Related Bible studies and books:
The Promise
The Gospel Word Of Truth
Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen (book)
The Word Of My Perseverance
This teaching came to my wife and I, and our daughter, as we met one Sunday morning (10-29-17) at our home. Lately, the Holy Spirit has directed us to stay home rather than go to a church, giving us revelation after revelation, often regarding the salvation of His people at the end of this age.
After opening my Bible and being led to read through Proverbs, chapter 20, this was the verse that began this revelation. In particular, it exposes the lie behind the “once saved, always saved” teaching that is so prevalent throughout Evangelical Christianity. In that teaching we are taught that, after first turning to Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have received all of your eternal inheritance in Him and will never lose it, no matter what you do from there on out. As you will see through this teaching, the Bible teaches otherwise. As He has numerous times to me during other studies, the Holy Spirit confirmed this to us that morning. May we all be encouraged to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1/NIV- see the Bible study The Word Of My Perseverance) Get ready. Put the wedding clothes on through obedience to the commandments of the Lord as we near the end of this age. Our Savior is coming!
Proverbs 20:21 – In this passage, Solomon describes the dangers of gaining an inheritance too quickly.
21 An inheritance quickly gained [926] at the beginning will not be blessed at the end.
NIV
Proverbs 20:21
21 An inheritance gained hurriedly [926] at the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
NASU
OT:926 bahal (baw-hal')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to tremble inwardly (or palpitate), i.e. (figuratively) be (causative, make) (suddenly) alarmed or agitated; by implication to hasten anxiously:
KJV - be (make) affrighted (afraid, amazed, dismayed, rash), (be, get, make) haste (-n, -y, -ily), (give) speedy (-ily), thrust out, trouble, vex.
(Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to disturb, to alarm, to terrify, to hurry, to be disturbed, to be anxious, to be afraid, to be hurried, to be nervous
a) (Niphal)
1) to be disturbed, to be dismayed, to be terrified, to be anxious
2) to be in haste, to be hasty
b) (Piel)
1) to make haste, to act hastily, to be hurried, to be hastened
2) to dismay, to terrify
c) (Pual)
1) to hasten
2) hastened, hastily gained (participle)
d) (Hiphil)
1) to hasten, to hurry, to make haste
2) to dismay, to terrify
Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Solomon shares the dangers of gaining an inheritance early, before a person is ready to handle it with wisdom. The expression, “Haste makes waste” applies here. An inheritance gained early, without the proper preparedness and maturity level, could very well cause, through negligence and carelessness, the inheritor to actually LOSE it in the end. It’s the same with our Lord’s eternal inheritance. All who turn to him have been given the right to the inheritance (John 1:12), but must be willing to work together with the Lord, through submission to the ministry of the Holy Spirit within us, to grow/rear us up in Him (Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Peter 2:2).
In my Bible study Freedom In Christ, I wrote the following insight regarding John 1:11-13 which speaks of those who have received Christ and have, therefore, “been given the right to become children of God”;
“In this passage, John’s subject is those who received Christ, those who were literally born of God. By definition, they have laid hold of Christ, making Him their own. They are the only ones that have been given the right to become children of God. This is interesting because it would be assumed that they are instantly, at the choice of receiving Christ, to be His child. Per John, there is more though in regards to bringing this right to completion in Him.
The definition for “right” is, “privilege, power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases, the power of rule or government.” Freedom in Christ, therefore, is the “authority, power (of choice), privilege, liberty of doing as one pleases” that is only granted to those who turn in repentance to Jesus, receiving Him as their Lord and Savior. The unbelievers do not have this freedom to choose. They are slaves to sin and the devil (2 Tim. 2:26).”
The Hebrew word interpreted into English within our passage above in Proverbs 20:21 as “quickly gained” is bahal (baw-hal'). One of the definitions for it is “to hasten, to act hastily, to hurry, to be hurried.” I, and probably you, have often listened to preachers tell those under conviction for salvation (or even some who are not), “Say this prayer after me.” They then have the individual, or everyone who is there, say it with them. Afterwards they congratulate the unsuspecting and vulnerable person for receiving eternal salvation in Christ which they can never lose after that moment, thereby possibly setting them up for the great falling away from Christ at the end of this age (2 Thessalonians 2). A “hasty decision” regarding their inheritance, without understanding the need to “count the cost” (Luke 14:26-33) at the beginning could be devastating in the end.
By not knowing the truth regarding the consequences of continued sin without repentance after receiving Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:26-31), and the necessary establishing of the covenant within them, they can be easily led into a false sense of security when experiencing conviction of their sin. They’re deception is reinforced by liars in the church who intimidate them through their positions of authority.
