Eternal Salvation
John 3:16
During my first pastorate one of the leaders of our church said that he believed that
he could be saved and lost again.
He said that he could be a Christian all his life, but if he committed one sin then
he could die and go to hell.
I have had many people ask how they could be sure that they were really saved.
Most pastors and Christians have met such people with many similar questions.
If a person relies only upon human reason, he might think that salvation depends upon
how many good deeds that he does.
Some might even think that in the day of judgment all their good deeds will be added
on the credit side of God's records, and that all the bad things will be added up on the debit side.
Then, a person who has done more bad than good must spend eternity in hell.
For all of us this would be horrible.
Our chance of heaven would be slim and none.
Some also think that if they are credited with more good than bad they will go to heaven.
That is definitely not Biblical!
I believe that every one of us should be sure about our eternal destiny, and I know that we can be!
There are many things in life that we cannot be certain about.
We cannot be certain about our health.
There may be a disease already working within us to destroy some vital organ.
Economic conditions are uncertain.
Our employment could be uncertain.
We could be in a tragic accident tomorrow.
We could lose our house by fire, hurricane, tornado, or earthquake.
Our closest friends may soon die.
Life is full of uncertainties which may cause some to ask if anything is sure and certain.
It is easy to become cynical and to suppose that we cannot know if we can have
a life in heaven forever.
There is a heaven to gain and there is a hell to shun.
So let's look at the question: "Is it possible for person who is truly saved to be lost again?"
The answer to this question does not depend upon what a preacher or church or a creed
or an ecclesiastical council or human reason may say.
Only God's Word provides the answer to this important question.
We must allow the plain words of Scripture to say what they say.
The New Testament speaks of salvation as "eternal life."
Jesus said, ";And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3)
Not everyone who is church member or who professes to be saved really
"knows" God and Christ.
To know God and Jesus is more than to know about them.
When a person truly knows Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, he has "eternal life."
There are so many Scriptural passages that make this so clear.
Jesus told Nicodemus, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
John 3:36: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life."
John 5:24: "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."
The Philippian jailer ask Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
They replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30, 31).
Becoming a Christian is a matter of believing on Christ.
The Bible does not say "behave," nor "be sad," nor "belong to
some church," nor "live a good life," or "do good deeds."
The Bible always says, "believe."
Faith, plus nothing and minus nothing, is the way of salvation.
A definite assurance of eternal life is given to those who believe.
He that believeth "hath" everlasting life.
It does not say that he may have if he works at it or pursues his goals.
And it does not say that this eternal life is given at death.
A person has eternal life the very second he believes.
How long is "everlasting" or "eternal"?
Every student of the Greek language knows that this word that is translated "everlasting"
and "eternal" means unending.
When a person believes on Christ, that person is given a life that never ends.
That person has been recreated -- "born again," "born from above."
Jesus states in John 5: 24 is that the believer "shall not come into condemnation."
Jesus made it perfectly plain that one could not be lost or condemned after he or she has believed.
Jesus said that person has "passed from death unto life."
There is a lesson that we can learn from chemistry.
There are two kinds of change, physical and chemical.
The physical change is a temporary change like the changing of ice into water and back again.
A chemical change is a permanent change in which new substances are formed.
An example of this is the burning of the match or the baking of bread.
Jesus taught that becoming a Christian is a permanent change in which one has become
a new kind of person.
That person has passed "from death unto life." (John 3: 3; 2 Corinthians 5: 17;
Ephesians 2: 1-10; 1 Peter 1: 22-23)
No one can ever say that we deserve eternal life -- for we don't.
Very few would ever admit that our good behavior or our faithfulness could bring us eternal life.
Eternal life is a gift of God's grace.
God gives us eternal life because He loves us.
Isn't that amazing!
A church or membership in a church can never bring salvation to a person,
nor can the effort of man bring salvation.
The Bible repeatedly speaks of salvation as being the gift of God.
There is a wonderful passage of Scripture in the 10th chapter of John.
I love this Scripture.
It brings me assurance and great comfort as it has to millions.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto
them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them to me is greater than all; and no man (nothing is the Greek word) is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hands.I and my Father are one." (John 10:27-31)
How can one escape the simplicity of these verses.
Jesus says that He has given us eternal life and that He and the Father are personally holding on to us.
We are not doing the holding -- God is!
God is holding us in his almighty hand, and he will not let us go.
And not even Satan -- nothing, not the way we live know the way we die -- nothing
shall ever pluck us out of our Father's hand.
