Far too many people feel God is remote, impersonal, and unknowable. Because of that, many Christians suffer from an inability to feel forgiven and live with nagging doubts and fears about their relationship with Him. Failure to love and trust God often comes from picturing God as unlovable and untrustworthy.
In the decades since giving my life to Jesus and becoming Born-Again, I have come to understand experientially that a person’s theology is shaped by the way they picture God. A dysfunctional picture of God results in a dysfunctional way of relating to Him and studying His Word. Jesus revealed this truth; “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?” asked Jesus. “Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:11-13).
Those who had a father who was never around when they needed him or have experienced trauma, abuse, or extreme discipline will have a very difficult time preaching about - and pursuing - an intimate, loving, and trusting relationship with the Heavenly Father. They will see God as a vengeful judge enthusiastically waiting to spew out wrath and retribution when saved sinners do by nature what they do best - sin!" The message of super-abounding grace and God’s unmerited favor is very difficult for them to accept.
No one can come to Jesus unless it is granted by the mercy of the Father, who chose them as the first fruits to be saved and sanctified by the Holy Spirit to obtain the glory of Jesus (John 6:65; 1 Peter 1:3, James 1:18; Titus 3:5; 1 Thess 2:13-14). The Holy Spirit sovereignly draws dead people and makes them alive because no one can come to Jesus without Him, and He will raise them on the last day (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13; John 6:44; Acts 16:14).
The Unforgiveable Sin
There is one sin that the Bible indicates is unforgivable - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Those who reject His drawing up to the moment of their death have committed the unpardonable sin.
“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Matt 12:31-32; also Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:8-10).
Blasphemy is the ongoing act of hardening the heart against the Holy Spirit, who is trying to lead them to repentance. It is not a single action but rather a persistent attitude of rejecting the leading and drawing of the Holy Spirit to repent of their sin and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. The context states that the Pharisees had accused Jesus of doing miracles through the power of satan instead of the power of the Holy Spirit. When a person attributes the works of God to satan, it is an unforgivable sin, being, in essence, complete unbelief. In fact, unbelief is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. A Christian simply cannot fall into unbelief.
Numerous atheists have claimed to have gone from being believers to unbelievers. It is difficult to confirm that these individuals were, in fact, true believers – those who are Born-Again (one who has humbly trusted everything to Jesus in repentant humility and loves His law). Several atheists have written to me, making such a claim. However, upon further inquiry, it has been clear that they never truly understood what faith meant and never had any experience with the Holy Spirit. So, I have never been able to confirm that a true believer has ever gone into unbelief. Even if they did, we would not know if they came back to faith later in their lives.
Saved by the Faith Of Jesus
Jesus is the one who saves a person, and they cannot save themselves. Salvation is by grace alone and not by any work a person could ever do (See Matt 25:31-46; James 2:24; also John 3:36; Gal 2:16; Rom 3:22,28,4:1-25,5:1; Phil 3:9; Gal 3:1-29; Eph 2:8-9)
From this point on, I will use the word ‘Christian,’ for “Believer” and “Born-Again Christian,” which is defined as someone who has sincerely repented of their sin and asked Jesus to become their Lord and Savior, becoming Born-Again (John 3:3,7; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Cor 5:17. They are saved by the faith of Jesus plus nothing (Acts 2:38, 16:11; Rom 3:24,6:23, 10:10; Titus 2:11-12, 3:5; 2 Tim 1:9; Gal 2:21; Mark 16:16). Salvation is conditional because it is based upon a person repenting of their sin and receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The words "faith of Jesus Christ" and "faith of the son of God" are 'pistis Christou' and 'posters Ieesou Christou' in Greek. Various translations note there is a grammatical issue of whether the Greek is in the subjective genitive – Jesus' own faith – or the objective genitive – faith in Jesus. Sadly, many translations often include incorrect interpretations because they disagree with the literal meaning, such as the subjective genitive of "pistis Christou." If the words were actually "faith IN Jesus Christ", then why were the words "unto all and upon all them that believe" added, which makes them unneeded because they are redundant.
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Rom 1:17 KJV)
The righteousness of God is revealed "from faith to faith" (Gk: 'ek pisteos eis pistin'). The meritorious cause of salvation is the faith of Jesus and not anyone else. The righteousness of God is "from faith to faith" (Rom 1:17) because the faith of Jesus must endorse human faith/trust – or no one will be saved. Jesus did everything – He kept the Law, was baptized, and died for all of humanity. Until a person believes in Jesus as the promised Messiah and all He did for them to be saved by the faith of Jesus, repents of their sin, and receives Him as Lord and Savior, there is no value to any works they do.
