Week 5: The Dispensation of Conscience
Genesis 3:6 to 8:14

The second dispensation also has two names. It is called the Dispensation of Conscience or the Dispensation of Self-Determination. The first name emphasizes the principle by which the LORD dispensed His economy, the conscience. Conscience was the way God governed mankind. The name for this dispensation comes from Romans 2:15 which states that for a period of time, Elohim dealt with men on the basis of their conscience until finally their conscience became so defiled and seared that it was no longer possible for ADONAI to continue to govern in that way. The second name emphasizes the other side of the coin of conscience, in that man was given the freedom to follow the dictates of his conscience. If he followed his conscience, his self-determination would have led to holiness; but if he did not follow his conscience, or if his conscience was defiled, darkened, or seared, then his self-determination would lead to his ruin.

There are seven dispensations described in the Bible: (1) the Dispensation of Innocence or Freedom (Genesis 1:28 to 3:5); (2) the Dispensation of Conscience or Self-Determination (Genesis 3:6 to 8:14), (3) the Dispensation of Civil Government (Genesis 8:15 to 11:32), (4) the Dispensation of Promise or Patriarchal Rule (Genesis 12:1 to Exodus 18:27), (5) the Dispensation of the Torah (Exodus 19:1 to Acts 1:26), (6) the Dispensation of Grace (Acts 2:1 to Revelation 19:21), and (7) the Dispensation of the messianic or millennial Kingdom (Isaiah 4:2-6, 11:1 to 12:6, 54:11-17, 60:1-22).

The chief person in this dispensation, as in the previous one, was Adam. He received new revelation from God in 3:17-19 that helped to explain the principles and requirements of this new dispensation.

The responsibility was for him to simply follow his conscience. If one listens to his conscience, it will convict him of sin and lead him to salvation. But if he doesn’t listen to it and hardens it, all he has to look forward to is judgment.

The test during that dispensation was first, obedience in the knowledge of good and evil, but secondly, where there was failure, they were to offer a proper and acceptable blood sacrifice. This can be learned from 3:21 and 4:4.

As with the previous dispensation, there will be a failure. This was seen as early as the case of Cain in 4:3-5, who failed to bring a proper blood sacrifice and thought he could come to God on his own terms. In 4:8, failure was seen in the first act of murder when Cain murdered his brother Abel. Failure was also seen in 6:1-5, which speaks of open violence, corruption and widespread sin. The heart of man sought evil continually. Therefore, since the people from Adam to Noah ignored their conscience and followed wickedness, God was forced to bring judgment in the form of a worldwide Flood.

As with the previous dispensation, this one, also, contained the issue of judgment. The judgment in this case was the worldwide Flood (6:7 and 7:23). This brought humanity to an end with the exception of one family. They had become so evil that they could no longer follow their consciences. The conscience of man had become so dark and degenerate, that it was no longer a reliable guide.

As with every dispensation, this one had an element of grace. It was displayed during the Dispensation of Conscience in that God commanded Noah to build an ark (6:14). As a result, Noah and his family were saved and found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

Week 5: The Dispensations of God

Dispensations are periods of time,
in which God governs in a different way than He did previously.

One of the most important things in understanding the Bible is rightly dividing the word of truth (Second Timothy 2:15 NJK). There are a number of ways we can divide the Bible to understand the different parts of the whole. One of the ways is by the dispensations contained in God’s Word. To understand what a dispensation is, we need to take a look at two Greek words. The first word is oikumenei from which we get our English word ecumenical. It means to manage, to regulate, to administer, or to plan. The second word is aion and it means age. It emphasizes the time element of the dispensation. So the term dispensation refers to a specific way by which God administers His program, His will, His rule and His authority. Each dispensation is an age, because each dispensation covers a period of time. Dispensations reveal the progressive revelation of YHVH.

