Eternal Security

Eternal Security is the PROMISE of the Gospel

ETERNAL LIFE IS GOD’S UNCONDITIONAL PROMISE.  HE SWORE BY HIMSELF AND THERE IS NO GREATER. 

If you believe you can lose eternal life, consider this: Are you possibly calling God a liar? (1 John 5:9-13). We can know we currently possess eternal life.

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 Jn 5:13

TO ALL WHO ERRANTLY BELIEVE YOU CAN LOSE YOUR SALVATION;

I am one who previously qualifies as one who may not have stayed firm in the faith in the simple gospel — that ETERNAL LIFE IS the free gift to that lasts forever. Part of why John wrote to the believers. In life, we get confused by those who preach things we must DO in order to be saved, or to prove we are saved, or to keep our salvation. This is the lie of the enemy which will (at the least) render the gospel ineffective of the fearful (yet eternally secure) believer. The worst for me, is that I believe it will keep the lost, lost.

Some identify God’s promise as Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS). They often mischaracterize the position as suggesting others just “want to stay in their sin” or “live like the devil.” In His Word, we see carnal believers who may feel that way, but this is not what the doctrine suggests (licentiousness), nor is what the Bible is teaching Believers should do.

I am not a Calvinist, nor an Arminian (as my statement of Faith says). But that is not what this article is about.

(Please look up each one of these Scriptures in this article – ‘prove all things and hold fast to that which is good’ – 1 Thess 5:21)

God’s Word is Truth

His way is truth, His Word is truth (Jn 14:6; 17:17). We do not need men systemizing what they believe to be true and teaching us tradition of men (leaven) instead. We believe Him when He says He is able to teach and guide us into all truth with His Word. We will listen to someone who wants to discuss the Word of God in context, but we don’t hear those who commend themselves (2 Cor 10:12) by how long they’ve been a Christian or that ‘their study’ has led them to the truth. If they understand the truth, they will manifest it in the sight of all men (2 Cor 4:1-2). They will be ready with an answer (from His Word in context) when someone asks him – 1 Pet 3:15.

GOD’S PROMISE THAT THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE IS FOREVER

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.   And this is the promise that He has promised us—ETERNAL LIFE.   

These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.  But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.  1 John 2:24-27

We all know those who say they believe and may behave just abominably, (or maybe not as well as we would wish — including ourselves). That is not to encourage licentiousness, it is just a fact we see in His Word.

A list of some bad things believers can do

Tom Stegall mentions this in his book, “Must Faith Endure for Salvation to be sure“. 

“The Bible actually teaches that it is possible for one who is eternally saved by God’s grace to:

1) Commit idolatry and apostasy (1 Kings 11:1-10)
2) Believe only for a while (Luke 8:13)
3) Not continue in the Word of Christ (John 8:31)
4) Not abide in Christ (John 15:1-8)
5) Become disqualified in the race of the Christian life (1 Cor 9:24-27)
6) Resist God’s chastening and correcting to the point of physical death (1 Cor 11:30-32)
7) Stray from the faith (1 Timothy 1:5-6)
8) Shipwreck faith (1 Timothy 1:18-20)
9) Fall away from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
10) Deny the faith (1 Timothy 5:8)
11) Cast off initial faith and follow Satan (1 Timothy 5:12-15)
12) Stray from the faith by loving money (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
13) Stray from the faith by professing false doctrine (1 Timothy 6:20-21)
14) Deny Christ and be faithless (2 Timothy 2:11-13)
15) Have faith overthrown (2 Timothy 2:14-18)

We need to cooperate to both abide in the vine and also continue in His Word, (John 15:6; John 8:31-32) in order to be effective and to grow as students/disciples. Don’t listen to these words of men (who use excellency of speech and wisdom of their own words to seduce you regarding the gospel – 1 Cor 2:1-5). Don’t bear long with them, because they WILL corrupt your minds from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor 11:3-4).

Jesus loves the bride He gave Himself for, even sometimes in spite of themselves. In our eyes, we can think God is a respecter of persons based on how good they are (He is not!). We may either be chastened or blessed as children, but we are still His beloved. We do need to submit to God, humble ourselves, so that we are not being resisted (1 Pet 5:5-7). We need His Word to give us wisdom (Pr 22:17-21), (points out our weaknesses that we can acknowledge them to Him). Confessing means to agree with or ‘see’ our sins we may not have previously recognized. This book of 1 John says this helps keep us in close fellowship with Him and other believers, along with our joy remaining full (1 John 1; 1 John 2:1-2). This reminds us of the advocate we have with the Father, and also reminds us of His death not only for us, but of the whole world.

God the Father loves the world, but the moment they die having rejected His Son, then they will face the Judgment — His Wrath and eternal damnation. God takes no pleasure in even the death of the wicked.

Another Gospel

The Bible does not in any way teach that your salvation can be lost. If you teach others otherwise, sadly you preach another gospel that will not save. You are following after traditions and doctrines of men, instead of the truth of God’s Word.  

Please, for your sake, and that of your loved ones — prayerfully consider the Scriptures below against what you have been taught (Acts 17:11). See if those few verses that seem to suggest losing eternal life really mean that. Gather up the Scriptures and determine to study with His approval in mind asking questions, and looking in context.  

At the end of this article, there is a short list I made of what we CAN lose or suffer by allowing sin to reign in our lives.

