If

I. Text: John 8:17-30

II. The word if

A. A conditional word that defines what must happen if a certain result to follow

B. For example, we might tell our children, “ If you finish your dinner, you will get dessert.” Both our children and we understand that if they do not finish their dinner, they will not get the promised dessert.

C. However, in the spiritual realm, some people fail to see that when God uses the conditional if it requires that we do something in order to get what He has promised.

III. If you do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, you will die in your sins

A. John 8:17-30

B. Jesus argued with the Jews who questioned His claim to be the light of the world. Though He and His Father testified that He was God’s Son, many of the Jews, especially the Jewish leaders, did not accept Him. Jesus pointed out that this was a great stumbling block for if they could not accept Him as the promised Messiah, they could not have eternal life.

C. God proved that Jesus was His Son

D. John 10:37-42 – The works testified of Jesus Acts 2:22 – God attested to Jesus through miracles

E. We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God if we want salvation

F. Acts 8:35-39 – It was necessary before the eunuch could become a Christian Romans 10:8-13 – We must believe in order to have salvation

IV. If we are raised with Christ, we must live like Jesus

A. Colossians 3:1-11

B. Through baptism we are buried with Christ in the likeness of His death and raised to walk a new life in Him, Romans 6:1-4.

C. We must be baptized in order to be saved

D. Acts 22:16 – It washes away sins

E. Mark 16:15-16 – It is necessary for salvation

F. If we believe and are baptized, we will be saved. If we do not believe, we will be lost no matter how many times we are baptized. If we are not baptized, we cannot be saved for both are necessarily linked by and; they cannot be unlinked.

G. Our newness of life should reflect the holiness of Jesus’ life. We must put off the filthiness of the world and live properly before God. There must be a radical change in our lives; a life that is consecrated in God.

H. Matthew 16:24-26 – We must die to the world and live for God

V. If we continue in the faith we will have salvation

A. Colossians 1:21-23

B. We must remain steadfast in Christ Here is where some would disagree; they say that once God saves you, you cannot be lost.

C. Yet Paul, in plain terms, says that we will be presented holy only if

D. We continue in the faith We are grounded and steadfast We are not moved away from the hope of the gospel It would be foolish for Paul to warn the church in Colosse of such a thing if it could not come to pass

E. Hebrews 2:1-4

F. We can drift away from the hope of the gospel if we are not careful.2 Peter 1:5-11 – We can forget that we were cleansed and stumble; if we are diligent we make our calling and election sure (an unnecessary statement if our calling and election could never be unsure).We cannot escape if we neglect our great salvation. Yet some will do this.

G. Hebrews 10:26-27

H. If we turn our backs on God, we lose access to the blood of Christ If we rebel against God we are in danger of eternal punishment

I. Hebrews 10:35-39

J. They could lose their rewardif they drew back God would not be pleased with them.

K. James 5:19-20

L. “If someone wanders away from the truth” assumes that one can do so. If they are turned back, their soul will be saved and sins will be cleansed.

M. 2 Peter 2:20-21

N. If a person returns to the filth of the world, his latter state will be worse than it was. This cannot be true if a person cannot lose his salvation; his latter state can never be worse than his first for he would still be saved. The only way it could be worse is if he is lost and doomed to hell once again and, as Hebrews 6 suggests, less resistant to the gospel appeal to return to Christ.

O. Summarize these verses on one chart

P. All of these verses would be foolish and unnecessary if it were impossible to drift away from the gospel, neglect our salvation, etc. Those who teach such preach a false hope and encourage unrighteousness and moral laziness in God’s children; if I cannot lose my salvation then whatever I do will not condemn me before God.

VI. If we repent of our sins, God will forgive us

A. The fact is that we can rebel against God, but God will forgive us if we repent.

B. 1 John 1:5-2:2

C. We must walk in righteousness, not in the darkness of sin. If we have that proper relationship with God, we have Jesus forgiveness. Jesus is working with us and for us to forgive us of our sins and strengthen us.

D. We must walk in the light of God’s word, John 8:31-32

E. How someone could believe that becoming a Christian is contingent on belief and obedience and not realize that remaining a Christian is likewise contingent on belief and obedience is foreign to the Scripture.

VII. Conclusion: If you become a child of God you will have salvation; if you do not you will be lost. The decision is in your hands. Revelation 3:20

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