Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience

Two Sides Of A Coin

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2021-01-19

Synopsis: Pastor John Weaver uses the analogy of a coin to teach that certain biblical truths have two inseparable sides. He warns that dividing these truths produces half-truths, which are lies. The message focuses on three pairs: repentance and faith, preservation and perseverance, and knowledge and obedience. Each pair is examined scripturally to show they must be held together to avoid errors like easy-believism, self-reformation, antinomianism, or will-worship. The ultimate goal is to give glory to God by not separating what He has joined.

[John Weaver] Psalm 115. I'm going to read verse 1. This is not the verse I'm going to be expounding. However, by the end of the message, I will be applying this verse. I think that you will see why. The title of the message is Two Sides of a Coin. Two Sides of a Coin. So look in Psalm 115 verse 1. Scripture says, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but in Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. When we state that a coin has two sides, the statement is certainly quite understandable. There is no coin that only has one side. That is absolutely impossible. So if you sliced off half of the coin and threw it away, it would still have two sides. One may be minted and the other may be mutilated, but it still has two sides. The two sides of a coin go together. They are concurrent with each other, that is a are there at the same time, and they cannot be separated. There are truths in the Bible that are like a coin.

[John Weaver] They have two sides, and consequently, they should not be separated. And when individuals endeavor to separate these truths, they are, in essence, destroying the truth. I want you to turn very quickly, hold Psalm 115, But turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4 and look at verse 12. Interesting passage, Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. The Word of God says this, For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints of the marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

[John Weaver] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom we have to do." But go back to verse 12. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. So a sword that has two edges cuts either way. In other words, there are two sides to the sword. And of course, we always refer to the Bible as a sword. And of course, the sword of the Lord. So when you think of truth, then you have to think also of truth, oftentimes having two sides. We could also liken truth to a marriage. That is what God has joined together, let not man separate. When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half truth. And a half truth is an untruth. Only a whole truth is a truth. It's interesting that if you were in the courtroom and you were sworn in as a witness, do you swear with your hand on the Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

[John Weaver] Why they want the whole truth? Because a half-truth is a lie. And we have to understand that a half-truth is indeed a lie. In fact, We have to understand anything that is in opposition to the truth is a lie, whether it's only half true or not, okay? Truth is righteousness, and a lie is deceit. Truth is established forever, but a lie is only temporary. Here are two verses, let me just quote them. Proverbs 12 and verse 17, He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit. And then in Proverbs 12 and verse 19, the lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. In other words, the truth is permanent and the lie is but for a moment. So what I want to do today is share with you several truths that have two sides. They go together and you cannot separate these truths without destroying the truth. In fact, I will show you before I finish today that there are many individuals that do exactly what those reprobates did in Romans chapter 1 in verse 25.

[John Weaver] They change the truth into a lie and worship the creature more than the creator. So let me give you some things that go together. First of all, repentance and faith. Repentance and faith go together, and whenever and wherever there's real, genuine, saving repentance, there's always real, genuine, saving faith. And wherever there's real, genuine, saving faith, there's always real, genuine, saving repentance.

[John Weaver] Now, many people have perverted the coin of salvation. They've tried to just simply make one side of it true.

[John Weaver] Now, they will say something like this, well, all you have to do is believe. Well, now that is true if you understand what the Bible means when it says believe. But usually what they mean is that you have to give a mental assent. You have to acknowledge certain facts. Salvation is not just mental assent. It is not just merely saying certain facts are true. Now, it is true in Acts chapter 16. Well, that Philippian jailer came under such conviction. He called for a light, the Bible said, and sprang in trembling, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And Paul answered, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And certainly he did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] But however, if you read the context, you will find that he also did that which John the Baptist demanded of the Pharisees in Matthew 3 in verse 8. John said to the Pharisees, bring forth therefore fruits, meat for repentance or bring forth fruits, evidencing repentance. And when that Philippian jailer was saved, he did take them out of jail, he took them to his house, he washed their stripes, he fed them, he did whatever he could to make amends. In other words, there was real repentance there as well.

[John Weaver] You see, we're told in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, which everybody can quote, For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. But however, we oftentimes leave out verse 10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has foreordained before the foundation of the world. So here's the point I'm trying to make. True faith is never alone. True believing is never alone. There is another side to faith, and that side is repentance. there's another side to repentance and that side is faith. It's interesting that our Lord began his ministry in Mark chapter 1 in verse 15 with these words and saying, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye and believe the gospel. Indicating there's no true believing without repentance. So repentance and faith go together. So what many people have done now, if they've turned belief into just simply intellectual ascent, they will say, do you believe Jesus Christ came into the world and died?

[John Weaver] Yes. Do you believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead? Yes. Do you believe Jesus Christ is in heaven? Yes. Do you believe Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning? Yes. Do you believe Jesus Christ is coming again? Yes. Those are facts. They may be real facts. They may be genuine facts. They may be true facts. but you're not saved just by simply assenting to facts. Jesus Christ is the gospel and not just facts about Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] And usually you'll find many individuals who profess to be Christians who've never ever repented. Their lives have never changed and they've never had any real desire to change as well. The problem is this, most people want to be saved from the penalty of their sins so that they may continue in and enjoy their sins. Here's an interesting thought. Do you realize that the salvation that Jesus Christ has purchased is not a salvation from hell? It is not a salvation from judgment or condemnation. Well, you say, what is it? Well, in Matthew 1 and verse 21, the angel Gabriel looked at Mary and listened to what he said. He said, and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. So being saved from judgment, being saved from condemnation, being saved from destruction is a byproduct of being saved from our sins. Our Lord came to save us from our sins and His sin which condemns us and judges us. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 5, let me show you another reason why God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

[John Weaver] This one is spelled out for us. So if you look at Acts chapter 5 in verses 30 and 31. Watch Acts 5 verse 30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Now watch carefully. Him hath God exalted with or at his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. So God resurrected and exalted Jesus Christ in order that he might actually give repentance and forgiveness. I want you to pay close attention to the fact that repentance is given, that is, it is indeed a gift. So repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God. As man cannot believe without God's giving him the gift of faith, so man cannot turn from sin without God giving him the gift of repentance. So repentance and faith are both the gifts of God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 24.

[John Weaver] 2 Timothy chapter 2, and look if you would please at verse 24. Just trying to show you that repentance is indeed a gift of God. Notice 2 Timothy 2 verse 24. And the servant of the Lord, that is the pastor, the preacher, the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves.

[John Weaver] Now, why in the world should we continue to preach? Why should we continue to teach? Why should we continue to put up with a lot of things we put up with? Here's the answer. If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him in his will.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask some questions and let's do this in reverse in order to get the answer. Now, the Bible tells us that unsaved men are taken captive by the devil at his will, but the Bible also says that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. Here's my first question. When do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? Well, the answer is found in verse 25.

[John Weaver] That is when they acknowledge the truth. Well, here's my next question. When do men acknowledge the truth? Well, that answer is found in verse 25 as well. When God gives them repentance. So if there's no repentance, there is no acknowledging of the truth. There's no belief. There's no faith. And if there is no repentance and if there's no faith, There's no recovering oneself from the snare of the devil. Only God can give repentance. Only God can give faith. Preachers cannot give repentance or faith. Evangelists cannot give repentance or faith. Deacons cannot give repentance or faith. Those who witness to others cannot give repentance and faith. Only God can give repentance and faith. That's why the Bible says in verse 24, that the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle." And then in verse 25,"...in meekness, continually instructing those who lie, if God peradventure will give repentance." Now, it is repentance that brings forgiveness, and repentance is unto life.

[John Weaver] If you look back in your Bible to Acts chapter 11, you will remember the context. In Acts chapter 10, Peter has gone to the house of Cornelius. And Cornelius was a centurion, a Roman soldier. And he and his household had been converted. Well, the next thing you know, when you get in Acts chapter 11, the elders of Jerusalem had called Peter into account and said, look, you've gone into the house of one that is unclean.

[John Weaver] You have eaten with a Gentile. Explain yourself. And of course, he tells them what God has taught him. And then he told them how God saved Cornelius and his house exactly as He had saved them. So look at their response in verse 18. When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Note that repentance is unto life. So repentance and faith go together.

[John Weaver] When you try to separate these truths, When you try to divide them, when you try to divorce them, you're going to end up on the one hand with what you and I would call decisional regeneration or easy-believism or just someone with an intellectual faith or you're a deuce-believe. Well, I believe that. That sounds reasonable to me. Or on the other hand, you have someone who is now Leaving faith out altogether and they're just simply saying well what I need to do is reform myself And here you have a drunkard and he says well I need to reform myself and so he quits being a drunk and he becomes a

[John Weaver] sober man That doesn't mean he's saved. Here's a man. That's a fornicator and a whoremonger He says well, I need to quit that Well, he does but just because he quits that does not mean that he saved you can't quit your way into heaven Here's a man. That's a murderer He can stop murdering, but that does not necessarily make him a saved individual. So when you divide these things, on the one hand, you go to one extreme, just trying to teach people to assent to the truth. And on the other hand, you end up with basically self-reformation.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look in Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, you'll see that our Lord never thought too much of self-reformation. Look at it, if you would, beginning there in verse 43. Matthew chapter 12, verse 43. Our Lord says, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he said, I will return unto my house from whence I came out. And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

[John Weaver] Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. So here's a man that's a drunkard. I need to quit drinking. I need to quit being drunk. And he does. And the next thing you know, he goes around saying, well, I'm not a drunkard anymore. Look at me, I can quit. I did quit.

[John Weaver] I mean, and now pride and arrogance and haughtiness has taken over in his life. I can't help but think of this. I read what one man wrote many times many years back. He said, quitting smoking is easy. I've already quit a thousand times. Well, you're really wanting too easy. But because he kept going back. Well, the interesting thing is this is what our Lord is saying man cannot reform himself if he does Temporarily in one area it makes him far worse in other areas as well So only God can give repentance only God can give faith So there are many individuals now who profess to be saved but their lives are absolutely contrary to the Word of God and And when you see that, you can't help but think of a passage like 1 John 2 and verse 4, when the Bible says, he that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. So real, genuine faith and repentance always brings other graces as well.

[John Weaver] Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter two, Hebrews, James, James, chapter two. James chapter 2. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 17. James 2 verse 17. Look what the scripture says. Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone. Now note what he said Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." In other words, true, genuine faith works and has other graces with it. He says,"'Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.'" So if I were to ask Gary, since he's a believer, show me your faith. Well, he can't show me his faith. God may see it, God may know it, but I can't see his faith. But what I can see is the evidence of that faith applied in his life on a daily basis. Okay? So, James is saying, you show me your faith without your works, I'll show you my faith by my works.

[John Weaver] Now watch verse 19. Thou believest there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe in tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead. Now, note if you would in verse 19. He said, Thou believest there is in one God. Look at all these people who are willing to confess that God is. Then he goes on to say the devils also believe and tremble. I usually say the demons have more faith than the average individual because at least they tremble at the truth and Most men don't dribble at the truth at all. But then he goes on to demonstrate what he means. Verse 21, wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? He's not saying that works saved him, but he is saying that works evidence the fact that his faith was genuine. His faith was real. That's why he said in verse 22, see how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect or at least evidence and Notice he said in the scripture was fulfilled which said Abraham believed God and it was imputed into righteousness and he was called the friend of God.

[John Weaver] And then he also points out in verse 25, likewise also was Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way. You have to remember, Rahab gave a tremendous confession of faith there in the book of Joshua. And she said, we know that your God is real, and we know that he's given you this land, and we know that you're going to conquer. She confessed God's sovereignty. She knew that God was real, but she didn't stop there. She demonstrated her faith by hiding the messengers, by protecting their lives, and then by sending him out another way. So clearly then, What James is saying is faith without works is dead.

[John Weaver] So someone who makes a profession of faith, but their life never ever backs it up. It is simply a dead faith and worthless because a real genuine faith and real genuine repentance always produces a godly obedient life. If it is dead, it is useless. It is worthless. There's a passage in Titus 1 in verse 16 that is quite applicable. The verse goes like this. They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and on every good work reprobate. So they profess with their mouth that they know Him, but in their works, that is, in their daily lives, they deny Him. And he says they are disobedient, and they're abominable, and to every good work they are basically reprobates.

