Explain why Christians sometimes live in fear instead of confidence.

Distinguish between real apostasy and needless fear produced by human opinion.

Show that Christians can fall from grace without denying assurance in Christ.

Identify the danger of binding human traditions as divine law.

Defend Christian liberty without using liberty as an excuse for sin.

Rest in the victory, grace, and assurance God gives faithful Christians in Christ.

A few months ago, I asked some Christians to make a list of ten things that scare the church the most.

Some feared children not believing.

Some feared false teachers.

Some feared division.

Some feared losing children to the world.

Some feared hell.

Some feared moral decay.

Some feared being inadequate.

Some feared asking questions.

One answer appeared again and again: fear of losing salvation.

That tells us something.

Many Christians are not living with confidence in Christ.

They are living afraid.

Afraid they have not done enough.

Afraid they missed something.

Afraid God is waiting for one mistake so He can cast them away.

Afraid that every question is rebellion.

Afraid that every liberty is sin.

Afraid that every opinion is law.

That kind of fear produces rotten fruit.

It produces depression.

It produces resentment.

It produces anger toward God.

It produces bitterness toward brethren.

It sometimes produces total abandonment of the Lord.

People begin to feel that God’s standards are impossible, that the cross is too heavy, and that Christianity is nothing but fear.

That is not victory in Christ.

First Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 8:37 says, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

If God has given us victory in Christ, why are we afraid of it?

A Christian can fall from grace.

Galatians 5:4 says, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”

A person cannot fall from a place he never occupied.

These were people who had been in grace.

They were in danger because they were turning from Christ to justification by law.

Simon the sorcerer also shows this danger.

He believed and was baptized.

He later tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money.

Peter told him to repent and pray for forgiveness because he was in “the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity” (Acts 8:23).

We must not preach once-saved-always-saved.

Scripture does not teach it.

A Christian can sin.

A Christian can turn away.

A Christian can lose fellowship with God if he chooses sin and refuses repentance.

The possibility of falling is not the same as living in constant terror.

Many brethren get tangled right here.

Because falling is possible, they assume assurance is impossible.

That is false.

God warns us because He wants us to remain faithful, not because He wants us paralyzed.

A faithful Christian should not live with no confidence, no joy, no peace, and no assurance.

A child can disobey his father, but that does not mean he should wake up every morning terrified that his father hates him.

A marriage can be destroyed by unfaithfulness, but that does not mean a faithful spouse should live every day assuming the marriage is already lost.

A Christian can fall, but that does not mean faithful Christians must live like God is eager to throw them away.

Assurance belongs to those who walk in the light.

First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

That is assurance.

Not assurance for rebellion.

Not assurance for hypocrisy.

Assurance for those who walk in the light.

Some brethren know how to warn, but they do not know how to comfort.

They know how to say, “You can fall.”

They do not know how to say, “God is faithful.”

They know how to rebuke sin.

They do not know how to help the weak stand.

Fear becomes destructive when it forgets grace.

Christians can begin to feel doomed even while trying to serve God.

They are not rebellious.

They are not indifferent.

They are trying.

But they have been taught, directly or indirectly, that God is nearly impossible to please.

Romans 8 does not sound like a terrified apostle.

Paul asks, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ?”

He lists tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, and sword.

Then he says, “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:35–37).

The Christian life is serious, but it is not hopeless.

Some brethren have made personal opinions into God’s law.

This is one of the reasons many Christians live afraid.

Personal judgments become tests of fellowship.

Traditions become conditions of salvation.

Scruples become commandments.

Fears become doctrine.

Customs become law.

When men bind where God has not bound, they make Christianity heavier than Christ made it.

They do not strengthen the church.

They crush consciences.

They train Christians to fear man instead of obeying God.

Jesus rebuked this spirit in the Pharisees.

Mark 7:6–13 shows the problem clearly.

The Pharisees honored God with lips while their hearts were far away.

They taught as doctrines the precepts of men.

They neglected the commandment of God to hold the tradition of men.

They invalidated the word of God by their tradition.

Matthew 23:4 says they tied up heavy burdens and laid them on men’s shoulders.

That is what opinion-binding does.

It turns religion into bondage.

It makes men afraid of laws God never gave.

The apostles had to fight the same problem in the church.

Acts 15 records men teaching, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

That was not a minor disagreement.

They were binding what God had not bound under Christ.

They were troubling souls and disturbing faith.

Galatians 2:4–5 says false brethren tried to spy out liberty and bring Christians into bondage.

Paul did not yield to them for even an hour.

He refused because the truth of the gospel was at stake.

Liberty in Christ is not a side issue when men try to turn their demands into God’s law.

There is a difference between doctrine and opinion.

Doctrine is what Scripture teaches and binds.

The Lord’s Supper matters.

Giving matters.

Preaching matters.

Worship matters.

Morality matters.

The gospel plan of salvation matters.

Opinion is where Scripture has not bound a specific judgment.

Romans 14:1 says to accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

Romans 14:5 says each man must be fully convinced in his own mind.

James 4:12 says there is only one Lawgiver and Judge.

You are not Him.

Liberty in Christ is real.

First Corinthians 7:23 says, “You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Even slaves in the first century were free in Christ.

Their souls belonged to the Lord.

No man had the right to enslave their conscience with human law.

Some brethren constantly say, “Can’t, can’t, can’t.”

Can’t wear this.

Can’t do that.

Can’t ask questions.

Can’t make any decision without someone else’s permission.

The question is simple: says who?

Liberty does not mean doctrinal looseness.

