Friday DIVE – Ten Principles of Eternal Security | FD20260109

Introduction

The Meaning of Eternal Security

Eternal security is the surety that those who have been saved by Jesus Christ will remain saved for all ages.
It is based on the understanding that a believer’s salvation is by grace, totally of God, from start to finish. The believer did not gain his salvation because of something he did … so the believer cannot do anything to lose his salvation.
The believer’s security is guaranteed because he is kept by works of God, not his own works.
It is not that we never do anything that could cause us to lose our salvation, but that God is faithful, even when we are faithless.

The Principles of Eternal Security

1. Spiritual regeneration is not repeatable

There is NO example in the Bible of someone being spiritually regenerated (born again) dying spiritually, then being born again a second time.
A person being born again is akin to a caterpillar becoming a butterfly … Once a caterpillar has gone through the chrysalis stage and exits the cocoon as a butterfly, it cannot become a caterpillar again … ever.
In passages like John 3:14-15; 4:13-14; 6:35 and John 6:51, the verb is in the perfect tense, which means it relates to an action that occurred in the past, the effect of which continues into the present and will extend into the future.
Spiritual regeneration is not repeatable … just as physical birth is not repeatable.

2. Spiritual regeneration produces works of righteousness

Someone who receives salvation does so through faith alone, but that faith is not alone.
The faith that God gave us (Ephesians 2:9), so that we could believe we have been saved, has works associated with it …
James 2:14-17, 18-24 … The believer will do good works, not in order to be saved, but because he has been saved.
Matthew 7:17-20 … A good tree will produce good fruit. Similarly, a person who has been born again will produce evidence of that spiritual rebirth.
Titus 2:11-12 … A person who has been born again will live soberly in this age, by God’s grace.
James 2:26 … Faith without works is dead.
A faith that does not give evidence of spiritual life is a “dead” faith.
Just as someone who has been resuscitated will give evidence of physical life, one who has been spiritually regenerated will show evidence of spiritual life … even if only a little.

3. True Faith responds to biblical truth

2 John 1:2, 4
… The truth abides in us … and we walk in that truth
3 John 1:2-4 …
If a person is has received salvation, then the spirit in him will respond to the truth of God’s word.
Because of the Spirit in us, true believers know God’s truth when they hear it.

4. Loss of REWARDS is NOT loss of SALVATION

Although a person does not receive salvation because of his good works, the faith that caused him to trust in Christ will cause him to do good works … and those good works will be rewarded, BUT …
Salvation is NOT a reward for our good works … Salvation is a gift.
After we’ve been born again, God does hold us accountable for what we do in that period between our conversion and our glorification.
Hebrews 6:10 … God will not forget our (good) works, our labour of love or our ministry.
2 Corinthians 5:10 … We’ll be rewarded according to what we have done
Revelation 22:12 … Christ is coming again … and bringing rewards with Him
Salvation, itself, is NOT a reward … but there are rewards (and riches) that flow from salvation.
We can lose our reward, but we can’t lose our reward.
The Judgement Seat is not about losing salvation … It’s about losing reward

5. The Exhortations to Godly Living are NOT threats of loss of salvation

Biblical exhortations to live godly lives are based upon what God has done, not on possible loss of salvation.
The exhortation that Paul gives in Romans 12:1-2 is based upon what he had said, previously, in chapters 1 through 11 of the same letter.
The godly living that Paul wanted to see was one motivated by appreciation for what God has done, not the threat of loss of salvation … motivated by love, not by fear.
In 2 Corinthians 5:15, he makes a similar point … to not live selfishly, but to live for God, because of what God has done for us.
Similarly, Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:11 … to live lives worthy of the calling we have received … is based on what he said God had done in Ephesians 1-3. The exhortation to godly living continues in the rest of the letter, Ephesians 4-6.