[John Weaver] So when you separate and divide and divorce repentance and truth, you always end up with either easy believism, decisional regeneration, or you're going to end up with self-reformation, or what you and I would call moral humanism. It's just that simple.

[John Weaver] Now, if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Let me show you this passage, 1 Thessalonians 1, and we'll just look at verse 9. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 9. The apostle Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, says this, For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Now watch this. You turn to God, that's faith, from idols, that's repentance, to serve the living and true God, that's obedience. So repentance and faith go together.

[John Weaver] You cannot have one without the other. So let me repeat this one more time. Whenever there's real genuine saving faith, the other side of the coin is going to be real genuine saving repentance. And whenever you have real, genuine, saving repentance, the other side of the coin is going to be real, genuine, saving faith. You cannot have one without the other. If it is a real faith, it will always have repentance. If it is a real repentance, it will always have faith. Okay?

[John Weaver] So, do not separate what God has joined together. Here's the second one. Preservation and perseverance. Here's a truth that has been distorted to almost absolute heresy.

[John Weaver] Now, I was raised in church. I was raised in a Baptist church. And I have heard expressions and terminologies all my life. So, I've heard the phrase, eternal security. I've heard the phrase, once saved, always saved. I've also heard people say, well, now you've made a decision for Christ. Now you've got to pray through. Now you've got to hold on or you're not going to be saved. Well, let me point something out.

[John Weaver] The error and the heresy that is involved. Usually with the statement, once saved, always saved. And I'll explain, please let me do that. is what most people mean by that is once you've made a decision, quote unquote, once you've made a profession or once you've joined the church or once you've been baptized, it doesn't matter how you live. You're on your way to heaven. So here's someone that made a profession of faith when they were, say, 12 years old. But for the next 30 years, they were drunkards and whoremongers and liars and thieves. Now, Obviously Something is wrong somewhere because real genuine faith always brings real genuine repentance Okay, so so the point I'm trying to make is this Usually when you hear that expression once they've always saved it's applied to people who've made a profession of faith But then they turned around and denied that profession of faith. They say no matter how you live You are eternally secure. You're on your way to heaven Others will add works to it like the Judaizers.

[John Weaver] Paul constantly had to fight the Judaizers because they would say it's all right to believe in Jesus Christ, but if you really want to be saved, you've got to be circumcised and you've got to keep this tradition and you've got to keep that tradition. And so there are others that will say, well, in order to really prove that you're saved, you must do this and you must do that as well.

[John Weaver] Now, so let me go back. Ask me this question, I'll ask it for you. Do I believe that the saints are secure in Jesus Christ? And the answer is yes. Do I believe that we are eternally preserved? And the answer is yes. Would you say once saved, always saved? And I would say most certainly if someone was really, genuinely saved to begin with. You understand what I'm saying?

[John Weaver] Not just a profession, not just a mockery, not just a baptism, not just a church membership. The Bible does teach very clearly that we are preserved. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation. The one little book of Jude, verse 1. Jude 1, verse 1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. So the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Yes. By the way, we're not pickled, we're preserved.

[John Weaver] You pickle the vinegar You can preserve with honey and sugar. All right, so we are preserved in Jesus Christ now I want you to turn to the book of John chapter 10 John chapter 10 and Notice if you would what our Lord said beginning there verse 27 John 10 verse 27 he said My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Now note that. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they what? Follow me. That's obedience.

[John Weaver] And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.

[John Weaver] Now look what our Lord says. He said he gives his sheep eternal life. He says that they shall never perish. He says that we are in his hand and he's in the father's hand and no man can pluck them out of his father's hand.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds very secure to me. I probably told you this, but I just thought of it again. Years ago I was driving home late at night and I was around Atlanta and it was probably one or two in the morning and I was just trying to stay awake. So I had the radio on and I found some preaching and it was a black pastor and he's preaching from John chapter 10 and I never will forget what he said.

[John Weaver] He read this passage when he said, and no man shall pluck them out of my hand My father which gave them me is greater than all. No man will pluck down my father's hand. Here's what he said. He said in that old gruff voice, now that God saved you, he put you in the hand of Jesus Christ. He said, and Jesus Christ is in the hand of God, the father and the Holy spirit sealed you. He said, and no man shall pluck you out of my hand. He said, now that means Jesus Christ won't pluck you out of his hand. God, the Father won't pluck you out of his hand. The Holy Spirit won't pluck you out of his hand.

[John Weaver] And come to think of it, them's only three that can do any plucking anyhow. So I've never forgotten that. And that's pretty true. And that's what he's saying. That is fact.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to the book of Romans chapter eight. Watch carefully, because the apostle Paul applies this truth. he puts it in terms that you and I can really latch on to and understand. He says, Romans chapter 8 verse 35, look at it. Here's a question, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? And of course the answer to that is nothing and no one because he goes on to say, shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, for thy sake we're killed all the day long. We're counted as sheep for the slaughter."

[John Weaver] Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Now watch, for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Note what he says, nothing and no one can separate us. No one. Not any creature here, not any creature to come. Not anything that you can imagine can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

[John Weaver] Now, once again, that sounds exactly like we are preserved. And we are. Now, here's my question. Since I've just showed you from Scripture that there is a truth, that the real genuine saints are preserved, How do we know that we're preserved? How can we tell that we're preserved? How do I know if Steve is genuine or not? Well, here's the answer. Those who are preserved. Evidence that preservation in perseverance. Preservation and perseverance are the two sides of one coin.

[John Weaver] So, when God preserves us in Jesus Christ, by His grace and mercy, He enables us to persevere. That is, we continue in faith. We continue in repentance. We continue in obedience. We continue in worship. We continue regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the situation. It doesn't matter whether we're under persecution or not under persecution. We persevere in the faith.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you very quickly just four scriptures. I want you to listen. Just listen. Each of these passages actually teach perseverance. So listen. Matthew 10 verse 20, verse 22, our Lord said, and you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. He that endureth to the end shall be saved. That's what he told his disciples. Hebrews 6 and verse 11, and we desire that every one of you do show forth the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. We want you to give the full assurance of hope unto the end. 1 Peter 1 in verse 13, Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And then this one in Revelation 2 in verse 26, And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, Him will I give power over the nations. Notice, and keepeth my works unto the end.

[John Weaver] Now, since repentance and faith are two sides of one coin, and both of these are the gifts of God, when God preserves us, he enables us to continue in perseverance in those gifts and in those graces. We do not stop repenting just because we have been saved. We do not stop believing just because we've been saved. We continue. We do not stop obeying. We continue.

[John Weaver] Now here's what someone's going to say, but pastor, I know of some folks that profess to be Christians. They went to church for the longest. But now they have forsaken the faith. They've walked away from the church. They've walked away from the preaching and teaching of the word of God and their lives are wicked. So here's my question. Are they still saved? Here is my answer. They were never saved to begin with. How can I say that?

[John Weaver] Because that is exactly what Scripture teaches. If you will turn in your Bibles to 1 John 2 and look at verse 19. 1 John 2 and verse 19. You've got to remember that preservation and perseverance go together. They're the two sides of one coin. Note if you would, 1 John 2 and verse 19. Look what John the Apostle writes. They went out from us, but they were not of us.

[John Weaver] For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. What did he say? They went out from us, but they were not of us. In other words, they were never saved initially, originally. Then he says, for if they had been all of us, that is, if they'd really been one of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

[John Weaver] So the apostle John makes it clear that perseverance in the faith. Evidence is preservation for if they had been all of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. The proof that one is ever savingly believed is that he continues to believe. The proof that one is ever savingly repented is that he continues in repentance. The proof that one has been preserved in Christ Jesus is that he perseveres in repentance and faith and obedience regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances.

[John Weaver] And we are greatly, when we try to divide, what God has put together and placed together. You cannot separate repentance and faith, and you cannot separate preservation and perseverance without destroying the truth of God.

[John Weaver] Now, there's a third one I want to show you. These things go together. Do not try to separate them. Number three is knowledge and obedience. I'm going to show you this in just a moment. But when you separate or divorce these truths, you fall into many errors. There are many people that desire knowledge just for knowledge sake. I know people and know of people that just like to read encyclopedias. Why do you need a lot of information that you're never going to use? Well, maybe they just want to appear intellectual. Maybe they just like to acquire knowledge. I don't know. I know some people who like to have knowledge just so they can argue and debate. It's not that they want to apply it. They just want to argue about it. When you separate knowledge and obedience, you fall into gross error. On the one hand, if you say, well, I just want knowledge, I just want to know, then you're going to fall into pride Arrogance and haughtiness. I want to show you look in your bibles to first corinthians chapter 8 at verses 1 and 2 1st corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 and 2 Watch what he says 1st corinthians 8 verse 1 now as touching things offered unto idols We know that we all have knowledge Knowledge puffeth up But charity

[John Weaver] edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. Isn't that amazing? Look what he said in verse 1. Knowledge puffeth up. And when you think you have arrived, when you think you know it, God says you know nothing as you ought to know. So when somebody wants knowledge just for knowledge's sake, he's going to fall into the sin of pride, arrogance and haughtiness. On the other hand, someone says, well, what I want is just simple obedience. Simple obedience or supposed obedience without knowledge is worthless and useless and becomes nothing more than will worship. Because if we are saying that we're obeying and yet we do not have knowledge, all we're doing is what we think best.

[John Weaver] or that which pleases us instead of the Lord. Without the knowledge of God, without the knowledge of the Holy, obedience becomes nothing more than will-worship. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, chapter 2, verses 20 through 23. Colossians 2, verses 20 through 23. I want you to watch carefully what is said here. In verse 20, he says, Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ through the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances? Now, these ordinances are religious ordinances.

[John Weaver] They're traditions, a lot of them. Touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using. Now, look. the commandments and doctrines of men which things and have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body not any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." So notice if you would all these ordinances he's talking about are the commandments and doctrines of men. So you just simply become obedient to your traditions or to your religion without knowledge, without thinking. Look at all the cults. Look at all the false religions where people do things that are absolutely insane and stupid and they never think. Well, they're just simply following the commandments and doctrines of men.

[John Weaver] It's what it amounts to. I told you that knowledge and obedience go together. How in the world can you obey God if you do not know what God commands? How can you walk pleasing to the Lord if you do not know what pleases the Lord? If you're going to obey God, you must have knowledge. You remember that passage in Hosea 4 and verse 6, most of you can quote it, where God says, my people perish for lack of knowledge.

[John Weaver] Let me show you two passages. And I want to ask you a question after we look at it. I want you to turn to Job 28 and verse 28, and then I want you to turn to Proverbs 9 and verse 10. Job 28, 28, and then Proverbs 9 and verse 10. And we're going to read Job 28, 28 first. Okay? Job 28, 28, and then we're going to Proverbs 9 and verse 10.

[John Weaver] All right, here we go. Job 28, 28. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.

[John Weaver] Now look at that carefully now. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. Now look in Proverbs 9 in verse 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That's the same as the first half of Job 28, 28. But here's the last half of Proverbs 9 in verse 10. And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. Now look at that. Job 28 verse 28, the Bible says to depart from evil is understanding. Now in Proverbs 9 in verse 10, it says the knowledge of the Holy is understanding. So here's the question. Is understanding the departing from evil or is it the knowledge of holy? What's the answer? It's both. It's the two sides of one coin. You can't depart from evil unless you know that which is holy and right. You can't obey God unless you know what God commands. You cannot depart from evil unless you know what is evil. You cannot do that which is holy unless you know that which is holy.

[John Weaver] Here's a passage. Write down Amos 5 and verse 15. God says, hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate. Hate the evil. What is evil? How can you know what is evil without knowing what is holy? Love the good. How can you know what is good without knowledge? You see, how can you establish judgment or justice in the gate if you don't even know what justice and judgment is? Knowledge and obedience go together. You cannot obey God unless you know. What God demands, that's why he said to depart from evil is understanding. and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

[John Weaver] It's the two sides of one coin. When we know what God demands and who God is and the holiness of God and the holiness that he demands, we also know what evil is and what wickedness is, and we learn to depart from evil and obey God. Whenever you begin to separate knowledge and obedience, you're heading into error. Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this, and it should be obvious. We fall into error, heresy, and trouble by dividing and separating that which God has joined together. Usually, truth is two-sided, and usually in the Bible, when you read a truth, there's often a positive and a negative. So when God makes a statement, You must understand there is a positive and a negative.

