(Part One)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24).
Let Us Reason Together
Over 35 years ago, I visited some dear friends who used to host a mini church where I was the Shepherd. The Pastor that supervised me during that time was in town, and we were getting together. I thought he was the most balanced Christian I knew at the time. I was just ending my second “dark night of the soul” experience, where God was teaching me about His grace. During our discussion, the topic of assurance came up. I was saying that my current Senior Pastor seemed to suggest that a born-again believer could lose his/her Salvation.
It bothered me because God was teaching me through His Word that His grace was sufficient for all my needs, that nothing could separate me from His love, and that when I was unfaithful, He remained faithful. I was shocked and perplexed when the Pastor turned to me and said with a glare in his eyes, “A believer can lose their salvation!” Then he spent the next three hours trying to prove to me why. He was on a mission, and the more I questioned Him, the more determined he became.
My problem was that I had all the questions but lacked Biblical answers. I knew in my Spirit and according to the Romans that nothing could separate me from the love of God, but I could not defend my faith. That night I was broken down by a man I loved and respected.
Near the end, I asked him, “What is salvation?” He said it’s the atonement, the blood of Jesus covering our sins. Now I knew where our differences originated. God was teaching me that Jesus did much more than cover my sins. He completely took them away, never to be remembered again. Apostle John says that when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, he said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). “This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the One who would turn aside His wrath, taking away our sins” (1 John 4:10). “But now once at the consummation of the ages He (Jesus Christ) has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” “For I (God the Father) will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 9:26, 8:12).
What about these verses? I asked him. He became angry when I disagreed with Him. How you view forgiveness regarding Salvation will impact how you view assurance or eternal security. If Jesus only covers our sins, then sins must be covered repeatedly. But, if sins are entirely forgiven and taken away forever, then our Salvation is secure in Christ.
This lesson on assurance is a result of that painful and disheartening night. The verses I use later are the exact same verses that he used to try to prove that we could lose our Salvation. This is one of the most detrimental teachings in the church today. It leads to the lie we must perform for God to keep our Salvation, a perfect definition of “Legalism.” We work for God, trying to earn what Jesus has already given us by faith: the gift of God’s Salvation in His love, mercy, and acceptance. We are trying to get into a room we are already in. We teach the Law, but the Law cannot save us, make us righteous, or give us life.
A Righteous Man Shall Live By Faith
We live out of the Old Covenant when Jesus Himself has given us an eternal blood covenant. We focus on sin and miss the prompting and enabling power of the Holy Spirit. The life of Christ is something we discuss, not something that lives within us. We love the “Law of condemnation” and reject the “Spirit of Life.” Why? It is because our flesh feels good working and doing for God. Jesus really isn’t enough. We have been conditioned to believe that nobody will love us unless we perform unless we earn it by acts and good deeds. This is the lie that feeds our pride. We believe that God’s love and forgiveness are based on our behavior when it is based on the finished work of Jesus Christ, the cross (God’s love), and the resurrection (God’s mercy). We respond to God’s love by believing by faith, not by works. No truth will set you free more than the assurance that what God begins, He finishes.
What Is Assurance, Or Eternal Security?
The best definition of eternal security comes from Pastor Dennis Rokser's excellent presentation on “The Doctrine of Eternal Security.”
“Eternal security means that one who has been genuinely saved by God’s grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone shall never be in danger of God’s condemnation or loss of their salvation but are kept forever saved and secure by God’s grace and power.”
First, eternal security only applies to those ‘who have been genuinely saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.’ This eliminates any counterfeit Christians who think Salvation is something they do for God by way of their good works instead of trusting in what God does for them because of Christ’s finished work on the cross.
"Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 1:9).
Secondly, notice that this definition explains the quality or extent of Salvation an undeserving sinner receives when they trust Christ alone as Savior. His Salvation is eternal and secure so that they ‘shall never be in danger of God’s condemnation or loss of the Salvation but are kept forever saved and secure by God’s grace and power.’ Regarding this, the Lord Jesus Christ clearly declared.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).
Lastly, I want you to recognize that one’s eternal Salvation and security are all by God’s grace and power. No person can save himself or keep himself protected. These are spiritual realities that God alone must provide and accomplish for us to His own praise and glory. Therefore, our definition ends by saying, ‘(true believers) are kept forever secure by God’s grace and power.’
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9).
Opposition to Eternal Security
One rule in Biblical hermeneutics is that you interpret hard-to-understand or challenging passages in context and by other scriptures with obvious clear, and straightforward meanings—Scripture interprets Scripture. This is a historical Biblical view!
Throughout the ages, religious people have tried to understand the scriptures by their intellect instead of asking or waiting for God’s revelation. Human intelligence can determine what the scriptures say, but never what the scriptures mean. Only God, through His Holy Spirit, can reveal true Biblical understanding.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth...” (John 16:13). “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things” (John 14:26).
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor 2:12).
Religious Dogmatic People Don’t Understand God’s Word
Jesus said there are two reasons why religious people don’t understand God’s word. One, they don’t know (revelation knowing) the scriptures. Two, they don’t know (believe) the power of God. This was true in the case of the Sadducees, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. They did not believe in the resurrection from the dead, so they asked Jesus a hypothetical question, trying to trap Him. A group of Sadducees asked Him,
“Master, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? For they all had her” (Matthew 22:24–28).
In response to their foolish question, Jesus gave a scathing reply. “Jesus answered and said unto them,
"Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:29–32).
What a precise and powerful reply! What a solemn and pointed indictment, “Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” He goes for the Sadducees’ spiritual jugular (vein) and exposes their self-righteousness and pride. You Sadducees, religious people, who think you have it all together. “Ye do err.” In modern language, this could be rendered; you are continually erring. You are repeatedly mistaken. You are perpetually going astray. You are over and over again missing the path of truth.