Jeremiah 17:4 – Through the prophet, the Lord declares, in type, the possibility of losing the inheritance that He gave us.
4 Through your own fault you will lose [8058] the inheritance I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have kindled my anger, and it will burn forever."
NIV
Jeremiah 17:4
4 And you will, even of yourself, let go [8058] of your inheritance that I gave you; and I will make you serve your enemies in the land which you do not know; for you have kindled a fire in My anger which will burn forever.
NASU
OT:8058 shamat (shaw-mat')
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primitive root; to fling down; incipiently to jostle; figuratively, to let alone, desist, remit:
KJV - discontinue, overthrow, release, let rest, shake, stumble, throw down.
(Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon)
to release, to let drop or loose or rest or fall
a) (Qal) to let drop or fall
b) (Niphal) to be made to fall down, to be thrown down
c) (Hiphil)
1) to cause to let drop
2) to release, to let drop
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
Luke 15:11-13 – In Jesus’ teaching known as “The Prodigal Son,” He describes the pitfall of gaining an inheritance early, without self-control which happens to be a fruit of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:23). There are three main characters within this story; the father, the older son, and the younger son. The youngest son wanted his portion of his father’s inheritance while in his youthful state. He ends up wasting it through an excessive, immoral lifestyle.
11 And He said, "A man had two sons.
12 "The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them.
13 "And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered [1287] his estate with loose living [“wastefully, luxuriousness, excess, riotous living”].
NASU
NT:1287 diaskorpizo (dee-as-kor-pid'-zo)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1223 and NT:4650; to dissapate, i.e. (genitive case) to rout or separate; specially, to winnow; figuratively, to squander:
KJV - disperse, scatter (abroad), strew, waste.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to scatter abroad, disperse (John 11:52)
Luke 15:14-19 – This section of Jesus’ teaching of the Prodigal deals with his breaking and his repentant heart afterwards. After wasting his inheritance, he “came to his senses,” and discovered his real need.
14 "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished [5302 – In my book Many Are Called But Few Are Chosen, see Chapter Four, Not Lacking Anything, which is book 3 of the series The Rising Of The Sons Of Dawn.].
15 "So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 "And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
17 "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying [622] here with hunger!
18 'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."'
NASU
NT:5302 hustereo (hoos-ter-eh'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:5306; to be later, i.e. (by implication) to be inferior; generally, to fall short (be deficient):
KJV - come behind (short), be destitute, fail, lack, suffer need, (be in) want, be the worse.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
1. Active, to be husteros i. e. behind
a. to come late or too tardily
b. to be inferior, in power, influence, rank (1 Cor. 12:24)
c. to fail, be lacking
d. to be in want of, lack (Luke 22:35)
2. Passive to suffer want (Luke 15:14)
NT:622 apollumi (ap-ol'-loo-mee)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:575 and the base of NT:3639; to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively:
KJV - destroy, die, lose, mar, perish
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to destroy
1. to destroy i. e. to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to, ruin (Mark 1:24); to kill (Matthew 2:13);
contextually, to declare that one must be put to death (Matthew 27:20)
metaphorically, to devote or give over to eternal misery (Matthew 10:28; James 4:12); contextually, by one's conduct to cause another to lose eternal salvation (Romans 14:15). The middle voice, to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed;
a. of persons;
(&a.) properly: Matthew 8:25
(&b.) tropically, to incur the loss of true or eternal life; to be delivered up to eternal misery (John 3:15)
b. of things; to be blotted out, to vanish away (James 1:11)
2. to destroy i. e. to lose
a. properly (Matthew 10:42)
The Father’s Heart For Revival
Luke 15:20-24 – In this teaching of Jesus, the father’s response to the repentant heart of his prodigal son is a picture of our Heavenly Father’s heart toward those of His children who humble themselves and repent. He looks for them, waiting to grant forgiveness in celebration of their return. The picture of the son coming back to life after misusing that which had been given to him from his father, being “lost” and then found (again), is a picture of revival in the church, among the children of God. We too can squander our Father’s inheritance through “loose living.” The good news is that if we, before we perish, come to our senses and humble ourselves and repent, we too can be received with great joy back into His family.
I also find it to be interesting that he willingly gave him what he wanted as a young man, even though he probably knew that his son wasn’t mature enough to handle it. It was a path the father was willing for his son to walk in order to have him come to his senses and return. The wisest Father of all, the Heavenly Father also knows what it will take for each of His children to “come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:25-26).
