Eternal Security of the Believer
Chuck Sligh
January 6, 2016
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 1:8-9 – “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
INTRODUCTION
These two verses teach the eternal security of the believer—that once a person is saved, he can NEVER lose his salvation and end up going to hell. The key word in verse 8 is the word confirm.
In the Greek, the word translated “confirm” here is bebaióō, which the Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates says means:
“to make firm or reliable so as to warrant and inspire confidence; to strengthen, make true, fulfill. In the New Testament it is used with the personal object and signifies confirming a person’s salvation or preservation in a state of grace.”
Illus. Let me illustrate the word confirm by one way we use the word today. Sometimes, to simply make a reservation, in a hotel or for a flight for instance, is usually not enough.
Often you must also confirm your reservation, usually with a deposit.
Well, believers do not just have a RESERVATION in heaven. It is CONFIRMED by the deposit of the precious blood of Christ!
In a few minutes I want to take a tour through the Bible of many of the verses that teach the the eternal security of the believer, but first let’s look carefully at these verses in 1 Corinthians:
First, note that Paul begins with the word, “Who.” Who is the “who” referred to here?
Look back at the previous verse, verse 7 – “So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…who shall also confirm you unto the end…”
Our eternal security is based on none other than THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE guarantees our eternal security! If my salvation were dependent upon ME, I certainly WOULD lose my salvation. But my salvation is not dependent upon me, but on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul continues in verse 8 – “...shall also confirm you unto the end...”
How long does Jesus guarantee our salvation? Until we sin?—Once? 50 times? 100 times? Or as long as it’s not a big sin?— ¿So all the little ones are okay? For 4 years? 5 years? 10 years? As long as we are faithful? As long as we are living for God? No!—UNTO THE END!
Verse 3 continues, “...that ye may be...”
Note that this phrase is italicized in the KJV. Does anyone know what that it means when you see a word or phrase in italics in the King James Version? It means it was not in the original Greek, but was added by the translators to help us get the sense of the text.
Almost always the KJV translators did an excellent job in adding words where necessary to clear up in the English what would be untranslatable from the Greek without the added words, and also to led their readers be able to distinguish their additions to the English text from the actual words translated. However, there are times when their additions would have been better left out. This is one of those cases.
Remembering that these words are not in the original, let’s read the verse without this little phrase: “Who shall also confirm you unto the end…blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
He doesn’t say that He confirms us so that we “MAY be” blameless on that day. Rather, he says that He WILL confirm you blameless until the end—until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Second Coming of Christ.
Paul goes on to say, “...blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Just as “pennyless” means without without money; “homeless” means without a home; “clueless” means without a clue; “blameless” means “without blame.” When do we become blameless?—At justification (“Just as if I’d never sinned”; blame-less). How long does God guarantee us to be blameless, according to this verse?—From the point of salvation to “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” —that is, when He comes again.
Note the first phrase of verse 9 – “God is faithful...”
Paul says that God will confirm us to the end because He is faithful. Now think about the faithfulness of God let me ask you three questions: If I married someone and then kicked her out and abandoned her, would I be faithful? – Well—the Bible says that wE ARE THE BRIDE OF CHRIST!… If I had a son and then abandoned him, would I be faithful? Well—the Bible says that WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD!… Would a faithful shepherd ever abandon his sheep? Well—God’s Word says that WE ARE THE SHEEP OF GOD’S PASTURE!
So these verses unequivocally teach the eternal security of the believer. Now that we have looked thoroughly at 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, let’s spend some time looking at what some other key verses that teach the eternal security of the believer.
What we are going to do is look at many key verses that teach eternal security. Let me encourage you to take a lot of notes and write down all these verses in case you ever have need to explain what the Bible says about eternal security. We’ll not be able to look at ALL of the verses about eternal security, but we will look at twenty key verses.
Also, I have a more exhaustive study of the subject which also deals with objections and verses that seem to teach you can lose your salvation.
We will not cover those in this two-week study, but if you are interested in studying them on your own, I can give you the complete notes if you ask for them.