When we read His Word, always consider context. Ask who is spoken to, and whether the word ‘saved‘, ‘salvation‘ or ‘deliverance‘ speaks to a physical saving from something or something else. This will help you not become confused by verses spoken to eternally secure believers, that may need deliverance from something or someone.

DO YOU BELIEVE GOD’S TESTIMONY OR NOT? 

Do you believe God? Will God take away something He said is ETERNAL?

Do we have Eternal Security or not? Or is it a temporal gift of ETERNAL LIFE?  What kind of sense does that make?  It is the age-old lie of the enemy, ‘Did God really say that‘ (Gen 3:1)?

CAN ETERNAL LIFE BE UNDONE?

Ask the Lord. Is it Finished or not? 

And please look up these verses! Each and every one. It’s not what I say that matters or has power. I have His Word linked so you can consider what it says regarding our possession of eternal life.

• CAN WE BE UN-GIFTED THE FREE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE? Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8-9
• CAN WE BECOME UN-RECONCILED? 2 Cor 5:18-20; Col 2:14-17
• CAN WE BE UN-BORN AGAIN? Jn 3:3,6; 1 Pet 1:23
• UN-BEGAT BY HIS WORD? James 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23
• UN-SAVED ONCE WE ARE SAVED? * Saved to the uttermost: Heb 7:25

• WOULD WE BE MADE UN-MEMBERS OF THE BODY? 1 Cor 12:20-25
• UN-FINISHED BY THE AUTHOR OF OUR FAITH?  Heb 12:2
• CAN WE BE UN-COMPLETED? Col 2:10; Heb 13:21
• SUDDENLY UN-CONFIRMED BLAMELESS TO THE END? 1 Cor 1:8
• MADEUN-NECESSARY IN THE BODY?  1 Cor 12:20-22
• HOW CAN WE BE MADE UN-RIGHTEOUS, WHEN CHRIST ALONE IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS? Rom 10:4, Rom 3:22; Rom 5:19; 2 Cor 5:21

• UN-GIFTED TO JESUS? We are given to the Son as a gift. And if losing everlasting life was true, and you believed again (after losing your salvation), are you then RE-GIFTED to the Son?  John 6:39-40; John 10:29; John 17:11, 24

• HOW DO YOU BECOME UN-SONS OF GOD?  Jn 1:12-13. Those of us who were born again of His will, think on this for a moment — God, who foreknows all things, decided to make us His child/son knowing we would lose our sonship? No! I don’t believe so…

• ARE WE MADE UN-ALIVE? Eph 2:1; 1 Pet 3:18

• HOW DO WE BECOME UN-ESTABLISHED or UN-GUARANTEED? We lose that too? 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Eph 1:13

• UN-HEALED BY HIS STRIPES?  1 Pet 2:24

• BECOME UN-INHERITED? Acts 20:32; Eph 1:14  (Yes, I know the word is disinherited 🙂  (This is only a play on words regarding being UNDONE.)

• SO DOES THAT UN-DEFILED INHERITANCE SOMEHOW BECOME DEFILED AGAIN?  1 Pet 1:4; Heb 9:15

• UNFORGIVEN? (Isn’t that a movie?) Will He UNFORGIVE you in the reverse of ALL OF YOUR SINS?  Col 2:13; Titus 2:14; Heb 10:10, 14

• UN-TRANSLATED FROM THE KINGDOM OF HIS DEAR SON?  Col 1:13

• UN-ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED?  Eph 1:6

Really think on this — the God of the Bible who HATES divorce, will divorce the Bride He loved and gave Himself for? At what point? The first infidelity, the 10th — when?

Does the blood of Christ somehow get made UNclean because we were washed in it? So once again, do we then become UNsaved? Eph 1:7

• ARE WE MADE UN-NIGH BY HIS BLOOD? Eph 2:13

• DO WE BECOME UN-CLEANSED?  1 John 1:7

• UN-WASHED BY HIS BLOOD? Rev 1:5

By now, you are possibly thinking, how much more ridiculous sounding is this list? I agree. But maybe for a different reason than you might think.

I believe one speaks against Christ’s finished work to say a believer is not kept saved until the day of redemption.

Please consider carefully what you are saying about the truth of all these verses that are applied to believers saved until the day we are risen by Him (the redemption of our bodies).

Please, I ask you in all fear and trembling at God’s Word, and by Christ and Him Crucified for us, don’t just skim these things, but look them up, one by one, then thank God for each thing, He has done for you. I do not believe you will be sorry.

These are provided for you to look up and see if these things are so…

•  WHO WILL UN-REDEEM YOU WHEN CHRIST HAS DONE IT? Rom 3:24; Gal 3:13; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 1:18-19

These are but a few of the things that happen when we are born again, please really pray and study regarding what you are telling others.

When we believe…

• HE GIVES US ETERNAL LIFE – Rom 6:23
• We HATH/HAVE (echo: possess, held in the hand, to have to hold) ETERNAL LIFE. (I John 5:9-14; John 5:24; John 6:28-29, 35,36,40,47)

 IS GOD ABLE OR NOT? 

If God, foreknowing we would lose salvation, do you think He would take all that effort to do all these things, just to let us walk away?  Just pray on these things.

ETERNAL?  EVERLASTING?  OR PROBATIONARY AND TEMPORARY?

We have either believed God’s testimony of His Son, OR we have made Him a liar.

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.  He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.   These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.  I John 5:9-13

God bless those who read here.