Apr 28 2025
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 21
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 21
- To love God is to KEEP His commandments.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: …
Spiritually, to love God is to KEEP His Commandments.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
- We must KEEP God’s commandments to get saved.
1 John 3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
If you don’t keep His commandments, then He is not abiding in you, and you are not abiding IN CHRIST.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
If you don’t keep His commandments, then you are not abiding in His love.
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.
“You don’t know my God”.
To keep is not “to do”. (Even if it were, you still don’t DO his commandments, at all times).
What does it mean to “KEEP” His commandments?
- To KEEP is to retain (i.e., to hold, to guard, to preserve).
To KEEP His commandments is actually not to DO anything with your flesh.
“Doing” and “keeping” are different things!
Leviticus 22:31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 26:3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
Deuteronomy 5:1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
You can’t DO His commandments, unless you first learn them, and KEEP them.
Joshua 23:6 Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;
Here are the first 4 instances of “keep” in the Bible:
Genesis 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Genesis 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Genesis 6:19-20 And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20 Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
To keep is not to obey, or to do…
To “keep” means to preserve, to guard, to protect, to hold, or to retain.
1 John 3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
Christians keep, and do. But we must FIRST KEEP, so that THEN… we can DO.
Deuteronomy 7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
Psalms 103:18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
Doing and keeping are different actions. You have to first KEEP, so that you CAN… THEN… DO.
So a man must KEEP (i.e., retain, preserve) His commandments.
Well… what are His commandments?
- God’s Commandments are His words.
Proverbs 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Proverbs 13:13 Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.
1 John 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
You KEEP His commandments by RETAINING and believing His words, in your heart.
- To KEEP His commandments is to RETAIN His WORDS.
Proverbs 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
You need to PRESERVE His WORDS, PERFECTLY. That is KEEPING His COMMANDMENTS.
John 14:21-24 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
You don’t have to do fleshly good works to love God. And you definitely don’t have to do them continually over the course of a good Christian life in this world.
“Keeping Jesus’ commandments” isn’t about obeying a set of rules, or living your life, as best you can, by a code of conduct. “Keeping Jesus’ commandments” isn’t about the way you live your life.
“Keeping Jesus’ commandments” is about RECEIVING and BELIEVING HIS WORDS!
1 Corinthians 15:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; [you have to go in!] 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed [kept it] in vain.
“In vain” means without fruit, or without profit. (Ecc 2:11, Jer 16:19, Lev 26:16,20, Isa 49:4)
If you don’t believe the gospel and call upon God, you produce no fruit, you receive no fruit. (Heb 4:2, 2Co 6:1, Ps 14:4, Joh 12:42)
But it isn’t just NOT believing and confessing it… It is also having the wrong things (Gal 5:9, Mar 7:20,12:17, Mat 7:15-16, Hos 9:16) … believing lies! (Hos 10:13, Jer 16:19)
I only see one clear instance of keeping something in vain. (1 Sam 25:21) David keeping Nabal’s STUFF for him (a “son of Belial”).
2 Sam 23:6 says the sons of Belial are THORNS!
“Keeping Jesus’ commandments” isn’t about how much more obedient you are than other sinners. It isn’t about how you live, or anything you do in your life.
“Keeping Jesus’ commandments” is about whether you BELIEVE THE TRUTH unto salvation.
- A person loves God when he believes the gospel unto salvation.
1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
1 John 2:3-5 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
John 5:38-44 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. 39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 41 I receive not honour from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. 44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Hear His word, and KEEP IT, by BELIEVING it. This, is what puts the love of God (eternal life) IN YOU.
A Christian loves God, unto perfection, and is GIVEN the love of God IN HIM, unto perfection… when he BELIEVES the truth. That is when a man first loves God in truth; in unfeigned love!
Likewise, loving THE BRETHREN, is done at the same time, in the same action: in believing the truth.
- A person loves the brethren when he believes the gospel unto salvation.
1 John 5:1-4 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: …
We love the brethren, at the same time we love God: WHEN we KEEP His words – when we get saved.
John equates loving God with BELIEVING – believing His record (v10-12). The same is true of the love of the brethren: we love the brethren when we believe their RECORD – when we KEEP their WORDS.
We love the brethren when we receive their WORDS!
We love the brethren by RECEIVING their preaching.
John 15:17-23 These things I command you, that ye love one another. 18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 … if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. … 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
To love Jesus was to receive and believe (to “keep”) His words.
To hate Jesus was to reject His words.
Receiving the preaching of Christians is not only loving God, but loving THE BRETHREN.
Rejecting the preaching of Christians is not only hating God, but hating THE BRETHREN.
One cannot truly love Jesus, unless they FIRST love the brethren, by RECEIVING THE WORDS that the brethren preach.
You must receive the words of a saved preacher to get saved yourself. Even if it is just an Apostle.
So… a person who has believed the gospel, has ALREADY loved the brethren.
AND not only, HAS LOVED (past tense), but loves (present tense).
Titus 3:15 All that are with me salute thee. Greet them that love us in the faith. …
We love our brethren IN THE FAITH. Christians love Christians in what they BELIEVE.
May 6 2025
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 22
Hebrews 6 & 10 – The Impossibility of Salvation – Part 22
Christians love Christians in how they JUDGE.
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Judging with TRUE and RIGHTEOUS judgment… is TRUE LOVE! One vs. ALL.
