INTRODUCTION
• In my life as a Christian, I have heard many Christians, when speaking on the subject of their salvation, that they HOPE to make it to Heaven, that they HOPE they get to be with Jesus when it is all said and done.
• On the other side of the coin, I have heard from people who don’t appear to walk with Jesus but at one time had been baptized say that they are glad they are going to Heaven.
• Typically, the context of that statement comes when someone we loved passed who did not walk with Jesus, yet at some point; they were baptized.
• Deep down, we know they did not walk with Jesus, but we either have to convince ourselves that it does not matter how they lived and who they served, or we walk away from God because we do not like what is taught on the subject.
• Or we may seek to find a loophole for a loved one by believing a false teaching that aligns with our desire.
• The statement is also used for spouses, family, friends, and children who do not walk with Jesus yet were once baptized into Jesus and have not walked with Jesus for years.
• Many will say you cannot know what will happen when it comes to salvation.
• Today, in Core 52, we will dive into the subject of Eternal Security.
• On the subject of eternal security, there appears to be a lot of tension in the Bible on the subject.
• Many well-meaning folks can take bits and pieces of scripture on the subject to fit their desired outcome.
• The passage at hand today is one of the passages people use to teach eternal security.
• Other passages that Jesus taught seem to teach that we are not secure, and the Apostle Paul appears to teach both sides of the fence.
• In John 15:1-ff, Jesus teaches that branches that do not produce fruit are cut off and tossed into the fire.
• In Romans 8:38-39, Paul teaches close to the same thing that Jesus teaches in our passage today, yet in Romans 11:20-21 he seems to build on what Jesus said in John 15.
• So you have this tension that on one side says we are eternally secure in Jesus, that one you are in Him, no matter what, no matter how you live, you will go to Heaven.
• The other side says that you can never know if you are secure.
• The real issue about eternal security is really about UNCONDITIONAL versus CONDITIONAL eternal security.
• Calvinism teaches UNCONDITIONAL security, whereas we would teach conditional security.
• The problem with each teaching is the unintended implications of what is taught.
• Unconditional security people, without meaning to do so, end up teaching that unconditional means that you can live however you want to live with no consequence.
• Whereas those who teach conditional security can imply that you can really never know where you stand.
• As we delve into eternal security today, my goal is to show you the correct balance on the subject and to show us that Jesus and Paul are not debating themselves on it.
• Let's turn to John 10:27-28.
John 10:27–28 (NET 2nd ed.)
27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand.
SERMON
I. Unconditional eternal security.
• If you do not look too deeply into what Jesus says here, it sounds like one can never lose one's salvation in Jesus, no matter what.
• This is called Unconditional eternal security, also known as "once saved, "ways saved. " It is the belief that once a person is saved, they cannot lose their salvation.
• Augustine (354-430 AD) taught that salvation is always God's and that God’s predestination is the cause of salvation. When God elects a person to eternal life, it inevitably involves final perseverance
• In the mid-1500s, John Calvin built upon this theology.
• From there, it has continued to grow.
• In this context, Jesus is at the Feast of Dedication.
• The Feast commemorated the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the original Temple was destroyed.
• The original Temple was destroyed in 586 C by Nebuchadnezzar.
• The Second Temple was dedicated in 515 BC.
• As Jesus is walking in the temple area, He is surrounded by religious leaders who are pressing Him to reveal who He is. Is He the Messiah?
• Of course, the leaders are trying to draw followers away from Jesus.
• Some more context will help us to see what Jesus says to them.
John 10:22–26 (NET 2nd ed.)
22 Then came the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem.
23 It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Portico.
24 The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds I do in my Father’s name testify about me.
26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.
• Jesus told the leaders they were one of His sheep because He told them who He was, but they did not listen to Him.
• These folks were people who were God’s chosen people.
• Unconditional eternal security would lead one to conclude that one can live however one wants to live, thinking that God will accept them.
• If God chose you and you have no free will, then it stands to reason that nothing can cause one to lose their salvation.
• When you read the passage, it seems like it could teach that.
• Couple that with what Paul writes in Romans.
Romans 8:38–39 (NET 2nd ed.)
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• This passage, on top of what Jesus taught here, when put on an island, this passage seems to teach that here are no conditions concerning our salvation security.
• One thing we have to remember is that this subject is not about our security but rather about whether our eternal security is unconditional or conditional.
• People say that doctrine is not important; however, what you believe about this subject will impact the way you live or don't live life for Jesus.
• It will impact how we see our relationship with Jesus.