The major opposition to Dispensationalism today is Covenant Theology, which teaches Replacement Theology. In 2002, Know Theological Seminary issued a document clearly stating the Covenant Theology position, “The inheritance promises that God gave Abraham . . . do not apply to any particular ethnic group, but to the Church of Jesus Christ, the true Isra’el, and “A future day should not be anticipated in which Christ’s Kingdom will manifest Jewish distinctives, whether by its location in the Land; by its constituency, or by its ceremonial institutions and practices. Accordingly, Covenant Theology believes that the Church has either replaced or superseded “ethnic Isra’el.” The promises made to “ethnic Isra’el” are considered as metaphorically fulfilled by the Church, as they believe that “Isra’el” and the “Church” are all one “people of God,” a group that may or may not include people of Jewish ancestry. Covenant theologians deny any connection between “ethnic Isra’el” and the current or future land of Isra’el. They believe that as neighborhoods, cities, states, and nations “take dominion” and kick Satan out, the world will become a better and better place; and eventually, this process will lead to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

There are seven dispensations described in the Bible: (1) the Dispensation of Innocence or Freedom (Genesis 1:28 to 3:5); (2) the Dispensation of Conscience or Self-Determination (Genesis 3:6 to 8:14), (3) the Dispensation of Civil Government (Genesis 8:15 to 11:32), (4) the Dispensation of Promise or Patriarchal Rule (Genesis 12:1 to Exodus 18:27), (5) the Dispensation of Torah (Exodus 19:1 to Acts 1:26), (6) the Dispensation of Grace (Acts 2:1 to Revelation 19:21), and (7) the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom (Isaiah 4:2-6, 11:1 to 12:6, 54:11-17, 60:1-22).

There are six specific elements involved in each dispensation. First, each dispensation has a key person to whom special revelation is given. Secondly, each dispensation provides a responsibility to man because each dispensation begins with new revelation that requires a human response. Thirdly, there is a specific test. Fourthly, following the test comes a specific failure. Fifthly, there is a judgment that brings the dispensation to an end. Sixthly, each dispensation has something that characterizes divine grace.

The Dispensation of Innocence or Freedom
Genesis 1:28 to 3:5

The first dispensation has two names: the Dispensation of Innocence or the Dispensation of Freedom. The two names are used to emphasize different aspect of this dispensation. The first name emphasizes the fact that Adam and Eve were innocent of any sin or sin-nature at this time. They were created holy, but their holiness had not yet been confirmed because they had not been tested as to whether they would stay true to the Word of God. The second name emphasizes their freedom from sin (they were not slaves to sin).

At the beginning of each dispensation there is one key person through whom God reveals the new features of that particular dispensation. For the first dispensation, the key person was Adam. Elohim revealed His will, divine economy, and divine administration through Adam.

Each dispensation also had a specific responsibility. During the Dispensation of Innocence or Freedom, man’s responsibility was to work the garden of Eden, to take care of it, and guard it.

Not only does each dispensation come with a responsibility, but each also comes with a test. The specific test here concerned the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was a test of obedience. They were commanded not to eat from that specific tree. They had complete control over the Garden and the right to eat of every other tree in the Garden, including the tree of life. So the test was very minimal.

There will also be a failure during this dispensation. If they had passed the test they would have become immortal. But, unfortunately, they failed the test. They ate of the very tree that God had forbidden them to eat from. As a result, their sin permeated every part of their being, physical and spiritual. And their sin nature would be passed down to their children and the human race (Romans 5:12 and 19).

After the failure there is the judgment. In this case, the judgment was to be driven from the Garden and the curse upon the earth. Being driven from the Garden meant they were expelled to a place where they would no longer be able to eat from the tree of life. Instead of having an easy working relationship with the earth so that his labor was easy and light, Adam would now have to work the earth by the sweat of his brow in order to be able to eat. Work was no longer easy, it was toilsome. In addition, the curse meant that the earth would no longer be his friend, but his enemy. As Adam would try to produce food to eat from the earth, he would continually be at war with thorns and thistles.

In every dispensation there is also the display of God’s grace. In this case, ADONAI promised a Redeemer. In 3:15 He promised that a Messiah would someday come and do two things. First, He would defeat the Adversary, the deceiver, who brought about the fall of man, the curse, and the expulsion from the Garden through his temptation. And secondly, He would conquer physical death, which was the result of the Fall, by the resurrection.

