagreement with him. He mentioned that he's changed his views on the gifts of the Spirit. If the gifts of the Spirit is given to us by the Holy Spirit, given to us by Jesus Christ from the Father, if they're not for today, what is to say that salvation is for today? Thank you.

Have a good day. Hey, brother, thank you for asking that question, Calvin. And I really appreciate it when we get callers or voicemails who are saying, you know, I disagree with you on this and so can you explain yourself a little bit more? And the way that I would respond to you here, I mean, you said, you know, I mentioned in a previous broadcast that my view has changed on whether or not the sign gifts, the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are still ordinarily given today for the building up of the body of Christ for the life of the church. And I said, well, I think that they were a part of the first century church, in particular, the preaching of Christ and the apostles for the establishment of those churches and the advancement of the gospel in the world. I don't think that they're ordinarily given today.

Why? Because God works in distinct ways throughout redemptive history. And so the reason I think that that argument of, you know, well, if they're not around today, how do we know salvation is around today? I think it just doesn't take account of the fact that we know when we look at the Bible that God has worked in different ways throughout redemptive history. That's why we're not under the theocracy of Israel anymore, performing, you know, animal sacrifices with the Levitical priesthood.

That's not around. That's been abrogated. That's been taken away through the work of Jesus Christ. Christ fulfilled those types and shadows. And so we realize, OK, God has worked in distinct ways, administering his covenant in distinct ways throughout the history of redemption. That doesn't mean that God is trying to trick us or anything like that. It's just that he's moving us forward into maturity, if you will, teaching us, helping us to grow, to learn, to understand who he is and what his word is all about. And so I think that those sign gifts in particular were for a particular time, God working in a special way there for the establishment of the church and of the foundation of the apostles and prophets, the early proclamation of the gospel. That does not mean, and I don't think this, that God can't and does not work in miraculous ways today.

I think that he does. I think we ought to pray that God would do mighty miraculous things, that he would heal those who are sick and so on and so forth. There's nothing wrong with that. But I think it's just in terms of the expectation. If we're thinking the Christian life is supposed to look like Pentecost for me every single day, we're going to be disappointed.

You're going to be disappointed. Ordinarily, the Christian life looks like growing in the grace of Christ as we dig into the word of God, as we fellowship with other believers, as we serve each other in the body of Christ. It just doesn't look like Jesus walking around in the gospels. And if we're chasing after those experiences, I think we can easily be led astray. Hey, thanks for that question and giving me an opportunity to clarify. And of course, you're always welcome to call back and to share more. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Steve calling in from Sioux City, Iowa. Steve, what's your question for Adriel?

Hi. Chapter 13 Corinthians says, Love hopes all things. Love believes all things. So I'm just supposed to believe anything you tell me.

Is that how it works? You just believe anything? It says you believe all things.

Hey, Steve, thanks for that question. No, that's not how it works. And of course, the Bible doesn't say just, you know, sort of foolishly believe everything. In fact, John said in 1 John 4, verse 1, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. Okay, so we're told in 1 Corinthians 13 to believe all things.

Love believes all things. But then we're told in 1 John 4, don't believe every spirit. Is there a contradiction? No, and this is where the context of Scripture is so important. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the Apostle Paul is rebuking, really, the Corinthian church. We were just talking about spiritual gifts with the previous question, miraculous gifts. Well, one of the things that was happening in Corinth where the Corinthians were getting a little out of hand with the way they thought about and pursued these spiritual gifts. Paul introduces spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, but it seemed like what was happening in Corinth is believers were starting to compare their gifts with each other to have this sense of pride, to have this sense of arrogance. Then you get into chapter 14 and it seemed like they weren't operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit like God intended for them to. There was a lot of confusion.

There wasn't a lot of order. And so 1 Corinthians 13, sort of sandwiched in the middle there between chapters 12 and 14, is a rebuke to help the Corinthians focus on charity and love as the preeminent sign of the Holy Spirit. It's not that you're speaking in tongues and prophesying. It's that the fruit of the Spirit, namely love, is being worked in your heart.

And so he says love is patient. Love does not envy. It doesn't boast.

Again, the Corinthians were dividing. They were boasting about their spiritual gifts. It's not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

That is, love, especially in the context of the body of Christ with other believers, we want to believe the best about each other, to give one another the benefit of the doubt. So there's no contradiction. It's just understanding what Paul means there in 1 Corinthians 13 when he talks about love believing all things. And let me just say, brothers and sisters, especially when you feel like, well, is there a contradiction in the Bible there?

I read this verse and it says believe all things, and then I read another verse and it says don't believe all things. Those contradictions are easily, quote-unquote contradictions, are just easily explained by the fact that we're often not understanding the broader context. And just a reminder for all of us to understand, not to pick verses out of their context and take one line and compare it to another line somewhere else. We have to do the hard work of digging into the scriptures and understanding them in their proper context. And when we do that, I think we realize that a lot of these things that sometimes people will point out as contradictions aren't contradictions at all.

Thank you for your question, Steve. Good counsel, and that would apply certainly to some of the Old Testament as well. We have people that will say, they'll quote an Old Testament verse and say that binds my behavior, that, you know, instructs me on how I should live or what I should do. And yet that was meant for Israel as a nation at that time, correct?

