Secure in Christ
A few months ago, I wrote an article entitled “The Surety of Salvation.” I reflected on the fact that we can be sure of our salvation because of the Lord’s faithfulness. That article touched on the subject of the perseverance of the saints through God’s preservation of the saints, but I want to address it more deeply because it is vital to our salvation. Perseverance of the saints, in its simplest form, means that once a person is saved, that person cannot lose their salvation. A believer in Christ will persevere in the faith because God preserves everyone who belongs to Christ. Some reduce that to eternal security and understand it to mean that anyone who has “made a decision for Christ” or “accepted Jesus” will go to heaven no matter what. A person may live as though no change has occurred, but because a prayer has been prayed, this person is on the road to glory. If it is true that salvation is only determined by the exercise of my faith, then there is no such thing as being eternally secured in Christ. Salvation, though, is not ultimately based on our decision or our accepting anything, but is based on the work of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Instead of the Spirit regenerating (making alive) based on our faith, we place our faith in Jesus because the Holy Spirit has made us alive. Salvation is based on the finished work of Christ. Christ’s work of salvation is applied to us when, through the hearing of the Word (Romans 10:17), the Holy Spirit regenerates us, giving us the gift of faith, by which we are justified. Since salvation is ultimately God’s work, not man’s work, we are only as secure in our salvation as God is faithful to his Word and his people.
The debate over our security in Christ is not new. It has been debated throughout the history of the Christian church. This is not a minor issue but goes to the very heart of the character of God. Denial of God preserving his saints calls into question God’s faithfulness and truthfulness. The ultimate issue is not whether we are faithful but whether God is faithful, and not whether we are truthful but whether God is truthful. We certainly are unfaithful and untruthful at times. However, God’s Word clearly states that our final salvation is based on his faithfulness, not ours. Consider the following arguments from Scripture. (All emphases in the passages are mine.)
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:4-9 ESV)
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV)
But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3 ESV)
The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13 ESV)
The Bible declares that those who are faithful to the end are saved (Matthew 24:13), and we are called to encourage one another in faithfulness (Hebrews 10:25). However, our faithfulness is always attributed to God’s preserving power.
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. (Philippians 1:6 ESV)
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 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 ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 ESV)
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. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)
The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:18 ESV) (Note: Paul says every evil deed, which includes his own evil deeds.)
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
So, our security in Christ is based on God’s faithfulness, not ours. If it is ultimately dependent on our faithfulness then we have works righteousness because Jesus plus anything is not the gospel. What will I say when I appear before Christ? I trusted in you as my savior, and I remained faithful. When the Galatians tried to add circumcision and obedience to the law to the gospel, Paul called it another gospel. How can we ever assure anyone of his or her salvation if it depends on his or her faithfulness? As Paul says
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV)
Paul’s point is that we can only boast about what God has done, not what we have done.
Second, denial of perseverance of the saints through God’s preservation makes Jesus a liar because Jesus always fulfills the will of the Father.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:37-40 ESV)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44 ESV)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47 ESV) (The point here is that eternal life is exactly that, eternal. If something or someone is eternal it does not stop.)
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24 ESV) (The point here is you cannot go back to death since this life is eternal.)
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:16 ESV)
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 snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. (John 10:27-29 ESV)
Third, denial of perseverance of the saints through God’s preservation denies the unity in purpose of the Trinity. As Ephesians 1 makes clear, the Father chooses, the Son redeems, and the Spirit seals.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 ESV)
The above passage, as well as the statements above from Jesus in John’s Gospel, show that the Father has given his people to the Son for redemption. The Spirit preserves those that the Father has given to the Son. It is unthinkable that the Father and Son are successful and the Spirit is not. Note that the Spirit is our guarantee. This can only be interpreted as a sure and certain promise.
Fourth, we were chosen in eternity. What is set in eternity cannot be undone in time.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. (Ephesians 1:3-4 ESV)
and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. (Revelation 13:8 ESV)
The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because pit was and is not and is to come. (Revelation 17:8 ESV)
Our names are not written in the book of life when we are saved, but we come to Christ because our names are written in the book of life.
Fifth, the Son and the Spirit intercede for us, and the Son is our mediator.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27 ESV)
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Romans 8:34 ESV)
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. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32 ESV) (Note that Jesus did not pray for Judas.)
For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. (John 17:8-10 ESV)
I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:20-24 ESV)
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15 ESV)
According to 1 John 5:13-15, if we pray according to God’s will, we know God will grant the request. Do we honestly think that God will not grant the requests of the Son and the Spirit since they pray according to God’s will?
Sixth, we are assured of glorification.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)
All the verbs in verse 30 are in the past tense. All those who are called unto salvation are justified, and all those who are justified are glorified. Also, note that verse 28 says “all things work together for good”. “All things” includes every decision I, as one called and loved by God, make.
Paul goes on in chapter 8 of Romans to cover every possibility that may try to counter our security in Christ.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31-39 ESV)
Paul leaves no bases uncovered. Nothing or no one can ever threaten our security in Christ.
Seventh, some appear to be saved but fall away. The Bible is quite clear that those were never saved in the first place. Those passages point to fruit. As Jesus said in Matthew 7:18, “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.” Consider the following verses.
They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. (Titus 1:16 ESV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV) (Note that Jesus does not say that he knew them at some time in the past, but now he doesn’t know them. He says he never knew them.)
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. (Hebrews 6:4-9 ESV) (Note that verses 7 and 8 point to the fruit produced by true believers and those who simply appear to be believers. Believers produce a useful crop and receive a blessing from God, and unbelievers produce a worthless crop of thorns and thistles. Also, in verse 9, he states clearly that the items he mentioned in verses 4 through 6 are not those things that accompany salvation.)
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 ESV) (This clearly shows that those who leave the faith never truly had the faith.)
There may be those who want to undo all this scripture by stating that we have free will. This is a non-issue. We have free will, but our wills are tied to our nature. We can choose many things, but apart from the Spirit’s regenerating work, we cannot choose Christ (John 6:44, Romans 8:7) because we are dead in our sin (Ephesians 2:1–3). Jesus said in his story about the rich man and Lazarus “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us” (Luke 16:26). Does this mean we are no longer free once in heaven? Of course not. The point is, we will not want to leave (even if we could). The same is true here and now. God preserves his children by making us new creations in Christ. We have new desires and affections.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)
Even though at times we want sin, ultimately we want Jesus. As Peter said at the end of John 6, when Jesus asked the disciples if they wanted to leave too, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Just like Peter, we know there is no other option.
Many believe the doctrine of perseverance of the saints does not motivate holy living. Without understanding we are secure in Christ, though, motivation for holiness and service to others moves from gratitude for Christ’s work on my behalf to what must I do to be pleasing to God so I can make it to heaven. The first is God-centered, and the second is me-centered. If I don’t believe that Jesus preserves those who are his and I claim my motivation for holiness and service to others is gratitude for Christ’s work on my behalf, what exactly am I grateful for? He gives me an opportunity for salvation, but no guarantee of salvation? If so, I am back to myself and my works for God to try to complete my salvation. This is a serious error.
We trust that the God who sovereignly initiates our salvation will sovereignly complete our salvation. To God alone be the glory!
Photo by Michael Carpenter