Eternal Security Of A Christian's Salvation
...e the point, because we are not the ones to guard our salvation. The question here is whether or not the Lord Jesus is able to guard our salvation? II Tim. 1:12 answers, "For I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to guard my deposit unto that day." I Peter 1:5 answers also, "who are being guarded [a Greek military term, meaning "garrisoned"] by the power of God through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time." Jude 24-25 says, "Him who is able to guard you from stumbling". All these verses say that the Lord Himself is able to guard our salvation. Here if a believer is not saved, then it is God's failure, because He does not guard well. (But of course this is impossible.) Finally on this point, let us end it with a verse, "And the effect of righteousness, quietness are assurance forever" (Isa. 32: 17). Our security is based on the shed blood of Christ alone . "When I see the blood I will pass over." (Exodus 12: 13). This verse was quoted in the context of pass-over of God's judgment of killing. Here we see the only condition for one to get passed over [as not to get killed] by God - blood; we do not see that God will want to see blood along with how good that person is for example in order that that person can get passed over by God. It's entirely determined the blood, apart from all works excluding one's efforts not to sin with his body, soul, mind, mouth or even with his spirit. The Lord's priesthood guarantees that we are saved eternally no matter what. Hebrew 7: 25 said, "Hence, also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, always living to intercede for them. For such a High Priest.." The Lord always intercedes for us; His priesthood is only for us who come forward to God through Him. And the Father always hear Him. "Father, I thank You.. You always hear Me.", the Lord said in John 11. This verse guarantees that the Father always hear the Lord Jesus' prayers [for us]. As an example from the Scripture, let's take a look at Peter's case. Before Peter denied the Lord publicly (even with an oath), the Lord told Him in advance, "Simon, behold, Satan has asked to have you all to sift you as wheat. But I have made petition concerning you that your faith would not fail; and you, once you have turned again, establishing your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). The Lord predicted Peter's failure but assured him that He would interceded for him. We must trust without reservation to His prayer and intercession for those who come forward to God through Him [i,e., us]. [Note that Peter did not "lose" his salvation but later got saved again, but rather it is that his fellowship with God was indeed interrupted.] "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb. 10:14). We are looked upon as perfected, and this condition holds true forever, and this is the Word of God. Your feeling or conducts cannot change the Word of God. The love of Christ guarantees us that we are saved forever. In John 3: 16, it said, "For God so loved the world..." What is the purpose of this love then? The verse continued, "that ... whosoever believed in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." This verse speaks the purpose of His love - that we shall get saved. But how long will He loves us (as Satan may have tempted people to question)? "Jesus...having loved His own who are in the world, loved them to the end " John 13: 1. There is no way for Him to quit loving us halfway through! Any thought like this is a lie from the Evil one who intends to attack on the character of Jesus. Listen to what Apostle Paul said, "Who can separate us from the love of Christ?" and "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 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 Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 8: 35, 38-39). Nothing and no being is able to separate us from the love of God. At least ten times in John Jesus spoke of believers are given to Him by the Father (6:37, 10:29, 17:2, 6 [twice in verse 6], 9, 11, 12, 24). Believers are the Father's love-gift to Jesus. It is Jesus who commits the believers to the Fathers for safe-keeping, so that the believers' eternal security rests upon the Father's faithfulness to His Son Jesus Christ. How faithful the Father is to the Son, so how firm our eternal security shall be. "All that the Father giveth Me shall come to me, and him that comes to Me I will not at all cast out." Jesus said in John 6: 37. How accurate is His word? "The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away." (Matt. 24:35). It is impossible that you will get cast out if you come to Jesus, regardless of who you are. You cannot make the words of Jesus past away. The way to get saved in the New Testament is believing, and conversely the way to perish in the New Testament is not believing: "He that believes on Him is not judged: but he that believes not has already judged, because he has not believed on the name of the only-begotten Son of God." John 3: 18. "unless ye shall believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins." John 8: 21. "He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that believes not on the son shall not see life." John 3:36 "He that has the Son has life: he that has not the Son of God has not life." I John 5:12 "For this is the witness of God which He has witnessed concerning His Son. He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God witnessed concerning His Son. And THIS is the witness, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." (I John 5:9b-11) Here we see the two components of God's witness concerning His Son (and we better believe in this witness or else we will make God a liar!): that God has given to us eternal life, and... this life is in His Son. These are the two components of the witness that God witnessed for Jesus, and one of them, again, is that we the believers has eternal life. The scriptural passage continued, "He that has the Son has life; he that has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written to you that ye may know that ye have eternal life who believe on the name of the Son of God." (I John 5:12-13) This verse told us that we can know right now that we have eternal life; we don't need to wait until that day to find out whether we have eternal life or not since this passage said, "you may know that you have eternal life". This is the purpose of John's writing I John 5: we can know in this present age that we have eternal life forever. If you are called and saved, then you are guaranteed to be glorified, the last stage which lasts for ever. Here we have a concept of linked list. Romans 8:29-30 says, "Those whom He foreknow, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son. And those whom He predestinated, these He also called; and those whom He called, these He also justified; and those whom He justified, these He also glorified." In this portion of the Word we see a "linked-list". It is a linked list of different spiritual items (foreknowledge->predestination-> calling->justification->glorification) linked together. If you are on the first item of the linked list, then you are guaranteed to be at the last item of the linked list no matter what. This is the complete work of God on a believer. Unless God brings one whom He justified into glory, His work is not complete. He never stops halfway. But in contrary, Philippians 1:6 says that "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun in you a good work will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." He will not work just halfway and stop, but rather He will complete this work until the day of Christ Jesus, that is, until God gloried us. Furthermore, since this work of salvation was started by God, He must be the one to conclude it. Not us. If we lose our salvation, it will put God's attribute into question since he never stops until the work is completed. The fact that Holy Spirit is with us forever proves our eternal security. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, "ye have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the earnest of our inheritance to (or "up to") the redemption of the acquired possession (that is us the believers)..." Ephesians 4:30 also says, "the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed unto (or "up to") the day of redemption." What is the day of redemption? What is the redemption of us (the acquired possession)? It refers to Romans 8:23's "redemption of our body". Romans 8 also shows that the day of redemption is the day which the Lord Jesus will come back. Hence, the seal of Holy Spirit remains in us as a seal until the coming again of the Lord Jesus." Notice that this is only in the sense of being as a seal. Yet as a everlasting fact, the Holy Spirit will never leave us, because John 14:16 says, "another Comforter that He may be with you forever , the Spirit of...