Week 4: Scripture

We have considered the issue of prayer, which is us talking to God. Scripture is God’s way of speaking to us. The Scriptures are composed of the TaNaKh (or the Old Covenant) and the B’rit Chadashah (the New Covenant). The Hebrew word TaNaKh (pronounced ta-nakh) is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”),N (for “Neviim,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” or the Sacred Writings). Also sometimes referred to as the Torah or the Scriptures. These are texts that anticipate the coming of Messiah.

B’rit Chadashah (pronounced be-reet ha-da-sha, the “ch” sound in Hebrew is a guttural sound and is largely silent) are the writing of the Apostles, those immediate disciples of Yeshua who were who were authorized to give His truth. In many circles this is called the “New Testament” (as Testament is another word for Covenant).

The TaNaKh is God’s promise of life, and the B’rit Chadashah is the fulfillment of that promise. The Scriptures are reliable in all its claims about life, both temporal (on earth) and eternal (in heaven).

Please read the following scripture: Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him (Proverbs 30:5). The word for pure in Hebrew is tserufab, meaning to make or prove true through refining. God’s Word is tested and found to be eternally true and pure (without error). Like the character of God Himself, the Scriptures can be trusted. In the verse above, how much of God’s Word is pure and proven to be true? ___________.

The Scriptures reveal that every word of God is completely reliable. The word every in Hebrew is kol, meaning all. Therefore, it is a totally trustworthy testimony of God and His priorities.

According to Proverbs 30:5, what are you guaranteed if you trust in Him (that is, believe in His Word)? _________________. Not necessarily from physical harm, but shielding your testimony and salvation.

Yes, He is a shield to those who trust in Him and His Word. A shield is protection against an attack from the devil, like the shield of faith, which can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). The safest place to be is in God’s will, and God’s Word is His revealed will for you. Thus, as you trust and follow His Word, the Scriptures, you are in His will and your testimony and salvation is shielded. The LORD is not obligated to protect us physically from harm. Our salvation is secure (see Week Two: Your Identity in Messiah), but our safety in this world is not. He is our spiritual refuge, and our physical refuge when He chooses to be.

Now consider this verse: Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11). The Hebrew word for hidden is tsafan, meaning to hide, treasure or store up. The practical application of having God’s Word hidden in your heart is memorizing, personalizing, trusting and following the Scriptures. If you ever have to choose between your feelings and God’s Word, choose to believe, trust or have faith in God’s Word. According to Psalm 119:11, what is the result of having God’s Word hidden (or treasured) in your heart? _____________________________.

When Yeshua was confronted by Satan in the wilderness the first time (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13), the Lord used the Scriptures as a shield to temptation. In His first temptation when hungry, Lucifer tempted Yeshua to turn stones into bread, the Lord quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 where Isra’el was tested with hunger so she would learn dependence on God. But she failed to do so. However, Yeshua succeeded by saying: It is written: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of ADONAI” (Mattityahu 4:4; Luke 4:4).

In the second temptation the devil led Him to the holy city of Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the Temple Mount and tempted Him with the words: If you are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. To make the temptation more persuasive, the great dragon quoted Scripture, as Yeshua had just done. Quoting Psalm 91:11-12, he said: For it is written, “He will command His angels concerning You to guard you carefully; and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 9-10). Yeshua responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 where Isra’el was tested with thirst so she would learn dependence on God. But where she failed to trust God, Yeshua succeeded by answered the devil by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16: It is also written, “Do not put ADONAI your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12).

In his third temptation, the old dragon then dropped all pretenses and made one final, desperate effort to corrupt Yeshua. He finally revealed his ultimate purpose: to induce Messiah to worship him. Again, the great dragon took the Lord to a very high mountain and, in an instant, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor and said, “If You will bow down and worship me, all that You see will all be Yours.” But Yeshua responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 where Isra’el was tested to serve ADONAI only; however, she failed to do so. But Yeshua said to the devil, “Away from me, Satan! For the TaNaKh says, ‘Worship ADONAI your God, and serve only Him’ (Matthew 4:8-10; Luke 4:5-8).” If the Word of God was His only resource to fight Satan, shouldn’t we recognize that it should also be ours?

