When God makes a vow we have no reason to ever doubt His word. It is sure and without fail. That’s really what perseverance is all about. The deep knowledge that when the Lord has elected us before the foundation of the world to be His covenant people, He has fashioned a vessel of mercy to carry about in it the righteousness of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. It’s such a gift that is beyond compare.

Over the past five months we’ve been walking through T.U.L.I.P. on Sunday nights at Bethany. Now, for those of you who may not know what that means it is an acrostic which spells out some of the basics of the Reformed faith. Those things that we believe about our redemption purchased by Christ. How we came to be in need of it, and the way that God has provided an answer for it. As an aside we’d love for you to join our merry little band on the Lord’s Day evening for this time of growing in faith together through the fellowship of the saints. One of the benefits of that second service is that it allows us to close the Sabbath with a word of reminder of God’s grace and love for His people, a booster if you will to get us ready for the week that is to come. But we’re not going to talk specifically about evening praise in this morning’s prayer and worship help. I want to go back to that whole T.U.L.I.P. thing for a second.
The “P” is what we are on now, and it represents the Perseverance of the Saints. First of all I am thankful for the little red squiggly line that appears in Microsoft Word, because for reasons unknown to me the word Perseverance is in the list of words, like pharaoh or irregular that I misspell all the time. I guess I just need to persevere until I get it right. But seriously, for the Christian outside of God’s sovereign election, Jesus’s atoning death for dead sinners, and the Lord’s gracious grant of faith the reality is nothing is more important for the believer than to be reminded that when we are told that our Redeemer has provided eternal life for His people we are to understand that the word eternal means what it says.
When Jehovah makes a promise we have the assurance that He will do it. Part of the witness of the Book of Hosea is to illustrate this truth. In the third chapter of that portion of Holy Scripture we see the prophet say, “And I said to her, ‘You shall stay with me many days; you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man—so, too, will I be toward you.’” There is a clear exposition of what we mean when we talk about the doctrine of perseverance. Remember the situation in Hosea. He has taken Gomer, a loose woman, a prostitute, to be his lawfully wedded wife. She is depraved, a sinner, ungodly, but he has taken her on as his own flesh and blood, in accordance with Genesis 2 and Matthew 19.
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True humility does not argue with Christ Jesus, but sweetly complies with Him. But let me show you what way false humility works. False humility is always at one of two extremes. It is either lower than God would have it, or it is higher than God can tolerate.
1. False Humility Goes Lower Than God Wants
Leaving our responsibility to God
For example, there are many of you who will leave it to God whether to save or damn you. That is false humility, because He has declared His mind peremptorily to the contrary. People are to keep pressing to get into heaven, until they are actually cast into hell. They will get no thanks from God for that kind of humility.
Giving a latitude to God where He takes none
False humility leaves it up to God to save you whether you believe or not. “We know,” say some, “that people should believe; but He may save us in any way. He may bring folk to heaven equally well without faith as with it.” Do you imagine that God will bring people to heaven if they do not believe? You are making a great mistake. “He that believeth not shall not see life. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”
Putting you lower than the reach of free grace
When a man takes such a look of his guilt that he thinks himself below the free grace of God, it is false humility. Though he does not want to say that he has sinned the sin against the Holy Ghost, yet he thinks God cannot pardon him. But it is a sin to think like this, when God has said, “All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven.” In this way false humility justles out the whole of God’s arrangements in the covenant of free grace.
Taking more care of the glory of God than He does Himself
It is a strange sort of humility when someone stands up and says, “I think it would be an encroachment on the holiness of God to show mercy to me. He may show mercy to whoever He pleases, but He cannot pardon me.” That is a strange thing. You do not need to worry about encroachments on His holiness, when He has declared that He has found a ransom. Will you be wiser than God? He will never regard that as humility! It is enough to us that He has made a declaration through the world, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you Him.” As if to say, “I shall satisfy myself in myself. Don’t trouble your heads about that. I am satisfied.”
Thinking it is a mistake to take little problems to God
False humility goes lower than God allows when it treats it as a faux pas to put little things into God’s hand. Many think it would be injudicious for them at such a time as this to ask God to heal their sore head which incapacitates them from hearing the preaching, or to help their faint heart that hinders them from profiting by the Word. But this is the devil’s humility, for the Lord counts all the hairs of your head. Some think it would be some sort of gaffe to ask for a bag of meal from God, and a coat to put on their back at such a time as this – but He has commanded you to put all your needs onto Him, from your salvation to your shoe-latchet.
Thinking it a mistake to come to God often about the same thing
This humility justles with the majesty of God. This is the case with many of us. You have told God often what you are. You have frequented many communions, and yet you are not the better. You have come often with one and the same thing, and now you blush to come to Him again.
But in this you are humble overmuch.
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Do not ignore the voice of the Lord who commands His people to obey Him. Rather, rejoice at the mercy of God who tells us to obey, how to obey, then gives us a new birth and new life that we might be able to obey!

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25:13 NKJV
What do you think of the word, “obey?” We have hymns where we sing of it, “Trust and Obey!” We have blessings promised by God when we obey, “And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God… (Deut. 28:2)” The Lord delights in obedience, “Has the LORD As great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22). Jesus tells us if we love Him we are to keep (obey) His commandments (John 14:15). A fiery vengeance is coming on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8).
It is evident that obedience is an important, even essential element of the Christian life. For whoever will not heed God’s command to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ will surely perish in hell fire for all eternity. And yet, it seems sometimes in some places that Christians shy away from the word and concept of obedience because they are afraid of being considered legalistic or preaching works based salvation. If obedience is used, it seems almost with apology. Grace grace some cry but often without or to the expense of the great commission of Jesus, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…
The “therapeutic theology” movement has in many places so effectively replaced the righteous Law of God that the idea of obeying God can be condemned as legalistic or abusive terminology which must be dismissed out of hand. The adulterer is surmised to have a mental issue. The drunkard is said to have substance issues requiring counseling. The man who hits his wife has a temperament disorder. The woman who considers murdering her child or follows through with murdering her child is considered a victim in need first and foremost of sympathy. The fourth commandment is used for comic relief. The ten commandments are referred to as “bad news”. The list could go on.
And yet, God does not avoid this word “obey” but rather  calls all men in all places to obey Him at all times. He even wrote His commandments for us so that we might know how to obey Him and commit His commandments to memory. God who told Saul that He desires obedience more than sacrifice, still desires the same from us today. He who said, “if you love me, keep my commandments,” still means what He said. When will preacher bring these words again to the ears of the people – You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. Obey God and it will go well with you! Disobey God and it will go poorly for you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will surely be saved. Disobey and deny Christ and you will surely perish. It is the message throughout Scripture. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ leads the born again sinner to a life no longer of lawlessness but a life of obedience. Therefore Christian, obey the Lord!
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