That is eternal security!
Eternal life is given to repentant sinners.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2: 8-10)
Our salvation is a gift.
It comes to us because of God's "grace."
Not one good deed nor the abstinence from one evil act will enable us to be saved.
When we are saved, we live differently, we walk differently, and we talk differently,
because we are saved.
The love of Christ constrains us to come out from the world and serve Him.
We thank God that His great salvation is a gift, and it is ours through faith in Christ.
In the early days of America when the white men was dealing with the Indians.
There were times when the Indian would give the white man a piece of land or some furs,
and later change his mind and demand his gifts back.
This is where the expression "Indian giver" began.
God is not an "Indian giver."
He will never take our eternal life away from us.
We are His children, and that relationship will never change.
Even when we are disobedient, we are still the children of God.
God will discipline His children.
But He will never let us go!
(John 6: 37, 40; Romans 8:35-39; Hebrews 7:25; Jude 24)
Through the years I have asked individuals if they were saved.
I've heard them reply, "I hope so," or "I'm trying to be,"
or "I used to be."
New Testament Christians never spoke like this.
They said, "We know!"
(2 Corinthians 5: 1; 2 Tim. 1: 12; 1 John 3: 14; 5: 13)
Not one of those early Christians based his or her hope on anything that he or she had done
or upon the fact that they had refrained from doing evil.
Nor was their faith based on mere "feeling."
They looked away from their poor sinful selves and kept their eyes on the blood of Jesus
which "cleanseth from all sin."
True faith looks to Christ.
Faith is taking God at His word.
When we believe Christ, we put ourselves in His hands, saying, "Lord, what will thou
have me do?"
If a person only trusted in his feeling, he would always be wondering if his soul is safe.
If a person trusted in church membership or in the ordinances, he would be in despair
when he discovers that God's Word does not give any saving value to either.
If a person trusted in his own behavior, he must persuade himself to believe
that he is better than he is, and that would be hypocrisy or he would be
overwhelmed by fear of his own failures.
There is only one way of peace, and that is to have faith in Jesus.
The question then of whether the believer is saved and may look forward to a happy life
in heaven forever depends upon whether Jesus Christ was what He said He was and whether
He can do what He claimed.
Jesus said that He was the Son of God and that He could save everyone who came to Him by faith.
God cannot lie! (Titus 1: 2)
In Hebrews 6: 18 we read, "It is impossible for God to lie..."
The Scripture goes on to say that we have a "strong consolation, who have fled for refuge
to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast."
An anchor like this keeps us from being tossed about by self-condemnation, by fear,
or by the doctrines of men.
Some say that Christ does part of the saving and we do the rest.
But those who have truly believed on Christ have not anchored their souls in their good intentions,
their good works, nor their emotional experiences.
That would be attempting to anchor a boat by holding the anchor in our own hands.
We anchor our souls by saying, "Lord, we have sinned, but Thou art a loving Savior;
from this minute on I trust you to take care of my soul."
That is dropping the anchor of faith into God's trustworthiness.
If a person does believe on Christ to save him, will he always be saved?
Jesus said, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6: 37)
But what if I backslide?
Jesus replies, "In no wise."
What if I get discouraged and selfish?
Jesus said, ";In no wise."
A Christian may lose his joy, and he may be severely chastised, but the child God will always
be the child of God like you and I will always be the child of our parents.
Many years ago in the North Woods a hunter, not well acquainted with the country,
wanted to cross a river that was covered with ice and snow.
Frightened at the possibility of its breaking, he slipped across the ice on his hands and knees,
hoping to save himself if the ice began to crack.
As he was about the middle of the frozen river he heard the rattle of chains
and the sound of wagon wheels.
He knew that at wagon was coming near the river bank.
Then it came so close that he was almost overcome by fear, thinking that the teamster
might try to cross on the ice, as they often did in this section.
Sure enough, the four horse team trotted by him unafraid while he crouched
on the ice in desperation.
Then the man stood to his feet, brushed the snow and ice from his clothes,
and muttered to himself, "What a fool I was to think that the ice would not hold me."
There are many who fear that Christ will not save them "unto the uttermost."
Their hearts make cowards of them because they are not grounded in the Word of God.
To these the Bible says, "If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart,
and knoweth all things." (1 John 3: 20)
Do not insult God by unbelief.
"He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record
that God gave of his Son." (1 John 5: 10)
Have faith in God; He will never fail you!
He will never lose you, and He will never let you fall or let you go.
One who has been saved is saved forever!
Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White