So without further ado, let’s turn to…
1. Psalms 138:8 – “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
“The Lord WILL perfect” – That is a solemn promise from God who cannot lie! “Perfect” – This means “will bring to fruition, will finish, will bring to its final desired end.” The great commentator Albert Barnes says this about this phrase: at the beginning of verse 8:
[God] will complete what he has begun. He will not begin to interpose in my behalf, and then abandon me. He will not promise to save me, and then fail to fulfil his promise. He will not encourage me, and then cast me off. So of us, He will complete what he begins. He will not convert a soul, and then leave it to perish. (Barnes Notes, “Psalms”, p. 289)
2. Psalms 37:28 – “For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.”
Now notice two things this verse teaches:
• First, it promises that God does not forsake His saints.
In Hebrews 13:3 the writer says that God has promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
That is exactly what God would be doing if you could lose your salvation— forsaking His saints.
Now some would respond that the Lord will not forsake the saints, but some saints might forsake the Lord. But the way the Lord deals with us is similar to how God dealt with the Israelites. God chose the Jews as His chosen people for perpetuity. MANY times they have forsaken the Lord, both in the Old Testament, and most tragically by rejecting Jesus Christ for over two thousand years now.
Has God abandoned His chosen people, the Jews, because they have abandoned Him? Far from it. Paul devotes almost all of Romans 11 to answer that question. He begins the chapter by saying in verse 2: “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.…”
Just as He will never abandon His chosen people, neither will He ever abandon those whom He has redeemed.
• Second, this verse teaches that God’s saints are “preserved.”
How long are we preserved for? Till we sin? Till we backslide? What does the verse say?—FOREVER!
Let’s look at another verse in the New Testament where this word is used and look at its meaning in the original language:
3. Jude 1 – “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.”
Notice the word preserved in this verse. This is the Greek word tēréō which means “carefully watched or guarded.”
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says that when tēréō is used metaphorically, as it is used here, it means “to keep one in the state in which he is.”
Illus. – It’s like when you preserve vegetables. You’re trying to keep them in the state that they were in when you prepared them for preserving.
Six months later you can pull one of the jars down and eat from it and the contents will be in the same state that they were in when you preserved them.
Look at a word found earlier in the verse: It says “…to them that are sanctified by God the Father….”
The word sanctified means “set apart.” We are “set apart” from the world and unto God.
There is a progressive sanctification in the life of the believer, but there is also a one-time sanctification that takes place the moment we are saved, and that’s what he’s talking about here. Then the next phrase says, “…and preserved in Jesus Christ…”
So in other words, we are guaranteed that we will be preserved in the state of sanctification—that is, of being set apart for God. We are set apart by God and will be preserved in that state forever.
Now turn with me to the Gospel of John, the book in the Bible that has more clear-cut verses supporting the eternal security of the believer than any book in the Bible.
4. John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
When saved, we are born into God’s family. This is a term used to help us understand our relationship with God.
In your physical family, can you ever be “unborn?” No, of course not. Your father can get mad at you or send you away, but you will never cease to be the physical child of your father. A son may be disobedient son, but he never ceases to be the son of his father. Likewise, we cannot become UNBORN in God’s family any more than we can be UNBORN in our physical families.
5. John 5:24 – “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, and shall not come into condemnation; but IS PASSED FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE.”
Notice first the word “...hath...” – This is in the present tense. (EXPAND) Hath what?—“everlasting life.”
How long is everlasting? (GET RESPONSE) If we could lose our salvation, then everlasting life would not be everlasting would it? Jesus would have told a lie in this verse!
Notice also the phrase, “...is passed from death unto life...” This also is in the present tense. This does not say “we WILL pass from death unto life if we are GOOD ENOUGH, or if we HOLD OUT, or if we REMAIN FAITHFUL to the end.” Rather, it says “IS passed” – PRESENT TENSE—RIGHT NOW! I am ALREADY passed from death unto life!!!—and so are you if you have truly trusted Christ as your Savior. The moment you believe; you pass from death unto life.