[John Weaver] My eyes, I just glanced down, and I'm in Colossians 3. You don't have to turn there, but I'm just looking at verse 19. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them. Wow. There's a positive and a negative right there. Love is a positive. Be not bitter against them is a negative. But also when he says husbands love your wives, that can have a negative implication as well. Don't love anybody else's wife. You see what I'm saying? When we look at truth, it's not just that we have to look at both sides of it. We have to understand that there are various and variegated implications to each side of the truth. the negative and the positive or whichever side we're looking at. And we have to consider those implications in order that we can apply them to our lives. You can't apply that which you do not understand. It's impossible.

[John Weaver] Steve could tell me that I need to fix my brakes on my truck. He could probably tell me how to do it. But since I'm not mechanically inclined, I'd probably end up tearing something up because I don't understand mechanical things. That's just me. If you don't understand it, you cannot apply it. It's just that simple. You cannot obey that which you do not know. Here's the second implication.

[John Weaver] We must not be as the reprobates in Romans chapter one, who turned the truth into a lie. Listen to this verse, verse 25, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. Whenever we separate, whatever God divide, uh, whatever God has joined together and we divide it, we're going to end up glorifying ourselves because we're going to do what we think best. And we're going to do things our own way. and we will turn the truth of God into a lie, and we'll end up glorifying ourselves.

[John Weaver] Now, go back in your Bibles to Psalm 115. I want you to look now at verse 1. Psalm 115 and verse 1. I want you to look at it. I started out with this verse. I want to end with this verse. Look at it now and understand the implication. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but into thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves. Because it'll always work to praise man and not God. If we want God to have the glory, we must not divide what he has joined together.

[John Weaver] There's two sides to truth. And when God has joined those two things together, like repentance and faith, preservation, perseverance, knowledge and holiness, we cannot divide them. Not without destroying the truth and making it a half truth, which is a lie. God has given us his truth, and as we proclaim it and apply it as it is, we glorify his name. When we pervert it, we try to glorify ourselves. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day.

[John Weaver] We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. Help us, Lord, not to divide that which you have joined together. Help us, Lord, to honor Thee in all that we say and do, and help us to read and study Your Word so that we may know. Lord, we fail so miserably many times in reading and studying. But teach us, O Lord, open our eyes, grant us faith that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

[John Weaver] In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen. you you you

Two Sides Of A Coin

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	q_fURciZEVQ
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-01-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 31
Source Timed Segments	70

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Coin Analogy

A coin always has two sides; similarly, some biblical truths have two concurrent, inseparable sides. Dividing them destroys the truth.

Psalm 115. I'm going to read verse 1. This is not the verse I'm going to be expounding. However, by the end of the message, I will be applying this verse. I think that you will see why. The title of the message is "Two Sides of a Coin." Two Sides of a Coin. So look in Psalm 115 verse 1. Scripture says,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 115:1

"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake."

When we state that a coin has two sides, the statement is certainly quite understandable. There is no coin that only has one side. That is absolutely impossible. So if you sliced off half of the coin and threw it away, it would still have two sides. One may be minted and the other may be mutilated, but it still has two sides. The two sides of a coin go together. They are concurrent with each other, that is, they are there at the same time, and they cannot be separated. There are truths in the Bible that are like a coin.

They have two sides, and consequently, they should not be separated. And when individuals endeavor to separate these truths, they are, in essence, destroying the truth. I want you to turn very quickly, hold Psalm 115, but turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4 and look at verse 12. Interesting passage, Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. The Word of God says this,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:12

"For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Truth as a Two-Edged Sword and a Marriage

The Word of God is a two-edged sword, cutting both ways. Truth is like a marriage—what God joins, man must not separate. A half-truth is a lie.

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." But go back to verse 12. "For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword." So a sword that has two edges cuts either way. In other words, there are two sides to the sword. And of course, we always refer to the Bible as a sword. And of course, the sword of the Lord. So when you think of truth, then you have to think also of truth, oftentimes having two sides. We could also liken truth to a marriage. That is what God has joined together, let not man separate. When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half-truth. And a half-truth is an untruth. Only a whole truth is a truth. It's interesting that if you were in the courtroom and you were sworn in as a witness, do you swear with your hand on the Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Why do they want the whole truth? Because a half-truth is a lie. And we have to understand that a half-truth is indeed a lie. In fact, we have to understand anything that is in opposition to the truth is a lie, whether it's only half true or not, okay? Truth is righteousness, and a lie is deceit. Truth is established forever, but a lie is only temporary. Here are two verses, let me just quote them. Proverbs 12 and verse 17,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 12:17, 19

"He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit."

And then in Proverbs 12 and verse 19, "The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." In other words, the truth is permanent and the lie is but for a moment. So what I want to do today is share with you several truths that have two sides. They go together and you cannot separate these truths without destroying the truth. In fact, I will show you before I finish today that there are many individuals that do exactly what those reprobates did in Romans chapter 1 in verse 25.

They change the truth into a lie and worship the creature more than the Creator. So let me give you some things that go together. First of all, repentance and faith. Repentance and faith go together, and whenever and wherever there's real, genuine, saving repentance, there's always real, genuine, saving faith. And wherever there's real, genuine, saving faith, there's always real, genuine, saving repentance.

Repentance and Faith Are Inseparable

True saving faith always includes repentance, and true repentance always includes faith. Both are gifts of God, not mere mental assent or self-reformation.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 12:17, 19

"He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit."

Now, many people have perverted the coin of salvation. They've tried to just simply make one side of it true. Now, they will say something like this, "Well, all you have to do is believe." Well, now that is true if you understand what the Bible means when it says believe. But usually what they mean is that you have to give a mental assent. You have to acknowledge certain facts. Salvation is not just mental assent. It is not just merely saying certain facts are true. Now, it is true in Acts chapter 16. Well, that Philippian jailer came under such conviction. He called for a light, the Bible said, and sprang in trembling, and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." And certainly he did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

But however, if you read the context, you will find that he also did that which John the Baptist demanded of the Pharisees in Matthew 3 in verse 8. John said to the Pharisees, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance," or "bring forth fruits, evidencing repentance." And when that Philippian jailer was saved, he did take them out of jail, he took them to his house, he washed their stripes, he fed them, he did whatever he could to make amends. In other words, there was real repentance there as well. You see, we're told in Ephesians 2:8-9, which everybody can quote,

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-10

"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

But however, we oftentimes leave out verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-10

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has foreordained before the foundation of the world."

So here's the point I'm trying to make. True faith is never alone. True believing is never alone. There is another side to faith, and that side is repentance. There's another side to repentance and that side is faith. It's interesting that our Lord began His ministry in Mark chapter 1 in verse 15 with these words and saying, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye and believe the gospel." Indicating there's no true believing without repentance. So repentance and faith go together. So what many people have done now, if they've turned belief into just simply intellectual assent, they will say, "Do you believe Jesus Christ came into the world and died?"

"Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is in heaven?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is coming again?" "Yes." Those are facts. They may be real facts. They may be genuine facts. They may be true facts. But you're not saved just by simply assenting to facts. Jesus Christ is the gospel and not just facts about Jesus Christ. And usually you'll find many individuals who profess to be Christians who've never ever repented. Their lives have never changed and they've never had any real desire to change as well. The problem is this, most people want to be saved from the penalty of their sins so that they may continue in and enjoy their sins. Here's an interesting thought. Do you realize that the salvation that Jesus Christ has purchased is not a salvation from hell? It is not a salvation from judgment or condemnation. Well, you say, what is it? Well, in Matthew 1 and verse 21, the angel Gabriel looked at Mary and listen to what he said. He said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 1:21

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."

So being saved from judgment, being saved from condemnation, being saved from destruction is a byproduct of being saved from our sins. Our Lord came to save us from our sins and the sin which condemns us and judges us. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 5, let me show you another reason why God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

This one is spelled out for us. So if you look at Acts chapter 5 in verses 30 and 31. Watch Acts 5 verse 30.

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:30-31

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree."

Now watch carefully.

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:30-31

"Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."

So God resurrected and exalted Jesus Christ in order that He might actually give repentance and forgiveness. I want you to pay close attention to the fact that repentance is given, that is, it is indeed a gift. So repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God. As man cannot believe without God's giving him the gift of faith, so man cannot turn from sin without God giving him the gift of repentance. So repentance and faith are both the gifts of God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 24.

2 Timothy chapter 2, and look if you would please at verse 24. Just trying to show you that repentance is indeed a gift of God. Notice 2 Timothy 2 verse 24.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"And the servant of the Lord,"

that is the pastor, the preacher,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."

Now, why in the world should we continue to preach? Why should we continue to teach? Why should we continue to put up with a lot of things we put up with? Here's the answer. "If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

Now, let me ask some questions and let's do this in reverse in order to get the answer. Now, the Bible tells us that unsaved men are taken captive by the devil at his will, but the Bible also says that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. Here's my first question. When do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? Well, the answer is found in verse 25. That is when they acknowledge the truth. Well, here's my next question. When do men acknowledge the truth? Well, that answer is found in verse 25 as well. When God gives them repentance. So if there's no repentance, there is no acknowledging of the truth. There's no belief. There's no faith. And if there is no repentance and if there's no faith, there's no recovering oneself from the snare of the devil. Only God can give repentance. Only God can give faith. Preachers cannot give repentance or faith. Evangelists cannot give repentance or faith. Deacons cannot give repentance or faith. Those who witness to others cannot give repentance and faith. Only God can give repentance and faith. That's why the Bible says in verse 24, "that the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle." And then in verse 25, "...in meekness, continually instructing those who lie, if God peradventure will give repentance." Now, it is repentance that brings forgiveness, and repentance is unto life.

If you look back in your Bible to Acts chapter 11, you will remember the context. In Acts chapter 10, Peter has gone to the house of Cornelius. And Cornelius was a centurion, a Roman soldier. And he and his household had been converted. Well, the next thing you know, when you get in Acts chapter 11, the elders of Jerusalem had called Peter into account and said, "Look, you've gone into the house of one that is unclean." "You have eaten with a Gentile. Explain yourself." And of course, he tells them what God has taught him. And then he told them how God saved Cornelius and his house exactly as He had saved them. So look at their response in verse 18.

Scripture Reading — Acts 11:18

"When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."

Note that repentance is unto life. So repentance and faith go together.

When you try to separate these truths, when you try to divide them, when you try to divorce them, you're going to end up on the one hand with what you and I would call decisional regeneration or easy-believism or just someone with an intellectual faith or you're a deuce-believe. "Well, I believe that. That sounds reasonable to me." Or on the other hand, you have someone who is now leaving faith out altogether and they're just simply saying, "Well, what I need to do is reform myself." And here you have a drunkard and he says, "Well, I need to reform myself," and so he quits being a drunk and he becomes a sober man. That doesn't mean he's saved. Here's a man that's a fornicator and a whoremonger. He says, "Well, I need to quit that." Well, he does, but just because he quits that does not mean that he's saved. You can't quit your way into heaven. Here's a man that's a murderer. He can stop murdering, but that does not necessarily make him a saved individual. So when you divide these things, on the one hand, you go to one extreme, just trying to teach people to assent to the truth. And on the other hand, you end up with basically self-reformation.

Now, if you look in Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, you'll see that our Lord never thought too much of self-reformation. Look at it, if you would, beginning there in verse 43. Matthew chapter 12, verse 43. Our Lord says,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 12:43-45

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he said, I will return unto my house from whence I came out. And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished." "Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."

So here's a man that's a drunkard. "I need to quit drinking. I need to quit being drunk." And he does. And the next thing you know, he goes around saying, "Well, I'm not a drunkard anymore. Look at me, I can quit. I did quit."

