Eternal Security

A Secure Salvation

Good morning my friends!

I want again to thank you for praying for us over these past few weeks as we have dealt with Marci’s health challenges.

We are grateful for your love, you concern, your calls and most of all your prayers. They make a difference in the Kingdom of God.

This morning I want to walk us through a topic, that as a Baptist, we hold very near and dear to our hearts, and that is the doctrine of Eternal Security.

Now when we speak about Eternal Security, or what we refer to ‘Once Saved, Always Saved,” we believe that if a person sincerely comes to faith in Christ, that salvation cannot be lost, or removed from a person’s life.

Now the Key phrase that we have to pay attention to as a child of God, is this that a person sincerely comes to faith in Christ. That is the key to this argument and teaching. You must sincerely come to faith in Christ.

Now when a person comes to faith in Christ, that new life is evident by the way that person lives. Now I am not speaking for perfectionism, for that is impossible, and we all make mistakes. But a new life in Christ is evident my a change that takes place.

We all talk more about this in the body of this message.

So lets break this down into a few points, the first one is this

1.Eternal Security is defined by God’s Love...

Love is the key to all that God does for us past, present and looking into our future.

We all know the basis of that love as seen in John 3:16

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God the Father is the initiator of this act of love., God loved this world. The word “Loved” is past tense, it is a action that occured in our past. How do we know this, God had foretold of the Son coming into the world when man fell into sin.

Yet, if we say God is Omniscient, one of His divine attributes we know He knew man, and knew mankind would fall, he knew their failures and He loved all mankind with an everlasting love.

But, this love is more than a past event, it is also has a present movement to it that it continues to be expressed to those who come to God through Jesus by faith.

So we conclude that God loved us, the world, all past generations, us presently and the generations that lie in front of us until He returns the Son for his church.

The action of his love is seen in the Son, God sent His Son into the World

Let me take you to I John 4:9-10

1 John 4:9–10 ESV

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

So clearly the love we experience in salvation originates with God the Father.

And God’s purpose in sending the Son into the world was not to condemn the world, it wasn’t to punish and treat humanity harshly as some have interpreted God’s actions in the Old Testament.

No, God’s loving kindness (the Hebrew word - hessed) is the key principle to His Old Testament covenant love. It is a loyal love, a steadfast love that is part of God’s character.

And in the New Testament, God’s purpose in sending His Son Jesus is to not to condemn, but to build the bridge, a means for us to come to God. That bridge is the reconciling sacrifice of Jesus

God’s love has always been defined by making humanity whole again. Sin is the problem, that is the debt, the penalty we cannot satisfy but God has provided the way for us to come to Him by faith, through the sacrifice of His Son.

But remember His love while given freely, we must chose to receive that love. Salvation is the gift of God.

His love is what makes salvation available to all who would call upon his name in repentance and receive it. We play no part in earning or meriting God’s love. It is entirely His actions.

But let’s move forward, we know salvation is defined by His love and it is secured by his own power.

2. It is Secured By His Power...

When we think about the salvation we enjoy as a child of God, please know God has promised to keep us. And here is the best news: God keeps His promises.. Amen.

One of the best places to see this is in the Gospel of John. This is near the end of his public ministry. Look with me at John 10:28-29

John 10:28–29 ESV

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 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.

Now lets back up a minute, In John 10, Jesus is teaching two great thematic revelations about himself in this chapter. First; He is the “True Gate,” and secondly, He is the “Good Shepherd.”

These are part of the larger group that we refer to as the “Great I’Am’s of Jesus.”

In both of these teaching dialogues that Jesus gives, we see beyond any doubt, the sheep (those that belong to him) they find and have life, security and peace in Jesus.

Note, I said those who belong to him. We will speak more about this in a bit.

Now, going on down to the very end of His discourse, Jesus tells those listening one of the most powerful statements He will present to those listening to Him.

“...I give them (my sheep) eternal life, and they will never perish and finally, no one will snatch them out of my hand...”

