"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Heb. 3:12,13)
God’s elect are
all surely to be saved and kept and to enter into eternal glory. The purpose of
God, the death of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit will see to this. This
being the case, why are there warnings and exhortations in the scriptures which
seem to imply the possibility of this not happening? The truth is, these
warnings and exhortations in the scriptures given to those who are regarded as
believers are part of the means by which God keeps His own. Spiritually dead
sinners do not heed either warnings or exhortations! These statements in
scripture which come from Christ and the apostles are given for the obedience of
faith. The servants of God are instructed to warn, to encourage, to reprove and
to rebuke their hearers. We are told to “take heed, hold fast, beware, continue
in the faith, forsake not the assembling and to examine yourselves whether you
be in the faith.” These words fall on deaf ears to the false professor! He has
no ear of faith to hear them, no new heart to desire to obey them and no eye of
faith to see any need to. He will look back like Lot’s wife. He will forsake the
company of God’s people like Demas. He will go “out from us because they were
not of us” as John says. Nevertheless, that person who is born of God, though
they be erring, though they fall, though they for a time appear as spiritually
dead, will at some point find these warnings and exhortations coming home to
their minds and hearts and the Spirit of God will bring them again to obedience
and repentance. Rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Warn a living man and he
will heed the warning. Exhort a humbled man and he will be encouraged by God’s
word. But those who are yet dead in trespasses and sin, say what you will, warn
with tears if you may, they will, apart from God’s grace, continue in the way of
destruction, turn back and show that they have no part in the kingdom of God.
God’s servants lift of warning and exhortation and yet watch these poor deluded
souls as they step by step fall away. Has God made us alive by His Spirit? If
so, we will heed the warnings and exhortations that He gives to His living
people!