6. John 6:37 – “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT.”
Note two things about this verse:
Jesus said first, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me…”
The Bible teaches that God gave to Jesus all who were going to be saved. EVERY ONE of them, Jesus said, would come to Jesus—without exception.
Then Jesus said, “…and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.”
Jesus says here that He will not cast out those who come to Him for salvation, who were given to Him by God the Father. But He is even more emphatic than that.—He says “I will IN NO WISE case out” one who comes to Him.
What does that mean? “In no wise” means “UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES.” There is no situation, sin, or circumstance for which Jesus will cast out a believer.
7. John 6:39 – “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”
Not a single one of those who have been saved by Jesus will EVER be lost again. Jesus said, of all those given to Him by the Father, He would not lose even one of them! Every single one of them, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, will rise with Jesus to meet him in the air.
8. John 10:27-29 – “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, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
Notice four important things in this verse.
• First of all, notice that Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me…”
Now that’s important in this whole issue of whether you can lose your salvation. Those who believe you can lose your salvation would say that we can become His sheep, but stop following Jesus. We say that if a person is TRULY born-again, he WILL follow Jesus Maybe not perfectly; perhaps sometimes haltingly; but he WILL follow Jesus. And if He never follows Jesus in His life, we do not say that he LOST his salvation but rather that he never FOUND true salvation to begin with, because all Christ’s true sheep hear His voice and follow Him.
• Secondly, note the words eternal and never in verse 28 – “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Again, as we mentioned last week, let me ask you, “How long is eternal?” If eternal is forever, how could a salvation that you can lose be eternal? By definition, if it is eternal, it has no end, and if it could cease somehow, it wouldn’t be eternal, would it?
Also, the words “never perish” are important. Never means exactly what it says—NEVER! Once you become a sheep in Jesus’s fold, you will NEVER, EVER PERISH!
• A third thing I want you to see has to do with what is NOT in these verses.
Notice that whenever the word man is used in this passage, it is in italics – Verse 28b – “…neither shall any MAN pluck them out of my hand.” Verse 29 – “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no MAN is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
What did we say words in italics in the KJV means?—It means they were not in the original manuscripts and were added by the KJV translators so that we would always clearly know what is the actual wording of the Greek manuscripts and what was added by the translators to provide clarity and understanding of the text.
So what is the significance of the fact that the word man is in italics? Well, some people say, “YOU may not be able to cause yourself to lose your salvation. But if you sin bad enough, SATAN can rob you of your salvation.”
But notice that it does NOT literally say, “…neither shall any MAN pluck them out of my hand.” In the original, the word man is not there. The Greek says, “neither shall ANY pluck them out of my hand”…or literally “anyone”. With the negative word “neither” preceding anyone, the meaning is quite clear: NO ONE—no man, woman, angel, demon, or Satan himself—can pluck you out of Jesus’ and God’s hand.
• Finally, I want you to see one last thing that is interesting in these verses.
In verse 28 Jesus says that no one can pluck us out of HIS HAND (i.e., Jesus’ hand). Then in verse 29, Jesus changes it and says that neither can any one pluck us out of GOD THE FATHER’S HAND.
There is only one way we can be in both the Father’s and the Son’s hand, and that is for us to be enclosed in the hand of one, and that hand to be enclosed in the hand of the other.
(OBJECT LESSON: Use illustration of a coin clutched in my left hand, and my right hand tightly wrapped around my left hand. Point out that even if it were possible to unwrap the hand of Jesus (which is absurd because nothing in the universe is as powerful as Jesus) they would still have to go through the hand of God the Father! This teaches not only the security of the believer, but the DOUBLE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER!)
9. Romans 8:29-30 – “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. 30 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.”