Eternal life is the gift of God, which Jesus extends to those who believe and it is something that cannot be lost. Jesus told those he was speaking too this back in chapter 6, listen to John 6:40

John 6:40 ESV

40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

No true believer will lose their salvation, why? It is the will of God the Father that they, those who receive Jesus by faith receive eternal life.

But not only eternal life, but on the last day, their bodies will experience resurrection life, they will be raised up back to life, un-corruptible.. and their souls rejoined to their bodies then, which is the last day being the day of our Lord’s return to rapture His church.

Now lets address this thought of who are the ‘His Sheep.” The sheep that belong to Jesus and therefore the Father and Spirit are those who have by faith - believed, repenting of sin and confessing that Jesus is Lord.

We say they are true believers, because they have not only done this, but it is evident in their life. What a person says and what they person does have to match.

It is one thing to say you are a Christian but does your words, your actions, your life match that statement.

The larger teaching of this truth is found in Matthew chapter 7, verses 15-20. Matt 7:15-20

Matthew 7:15–20 ESV

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Now this is part of Jesus teaching discourse that we call “The Sermon on the Mount” which is found in Matthew chapters 5-7.

Here Jesus tells us that we will recognize true teachers and thus we can apply it also to believers, by their fruit.

So what is Jesus saying, a life not truly found in Him, will not be able to bear good fruit.

For instance, grapes do not grow on thornbushes, and figs do not grow from thistles. A thorn bush will produce only thorns, why? It is a thorn bush..

A false teacher and a non believer (remember knowledge of who Jesus is is different from faith in Jesus.) James 2:19

James 2:19 ESV

19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

These false teachers and non-believers cannot produce good works, oh they might do good things, but their will be no fruit in their lives.

What is the fruit of God? It is good, wholesome things, a love for God, a love for the things of God. You love the Word of God, You have the Holy Spirit in your life..

And also, Paul tells us in Gal 5:22-24

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Is there love in your life? do you have love and not hate?… Is there joy in your life? - even when it is marked by hardship, is there peace, is there patience, and so forth.

How can these things be… You have been crucified with Christ, and that changes everything...

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

So we would say that a born again believer is one whose life is marked by fruit. They are fully devoted followers of Jesus.

Now lets say someone makes a decision to follow Jesus and they say they receive them in their heart. Their life should be marked by a progressive growth in their faith.

And when this happens, a person can see it. But when we fail to see it and or very soon they are gone and do not return, then perhaps they were never really saved...

A true believer bears fruit, So all this is what we mean by a true believer.

Now, looking back to what Jesus says here in John 10..I give them eternal life, they will never perish and no one can snatch them out of my hand.

Those who believe and are part of God’s flock, they have received eternal life. They cannot be removed or taken away because they belong to Jesus and therefore God as well. The word “snatch” here implies “an act of force,” No one can pull you away from God...

Jesus goes on and says my sheep by the way, My father has given them to me, and He is greater than all....and no one can snatch you from my Father’s hand.

God testifies to his strength, listen to God the Father in Isa 43:13

Isaiah 43:13 ESV

13 Also henceforth I am he; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?”

So look there, Jesus says, no one can snatch them from me, no one can separate them from me. And the Father is greater than all and if the Father is greater than all, and he has them… friends all are safe...

Now this is in contrast to the hired hand who back in verses 12-13, here in John 10. The hired hand flees from the sheep at the first sign of trouble or danger. They consider their own well being over the sheep, Someone more powerful could take them away… but not so, for Jesus keeps them? How can he… He says it in this chapter... Jesus says “I lay down my life for the sheep.”

The work of God, His overarching purpose to bring people back to himself, and it is solidified in the atoning work of Jesus upon the cross.

Jesus laid down his life, He did this once and for all, to extend salvation to all who would call upon the name of the Lord with all sincerity. To those who reach out to Jesus are safe and secure in His loving arms.