Since Yeshua used Scripture to defend Himself against the enemy. We should do no less!

You have a Bible now . . . know the Scriptures! When we treasure God’s Word in our heart and obey it, He enables and enlightens us to follow and not rebel against Him. The way to keep from sinning against the Lord and to please Him is to believe in, and follow His Word.

Having His Word in your heart is to have the Word deep within your being; in the place where you make decisions and choices to either trust and follow the Lord in every area of your life or not. God wants all of you, not part of you. Please read the following verse: To the Torah and to the testimony! If they do not speak according this word, it is because they have no light (Isaiah 8:20). According to this verse, where should you turn to for the truth? ______ ________.

We need to say yes, to the Torah and to the testimony, God’s Word. The Torah and the testimony refer to the Scriptures, or God’s Word. The Torah means instruction, literally, what is pointed out, essentially authoritative instruction. The word testimony, te’udah, is used in reference to the tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18), as well as referring to the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle that contained the Ten Commandments (Exodus 40:21).

As the Psalmist wrote: the testimony of the LORD is true (Psalm 19:7). God’s Word is His authoritative and fully trustworthy testimony of what is always right and true for your life. When you have a problem to deal with or a decision to make, pray for guidance, then search the Scriptures, for in them you have light for your path.

Looking again at Isaiah 8:20, above, whoever may be teaching, if they do not speak according to God’s Word, why should we NOT listen to them? ____________________. To be without light (or true enlightenment) means to be without the truth; if the teacher is speaking contrary to the Word of God, they cannot be trusted for spiritual matters of guidance for your life. The New Covenant reiterates the same thing about the full authority and sufficiency of God’s Word.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (Second Timothy 3:16). According to Second Timothy 3:16, how much of Scripture is inspired? _____ __________. It is just as relevant today, as the day it was written. All of it. Inspired literally means God-breathed. In Genesis 2:7, God’s breath gave Adam life. Therefore, the inspired or God-breathed Scriptures are God’s life-giving Word to you.

As First Peter 2:2 teaches: As newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow toward salvation. New believers are like babies in the faith. As babies desire milk, so your desire should be for God’s Word, the pure milk, which nourishes us spiritually and helps us grow up in the truth. As with babies, regular feeding as well as nourishing meals are vitally important. As Messiah taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread (Luke 11:3), so we need ot have daily meal times in the Word. Can you imagine a baby eating once a week? God’s Word is “the bread of life” (John 6:25-59) for our souls. We need to regularly read and personalize Scripture, praying and seeking to apply God’s Word to our daily life. This is the way a “baby believer” grows to be mature in the Lord.

Personalize these verses. Add “me”, “my” or “I” for them, they theirs, us and ours. Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to ____ when __ trust in Him (Proverbs 30:5).

Give ___ this day ___ daily bread (Luke 11:3).

For further reading regarding the Bible, see Psalm 19; Psalm 119; Amos 8:11-13; First Peter 1:23-25; Second Peter 1:20-21, 3:15-16; and Revelation 1:3, 22:18-19.

For our next lesson, please memorize, or hide in your heart, Second Timothy 3:16

Also please start memorizing the order of the books of the Bible. This will make your Bible study much easier.

Week 3: Prayer

Blessed be the name of the Lord. You are a child of God forever by faith in Yeshua Messiah. You have eternal life and an eternal relationship with the God of Isra’el through His Messiah. As with all children and relationships, there needs to be growth and maturity. As you spiritually mature in your faith, you will develop an even more intimate and fulfilling relationship with the Lord. How does a believer spiritually grow in the faith? There are four essential areas that need to become more and more a vital part of our daily lives: prayer, reading the Scriptures (Week Four), fellowship (Week Ten), and sharing our faith (Week Twelve).

