Last Sunday we looked at one of the most precious doctrines of the Bible. It is a fact that once a person is graciously brought into the Lord’s salvation – having put faith in Jesus Christ – nothing can ever dissolve that relationship. Christ Jesus spoke of us in John 10:28 and said, “And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.”
But, if someone came to me and asked for a verse which proves eternal security, I’d have a slight problem. It’s hard to think of just one perfect verse to forever settle the question. There are at least 250 verses. And there are phrases and single words in hundreds of other scriptures which prove that God’s children can never be lost. For example, the use and definition of the word “eternal” should eternally settle the question. But for some reason, some people refuse to listen. The fact that a handful of verses might be misconstrued to implied that a believer might unbelieve himself, or sin himself into Hell, cannot negate the hundreds of verses which teach just the opposite. The doctrine of the unending nature of God’s grace and salvation is not based on slim interpretations of only one or two verses. It’s woven into the very fabric of the New Testament. To reject eternal security requires that we ignore not just one passage, but the greater part of the Bible. Furthermore this heresy doesn’t just attack the scriptures, the idea that Christians can eventually be lost attacks the very nature of God Himself.
Thus far in looking at Romans 5, I have pointed out six evidences of eternal security. We noticed that our peace with God gives evidence of our soul’s security. Paul said in verse 1 that because we have been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. As unbelievers – as natural born human beings – as sinners – we were enemies of God. But now that we have been saved through Christ, the war is over. There has been divine blood shed, and that blood was the purchase-price of eternal peace. Jesus Christ paid the debt for all my sin on the cross – past sin, present sin and future sin. This is something that was done in time past but which has eternal provisions and consequences.
Second, our current standing in grace proves our eternal safety. Verse 2 says that it is grace in which we stand. Let’s say that for some foolish reason you want to visit China to watch the Olympics. But somehow the government over there decides that you are a spy – not a tourist or a sports fan. Let’s pretend that the U.S. Olympic committee hears that the Chinese police are coming to arrest you. Let’s say that they send one of our swiftest runners to find you and hurry you to the U.S. Embassy. That runner might miss his race and never receive his Olympic gold, but your safety is important. Once you enter the U.S. Embassy, even in that foreign country, you are beyond the reach of Chinese. You have been saved by the grace of the Olympic Committee, and saved by the grace of that sprinter. And as long as you remain in the Embassy – as long as you stand in that position of grace – you are perfectly safe. You are now a resident in a city of refuge and the avenger of blood cannot touch you there. My illustration fails to do the doctrine full justice, because when it comes to the grace of God, it is not up to us to remain standing in it, we are maintained, and we stand in grace, because of grace and empowered by grace. Salvation is the work of God from beginning to end. Hebrew 7:25 – “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
Third, our hope of glory proves our salvation. Verse 2 also says that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. God has promised to every believer a wonderful future which is beyond our wildest dreams. The same God who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world will also bring about our ultimate glorification. He would not promise us something that we will not receive. A Biblical hope is different from a human hope, because when God gives us reason to expect something, then it’s just a matter of time before we will receive it – guaranteed.
This morning we move just a bit farther along this chain of eternal security. We are eternally secure because of the love of God.
The Holy Spirit has a variety of ministries in the saints all of which should fill our hearts with love and thanksgiving toward Him. One of those ministries is his work of assuring us of God’s love. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” The Bible teaches that in a very special way the Spirit God was given to the believer the moment he looked upon the Saviour in faith. It’s not that the Spirit didn’t have a ministry toward us prior to that time, because He certainly did. But at the time that He regenerated us, the Holy Spirit began a new ministry and a new relationship. He came to live permanently within us.
Listen to Ephesians1:13-14 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” You who are Christians – after you heard the gospel and were convicted about your need, you trusted Christ to redeem you from your sins. It was then that something very special occurred – you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. You were not simply sealed, you were sealed by and with the Omnipotent Holy Spirit. And you were not simply sealed with the Holy Spirit, but with the Holy Spirit of Promise. And what was the promise? It was a promise of things yet to come, like Abraham’s promise of a son and of a land. It was the promise of the completion of the work that God started before the creation of the world. God’s Spirit within us is the guarantee of our inheritance. He is the earnest, down payment, the engagement ring in our relationship with Jehovah.
When I first met the Saviour, there were some intellectual and logical things involved: For example, I knew that I was in trouble and in need of a Saviour; I knew that I faced serious judgment; I was terrified. And I also intellectually knew that Christ was able to forgive me and deliver me. But reason and intellect are not the primary witnesses of my security today. I know that I am saved because of a spiritual and heart-felt understanding given to me by God’s Spirit. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” The saint of God has been lead by the Spirit right into the eternal promise of the Lord. He is the Sprinter who brings us into the Lord’s embassy of salvation. Romans 8:16 – “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.”
Ask yourself this question: Have you ever been lead by Holy Spirit to do something? Have you ever felt that inner leading to study the Word, to pray, to worship? Have you ever felt led to witness to someone, or to do something difficult but it was the right thing? If we sense the leading of the Spirit of God, we know we are the sons of God. Granted, we can mistake other factors as the leadership of the Spirit, but the genuine witness of the Spirit is proof of our salvation. The Holy Spirit does not lead unbelievers like that. Whatever leadership they receive is more like that of a mule. And they have their eyes covered so they don’t know who is pulling the reigns. They have no internal sense of God’s leadership in their lives. The first genuine and obvious leading from Holy Spirit that any unbeliever feels is that of conviction of sin. But the Spirit’s leadership and witness are on-going throughout the Christian’s earthly life.know of the security of their salvation, because it comes not only from outside revelation but inside revelation as well. It’s not only through the mind, but also through the heart.