Now we have mentioned the Father and the Son, but what about the Holy Spirit? He plays a part in this as well.

Paul tells us plainly in Ephesians 4:30

Ephesians 4:30 ESV

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

He seals us, tucks us away in himself and keeps us safe, secure until the day we see Jesus. The Holy Spirit seals us, preserves us and keeps us.

My friends, if you lay down your life offering it to Jesus in repentance and confession, He saves us and keeps us safe until that day.

Now you think of all those who have gone before us.. The Apostles, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, the ole Philippian jailer and his family, The Ethiopian who met Phillip on that south bound road.. Polycarp, Athanasius, Calvin, Martin Luther, Billy Graham, our family members and so many more...They have been kept safe and they wait for the one final act ...His second coming.

I think this assurance is why Paul could be so content even with facing the high points of life and yes even as he faced the day of his death and say in Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wow...Nothing can separate us from the love of God… nor His salvation.

But lastly, please understand live carefully because of your salvation.

3. Live Carefully Because of Your Salvation...

My dear friends, Our salvation is so precious, and it came at such such a great price, the penalty of sin was only satisfied by the sacrifice of God’s only Son.

We must be careful in the way we live and act daily before God in this world we live in...

Let me share another passage with you from Paul’s epistle to the Philippians.

Listen to Paul in Phil 2:12-13

Philippians 2:12–13 ESV

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Paul has been reminding the believers at Philippi to live in a way as to reveal the mind of Christ in all that we do…

And just as they were obedient with Paul, he reminds them to not allow their obedience to wain… They were to live correctly all the more now.

Paul tells then they are to work out their salvation.. now stop right there for a minute. Paul is not saying they work to receive their salvation, Humanity play no part in it except for receiving the gift of God. They were to determine, to double down and live for God because of such a great salvation.

What Paul shares here in these two verses is often referred to as practical Christianity.

Your salvation, the past event that has a future expectation tied too it… The gift of God should have a profound effect in all areas of your life.

Now listen....our personal salvation brings with it responsibilities to act in obedience to God. We are to live in a way that our life in Christ is seen as transformative.

Because of Jesus we are not who we used to be, we are different. Why? He loved us, saved us and now indwells us.

Our life in Christ is meant to transform our daily actions, our thoughts that we allow to dance around in our mind, our words.. our actions and so forth

We are to act like Christians… which means to act like Christ.

How do we do that?

We are to love like Christ. His love was a pure, self sacrificing love for the benefit of others.

Here is a good question to start our mind thinking...Do you long to serve or be served?

The Lord Jesus came to serve instead of being served, and to give his life has a ransom for sin. Mark 10:45.

We too can serve others in the name of Jesus.

We must Strive for Purity… The Bible tells us the Children of God are meant to be different than the world around us. Holiness matters my friends!

But we tend to live like the world. Why? We have not fully allowed Jesus to put the ole man to death. We might do good for a while, but then we drag him out of the grave and breath life back into that old nature...

Listen daily we must die to self, we must let Christ reign in our lives.

That means that we remain pure in our lives. You cannot go on living un-pure lives and believe it is ok.. Do not say, “God knows my heart” Yes he does and he will hold you accountable.

( Our greed, lust, thoughts, talk, participation in…)

To be a Christian means we are to be Christ to the world around us.

Paul says we are to work out our salvation with all fear and trembling… what does that mean....

The words with “fear and trembling” reminds us that God is holy and pure, and with all “awe and reverence” we should consider, the awesome work of God that He has done in us. He has won the victory over sin and in Christ we can have victory over sin.

But it is a daily choice to be Christ in a dark world.

Please never lose sight that you are called to be Holy because He is holy...

Live carefully, Jesus loves you and wants to reign in your life in front of all people.

The salvation you are enjoying is permanent, its eternal and we will one day enjoy the fullness of it as we stand in His presence.

This morning enjoy what God has given to you and hold fast to it day in and out...

Lets pray