These four areas will cover the two basic directions of your spiritual growth: the vertical (with God) and the horizontal (with people). Prayer and reading the Scriptures will address the vertical relationship between you and the Lord. Fellowship and sharing your faith will focus on the horizontal relationships between your and other people.

Spiritual growth and balance come from prioritizing all four of these values. Those missing any of these habits can become like spiritual loners, having a “specialty,” but without balance or maturity. None of these four areas can be outgrown, but rather we grow deeper in them as we walk more closely with the Lord.

The goal of this lesson is to help you develop a prayer life: a daily, ongoing, intimate time to speak with your heavenly Father. Prayer is essentially and most importantly “talking with God.” Setting aside even five minutes a day to talk with Abba (Father) can make all the difference in the world.

The Psalms are actually prayers and praise to God. “I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose for me” (Psalm 57:2 NLT). King David authorized 73 of the 150 psalms. David was thankful that he could “cry out” to God. In Hebrew, karah actually means, “to cry or call out loudly.” This teaches us that private prayer is not to be a mere formality, but sincere, or with purpose and meaning.

We can genuinely express to God our feelings, thoughts, frustrations, will, or concerns about anything. God can take it; He won’t be offended or shocked. He actually desires and expects an open relationship with us. When we are real with God, we receive real help from God: comfort for our pain, encouragement in our disappointments, power for our weakness, renewed love when we are resentful, and forgiveness when we stumble. The Bible reiterates this truth: casting all your worries upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

God cares about our lives and can help us in the midst of difficulty. Because of our relationship with God, we have freedom in our prayer life to totally give all our burdens to the One who really loves us.

In Psalm 57:2, David’s confidence was not only that God would not only hear his deepest cry, but also that God would accomplish all things for him. All believers in the Messiah can have this same confidence. Yeshua said, “If you ask for anything in My name (in My will), I will do it” (John 14:14). Asking in His name is not some magical phrase, where we can get anything we want. It means aligning our will with His. When we do this we are asking in His authority, for His reputation and honor, and in light of His purposes and will as revealed in the Bible. If we seek to align our will with His, God will fulfill His purpose for you. All things that are good, profitable, wholesome and wise.

God always answers prayer; however, His answer may be . . .

* “Yes” (because it is appropriate for you now)

* “Not at this time” or “Wait” (because it may only be appropriate for you in the future)

* “No” (because it is inappropriate for you at any time, or may harm you)

We trust in God’s power to provide, but also in His wisdom to provide that which is in our eternal best interests. Please read these verses: Now this is the confidence we have before Him – that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have the requests we have asked from Him (First John 5:14-15). What does it mean that He hears us? John means that God does not ignore us; if we ask according to what is His will for us, He will fulfill our request. So according to these verses, how can you be confident that He hears you?___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

The key to our prayer life and our requests of God is to know His _______. But how can we know His will? God’s Word, the Scriptures, is the revealed will of God. As we come to know His Word, we learn His will, desires, and concerns for us. We better understand God’s character, values, priorities, and His perspective on life.

Please read First John 5:14-15 again, this time replacing we and us with “I” and “me.” Now this is the confidence ___ have before Him – that if ___ ask anything according to His will, He hears ___. And if ___ know that He hears ___ – whatever ___ ask – ___ know that ___ have the requests ___ have asked from Him.

Now please read this verse, “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). Since God knows all things (this is called omniscience), we know He always hears us. In this verse, the phrase will not hear refers to the Lord not responding positively to our requests. The Hebrew word for regard is rayiti, which means to consider or gaze at. If we consider something evil or improper for ourselves, or others, it is just plain wrong. The Lord will not hear or respond to evil.

According to Psalm 66:18, where do you regard good or evil? ___ ___ _______.

Yes, in your heart. Let us understand the internal priorities of prayer. Regardless of what we say with our lips, it is the inner person that spiritually communicates with the Lord. External expressions of prayer are so others can join with us in prayer and praise to God.

What specific sins or wickedness may possibly be in your heart in the following areas?

