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Transcript of message from TV Broadcast 461 -- taken from Closed Captioning Text -- Brother Thomas: I'm going to continue the subject that I started last Sunday. Can a saved person be lost or ever lost? Paul done got the title down so that'll be it. I'm going to give you three verses of scripture in John, chapter 10. Jesus said, John 10, verse 26 through 29, Jesus said, "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 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." You know you would think that when Jesus says, He gives us eternal life that'd be sufficient. Because how can you terminate that which is eternal? And then, in addition to that He said, "they shall never perish." It makes you wonder how people can believe you can have it and lose it. I'd say this, the real problem is they're spoiled. I don't want to say that none of them are saved. I can't say that, among any group. But I'll tell you this, many of them are going to be saved in spite of the doctrine that's been taught. It won't be because of it. And the only thing that I know in the world that'll establish you and strengthen you and anchor you is the Word of God, insomuch that Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." That's what we live by. That is our life. It's "life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." But here's our problem. I'm talking about religion and religious people as a whole. Most religious people have never been saved--never been saved. There's a proverb that says in Proverbs 14, verse 12, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." That's it. You've heard of delusion. I believe that most religion is just delusion. Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth." And the truth won't delude you. It'll set you free. That means then that anybody who preaches the Gospel ought to be able to continue in His Word. But the truth is, they simply believe what they're taught. They all do--even the preachers. You show me a preacher that was converted in some system that just turned his back on it, walked off and said, God I'm going out here and seek you. You can't find it. He believes what they teach him. He goes to their school. He is programmed to preach that and that's what he does. The fact is I was looking forward to being a Baptist evangelist. The Lord was...it was obvious the Lord was blessing me. But I walked in what light I had. You can't walk in light you don't have. And that's all I knew. And I held revivals and God blessed them. God used me. But I still didn't know much. And I guess I would have went on like I was had things turned out, but they didn't. God didn't intend for me to stay there. And today as a result of him pulling me out of that and opening His Word to me, we're reaching out to the ends of the earth. It's God. And I don't take no...I don't glory in what I've done because I would have continued on where I was at, preaching. I thought that was the most glorious thing in the world, to be able to go from town to town with a tent, hold meetings, build churches. They'd all have been Baptist. You know in John chapter 5, Jesus said to the Pharisees, He said, "I am come in my Father's name and you receive me not, but if another shall come in his own name, him you'll receive." That's the way it is. Praise God! I'm free. I'm free to preach what God reveals to me and it's just different, that's all there is to it. I don't apologize for it being different because most of them do not have a revelation. That's the problem. Hallelujah! Most so-called gospel is perverted. That's all there is to it. And I remind you of this scripture over here in Galatians chapter 1, I believe. I want to remind you of this. Chapter 1, verse 6 through 12--especially that. Now here's what's happening to these people in these churches. Of course there were churches of Galatia and somebody had come along and told them you can't be saved unless you keep the law. You had a lot of legalizers. They were contaminated with legalistic teaching. And so Paul--that came to his attention and so here's what he says, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." I wonder what he would say about most churches today. I remember...I try to abstain from pointing fingers at any particular name, but I remember I was at my sister's here in Jacksonville. And one of these, I don't know what you call them--practitioners, they go to your door. They have literature. They'll come in there and talk to you and leave their literature with you. And I'll tell you, they are pretty thorough. My sister, her husband was in the navy at that time and they were stationed on Kodiac Island and then in Japan. And did you know they have a record of her and they were over there about the time she was, knocking on her door? That's pretty thorough, isn't it? And yet they call that the gospel. I was just thinking about another man. In fact this was my wife's uncle. He was a Bishop in a certain church. I attended a kind of, I guess, a homecoming or family reunion up at their church. And they did condescend to ask me to preach. That's unusual. I preached you must be born again. (laughing). Oh me. Well anyway he stood outside and he said, Tommy why are you a Baptist? Because John was? Of course, I carried that name at that time. I don't carry nothing now. And he said, we know we have the gospel. And they call it the gospel. And if I have ever known a religion of works, that's it, from beginning to end. That was one of those fellows that was riding on the train with old Brother D. L. Moody back yonder years ago. And they got to the train station, they got off and they were talking out on the platform. He was trying to convince Mr. Moody he needed to forsake whatever he believed and join him. And Mr. Moody said, Brother there's just 2 letters difference in your religion and mine--yours is spelled DO, mine is spelled DONE. And yet they all call it the gospel. And you may not know it, overseas, it's amazing what's happening. They are growing by leaps and bounds. I mean they are. This is what old Brother Tozer has reference to here in this article. He saw this. Who is he affiliated with, Brother Enlow? -- Brother Enlow: Christian Missionary Alliance. -- Brother Thomas: Christian Missionary Alliance. Well the old man knew God. He's dead now, of course, Dr. A. W. Tozer. Here's what he says. He says, "Mere evangelism is not our present need. Evangelism does no more than extend religion"--that's what it does--"of whatever kind it may be. It gains acceptance for religion among larger numbers of people without giving much thought to the quality of that religion. How can there be so much Bible knowledge and so little insight, so little moral penetration is one of the enigmas of the religious world today? The tragedy is"--now listen to this--"that present day evangelism accepts the degenerate form of