There is a progression here: Foreknew>Predestinated>Called>Justified>Glorified. (“Foreknow” means to know ahead of time; “predestinated” refers to God’s choosing believers to be saved ahead of time; “called” refers the to the call or wooing by the Holy Spirit in our hearts to come to God; “justified” is the actual act of salvation from sin; “glorified” is when our body soul and spirit are all saved and in the presence of God in heaven in our glorified bodies.) Note two things about this:
• This is AN UNBROKEN CHAIN.
100 % of those who were foreknown were predestinated. 100 % of those who were predestinated were called. 100 % of those who were called, answered the call and were justified. 100 % of those who were justified were glorified. Therefore, 100 % of those who were foreknown were glorified.
• Second, note that all of these are in THE PAST TENSE.
Though in the present space-time continuum I live in, I have not been glorified, in God’s mind, who does not live in earth’s limited space and time and can see the beginning from the end, I HAVE BEEN GLORIFIED. Before the foundation of the world, in God’s omniscience, I was foreknown, predestinated, called, justified, and glorified! As far as He is concerned, it’s a “done deal.”
Now let me ask you a logical question: The verse says God “foreknows” this unbroken chain of events in the life of every believer. Now, if God KNOWS something is going to happen, is it even POSSIBLE for it NOT to happen? Of course not. By virtue of the fact that He KNOWS it will happen guarantees it WILL happen because if He KNEW something was going to happen, and it didn’t, God really didn’t know it after all and therefore He would not be omniscient; and if He were not omniscient, He would not be God.
But God IS omniscient and He does know all things—past, present and future—and the fact that He knows of this unbroken chain of events ensures that it WILL happen.
10. Philippians 1:6 – “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
When God starts something, He ALWAYS finishes it. If God started your salvation, is He not powerful enough to keep you saved?
Again, how long does the verse say God keeps performing the good thing of our salvation in our lives? Until “the day of Jesus Christ.” That’s until he comes again for us!
By the way, this was something that Paul was absolutely confident about. He says, “Being CONFIDENT of this very thing…” This “hope so”; “maybe so”; “if I hold out long enough”; or “if I don’t sin too much” view of salvation is foreign to Paul and the rest of the Bible. Paul was CONFIDENT. There is no doubt or wavering with him on this issue. God WILL perform the good work He has started in us and will keep on performing it till Jesus comes again!
11. Colossians 3:3 – I love the following quotation from Curtis Hutson’s book, The Eternal Security of the Born-Again Believer (page 13):
Colossians 3:3 says “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” According to this verse, the believer is under double lock and key.
I heard an old preacher illustrate this verse by saying, “Suppose you had three barrels—a big barrel, a medium-sized barrel and a little barrel. You take the little barrel, and put it into the medium-sized barrel. Then in order to get to the little barrel you would have to tear open the big barrel and the medium-sized barrel.” He continued by saying, “God is the big barrel. Jesus is the medium-sized barrel, and I’m the little barrel. My life is hid with Christ in God.” And he shouted, “Before the Devil could get to me, he would have to tear away the big barrel and the medium-sized barrel. And before he could ever do that, I would have already slipped to Glory!”
12. Titus 2:13 – “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ.” – Again, let me read what Curtis Hutson says in his book on this verse (pp. 13-15):
[Jesus] is referred to as “Savior” at least twenty-four times in the New Testament. Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Now what is a savior? Suppose you are drowning. There you are in the middle of the ocean. Suppose someone threw you a book entitled Three Easy Lessons on How to Swim. Would he be a savior? No. Perhaps you could call him a educator, but you could not call him a savior.
Suppose another man came by, got out of his boat, jumped in alongside you and demonstrated various swimming strokes, showed you exactly how to swim. Would he be a savior? Of course not. He might be a good example and give a good demonstration, but he is not a savior.
What if he lifted you into his boat, dried you off, gave you dry clothing, fed you, took you within ten miles of the shore, and then threw you out again into the ocean? Would you be a savior? Absolutely not!
A savior is one who takes you safely all the way to the shore. When God says He gives you eternal life and He will never cast you out or lose you, He means it, because He is a true Savior.
13. Hebrews 10:14 – “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified [that is, those who have been set apart by God through justification].”