I mean, and now pride and arrogance and haughtiness has taken over in his life. I can't help but think of this. I read what one man wrote many times many years back. He said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've already quit a thousand times." Well, you're really wanting too easy. But because he kept going back. Well, the interesting thing is this is what our Lord is saying. Man cannot reform himself. If he does temporarily in one area, it makes him far worse in other areas as well. So only God can give repentance. Only God can give faith. So there are many individuals now who profess to be saved but their lives are absolutely contrary to the Word of God. And when you see that, you can't help but think of a passage like 1 John 2 and verse 4, when the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:4

"He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him."

So real, genuine faith and repentance always brings other graces as well.

Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter two, Hebrews, James, James, chapter two. James chapter 2. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 17. James 2 verse 17. Look what the scripture says.

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone."

Now note what he said.

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

In other words, true, genuine faith works and has other graces with it. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."

So if I were to ask Gary, since he's a believer, "Show me your faith." Well, he can't show me his faith. God may see it, God may know it, but I can't see his faith. But what I can see is the evidence of that faith applied in his life on a daily basis. Okay? So, James is saying, "You show me your faith without your works, I'll show you my faith by my works."

Now watch verse 19. "Thou believest there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." Now, note if you would in verse 19. He said, "Thou believest there is one God." Look at all these people who are willing to confess that God is. Then he goes on to say the devils also believe and tremble. I usually say the demons have more faith than the average individual because at least they tremble at the truth and most men don't tremble at the truth at all. But then he goes on to demonstrate what he means. Verse 21, "Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" He's not saying that works saved him, but he is saying that works evidence the fact that his faith was genuine. His faith was real. That's why he said in verse 22, "See how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect," or at least evidenced. And notice he said, "And the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto righteousness, and he was called the friend of God."

And then he also points out in verse 25,

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Likewise also was Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way."

You have to remember, Rahab gave a tremendous confession of faith there in the book of Joshua. And she said, "We know that your God is real, and we know that He's given you this land, and we know that you're going to conquer." She confessed God's sovereignty. She knew that God was real, but she didn't stop there. She demonstrated her faith by hiding the messengers, by protecting their lives, and then by sending them out another way. So clearly then, what James is saying is faith without works is dead.

So someone who makes a profession of faith, but their life never ever backs it up, it is simply a dead faith and worthless because a real genuine faith and real genuine repentance always produces a godly obedient life. If it is dead, it is useless. It is worthless. There's a passage in Titus 1 in verse 16 that is quite applicable. The verse goes like this.

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:16

"They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

So they profess with their mouth that they know Him, but in their works, that is, in their daily lives, they deny Him. And he says they are disobedient, and they're abominable, and to every good work they are basically reprobates.

So when you separate and divide and divorce repentance and truth, you always end up with either easy believism, decisional regeneration, or you're going to end up with self-reformation, or what you and I would call moral humanism. It's just that simple. Now, if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Let me show you this passage, 1 Thessalonians 1, and we'll just look at verse 9. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 9. The apostle Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, says this,

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 1:9

"For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God."

Now watch this. You turn to God, that's faith, from idols, that's repentance, to serve the living and true God, that's obedience. So repentance and faith go together.

You cannot have one without the other. So let me repeat this one more time. Whenever there's real genuine saving faith, the other side of the coin is going to be real genuine saving repentance. And whenever you have real, genuine, saving repentance, the other side of the coin is going to be real, genuine, saving faith. You cannot have one without the other. If it is a real faith, it will always have repentance. If it is a real repentance, it will always have faith. Okay?

Preservation and Perseverance Go Together

Believers are eternally preserved in Christ, but that preservation is evidenced by perseverance in faith and obedience. Those who fall away were never truly saved.

So, do not separate what God has joined together. Here's the second one. Preservation and perseverance. Here's a truth that has been distorted to almost absolute heresy.

Now, I was raised in church. I was raised in a Baptist church. And I have heard expressions and terminologies all my life. So, I've heard the phrase, eternal security. I've heard the phrase, once saved, always saved. I've also heard people say, "Well, now you've made a decision for Christ. Now you've got to pray through. Now you've got to hold on or you're not going to be saved." Well, let me point something out.

The error and the heresy that is involved. Usually with the statement, once saved, always saved. And I'll explain, please let me do that. What most people mean by that is once you've made a decision, quote unquote, once you've made a profession or once you've joined the church or once you've been baptized, it doesn't matter how you live. You're on your way to heaven. So here's someone that made a profession of faith when they were, say, 12 years old. But for the next 30 years, they were drunkards and whoremongers and liars and thieves. Now, obviously something is wrong somewhere because real genuine faith always brings real genuine repentance. Okay? So the point I'm trying to make is this. Usually when you hear that expression "once saved, always saved," it's applied to people who've made a profession of faith but then they turned around and denied that profession of faith. They say no matter how you live, you are eternally secure. You're on your way to heaven. Others will add works to it like the Judaizers.

Paul constantly had to fight the Judaizers because they would say it's all right to believe in Jesus Christ, but if you really want to be saved, you've got to be circumcised and you've got to keep this tradition and you've got to keep that tradition. And so there are others that will say, "Well, in order to really prove that you're saved, you must do this and you must do that as well." Now, so let me go back. Ask me this question, I'll ask it for you. Do I believe that the saints are secure in Jesus Christ? And the answer is yes. Do I believe that we are eternally preserved? And the answer is yes. Would you say once saved, always saved? And I would say most certainly if someone was really, genuinely saved to begin with. You understand what I'm saying?

Not just a profession, not just a mockery, not just a baptism, not just a church membership. The Bible does teach very clearly that we are preserved. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation. The one little book of Jude, verse 1. Jude 1, verse 1.

Scripture Reading — Jude 1:1

"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called."

So the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Yes. By the way, we're not pickled, we're preserved.

You pickle with vinegar. You can preserve with honey and sugar. All right, so we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Now I want you to turn to the book of John chapter 10. John chapter 10. And notice if you would what our Lord said beginning there verse 27. John 10 verse 27. He said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Now note that. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they" what? "Follow Me." That's obedience.

"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

Now look what our Lord says. He said He gives His sheep eternal life. He says that they shall never perish. He says that we are in His hand and He's in the Father's hand and no man can pluck them out of His Father's hand.

Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds very secure to me. I probably told you this, but I just thought of it again. Years ago I was driving home late at night and I was around Atlanta and it was probably one or two in the morning and I was just trying to stay awake. So I had the radio on and I found some preaching and it was a black pastor and he's preaching from John chapter 10 and I never will forget what he said. He read this passage when he said, "And no man shall pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all. No man will pluck them out of My Father's hand." Here's what he said. He said in that old gruff voice, "Now that God saved you, He put you in the hand of Jesus Christ." He said, "And Jesus Christ is in the hand of God the Father and the Holy Spirit sealed you." He said, "And no man shall pluck you out of My hand." He said, "Now that means Jesus Christ won't pluck you out of His hand. God the Father won't pluck you out of His hand. The Holy Spirit won't pluck you out of His hand."

"And come to think of it, them's only three that can do any plucking anyhow." So I've never forgotten that. And that's pretty true. And that's what he's saying. That is fact.

Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to the book of Romans chapter eight. Watch carefully, because the apostle Paul applies this truth. He puts it in terms that you and I can really latch on to and understand. He says, Romans chapter 8 verse 35, look at it. Here's a question,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:35-39

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"

And of course the answer to that is nothing and no one because he goes on to say,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:35-39

"Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we're killed all the day long. We're counted as sheep for the slaughter."

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Now watch, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Note what he says, nothing and no one can separate us. No one. Not any creature here, not any creature to come. Not anything that you can imagine can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Now, once again, that sounds exactly like we are preserved. And we are. Now, here's my question. Since I've just showed you from Scripture that there is a truth, that the real genuine saints are preserved, how do we know that we're preserved? How can we tell that we're preserved? How do I know if Steve is genuine or not? Well, here's the answer. Those who are preserved evidence that preservation in perseverance. Preservation and perseverance are the two sides of one coin.

So, when God preserves us in Jesus Christ, by His grace and mercy, He enables us to persevere. That is, we continue in faith. We continue in repentance. We continue in obedience. We continue in worship. We continue regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the situation. It doesn't matter whether we're under persecution or not under persecution. We persevere in the faith.

Now, let me give you very quickly just four scriptures. I want you to listen. Just listen. Each of these passages actually teach perseverance. So listen. Matthew 10 verse 22, our Lord said, "And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." He that endureth to the end shall be saved. That's what He told His disciples. Hebrews 6 and verse 11, "And we desire that every one of you do show forth the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." We want you to give the full assurance of hope unto the end. 1 Peter 1 in verse 13, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." And then this one in Revelation 2 in verse 26, "And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." Notice, "and keepeth My works unto the end."

Now, since repentance and faith are two sides of one coin, and both of these are the gifts of God, when God preserves us, He enables us to continue in perseverance in those gifts and in those graces. We do not stop repenting just because we have been saved. We do not stop believing just because we've been saved. We continue. We do not stop obeying. We continue.

Now here's what someone's going to say, "But pastor, I know of some folks that profess to be Christians. They went to church for the longest. But now they have forsaken the faith. They've walked away from the church. They've walked away from the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and their lives are wicked." So here's my question. Are they still saved? Here is my answer. They were never saved to begin with. How can I say that?

Because that is exactly what Scripture teaches. If you will turn in your Bibles to 1 John 2 and look at verse 19. 1 John 2 and verse 19. You've got to remember that preservation and perseverance go together. They're the two sides of one coin. Note if you would, 1 John 2 and verse 19. Look what John the Apostle writes. "They went out from us, but they were not of us."

"For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." What did he say? "They went out from us, but they were not of us." In other words, they were never saved initially, originally. Then he says, "For if they had been of us," that is, if they'd really been one of us, "they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."

So the apostle John makes it clear that perseverance in the faith evidences preservation. "For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us." The proof that one is ever savingly believed is that he continues to believe. The proof that one is ever savingly repented is that he continues in repentance. The proof that one has been preserved in Christ Jesus is that he perseveres in repentance and faith and obedience regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances. And we are greatly, when we try to divide, what God has put together and placed together. You cannot separate repentance and faith, and you cannot separate preservation and perseverance without destroying the truth of God.

Knowledge and Obedience Are Two Sides of One Coin

Knowledge without obedience leads to pride; obedience without knowledge is will-worship. True understanding involves both knowing the Holy and departing from evil.

Now, there's a third one I want to show you. These things go together. Do not try to separate them. Number three is knowledge and obedience. I'm going to show you this in just a moment. But when you separate or divorce these truths, you fall into many errors. There are many people that desire knowledge just for knowledge sake. I know people and know of people that just like to read encyclopedias. Why do you need a lot of information that you're never going to use? Well, maybe they just want to appear intellectual. Maybe they just like to acquire knowledge. I don't know. I know some people who like to have knowledge just so they can argue and debate. It's not that they want to apply it. They just want to argue about it. When you separate knowledge and obedience, you fall into gross error. On the one hand, if you say, "Well, I just want knowledge, I just want to know," then you're going to fall into pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. I want to show you. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 8 at verses 1 and 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 and 2. Watch what he says. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 1. "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity

edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." Isn't that amazing? Look what he said in verse 1. "Knowledge puffeth up." And when you think you have arrived, when you think you know it, God says you know nothing as you ought to know. So when somebody wants knowledge just for knowledge's sake, he's going to fall into the sin of pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. On the other hand, someone says, "Well, what I want is just simple obedience." Simple obedience or supposed obedience without knowledge is worthless and useless and becomes nothing more than will worship. Because if we are saying that we're obeying and yet we do not have knowledge, all we're doing is what we think best.

or that which pleases us instead of the Lord. Without the knowledge of God, without the knowledge of the Holy, obedience becomes nothing more than will-worship. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, chapter 2, verses 20 through 23. Colossians 2, verses 20 through 23. I want you to watch carefully what is said here. In verse 20, he says, "Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ through the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances?" Now, these ordinances are religious ordinances.

They're traditions, a lot of them. "Touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using." Now, look. "The commandments and doctrines of men which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." So notice if you would all these ordinances he's talking about are the commandments and doctrines of men. So you just simply become obedient to your traditions or to your religion without knowledge, without thinking. Look at all the cults. Look at all the false religions where people do things that are absolutely insane and stupid and they never think. Well, they're just simply following the commandments and doctrines of men.

