Ever thought about winning the lottery? What would you do with a BIG WIN, and BIG MONEY? I know, you’d all give a significant amount to God through the church! How would your life change? You’ve probably heard about people who have won the lottery..only to end up penniless within 36 months. Turn to the person next to you and say, “I’d like to take that challenge”.
As you think about the lottery, I’d like to draw a parallel between that and the salvation that God offers. Is it possible, having received the greatest gift from the greatest giver, to lose it all? Having experienced the thrill of victory, can we really know the agony of final, bitter defeat? Having once been destined for heaven, can we lose it all and end up in a Christless eternity, forever separated from God in hell?
This, as you can clearly see, is “Doctrine that makes a difference”. Can we lose our salvation? There is much to be understood that I think can make it be a key issue in terms of assurance and where you stand with Christ.
Let me state my understanding of the Scripture at the very beginning:
Eternal Security is the confidence that once you have entrusted your heart and soul to Christ for your relationship with God and for your eternal salvation, there is nothing that can take that salvation relationship away from you.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
5 Pillars of Truth About Eternal Security
Our Conversion is in Christ
“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (I John 2:19)
When I share with you about the hope that is available in God, that is ONLY through Christ. It is not something that we have available here as a church under a special deal with the manufacturer. Changed lives come only because of Christ.
Our Confidence is in Christ
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
When we think about this topic of having salvation, and questioning whether it is secure, let’s again make certain that we understand that it is secure because it is in Christ, not because of anything we have done, or anything we can do.
Our Comfort is in Christ
“That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”(II Timothy 1:12)
Life gets rocky. Sometimes, when riding an airplane, or at the edge of a cliff, I’ll think…what if this is the time that I “buy my lunch”? What do you do when you’ve lost the footing in life and are questioning where solid ground lies? You recognize that the source of comfort for you is in Him.
Our Condition is in Christ
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. “(Ephesians 2:5-6)
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3)
Once we come into relationship with Christ, we are no longer independent operators. We are franchisees! We have the representational responsibility for the King of the Universe. We are ambassadors, and are completely covered by His mantle.
Our Completion is in Christ
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time “ (I Peter 1:3-5)
Eternal life is not eternal if it can be robbed
Clear Conclusions:
Having Assurance means understanding your Security
Having Security means being certain of your Surrender
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test (II Corinthians 13:5-6)
Each one of us here today has to ask, Do I know for sure that my security rests in the hands of the one who hung on a cross for me?
Each one of us here today has friends who do not know what happens when they die? And, they don’t know how to know God while they yet live. Being passionate about seeing people who are lost without God in our world is our primary purpose for being here at CVC. Let’s be galvanized towards the end of seeing our lost friends be found in Christ.