"For BY GRACE you have been saved THROUGH faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, NOT a result of WORKS, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9 – emphasis mine)
"For the GRACE of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age" (Titus 2:11-12 – emphasis mine)
The Bible does not say a person is saved through grace plus anything, which clearly means it is only the grace of Jesus alone, and any work has nothing to do with it.
Two Greek words translated as work/works are 'ergon,’ which means a physical task, employment, a deed, or action, and 'sunergeó,' which means to cooperate actively.
"You see that faith was active along with his works (Gk: 'sunergeó'), and faith was completed by his works (Gk: 'ergon')" (James 2:22)
A Good Tree and the Fruit of The Spirit
When Christians are in a dry period, they remain a ‘good tree’ that can only produce good fruit (Matt 7:17; Luke 6:43)Those who look back after putting their hands on the plow were never good trees to begin with (Luke 6:43-45, 9:59-62). Anyone who loves this life more than Jesus and is not willing to walk in repentant humility before God will never produce good fruit because they were never planted in Jesus (Matt 37:38).
The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. He is not given to those who pretend to obey God but to those who naturally obey (Acts 5:32). The Christian is born of God, who protects them. They are the “good soil” and “good tree” that abides in Jesus with “an honest and good heart.” They practice only righteousness with patience that leads to sanctification and eternal life (Luke 8:15; Rom 6:22; 1 John 2:29, 3:9, 5:18).
The Christian is an heir of the righteousness that comes from the faith of Jesus (Heb 11:7). A person cannot do anything to procure and secure their salvation apart from Jesus, so He helps them to naturally and automatically produce good fruit that accompanies salvation (John 15:1-1). It is by the fruit of the Spirit the Christian proves they are Born-Again (Gal 5:22; 1 John 3:10). A person who considers themselves a Christian needs to examine their fruit to test and see if they are (2 Cor 13:5). The Bible is very clear on this, “Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).
It is by the fruit of the Spirit, which is love that exudes joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that the Christian proves they are Born-Again (Gal 5:22; 1 John 3:10).
Repentance
To become Born-Again, a person makes a proclamation of total unconditional commitment to turning to God and turning from all that is against Him, in total surrender to His will. Genuine repentance results in the awakening of a lifetime of natural and automatic joyous obedience to God's will.
The proof that a person is a Christian is walking daily in repentant humility. The Bible defines repentance as a radical conversion, a transformation of nature, a definitive turning from evil, and a resolute turning to God in total obedience (Mark 1:15; Matt 4:17; 18:3). This conversion is once-for-all; otherwise, it is works-based and not by grace.
For the genuine Christian, repentance is a given because there can be no going back, only advancement in responsible movement forward along the way. Repentance that leads to Salvation first moves in the whole person and then becomes the center of their personal life and logically affects their conduct at all times and in all situations, including their thoughts, words, and deeds (Matt 12:33, 23:26; Mark 7:15).
Salvation is a Gift from God and Depends on Him
The Holy Spirit makes people Born-Again so they can believe and no longer practice habitual lifestyles of sin (John 3:3; Rom 6:22; 8:5,29; 1 John 2:29, 3:9, 5:1,18; Eph 2:8; 4:24,5:9; Col 3:12-13; 2 Peter 1:3-4). Jesus is the Author of Salvation, which does not depend, nor is it based upon works a person could ever do, or abide by the Law, but upon what Jesus did on the Cross (Rom 9:16; Acts 2:38-39; Heb 2:9-10). ALL sins, past, present, and future, were forgiven at the Cross (Col 2:13-14).
The Christian no longer remains in the flesh, and the Holy Spirit dwells in them (Rom 8:9; 11:6; Eph 2:8). They have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Jesus (Col 1:13). He will sustain them to the end to be guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep them from stumbling and present them blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy to the only God, our Savior (1 Cor 1:8; Jude 1:24-25).
Believing vs Receiving
Belief is not the same as regeneration through the new birth and possession by the Holy Spirit.
“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder” (James 2:19)
The difference between a true Receiver and a demon is that although the demon mentally understands the concept, they reject Jesus Christ's lordship. Likewise, a ‘believer’ who responded to an altar call once upon a time but isn't following Jesus isn't really a Receiver and is just like the demons of Hell.
The New Testament (NT) defines a ‘Receiver’ as one who has trusting faith in Jesus. Faith is more than merely having some knowledge about the facts surrounding the life and teaching of Jesus, who said that those truly believing in Him would "take up his cross" and follow Him (Matt 16:24).