It's what it amounts to. I told you that knowledge and obedience go together. How in the world can you obey God if you do not know what God commands? How can you walk pleasing to the Lord if you do not know what pleases the Lord? If you're going to obey God, you must have knowledge. You remember that passage in Hosea 4 and verse 6, most of you can quote it, where God says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Let me show you two passages. And I want to ask you a question after we look at it. I want you to turn to Job 28 and verse 28, and then I want you to turn to Proverbs 9 and verse 10. Job 28:28, and then Proverbs 9 and verse 10. And we're going to read Job 28:28 first. Okay? Job 28:28, and then we're going to Proverbs 9 and verse 10.

All right, here we go. Job 28:28. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Now look at that carefully now. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Now look in Proverbs 9 in verse 10. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." That's the same as the first half of Job 28:28. But here's the last half of Proverbs 9 in verse 10. "And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." Now look at that. Job 28 verse 28, the Bible says "to depart from evil is understanding." Now in Proverbs 9 in verse 10, it says "the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." So here's the question. Is understanding the departing from evil or is it the knowledge of the Holy? What's the answer? It's both. It's the two sides of one coin. You can't depart from evil unless you know that which is holy and right. You can't obey God unless you know what God commands. You cannot depart from evil unless you know what is evil. You cannot do that which is holy unless you know that which is holy.

Here's a passage. Write down Amos 5 and verse 15. God says, "Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate." Hate the evil. What is evil? How can you know what is evil without knowing what is holy? Love the good. How can you know what is good without knowledge? You see, how can you establish judgment or justice in the gate if you don't even know what justice and judgment is? Knowledge and obedience go together. You cannot obey God unless you know what God demands. That's why He said "to depart from evil is understanding" and "the knowledge of the Holy is understanding."

It's the two sides of one coin. When we know what God demands and who God is and the holiness of God and the holiness that He demands, we also know what evil is and what wickedness is, and we learn to depart from evil and obey God. Whenever you begin to separate knowledge and obedience, you're heading into error. Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this, and it should be obvious. We fall into error, heresy, and trouble by dividing and separating that which God has joined together. Usually, truth is two-sided, and usually in the Bible, when you read a truth, there's often a positive and a negative. So when God makes a statement, you must understand there is a positive and a negative.

Applications: Avoiding Error and Glorifying God

Dividing joined truths leads to error and self-glorification. We must not change God's truth into a lie but give glory to Him alone.

My eyes, I just glanced down, and I'm in Colossians 3. You don't have to turn there, but I'm just looking at verse 19. "Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them." Wow. There's a positive and a negative right there. Love is a positive. Be not bitter against them is a negative. But also when he says "husbands love your wives," that can have a negative implication as well. Don't love anybody else's wife. You see what I'm saying? When we look at truth, it's not just that we have to look at both sides of it. We have to understand that there are various and variegated implications to each side of the truth. The negative and the positive or whichever side we're looking at. And we have to consider those implications in order that we can apply them to our lives. You can't apply that which you do not understand. It's impossible.

Steve could tell me that I need to fix my brakes on my truck. He could probably tell me how to do it. But since I'm not mechanically inclined, I'd probably end up tearing something up because I don't understand mechanical things. That's just me. If you don't understand it, you cannot apply it. It's just that simple. You cannot obey that which you do not know. Here's the second implication.

We must not be as the reprobates in Romans chapter one, who turned the truth into a lie. Listen to this verse, verse 25, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Whenever we separate what God has joined together and we divide it, we're going to end up glorifying ourselves because we're going to do what we think best. And we're going to do things our own way. And we will turn the truth of God into a lie, and we'll end up glorifying ourselves.

Now, go back in your Bibles to Psalm 115. I want you to look now at verse 1. Psalm 115 and verse 1. I want you to look at it. I started out with this verse. I want to end with this verse. Look at it now and understand the implication. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves. Because it'll always work to praise man and not God. If we want God to have the glory, we must not divide what He has joined together.

There's two sides to truth. And when God has joined those two things together, like repentance and faith, preservation and perseverance, knowledge and holiness, we cannot divide them. Not without destroying the truth and making it a half-truth, which is a lie. God has given us His truth, and as we proclaim it and apply it as it is, we glorify His name. When we pervert it, we try to glorify ourselves. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.

We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Help us, Lord, not to divide that which You have joined together. Help us, Lord, to honor Thee in all that we say and do, and help us to read and study Your Word so that we may know. Lord, we fail so miserably many times in reading and studying. But teach us, O Lord, open our eyes, grant us faith that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.

Study Guide

Major Themes

The Inseparability of Biblical Truths

Summary: Certain truths in Scripture are like two sides of a coin—they cannot be separated without destroying the truth and turning it into a lie.

Evidence: The speaker introduces the coin analogy and states, 'There are truths in the Bible that are like a coin. They have two sides, and consequently, they should not be separated.'

Repentance and Faith as Gifts of God

Summary: Both repentance and faith are divine gifts, not human works. They always accompany each other in genuine salvation.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'Repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God.' He cites Acts 5:31 and 2 Timothy 2:25.

Perseverance as Evidence of Preservation

Summary: Those truly preserved by God will persevere in faith and obedience. Those who abandon the faith were never genuinely saved.

Evidence: The speaker quotes 1 John 2:19: 'They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us.'

Knowledge and Obedience Must Be United

Summary: Knowledge without obedience puffs up; obedience without knowledge is will-worship. True understanding combines knowing the Holy and departing from evil.

Evidence: The speaker contrasts Job 28:28 and Proverbs 9:10, showing that understanding is both departing from evil and knowing the Holy.

The Danger of Half-Truths

Summary: A half-truth is a lie. Dividing joined truths leads to heresy, self-glorification, and turning God's truth into a lie.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half-truth. And a half-truth is an untruth.'

Key Arguments

Repentance and faith cannot be separated without producing error.

Summary: Separating repentance and faith leads to easy-believism on one hand or self-reformation on the other. Both are false gospels.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'When you try to separate these truths... you're going to end up on the one hand with... decisional regeneration or easy-believism... or on the other hand... self-reformation.'

True faith is never alone; it produces works.

Summary: James 2 teaches that faith without works is dead. Genuine faith is evidenced by obedience, as seen in Abraham and Rahab.

Evidence: The speaker cites James 2:17-26, emphasizing 'faith if it hath not works is dead being alone.'

Preservation is a biblical truth, but it is always accompanied by perseverance.

Summary: Scripture promises eternal security for true believers, but that security is demonstrated by continuing in faith and obedience.

Evidence: The speaker quotes John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:35-39 for preservation, then Matthew 10:22 and 1 John 2:19 for perseverance.

Knowledge without obedience leads to pride; obedience without knowledge is will-worship.

Summary: 1 Corinthians 8:1 says knowledge puffs up. Colossians 2:20-23 warns against man-made rules that lack true knowledge of God.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'Knowledge puffeth up... On the other hand, someone says, "Well, what I want is just simple obedience." ... becomes nothing more than will worship.'

Dividing God's joined truths leads to self-glorification.

Summary: When we separate what God has joined, we end up glorifying ourselves rather than God, as Romans 1:25 describes.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves.' He references Romans 1:25.

Scripture References

Psalm 115:1

Context: Opening and closing verse; emphasizes giving glory to God alone, not to ourselves.

Hebrews 4:12

Context: The Word of God is a two-edged sword, illustrating that truth has two sides.

Proverbs 12:17, 19

Context: Truth shows righteousness; a lie is deceit. Truth is established forever; a lie is temporary.

Romans 1:25

Context: Reprobates change the truth into a lie and worship the creature. Applied to those who divide truth.

Acts 16:30-31

Context: The Philippian jailer believed and was saved, but also showed fruits of repentance.

Matthew 3:8

Context: John the Baptist demanded fruits meet for repentance.

Ephesians 2:8-10

Context: Saved by grace through faith, but created for good works. Faith is not alone.

Mark 1:15

Context: Jesus began His ministry saying, 'Repent ye and believe the gospel,' linking repentance and faith.

Matthew 1:21

Context: Jesus saves His people from their sins, not just from hell.

Acts 5:30-31

Context: God exalted Jesus to give repentance and forgiveness; repentance is a gift.

2 Timothy 2:24-26

Context: God may grant repentance leading to knowledge of the truth; repentance is a gift.

Acts 11:18

Context: God granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles.

Matthew 12:43-45

Context: Self-reformation without true conversion leaves a person worse off.

1 John 2:4

Context: Whoever says 'I know Him' but doesn't keep His commandments is a liar.

James 2:17-26

Context: Faith without works is dead; Abraham and Rahab demonstrated faith by works.

Titus 1:16

Context: They profess to know God but deny Him by works.

1 Thessalonians 1:9

Context: Turning to God from idols illustrates faith, repentance, and obedience together.

Jude 1:1

Context: Believers are preserved in Jesus Christ.

John 10:27-29

Context: Jesus' sheep hear His voice, follow Him, and are secure in His and the Father's hand.

Romans 8:35-39

Context: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Important Quotes

When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half-truth. And a half-truth is an untruth. Only a whole truth is a truth.

Significance: Establishes the core principle that dividing biblical truths results in falsehood.

Repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God.

Significance: Affirms that both repentance and faith are divine gifts, countering human-centered views of salvation.

True faith is never alone. True believing is never alone. There is another side to faith, and that side is repentance.

Significance: Summarizes the inseparable link between faith and repentance.

Those who are preserved evidence that preservation in perseverance.

Significance: Connects the doctrine of eternal security with the necessity of ongoing faithfulness.

When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves.

Significance: Shows the ultimate consequence of separating joined truths: self-glorification instead of glorifying God.

Discussion Questions

Why is it dangerous to separate repentance and faith in presenting the gospel?

Context: The speaker warns that separating them leads to easy-believism or self-reformation.

How does James 2 help us understand the relationship between faith and works?

Context: James 2 is used to show that genuine faith produces works.

What is the difference between the biblical doctrine of preservation and the popular saying 'once saved, always saved'?

Context: The speaker critiques the misuse of 'once saved, always saved' to excuse sinful living.

How does 1 John 2:19 help us understand why some people fall away from the faith?

Context: The verse is used to argue that those who leave were never truly saved.

In what ways can knowledge become a source of pride, and how can we guard against that?

Context: 1 Corinthians 8:1 is cited to show knowledge puffs up.

What is 'will-worship,' and how does it relate to obedience without knowledge?

Context: Colossians 2:20-23 is used to describe man-made rules that lack true knowledge of God.

How do Job 28:28 and Proverbs 9:10 together teach that understanding involves both knowing the Holy and departing from evil?

Context: The speaker compares the two verses to show the two sides of understanding.

What are some practical ways we can ensure we are not dividing what God has joined in our own lives?

Context: The application section calls for not separating joined truths.

Applications

Examine your faith for genuine repentance.

Summary: Ensure your profession of faith is accompanied by a turning from sin, not just mental assent.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'Most people want to be saved from the penalty of their sins so that they may continue in and enjoy their sins.'

Persevere in faith and obedience as evidence of salvation.

Summary: Continue in repentance, faith, and obedience regardless of circumstances, showing you are truly preserved.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'We continue in faith. We continue in repentance. We continue in obedience.'

Pursue knowledge of God to obey Him rightly.

Summary: Study Scripture to know what God commands, so your obedience is informed and pleasing to Him.

Evidence: The speaker asks, 'How in the world can you obey God if you do not know what God commands?'

Avoid pride by coupling knowledge with love and obedience.

Summary: Do not seek knowledge merely to appear intellectual or to argue; let it lead to humble service.

Evidence: The speaker warns, 'Knowledge puffeth up... When you think you have arrived... you know nothing as you ought to know.'

Give glory to God by holding His truths together.

Summary: Do not divide what God has joined; proclaim and apply the whole counsel of God to honor Him.

