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Eternal Security

Eternal Security

Somehow some persons have come up with the idea that they could "lose their salvation". Actually such an idea as "lose salvation" is an oxymoron (self-contradictory) statement, provided that "salvation" is properly defined.

When I talk about "being saved" or having "salvation," I am talking about having a destiny of being in fellowship with the Lord forever, be it in Heaven or on the New Earth. If a person were to end up in the Lake of Fire, such a person could not have been ever saved, else such a "salvation" would not have been a salvation from the Lake of Fire at all.

Nevertheless, some persons speak about "being saved" as if it were a temporary state which only ends in "going to Heaven" if one happens to die in that state. Such persons have a very different definition of the term "salvation" from what I find in the Bible.

John 3:16 tells us that "God so loved the world that He gave his unique [monogenes] son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Thus anyone who presently believes (trusts in) the Lord Jesus has the destiny of EVERLASTING life. Life means a state of fellowship with the Lord. "Everlasting" means it does not end. The only kind of life offered for trusting Christ as Savior is an everlasting life. If one had this resulting "life" and then lost it, that life would not be everlasting at all.

What could be clearer than John 10:27

10:27
My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them,
and they follow me.
28 And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish,
and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given [them] unto me,
is greater than all;
and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father's hand.

Some of the confusion on this subject is due to a misunderstanding about the concept of "salvation." All we men are sinners. But we do not get the prize of eternal life by doing good works that erase our evil works. Instead, salvation is the free gift of God given to sinners for trusting in Christ as Savior. Salvation was not free for God. Salvation is something bought at great price by the Lord. He sent His Son to the cross to pay for our sins. His substitutionary payment of our sin debt eliminates any need for us to pay for our sins by suffering in the Lake of Fire or doing good works (if good works could pay for anything).

As Ephesians 2 tells us:

4 But God (being rich in mercy) for his great love wherewith he loved us 5 (even when we were dead through our trespasses) made us alive together with Christ (by grace you* have been saved) 6 and raised us up with him and made us to sit with him in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you* have been saved through faith; and that [grace] not of yourselves*, [it is] the gift of God; 9 not of works, that no man should glory. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.

We did no works to get our salvation – neither can bad works take it away from us. This idea may be an affront to many persons who really do not want "salvation" at all. Instead, they want "validation." In their pride they want the Lord to look at them and their lives and endorse what they are and what they have done. Then the Lord would let them into Heaven since they are such good persons. On the other hand, the concept of salvation" means that we give up all hope of validation. We take the humble position of sinners:

"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling."

(Look for more posting on this subject.)