The Bible calls into question the ‘belief’ of anyone who is not following Jesus as Lord. Another sign of a true Receiver is that they do not habitually live in a state of continual sin, even though they are not completely without sin conditionally (John 1:12-13; Heb 11:7). It is important to point out that nowhere in the Bible does God disinherit, disown, un-calls, un-Born-Again(s), unglorifies or unpredestines the Christian.
A New Creation with a New Heart Sealed by God
The Bible tells us that when a person repents of their sin and receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, they become a “new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15). They “have passed from death to life” and they are drawn by the Holy Spirit who cleanses them from idols to be obedient to Jesus (1 John 3:14; 2 Cor 5:17; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 John 4:7 - see also Ez 26:25-27, 36:26).
God has removed and circumcised their heart of stone and given them a heart of flesh so that they will love Him with all of their heart and soul and honestly bear good fruit (Deut 30:6; Ez 36:26; Luke 8:15; Acts 16:14).
In God’s “great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). When the kindness and love of God “appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6).
Jesus “abolished” “in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace” (Eph 2:15). The Christian has to intentionally “put off” their “old self,” and “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” as they are being “renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created” them “a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all” (Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:10-11).
God seals the Christian for redemption (2 Cor 1:21-22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; 2 Tim 2:19). They have been positionally buried with Him through baptism into death, so that ‘as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so” they “too might walk in newness of life” that is eternal (Rom 6:4; see also John 3:16; 5:24). Nowhere in the Bible does it say God will ‘unseal’ them.
Delivered from the Domain of Darkness and Transferred to the Kingdom of Jesus
Christians have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom of Jesus (Col 1:13). They no longer remain in the flesh because the Holy Spirit dwells in them, and Jesus seals them as a guarantee of death and life. Angels and rulers, things present and things to come, powers, height and depth, and anything else in all creation, are not able to separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus because all things work together for good. They are called according to God’s purpose and justified, glorified, and already received an inheritance and were foreknown and predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus who works all things according to the counsel of His will, who then is for them and not against them (Rom 8:9, 11:6, 28-31, 8:38-39; 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5; Eph 1:11, 2:8, 4:30).
It is the sole responsibility of the Holy Spirit to sustain and keep the Christian guiltless, keep them from stumbling, and finally present them blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. He will never let them die, be thirsty again, leave, forsake, cast out, or drive them away, nor can anything grab hold of them to separate them from His love because He gave them the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of salvation (John 4:14, 6:37, 8:12, 10:27-29, 11:25-26; Rom 8:38-39; 1 John 2:1; Jude 1:24; 1 Cor 1:8; Phil 1:6).
The New Holy of Holies
After a person chooses to repent of their sin and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, they begin a personal relationship with Him. They are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit, which was given as a guarantee of salvation, and will abide in them, promising never to leave. The physical body, which includes the flesh and not just the spirit or soul, is His dwelling place and is now His Temple - the Holy of Holies (See Luke 9:1-2; 1 John 2:13-14, 3:8, 4:4).
Two words in the NT are translated as “Temple.” They are ‘naos’ and ‘hieron.’ The word used to describe the body as a “Temple” of the Holy Spirit is the word ‘naos.’ This word is also used metaphorically to describe the physical body of Jesus: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:19-22 NIV).
The Greek word ‘hieron’ signifies the entire building, or the outer courts, to which all the people had access. This is the area in Solomon’s Temple where Jesus taught His lessons.
Every person has a spirit that will leave the flesh one day. Within the Christian, the spirit dwells in the body, and the Holy Spirit dwells in their spirit.
The word “soul,” which is often used interchangeably with “spirit,” actually means the mind, will, and emotions. Every Christian has the “mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). The body - every cell, tissue, and organ - is the very shrine, or Holy of Holies, where God dwells. Christians are “the temple of the living God” (2 Cor 6:14-16).
The Christian has been “crucified with Christ,” and He now lives in them (Gal 2:20). The life they live in their physical “body” is “by faith in the Son of God” because Jesus loves them and gave Himself for them (Gal 2:21). Only the high priest, clothed in garments of repentance, surrounded by a cloud of incense, with the blood of sacrifice having been offered, could lawfully enter in the Holy of Holies (Lev 16; Heb 9:7). Christians are a physical, as well as a spiritual part of Jesus:
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?” (1 Cor 6:16)
God has prepared the Christian “for this very thing is God, who has given” them “the Holy Spirit as a guarantee” (2 Cor 5:5). They are no longer “in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom 8:9). Their “citizenship is in heaven,” where they “await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform” their lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself” (Phil 3:20-21). God’s will is “that I should lose nothing of all that he has given’ them “but raise it on the last day” (John 6:39).