Evidence: The speaker says, 'When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:56:42Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T01:43:14Z

Clean Transcript

Two Sides Of A Coin

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Psalm 115. I'm going to read verse 1. This is not the verse I'm going to be expounding. However, by the end of the message, I will be applying this verse. I think that you will see why. The title of the message is "Two Sides of a Coin." Two Sides of a Coin. So look in Psalm 115 verse 1. Scripture says, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." When we state that a coin has two sides, the statement is certainly quite understandable. There is no coin that only has one side. That is absolutely impossible. So if you sliced off half of the coin and threw it away, it would still have two sides. One may be minted and the other may be mutilated, but it still has two sides. The two sides of a coin go together. They are concurrent with each other, that is, they are there at the same time, and they cannot be separated. There are truths in the Bible that are like a coin.
#1 | 0:00 to 1:34 | cleaned
They have two sides, and consequently, they should not be separated. And when individuals endeavor to separate these truths, they are, in essence, destroying the truth. I want you to turn very quickly, hold Psalm 115, but turn to the book of Hebrews chapter 4 and look at verse 12. Interesting passage, Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 12. The Word of God says this, "For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
#2 | 1:35 to 2:21 | cleaned
"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." But go back to verse 12. "For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword." So a sword that has two edges cuts either way. In other words, there are two sides to the sword. And of course, we always refer to the Bible as a sword. And of course, the sword of the Lord. So when you think of truth, then you have to think also of truth, oftentimes having two sides. We could also liken truth to a marriage. That is what God has joined together, let not man separate. When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half-truth. And a half-truth is an untruth. Only a whole truth is a truth. It's interesting that if you were in the courtroom and you were sworn in as a witness, do you swear with your hand on the Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
#3 | 2:21 to 3:35 | cleaned
Why do they want the whole truth? Because a half-truth is a lie. And we have to understand that a half-truth is indeed a lie. In fact, we have to understand anything that is in opposition to the truth is a lie, whether it's only half true or not, okay? Truth is righteousness, and a lie is deceit. Truth is established forever, but a lie is only temporary. Here are two verses, let me just quote them. Proverbs 12 and verse 17, "He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit." And then in Proverbs 12 and verse 19, "The lip of truth shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." In other words, the truth is permanent and the lie is but for a moment. So what I want to do today is share with you several truths that have two sides. They go together and you cannot separate these truths without destroying the truth. In fact, I will show you before I finish today that there are many individuals that do exactly what those reprobates did in Romans chapter 1 in verse 25.
#4 | 3:35 to 4:52 | cleaned
They change the truth into a lie and worship the creature more than the Creator. So let me give you some things that go together. First of all, repentance and faith. Repentance and faith go together, and whenever and wherever there's real, genuine, saving repentance, there's always real, genuine, saving faith. And wherever there's real, genuine, saving faith, there's always real, genuine, saving repentance.
#5 | 4:52 to 5:23 | cleaned
Now, many people have perverted the coin of salvation. They've tried to just simply make one side of it true.
#6 | 5:24 to 5:33 | cleaned
Now, they will say something like this, "Well, all you have to do is believe." Well, now that is true if you understand what the Bible means when it says believe. But usually what they mean is that you have to give a mental assent. You have to acknowledge certain facts. Salvation is not just mental assent. It is not just merely saying certain facts are true. Now, it is true in Acts chapter 16. Well, that Philippian jailer came under such conviction. He called for a light, the Bible said, and sprang in trembling, and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." And certainly he did believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
#7 | 5:33 to 6:23 | cleaned
But however, if you read the context, you will find that he also did that which John the Baptist demanded of the Pharisees in Matthew 3 in verse 8. John said to the Pharisees, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance," or "bring forth fruits, evidencing repentance." And when that Philippian jailer was saved, he did take them out of jail, he took them to his house, he washed their stripes, he fed them, he did whatever he could to make amends. In other words, there was real repentance there as well.
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You see, we're told in Ephesians 2:8-9, which everybody can quote, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." But however, we oftentimes leave out verse 10. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has foreordained before the foundation of the world." So here's the point I'm trying to make. True faith is never alone. True believing is never alone. There is another side to faith, and that side is repentance. There's another side to repentance and that side is faith. It's interesting that our Lord began His ministry in Mark chapter 1 in verse 15 with these words and saying, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent ye and believe the gospel." Indicating there's no true believing without repentance. So repentance and faith go together. So what many people have done now, if they've turned belief into just simply intellectual assent, they will say, "Do you believe Jesus Christ came into the world and died?"
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"Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is in heaven?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning?" "Yes." "Do you believe Jesus Christ is coming again?" "Yes." Those are facts. They may be real facts. They may be genuine facts. They may be true facts. But you're not saved just by simply assenting to facts. Jesus Christ is the gospel and not just facts about Jesus Christ.
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And usually you'll find many individuals who profess to be Christians who've never ever repented. Their lives have never changed and they've never had any real desire to change as well. The problem is this, most people want to be saved from the penalty of their sins so that they may continue in and enjoy their sins. Here's an interesting thought. Do you realize that the salvation that Jesus Christ has purchased is not a salvation from hell? It is not a salvation from judgment or condemnation. Well, you say, what is it? Well, in Matthew 1 and verse 21, the angel Gabriel looked at Mary and listen to what he said. He said, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." So being saved from judgment, being saved from condemnation, being saved from destruction is a byproduct of being saved from our sins. Our Lord came to save us from our sins and the sin which condemns us and judges us. Now, if you look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 5, Acts chapter 5, let me show you another reason why God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
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This one is spelled out for us. So if you look at Acts chapter 5 in verses 30 and 31. Watch Acts 5 verse 30. "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree." Now watch carefully. "Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins." So God resurrected and exalted Jesus Christ in order that He might actually give repentance and forgiveness. I want you to pay close attention to the fact that repentance is given, that is, it is indeed a gift. So repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God. As man cannot believe without God's giving him the gift of faith, so man cannot turn from sin without God giving him the gift of repentance. So repentance and faith are both the gifts of God. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and let's begin reading there with verse 24.
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2 Timothy chapter 2, and look if you would please at verse 24. Just trying to show you that repentance is indeed a gift of God. Notice 2 Timothy 2 verse 24. "And the servant of the Lord," that is the pastor, the preacher, "the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."
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Now, why in the world should we continue to preach? Why should we continue to teach? Why should we continue to put up with a lot of things we put up with? Here's the answer. "If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
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Now, let me ask some questions and let's do this in reverse in order to get the answer. Now, the Bible tells us that unsaved men are taken captive by the devil at his will, but the Bible also says that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. Here's my first question. When do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? Well, the answer is found in verse 25.
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That is when they acknowledge the truth. Well, here's my next question. When do men acknowledge the truth? Well, that answer is found in verse 25 as well. When God gives them repentance. So if there's no repentance, there is no acknowledging of the truth. There's no belief. There's no faith. And if there is no repentance and if there's no faith, there's no recovering oneself from the snare of the devil. Only God can give repentance. Only God can give faith. Preachers cannot give repentance or faith. Evangelists cannot give repentance or faith. Deacons cannot give repentance or faith. Those who witness to others cannot give repentance and faith. Only God can give repentance and faith. That's why the Bible says in verse 24, "that the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle." And then in verse 25, "...in meekness, continually instructing those who lie, if God peradventure will give repentance." Now, it is repentance that brings forgiveness, and repentance is unto life.
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If you look back in your Bible to Acts chapter 11, you will remember the context. In Acts chapter 10, Peter has gone to the house of Cornelius. And Cornelius was a centurion, a Roman soldier. And he and his household had been converted. Well, the next thing you know, when you get in Acts chapter 11, the elders of Jerusalem had called Peter into account and said, "Look, you've gone into the house of one that is unclean."
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"You have eaten with a Gentile. Explain yourself." And of course, he tells them what God has taught him. And then he told them how God saved Cornelius and his house exactly as He had saved them. So look at their response in verse 18. "When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Note that repentance is unto life. So repentance and faith go together.
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When you try to separate these truths, when you try to divide them, when you try to divorce them, you're going to end up on the one hand with what you and I would call decisional regeneration or easy-believism or just someone with an intellectual faith or you're a deuce-believe. "Well, I believe that. That sounds reasonable to me." Or on the other hand, you have someone who is now leaving faith out altogether and they're just simply saying, "Well, what I need to do is reform myself." And here you have a drunkard and he says, "Well, I need to reform myself," and so he quits being a drunk and he becomes a
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sober man. That doesn't mean he's saved. Here's a man that's a fornicator and a whoremonger. He says, "Well, I need to quit that." Well, he does, but just because he quits that does not mean that he's saved. You can't quit your way into heaven. Here's a man that's a murderer. He can stop murdering, but that does not necessarily make him a saved individual. So when you divide these things, on the one hand, you go to one extreme, just trying to teach people to assent to the truth. And on the other hand, you end up with basically self-reformation.
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Now, if you look in Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, you'll see that our Lord never thought too much of self-reformation. Look at it, if you would, beginning there in verse 43. Matthew chapter 12, verse 43. Our Lord says, "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he said, I will return unto my house from whence I came out. And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished."
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"Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation." So here's a man that's a drunkard. "I need to quit drinking. I need to quit being drunk." And he does. And the next thing you know, he goes around saying, "Well, I'm not a drunkard anymore. Look at me, I can quit. I did quit."
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I mean, and now pride and arrogance and haughtiness has taken over in his life. I can't help but think of this. I read what one man wrote many times many years back. He said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've already quit a thousand times." Well, you're really wanting too easy. But because he kept going back. Well, the interesting thing is this is what our Lord is saying. Man cannot reform himself. If he does temporarily in one area, it makes him far worse in other areas as well. So only God can give repentance. Only God can give faith. So there are many individuals now who profess to be saved but their lives are absolutely contrary to the Word of God. And when you see that, you can't help but think of a passage like 1 John 2 and verse 4, when the Bible says, "He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him." So real, genuine faith and repentance always brings other graces as well.
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Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of James, chapter two, Hebrews, James, James, chapter two. James chapter 2. And notice if you would please beginning there with verse 17. James 2 verse 17. Look what the scripture says. "Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone." Now note what he said. "Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." In other words, true, genuine faith works and has other graces with it. He says, "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." So if I were to ask Gary, since he's a believer, "Show me your faith." Well, he can't show me his faith. God may see it, God may know it, but I can't see his faith. But what I can see is the evidence of that faith applied in his life on a daily basis. Okay? So, James is saying, "You show me your faith without your works, I'll show you my faith by my works."
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Now watch verse 19. "Thou believest there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead." Now, note if you would in verse 19. He said, "Thou believest there is one God." Look at all these people who are willing to confess that God is. Then he goes on to say the devils also believe and tremble. I usually say the demons have more faith than the average individual because at least they tremble at the truth and most men don't tremble at the truth at all. But then he goes on to demonstrate what he means. Verse 21, "Wasn't Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?" He's not saying that works saved him, but he is saying that works evidence the fact that his faith was genuine. His faith was real. That's why he said in verse 22, "See how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect," or at least evidenced. And notice he said, "And the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto righteousness, and he was called the friend of God."
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And then he also points out in verse 25, "Likewise also was Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way." You have to remember, Rahab gave a tremendous confession of faith there in the book of Joshua. And she said, "We know that your God is real, and we know that He's given you this land, and we know that you're going to conquer." She confessed God's sovereignty. She knew that God was real, but she didn't stop there. She demonstrated her faith by hiding the messengers, by protecting their lives, and then by sending them out another way. So clearly then, what James is saying is faith without works is dead.
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So someone who makes a profession of faith, but their life never ever backs it up, it is simply a dead faith and worthless because a real genuine faith and real genuine repentance always produces a godly obedient life. If it is dead, it is useless. It is worthless. There's a passage in Titus 1 in verse 16 that is quite applicable. The verse goes like this. "They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." So they profess with their mouth that they know Him, but in their works, that is, in their daily lives, they deny Him. And he says they are disobedient, and they're abominable, and to every good work they are basically reprobates.
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So when you separate and divide and divorce repentance and truth, you always end up with either easy believism, decisional regeneration, or you're going to end up with self-reformation, or what you and I would call moral humanism. It's just that simple.
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Now, if you will turn in your Bibles to 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. Let me show you this passage, 1 Thessalonians 1, and we'll just look at verse 9. 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 9. The apostle Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, says this, "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." Now watch this. You turn to God, that's faith, from idols, that's repentance, to serve the living and true God, that's obedience. So repentance and faith go together.
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You cannot have one without the other. So let me repeat this one more time. Whenever there's real genuine saving faith, the other side of the coin is going to be real genuine saving repentance. And whenever you have real, genuine, saving repentance, the other side of the coin is going to be real, genuine, saving faith. You cannot have one without the other. If it is a real faith, it will always have repentance. If it is a real repentance, it will always have faith. Okay?
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So, do not separate what God has joined together. Here's the second one. Preservation and perseverance. Here's a truth that has been distorted to almost absolute heresy.
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Now, I was raised in church. I was raised in a Baptist church. And I have heard expressions and terminologies all my life. So, I've heard the phrase, eternal security. I've heard the phrase, once saved, always saved. I've also heard people say, "Well, now you've made a decision for Christ. Now you've got to pray through. Now you've got to hold on or you're not going to be saved." Well, let me point something out.
