Every Christian yearns for a sense of security and assurance before God, and a palpable confidence that they are bound for heaven. This is a legitimate need and God in his mercy has provided a supernatural hope, so secure it's called the “anchor of our soul.” (Heb 6:19) In Christ we have access to unprecedented “everlasting consolation and firm hope through grace.” (2 Thess 2:16) This assurance of salvation is so vital that we are virtually “saved by hope.” (Rom 8:24)
However, we must understand that eternal security is not simply a download of information, but it's a fruit of faith and perseverance. (Heb 6:9-12) If your security is based on false information, it will not sustain you, and inevitably your insecurity will be tragically exposed.
Many naively embrace “unconditional eternal security,” an accessory to Calvinism, declaring once saved always saved, without qualification. It's a dangerous assumption blatantly contradicting scripture and elevating theology above the presence of Jesus.
It's often quoted with great pomp that God has magnified His word above his name. (Ps 138:2) That's a great truth, but He hasn't placed His word or name above His presence. The Bible represents Him, but it's not Him. Because the pharisees idolized the law, they failed to recognized the Living Word as He stood in their very midst. (Jn 5:39) No where are we told to worship the Bible, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life...yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” (Jn 5:39-40) Eternal security is found in His presence, not an iconic doctrine.
Nevertheless, doctrine is important because true doctrine leads to God's presence, the only source of faith, love and hope. (1 Tim 1:14) To the extent that our thoughts (doctrine) conform to Jesus who is truth, peace and assurance will be released. “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6) Renewing our minds with sound doctrine, positions our hearts to receive the Holy Spirit's affirmation and hope. (Rom 12:2) (Jas 4:8)
TRUTH is the initial and most intimate piece of our armor (Gal 6:14) and it delivers us from the satanic strongholds that subvert true eternal security. The deception of “once saved always saved,” began in the garden as the serpent hissed “You will not surely die,”(Gen 3:4) dismissing the eternal truth that “the wages of sin is death,” a sobering reality which includes unrepentant believers.
THE BRUTAL REALITY
Didn't Jesus warn that “Every branch in Me that bears not fruit he takes away. . (and) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned?”(Jn 15:2-6) Didn't Paul mourn weeping, that “many” earthly minded brethren face eternal destruction because they disregard the crucified life? (Phil 3:17-19) If we don't live a life of repentance toward God, walking in the Light, we will not survive the approaching tsunami of darkness, and our very salvation will be in jeopardy.
I don't want to promote fear above love, or make sin the focus. But sensitivity to sin is absolutely foundational, because it awakens the fear of God, propelling us into the arms of Jesus. (Gal 3:24) The salient fact is, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. (Ps 110:10 Pro 9:10) The Western church lacks wisdom and knowledge and it's foundation is crumbling because there's a famine of the fear of God. “Behold therefore the goodness of God, and the severity of God: on them which fell, severity, but toward you goodness. IF you continue in His goodness: otherwise you shall be cut off.” (Rom 11:22) How long will we ignore the obvious?
The flesh perceives the fear of God as bondage, but to our re-born spirit it's attractive, liberating and protective. (Ps 19:19; 34:9) It was said of Jesus that “The fear of the Lord was his treasure.” (Isa 33:6) How much more do we need it? We must have both the fear of God and the love of God to be properly motivated. However, if we fixate on sin and fearing God, our walk becomes a religious burdensome duty. The love of God is our goal. The great commandment is to love him, not fear him.
The parable of the ten virgins speaks explicitly to us. “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” (Mat 25:1) But when the long awaited hour came, those who were unprepared faced Jesus' shocking and traumatic rejection, “I never knew you,” exposing their presumed security in God's kingdom.
Prior to that desperate hour they all had oil in their lamps. The oil is the Holy Spirit, which leads us to conclude the foolish virgins were believers. “The foolish said unto the wise, Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out." (Mat 25:8) If their lamps were flickering and “going out,” then they still had a measure of the Holy Spirit and were therefore partakers of grace.
Did they lose their salvation? Who can say for sure? But why risk losing your soul for a liberal more palatable interpretation? God is not mocked. What we sow we reap, and corrupt sowing can send a Christian to hell. Jesus' basic instructions to his disciples are full of dire warnings about sin, and they are remarkably clear and disturbing.