We are not talking about ignoring Scripture.

If God has spoken, the matter is settled.

If God has commanded, we obey.

If God has prohibited, we avoid.

If God has specified, we respect His authority.

Liberty does not erase divine authority.

Jude 3 says the faith was once for all delivered to the saints.

Second Timothy 2:15 commands us to handle accurately the word of truth.

Second Peter 3:16 warns that the unstable distort the Scriptures to their own destruction.

Liberty must not be used to destroy the weak.

First Corinthians 8:9 says, “Take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”

Liberty is not selfishness.

Liberty is not a weapon.

Liberty does not give a Christian the right to crush another soul.

Romans 14:19 says to pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

The goal is not to win an opinion fight.

The goal is to build up the church.

Do not tear down God’s work for the sake of personal preference.

Liberty must not become a covering for evil.

First Peter 2:16 says to act as free men, but not to use freedom as a covering for evil.

Grace is not permission to sin.

Liberty is not license.

Assurance is not carelessness.

A Christian who uses liberty to defend rebellion is not enjoying victory.

He is mocking grace.

He is abusing freedom.

He is turning blessing into danger.

God gives victory through Jesus Christ.

First Corinthians 15:57 says God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Victory is not self-confidence.

Victory is not human achievement.

Victory is God’s gift through Christ.

Romans 8:37 says faithful Christians overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

Paul does not deny suffering.

He does not deny danger.

He does not deny persecution.

He says none of these things can separate faithful Christians from the love of Christ.

Faithful Christians must learn to trust God’s promises.

Some live as though God’s warnings are real but His promises are not.

That is not faith.

We must believe all God says.

We must believe the warnings.

We must also believe the promises.

If God says we can fall, believe Him.

If God says the blood of Christ cleanses those walking in the light, believe Him.

If God says we have victory in Christ, believe Him.

If God says there is liberty in Christ, believe Him.

The church must preach truth without manufacturing fear.

We must preach the whole counsel of God.

Warn the rebellious.

Rebuke sin.

Expose false doctrine.

Contend for the faith.

We must also comfort the faithful.

Strengthen the weak.

Help fearful Christians stand.

Teach brethren the difference between God’s law and man’s opinion.

Point weary souls to Christ.

Christians need to lighten up without loosening up.

This is not a call to become careless.

Not loose.

Not liberal.

Not indifferent.

Not casual about sin.

This is a call to believe what God has actually promised.

Christ gives victory.

Christ gives grace.

Christ gives liberty.

Christ gives assurance to those who walk in the light.

For the fearful Christian.

Do not confuse humility with despair.

A faithful Christian should be humble, repentant, watchful, and serious.

You do not need to live every day as if God is eager to throw you away.

If you are walking in the light, the blood of Christ cleanses you.

For the opinion-binder.

Do not make Christianity harder than Christ made it.

If God has spoken, stand firm.

If God has not spoken, do not bind your fear, custom, or preference on another Christian’s conscience.

There is one Lawgiver. You are not Him.

For the careless Christian.

Do not abuse this sermon.

Liberty is not license.

Grace is not permission to sin.

Assurance belongs to those who walk with Christ, repent when they sin, and continue in faith.

If you are using liberty to cover rebellion, repent.

For the church.

Teach the whole counsel of God.

Do not turn every personal judgment into a test of fellowship.

Preach doctrine firmly.

Expose sin plainly.

Defend truth courageously.

Do not crush brethren with laws God never gave.

For teachers and preachers.

Some souls have been wounded by careless preaching that emphasized fear but neglected grace.

Warn the rebellious.

Comfort the faithful.

Strengthen the weak.

Help people see that Christ gives victory, not just warnings.

We have victory in Christ.

Christians can fall.

Sin is serious.

Doctrine matters.

We must contend for the faith.

We must handle the word accurately.

But faithful Christians should not live as miserable prisoners under every man’s opinion.

The Pharisees tied up heavy burdens and laid them on men’s shoulders.

Christ gives rest to weary souls.

False brethren tried to bring Christians into bondage.

Paul refused to yield to them for even an hour.

Some brethren in Rome judged one another over matters of conscience.

Paul told them to pursue peace and build one another up.

The church does not need more fear dressed up as holiness.

The church needs truth.

The church needs grace.

The church needs reverence.

The church needs courage.

The church needs love.

The church needs confidence in Christ.

Christians, lighten up.

Not by becoming loose.

Not by becoming liberal.

Not by becoming careless.

But by believing what God has actually promised.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Hear the word.

Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Faith must rest in the gospel, not in human opinion.

Believe Christ.

John 8:24 warns that unless we believe Jesus is who He claimed to be, we will die in our sins.

Assurance begins with trusting the Son of God.

Repent.

Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Repentance turns from sin, pride, rebellion, and man-made religion.

Confess Christ.

Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.

Christ must be confessed as Lord, not merely admired as a religious figure.

Be baptized for the remission of sins.

Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Galatians 3:27 says all who were baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ.

Baptism is not an opinion. It is gospel obedience commanded by Christ and His apostles.

Live faithfully.

Revelation 2:10 calls Christians to be faithful until death.

Faithfulness does not mean living in terror.

It means walking in the light, repenting when we sin, obeying Christ, and trusting His grace.

Hear the word.

Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Believe Christ.

John 8:24 warns that unless you believe that Jesus is He, you will die in your sins.

Repent.

Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Confess Christ.

Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.

Be baptized for the remission of sins.

Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

Live faithfully.

Revelation 2:10 calls the Christian to be faithful until death.