seals were not only for letters bro ...anything can get a seal....the king could see something somewhere seal it claim it....and when he gets home decides he does not like anymore take of the seal and throw it away...
our seal is until the day of redemption.....the right hand and left hand day....the seal guarantees you stand before God on the day of redemption..it does not guarantee your salvation.... [/Quote}
True, we are "Sealed" until that day, by the king of kings. True, no man can break that seal, nor can anyone else. True, all Christians are sealed "in Him" at the moment of conversion. What is missing is that the Holy Spirit is the pledge of our future inheritance. If, for any reason we do not receive the adoption as sons, we keep the pledge and God the Holy Spirit spends an eternity in hell.
Sometimes we misunderstand the scriptures, mostly because we just pick and choose some, that we can use to support our beliefs, and a few others that we can use to refute all opposing beliefs, then we can ignore context, flow of thought and discussion surrounding each of the passages, ignore the consistent meaning for all the words as they are used throughout the scriptures … and prove our beliefs true and hold fast to them.
This topic is involved, but let me pass along a few things to consider.
First: If we are a Christian, a true Christian, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and it is this Holy Spirit that is the proof of our Christianity. Without it, we are indeed lost and headed for hell.
Rom 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
This said, all, after hearing the gospel, and after believing, are sealed into a group of people, in this passage, the group is referred to as those “In Him”, “In the beloved”, “In Christ”. We are “sealed” “In Him” with the “Pledge” of our future inheritance.
Eph 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation--having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.
The “Sealed” and the “pledge” words are VERY important. A “seal” at the time of Christ usually cost a tremendous sum. Some of the more complex ones could cost a year’s wages for a normal worker. They were used to “seal” packages, letters, boxes … everything you can think of to guarantee that the contents were from the one that sealed them, and they were sealed until they arrived at the destination which the “sealer” designated. Anyone violating a seal from a person wealthy enough to own one, was usually risking his/her life. In this case, messing with God’s seal is probably pretty serious.
A pledge was given to someone until "what the pledge was given for" was received by the person who got the pledge. Perhaps a kid goat was promised, and until that goat was received, a staff and ring might be given as a pledge, similar to the situation that occurred with a harlot in O.T. times.
The important thing is that until what the pledge was guaranteed to insure was received by the person the pledge is given too, the person not yet receiving what was promised keeps the pledge. Period. No exceptions, no caveats ...
There is no reason for which the “Pledger” could take back the "pledge", until what was promised was delivered as promised. If, for any reason you received this pledge of the Holy Spirit, and you do not receive your promised inheritance with the rest of those "in Him", "In the beloved", "In Christ" you keep the pledge FOREVER. Those in Him, In the beloved, In Christ ... are predestined to receive all these things and do all these things, AFTER they get sealed into that group and get the pledge. If you never get the pledge, you never were a Christian and you never were "Sealed" into that group. Simple as that.
This brings us to the well what if they aren’t true Christians, what if as a Christian they sin with impunity, will God not disown them?
First off, if they are behaving this way, they might not be true Christians:
1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
That’s a possibility. But what about true Christians, those who have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit … First off, God’s kids, the real ones, do not get away with anything:
Heb 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; 6 FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." 7 It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. 12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
You have probably heard about the “Sin unto death” passage, the type of sins we are not to pray for. Here’s a listing of one of the cases where it applies:
1Co 5:1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Here we have a man, in the church, with everyone’s knowledge who is sleeping with his Father’s wife. AND EVERYONE KNOWS, and he’s still showing up at church. There is no repentance. There is no reproof. The man is just living in sin, and the type of sin even the heathen cringed at. So does he lose his salvation for this willful living in sin? Nope. His body is being delivered over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his soul might STILL BE SAVED at the coming of Christ Jesus. A sin unto death, so to speak. If you want to understand this more fully, here’s another passage that might help:
1Co 11:20 Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me." 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. 30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
I know, kind of long, but the context is important. Here’s the situation. People were getting together to celebrate the Lord ’s Supper “Do this in remembrance of Me…” But some were showing up early and were drinking all of the Welch’s grape juice and eating all of the bread. And thus, when the rest showed up, some went hungry and others were drunk. That’s a real miracle with Welch’s grape juice, let me tell you. It takes over 8 gallons in an hour to get drunk on the stuff, and at 4 gallons your stomach would burst and you would die. So trust me, since the word of God says it, it was a miracle.