The Bible warns that pretentious self-serving Christians are in danger of hearing “depart from me, you that work iniquity.”(Mt 7:22) Jesus said that if you (believer) don't deal with your anger you are “in danger of hell fire.” (Mat 5:22) John echos to the church: “If you hate your brother, you are a murderer,” and will go to hell. (1 Jn 3:15) If Christians refuse to forgive they tragically forfeit heaven. (Mat 6:15) Failure to deal harshly with pornographic thoughts places us at risk of being “cast into hell,” a warning you're unlikely to hear at the next mens' gathering. (Mat 5:29-30; Mk 9:43-47) Selfish love, despising a child, denying the Lord and a cold heart, are all mentioned by Jesus as paths to hell for unrepentant believers. And can we ignore those infamous passages in Hebrews that brazenly dismantle illusions about unconditional eternal security? (Heb 5,6,12)
How can we take such warnings lightly? Was Peter deceived when he posed the astounding question: “If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?” (1 Pet 4:18) How could Paul, a stellar Christian, even think that he could be rejected as a “castaway” if the possibility didn't exist? (1 Cor 9:27)
How can you assume that since you are called you're automatically chosen, when Jesus said otherwise? (Mat 22:14) Didn't he make it clear that “Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Mat 7:14) If you think all of this is too harsh and narrow what do you base it on. . .the Bible, or a church that boasts “I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing?”
To rely on predestination or the belief that you are exceptional is arrogance, and to presume that grace will endlessly tolerate and nullify your conscious sins is delusional. (Rom 6:15)
What's normal Christianity? The old testament defines normal as: “He who has clean hands and a pure heart. Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol.”(Ps 24) and the new testament adds, it's “Love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1 Tim 1:5) The countless Biblical warnings are not to terrify and immobilize us, but to awaken us to stark reality. The goal is a pure and holy heart “without which no man shall see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14)
The American church wants all the blessings without purity. They want protection and prosperity without love and separation from the world. But lawlessness will soon abound, and many will fall away as self-preservation replaces love.(Mat 24:12) Those old testament judgments were “Written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Cor 10)
All this “negativity” may cause you to cry out like the disciples, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus responds, “With men, impossible, but not in the presence of God, for all things are possible in the presence of God.” (Mk 10:27 Weust) In his presence sin is vanquished and eternal security is assured. Yes, choosing the narrow path costs everything, but one tiny glimpse of the prize and the cost becomes irrelevant, and one terrorizing peek into hell and no risk is worth a second thought.
This is not about sinless perfection or self righteousness. It's simply a call to humility and purity, so the Lord can have full access to us. If you embark on the narrow path, Satan will accuse you of cultural irrelevancy, whispering “Did God really say?” And well meaning friends may label you as legalistic and super spiritual. But, “Do not let anyone deceive you, He who does what is right is righteous. . . Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God.” (1 Jn 3:7-10) LOVE epitomizes “what is right,” and only a pure heart can authentically express it. (1 Jn 2:15-10)
HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS!
God doesn't expect us to attain sinless perfection in this life. “If any man says he has no sin he is deceived.” (1 Jn 1:8) Even though your spirit is pure and cannot sin, (1 Jn 3:9) your soul needs a transformation and your body needs a resurrection.
We have an idealistic impression of “perfection.” When Jesus called us to “be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,”(Mat 5:48) he wasn't referring to some heavenly venue of unmitigated holiness. The Greek word for perfection simply means “fully grown or mature” We are “perfect” when we achieve the purpose for which we were created, but our eternal security is not dependent upon our perfection!
Knowing that we are pleasing to God is the key to eternal security. And we can please him right now. As we embrace what God imparts to us, we will know that “We are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. . . Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (1 Jn 3:18-22)
Our heart condemns us for our chronic failure to please God, and in anguish we cry, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24) But note, 1st John was not written just to mature “fathers,” but it also includes “little children” and “young men,” (1 Jn 2:12-14) therefore, pleasing God is not about maturity or perfect behavior.
We know that “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.” (Heb 11:6) But what does that mean? The psalmist elaborates: “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Ps 147:11) That's faith encapsulated and that's how we please God! Any believer regardless of spiritual age can fear God and trust in his love. It's that simple! That's all He requires. Those two motivations are the key to eternal security.
