Sermon Tone Analysis

“Once saved always saved.”

Is this the right kind of question?

I know that there are many who take issue that we wonder if it is possible to lose one’s salvation at all.

But pastorally I have met those who are shaken in their faith and have become fearful - this often arises when they have done something that is wrong or they read a piece of Scripture that seems to them to suggest that it is possible to lose their salvation.

If we are on the side of once saved, always saved then this does not give us license to live however we like - we are called upon to persevere, to endure, to make it to the end - I have spoken of the severity of God’s judgement when it comes to what we have done for Christ since we were saved - but at no point has our salvation itself been put at risk.

But what we do now has an eternal bearing on what our responsibilities will be in Heaven.

So, today I want to ask whether we can be sure we are always saved and I want to encourage you to have such assurance.

It is, though, an age old question.

Calvin and Arminius argued about the question of eternal security.

So how is it that I come so firmly on the side of once saved always saved.

My friends I want to give us confidence in our Lord and His Word.

There are about 90 verses that declare that our salvation is secure.

And where we find verses that seem to contradict this view, on closer inspection have nothing to do with salvation but our works and consequential reward.

Let me ask this first: Is salvation something earned by us?

Or is salvation a work God has done for us?

Let us look at the Scriptures:

If it was man’s work we could fail.

But as it is God’s work it is impossible to fail.

So let us look at 4 sections from the Word of God that show that Salvation is permanent and not temporary along with a few verses at the end to round it off:

First thing to note is that God is omniscient

o that means He is all-knowing.

He knows everything.

He knows the past, present and future.

God is not the foolish man who started to build a house and didn’t have enough money to finish it off.

o God knew that we would receive Jesus as our saviour and therefore God, the Father, predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son.

In fact, when we became Christians at least 30 things happened to us; Here are some of them:

We were reconciled to God (2 Cor 5.18),

we were freed from the law (Rom 8:1-2),

we were glorified (Rom 8.17, 30),

we were forgiven (Eph 4.32),

we were accepted in the beloved (Eph 1.6),

we were made part of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12.13),

we were adopted into the family of God (Eph 1.5),

we are seated in the Heavenlies with Christ,

we are crucified, buried, raised and freed from sin in Christ.

Each and every one of these would need to be reversed if we could lose our salvation: We are no longer reconciled to God, we are back under the law, we have been unglorified, we are unforgiven, we are rejected, we have been amputated from the body of Christ, we have become orphans, we have been thrown out of Heaven.

These things make a mockery of gift of salvation because with that salvation we have been placed IN CHRIST and have been given all other things.

We should look in our Bibles for what we are in Christ – this is our Position – unchangeable.

On top of that if God knew that there was a chance that we could lose our salvation and God loves us then why did we live long enough for that to happen – why didn’t God just take us at the moment we were saved?

The second thing to note is that Salvation is a gift

(The gift of God is not going to make you sorry afterwards.

Irrevocable.

Unchangeable.

See Israel today.)

God does not change His mind.

Nothing caught God by surprise – He knew what we were going to be like – God is all-knowing.

The third thing to note is the work of the Trinity in their various persons

The Father was involved:

The Son was involved:

ILLUSTRATION: American Judge & son

You don’t have to sin.

Parakletos.

One that comes alongside.

Defence lawyer.

To confront the Father face to face.

Jesus speaks on our behalf.

I have died for that sin on the cross.

Lamb that was slain (Rev 5).

Jesus is both Lawyer & Judge!

If God be for us who can be against us.

If we can lose our salvation it means that Jesus has lost a case even though he was the defence lawyer and judge.

But your know whenever we stand before the Judge it is speculated that Jesus doesn’t say anything but simply holds up his hands.

There’s something about those hands that always wins.

Jesus is going to see the fruit of His soul and be satisfied.

[This is why knowing that we are going to be saved for eternity is not a licence to sin as we would not want Jesus to keep defending us – the most miserable people on earth are those who are out of fellowship with God.

God disciplines those He loves like a Father does his son at in no place in Scripture are we threatened with loss of salvation.]

Father and Son involved together:

(Good shepherd doesn’t lose sheep)

Are we bigger than God? Holds the universe in His palm.

We have the biggest daddy of them all!

ILLUSTRATION: There were two brethren who differed on the question of the believer's safety in Christ.

They were discussing the question, and one said to the other: "I'll tell you, a child of God is safe only so long as he stays in the lifeboat.

He may jump out, and if he jumps out he is lost."

To this the other replied, saying: "You remind me of an incident in my own life.

I took my little son out with me in a boat.

I realised, as he did not, the danger of his falling or even jumping into the water.

So I sat with him all the time, and all the time I held him fast, so he could neither fall out nor jump out of the boat."

"But," said the first speaker, "he could have wriggled out of his coat and got away in spite of you." "Oh," said the other, "you misunderstood me if you supposed I was holding his coat; I was holding him."

Holy Spirit was involved:

A seal:

Transaction is done – sealed unto day of salvation

Ownership – the seal on it proves it is yours

Complete security –

Same as in Daniel and the lion’s den

· Earnest – engagement ring – in the ancient world you needed a bill of divorce and God does not believe in divorce.

A downpayment.

First part of our inheritance: 1 Pe 1.4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.

(Parakletos too)

The fourth things is our Kindred relationship

o God is our Heavenly Father

o Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus

o We can deny our Father but he is still our Father

Know – not have and then lose.

Isn’t it in the nature of eternal that it never ends – and since it started the day we became Christians then it will never end.

God has unilaterally resolved the sin question: the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world – therefore there is nothing in the future that can keep the foreknown, predestined, called, justified and glorified child of God from getting to the place God has prepared for them.

ILLUSTRATION

Wall Street is wonderfully well looked after by detectives.

Money in all forms is plentiful there, and the aim of the police is to prevent those huge and paralysing thefts which are the work of a moment, and are seldom traced.

Many years ago, twenty men from the Detective Bureau, selected for one particular qualification—their knowledge of thieves and their ways—were the guardians of Wall Street.

These men had made a study of the faces of the most important thieves of the world.