Notice verse 8 – “But God commendeth His love toward us.” Not only does the cross of Christ teach us about God’s love, the Holy Spirit gives every genuine believer an intense, intimate sense of God’s personal love for him. In effect, God is saying to us, “My child, I don’t just want you to know my love for you through faculty and reason of the head, I want you to know my love by the intimacy and emotions of your heart.”
Romans 8:35-39 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing will ever separate us from God’s love, even though sin may rob us of its joy. When we don’t feel that love, that intimacy, it should be a red light that tells us that we have a problem. This is why Ephesians.4:30 says, “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
The Lord Jesus said that we are to worship the Father “in spirit and truth.” Most of us honestly try to worship the Lord with these characteristics. We have the truth of the Word of God in our hands, and we strive to have truth flowing out our mouths and into our ears! However, we don’t always worship Him in spirit, because often we are disobedient, and by our disobedience we lose the enjoyment God’ love, peace and joy. Thus our worship becomes dry, stale and lifeless. When you sing songs of worship, do you feel overwhelmed by your relationship with God? When you pray, when you study, when you go about your daily routine, do you readily sense God’s love? If not, you’ve got a problem. And I guarantee that it is connected to sin in some way. That must be met and properly handled. “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The Holy Spirit wants us to know, experience and bask in the love of the Lord our Saviour.
Verse 6 speaks of a time in which we were without the slightest strength – spiritually. To be without strength is to be powerless, impotent, and vulnerable – probably, in great danger. Before we were saved, we were powerless to overcome sin, temptation, Satan, or the lust of the world. We were powerless to live righteously. We were powerless to save ourselves. We were utterly helpless. Notice how this verse further describes us. Not only were we without strength and powerless, we were also ungodly. That word means literally the opposite of God, or if you will – “anti-God-like” or “anti-God.” Jehovah, who is absolutely pure and holy, looked down on a people who were absolutely sinful and disgusting. He looked on people who were so totally unlike Himself – that they were essentially anti-gods. But instead of casting us away forever into the lake of fire, as we deserved, the Bible says He loved us so much that He ordained His Son, Jesus, to die for us. Christ didn’t die generically, making salvation possible for the ungodly; He died to save specific, ungodly people.
Of course, I am no different than the average grandfather. I tend to think that Sahalie is a wonderful baby – one of the best, if not actually the very best. We can easily love our own children and grandchildren, especially when they are at the moment being good. But God knows that they are not good by nature, and that none of us have never been innocent. We are not cute, sweet or cuddly in the sight of God. In our natural state we the complete opposite of the Lord. That He should love us is unnatural, unthinkable, unfathomable. Nevertheless the Holy Spirit testifies to that fact – God has had a special love for us prior to our salvation which reaches forward into eternity.
And here is another great principle of eternal security: If God could have loved us so much when we were the opposite of everything that He is, how can we do anything to erase His love now that He has saved us and sealed within us His own Holy Spirit? If God loved us when we were ungodly; how could He ever reject us now that we’ve been born again in the image of His Son and declared righteous?
Verse 7 says that scarcely, or rarely, will one human being give his life for another human being, even if that person is an outwardly righteous or good man. When it happens it becomes the theme of a great book, like Dicken’s “Tale of Two Cities.” It happens sometimes, but not often. Most mothers would give their lives for their children, and most husbands would give their lives for their wives. However, I would never give my life for a death row rapist, child-molester, or murderer. That is exactly what Jesus did when He gave His life a ransom for your salvation. He died for the ungodly; He demonstrated and commended His love toward us when we were yet sinners. In effect, He proved Divine love for us.
Again we have the principle: if God so loved us while we were yet sinners, how much more does He love us now that we have been made saints? If He can love us enough to die for us while we were vile wicked sinners, does He not love us enough to keep us after we’ve become His children?
Someone might say, “Pastor, maybe you are right, but what about when we sin? Then we fall from that grace, right?” Think about this – before you were saved you were a wretched, wicked sinner. But now because of God’s grace, you will never be that kind of person again. Paul’s argument is: If God loved you enough to save you, then He loves you enough to keep you now! Sin cannot undo that.
Someone put it this way: If God loved us only because we love Him, then our salvation would depend on the constancy of our treacherous hearts, But since God loved us as sinners, when we had no love for God, as Christ died for the ungodly, our salvation depends, not on our loveliness – or our sinfulness – but on the constancy of God’s love.
If God proved His love by sending His Son to save us …. If He further proved His love by giving us His Spirit, will His love not keep us? If He loved us while we were yet sinners, will He not love us even though we are sometimes sinful?
But – it might be that you lack assurance of eternity, because you are not a child of God. I implore you to meet the Lord Jesus by faith at the foot of His cross. Jesus died to provide sinners, like you and me, with his own eternal life. That life can be yours, if you will be humble yourself as a sinner before God and accept the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.