Johnny Palmer Jr.
Intro: Notice that Assurance of Salvation is not the same as Eternal Security. Every believer is eternally secure but not all have assurance that they are eternally secure. Eternal Security means that once a person is truly saved, they will remain saved eternally.
I. First, the Biblical Teachers taught this truth.
A. The Lord Jesus taught this truth.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has [present tense] eternal life, and does not come into [future tense] judgment, but has passed [past tense] out of death into life.’ John 5:24
B. John taught this truth.
"This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life." 1 John 2:25 (NASB)
Observation: If the believer was saved for 200 years and then lost, what he had was 200 year life not eternal life. Eternal life by definition means that it cannot come to an end. We must also understand that "Eternal Life" is more than just length of time, it also speaks of abundancy and intimacy with God (Jn. 17:3). The lost person will live forever but is never said in the Bible to have Eternal Life.
C. Jude taught this truth.
"24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 1:24-25 (NASB)
D. Paul taught this truth.
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 (NASB)
E. Peter taught this truth.
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials," 1 Peter 1:3-6 (NASB)
II. Furthermore, some Biblical Truths to think about.
A. God’s Unconditional Promises.
"27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." John 10:27-28 (NASB)
One might object, "Ok, He will not take us out of His hand, but we can take our self out of His hand!" This does not take into account the Biblical image presented - we are not only in His hand but part of His hand!
"For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." Ephesians 5:30 (NKJV)
"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6
"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13 (NASB)
"5 Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] 6 So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6 (AMP)
"There are three negatives before the word, making the promise one of triple assurance. It is, "I will not, I will not I will not let you down."
[Wuest Word Studies, Kenneth Wuest]
B. God’s Unlimited Power to back up those promises.
"5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!" 6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Revelation 19:5-6 (NKJV)
"The English word "omnipotent" comes from the Latin ’omnis’ meaning "all." God is all powerful, meaning "That quality of deity means God is all powerful and can do anything that is consistent with His Nature."
[The Moody Handbook of Theology, Paul Enns].
C. God’s Unquenchable Love for His children.
"6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." Romans 5:6-10 (NASB)
If God loved you as a lost person, one who was without any strength; ungodly; still sinning; and enemy of God, how much more does He love you now that you have been forgiven of all your sins (Col.2:13) and imputed the very righteousness of Christ (Rom.4:6-8)?
Rom. 8:31-39.
D. God’s Unquestionable Answer to the prayer of the Son of God.
Jn. 17:9-12,15,20.
Trans:
Therefore we are eternally secure because of God’s totally Unconditional promises which are far too many to list; also due to His Unlimited power to keep those promises; and His Unquenchable love which cannot be quenched by our faults, failures, and sins; and finally, we take courage in the Unquestionable answer to His prayer specifically for our security.
III. Finally, the Trinity is Behind our security.
A. God the Father Planned our salvation.
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved." Ephesians 1:3-6 (NASB)
If God’s plan were to fail, then God Himself would be a failure! Such a thought is obviously unthinkable!
B. God the Son Provided for our salvation.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace." Ephesians 1:7 (NASB)
He is our Advocate. 1 Jn. 2:1
Observation: The term Advocate means "a defense attorney" in a court of law. Jesus Christ is our defense attorney before the Father.
Question: Why? Why do we need a defense attorney in the presence of God the Father? Most people think that it is to keep the Father from condemning us, but He has already been propitiated (1 Jn.2:2). Propitiation means "to turn away wrath by the satisfaction of violated justice." The reason we need an advocate is not to protect us from the Father, He isn’t mad anymore! It is due to the continual accusations of the Devil (Rev. 12:10/ Job 1:1,6-12; 2:1-6). Keep in mind that Jesus does not plead our innocence but His nailed scared hands.
He is our Intercessor. Lu. 22:31-32/Heb.7:25
His salvation is a free gift.
"being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;" Romans 3:24 (NASB)
The word gift is "dorean" and is the same word used in John15:25, "But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ’THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ John 15:25 (NASB)
They hated Jesus without a cause - if you lived a trillion years you could not think of one legitimate reason to hate Jesus. And if you lived a trillion years you could not think of one legitimate reason why God should save you! That’s why it had to be a gift!