Predestined, Called, Chosen, and an Heir of Jesus Chosen by God
In every NT book of the Bible there are numerous claims the Christian is predestined, called, chosen, and sealed for the day of redemption as a child of God and an heir with Jesus for glorification in Heaven by the faith of Jesus according to His great mercy, and not by any work they could ever do, and they have assurance of their salvation (see Matt 20:23; 25:34; Mark 10:40; John 14:2-3, 17:2-3; Rom 8:28-31, 9:23; Eph 1:1-23; 1 Cor 2:7,9).
As previously stated, God takes up residence within their spirit, mind, and body as the new Holy of Holies – His dwelling place. He changes their sinful heart of stone by giving them a heart of flesh. He sets them free from sin so they can love Him with all their soul, mind, and strength, and they can now love their neighbor as themselves because they are a new creation and have been blessed with every spiritual blessing by becoming holy and blameless as partakers of His divine nature. He will “cause” them to “walk in” His “statutes and be careful to obey” His “rules” (Ez 35:26-28 – see also John 3:16,36; Acts 2:38-39; Rom 6:22; 8:28-31; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor 5:5,17, 6:16; 1 John 3:24,4:13; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Eph 1:3-14, 2:8; Col 2:13-14; Titus 3:5; see also Deut 30:6; Ez 26:25-27, 36:26; Jer 17:9).
The Bible does not teach that God wills and predestines some to go to Heaven before they are born, and others are doomed from the womb to go to Hell. He desires that all people be saved and spend eternity with Him (See 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim 2:4; John 3:36). People go to Heaven because they freely choose to come to Jesus and trust Him as Savior and Lord. A person who goes to Hell does so because they willingly rejected Jesus and refused to place their trust in Him.
Because God is Omnipotent and Omniscient, He chose before a person became a Christian that they would be holy without blame, justified, glorified, and predestined to spend eternity with Him once they received Jesus as their Lord and Savior (John 15:16; Eph 1:4). The Bible is very plain that God has elect ones, those "whosoever will" who chose through repentance to put their faith in Jesus and come to Him (John 3:15,16, 4:14, 12:46, Acts 2:21, 10:43, Rom 10:13, Rev 22:17).
When a person becomes a Christian, they also bevome predestinated to be conformed to His image because they are adopted by Him, which was chosen to happen before the foundation of the world (John 3:3; 8:24). This election is plainly declared to be based on the omniscient foreknowledge of God (Rom 8:29; Eph 1:4-5; 1 Peter 1:2). He purposed that they will be to the praise of His glory throughout the ages, and through them, He will show the exceeding riches of His grace (Eph 2:7).
The sacrificial atonement of Jesus was not limited. He is the Savior of the world (See 1 Tim 2:5-6; John 3:17, 4:42; 1 John 4:14). He bore the sins of all people on the Cross and died for every person in the world, past, present, and future (See Isa 53:6; 1 John 2:2; Heb 2:9; 1 Tim 2:5-6; Rom 8:32; John 3:16-17).
He suffered Hell for every person on the planet who has ever lived or will live. The sacrificial death of Jesus on the Cross was sufficient for all and is effective only for those who receive Him as Lord. The death of Jesus made it possible for every person to be saved. But only those who believe that Jesus died to pay their sin debt and trust Him completely for salvation will be saved. The atonement is not limited (See Rom 5:20-21).
The Bible directly states that Jesus's death was for every human being and is effective for the sinner the moment they believe. The Bible also says that Jesus' death was a propitiation (satisfaction) not only for their sins but for the sins of "the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Jesus tasted death for "every man" (Heb 2:9). Jesus gave Himself a ransom for "all" (1 Tim 2:6).
John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the "world" (John 1:29). The Bible states that "all" have gone astray, and Jesus took upon Himself the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:6).
“Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 10:32)
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” (Mark 8:35)
Since the Gospel is for ‘whosoever will’ and it consists of the great news that Jesus died for all sinners, His Atonement is clearly not limited and is offered to all people. It is the Holy Spirit who is presently working to convict the world (all people) of all sins that Jesus paid the penalty for, but they do not believe on Him (John 16:8-9). God is not willing for any to perish (2 Peter 3:9), and it is said that He will have all people saved (1 Tim 2:4).
In the Bible, we find the Father giving the Son to the world, the Son tasting death for every person, and the Holy Spirit convicting the world. The word "whosoever" means all, any, every, the whole. Since we believe in the verbal, complete inspiration of the Word of God, we are forced to think that when God moves the Scripture writers to say "whosoever," then that is exactly what He means.