Some Make the Same Mistake Today
I dare say that many religious leaders fall into the same category as the Sadducees. They know what God's word says but don’t know what it means. They do not believe in God's supernatural power to keep a believer saved.
“...The power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes” (Romans 1:6).
They look at the hundred-plus Bible verses and don’t see assurance, only doubt, or confusion. They fix their eyes on man’s behaviors rather than on the finished work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, many pastors in the Church today teach that a born-again, spirit-filled Christian can lose his or her Salvation by rejecting Jesus, drifting away from Jesus, apostasy (denying Jesus after accepting Him), not holding fast to the end, not enduring, shrinking back from God to destruction, denying God, going astray from the truth, not being ready for the second coming, falling away from righteousness, and by professing Jesus but having their deeds deny Him; all these after he or she has accepted Jesus.
These are all different ways of saying, once I believed in Jesus, but now I don’t. So the questions come. Can a genuine believer in Jesus Christ ever be lost again? Can someone truly saved ever commit a sin or sins to such a degree that they would lose their Salvation and be condemned forever? Can a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ later reject the Savior and fall away from Salvation? Can anyone know with absolute assurance they will be saved in one year, let alone forever? We all know people who seem to fall into these categories.
Holy Spirit Revelation
Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts and give us revelation knowledge regarding the confusion and doubt surrounding the following passages. Could many people profess to be Christians but do not possess eternal life? These are “Religious People,” not born-again believers. In outward appearance, they would be called Christians by others but not by God. They look, talk, dress, and act like Christians, but God knows the intent of their heart.
Scriptures That Prove Assurance Of Salvation
ONE: The work of the Holy Trinity is our Assurance. God the Father chooses us. God the Son redeems us. God the Holy Spirit enables us to believe by faith.
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He set forth in Him, regarding His plan of the fullness of the times, to bring all things together in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things in accordance with the plan of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in the Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory" (Eph 1:3-14).
TWO: Assurance comes from God the Father who has given Christians a “Promise–Purpose–Plan.”
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified" (Rom 8:28-30).
“If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Rom 8:31, 32)
The most powerful argument for eternal security is:
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, (nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39).
Therefore, everyone's eternal security is based on God’s love for those whom He has redeemed. Our eternal security is purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.“
THREE: Jesus has satisfied and taken away God's wrath and Holy judgment against sin.
“. . . and He Himself (Jesus) is the propitiation (total atoning satisfaction and carries off) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
FOUR: Whom the Father Gives to Jesus He Will Not Cast Out but Gives Eternal Life and Is Raised Up on the Last Day
"Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have indeed seen Me, and yet you do not believe. Everything that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I certainly will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:35-40).
FIVE: God initiates love, Jesus is your substitution, you respond by believing, and God promises eternal life, Jesus is able to save you forever, and continually intercedes for you
"And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:14-17).
"Therefore He (Jesus) is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them (believers)” (Hebrews 7:25).
SIX: God Knows You Personally, He Gives You Eternal Life, You Will Never Perish, and No One Can Snatch You Out of Jesus' Hands or the Father's Hands
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish (literally live into the ages, forever); no one shall snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27–30).
SEVEN: The Holy Spirit Lives, Established, Anoints, and Seals You for the Day of Redemption
“And I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth...but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you” (John 14:16,17). “Now He who establishes us . . . and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge (down payment)” (2 Cor 1:21). "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30).
EIGHT: You Are Destined Not for God's Wrath, Judgment, or Condemnation but for Salvation and Eternal Life With Jesus
"But since we are of the day, let’s be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him" (1 Thessalonians 5:8-10). "The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3: 33-36. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death" (Romans 8:1-2).
NINE: When God Begins A Good Work He Finishes and Brings It Pass, Jesus is Faithful to His Promises
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass” (1 Thess 5:24). “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
TEN: Everyone Who Believes in Jesus Will Have Eternal Life, Will Never Perish or Be Judged
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18). “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:11-13). “But these have been written (the book of John) that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).
ELEVEN: Jesus is the Perfecter and Finisher of Your Faith
"Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator (author) and perfecter (finisher) of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2). “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, Nor will I ever forsake you (NIV says, “NEVER will I leave you, NEVER will I forsake you)” (Hebrews 13:5).
TWELVE: You Are a Christian Overcomer if You Believe In Jesus Christ
“For whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5).
Then He (Jesus) said to me (Apostle John), “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give water to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life, without cost. The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:6-7).
"Jesus says to the one who overcomes, the one who believes in Me; "I will grant to eat from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). "will not be hurt by the second death" (Revelation 2:11). "I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows except the one who receives it" (Revelation 2:17). "I will give him authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are shattered, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star" (Revelation 2:26-28). "will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels" (Revelation 3:5). "I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name" (Revelation 3:12). "I will grant to him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:21).
The next blog in this series is, A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN CAN'T LOSE THEIR SALVATION! (Part Two). This is the second in a three-part series. Here, we will examine a difficult passage in Hebrews that suggests that Christians CAN lose their salvation.
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JESUS PLUS NOTHING SAVES YOU
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We All Have the Same Dilemma, We're Dead in Sin
Every human being, ethnic group, race, or gender finds themselves in this same dilemma. Therefore, there are three questions you would be wise to ask yourself and extremely prudent to answer.
One, why do I need to be saved?
Two, what does it mean for me to be saved?
Three, how am I saved?
I believe Only Jesus plus nothing not only saves you but answers these three questions.