* Your personal life?

* Your family life?

* Your financial or business life?

* Your community life?

After thinking about these areas, did you find some that you are not pleased with? What can you do about the sins or wickedness in your heart? Consider First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Confess in the original Greek language is homologeo, meaning to agree with another or speak the same, in this case to agree with God. In other words, when we admit or confess our sins to God we are finally agreeing with Him about what He already knows – that our sinful thoughts, attitudes, or deeds are unjustifiable, but not unforgivable.

What is done in the heart only is a sin against God and must be confessed. If you sin outwardly, you are sinning against God and others. You need to confess your sins in either case: often to the person against whom you have sinned, as well as the Lord, as all sin is rebellion against Him (Matt 5:22-25, 18:15; James 5:16).

Rather than the sin being clever, cute or a matter of “she started it,” sin is contrary to God’s character and His revealed will in the Bible. We can truly praise God, because when we admit our sinful thoughts and deeds, He forgives and cleanses us as a result of Messiah’s shed blood on the cross as payment for our sins.

Personalize First John 1:9 using “I”, “my” and “me”. If __ confess ___ sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive ___ sins and to cleanse ___ from all unrighteousness.

For further reading on prayer, read Exodus 33:12-19, the Psalms, and John 17.

Please memorize First John 1:9.

Please commit yourself to begin a minimum of five minuets of prayer daily. Make it a time when you are awake, alone, and able to quiet your thoughts before God. If you are not sure how to structure your prayer time, a help for many believers is the acronym PTA.

Praise God for His attributes, love and goodness. Then, in the light of Who He is,

Thank Him for His forgiveness, cleansing, and the many blessings of Yeshua in your life.

Ask Him to supply your needs as well as the needs of others.

Take time each day also to be quiet before the Lord. That way, He gets to minister to your heart as the Spirit of God uses the Word of God to remind you of His great love for you! Prayer is the means believers have to talk to the Holy One of Isra’el. What a privilege!

Week 2: Your Identity in Messiah

The God of Isra’el wants you to have a deep assurance that by faith in Yeshua you are His child forever. This means you are forgiven, saved, and you have eternal life (for a more in-depth study on eternal life see my commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).

1. You are forgiven for all your sins through faith in Messiah’s atoning death and resurrection. This means that you have a right standing before God. You are justified. This is the act of God whereby, negatively, He forgives your sins and, positively, He declares them righteous by transferring the righteousness of Messiah to you through faith. It is a once-for-all-time divine act at salvation. Those accepted are now secure forever. It is not a reward for anything good we have done. It is not something that we cooperate with God in. Finally, our justification is not simply a matter of ADONAI overlooking our guilt; our right standing before Him is a result of all of Yeshua’s righteousness being transferred to our spiritual bank account by faith (Genesis 15:6; Psalm 32:2; Isaiah 54:17; Jeremiah 23:6; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 3:28 to 4:6, 5:1 and 9, 9:30 to 10:4; First Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 2:16, 3:8-9, 21).

This is just what the TaNaKh (the Old Testament) promised: that Messiah would come and die for your sins as God’s provision for our atonement and forgiveness. But He was wounded for out transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and yet ADONAI has laid on Him the guilt of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6). If you are not familiar with this section of Scripture, take a moment to read the entire portion of Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12. The B’rit Chadashah (the New Testament) shows us how God fulfilled this promise of redemption. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Yeshua Messiah (Romans 5:1; also see Isaiah 26:3).

The word justified means: to be declared righteous, or to have a right standing before God. This is the greatest transaction in history, our sin for His righteousness. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). In the TaNaKh there had to be a sacrifice, blood had to be shed, a death needed to occur. But because we are in Messiah (Ephesians 2:6), we have a perfect, absolute, righteousness before God. What is true of Him is true of you. Because of our faith, we have passed God’s final exam with an A+. He has given us His righteousness (Philippians 3:3-9; Romans 1:17, 3:21-22, 4:21-23, 8:19-22; 9:30; Galatians 3:21).