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The error and the heresy that is involved. Usually with the statement, once saved, always saved. And I'll explain, please let me do that. What most people mean by that is once you've made a decision, quote unquote, once you've made a profession or once you've joined the church or once you've been baptized, it doesn't matter how you live. You're on your way to heaven. So here's someone that made a profession of faith when they were, say, 12 years old. But for the next 30 years, they were drunkards and whoremongers and liars and thieves. Now, obviously something is wrong somewhere because real genuine faith always brings real genuine repentance. Okay? So the point I'm trying to make is this. Usually when you hear that expression "once saved, always saved," it's applied to people who've made a profession of faith but then they turned around and denied that profession of faith. They say no matter how you live, you are eternally secure. You're on your way to heaven. Others will add works to it like the Judaizers.
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Paul constantly had to fight the Judaizers because they would say it's all right to believe in Jesus Christ, but if you really want to be saved, you've got to be circumcised and you've got to keep this tradition and you've got to keep that tradition. And so there are others that will say, "Well, in order to really prove that you're saved, you must do this and you must do that as well."
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Now, so let me go back. Ask me this question, I'll ask it for you. Do I believe that the saints are secure in Jesus Christ? And the answer is yes. Do I believe that we are eternally preserved? And the answer is yes. Would you say once saved, always saved? And I would say most certainly if someone was really, genuinely saved to begin with. You understand what I'm saying?
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Not just a profession, not just a mockery, not just a baptism, not just a church membership. The Bible does teach very clearly that we are preserved. Look in your Bibles to the book of Jude, right before the book of Revelation. The one little book of Jude, verse 1. Jude 1, verse 1. "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called." So the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Yes. By the way, we're not pickled, we're preserved.
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You pickle with vinegar. You can preserve with honey and sugar. All right, so we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Now I want you to turn to the book of John chapter 10. John chapter 10. And notice if you would what our Lord said beginning there verse 27. John 10 verse 27. He said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Now note that. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they" what? "Follow Me." That's obedience.
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"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."
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Now look what our Lord says. He said He gives His sheep eternal life. He says that they shall never perish. He says that we are in His hand and He's in the Father's hand and no man can pluck them out of His Father's hand.
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Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds very secure to me. I probably told you this, but I just thought of it again. Years ago I was driving home late at night and I was around Atlanta and it was probably one or two in the morning and I was just trying to stay awake. So I had the radio on and I found some preaching and it was a black pastor and he's preaching from John chapter 10 and I never will forget what he said.
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He read this passage when he said, "And no man shall pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all. No man will pluck them out of My Father's hand." Here's what he said. He said in that old gruff voice, "Now that God saved you, He put you in the hand of Jesus Christ." He said, "And Jesus Christ is in the hand of God the Father and the Holy Spirit sealed you." He said, "And no man shall pluck you out of My hand." He said, "Now that means Jesus Christ won't pluck you out of His hand. God the Father won't pluck you out of His hand. The Holy Spirit won't pluck you out of His hand."
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"And come to think of it, them's only three that can do any plucking anyhow." So I've never forgotten that. And that's pretty true. And that's what he's saying. That is fact.
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Now, let me show you. I want you to turn to the book of Romans chapter eight. Watch carefully, because the apostle Paul applies this truth. He puts it in terms that you and I can really latch on to and understand. He says, Romans chapter 8 verse 35, look at it. Here's a question, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" And of course the answer to that is nothing and no one because he goes on to say, "Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we're killed all the day long. We're counted as sheep for the slaughter."
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"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Now watch, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Note what he says, nothing and no one can separate us. No one. Not any creature here, not any creature to come. Not anything that you can imagine can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
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Now, once again, that sounds exactly like we are preserved. And we are. Now, here's my question. Since I've just showed you from Scripture that there is a truth, that the real genuine saints are preserved, how do we know that we're preserved? How can we tell that we're preserved? How do I know if Steve is genuine or not? Well, here's the answer. Those who are preserved evidence that preservation in perseverance. Preservation and perseverance are the two sides of one coin.
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So, when God preserves us in Jesus Christ, by His grace and mercy, He enables us to persevere. That is, we continue in faith. We continue in repentance. We continue in obedience. We continue in worship. We continue regardless of the circumstances and regardless of the situation. It doesn't matter whether we're under persecution or not under persecution. We persevere in the faith.
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Now, let me give you very quickly just four scriptures. I want you to listen. Just listen. Each of these passages actually teach perseverance. So listen. Matthew 10 verse 22, our Lord said, "And you shall be hated of all men for My name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." He that endureth to the end shall be saved. That's what He told His disciples. Hebrews 6 and verse 11, "And we desire that every one of you do show forth the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." We want you to give the full assurance of hope unto the end. 1 Peter 1 in verse 13, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." And then this one in Revelation 2 in verse 26, "And he that overcometh and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." Notice, "and keepeth My works unto the end."
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Now, since repentance and faith are two sides of one coin, and both of these are the gifts of God, when God preserves us, He enables us to continue in perseverance in those gifts and in those graces. We do not stop repenting just because we have been saved. We do not stop believing just because we've been saved. We continue. We do not stop obeying. We continue.
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Now here's what someone's going to say, "But pastor, I know of some folks that profess to be Christians. They went to church for the longest. But now they have forsaken the faith. They've walked away from the church. They've walked away from the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and their lives are wicked." So here's my question. Are they still saved? Here is my answer. They were never saved to begin with. How can I say that?
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Because that is exactly what Scripture teaches. If you will turn in your Bibles to 1 John 2 and look at verse 19. 1 John 2 and verse 19. You've got to remember that preservation and perseverance go together. They're the two sides of one coin. Note if you would, 1 John 2 and verse 19. Look what John the Apostle writes. "They went out from us, but they were not of us."
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"For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." What did he say? "They went out from us, but they were not of us." In other words, they were never saved initially, originally. Then he says, "For if they had been of us," that is, if they'd really been one of us, "they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
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So the apostle John makes it clear that perseverance in the faith evidences preservation. "For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us." The proof that one is ever savingly believed is that he continues to believe. The proof that one is ever savingly repented is that he continues in repentance. The proof that one has been preserved in Christ Jesus is that he perseveres in repentance and faith and obedience regardless of the situation, regardless of the circumstances.
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And we are greatly, when we try to divide, what God has put together and placed together. You cannot separate repentance and faith, and you cannot separate preservation and perseverance without destroying the truth of God.
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Now, there's a third one I want to show you. These things go together. Do not try to separate them. Number three is knowledge and obedience. I'm going to show you this in just a moment. But when you separate or divorce these truths, you fall into many errors. There are many people that desire knowledge just for knowledge sake. I know people and know of people that just like to read encyclopedias. Why do you need a lot of information that you're never going to use? Well, maybe they just want to appear intellectual. Maybe they just like to acquire knowledge. I don't know. I know some people who like to have knowledge just so they can argue and debate. It's not that they want to apply it. They just want to argue about it. When you separate knowledge and obedience, you fall into gross error. On the one hand, if you say, "Well, I just want knowledge, I just want to know," then you're going to fall into pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. I want to show you. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 8 at verses 1 and 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verses 1 and 2. Watch what he says. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 1. "Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity
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edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." Isn't that amazing? Look what he said in verse 1. "Knowledge puffeth up." And when you think you have arrived, when you think you know it, God says you know nothing as you ought to know. So when somebody wants knowledge just for knowledge's sake, he's going to fall into the sin of pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. On the other hand, someone says, "Well, what I want is just simple obedience." Simple obedience or supposed obedience without knowledge is worthless and useless and becomes nothing more than will worship. Because if we are saying that we're obeying and yet we do not have knowledge, all we're doing is what we think best.
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or that which pleases us instead of the Lord. Without the knowledge of God, without the knowledge of the Holy, obedience becomes nothing more than will-worship. Let me show you. Look in your Bibles to the book of Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, chapter 2, verses 20 through 23. Colossians 2, verses 20 through 23. I want you to watch carefully what is said here. In verse 20, he says, "Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ through the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances?" Now, these ordinances are religious ordinances.
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They're traditions, a lot of them. "Touch not, taste not, handle not, which are all to perish with the using." Now, look. "The commandments and doctrines of men which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will worship and humility and neglecting of the body, not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh." So notice if you would all these ordinances he's talking about are the commandments and doctrines of men. So you just simply become obedient to your traditions or to your religion without knowledge, without thinking. Look at all the cults. Look at all the false religions where people do things that are absolutely insane and stupid and they never think. Well, they're just simply following the commandments and doctrines of men.
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It's what it amounts to. I told you that knowledge and obedience go together. How in the world can you obey God if you do not know what God commands? How can you walk pleasing to the Lord if you do not know what pleases the Lord? If you're going to obey God, you must have knowledge. You remember that passage in Hosea 4 and verse 6, most of you can quote it, where God says, "My people perish for lack of knowledge."
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Let me show you two passages. And I want to ask you a question after we look at it. I want you to turn to Job 28 and verse 28, and then I want you to turn to Proverbs 9 and verse 10. Job 28:28, and then Proverbs 9 and verse 10. And we're going to read Job 28:28 first. Okay? Job 28:28, and then we're going to Proverbs 9 and verse 10.
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All right, here we go. Job 28:28. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding."
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Now look at that carefully now. "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Now look in Proverbs 9 in verse 10. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." That's the same as the first half of Job 28:28. But here's the last half of Proverbs 9 in verse 10. "And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." Now look at that. Job 28 verse 28, the Bible says "to depart from evil is understanding." Now in Proverbs 9 in verse 10, it says "the knowledge of the Holy is understanding." So here's the question. Is understanding the departing from evil or is it the knowledge of the Holy? What's the answer? It's both. It's the two sides of one coin. You can't depart from evil unless you know that which is holy and right. You can't obey God unless you know what God commands. You cannot depart from evil unless you know what is evil. You cannot do that which is holy unless you know that which is holy.
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Here's a passage. Write down Amos 5 and verse 15. God says, "Hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate." Hate the evil. What is evil? How can you know what is evil without knowing what is holy? Love the good. How can you know what is good without knowledge? You see, how can you establish judgment or justice in the gate if you don't even know what justice and judgment is? Knowledge and obedience go together. You cannot obey God unless you know what God demands. That's why He said "to depart from evil is understanding" and "the knowledge of the Holy is understanding."
#62 | 46:20 to 47:18 | cleaned
It's the two sides of one coin. When we know what God demands and who God is and the holiness of God and the holiness that He demands, we also know what evil is and what wickedness is, and we learn to depart from evil and obey God. Whenever you begin to separate knowledge and obedience, you're heading into error. Let me make a couple of applications. The first one is this, and it should be obvious. We fall into error, heresy, and trouble by dividing and separating that which God has joined together. Usually, truth is two-sided, and usually in the Bible, when you read a truth, there's often a positive and a negative. So when God makes a statement, you must understand there is a positive and a negative.
#63 | 47:19 to 48:16 | cleaned
My eyes, I just glanced down, and I'm in Colossians 3. You don't have to turn there, but I'm just looking at verse 19. "Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them." Wow. There's a positive and a negative right there. Love is a positive. Be not bitter against them is a negative. But also when he says "husbands love your wives," that can have a negative implication as well. Don't love anybody else's wife. You see what I'm saying? When we look at truth, it's not just that we have to look at both sides of it. We have to understand that there are various and variegated implications to each side of the truth. The negative and the positive or whichever side we're looking at. And we have to consider those implications in order that we can apply them to our lives. You can't apply that which you do not understand. It's impossible.
#64 | 48:16 to 49:25 | cleaned
Steve could tell me that I need to fix my brakes on my truck. He could probably tell me how to do it. But since I'm not mechanically inclined, I'd probably end up tearing something up because I don't understand mechanical things. That's just me. If you don't understand it, you cannot apply it. It's just that simple. You cannot obey that which you do not know. Here's the second implication.
#65 | 49:27 to 50:02 | cleaned
We must not be as the reprobates in Romans chapter one, who turned the truth into a lie. Listen to this verse, verse 25, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Whenever we separate what God has joined together and we divide it, we're going to end up glorifying ourselves because we're going to do what we think best. And we're going to do things our own way. And we will turn the truth of God into a lie, and we'll end up glorifying ourselves.
#66 | 50:03 to 50:37 | cleaned
Now, go back in your Bibles to Psalm 115. I want you to look now at verse 1. Psalm 115 and verse 1. I want you to look at it. I started out with this verse. I want to end with this verse. Look at it now and understand the implication. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake." When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves. Because it'll always work to praise man and not God. If we want God to have the glory, we must not divide what He has joined together.
#67 | 50:37 to 51:33 | cleaned
There's two sides to truth. And when God has joined those two things together, like repentance and faith, preservation and perseverance, knowledge and holiness, we cannot divide them. Not without destroying the truth and making it a half-truth, which is a lie. God has given us His truth, and as we proclaim it and apply it as it is, we glorify His name. When we pervert it, we try to glorify ourselves. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day.
#68 | 51:34 to 52:21 | cleaned
We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. Help us, Lord, not to divide that which You have joined together. Help us, Lord, to honor Thee in all that we say and do, and help us to read and study Your Word so that we may know. Lord, we fail so miserably many times in reading and studying. But teach us, O Lord, open our eyes, grant us faith that we may serve Thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
#69 | 52:21 to 52:53 | cleaned
In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#70 | 52:54 to 53:34 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:56:42Z