Judging the world as dead and unclean, but those IN THE FAITH, as living and pure… not based on fleshly WORKS, but based on FAITH (Heb 11:1 – “faith… is the evidence”)… this judgment IS “the love of Christ”.
To love is to receive. But to hate is to reject.
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
So to receive the brethren, is to love the brethren. And to love the brethren, is to love Christ.
Matthew 10:40 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. …
That is how a person first loves the brethren. They receive their WORDS!
They receive the gospel from the mouth of a preacher!
In so doing, they love the brethren, and they love God… AT THE SAME TIME! In the SAME ACTION!
Luke 9:48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me:…
To receive a child of God PREACHING the gospel (not PHYSICALLY), is to receive Jesus Christ.
John 15:18-20 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, … if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
To LOVE the brethren is not to love anyone physically IN THIS WORLD!
To LOVE the brethren, you have to love someone who is OUT OF THE WORLD!
To LOVE the brethren is to believe their words! And to HATE the brethren is to reject their words!
Luke 10:16 He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
To become a Christian – to get saved – you have to love the brethren. Not in multiple actions. Not in your daily life. Not over and over. Just once!
To love the brethren is to receive their preaching and to get saved by it.
Notice another proof of this:
Matthew 10:40-42 He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. 41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
This cup of cold water is the gospel (Pro 25:25, Jer 18:14), and is the Holy Spirit (Isa 52:7, Rom 10:15-16, Pro 15:30,25:25, John 4:14).
When I give the gospel to someone, I’m giving LIVING water and good fruit to them.
This is the true good work, the spiritual good work, for which I CANNOT lose my reward.
But not just me! Also the hearer, the receiver, HE also obtains an eternal reward, by receiving it, and confessing it.
Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
When they receive my words and get saved (i.e., believe and confess), they produce the same living water and good fruit back to ME, who sowed it in them.
They brought forth fruit to God, and fruit to ME, and gave to ME, a cup of cold water, just like I gave to them.
It is an exchanging of the love of God, and of the love of the brethren.
He receives me, and I receive him.
I love him with the truth by preaching it, and he loves me by believing and confessing it.
I give him the love of God, and he gives me back the love of God.
You CANNOT get saved WITHOUT loving the brethren.
They say “faith without works is dead”… “a true faith works”.
Well yes. But that is all accomplished and sealed IN CHRIST… at the moment of salvation!
Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
Putting people IN CHRIST… that is TRUE FAITH working by TRUE LOVE.
When a person receives the brethren preaching the gospel, true faith works them, IN CHRIST (1Pe 2:5), by true love.
Faith works… faith saves… by true unfeigned love, IN JESUS CHRIST.
Not in our fleshly lives! NOT by the worldly love of men’s sinful flesh! Not in sinners loving sinners.
In one action, at one time, you either love the brethren, and love Jesus, or you hate the brethren, and you hate Jesus.
All by whether you HEAR and RETAIN… the WORDS of the brethren!
1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: …
“The love of God” is not JUST a action that you must perform (i.e., to love God).
It is ALSO a substance that you must receive and KEEP.
Romans 5:5 … because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
John 5:38-43 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not. … 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. 43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: …
The love of God must be received IN YOU, by receiving, by BELIEVING His word, IN YOU.
This is what it truly means to love God, in spirit and in truth: to KEEP (i.e., to receive and believe) His words. If you have the word of God abiding in you, then you have the love of God abiding in you.
And it is the same thing with the love of the brethren…
1 John 4:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
How do you love God? You KEEP His words! (Joh 14:21)
Well it’s the same with the brethren. You KEEP their sayings.
John 15:18-20 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. …20… if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
That is loving the brethren just like it is loving Christ.
John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
True love is a PLACE that we must abide in.
The place is IN CHRIST. The place is “in His love”.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
You cannot love God, and NOT love the brethren.
You cannot be saved and NOT love the brethren.
1 John 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1 John 5:1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
You can’t love God unless you (seemingly first) love the brethren, and you can’t love the brethren unless you (seemingly first) love God.
One cannot come without the other. One cannot really even come AFTER the other.
These actions MUST happen at the same time. These substances (the love of God, the unfeigned love of the brethren) must be put in you AT THE SAME TIME: at salvation.
1 Timothy 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
“Grace… was… with… love… in Christ Jesus”!
These substances are both put in a man (not in his flesh, on Earth, but in his spirit, in Christ) when he is saved:
2 Thessalonians 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2 John 1:1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
ALL THEY who have KNOWN the truth, and RECEIVED the truth, and are IN THE TRUTH… love all others that are also IN THE TRUTH.
Romans 8:39 … the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Timothy 1:14 … with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
The true love of God, that every Christian has, is not in US – that is, in our flesh. It is IN CHRIST.
Philemon 1:6 … every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
True love is not present or possible on the Earth. True love is only present and possible IN CHRIST.
1 Corinthians 16:24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus…
3 John 1:1 The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
2 John 1:1 The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
This is where the true love of the brethren is. Not on Earth. Not in my flesh. But IN CHRIST.
Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
True love, the love that God had towards ALL the world… is DELIVERING SOULS!
Proverbs 14:25 A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
You need to PREACH the gospel! (Rom 10:14-15, 1Co 1:21)
Deuteronomy 10:18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
A Christian loves lost people, in truth, by GIVING them spiritual food and drink. That is… by giving them the gospel.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, Eternal Security, False Prophets/Doctrine, Good Works, Identifying False Christians, Problem Texts, Salvation, Soul Winning, Spiritual Anatomy, Spiritual Circumcision • 0