|
Is
it possible for Christians to lose the salvation that is
received by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior? Not according to
the Bible! There is more than adequate Biblical proof that
our eternal life really is eternal.
Christ's Work is Sufficient to
Keep us Saved
Christ's work on the cross is not
an ongoing matter. His work of salvation is finished!
"Being justified freely by
his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
(Rom. 3:24)
"And he is the propitiation
for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the
whole world." (1 Jn. 2:2)
"For he has made Him who knew
no sin to become sin for us that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him." (2 Cor. 5:21)
“And I give unto them eternal
life and they shall never perish.” (Jn. 10:28)
Christ Provided Eternal Life, Not
Probationary Life
We are given eternal life, which
by its very nature is forever life.
"My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal
life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to
Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father's hand." (Jn. 10:27-29)
The life which Christ gives is
not said to be temporary life or probationary life or life until
we sin again but eternal life. This life is insured by the
everlasting hold of God the Son and God the Father. Would it be
possible to do something, anything, to so spurn God's love that
it would cause Him to change His mind about our life and release
His grip on us?
"All that the Father gives Me
will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no
means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do
my own will, but the will of Him who has sent Me. This is
the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all that He has
given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at
the last day." (Jn. 6:37-39)
There is nothing that we can ever
do, not one thing, to cause God to cast us out. The casting out
of a child of God is simply not possible! God said it, and God
always says what He means, and He always means exactly what He
says.
Immersed Into Union With Christ
At the instant that we trust in
Jesus Christ to save us, we are baptized in one Spirit into the
body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). His characteristics become ours.
When Adam died, every member of
the human race died in him. Just as we received death by our
physical connection with Adam, we receive life by our connection
to Jesus Christ.
"For as in Adam, all die; so
also in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22)
What kind of life does the Lord
Jesus Christ have? He has eternal life. But He does not merely
possess eternal life; He is eternal life. By becoming a part of
His body, we inherit that forever life.
"And this is the testimony:
that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His
Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the
Son of God does not have life. These things have I written
unto you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you
may know that you have eternal life, and that you may
believe in the name of the Son of God." (1 Jn. 5:11-13)
His righteousness also becomes
our righteousness.
"And be found in Him, not
having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is
of God by faith." (Phil. 3:9)
We also receive the same
relationship that Christ has with His heavenly Father when we
are placed into Him. Since He is the Son of God, we likewise
become children of God.
"For you are all sons of God
through faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as were
baptized into Christ (immersed into Him) have put on
Christ." (Gal. 3:26-27)
This is a mysterious truth and
that is exactly what Paul calls it.
"For we are members of His
body, of his flesh, and of his bones. This is a great
mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church" (Eph.
5:30,32).
But God not only places us into
His Son, He then seals us in Him forever.
Sealed Forever In
Christ
At the moment that
believers are immersed into the body of Jesus Christ, the Holy
Spirit seals us there. God the Holy Spirit’s seal becomes the
guarantee that our position in Christ is secure.
“In Him, you also, after
listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your
salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a
pledge of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own
possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph. 1:11-14)
The word “pledge” is the Greek
word arrobon. It was often translated in the ancient
world “engagement ring.” An engagement ring is the symbol of a
promise. It stands for a guarantee that the person who gave it
will fulfill the promise. It is truly a pledge. God has given
to us His Holy Spirit to seal us “in Christ.” This is God’s
pledge that guarantees that we cannot ever get out of Christ.
God specifically chose the word arrobon to describe the
Holy Spirit’s sealing ministry.
“Now He who
establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,
who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a
pledge.” (2 Cor. 1:21-22)
2 Corinthians
5:1-5
“For we know that if the earthly
tent” - The tent is a metaphor for our physical body.
“Which is our house is torn down”
- Our human spirits live in an earthly tent which is our
physical body. One day our physical body will die, if the
translation (rapture) does not occur in our lifetime.
“We have a building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. We
have a body made by the creative genius of God waiting for us!”
“For indeed in this house we
groan - In our physical bodies we groan.”
“Longing to be clothed with
our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on,
will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this
tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be
unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be
swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very
purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
(arrobon).” (2 Cor. 5:1-5)
Note again the mention of God’s
pledge, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that
we are going to get our new bodies.
Sealed Until
Ephesians 1:14 tell us that we
are sealed
in Christ "until." Until is a time word that signals the moment
that the seal will be broken. This seal cannot be broken by
anyone but God.
"Until" points to the final
redemption of the particular purchased possession (the
believer). The redemption spoken of here is not that redemption
from the penalty of sin (Eph. 1:7). That happens the moment that
we believed in Christ. But it speaks of the final removal of the
body from the very presence of sin. The Holy Spirit's seal
becomes the guarantee that this future redemption of the body
will take place.
“And not only this, but also
we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly
for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in
hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope;
for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for
what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for
it.” (Rom. 8:23-25)
It is as though God places us
into His Son and locks us up in Him until He calls us to be with
Him. Thus, the Holy Spirit's seal is the proof of our future
redemption.
"For by one offering He has
perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Heb.
10:14)
This relationship to God created
by being "in Christ" is exactly what Paul had in mind when he
explained that absolutely nothing could separate the Christian
from God’s love.
"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 created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:38-39)
Sources
New American Standard Bible
Word Pictures in the New Testament;
A. T. Robertson
|
