TUESDAY
Yesterday we began talking about how Christ prays for the preservation of his disciples in John 17. I mentioned that today we would take up the topic of eternal security. This is a theological discussion that seemed to be raging in previous decades of the church but has lately died down in intensity. I’m sure it’s still out there but I haven’t noticed it making the rounds recently as much. It very well may be that I’m out of the loop but I digress.
The question is whether or not a Christian can lose their salvation. Can someone genuinely belief in Jesus then fall away from him? This is a question that Christians can certainly come to different conclusions on and it is best to hold it with an open hand. However, as best as I can understand Scripture right now, I think the evidence falls on the side of eternal security for the believer. One who has genuinely been saved by Jesus will be preserved by Jesus to the end. The following texts seem to suggest as much:
John 6:37–40 (NIV)
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
John 6:44 (NIV)
44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
John 10:27–29 (NIV)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (NIV)
8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Hebrews 7:25 (ESV)
25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
1 Peter 1:3–5 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
Of course there are also verses that warn believers against apostasy, most notably Hebrews 6:4-6. I’m not going to dig into the interpretation of that text and others simply for the sake of time. ( I promise, I’m not avoiding the challenges. In fact I had it all written out but then deleted it because this devotional was getting long and I haven’t even gotten to the application yet.) If you’re curious about the conversation check out the Gospel Coalition article I linked you to in the additional resources.
The reason I’m bringing this up at all is because our understanding of this theological principle greatly affects how we view God fighting for us. In fact, I’m building the whole topic for this week upon this principle. If we can fall away from the faith after genuine conversion, then God doesn’t really fight for us at all in this matter. This is something that falls solely in the “our responsibility” category.
But if God does fight for us by preserving us in the faith until the end, this is a wonderfully comforting truth. This becomes a truth that we can cling to in the midst of our nagging sins. If our hearts are soft and repentant to our sin that is evidence of conversion and the Spirit of God living within us. It provides a comfort that, even in spite of our failures, God will not let us go. This is a truth that we can also cling to in the midst of our suffering in this life. We may not be suffering as a punishment for our sin, as most other religions and some versions of Christianity would suggest. We may even be suffering because of our elect status as 1 Peter 1 and John 16 suggests. This assured salvation then is a hope we can hold onto in the midst of our suffering.
But how do we know if our faith is genuine and our salvation secure? Most other religions and even false versions of Christianity leave us with the impression that our salvation is a matter of our works (ie. our righteous deeds and our religious observances). We imagine our access to heaven being determined by a scale of good things we’ve done weighed against the bad things we’ve done. he truth of the gospel. So how can we know we are saved? Of course one’s faith must be in Christ’s atoning death on the cross to cover their sins and in his resurrection vindicating his lordship of all creation. The New Testament authors additionally point to our experience of the Holy Spirit and fruit (character formation and ministry empowerment) as evidence of genuine conversion. Our growth in love and righteousness indicate a genuine expression of faith as well. Our good works then help to reveal salvation; they don’t earn it. Our hearts being transformed to desiring Jesus and his kingdom are great evidences of salvation.
We can have assurance of our salvation and preservation because they do not depend on us but on the one who saves us. If we genuinely believe in Jesus, know him, and love him we can truly know that our eternal destiny is secure because it depends not on us but on the faithful one who saves us. God has us and his hands are strong enough to hold us safe and secure in Christ until we see him face to face.
If our religion be of our own getting or making, it will perish; and the sooner it goes, the better; but if our religion is a matter of God’s giving, we know that He shall never take back what He gives, and that, if He has commenced to work in us by His grace, He will never leave it unfinished. - Charles Spurgeon
Additional Content
The Gospel Coalition Preservation and Perseverance