WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.840 Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim 2 00:00:05.840 --> 00:00:10.680 truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. Hey guys, very important 3 00:00:10.680 --> 00:00:13.540 question that every single one of us are going to want to hear the 4 00:00:13.540 --> 00:00:17.580 answer to from the Bible. The person is backslidden, will they go up in the 5 00:00:17.580 --> 00:00:23.360 rapture or are they left behind? Let's get into it right now. 6 00:00:23.360 --> 00:00:29.540 You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbs.com slash podcast. 7 00:00:29.540 --> 00:00:34.880 Today, if this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled 8 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:39.740 life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five star ratings. To us, 9 00:00:39.740 --> 00:00:45.280 that's like saying amen or yes, then that rating will encourage others to listen. 10 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:52.480 Now open your hearts to what God's Word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. 11 00:00:52.480 --> 00:00:56.600 Hey guys, welcome to the Jack Hibbs Podcast and we're delighted to be with you. 12 00:00:56.600 --> 00:01:01.960 We are encouraging you to hit the subscribe button, like and share. All that 13 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:05.960 stuff that matters. It actually matters. We're not asking you to send any money. 14 00:01:05.960 --> 00:01:09.880 We don't need commercials. We've never been approached by anybody who said you 15 00:01:09.880 --> 00:01:13.120 want to do a commercial on your show. We've never had an invite like that. 16 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:16.320 We're not asking for money. We don't need it. What we would love for you to have 17 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:22.080 is or love to get from you is encouragement. And for you to encourage us here, 18 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:30.000 would be for you to share, to like, to leave us a review. That would be incredible. 19 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.720 So listen, here's the deal. There was a question that was asked of me some time back. 20 00:01:35.520 --> 00:01:42.800 And it is basically this. So I had mentioned about if the Lord came back 21 00:01:42.800 --> 00:01:48.320 momentarily in the rapture. And if somebody was like the prodigal son, 22 00:01:48.320 --> 00:01:56.000 if somebody was like the the backslidden Christian, if somebody was like someone who 23 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:05.360 is not paying attention, even maybe listen, even backsliding and living in sin at this moment. 24 00:02:05.360 --> 00:02:09.040 And the rapture happens. Imagine the rapture happens in like five minutes. 25 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:15.040 And I made the comment that that person will go up. If that person is born again, 26 00:02:15.040 --> 00:02:20.400 listen carefully, everybody. Number one, if that person is born again, there's no scripture 27 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:26.000 in the Bible that says you can be unborn again. In fact, number two, there's overwhelming 28 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:30.320 amount of scriptures that declared to us that once we are truly in fact born again, it means 29 00:02:30.320 --> 00:02:35.840 that we're sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption. Read the book of Ephesians 30 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:42.240 chapter one and two, among other passages of scripture that correlate with that, meaning this, 31 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:47.600 that once the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, takes up residence within the believer, 32 00:02:48.160 --> 00:02:52.160 you're sealed, that is, you're marked into the day of redemption. That is an agreement between 33 00:02:52.160 --> 00:03:00.400 Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit regarding your entrance into heaven. So make note, 34 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:07.040 what's the word state? Don't be in a state of confusion over this. Are you born again? 35 00:03:08.480 --> 00:03:14.000 If you're born again, you have a passion to live for God. And even if you backslide, 36 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:21.280 you're miserable. You can't even sin good anymore. You're in the world, you're sleeping around, 37 00:03:21.280 --> 00:03:27.120 shooting it up. I don't know what the thing is, but you're angry at God. He didn't answer your 38 00:03:27.120 --> 00:03:32.160 prayer. You didn't win the lotto, so you're taking it on him and you throw down your toys and 39 00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:37.600 you walk away like a brat and you're in the world and you know you shouldn't be there. You're miserable, 40 00:03:38.480 --> 00:03:43.280 but you're miserable also with God and you're really having a battle. You know what's right, 41 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:49.120 