Sorry, got off track for a second. The point is this: These were true Christians as well, and they knew better. When you are a Christian, a true Christian, and you refuse to “judge yourself correctly”, and act as you should as a result, God, our daddy steps in like any good daddy should, and gives us our consequences. The consequences for a Christian, a true child, are found in
verse 30. “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.”
Now the weakness and sickness part most of us can understand. It ties in well with the laying on of hands, anointing of oil, if they have committed sins they will be forgiven them … passages. But the many “sleep” part confuses some people. This is physical death … sinning to the point where Daddy takes you home for being an embarrassment and a detriment to the entire family. Those in this position, we are COMMANDED BY GOD, NOT to pray for. If we judge ourselves rightly, God, Daddy, doesn’t have to step in. If we don’t, He does step in. If it’s a real problem, or we refuse to listen, Daddy takes us home. No, we aren’t sent to hell. Verse 32 tells us why: when we are judged, by God, because we refused to judge ourselves correctly, we are disciplined in the form of weakness, sickness, or, if it’s a real problem, physical death. Keep in mind that everyone dies. Everyone gets sick. This is actually a judgment from God on His kids.
I bet the last part of that Hebrews passage, quoted earlier probably makes more sense now too:
12 Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Don’t get put out of joint … taken home by Daddy. I ticked my earthly daddy off enough that he stopped everything and took me home … once. Whooo boy. Never did that again.
But what about Hebrews 6.
Heb 6:4 For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
First, a lot of people get bent out of shape about the meaning of the words. Don’t. These are true Christians. There’s no getting around it. “Jesus tasted death for all.” Did He not die? Sure He did. Look up all of the places where the same word/root word is used throughout the scriptures. Tasted. Yep Christians. Do the same with the word for being made “partakers” yep. All the uses signify true Christians.
Another point. ONCE YOU DO THIS, have all the knowledge of the truth of God, know it, understand it, believe it, become a Christian, get the Spirit … and then turn from it back to what you had before, there is no way you are going to come back around to the truth. God says so. The ground, your life, that should have been bearing fruit for God and for the kingdom of heaven, will now only produce thorns, thistles, hay, and stubble … worthless things. So what’s the outcome?
You end up being cursed and you burn for all eternity in hell, right? No. That’s not what it says. Look again t the passage:
8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.
First notice the word “Close”. What does it mean? Do a word study and find every place where the word is used. You will find that it means …. Drum roll please … “Close”. So here we are, “Close” to getting the meaning of the passage with all the meaning of all of the words explained. “Close”. I was “Close” to getting in a bunch of accidents in my life. I was very close to getting killed a couple of times. I was close to getting a piano worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for $5000 once. Close.
I did get in a number of accidents in my life. Some I was “Close” to avoiding … but I didn’t avoid them. CRUNCH!!!
Same here in this passage. Remember what the scriptures said about true Christians who refuse to judge themselves? Well, later on in Hebrews, these people discussed here are discussed again. Check and see if they are getting away with this ... Nope. In the meantime, how “Close” to cursed can you get? Are you then “cursed”? If you are cursed, i.e. headed for hell, and spending an eternity in hell, how are you “close”? If only the word wasn’t in here. Then I could go with the lose your salvation crowd. It is though. These people are not burning in hell. What is burned up then? Is it the field, or the person, or is it everything they built on that life, everything that grows on that life, the thorns and thistles. What ends up being burned?
Do you need some help? Well, many believe Hebrews was written by Paul or one of his close contemporaries. Let’s look at a similar passage about what we build on the foundation of Christ, and what we allow to “grow” on our field? Here’s another long passage. Guess what, back in 1 Corinthians again.
1Co 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Do you see the correlations? What are the things being built on the field, on the foundation, what happens to all of them? They are all tested by what? What is burnt up? The person? The field? Or is it what is on that foundation, what grows on that field? Those people in Hebrews, are they cursed … or close?
Hopefully this clears up a lot of things.