Christianity now current as the very religion of the apostles and busies itself with making converts to it with no questions asked. All the time we are moving farther and farther from the New Testament pattern." Now I'm saying these things because somebody will hear this besides just you. And I'm concerned about people all over the world. I believe that God has given us that ministry, to reach out. That's why we are on the radio all over the world. That's why we are on the Internet now. That's why we are on television. We're trying to wake up people to the reality of what they're in. And then he says this: "We must have a new reformation. There must come a violent break with the irresponsible, amusement-mad, paganized pseudo-religion that passes today for the faith of Christ." I just remember--and he said it is being spread all over the world by unspiritual men employing unscriptural methods to achieve their ends. I remember I attended a meeting there in Lake City many years ago and this fellow that was there, he's a celebrity, a movie celebrity and also supposed to be a Christian. I'm not saying he's not. But anyway they had this horse there that night. And the horse he counted by pawing the ground. Then they had a young lady there who was a ventriloquist. All of that to attract people. They'll do anything in the world they can to attract them, a great crowd of people. And that's not the gospel of Christ. When you, listen, when you move away from the grace of God, teach anything else or less than that, and a work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of men and women, boys and girls, you don't have the gospel. The test of the gospel is this--is it by grace, through faith? Add anything else to it and you spoil it. It's perverted. Paul went on to say, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ--note that--unto another gospel." Wonder what Paul would say today? Can you imagine what he'd say? I wonder where he could find somebody that really preaches the gospel. And then he goes on to say, "which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." Think about it. It's a serious matter. "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men?" Wonder how many preachers are trying to please men? It's wonderful to be free and have only One to please. I don't mean to abuse our liberty. That's wrong as far as I'm concerned, but I want to please Him. He said, "If I yet pleased men I should not be the servant of Christ." And you won't. "But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man"--not after man. "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." I never received any revelation until God pulled the rug out from under me, got me out of the system. It's when I was out the camp that I began to study and God began to show me things. And in the camp you're going to receive what the camp has. That's all you're going to receive. Now that's the truth there. Very few preachers are called and anointed of God--very few. Listen to these scriptures now. John 15:16 Jesus said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." That's why there's very little fruit. And you know the tree by the fruit it bears. You don't plant a peach tree out here and get coconuts off of it. I was just thinking. You go to some of these churches and before you know it they'll have you forward and they'll put you under the water if that's the kind of baptism they administer. And they'll call you a Christian. I was thinking about one of my grandsons up in Virginia, I believe it was. He--this is not to condemn him but it's the truth. He was going with this girl. She didn't no more know the Lord than the man in the moon. In fact I think she had that bulimia. But she got him saved. She got him in her church, got him forward. They baptized him. He very seldom even comes to church. He told people, now when I get down there I'm going to my grandpa's church. Poor fellow, and my heart goes out to him. I'm glad to see Philip and Mark back there. Sister Jonette, you tell your sons that I miss them. You tell them that I pray for them. I do pray for them. Praise God! And so what is it? You've got a world of lost religious people. I believe most religious people are lost. I don't care what kind of works or it's the law or good works or anything else. It does not add one scintilla to the finished work of Christ. If Christ did not pay for our sins and you have to add something, what do you have to add and how much, and how long? That's a good question. No wonder people don't have any faith. I'll guarantee you can have faith by what I preach. And if faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, it's got to be the Word of God, the inspired Word of God. It's got to be the anointed Word of God. Nothing else will help people. Praise God! Hallelujah! Hebrews 7 verse 19, the scripture says, "For the law"--listen to this--"made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." And then the 25th verse of that same chapter, the scripture says, " Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost"--listen to this-"that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." That's the way we're saved. And we're saved to the uttermost. How far is the uttermost? As far as you can go. That's how God saves us. Paul said, "I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." You don't join the church. You commit your soul, your everything into the hands of God and God will never, never betray that committal. That's because He's a faithful God. You think God would ever betray a trust? Not one. Never has and never will. Hebrews 11: 6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Praise God! Them people don't have no faith because they don't have the Word. That's the problem. Praise God! Hallelujah! Now the Lord has just opened up so many scriptures to me. Hebrews 5 verse 8 and 9, here's what the scripture says. I'll quote it. "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him." Now I want you to just examine that. Let's analyze it. "Though he were a Son"--He was the virgin born Son of God. He was not born by natural procreation means. God overshadowed a virgin named Mary. Now we don't worship Mary. She has to be saved just like we do. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." That includes her, me and you and everybody else. But He was God's Son in that sense. But this is something you've never heard. Jesus was exactly like Adam was before he sinned. Hear me now. That's why 1st Corinthians chapter 15 refers to him as being the last Adam. See? And he says "the last Adam was made a quickening spirit"--life-giving spirit. That's right. So what does it mean then? "Though he were a son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became..." See? That becoming the author of eternal life had to await that perfection, whatever it means. 
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