Because Messiah has fully atoned for your sins through faith in His death and resurrection, you are now completely forgiven and spiritually without spot or blemish before God. The Bible teaches: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1).

Your right standing before God is a result of all of Messiah’s righteousness being transferred to your spiritual bank account by __________.

Before salvation you were God’s enemy (James 4:4); but now, having been justified by faith, we have __________ with God through our Lord Yeshua Messiah (Romans 5:1).

To be justified means to be declared ______________ .

2. You are saved: In Messiah, you are completely delivered from all judgment for your sins. This is the same truth anticipated by the prophet: Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22).

As we might think of a fireman who goes into a burning building to save someone from a fire, so Messiah underwent judgment to save us from the fires of judgment. The idea of being saved is to be delivered from judgment for our sins, and adopted into the family of God (Ephesians 1:4-5; John 1:12; Galatians 3:26-29).

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). The Greek word for confess, homologeo, literally means same-word, that is, to agree with another. We agree with God about Messiah. So, to confess with your mouth means to acknowledge Yeshua as Lord. Real faith is what we confess as true.

Is this what you confess as well? Yes _____ No _____

The word believe (Greek: pisteuo) has a wide semantic range and can mean trust, faith, or believe, opposed to mere intellectual assent. We trust in the Scriptures, God’s testimony and promises regarding our salvation. To believe in your heart that God has raised Yeshua from the dead means you genuinely trust that through the resurrection of Messiah, God glorified Him and accepted His righteous death as atonement (payment) for your sins.

Is this what you genuinely believe? Yes _____ No _____

Please read Romans 10:9, replacing “I” and “my” for the words “you” and “your.”

If ___ confess with ___ mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in ___ heart that God raised Him from the dead, ___ will be saved.

3. You have eternal life now! This means the God’s life dwells in you, now and for all eternity. This is the same truth anticipated in the TaNaKh: And ADONAI your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants – to love ADONAI your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Eternal security means that once a person has undergone the real experience of salvation and has a truly experienced regeneration, that person cannot lose his or her salvation, either by committing a specific sin, or by ceasing to believe. It’s not so much that we can undo what we have done, but we cannot undo what God has done for us (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith)! It is the work of the Holy Spirit that keeps us secure, not our own works: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Messiah Yeshua returns (Philippians 1:6).

True salvation will produce genuine works of righteousness (spiritual fruit) in the life of the believer (First Corinthians 13:4-7; Galatians 5:22-23).

True salvation will produce doctrinal consistency, which is a test of genuine faith (Colossians 1:22-23; Second John 1:1-12). When people are saved, they may not know that Yeshua was born of a virgin. But when they do learn it, they will readily accept it. If they deny or reject this truth, then they probably weren’t truly saved to begin with (First John 2:9).

True salvation will produce godly living based upon what God has done for us, not on the fear of losing our salvation.

Sin in a believer’s life severs fellowship (First Corinthians 5:1-13; First John 1:6-9), but does not result in loss of salvation. Since we can do no works to gain our salvation, we can do no works to lose our salvation.

Persistent life pattern of sin shows a lack of conversion. This is the point of First John 3:6-10 where the present tense is used. A life pattern of sin does not show a loss of salvation. If anything, it may show that a person was never saved to begin with.

Perfection is not achieved in this life. Believers will continue sinning for the rest of their lives. No one will reach perfection in this life. But we should continue to be conformed into the image of Messiah, or mature, as we study God’s Word.

There is a difference between position and practice; between justification and sanctification. When we are justified at salvation, our position in Messiah is permanent, but because we still live in bodies of sin, our practice may not always show it. One of the best examples would be the church at Corinth. Paul referred to the Corinthians church positionally as being a sanctified church: But by His doing you are in Messiah Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). But, according to their practice, they were one of the worst churches in the B’rit Chadashah. That is the difference between position and practice. Bad practice does not mean that position has been lost.