In the mirror of the God's Word, we tend to identify ourselves by our sins. But if we fear God and trust in his love, our sins will be forgotten, and like David, God will joyfully define us as ones “after mine own heart.” (Act 13:22) (1 Ki 3:6) The heart is the arena of God's pleasure, the avenue of His love, the seat of man's fulfillment, “and every man that has this hope in him purifies himself." (1 Jn 3:3)
It's intriguing that self-condemnation can be resolved by the simple phrase, “God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” (1 Jn 3:20) The answer to our heart's vexing duplicity is not “how” but “Who.” Pleasing God is not a formula, it's a communion.
AMAZING MERCY
God tenderly considers our frailties. “For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him . . . As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.” (Ps 103)
God feels the unique struggles of every heart, and his mercy is intimately personalized. He is utterly fair and just. God knows our feeble attempts to love and overcome sin, and he's compassionately aware of our frustrations, motives and intentions. Repentance can be sincere while it's still weak and fragile, and God is pleased from the moment we haltingly set our hearts to fully obey. Every time we choose righteousness over evil the Lord is delighted. Even though David was disqualified from building the temple, God amazingly said “You did well that it was in your heart.” (1 Ki 8:17-18)
Because God is just, his expectations of a spiritual toddler are vastly different than for a mature adult. Incremental accountability is a vital yet rarely acknowledged Biblical theme. For most believers it's an expression of great mercy, but to those entrusted with much revelation and authority its a sobering liability. “The one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Lk 12:48)
Because of God's progressive revelation, he overlooked spiritual ignorance in past dispensations, (Acts 17:30) but where Jesus appeared, accountability increased. (Mat 11:21-24) “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (Jas 4:17) Those who die as infants go to heaven because they are not morally liable, (Deut 1:39; 2 Sam 12:23) while on the other hand, ministers of the gospel will be judged with great severity. (Jas 3:1) The thief on the cross went directly to paradise, yet refusal to finish the long race will abort your destiny. (Heb 3:6,14; 6:6) Moses, a man of legendary meekness and unusual authority, paid dearly for one outburst of anger, and Ananias and Sapphira, recipients of extraordinary grace, (Acts 4:33) were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. Accountability for the light at our disposal is serious. Rejecting truth is the most dangerous thing we can do. That's why Jesus warned, “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.” (Jn 3:19)
Thankfully, God vastly prefers mercy over judgment. His everlasting mercy is the matrix of salvation. It's the goodness that leads to repentance! David said, “Your gentleness (mercy) has made me great.” (2 Sam 22:36) Mercy, not fear, is what humbles us. When sin entices, boldly flee to the Father and obtain mercy which attracts invincible grace. (Heb 4:16)
LOVE IS THE KEY
The new testament meaning of “perfection” is not a legalistic sanctimonious act. The context is LOVE (Mat 43:48) which has been defined as “unconquerable benevolence and good will, constantly seeking the highest good of all people.” (W. Barclay) All the Bible's commands and warnings can be reduced to love.(Gal 5:14) Augustine said, “Love God and do what you like,” reflecting Paul's radical summation, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient.” (1 Cor 6:12: 10:23) That's not a license to abuse grace, it's a declaration of freedom from religious bureaucracy so we can truly love.
Our sins are effectively anti-love, poisoning all relationships. We are not isolated islands. There is a mystical interconnectedness between all believers, expressed in Jesus' prolific use of plural pronouns. (Mt 6:9-13) Assurance of salvation is dependent upon loving the body of Christ. “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.” (1 Jn 3:14) To marginalize and disdain other Christians is failure to discern the body of Christ, and it opens the door to damnation. (1 Cor 11:29-30)
The Bible reveals that we are spiritually insecure because we have not been “made perfect in love.” (1 Jn 4:18) But, if you've allowed God to access your heart he is perfecting love in you, which is a fruit of the Spirit, not the flesh. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” as our trials yield patience, which evolve into an experience of God's faithfulness, which activates hope (assurance of salvation). (Rom 5:1-9) Discovering God in our trials matures love, enabling us to declare “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.” (2 Tim 1:12)
Your eternal security is found in “Him who is able to keep you from falling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”(Jude 1:24) God is passionately able to keep you from falling, but he won't coerce or violate your free will. Our part is simply to, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands . . . purify your hearts.” (Jas 4:8) and offer him the sacrifice of praise. (Heb 13:15)
“Now the God of peace . . . make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb 13:20-21) It's comforting to know that “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:13) By communicating, entrust your life to Jesus Christ daily, and assurance of eternal security will dawn in your heart, and supernatural hope and joy will sustain you!
Copyright 2011 by Hayden Humphrey