but you're not doing it and you can feel it's the brutal pressure and tension of God the Holy 42 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:56.960 Spirit in His displeasure, grieved from the inside out of you that you shouldn't be in that bar or 43 00:03:56.960 --> 00:04:00.880 with that man or with that woman or in that situation. You know you shouldn't. 44 00:04:02.320 --> 00:04:07.760 Listen, most likely you are a backslidden Christian. It's an actual thing. Paul talked about the 45 00:04:07.760 --> 00:04:16.480 Corinthians being backslidden. In fact, first Corinthians chapter 5, this is crazy. First Corinthians 46 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:22.560 chapter 5 verses 4 through 6. Technically, just read first Corinthians 5, starting in verse 1. 47 00:04:22.640 --> 00:04:28.640 I'll just paraphrase. Paul says, there is somebody in the church there, Corinth, a young man 48 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:37.440 who is having sexual relationships with his stepmom and you all you guys know about it and you've 49 00:04:37.440 --> 00:04:44.720 not judged and cast this guy out, excommunicated him. You've not thrown him out of the church while 50 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:50.080 I'm telling you something. I may not be there, but my spirit's present and I'm telling you, 51 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:56.480 do this now. You take this young man, cast him out of the fellowship of the church. 52 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:01.360 Get him out. Can't come back on the property. We're going to get a restraining order on you. 53 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:08.080 You get out because you are like leaven. You're like poison and you know better. Listen, 54 00:05:10.400 --> 00:05:18.720 cast him away and the Bible says right there, put him out so Satan will kill him, destroy his body. 55 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.760 So that his soul will be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. 56 00:05:26.080 --> 00:05:31.520 Yeah, I can hear you right now saying, wait a minute. Where's that? First Corinthians chapter 5 57 00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:39.760 verse 1 to verse 6. That guy was so saved, but he was so backslidden, he was thrown out of church 58 00:05:40.640 --> 00:05:44.640 and Paul said that let's Satan destroy his body so that the guy can be saved. 59 00:05:45.520 --> 00:05:50.560 God and his mercy will actually rescue this guy and people like you, if that's what you're doing, 60 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:56.640 he'll rescue you from your horrible witness by taking you home prematurely. Think of that one. 61 00:05:57.440 --> 00:06:04.720 Okay, but here's the deal. Listen to this. First John chapter 2 verse 28 and now little children 62 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.560 first John's written to believers. It's important to know that. Not nonbelievers. 63 00:06:09.440 --> 00:06:13.760 There's no evangelism in first, second or third John. It's all discipleship written to believers. 64 00:06:15.440 --> 00:06:24.080 That when he appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 65 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:28.720 Do you know what that verse means? That means that we need to be living in such a way that when 66 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:35.920 Jesus Christ appears, notice it's actually not a coming like the first and second coming. 67 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:41.520 This is not the second coming of Christ. It's about the rapture when he appears. John chapter 14 68 00:06:41.520 --> 00:06:48.960 verses 1, 2 and 3 when he appears. First Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18. Okay, when he appears, 69 00:06:50.320 --> 00:06:56.800 you want to be walking with God in obedience and be confident. If you're not, when he appears, 70 00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:01.120 you're going to be ashamed. You're going to be embarrassed. What's the word you're going to have 71 00:07:01.120 --> 00:07:05.120 yoke all over your face? You're going to look like a fool. Does it say there that you're going to 72 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:09.680 lose your salvation? Does it say there that you're going to have to, sorry, but now you got to 73 00:07:10.400 --> 00:07:17.840 go through the tribulation period to get your salvation back. No, no, listen, if you're a believer 74 00:07:17.840 --> 00:07:25.680 and you can live in sin, if you think, and there's a lot of people like this, if you think that you 75 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:32.240 are a Christian, but you're living in sin and God forgives you and you have no hatred for your sin, 76 00:07:33.200 --> 00:07:40.800 your sin doesn't make you want to vomit, your sin, you've just, you've just gotten used to it, 77 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:47.040 you just kind of nozzled on into it and this is the way that it is. I'm a Christian fornicator 78 00:07:47.760 --> 00:07:54.160 and that's, that's