The Security of the Believer

The Security of the Believer

From time-to-time, many Christians are faced with the questions, “am I really saved?” or “can I lose my salvation?” These are real questions asked by real people. Unfortunately, these people don’t always receive answers. It is the intent of this paper to summarize the verses and concepts taught in the Bible in reference to our position on Salvation. We trust that after reading this, you will come to the conclusion that once you have been genuinely saved, you cannot lose your salvation.

The first question that one must answer when examining this topic is, “are you genuinely saved?” According to Matthew 7:19 we will know a believer/unbeliever by their fruits: ¹⁹Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. ²⁰Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Your next question is, “okay, so what are their fruits?”

Fruit of the Spirit:

· Galatians 5:22 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Works of the Flesh

· Galatians 5:19 ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

The litmus test for Salvation can be achieved by applying your life to above verses. Which category do you fall into, 1) The Fruit of the Spirit, or 2) The Works of the Flesh?

So, what does it mean to be genuinely saved? When a person is at the point of salvation, they should feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit of the sin that has enslaved them. The person must recognize that they need Christ in their life and that they are in need of becoming a new creature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ¹⁷Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. Salvation is not simply fire insurance! One must be willing to turn their life over to the Lord fully and must also be willing to repent from their old sinful ways. You can test your own salvation by looking at your life and asking yourself the simple question, “am I a new creature in Christ?” If the answer is no, you should spend time in diligent prayer with the Lord to seek out true salvation. If while you are reading this, you would like to know how to become a Christian, please see our document on the way to Salvation.

Let us next examine whether or not a person can lose their salvation. We will begin by examining the most famous salvation verse, John 3:16 ¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. When reading this verse, there is no condition. Jesus does not say, you will have everlasting life … as long as your never sin. Jesus also says in John 3:18b ⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: … Again, we do not see a condition here. This is an emphatic statement declaring that once you have received salvation, you have it for eternity.

Let us also examine Romans 8:38-39 ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is pretty clear in the above passage. He is stressing to the believer that nothing can separate us from the love of God (salvation).

In Hebrews, God also promises us that he will never leave us. Hebrews 13:5 ⁵Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. If the author of Hebrews wanted to convey to the reader that you might lose your salvation, this would be a great place to put it. It simply is not here. If one could lose their salvation, then Hebrews 13:5 would not be true.

Salvation is something that we receive by faith and because of the grace of God. In and of our own, we deserve hell because of sin. It is only through Jesus Christ that our wickedness is filtered through Jesus and we are presented righteous to God. Jude 24 ²⁴Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, . We are not saved of ourselves according to Paul in the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 2:8-9 ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast. God did not want to give man the opportunity to boast of his salvation. Paul is saying that one cannot strut around and proudly declare his or her salvation as a result of works.

Let us assume just for a moment that you could lose your salvation as a result of sin. The question everyone would have to ask, is “what sin would cause me to lose my salvation?” Would it be adultery, murder, lying, steeling? If simply sinning caused us to lose our salvation, no one would go to heaven because we all sin on a daily basis. Sin will not cause a person’s genuine salvation to fade away. 1 Peter 1:3-5 ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope [anticipation] by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. ([brackets]mine) Remember, though, that all of this hinges on true salvation. If you said a prayer for salvation and nothing changed in your life (e.g. you still lived the same life of sin as before), you should question your salvation. However, if you know and felt the hand of God change your life and later you fell into a brief time of sin that does not mean you were never saved. Once God establishes his work in your life, he NEVER lets it go. Philippians 1:6 ⁶Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: In Jesus’ own words, no man can take you away from the love of God. This includes you! John 10:28-29 ²⁸And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.

Satan loves to cause Christians to doubt their salvation. He wants you to feel as though Christ is not with you and that if you do fall into a time of sin that God will turn his back on you. The truth is, everyone sins. Everyone slips during periods of his or her life. A perfect example is King David. He committed one of the most horrible crimes toward mankind. He took the life of an innocent man as a result of his adultery. Even through this terrible sin, God forgave David and still used him greatly.

I trust that God has revealed to you his eternal love for you. God’s love is unconditional. He doesn’t love you only when you are good. He loves you all of the time. Remember, your sins (past, present, future) were paid for on the cross. You are continuously presented to God as faultless as a result of the gift given to you by Jesus Christ.

Consider also the following verses:

1 John 5:13 ¹³These 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.

Hebrews 5:9 ⁹And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

· God gives us eternal salvation, not conditional salvation.

Ezekial 36:26 ²⁶A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ²⁷And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

· God causes us to walk in his statues.

1 Peter 1:5 ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

· We are kept by God’s power, not our own!

John 6:37 ³⁷All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

· Jesus will cast none of his People out!

Hebrews 12:2 ²Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

· Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. He doesn’t leave a job incomplete!

Christ in the NT gives us the illustration of a parent/child relationship. If he gave us this example, we should be able to use it. If you have a child & they commit sin or do wrong, do you kick them out of the family. Of course not!