Two Sides Of A Coin

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

Pastor John Weaver uses the analogy of a coin to teach that certain biblical truths have two inseparable sides. He warns that dividing these truths produces half-truths, which are lies. The message focuses on three pairs: repentance and faith, preservation and perseverance, and knowledge and obedience. Each pair is examined scripturally to show they must be held together to avoid errors like easy-believism, self-reformation, antinomianism, or will-worship. The ultimate goal is to give glory to God by not separating what He has joined.

Introduction: The Coin Analogy

A coin always has two sides; similarly, some biblical truths have two concurrent, inseparable sides. Dividing them destroys the truth.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 115:1

"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 4:12

"For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

Truth as a Two-Edged Sword and a Marriage

The Word of God is a two-edged sword, cutting both ways. Truth is like a marriage—what God joins, man must not separate. A half-truth is a lie.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 12:17, 19

"He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit."

Repentance and Faith Are Inseparable

True saving faith always includes repentance, and true repentance always includes faith. Both are gifts of God, not mere mental assent or self-reformation.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 12:17, 19

"He that speaketh the truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness is deceit."

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-10

"For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast."

But however, we oftentimes leave out verse 10.

Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:8-10

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has foreordained before the foundation of the world."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 1:21

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins."

This one is spelled out for us. So if you look at Acts chapter 5 in verses 30 and 31. Watch Acts 5 verse 30.

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:30-31

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree."

Now watch carefully.

Scripture Reading — Acts 5:30-31

"Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."

2 Timothy chapter 2, and look if you would please at verse 24. Just trying to show you that repentance is indeed a gift of God. Notice 2 Timothy 2 verse 24.

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"And the servant of the Lord,"

that is the pastor, the preacher,

Scripture Reading — 2 Timothy 2:24-26

"the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves."

Scripture Reading — Acts 11:18

"When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."

Note that repentance is unto life. So repentance and faith go together.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 12:43-45

"When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he said, I will return unto my house from whence I came out. And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished." "Then goeth he and taketh with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself. And they enter in and dwell there. And the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation."

Scripture Reading — 1 John 2:4

"He that saith, I know Him and keepeth not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him."

So real, genuine faith and repentance always brings other graces as well.

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone."

Now note what he said.

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Even so, faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."

In other words, true, genuine faith works and has other graces with it. He says,

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."

And then he also points out in verse 25,

Scripture Reading — James 2:17-26

"Likewise also was Rahab the harlot justified by works when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way."

Scripture Reading — Titus 1:16

"They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate."

Scripture Reading — 1 Thessalonians 1:9

"For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God."

Now watch this. You turn to God, that's faith, from idols, that's repentance, to serve the living and true God, that's obedience. So repentance and faith go together.

Preservation and Perseverance Go Together

Believers are eternally preserved in Christ, but that preservation is evidenced by perseverance in faith and obedience. Those who fall away were never truly saved.

So, do not separate what God has joined together. Here's the second one. Preservation and perseverance. Here's a truth that has been distorted to almost absolute heresy.

Scripture Reading — Jude 1:1

"Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father and preserved in Jesus Christ and called."

So the Bible tells us that we are preserved in Jesus Christ. Yes. By the way, we're not pickled, we're preserved.

"And come to think of it, them's only three that can do any plucking anyhow." So I've never forgotten that. And that's pretty true. And that's what he's saying. That is fact.

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:35-39

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"

And of course the answer to that is nothing and no one because he goes on to say,

Scripture Reading — Romans 8:35-39

"Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness, or peril, or sword, as it is written, For thy sake we're killed all the day long. We're counted as sheep for the slaughter."

Knowledge and Obedience Are Two Sides of One Coin

Knowledge without obedience leads to pride; obedience without knowledge is will-worship. True understanding involves both knowing the Holy and departing from evil.

Applications: Avoiding Error and Glorifying God

Dividing joined truths leads to error and self-glorification. We must not change God's truth into a lie but give glory to Him alone.

Two Sides Of A Coin

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	q_fURciZEVQ
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Genre	Sermon
Date	2021-01-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 135: Romans: Law, Obedience, and Sanctification - Volume 2 — Chapter 31
Source Timed Segments	70

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Coin Analogy: A coin always has two sides; similarly, some biblical truths have two concurrent, inseparable sides. Dividing them destroys the truth.
Truth as a Two-Edged Sword and a Marriage: The Word of God is a two-edged sword, cutting both ways. Truth is like a marriage—what God joins, man must not separate. A half-truth is a lie.
Repentance and Faith Are Inseparable: True saving faith always includes repentance, and true repentance always includes faith. Both are gifts of God, not mere mental assent or self-reformation.
Preservation and Perseverance Go Together: Believers are eternally preserved in Christ, but that preservation is evidenced by perseverance in faith and obedience. Those who fall away were never truly saved.
Knowledge and Obedience Are Two Sides of One Coin: Knowledge without obedience leads to pride; obedience without knowledge is will-worship. True understanding involves both knowing the Holy and departing from evil.
Applications: Avoiding Error and Glorifying God: Dividing joined truths leads to error and self-glorification. We must not change God's truth into a lie but give glory to Him alone.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Repentance and faith cannot be separated without producing error.

Separating repentance and faith leads to easy-believism on one hand or self-reformation on the other. Both are false gospels.

The speaker says, 'When you try to separate these truths... you're going to end up on the one hand with... decisional regeneration or easy-believism... or on the other hand... self-reformation.'

True faith is never alone; it produces works.

James 2 teaches that faith without works is dead. Genuine faith is evidenced by obedience, as seen in Abraham and Rahab.

The speaker cites James 2:17-26, emphasizing 'faith if it hath not works is dead being alone.'

Preservation is a biblical truth, but it is always accompanied by perseverance.

Scripture promises eternal security for true believers, but that security is demonstrated by continuing in faith and obedience.

The speaker quotes John 10:27-29 and Romans 8:35-39 for preservation, then Matthew 10:22 and 1 John 2:19 for perseverance.

Knowledge without obedience leads to pride; obedience without knowledge is will-worship.

1 Corinthians 8:1 says knowledge puffs up. Colossians 2:20-23 warns against man-made rules that lack true knowledge of God.

The speaker says, 'Knowledge puffeth up... On the other hand, someone says, "Well, what I want is just simple obedience." ... becomes nothing more than will worship.'

Dividing God's joined truths leads to self-glorification.

When we separate what God has joined, we end up glorifying ourselves rather than God, as Romans 1:25 describes.

The speaker says, 'When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves.' He references Romans 1:25.

Scripture References

Psalm 115:1: Opening and closing verse; emphasizes giving glory to God alone, not to ourselves.
Hebrews 4:12: The Word of God is a two-edged sword, illustrating that truth has two sides.
Proverbs 12:17, 19: Truth shows righteousness; a lie is deceit. Truth is established forever; a lie is temporary.
Romans 1:25: Reprobates change the truth into a lie and worship the creature. Applied to those who divide truth.
Acts 16:30-31: The Philippian jailer believed and was saved, but also showed fruits of repentance.
Matthew 3:8: John the Baptist demanded fruits meet for repentance.
Ephesians 2:8-10: Saved by grace through faith, but created for good works. Faith is not alone.
Mark 1:15: Jesus began His ministry saying, 'Repent ye and believe the gospel,' linking repentance and faith.
Matthew 1:21: Jesus saves His people from their sins, not just from hell.
Acts 5:30-31: God exalted Jesus to give repentance and forgiveness; repentance is a gift.
2 Timothy 2:24-26: God may grant repentance leading to knowledge of the truth; repentance is a gift.
Acts 11:18: God granted repentance unto life to the Gentiles.
Matthew 12:43-45: Self-reformation without true conversion leaves a person worse off.
1 John 2:4: Whoever says 'I know Him' but doesn't keep His commandments is a liar.
James 2:17-26: Faith without works is dead; Abraham and Rahab demonstrated faith by works.
Titus 1:16: They profess to know God but deny Him by works.
1 Thessalonians 1:9: Turning to God from idols illustrates faith, repentance, and obedience together.
Jude 1:1: Believers are preserved in Jesus Christ.
John 10:27-29: Jesus' sheep hear His voice, follow Him, and are secure in His and the Father's hand.
Romans 8:35-39: Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Important Quotes

When you divorce or separate or divide or cut the truth in half, it becomes a half-truth. And a half-truth is an untruth. Only a whole truth is a truth.

Establishes the core principle that dividing biblical truths results in falsehood.

Repentance is just as much the gift of God as faith is the gift of God.

Affirms that both repentance and faith are divine gifts, countering human-centered views of salvation.

True faith is never alone. True believing is never alone. There is another side to faith, and that side is repentance.

Summarizes the inseparable link between faith and repentance.

Those who are preserved evidence that preservation in perseverance.

Connects the doctrine of eternal security with the necessity of ongoing faithfulness.

When we divide that which God joined together, we get the glory for ourselves.

Shows the ultimate consequence of separating joined truths: self-glorification instead of glorifying God.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

Why is it dangerous to separate repentance and faith in presenting the gospel?

[Context]

The speaker warns that separating them leads to easy-believism or self-reformation.

[Question]

How does James 2 help us understand the relationship between faith and works?

[Context]

James 2 is used to show that genuine faith produces works.

[Question]

What is the difference between the biblical doctrine of preservation and the popular saying 'once saved, always saved'?

[Context]

The speaker critiques the misuse of 'once saved, always saved' to excuse sinful living.

[Question]

How does 1 John 2:19 help us understand why some people fall away from the faith?

[Context]

The verse is used to argue that those who leave were never truly saved.

[Question]

In what ways can knowledge become a source of pride, and how can we guard against that?

[Context]

1 Corinthians 8:1 is cited to show knowledge puffs up.

[Question]

What is 'will-worship,' and how does it relate to obedience without knowledge?

[Context]

Colossians 2:20-23 is used to describe man-made rules that lack true knowledge of God.

[Question]

How do Job 28:28 and Proverbs 9:10 together teach that understanding involves both knowing the Holy and departing from evil?

[Context]

The speaker compares the two verses to show the two sides of understanding.

[Question]

What are some practical ways we can ensure we are not dividing what God has joined in our own lives?

[Context]

The application section calls for not separating joined truths.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T01:43:14Z