God clearly and abundantly loves all people in this world and sent Jesus to die for them (John 3:16). There is a condition to be met in order for one to be saved, and this is proved by the words of Jesus, "for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24).
Called, Chosen, Co-Heirs of Righteousness, and Glorified by God
As a child of God, the Christian has been “given new birth into a living hope and an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade because His grace and heirs justify them and co-heirs with Jesus (1 Peter 1:3-4; Rom 8:17; Eph 3:6; Gal 3:29; Titus 3:6-7). They are called and chosen by God to be an heir and co-heir of Jesus by the righteousness that comes by the faith of Jesus and are positionally sanctified in Him as a holy saint according to His purpose (Matt 22:14; Mark 13:20; Luke 18:7; John 15:16,19; Rom 1:7, 8:17,28,33; 11:5,29; 1 Cor 1:2,24; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Heb 11:7; Eph 1:18; Col 1:27, 3:12; 1 Thess 1:4; 2 Thess 2:13; James 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9, 5:10; Jude 1:1; Rev 17:14). When Jesus appears, they will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 5:4).
Those who are truly a Christian naturally turn away from unrighteousness because they have become justified and righteous in Jesus. They will never die (John 11:26). The only sin that can never be forgiven and is impossible to be renewed to repentance is to reject Jesus as Lord and Savior after the Holy Spirit, who is given the task to draw all human beings to Jesus, draws them to Him, yet, they reject Him after having been enlightened and tasted the goodness of the word and shared in the Holy Spirit” (Heb 6:4-6).
It is the Holy Spirit who confirms to the Christian that they are no longer a slave to sin but are a child of God through faith in the faith of Jesus (John 1:12; Rom 8:16; Gal 3:26; 4:6; 1 John 3:1-2). They can’t become righteous by their works because “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23, 3:10). It is according to the mercy of Jesus who establishes them through the washing of regeneration by the Holy Spirit and guards against the evil one who has no control over them (1 Thess 3:12-13; 2 Thess 3:3; 1 John 5:19).
Nothing can make the Christian stumble (Ps 119:165). God’s grace justifies them, and they have become heirs “to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven” for them, and are guarded by “God's power” “through faith” with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in them “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:4-5; 2 Tim 1:14; Titus 3:3-8 ).
The Power to Keep God’s Commandments
The Christian life is a miracle of God that is formed from within. The power of the Christian life is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Christian knows they have already crossed over from death and have been appointed to eternal life because Jesus lives inside of them (John 5:24; Acts 13:48; 1 John 5:11-12; Titus 3:5-7).
Jesus said those who “love me,” will "hold to my teaching,” because they “are really my disciples” and “will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 8:31, 14:15-21). It is the person who “says, "I know him," but does not do what He commands” who is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4).
"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him," but whoever keeps his word" "in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this, we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." (1 John 2:3-6)
“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19-20)
“Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).
“Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” (1 John 3:24)
“Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation.” (Heb 6:9)
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil 1:6)
Jesus said the Christian will never walk in darkness, spiritually die, or be thirsty again, and nothing can grab them out of His hand or separate them from Him (John 4:14, 6:37, 8:12, 10:27-29, 11:25-26; Rom 8:38-39; 1 John 2:1). They can never be separated from the love of God or remove themselves from His firm grasp because He promised never to leave, forsake, cast out, or drive them away, no matter what, because they are planted in Him, and are known by their fruits (Matt 7:17;20; Gal 6:8-9).
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to grab them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:27-29)
He will "lose none" of those the Father gave Him (John 6:39). He will keep them strong and blameless on the day He returns (1 Cor 1:8). They will naturally and habitually abide in Jesus and do the things that accompany salvation because the Holy Spirit was given the task of making sure they are prepared for the day of His return. Jesus bought and paid for them, and they are His possession, as well as His dwelling place, the Holy of Holies. Those who habitually don’t do the works of righteousness are bad trees, to whom Jesus will declare, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness' (Matt 7:23). The word ‘never” is emphatic in the Greek, which means Jesus never, ever, knew them.
The Christian will “stand guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will keep them from stumbling and present them blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior” (John 6:37, 8:12; 1 Cor 1:8; 2 Cor 5:5; Jude 1:24-25; Heb 13:5).
It is the hideous sin of pride, which God hates, that causes a person to imagine that they have some part in their salvation and then must maintain it as if they are actually the author and giver of the gift of salvation from the one who willingly chose to leave the glory of Heaven and die a horrifying death on the Cross. Salvation comes by the grace of God through the faith of Jesus Christ and not on the “basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace” (Rom 11:6).
Continued in Part 2