just the way it is. Or I'm a Christian adulterer or I'm a Christian bank robber, 79 00:07:54.800 --> 00:08:00.240 I'm a Christian car thief, I'm a Christian drug addict, I'm a Christian drunk, 80 00:08:01.200 --> 00:08:07.040 and that's just the way it is. Guess what? There's an incredibly high probability that you do not know 81 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.680 God at all because if you don't hate your sin, because the Holy Spirit hits your sin, 82 00:08:12.880 --> 00:08:16.240 if you don't hate your sin, there's good evidence that the Spirit of God doesn't dwell within you. 83 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:21.840 So if you ask the question, do you mean I can be a backslidden Christian and just do whatever I 84 00:08:21.840 --> 00:08:27.600 want to do and get raptured when it, when it's over, then that's just what I'll do. A true believer 85 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:36.720 will never think that way. You have to think about that. By the way, to think that way is the term 86 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:44.560 we've used before and some of our broadcast and that is anti-nomianism. It means that I can not 87 00:08:44.560 --> 00:08:52.320 only sin, but if I sin, then I give God the opportunity to forgive me and that makes God look great. 88 00:08:54.800 --> 00:09:04.080 So if I sin big, God's grace is big, so everybody wins. Paul the Apostle addresses that attitude 89 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:11.600 in Romans 1, 2 and 3. Shall we sin? That grace may abound? What does he say? Absolutely not. 90 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:20.160 Because the scripture makes it very clear that you and I are, as children of God, we are haters of sin. 91 00:09:20.160 --> 00:09:27.440 And listen, it's one thing to see the sins in other people and be disgusted by them. But when we see 92 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:37.120 those same sins in us, it's actually worse. It's worse for us. And so listen, it's very important. 93 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:43.520 Will backsliders be raptured? Yes, they will. Will they be ashamed when that happens? Yes, 94 00:09:43.520 --> 00:09:49.280 they will. Should a backslider right now repent and make it right with God right now? 95 00:09:49.280 --> 00:09:54.080 Absolutely right now. You need to stop what you're doing, repent of it. Repent means, 96 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:00.320 repent means get away from it. Repent means turn away from it. It's a physical action. 97 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:08.080 It's not just a confession. Well, I went to confession and I told my sins to the priest, so, 98 00:10:08.800 --> 00:10:13.440 now that that's done, I can go rack up some more of the same. You're an anti-nominist. 99 00:10:14.160 --> 00:10:19.200 You're not a Christian, you're lost. You can't do that. You can't go to confession, 100 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:25.120 get washed. So you think, book of Hebrews, by the way, tells you you're not washed. Read Hebrews 101 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:31.840 chapter 7, 8 and 9. You're not washed. When you confess to a earthly priest to seek forgiveness, 102 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:38.800 the Bible says you're not forgiven. I can hear the hate mail now. Go ahead. You're going to write 103 00:10:38.800 --> 00:10:46.960 and say, oh, the holy church, the holy church, what holy church are you talking about? Holy church. 104 00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:53.120 No. The church is a bunch of sinners saved by the grace of God. 105 00:10:55.440 --> 00:11:02.080 There's no holy Roman Empire. There's no Pontifus Maximus 106 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.880 that can absolve you of your sin. Find that in the Bible. You'll find the exact opposite. 107 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:15.680 There's no earthly priesthood that can have your sins forgiven, not a one. That goes for my Jewish 108 00:11:15.680 --> 00:11:22.160 friends also, which you don't even have a priesthood anymore. You don't have a temple. 109 00:11:25.040 --> 00:11:32.160 This all comes down to relationship. Do you literally absolutely know for sure that God is living 110 00:11:32.160 --> 00:11:39.120 inside of your heart and life? You know, it's amazing. He's infinite, right? He's everywhere. 111 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:45.840 There is no place both physical or spiritual where God is not. He's God. 112 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.760 And yet, how is it that he has chosen to reside within his own children? 113 00:11:53.600 --> 00:12:02.000 Is a mystery we cannot explain? If you want religion, do not let Jesus end. If you want religion, 114 00:12:02.880 --> 00:12:08.160 do not let the Holy Spirit take up residence in your life. If you want to go play games and 115 00:12:08.160 --> 00:12:13.600 send up a storm and have life your way and satisfy all your earthly pleasures and then slap a 116 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:21.840 slap a cross or something on you as being accepted. Yeah, it's not going to happen. 