John 10:27-29
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."
I will give you several reasons why it is vitally important that if you are saved that you know you are secure and will not lose it.
I) It is necessary for Spiritual growth
Can you imagine what the emotional state of any child would be if that child did not know from day-to-day whether or not he or she were a member of the family? Today I was a good boy; I am a member of the family. The next day I wasn't so good; I am no longer a member of the family. I am loved of my Father; I am not loved of my Father. Friend, that would make a child neurotic to not know whether he or she was accepted in the family. He or she may be punished, may have to go to their room, etc but he or she knows that they know that they are part of the family. It is necessary in the natural world for emotional strength and so it is in the spiritual world for spiritual strength.
II) It is important for Spiritual Productivity
When you know your future is secure, then you can concentrate on the present. From 1933-1937 the Golden Gate bridge was built. It was a dangerous task as many workers were afraid that they would fall to their death over the perilous waters and it seemed like the very fear of falling is what caused them to fall. Though 35 Million dollars was spent on this bridge, they failed at first to build a safety net and 11 people on the first section of the bridge fell into the water and perished.
On the next section of the bridge they spent $100,000 to construct a safety net. After the safety net was built, only 19 fell during the remainder of the construction and all were caught in the net and saved. All lives were saved but here is the important part, with the safety net in place, the work went 25% faster. The workers could concentrate on their work because they knew that beneath them was that safety net. And so it is with a child of God. When he knows that his future is secure, he can concentrate on the present.
Here is part of an aricle I found on GoCalifornia.about.com
One of the most interesting Golden Gate Bridge facts is that only eleven workers died during construction, a new safety record for the time. In the 1930s, bridge builders expected 1 fatality per $1 million in construction costs, and builders expected 35 people to die while building the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the bridge's safety innovations was a net suspended under the floor. This net saved the lives of 19 men during construction, and they are often called the members of the "Half Way to Hell Club."
III) It is important for Evangelism
I am convinced that the reason more people are not born again believers in Christ is quite frankly that they don't think they can live up to the standard. Rather than attempt to make a false start and fall away, they simply never start so as not to appear a hypocrite. They say "I don't have the strength" or "I don't have the wisdom that these other people have". If we could only show those types of people that the God who saves you is also the God who keeps you.
Let me clarify what I mean about the Eternal Security of the Believer. First, we need to clarify what is meant by a believer. A believer is NOT someone who just has head knowledge, or has joined a church, been baptized, gives their money and does all these religious things. These are well and good but none of these nor all of these can save. A believer is someone who has received Christ by faith. Someone who has put his or her trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as their only means of redemption apart from any acts of righteousness they could perform. This is someone who has become a partaker of the divine nature, who has been twice born and received the new birth. This person can never, ever, ever again be a lost soul.
Ok, you say "wait a minute, I know some people who were once saved and are no longer saved". Be careful when you say that because you might have thought you knew that they were saved but they were never truly saved. Look at Matthew 7:22-23 "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Jesus does not tell them "I once knew you but now you lost it". He said "I NEVER knew you." So when we say "believer" we are not talking about people who profess to be religious and turn away, we are talking about people who have truly accepted Christ by faith alone.
So you may still be scratching your head and asking me, "David, what about these people who join a church, get baptized, and live for God a little while, are you telling me that those people are not saved?" ... YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they go away and stay away, they were never saved. These people are described to a tee in 1 John 2:19 "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us."
I sometimes enjoy watching the original Star Trek series and it's amazing how I will sometimes find biblical truths in the show. I am pretty sure show creator Gene Roddenbury didn't intend it to be that way. I was watching an episode last night where this person named Captain Garth (who was mentally ill) had the ability to assume the likeness of any other person, so much like the original that it fooled anyone who saw him. Near the end of the show, he transformed himself to look like Captain Kirk in an attempt to fool Mr. Spock and get Spock to beam him to the Enterprise. Spock enters the control room and sees 2 Captain Kirks that look, speak and act identical to one another. What spock says next and how he resolves the problem can be directly related to the scripture in 1 John 2:19. Here is what Spock said, "Whichever one of you is Captain Garth, must at this moment be expending a great deal of energy to maintain the image of Captain Kirk. That energy level can not be maintained indefinitely, and I have time." And so it is with those who profess to be christians. As Mr. Spock so aptly put it, these people are attempting to "maintain the image" of Christ but eventually that energy runs out because they are doing this in their own strength.
