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Showing posts with label Assurance of Salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assurance of Salvation. Show all posts
February 14, 2011
12:01 AM | 
Posted by
Randy Ross
Sooner or later, every believer will sin. This is inevitable.
In any case, it is wonderful to know that when we sin, we have an advocate - Jesus Christ. We can take great comfort in knowing that Jesus is there to intercede for us when we sin and it is a comfort to know that when we confess, we will be cleansed.
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.Everyone is a sinner. That is, everyone has sinned in the past. Moreover, it is likely that everyone will sin again in the future.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:Despite the likelihood that we will all sin again in the future, God does not want us to sin. God would prefer that we do not sin. But, we are assured that, if we do sin, we will have an advocate with the father. So, think about this. When a believer sins, Jesus will actually stand up for him. Jesus will intercede on my behalf when I sin. He will step in and speak for me. I imagine Jesus standing and pointing to the holes in his hand or perhaps showing his pierced side. In any case, Jesus reminds the Father of the blood he shed for my sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.From our point of view, when we sin, we must confess. Confession is simple: it is agreement with God that we were wrong. When we genuinely admit that we are wrong, we will also turn from our sin. This is the essence of repentance.
1 John 1:6-7 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: (7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.There is a contrast in this passage. On one side, we see that when we walk in darkness (sin), the truth is not in us. But, on the other hand, when we when we walk in the light or truth, or not in sin, we have fellowship with Christ. It really is an either / or scenario. Either we are not sinning and we have fellowship with God or we are sinning and we do not have fellowship.
In any case, it is wonderful to know that when we sin, we have an advocate - Jesus Christ. We can take great comfort in knowing that Jesus is there to intercede for us when we sin and it is a comfort to know that when we confess, we will be cleansed.
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February 12, 2011
Can I ever lose my salvation?
NO! Now, let’s look at why…
John 10:28-29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
There are many reasons why one who is saved could never lose his salvation. Simply, when we are saved, we are safe in the hands of Jesus. Who is more powerful than Jesus? No one. Who can take something from Jesus? No one. So long as Jesus is alive, those who are saved will never perish. More than that, imagine being in Jesus' hand and Jesus' hand being in the hand of God the Father. One who is saved is as safe as anyone could ever be.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
He who hears and believes, in other words, he who is saved shall have what God describes as everlasting life. When we think about the timelessness of God, and how He promises everlasting life. God is offering anyone who would be saved everlasting life. In God's mind, how long is everlasting?
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
This is a crucial point. Many people believe that God will, for some reason, cast them out or take away their salvation. God is proclaiming in HIS Word that this is not possible. We have a clear promise from God that there will never be a point in time where He will cast us out. We can take assurance in this fact alone. However, there is still more.
Rom 8:38-39 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) 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.
Verses 38 and 39 list a large gamut of things on all levels. In fact, the list of trials generally cover every aspect of our life. Everything which we could possibly face is covered in this list. Yet, despite this all-inclusive list, there is nothing which will separate us from the love of Christ. No matter what comes in our lives, Christ loves us.
1 Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Not only will Jesus always love us, but we are kept by the power of God. Our preservation is not in just any power, but the power of God. A power plant can produce a lot of energy, but they require maintenance and sometimes fail. Sometimes, we see hurricanes or cyclones. These are some of the most powerful storms, but they eventually die out. As powerful as some of these things are, they all fail or die. The power of God which keeps us is the same power which created the world - which created the storms. That is the power which keeps us - the almighty power of God.
Ephesians 1:13 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,
Another reason we can trust in our salvation is because we are sealed. Again, this isn't just any seal. This seal is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. When we are saved, the Holy Spirit of God moves into our lives. Lining in us and through us, the Holy Spirit of God becomes our seal literally marking the believer as one who has been redeemed by God. As you study the work of the Holy Spirit, you will see that a part of the work of the Holy Spirit is producing fruit through us. That fruit becomes our seal. As a result of the work of the Spirit of God in the believer's life, and the fruit of the Spirit of God, the world around the believer should easily recognize the believer as a child of God.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Salvation is a gift from God, not something we can earn. Because it is a gift God gives us, it could only ever be taken away from us by the one who gave it to us - God. God has promised never to forsake us which means that God will never take the gift away from us.
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Salvation is not something we can work for - it is not something we earned. Because we do not earn our salvation, we do not have to work to maintain our salvation. This is a key, a critical concept which many people fail to grasp. They falsely believe they must work for and earn their salvation. What gift did you ever have to earn?
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
An adoption is a permanent acceptance into the family. When one is adopted, he is forever a part of the new family just as if he were born into that family. When we are saved, we are adopted into the family of God to be, forever, children of God.
After looking at these verses, it should be easy to see that once someone is genuinely saved, they are saved forever. One cannot lose his salvation, nor can he have his salvation taken away from him. True salvation is forever.
February 7, 2011
Many false religions want their followers to believe true salvation is some difficult, lofty goal which must be continually earned (or purchased). The Word of God offers quite a different perspective on the idea of salvation.
1 John 5:11-13 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.(12) He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (13) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.In the passage above, please note the words RECORD, HATH, KNOW and ETERNAL. Based on this passage, one must either trust the Word of God and believe that they can know they have eternal life or believe that God is a liar. With that in mind, we will look several reason why we can absolutely trust in this passage and see that one can know, without a doubt, whether he is saved or not.
The Character of God
There are many aspects of the character of God. Generally everyone with any sense accepts the fact that God’s character is completely above reproach. In fact, God’s sterling character is beyond our very comprehension. For this topic, we will only briefly look at one aspect of His character.
Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;There are people around us who have good character and choose not to lie but we have to understand that God simply cannot lie. A good person may choose not to lie but they can also choose to lie. In God's case, God is simply incapable of lying. It is not a matter of God choosing not to lie, God cannot lie. With that assurance in mind, we can also trust the received Word of God.
The Promises of God in the Bible
If God cannot lie, He will keep his promises to us. The following are only a few of those promises!
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.God promises everlasting life. Another attribute of God is his timelessness. God has existed forever and will always exist. In that mindset, God promised everlasting life to all who believe.
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.God promises to accept anyone who comes to Him. God does not reject anyone: no matter what their age, gender, race or what sins they have committed in the past. The murderer can be saved. The homosexual or sodomite can be saved. The liar can be saved. Even the child abuser can be saved. No matter who you are, you can be saved.
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.God promised in John 6:37 that He would not reject anyone who came to Him. In Romans 10:13, He reinforces that promise saying that whosoever asks shall be saved. Whosoever is a big word with a broad meaning. Basically, anyone who asks to be saved can be saved. God will not reject anyone who genuinely wants to come to Him. So, can you know you are saved? Absolutely.
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