Salvation: Is the salvation of a Believer secure?
Salvation becomes a permanently settled matter for anyone who has accepted the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the sole basis for their salvation.
I Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel[the good news] which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]
The salvation that God provides is neither earned nor deserved.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Emphasis added]
Because we don’t DO anything to deserve it, we can’t DO anything to lose it.
If you think salvation is earned, you will never feel worthy because the reality is that you are not! Furthermore, you will never feel secure about it. You will never feel completely satisfied that you’ve done enough. Your sinfulness will always remind you of your unworthiness, causing you to feel insecure about your salvation. However, when you understand that salvation is free to you and comes strictly by grace through faith, you will come to know you have a perfectly secure relationship with God because it is not based on your works, but His. It is so important that you know that your salvation came to you by grace, not by or because of your works to earn it.
Never let anyone convince you that your own works have something to do with God granting the gift of salvation to you.
Romans 4:4-5
4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. [Emphasis added]
God certainly wants good works of various kinds to flow from us as a result of our salvation, but they never serve as a means to it. Only faith in Christ and His work provides salvation. That is all!
In my book, 22 Key Promises You Can Count On, I wrote a whole chapter on this one subject. I even discuss passages of Scripture that make it look like works performed by us have something to do with our attainment of it, as well as our maintenance of it. There are many such passages, but they all fall outside the writings of the Apostle Paul who truly is our apostle. Those passages in the Bible that make it appear that personal works of one kind or another have something to do with one’s salvation were all directed to Israel in a former time, not to us today in this present time called The Dispensation of Grace.
Galatians 3:26
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. [Emphasis added]
The moment a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells them.
I Corinthians 6:19-20
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. [Emphasis added]
That indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent for us. Our salvation is also said to be permanently sealed as of the moment we accept Jesus Christ and His work for our salvation.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 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,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. [Emphasis added]
The word for seal conveys the idea of assurance or guarantee of our salvation. Furthermore, the moment this is provided, the one believing is also permanently identified with the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as with fellow believers. This is provided by what is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 12:13
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [Emphasis added]
This “baptism” is a dry baptism, involving no water at all. It is one where God the Holy Spirit permanently identifies us, not with water but with Jesus Christ. This is said to make the believer “a new creature,” that is, a new creation.
II Corinthians 5:17
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [a new creation]: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [Emphasis added]
That’s right! So far as God is concerned, we are never the same again. We are made one with God forever. What a wonderful blessing that is!