Eternal security is our position in Messiah. At the moment of faith several things happen, and one of them is being placed in Yeshua. This doctrine teaches us that somehow He is placed in us, and we are placed in Messiah, who sits at the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19; Romans 8:34; Acts 7:55-56, Ephesians 1:20). As a result, there is a permanent union with Messiah and the believer that is set for eternity. Yeshua cannot be taken out of us and we cannot be taken out of Him. When God looks down upon us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees His Son (And there are no abortions in heaven).

Positive verses: These verses would be the perfect place to temper the notion of eternal security and prove that we can indeed lose our salvation. But you don’t find any of those qualifications in the logical places you would expect to find them.

John 6:37-40: Is it ever possible for Yeshua to lose a gift from the Father? “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:39). So if one true believer ever loses his or her salvation, Yeshua would be out of the will of God. But that is impossible.

John 10:27-30: Yeshua builds argument on top of argument to affirm our security in Him, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them; and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are One.”

First John 4:16-18, “We will have confidence on the day of judgment.”

John 5:24, “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

Romans 5:8-11 and 17: Since Messiah died for us while we were still sinners, how much more will He do for us now that we have been reconciled, adopted, justified, united with Him, and had all of His righteousness transferred to our spiritual bank account at the moment of salvation?

Romans 8:28-39: This is the strongest argument in the Bible for the eternal security of the believer. If this were the ONLY scripture supporting the security of the believer – you would have to say that it was established. “Who will separate us from the love of Messiah? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of the world . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (which includes you!) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.”

My dear children [of God], I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Yeshua Messiah, the Righteous One (First John 2:1). Another reason we are dependent on the Son of God for our eternal salvation is His ministry of intercession. He interceded while still on earth (John 17:1-26), and He is still interceding for us. “Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Messiah Yeshua who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). “Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

We are dependent on God the Son based on Messiah’s role as the Good Shepherd (John 10:27-30). There we are taught once again, that we have eternal life. If that life is eternal, then it’s eternal. If one can lose it, it’s not eternal, merely temporary. We shall never perish no matter what we do. Why? Because “no one will snatch [us] out of [Messiah’s] hand.” Yeshua concludes by saying, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

The ministry of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh is one of sealing, and the purpose is to seal the believer up in Messiah so that we can never be lost. The emphasis is clearly that the believer has been sealed, not just temporarily, not just until we stop believing, but has been sealed until the day of redemption. Having been sealed, the final redemption is guaranteed, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Messiah. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” The deposit is a down payment with the intention to purchase. God has given us Himself as the down payment; He has given us the Spirit of God (Second Corinthians 1:21-22; also see Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30).

What does it mean when a person who seems to have been a believer and has been active in the congregation, leaves, lives in the world, and doesn’t come back? Did this person lose their salvation? No. This is what that bible says, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them [really ever] belonged to us” (First John 2:19).

Problem Passages for Eternal Security: Various groups do use different verses to try to prove that it is possible to lose one’s salvation. To be assured of our eternal security, we need to respond to these viewpoints.

The five warnings in the book of Hebrews: We must understand that there are three basic groups of people in view throughout this book. If one does not keep these groups in mind, the book becomes very confusing. The key to interpreting any part of Hebrews is to understand which group is being addressed. The primary message is addressed to believers. But periodically there are five different warnings (2:1-4, 3:7-19, 5:11-14, 6:1-8, 10:26-39) to two unbelieving groups: Jews who were merely intellectually convinced, but had not crossed over the line from knowledge to faith, and secondly unbelieving Jews. But some think that these passages are addressing believers who have lost their salvation.

None of these verses or examples actually teaches that believers can lose their salvation. On the contrary, once saved, believers can never be snatched out of Yeshua’s hand because they are kept by the power of God. We don’t keep ourselves; He keeps us. Thus, the problem passages can be explained as misapplications, while the positive passages cannot be disproven. So as believers we can be confident that we are eternally secure; however, the fact that we are eternally secure in our salvation does not give us the liberty to live like the devil (see my commentary on Romans Bq – The Background of the Messianic Mikveh).

Does eternal mean eternal? Yes _____ No _____

Can I lose my salvation? Yes _____ No _____