117 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:31.680 No, listen, if you are truly a living new creation in Christ Jesus, 118 00:12:33.520 --> 00:12:37.840 you're living for the life of the Spirit and you're producing the fruit of the Spirit. 119 00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:43.200 So you cannot be sleeping with that girl or with that guy or doing those things or 120 00:12:43.920 --> 00:12:49.040 stealing from the business and call yourself a Christian. If you backslide, 121 00:12:50.800 --> 00:12:56.720 thank God that's for a season. You hate it. It could very well cost you your life 122 00:12:57.760 --> 00:13:02.800 or you'll come back like the prodigal son in the Gospels. I want to end with this. 123 00:13:03.440 --> 00:13:10.480 So in our our college and career group at Calvary Costa Mesa back in those days, 124 00:13:11.280 --> 00:13:18.320 back in the late 70s and 80s, in our college and career group which was 125 00:13:19.680 --> 00:13:25.840 man, a thousand plus people. Lisa and I were the only married couple in the entire group. 126 00:13:26.800 --> 00:13:33.600 In fact, when we would go on camps, I would sleep with the guys and she would sleep with 127 00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:37.200 the girls, all the guys on one side of the camp and all the girls on one side of the camp 128 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:41.120 and not sleep with the guys. And all the guys who'd always asked me, 129 00:13:41.760 --> 00:13:45.200 how can you how can you stand being here with us when knowing that your wife is over there? 130 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:51.760 It cracked the sub we'd laugh about that for years. It's so funny. But we were the only married couple. 131 00:13:51.760 --> 00:13:55.520 We got married really young and all these college and career age people around us. 132 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.560 And one of our really good friends, I'm not going to say his name. I don't want to shame his family. 133 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:05.840 It's actually not a shame. It's not a shame in. But it's to make the point. 134 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:13.040 I'll just call them, I'll call them Don. So Don loved the Lord. We hung out together with our 135 00:14:13.040 --> 00:14:19.920 little Posse. We had our guys. It was just, it was Lisa and it was Julie and all the rest of them 136 00:14:19.920 --> 00:14:24.720 were about seven guys. We're all friends and we did everything together. We went camping together. 137 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:31.120 We went witnessing together and everything together. It's awesome, awesome fellowship. We just 138 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:37.840 lived our lives like that every Friday night, every Friday night. It was just written into 139 00:14:38.560 --> 00:14:44.080 the code every Friday night at seven o'clock automatically that I'll show up at our apartment. 140 00:14:44.880 --> 00:14:50.880 And they'd bring chips and dip and food and we would stay up as late as possible 141 00:14:51.760 --> 00:14:56.320 on Friday night, talking about Jesus playing trivia, Bible trivia games, having a great time 142 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:02.320 going through the Bible. My gosh, those were great days. They're not as great as the days are today. 143 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:07.760 That's how God works, but they were awesome. But I say that to tell you this. So Don, 144 00:15:08.560 --> 00:15:16.560 Don came from a life of alcoholism. His dad was an alcoholic, his mom was an alcoholic, 145 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:22.720 and so Don learned from an early age that when life gets tough, you drink. That's what you do. 146 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:30.320 By the way, that's called learned response behavior. Growing up as a kid, when you see your parents 147 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:36.480 or the authoritative figure in your life, respond to life's challenges, you will do the same. 148 00:15:36.640 --> 00:15:42.000 You will do the exact same thing, unless something happens, unless Christ intervenes. 149 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:51.360 So what happened with Don is that he was saved out of an alcoholic background and God saved him, 150 00:15:52.320 --> 00:16:02.240 and Don was awesome. So incredibly funny, great guy. But Don also, because he had a rough upbringing, 151 00:16:02.320 --> 00:16:06.800 he was also a little bit, not too much, but a little bit prone, that when he got his eyes off 152 00:16:06.800 --> 00:16:12.560 of Jesus like Peter, he would sink into depression. Not catastrophic depression, like we know about 153 00:16:12.560 --> 00:16:18.640 these days, but he'd get bombed. And then he'd say things like, I don't feel like it. I don't 154 00:16:18.640 --> 00:16:24.960 want to. Come on, Don, let's go. The best of Chuck, there's going to be a great softball game at 155 00:16:24.960 --> 00:16:31.280 the church picnic. Let's go. I don't feel like it. And so Don started drinking again. 