## Article XV: Eternal Security

## John 10:27-29

One of the great comforts all born-again Christians may enjoy is the assurance that they are saved forever: that they are eternally secure. This is the unmistakable teaching of scripture and the cause of rejoicing for every believer. This message will present three major arguments for the truth of this great doctrine. Eternally saved, secure people are preserved and persevere.

I. The appeal of meaning

The basis for believing that once a person has accepted Christ he or she is eternally secure is found in the simple understanding of the words used to describe the length of the salvation provided.

A. The meaning of "eternal" or "everlasting".

1. In our text, Christ's sheep are declared to possess .eternal life."

2. The question must be asked: Is eternal, eternal or temporary?

3. If the life Jesus gives can be terminated for any reason at all, then it isn't eternal or everlasting.

4. The questions then must be faced:

a. Did Jesus Christ know the meanings of the words He used?

b. Did Jesus Christ use the words He meant to use?

c. Did Jesus Christ mean what He said?

d. The answers to all of these questions is "yes."

5. These answers also mean that the believer is eternally secure.

B. The meaning of "never perish"

1. In our text, Christ says His sheep "never perish."

a. Does Christ mean what He says here, or Is it possible for one of His sheep to perish?

b. If a sheep that belongs to Christ can lose his or her salvation, then that sheep would perish.

c. But Christ said His sheep will 'never perish."

2. The believer is eternally secure.

C. The meaning of "pluck out of my hand"

1. In our text, Christ said that the believer, His sheep, is in the hand of the Father and in the hand of the Son.

2. He also repeated the statement that nothing can take the believer out of these hands.

3. That means that nothing a man. an animal, a circumstance, the devil, or sin itself, can take the believer away from God and Christ.

4. Is that what it means? Or, does this statement mean something else?

5. If Christ means what He says, then the believer is saved forever and can never be lost.

D. The meaning of "separates"

1. Romans 8:35, 38-39 asks a series of questions and makes a series of statements to the effect that no person can separate the believer from God's love, and no circumstances can separate the believer from God's love.

2. Now, if the believer could be lost and sent to hell, he or she would be separated from God's love.

3. Again, did God know what He was talking about?

4. Did He mean what He said?

5. I believe He did and does, and as a result, the believer is eternally secure.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution. or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?... For I am persuaded, that neither death. nor life, nor angels, nor principalities. nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. nor height, nor depth. nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is found in Christ Jesus our Lord."

II. The appeal of method

A second reason for believing the born-again Christian is eternally secure is the method God has chosen to use In saving the souls of mankind. To discover what this method is, I want to pose three questions and let scripture present the answer.

A. Who works salvation, man or God?

1. 'Salvation is of the Lord." Jonah 2:9

2. "Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith." Romans 3:30

3. ' ... It is God that justifieth.' Romans 8:33

4. If God works salvation for man, then after man receives it, nothing can alter it. He or she is saved forever.

B. How does salvation come, by works or faith?

1. "For 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..." Ephesians 2:8-10

2. "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4:5

3. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done. but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration. and renewing of the Holy Ghost."Titus 3:5

C. How is salvation maintained, by man or God?

1. "For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved forever; but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.' Psalm 37:28

2. 'Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of Ws glory with exceeding joy." Jude 24

3. "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed In the last time." I Peter 1:5

4. This method by which God saves man is of God from beginning to end.

5. It is therefore eternal and unchangeable.

III. The appeal of metaphor

Another element in the teaching of the great truth of eternal security is the beautiful metaphor that is Included in the statements regarding salvation. An examination of them clearly teaches that a person once saved is eternally secure.

A. The seal of God

1. In several passages. the believer is said to be "sealed unto the day of redemption."

2. Notice what they say.

3. "In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after ye believed. ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise." Ephesians 1:13

4. ",And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30

5. "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. having this seal; the Lord knoweth them that are His. And let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." 2Timothy 2:19

6. The "seal" in Bible times was used by people in authority for two things.

a. The clay seal with the imprint of the ring of the ruler was used to identify things that belonged to the kingdom.

b. It was used for security.

c. The seal of the ruler could not be broken without permission of the king.

d. Any such tampering would result in severe penalties.

e. The idea of the "Seal" of the Holy Spirit suggests the identity of the believer as God's possession, secure until God brings that believer to Himself In heaven.

B. The sheep, goat, dog and pig

1. In scripture, God's child is pictured as a "sheep."

2. This was indicated earlier in Christ's statement about "my sheep."

3. The unbeliever is pictured as an unclean animal such as the goat, dog or pig.

4. The sheep go to heaven, and the unclean go to hell. Several scriptures declare this truth.

a. (Mat 25:31-34) "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: {32} And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: {33} And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. {34} Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

b. Verse 41 tells how the goats are doomed to "everlasting fire."

c. The point is that the sheep are always sheep. d. The goats never were sheep.

5. Another passage picturing this truth is II Peter 2:20-22.

a. It is sometimes quoted to suggest a person could be saved. then fall from grace, and be lost.

b. Yet, the metaphor teaches the opposite.

c. It teaches that the dog never was a sheep and that the pig never was a sheep, and so both went back to their natural unclean ways.

A genuine, born-again Christian perseveres to the end. That does not mean that he or she is perfect or always faithful, but rather that saving faith is never lost. He or she is eternally secure. They are eternally God's children, His sheep and redeemed possession. They are sealed by God's Spirit. kept by His power, and secure in His hand.