Notice that we are perfected FOREVER! Not perfected until we sin. Not perfected until we overstep some boundary. Not perfected as long as we stay faithful. Not perfected as long as we hold out—FOREVER!
There’s that pesky word forever again! What God does in salvation for us is ALWAYS FOREVER, ETERNAL, EVERLASTING, which—I remind you again—means IT CAN NEVER END!
Now I want us to look now at the significance of that word perfected. The reason many believe they can lose their salvation is that they have a wrong idea of the part they play in their salvation and the part God plays.
You see, if we must maintain our salvation by our life— or by our works;… or by the way that we live;… or by what we do or do not do;… then what you have is a subtle form of works-salvation.
Now think about it: If you say that you are saved by faith and then you have to do certain things, or not do certain things to maintain your salvation, what is REALLY the thing that saves you? Well, it’s whatever it is you add to maintain your salvation, right? Because if you don’t do that thing, or you don’t abstain from such-and-such a sin, or such-and-such sins (plural), or you do X number of sins, and then you lose your salvation because of it, THEN YOUR FAITH WAS NOT ENOUGH WAS IT? The things that you add in order to maintain your salvation become the things that actually save you.
Faith, then, in this way of thinking, only opens the door to what really saves you—your works. But that, dear friend, is rank heresy. Turn with me momentarily to Ephesians 2:8-9:
• “For by grace are ye saved…” – “Grace,” you will recall from a previous study means “God’s unmerited favor granted to an undeserving sinner.”
Salvation is by grace. I do not deserve it, and I do not merit it for any reason.
• We are saved by God’s grace, but how is it received?—by FAITH – “For by grace are you saved THROUGH FAITH…”
Does it say, “through faith, plus holding out”? Does it say, “through faith, plus baptism”? Does it say, “through faith, plus good works”? No “For by grace are you saved through faith…” [plus nothing and minus nothing].
• The verse goes on to say, “…and that not of yourselves.” – No, not even a little bit!
• Paul continues, “… it is the gift of God.”
Salvation is a gift. A TRUE gift, once received, demands NOTHING in return from you to keep it. If I give you a gift, do you have to wash my car in order for you to keep it? Of course not. A gift with strings attached is not a gift at all, is it?
• Finally, Paul finishes these two verses by saying, “Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
How could Paul have made it any clear? There is NOT ONE SINGLE SOLITARY THING that we can do or not do to add to faith for salvation.
Now, let’s get back to Hebrews 10:14. The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use the word “perfected.” What is the importance of that? When we respond to the Holy Spirit’s call to salvation and trust in Jesus Christ by faith, the Bible says that God JUSTIFIES us.
The word justify means to make “just as if I’d never sinned.” In other words, in a legal sense, God makes us PERFECT in His sight. He “PERFECTS” us.
How does that take place? Well, God looks at us, not through our own life and works. Rather, He looks at us through THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF JESUS CHRIST. It is HIS righteousness that God sees, and Jesus was and is perfect and utterly without sin.
So—we are perfect in Jesus Christ IN GOD’S SIGHT, that’s the important thing to understand—IN GOD’S SIGHT. Now hold it a second— Are we perfect then in a practical sense in everyday life? No, of course not. We still sin, right?
John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)
So we are NOT perfect in a PRACTICAL SENSE in our everyday existence, but we are made perfect in God’s sight in a LEGAL SENSE.
Now, if you believe you can lose your salvation, how many sins does it take to move you from being perfect in God’s sight? One sin? A hundred sins? One thousand sins? A really big one? A major, extremely wicked sin? Or a whole lot of major wicked ones? If so, then which ones, and how many? The Bible does not give an answer because there is no answer.
When God “perfects” us in the legal sense, He does it PERFECTLY! And when God does something perfectly, it has no flaw or error in it.
When I am justified, I am FOREVER perfect in God’s sight because I am not seen through MY own good works, or anything I do.
God sees me through Jesus Christ and HIS righteousness and holiness and goodness and perfection.