20 "So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 "But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe [John 2:10] and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again [revived]; he was lost [622- see above] and has been found [2147].' And they began to celebrate. [In verses 1-7 of this chapter, Jesus talks about the great joy in heaven over a lost sheep that is found, referring to one who repents. In verses 8-10 He again speaks of the great joy when finding a lost coin, again referring to the one who repents versus all the righteous who need no repentance. He then goes into this story of the lost son who is found. I see the heart of our Father through this chapter when one of His stray sheep turn back to Him in repentance. With a heart of great love He longs to bring revival among those who are “dead” in the church, covering them with His best. Amen!!!]
NASU
NT:2147 heurisko (hyoo-ris'-ko)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a prolonged form of a primary heuro (hyoo'-ro); which (together with another cognate form heureo (hyoo-reh'-o)) is used for it in all the tenses except the present and imperfect; to find (literally or figuratively):
KJV - find, get, obtain, perceive, see.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to find
1. properly, to come upon, hit upon, to meet with
a. after searching, to find a thing sought (Matt. 2:8)
b. without previous search, to find (by chance), to fall in with (Matt. 18:28)
c. heuriskoo, tina, or ti with a predicate accusative is used of those who come or return to a place, the
predicate participle or adjective describing the state or condition in which the person or thing met
with is found, or the action which one is found engaged in:
2. tropically, to find by inquiry, thought, examination, scrutiny, observation, hearing; to find out by
practice and experience, i. e. to see, learn, discover, understand (Luke 6:7)
3. The middle voice, as in Greek writings, to find for oneself, to acquire, get, obtain, procure (Heb. 9:12)
The Response Of The Older Son
Luke 15:25-32 – The older son who stayed with his father, obeying him, was angry when the father showed great mercy and forgiveness toward his son. He represents the faithful servants of the Lord who reveal a wrong spirit toward those who return to the Lord with a repentant heart (see 1 John 2:9-11).
25 "Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
27 "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'
28 "But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
29 "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'
31 "And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"
NASU
Receiving The Promised Inheritance; Eternal Life
(See the Bible study The Promise)
Hebrews 10:35-36- Receiving the promise of God is dependent upon doing the will of God. This is accomplished through endurance which is produced within every Christian through the training of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:3). It is what the Bible refers to as “suffering in the flesh” (1 Peter 4:1-16, 12-19; 5:8-10). To stand firm in Christ is to endure suffering, understanding the great significance of it in our “being saved” (see the Bible study Bit And Bridle Training). As Jesus taught us, without endurance we will not stand firm until the end and be saved (see Matthew 10:22, 24:13 and Revelation 3:10).
35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. [What was promised? Eternal life, the inheritance in Christ! See 1 John 2:25 below.]
NASU
1 John 2:17
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
NASU
1 John 2:24-26 – John warns us that gaining the promise of eternal life, our inheritance in Christ, is conditional upon our remaining in what we first heard and received (Hebrews 10:26), so that we will remain in Him.
24 As for you, let that abide [3306] in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides [3306] in you, you also will abide [3306] in the Son and in the Father.
25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.
NASU
NT:3306 meno (men'-o)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy):
KJV - abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for), thine own.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
to remain, abide
I. intransitively
1. to place
a. to sojourn, tarry (Luke 8:27)
b. tropically
a. equivalent to not to depart, not to leave, to continue to be present (1 John 2:19)
b. to be held, or kept, continually: in the state of death (1 John 3:14)
2. to time; to continue to be, i. e., not to perish, to last, to endure: used of persons, to survive, live
3. to state or condition; to remain as one is, not to become another or different: with a predicate
nominative monos (John 12:24)
II. transitively; tina, to wait for, await (Acts 20:5)
enmenoo: to remain faithful to, to obey; to live, to stay
Psalm 25:14 – God’s covenant and its requirements are revealed to those who walk in the fear of the Lord. We are called upon to walk by faith, which requires continued dependence upon the Lord, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, to have the Way revealed to us in which we are to walk. Except for Joshua and Caleb who trusted God from the beginning, the children of Israel never reached the Promised Land of their inheritance because of rebellion along the way. The devil’s doctrines in the church, unlike Paul (1 Cor. 10:1-13), say this cannot happen today.
14 The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.
NASU
1 Peter 2:1-3 – The Body of Christ now suffers from high infant mortality rates (in Christ) due to the regular in-taking of poisonous teachings. Satan’s intent is that they never “grow in respect to salvation” in Christ.
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure [97] milk of the word [see the Bible study The Gospel Word Of Truth], so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
NASU
NT:97 adolos (ad'-ol-os)
(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)
from NT:1 (as a negative particle); and NT:1388 [“to decoy, a trick, to catch with a bait”]; undeceitful, i.e. (figuratively) unadulterated:
KJV - sincere.
(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)
guileless, unadulterated, pure
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