When people
come to know Christ as their Savior,
they are brought into a relationship
with God that guarantees their salvation
as eternally secure. Numerous passages
of Scripture declare this fact. One of
the most compelling chapters in all the
New Testament for God's promise of
"eternal security" is found in
Romans chapter 8. This chapter is
usually interpreted as testifying to
Augustinian Predestination, which is the
belief that certain people are
"predestined" to be saved, and
others are "predestined" for
hell. The truth is, by misconstruing
Romans chapter 8 in such a way,
Augustine is depriving Christians of
this beautiful dissertation of eternal
security. Predestination is not
something God does to lost people - but
to saved people the moment they are
saved!
(a) Romans 8:30 declares,
Rom
8:30 Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them
he also glorified.
This verse tells us that from the moment
God saved us, it is as if we are
glorified in His presence in heaven.
There is nothing that can prevent a
believer from one day being glorified
because God has already purposed it in
heaven. Once a person is justified, his
glorification is guaranteed - he is as
secure as if he is already glorified in
heaven.
(b) Paul asks two crucial questions in
Romans 8:33-34
Rom
8:33 Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? [It
is] God that justifieth.
Rom
8:34 Who [is]
he that condemneth? [It
is] Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is
even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us.
Who will bring a charge against God's
elect? No one will, because Christ is
our advocate. Who will condemn us? No
one will, because Christ, the One who
died for us, is the one who condemns. We
have both the advocate and judge as our
Savior.
(c) Believers are born again
(regenerated) when they believe (John
3:3; Titus 3:5). For a Christian to lose
his salvation, he would have to be
un-regenerated. The Bible gives no
evidence that the new birth can be taken
away.
(d) The Holy Spirit indwells all
believers (John 14:17; Romans 8:9) and
baptizes all believers into the Body of
Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). For a
believer to become unsaved, he would
have to be "un-indwelt" and
detached from the Body of Christ.
(e) John 3:15 states that whoever
believes in Jesus Christ will "have
eternal life." If you believe in
Christ today and have eternal life, but
lose it tomorrow, then it was never
"eternal" at all. Hence if you
lose your salvation, the promises of
eternal life in the Bible would be in
error.
(f) For the most conclusive argument, I
think Scripture says it best itself,
Rom
8:38 For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come,
Rom
8:39 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.
Remember the same God who saved you is
the same God who will keep you. Once we
are saved we are always saved. Our
salvation is most definitely eternally
secure!
