Doctine Talk: Eternal Security

Eternal Security

B2D3m64.22!bvc- I hope you were listening because I just gave you the password to my bank account.

I’m totally kidding. But if this was my password- I am confident that the bank would give me the green light that this was a strong SECURE password.

While I may feel my bank account is secure- my starbucks account has not been so lucky.

Last week I went to starbucks to find my account drained.

Now, thankfully I do not keep very much money in my account- so they got away with less than 20 dollars.

But said person- apparently spent a total of 94.37 at starbucks under my name- in sunny California. I’m not sure why, in nice sunny california you need 94.37 of coffee.

but I can assure you that this person in freezing cold ohio, needed my starbucks more and I was very upset when I went to pay, and there was nothing there.

Now it’s true that this changes my life in no way- I was easily able to grab another credit card and buy myself a cup of coffee.

However, I was surprised at how easily it made me feel unsettled-I felt as if someone had broken into sacred space.

I thought my backup fingerprint setup on my phone would provide me security. I was wrong. I came home and spent roughly an hour redoing all my personal passwords to make sure they were more secure. My sense of security had been shaken.

But, unlike my starbucks account there is one thing that we can put our full trust in and that is the eternal security believers have through Jesus.

Salvation is a one-time event that is protected in Jesus’ work on the cross and those that are saved can rest assured that they are secure in Him.

As our passage unfolds this week, it’s easy to look at the circumstances surrounding Jacob and think- how in the world is God’s family going to come out of all of this?

But our salvation is based on the perfect work of Christ in dying for our sins, not on what we have done or will do.

We know from Genesis 25 that God had chosen Jacob before he was born- no amount of sin, trials, or circumstances could change that.

True believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit and are kept from falling away.

A dictionary search of the word, “Security” defines it as a: freedom from danger, a freedom from fear or anxiety, and a freedom from the prospect of being laid off.

Did you catch the repeated phrase in the definition...freedom from…

This means that we have freedom from the danger of eternal punishment for our sin.

We have freedom from fear or anxiety that we will lose our salvation, because in Christ, we are secure, we are protected- we are free.

We can rest assured that our salvation is secure, even when nothing in this life is certain.

When I believe in eternal security my service to God comes from a place of love rather than from a place of longing for acceptance.

When I don’t believe in eternal security, I live in constant uncertainty and fear of rejection because my actions never quite measure up.

We serve not because of what we will get in return, but because of what we have been given already.

How does fear keep you from obeying God’s call to serve? What insecurity or fear is holding you back in serving Jesus?

Lastly, eternal security assures the believer of God’s unconditional love.

We can live, love and serve without fear of losing him. How does the knowledge you are secured and loved free you from depression and insecurity? Do not fear the loss of your place with Him. He has you securely in the palm of His mighty, loving and tender hand.

This world is full of uncertainty and false security- but in Christ, you are secure- forever and ever.

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