In the early 1960s I remember the public school I attended beginning each day with a salute to the American flag, a Bible reading, usually from the Palms, and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Then in 1962 Madelyn Murray O’Hair was successful in getting Bible reading and prayer thrown out of the public schools through the action of the United States Supreme Court. In 1963 she formed the American Atheists Association and brought many other law suites designed to legalize her understanding of the separation of church and state. These actions, in my judgment, marked a rapid decline of ethical and moral values together with a weakening of Christian influence that had been central to the founding of America....
Romans 5:9-11 places us right in the center of a most basic Christian teaching. The security of the believer comes front and center in these verses. The practical question is this, “Could a person once saved ever be lost again?” The question has the potential of destroying the believer’s peace and confidence about the future. Before we deal with these specific verses, I want to look at the subject from an overall theological perspective. In a subsequent week we will look at these specific verses in Romans. Theologians often address this subject under the topic of perseverance. The idea here is that the true believer will persist in his faith and never ultimately turn back. While there are ups and downs in the Christian life, the believer will never finally abandon his faith. The topic has significance for practical living. On the one had, if there is no guarantee that our salvation is permanent, then we may experience anxiety and insecurity that distracts us from living a meaningful Christian life. On the other hand, if our salvation is absolutely secure and believe it makes no difference how we live, then it may lead to indifference as well as moral and spiritual lethargy. Therefore, we would do well search the Scripture to determine what is the true biblical teaching concerning the security of the believer.
Today is Veterans’ Sunday. November 11 became a holiday after WW I to observe the anniversary of the signing of the armistice in 1918. Many other conflicts took place after 1918. Then on June 2, 1954 a law was passed changing the name of the holiday from Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor those who fought in all wars. By contrast Memorial Day is a day to remember those who died in service to our country, while today we remember to thank all those who served.