The sin debt has been paid in full!
"13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcised of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14
"In the days of the great dominion of Rome law was built on the assumption that every Roman citizen owed Caesar perfect allegiance and obedience to his laws...If any citizen broke one of his laws. The offender would soon find himself standing before the courts or Caesar himself. If the man were found guilty of breaking the law and sentenced to prison, an itemized list was made of each infraction and its corresponding penalty...It was technically called a "Certificate Debt." When the man was taken to his prison cell, this Certificate of Debt was nailed to the cell door so that anyone passing by could tell that the man had been justly condemnation and could also see the limitation of his punishment...When the man had served his time and was released, he would be handed the yellowed, tattered Certificate of Debt words "Paid in Full" written across it. He could never again be imprisoned for those same crimes as long as he could produce his canceled Certificate of Debt. But until the sentence was paid, that Certificate of Debt stood between him and freedom...A Certificate of Debt was prepared against every person who would ever live, listing his failure to live in thought, word, and deed in accordance with the law of God. This death sentence has become a Debt of Sin which has to be paid, either by man, or if possible, someone to take his place...Jesus cried "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" In that instant God had taken the Certificate of Debt of every human being from the beginning of mankind until the close of history, and nailed it to the cross, making Jesus responsible and guilty for each one!...The victorious cry on the cross was the Greek word, tetelestai (Jn.19:30).
Let that burn like a firebrand into your mind, because that’s the exact same word that a Roman judge would write across a released criminal’s Certificate of Debt to show that all his penalty had been paid and he was free at last. In the mind of God, "Paid in Full" has been written with the blood of Jesus Christ across the Certificate of Debt of every man who will ever live. We can never be condemned for all these things again."
[Amazing Grace, Hal Lindsey]
Common sense illustration: How many of your sins were future WHEN Jesus died for you on the cross? All of them! You were not even born yet.
How could God deal with your future sins that were not yet committed? Because God is omniscient - knowing everything past, present, and future, actual and possible at one time. Isa. 46:9-10/etc.
Why is the only way that God can forgive your sins? At the cross, by the blood of Christ (Heb.9:22). Jesus glorified body has no blood (Lu.24:37-39/ 1 Cor. 15:50). Therefore if He didn’t pay for sins on the cross, he cannot pay for sins, since it is only through His shed blood! But He did pay for all sins at the cross making every person SAVABLE, but not actually saved until they personally receive Jesus Christ as their savior by faith (Jn.1:12).
The Point - since Jesus paid for ALL of your sins, ALL of your sins are forgiven the moment you believe in Jesus Christ. Since ALL your sins, past; present; and future were an issue to a Holy God, therefore He must deal with them all or He could never save you in the first place.
If you say God saved someone, and then they later commit a particular sin that causes them to be lost, the truth is that sin was just as real to God when He saved that person in the first place. The basic problem with those who deny eternal security is that their God is too small!
A Problem - then why are we told to confess our sins (1 Jn. 1:9)? Not in order to secure our forgiveness in a judicial sense. We confess known sin to restore fellowship in a parental sense. We no longer relate to God, as believers, as a criminal before a Judge; but as a child before a Father.
C. God the Holy Spirit Preserves salvation.
"13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30 (NASB)
Regeneration - spiritual birth like physical birth is irreversible (Jn.1:12-)
Indwelling of God’s Spirit is permanent (Jn. 14:16)
Spirit Baptism is a one way trip! (1 Cor. 12:13)
Con:
So What?
"3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities [keep an itemized account], O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared [reverently trusted]." Psalm 130:3-4
If you think that God can love you one minute and cast you into hell then it is impossible to trust Him. All believers are eternally secure regardless of what they believe, but that is a far cry from the peace and joy of having assurance of salvation and a close intimate walk with God.
www.StrugglingThruScriptures.ning.com.
www.blogtalkradio.com/pastor-palmer