156 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:39.040 And we hadn't seen him for like a week. And then Friday night shows up and there's no Don. 157 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:45.680 Has anybody seen Don? No, we called Don back in those days. Got to dial the number. 158 00:16:47.040 --> 00:16:52.560 No cell phones back in the ancient history, ancient times. And we couldn't find him. 159 00:16:53.520 --> 00:16:58.480 And it wasn't until Sunday morning, I remember when Ralph came into church on Sunday morning, 160 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:01.920 and he said, and he's crying. He said, did you, did you ever know Don? 161 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:08.240 What's the matter with you? Why are you crying? And he said, Don got into a head-on collision 162 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:15.120 with a telephone pole on PCH. He was killed instantly. And the police said that he was absolutely 163 00:17:15.120 --> 00:17:23.280 intoxicated. And the cab was just wreaking of alcohol. Every single one of us knew in the moment. 164 00:17:23.280 --> 00:17:30.720 Wow. God took him home. God took him home. He didn't lose his salvation. 165 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:39.120 Listen, friend, if you can lose your salvation, you've already lost yours. If you can lose it, 166 00:17:39.120 --> 00:17:45.120 you've already lost it. The good news is if you got it, you can't lose it. Remember that. 167 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:50.080 It's very important. So what you want to do is you want to be walking with Jesus every day. 168 00:17:52.320 --> 00:17:56.240 And so that when he comes back or when it's time for you to drop dead, you won't be ashamed. 169 00:17:57.440 --> 00:18:02.560 It's very simple. God does not commit any abortions in his family whatsoever. 170 00:18:03.280 --> 00:18:06.960 Hope that makes sense. By the way, I want to do this right now. Father, for anyone who's out there 171 00:18:06.960 --> 00:18:13.440 right now that is just struggling with life itself. They may be able to say right now, 172 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.520 I do believe, Pastor Jack, that Jesus died in the cross for my sins and he rose again from the dead. 173 00:18:17.520 --> 00:18:22.240 But I've been such a terrible witness. I've messed up left and right. I hate myself for it. 174 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:28.560 I know I've offended Jesus. I've sinned against God. And I just can't even stand to look at myself 175 00:18:28.560 --> 00:18:34.400 in the mirror. Lord, you would say, Lord, depart for me. Depart for me. I'm a sinful man. 176 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:43.600 Listen, my friend, there's nobody in this podcast right now that would say to you, you know, 177 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.760 get out. But for every true Christian, we would say to you right now, we know exactly how you feel. 178 00:18:49.760 --> 00:18:55.920 We've all been there. So I want to encourage you to come back home real quick. It takes a nanosecond. 179 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:01.200 I know it feels like the enemy is shouting at you. God won't have you. Look at you. 180 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:05.360 You're a terrible person. God will not accept you back. Satan's a liar. Don't listen to him. 181 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:12.880 Go back to Jesus. Come back to Jesus right now and get back on the course and keep your ice set on 182 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:18.800 the cross. And God will restore you. He will restore what the moth and the rust, the alcohol, 183 00:19:18.800 --> 00:19:24.160 the money, the girls, the guys, the toys of this world have robbed from you and he'll restore you. 184 00:19:25.120 --> 00:19:32.160 And he loves to do that. If you've prayed that prayer, man, drop us a note. We'd love to hear that 185 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:34.800 from you. So, all right, until next time, God bless you guys. 186 00:19:39.520 --> 00:19:43.760 This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, 187 00:19:43.760 --> 00:19:48.400 are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? 188 00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:53.840 Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected. 189 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:00.400 Today's episode is sponsored by Nerd Wellets Smart Money Podcast. Every Google 190 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:04.960 of money question and end up 12 tabs deep with 12 different answers. This podcast is your 191 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:09.600 shortcut back to clarity. Nerd Wellets Smart Money Podcast breaks down financial decisions 192 00:20:09.600 --> 00:20:14.160 with a team of trusted journalists. 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