Falling From Grace III

[!NOTE] Primary Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:11-16

I. Leaving Christ through carelessness

A. In the previous lessons we studied ways one could fall from grace.

B. Going back to the Old Law (those who use the Old Law as the authority for modern religious practices do the same thing) Following false teachers

C. Rebellion

D. Turning one’s back on God Not giving oneself completely to God

E. In this final lesson, we will study how one can fall from grace through carelessness

II. We must not neglect our salvation (Hebrews 2:1-4)

A. God is working for our salvation

B. In chapter 1, the writer discussed how Jesus has been exalted above the angels and that the angels minister to those who serve God. Since God is working for our salvation, we should not neglect it.

C. The consequences are greater

D. The Old Law

E. Delivered by angels

F. Acts 7:53 Galatians 3:19 Specific, and often severe, consequences for lawbreakers, Hebrews 10:28

G. The New Law

H. Delivered by Jesus

I. Spoken by the Savior Delivered to us by His apostles Announcement of the gospel accompanied by miraculous signs Under the new law, each sin does not have a specific consequence nor is the punishment for disobedience immediate; the eternal wrath of God awaits those who are disobedient.

III. If we neglect our salvation, we will drift away from God

A. If punishment for sin was immediate, it would likely cause us to be more diligent to obey God’s commands.

B. Delay in judgment can lead to carelessness.

C. If we know punishment is far off, we may not focus on doing right. However, Hebrews 9:27 tells us that after death comes the judgment and, since we do not know when our death will be, judgment could be sooner than we think.

D. We must pay the more earnest heed to God’s word lest we drift from Him

E. ISV: “For this reason we must pay closer attention to the things we have heard, or we may drift away.” NCV: “So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not stray away from the truth.” Darby: “For this reason we should give heed more abundantly to the things we have heard, lest in any way we should slip away.” If we are not focused on pleasing God, diligent in our efforts to obey Him, we can drift past salvation and into destruction. Sister: drifting at Gulf Shores; didn’t pay attention and the waves took her far offshore.

IV. How can we drift?

A. Distraction

B. Many traffic accidents are caused by distraction; while eating, talking on the phone, playing with the radio, etc. one may run off the road or veer into oncoming traffic—not focused on driving If our attention is directed away from our goal, we can go off track. Matthew 13:22 – the cares of this world can distract us Matthew 6:31-34 – Do not focus on the cares of the world James 1:14-15 – Drawn away by lusts

C. Inattention to God’s word

D. Ephesians 4:11-16 – Education can hold us on course

E. God has given the church various teachers to educate believers. Equip and edify saints for service to God in order to unify us in faith and make us complete in Christ Jesus. The result of this completeness is that we will not drift away with every doctrine that comes along Attention to God’s word allows us to make minute course corrections to reach our desired destination; neglecting our guide will cause us to get off course. If we give more earnest heed to our guide—God’s word—we will not drift away from salvation but will obey to the saving of our souls.

F. Indifference

G. Some do not leave God through outright rebellion but drift away because they cease caring deeply about serving God. Revelation 2:4 – Ephesus forgot her first love Married couples can “fall out of love” when they cease to make their marriage a priority, communicate poorly with one another, and cease to demonstrate their love daily. We can “fall out of love” with God when we cease to make our relationship with God our highest priority, communicate poorly through lack of study and prayer, and cease to demonstrate our love for God through service and personal holiness.

V. Conclusion: Those who would never dream of turning away from God through outright rebellion might be lost because they do not keep focused on the goal and do not continue to make the daily efforts needed to move towards that goal.

VI. Falling From Grace IV