John is saying the faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the beginning. The fact that they fell away and stayed away is proof that they were never saved. Now most of us have had small periods of time where we have fallen away from serving like we should or from faithful attendance in church to be with our brothers and sisters; this is natural and to be expected. However, the fact that we eventually return before too long and get right back where we need to be is proof that we are truly saved and children of God.
So keep in mind these that are described in 1 John 2:19 are not those that lost their salvation; they never had it. Judas is a prime example. Judas never lost his salvation; he never had it. The Bible says that Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas did not believe. (John 6:64)
Let's shift focus a bit. I would like to share some ways you can know that you are eternally secure. I will share 8 reasons and let each one start with the letter "P" for easier remembrance.
1) Promise
God has promised to you eternal security. Look at Romans 8:38-39"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 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." When Paul used the word "persuaded" he is saying he is thoroughly convinced. He gives a laundry list of things that can not separate you from the love of God .. translated anything that can cause you to lose your salvation.
2) Perseverance
God will complete what He has begun. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Notice Paul's words. He began the Romans verse with "I am persuaded" and now he begins the verse in Philippians with "Being confident". Now when we got saved, who began the good work in us? Was it us or God? It was God. We love Him why? Because He first loved us.
The Holy Spirit of God is the agent of the new birth. Let's take a closer look at who the Holy Spirit is:
1) He was the convictor
He was the one who convicted us of our sin and our need for a Savior.
2) He was the converter
He was the one who opened our eyes. He was the one who helped us to be able to understand the Gospel. He was the one who put faith in our hearts to believe the Gospel.
3) He IS the completer
He who began a good work in us (the convictor and the converter) will complete it. I think most of us have started many things we have not been able to finish, but God never starts anything that He can not finish. If any child of God was ever lost that would mean that God the Father is defeated in His purpose, that would mean that Jesus is disappointed that His blood was not sufficient to keep them, that would mean that God the Holy Spirit is disgraced because He is not able to complete that which He began. So, it is perseverance. NOT the perseverance of the Saints. It is not the Saints who persevere, it is God. The third "P"...
3) Predestination
Look at Romans 8 again but this time start in verse 29
"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
What are these verses saying? God has already predestined or pre determined our destiny as believers. We are predestined to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We can not be more sure than predestined. In these verses God gives us a chain with 5 golden links... foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. As children of God, God already sees us glorified and He already sees us in Heaven. The verse doesn't say He is "going to see", He already sees!!!! Our salvation did not begin the day we were born. Through His not being bound by time, God saw us from the beginning of time believing in Christ and justified. Keep in mind that foreknowledge does not mean to cause. It just means that God knew ahead of time that we would accept Christ and He has made arrangements to make us Justified. Now tell me, what can stop that? How could we lose our salvation if we are already predestined to be like Christ? What is settled in eternity can not be undone in time and what has been decreed by Heaven can not be annulled by Hell. Look at Romans 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. What does that mean? It means God will never change his mind or repent about completing the good work He has started in us. Now the 4th "P"..
4) Perfection
Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he has perfected for ever them that are sanctified." In this scripture that one offering is Jesus' blood on the Cross of Calvary. That offering has perfected us forever. If we are perfected forever, how could we ever be lost or lose our salvation??? We can't. Understand this about salvation... when we get saved God doesn't just give us a "fresh start" and then it's up to us from there. He doesn't make the down payment so that we have to make the monthly installments. Like the Hymn says "Jesus paid it ALL". Keep in mind the biblical meaning of perfect is not that we grow wings and a halo, perfect in biblical terms means "complete". You may think, what if I get saved and then sin again? What if???? We are still going to sin because we keep some of that old nature. The difference is when we sin, God just takes us behind the woodshed.. the bible says in Hebrews 12:6 "for whom the Lord loves, He chastens".
Notice in the verse it says by ONE offering. I have a challenge for you. Find anywhere in the bible where anyone was ever saved "twice". There may be such a thing as twice baked potatoes but there are no twice saved Christians. In order to be saved twice, Jesus would have to die twice. Jesus is never going back to the cross again. When we got saved we got a ticket that says "good for 1 salvation only". For more look at Romans 4:5-6 "But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes righteousness without works." We are not saved by doing good works. People who believe you can lose your salvation generally believe you lose it because you don't have enough good works. They are trusting in their good works to save them and therefore are not saved. Notice the term in verse 6 "impute"? What does impute mean? It means to place it on your account. If you want to have a little fun, the next time you go to the store and you want to charge something, don't tell the clerk to charge it, tell the clerk to impute it. Let's read on in verses 7-8 "Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Not only does God forgive, He forgets. God will not bring up that sin again. Blessed is the man who God will not impute sin. All it would take is one scintilla of one sin to send us all to Hell but thank God our sins are covered. Ok, onto the next "P"...