Yeah. I mean, the lack of proper context has led to all sorts of problems in the church, as you say, right? I mean, it could just be people taking things, you know, seeing contradictions or sort of twisting the scriptures. But it can also be people trying to apply passages of scripture to the church, to their brothers and sisters in Christ, in ways that they weren't meant to be applied. Because you're trying to put people back under the law of Moses and the ceremonial law, for example, of the Old Covenant.

Well, what you're doing is you're misapplying scripture because you're not interpreting it in its proper context and applying it in its proper context. This is Core Christianity, and let's go back to the phones. Raquel is on the line from Missouri. What's your question, Raquel?

Hi, I was calling. I struggle. It's kind of a two part thing. Number one, when ministries get on the radio, there's resources that they have to gather in order to get on the radio in the first place. And then when they get on the radio, they ask for donations to help keep the ministry going.

Do they not look at that sort of thing before they get on the radio? I kind of feel pressured to give money. And I think, you know, were you just relying on future donations to keep on the radio? And then the other part is when you say, oh, if you send us money in, we'll send you this resource. And I think of Jesus outside the temple being upset, like they were turning it into a market. And sometimes I feel like that there's marketing going on with ministries.

So I'm struggling with that. Can you help me with justifying? Because I will not give. I get kind of resentful when I'm pressured to do that kind of stuff. Hey, Raquel, thank you for just being honest.

And I'm guessing you're calling in because, you know, obviously I gave that ask earlier about the inner core. And we offered that book, Core Christianity, for those who want to give. And one, I'm speaking as a pastor, but even just as the host of this broadcast. And as a Christian, we should never give out of we don't want to give out of this sense of I'm feeling this pressure and this like guilt and shame to give.

No. Second Corinthians, Chapter nine, where the apostle Paul is talking about giving in the apostle Paul himself was asking these churches to help in supporting the needs of the church in various places. And he says, the point is this, whoever so sparingly will also reap sparingly, whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion. And so it's not, don't ever want you to give out of this sense of compulsion.

I have to do this or God is not going to accept me or something like that. For God loves a cheerful giver. And so the way I see it as a pastor, as a guy who's doing this broadcast is when you believe in something that you're doing, preaching the gospel, teaching people about the word of God, you're passionate about that and you want to bring other people into that as well. And so the way I see it is, hey, here's an opportunity for us to work together for the advancement of the truth of the gospel. And we can do that. We ought to do that with joy, not out of this sense of like, oh, man, you know, this is sort of like a money making scheme or something like that.

I can tell you quite honestly that that's not what this is at all. But the desire is we want to help people know about Jesus. We want to help them grow in their understanding of God's word.

And in order to do that on a number of different platforms, it requires resources, resources that one individual doesn't have. It's something that we work together to do to get the word of God out. And so for those who are on board with the mission and they're passionate about that truth, the truth of the gospel, they want to encourage others as well, then it's an opportunity for them to partner and say, hey, I believe in what's happening here. I've seen people grow in their relationship with Christ. I've come into a deeper understanding of God's word as a result of this. So not not out of this sense of compulsion, you know, like I'm being forced to do it, but joyfully. I just want to I just want to partner with this and experience the blessing of being a part of it as well. So that's how I see it, Raquel. And I just want to go back to you.

I just so appreciate your honesty. Does that help to explain or do you need some more clarification? No, that that does help. And honestly, I didn't hear you ask for anything.

This has been a question that I've been struggling with for years and I've been wanting to call in. I think I even e-mailed once and just got enough courage, had the time to do it. And it does it does help. I just you know, the part about, you know, I have this book and this isn't really to you.

But, you know, if you give a minimum donation of five and I'm just like sometimes I feel like it's turned into a marketing thing. And but yes, it really absolutely helps me love your show. Thank you for taking the time.

I appreciate it. Yeah. And let me just add, Raquel, we do need to you're right to be because there are instances where it's totally abused.

Right. You think of like the prosperity gospel and televangelists who I mean, sometimes they're not even sending at least at least send me a good book with some solid theology. Like sometimes you're getting, you know, holy dirt from Jerusalem or something like that. Or I mean, I like some prayer cloth that's going to heal you of something or olive oil.

I don't know. But a lot of times, you know, it really is. It can be for some of these ministries.

Just a just a joke, right? Like where it's it's no, this is clearly about making money, not about preaching the gospel. Money is a tool that can be used for the advancement of the gospel. That's really, I think, the way one of the ways we can and should see it as as believers.

And so if that's if that's how it's being approached, where we're saying, look, we want to get the word out and let's partner together to do that, then I would say great. And just again, appreciate your honesty. May the Lord continue to bless you and be with you.

And I hope that the program continues to be a blessing for you, too. Don't you have a prayer cloth for me? I was kind of hoping that maybe you. Yeah. No, Bill, I don't think I think if we sent people a prayer cloth for me, they would just stop supporting us, actually.

They would not have any interest in us anymore. Hey, thanks for listening to the broadcast. And may the Lord bless you. Thanks for listening to Core Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at CoreChristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar. Or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833 the core. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.