WHAT IS ETERNAL SECURITY?

What is eternal security then? Paul says in the book of Colossians,

"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him Holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I Paul was made a minister." (Col 1:21-23).

We are saved by confessing and repenting of our sins, and then receiving by faith God’s forgiveness for our sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood alone. We personalize this by receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives. The Apostle Paul states in Romans 10:9-10,

"That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

We have already discussed earlier the significance of the resurrection; how it is God the Father’s proof to us that Jesus’ death on the cross paid the total debt of our sins: past, present, and future. The writer of Hebrews states,

". . . but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. . . . For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." (Heb 10:12, 14).

There is nothing we can do to gain God’s forgiveness through our own efforts, except accept God’s already provided forgiveness through the shed blood of His Son, for ". . . without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Heb 9:22). The Apostle Paul clearly tells us, though, that the condition of receiving Jesus’ forgiveness through His shed blood is through surrender to His Lordship over our lives.

What do we mean by Lordship? Outside of basic morality as was outlined earlier, Jesus’ Lordship means that we give Jesus the freedom to do with our lives whatever He wants too. Since we are no longer under the Law this is going to mean something different for every person. As long as we are knowingly submitted to Jesus’ Lordship over our lives, we can be assured that we have eternal security and that if we were to die tonight that we would go straight to heaven without any pit stops to be with the Lord forever.

Whether we like this reality or not, the reason why Jesus saved us through His death and shed blood on the cross was to free us from spending our lives trying to gain His forgiveness for our sins so we could instead come back under His Lordship and submit to His will and plan for our lives. The writer of Hebrews states,

"Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:28-29).

As long as we are to the best of our knowledge submitting to and fulfilling Jesus’ will over our lives, we can be at peace of knowing we have eternal security. If you have doubt, be assured you do; because if you were at a place you did not, you would not be surprised as has already been discussed. Jesus has promised he will not leave us as orphans, "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." (John 14:18). Jesus comes to us through the Holy Spirit of grace, and through the Holy Spirit makes plainly known to us when we are and are not walking in His will and plan for our lives. Jesus is a God of love and because He loves you, He will never leave you in the dark or play games with your life in this way. By His Spirit He will make plainly known to you what His will and purpose for your life is.

As long as you are submitting to Jesus through the Holy Spirit of grace you can be at peace and assured that if you were to die tonight, because of Jesus’ blood, you would immediately go to heaven and stay there for the rest of eternity.

"Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’"

"Therefore every one who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall; for it had been founded upon the rock. And every one who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall." (Matt 7:21-27).

In review, how can you know if you are in danger of committing the unpardonable sin? You are in danger of committing the unpardonable sin if you are living in willful immorality; you are in danger of committing the unpardonable sin if Jesus has made plain to you what His will and plan for Your life is and you reject it and go your own way; finally, you are in danger of committing the unpardonable sin when Jesus makes plain to you that this is what you are doing unless you repent and stop doing what He has specified you are not to do.

How can we be sure we are saved and have eternal security? You are saved and have eternal security if you have, one, repented of any known sin and accepted by faith God’s forgiveness for those sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood on the cross; two, if to the best of your knowledge you are walking in obedience to Jesus’ revealed will and plan for your life through His Holy Spirit; and three, if you have repented and turned away from what Jesus has told you personally will lead to this sin.

If you have never received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you are already dead in your sins. If you remain in this condition until you die, you will go to hell forever. In order to change this condition you must repent of your known sins and accept God’s forgiveness of your sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood on the cross by receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord. If you would like to change this present condition of your person, pray right now the following prayer:

If you have just prayed this prayer for the first time, then Jesus in His Word says that your sins are forgiven and that you have eternal life. As a result you also now have eternal security, will go to heaven, if you stay with Jesus and persevere in your relationship with Him until you die. The Apostle John said in the first Epistle of John,

"And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you HAVE eternal life." (1 John 5:11-13).

If you have received Jesus in the past but have been away from the Lord, confess and repent of your sins. Next, by faith accept God’s forgiveness for your sins through Jesus’ death and shed blood on the cross and then return to the Lord by resurrendering the Lordship of your life to Him. Once you have done this, then go back to seeking Him daily for His will and plan for Your life through prayer and the study of His word, and then obey what He tells you to do.

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." (Matt 7:21)