• One of my good friends was raised in a Calvinist Church. When he graduated from High School, he started living a pretty wild life, and he told me he was glad he did not have to be concerned about his salvation.
• Feeling like no strings are attached, what incentive do you have to live and grow in Jesus?
• You have all that time in eternity to know and love God.
• For now, it is all about me!
• Well, what do you do?
• The natural path to thinking we have unconditional eternal security is to do whatever we want.
• However, we want to think we can be with God.
• The religious leaders thought they were eternally secure because of their birth.
• Here is the problem: If you do not believe in unconditional eternal security, this can lead to our next observation.
II. Eternal insecurity.
• So, if I am not unconditionally, won’t that lead to me being eternally insecure?
• Eternal insecurity is the belief that a person can lose their salvation if they fall away from faith or commit certain sins.
• Honestly, if you do not understand what the Bible teaches, yes, you can find yourself wondering from moment to moment where you stand.
• You will live in fear and with no confidence in your faith.
• This is not how we are to live.
• One of the things we need to see is that God is always pursuing us, and by the main passage, as well as the passage from Romans 8:38-39, we see that when you are in Christ, you are special.
• From the parables of Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin and the parable of the Prodigal Son.
• We see in each instance that God is concerned about His people and that He guards and protects them from harm.
• One should note that in the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son, both wandered off or left.
• Jesus pursues us.
Luke 19:10 (NET 2nd ed.)
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
• He loves us!
John 3:16 (NET 2nd ed.)
16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
• He draws us near, He invites us to be His, He saves us!
Ephesians 2:8 (NET 2nd ed.)
8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
• He planned for us!
Ephesians 2:10 (NET 2nd ed.)
10 For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.
• Do you think He is looking for a reason to leave or lose you?
• Do you think He will give up as soon as you mess up?
• Do you think He wants you to wonder about your relationship with Him?
• Have you ever been in a relationship with someone that you did not know where you stood?
• It is a terrible feeling, and when you feel that way, you cannot build the relationship because you cannot trust there will even be one!
• Just because unconditional eternal security is not biblical, does not mean we have to descend into despair and wonder minute by minute.
• I used to think that was how God saw me, minute to minute.
• Let me offer you a Biblical solution to the problem/
III. Conditional eternal security.
• Given what our main passage said, and what Paul said in Romans 8:38-39.
• How can one’s eternal security be conditional?
• Here is something to consider.
• As I have said many times, you can swear faithfulness and allegiance to your spouse, be loving and kind, and do it all right, yet they have this nasty thing called free will, which allows them to leave whenever they want to.
• Guess what?
• God does not take away your free will.
• For one to think they can enter a relationship with Jesus, then walk away from Him or not try to be faithful, is selfish and self-centered.
• What would it say about me if I wanted to be married to my wife, and then cheat on her time after time again, and THEN expect her to offer me all the blessings that come with marriage?
• Our eternal security is conditioned on being faithful to Jesus!
• Look at what Jesus says five chapters after our text.
John 15:1–6 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 “I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.
2 He takes away every branch that does not bear fruit in me. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so that it will bear more fruit.
3 You are clean already because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me—and I in him—bears much fruit, because apart from me you can accomplish nothing.
6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown out like a branch, and dries up; and such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and are burned up.
• In John 15:6Jesus says, "one'sIfone'swon'tdon'tGod's anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
• This illustrates the importance of remaining in Christ to avoid being cut off.
• Paul talks about the nations of Israel being cut off also in Romans 11.
• In a passage in Hebrews 6, it speaks of a person who was a Christian and then fell away.
Hebrews 6:3–6 (NET 2nd ed.)
3 And this is what we intend to do, if God permits.
4 For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age,
6 and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt.
• Hebrews 6 speaks of someone who habitually turns from Jesus.
• Temper that with God's continual pursuit of you when you turn from Him.
Galatians 5:2–4 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all!
3 And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
4 You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!
• Paul speaks of trying to replace the Law with Jesus!
• Where has God blessed those who turn their back on Him?
CONCLUSION
• Let’s think about this.
• Have you ever watched a race, a race of any kind, and saw a participant, let's say, halfway through the race, stop and declare victory?
• To win the race, you have to finish the race!
Revelation 2:10 (NET 2nd ed.)
10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.
• We need to have confidence in the God who saves us!
• We must continue to be faithful to Him until death, and we must encourage others to do the same.
• Most of the time, when this subject comes up, it refers to someone else.
• We do usually plan to be faithless to Jesus.
• We all know stories of folks who turned from God, and when they died, we had to tell ourselves they were ok.
• Why not pursue them for Jesus while they are here?
• Then, you will not have to endure the pain.