5) Position
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation." If we are "in Christ" how could we ever become "not in Christ"? Answer, we can't. What is true of Christ as far as position goes is true for us. We will lose our relationship with God the Father whenever Jesus loses His relationship with God the Father. We know this will never happen. We are also the body of Christ. If we were to become lost (lose our salvation) a part of Jesus' body would have to be cut off. Somebody might ask "what if you slip out of His hand?". We can't. We are one of His fingers.
The best picture of this in the Bible is found in Noah's Ark. Let's test your old testament knowledge how the account went. God told Noah to build the ark and then drive 8 pegs on the outside of that Ark for his wife, his sons, and their wives. Then God told them to hang on tight during the flood and if they endure until the end they will be saved. Is that what the Bible says? Of course not. God told Noah and his family to come into the Ark. That meant God was already in the ark. Being in the ark for Noah was like being in Christ. Then the Bible says that God shut the door. Why? To shut the water out and to shut Noah in. It was impossible for Noah to have fallen out of the Ark as it is impossible for us to fall out of Christ. There was no door knob on the inside of that Ark for Noah to get out. God sealed him in. Ephesians tells us that once we believe we are sealed just like Noah was. Noah may have fallen down many times in the ark, but he never fell out of the ark. We will fall down many times, but we will never fall out of Christ. Ok, the next "P"
6) Possession
We already have Eternal Life. John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." This verse says we have it, not that we will get it someday. We have it right now. Keep this in mind. Our eternal life does not begin the instant we die, our eternal life began the moment we believed. Ok, the 7th "P"
7) Prayer
Jesus is making intercession for us.
John 17:9,15 "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou has given me; for they are thine. I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil." Jesus is not praying for God the Father to keep us out of heartache or difficulty but that God the Father will keep us from the evil. Question.. had Jesus Christ ever prayed a prayer that did not get answered? Of course not. Why? Because he always prays in the will of God the Father. Ok, you may say that in those verses Jesus was praying for His disciples. That is true, but if we scroll down to verse 20 we see this "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." That means He was praying for us that we would be kept. Just to add more to it, look at Hebrews 7:25 "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them." It's comforting if you have a prayer group that is praying for you but it's the most comforting to know that Jesus is continually praying for you. The last "P" ..
8) Power
1 Peter 1:3-6 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." We are kept. We have a lively hope. It doesn't fade away, it is incorruptible and undefiled.
Ok, so a naysayer might say "what if Satan could take you out of God's hand?" Remember the scripture at the beginning in John 10?
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Can you think of any force powerful enough to pry open the hand of God? Question.. if Jesus is not able to keep us, if Satan is able to pry us out of God's hand, why hasn't he done it? The only reason Satan hasn't is because he can't. If someone thinks Satan can take us out of God's hand and he hasn't done it yet, the only conclusion is that Satan is being good to us. And we are going to Heaven based on the goodness of Satan. Wouldn't that be a strange doctrine?
Ok, someone might say "well Satan may not be able to do it but we can." At the end of the scripture in verse 28 "they shall never perish". This text is in the middle voice and it literally means "they shall never destroy themselves." If God didn't save me from me, He didn't save me from my worst enemy. Us, as dumb sheep, have such a Savior that is able to save us and keep us forever by the power of God.
A side note explanation of what "middle voice" means:
Some languages (such as Sanskrit, Icelandic and Ancient Greek) have a middle voice. The middle voice is in the middle of the active and the passive voice because the subject cannot be categorized as either agent or patient but has elements of both. An intransitive verb that appears active but expresses a passive action characterizes the English middle voice. For example, in The casserole cooked in the oven, cooked appears syntactically active but semantically passive, putting it in the middle voice. In Classical Greek, the middle voice is often reflexive, denoting that the subject acts on or for itself, such as "The boy washes himself", or "The boy washes". It can be transitive or intransitive. It can occasionally be used in a causative sense, such as "The father causes his son to be set free", or "The father ransoms his son".