6. The results of sin in a believer’s life don’t affect the believer’s position

Sin in the life of a believer does not result in loss of salvation.
Sin will definitely affect the believer’s relationship with God, but it will not affect his salvation.
In other words, sin will affect the believer’s condition, but not the believer’s position (in Christ).
1 John 1:6-7, 9 …
Sin in the life of a believer will result in loss of fellowship with God … and can result in premature death, as well … BUT it will not result in loss of salvation.
If a son rebels against his father … and leaves home … gets involved in a wayward lifestyle … dies of a drug overdose … and has his body sent back to his father … and his father prepares to bury him .. whose surname will go on the tombstone? His father’s.
When a believer is born again, he becomes a child of God … forever. He does not stop being a child of God whenever he sins. He never stops being the child of his father.
Romans 8:35-39 … Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. ³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, ³⁹Nor 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.
Sin will cause the believer’s condition to change, BUT it will not affect his position.

7. Persistent sin may show a lack of conversion, NOT a loss of salvation

1 John 3:6-10 …
NOTE that the present tense is used …
Here, John is not discussing occasional sin, but a situation where sin has become a lifestyle.
Persistent (or consistent) sin may be indicative of a lack of conversion, but it is not proof of loss of salvation.

8. Perfection is not achieved in this life

Philippians 3:12-14 … Paul, late in his life, recognized that he was still not “perfect” (in his condition), even though he was perfect in his position.
1 Timothy 1:15 … NOTE that Paul used the present tense, in saying, “… I am …” … showing that he recognized that he was still capable of sinning, even after conversion.
The truth is that we will never be perfect in this life.
When Christ died on our behalf, the PENALTY of sin was removed … and when we were born again, we were equipped and enabled to overcome the POWER of sin … but the PRESENCE of sin will not depart from us until we are glorified.
Perfection will not be achieved in this life, because as long as we are human, sin will be present in our lives.

9. Salvation is sure because of Position … and NOT affected by Condition.

According to John 5:24 and Ephesians 2:6, believers are moved from death to life.
In light of the above verse, we could say that the believer’s position has changed.
Many times, however, a believer’s condition (or practice) is not consistent with his position.
The fact that a believer is not walking in a manner that is worthy of his calling … or that his condition (practice) is not consistent with his position … does not mean he has lost, or can lose, his salvation.
We must always remember that there is a difference between a believer’s position and his condition.

10. Good works do not lead to salvation, BUT salvation leads to good works.

This point brings into focus the relationship between works and salvation
Romans 4:4-6 … Our faith … not our works … make us righteous in God’s sight
Galatians 2:21 … We are righteous because of God’s grace, NOT because of our works
2 Timothy 1:9 … God called us because of His purpose, NOT because of our works
Our works do not produce … or secure … our salvation.
If works are necessary for us to keep our salvation, then our salvation is, ultimately, by works.
Our salvation is by grace … NOT by works.

11. We can’t keep ourselves

Acts 13:38-39 …
Romans 3:20a …
Galatians 2:16, 3:11 …

12. Punishment of sin doesn’t mean Loss of Salvation

13. Our salvation is IN Christ

based on a series of radio broadcasts by Tom Murray, founder of Truth Seekers Fellowhip, based on Memphis, TN.

What does eternal security mean?

in the process of time,

I began to be painfully aware that many times my condition did not reflect my position in Christ.

I also noticed in working with other professing Christians that Christians could behave rather badly.

And some have suggested that if a Christian behaved badly it was possible that they could lose their position in Christ. So, that triggered me to want to know are you really eternally secure in Christ or not.

Can a person be sure he/she is going to Heaven?

Can a Christian be sure? Or can a Christian lose his/her salvation?

Some Christians believe one can.

The series that we begin in this session will answer the question of whether or not you can lose your salvation in Christ … either by an act of sin that you commit … or because you stop professing to be a believer in Christ. To put it in another way, we’re going to answer the question, can you ever lose your position in Christ and go back to your former position in Adam?

We’re going to look at this eternal security issue by answering 4 important questions, the first of which is what does eternal security actually mean?

Well, there’s one very simple definition of eternal security that goes like this it is that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in you by which the work of divine grace that is begun in your heart is continued and brought to completion.

Eternal security means that … if you have undergone a real experience of salvation … if you have had a true new birth, you cannot lose your salvation … either by committing a specific sin … or by ceasing to believe.

That which keeps you safe and secure is not your works or your condition and behavior, but the work of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, on your behalf.

Your position in Christ guarantees your eternal salvation and security.

The basic meaning of this eternal security is that what God began in you, at your conversion, God will complete all the way until your glorification, and that which keeps you safe and secure is the work of the father on your behalf. It is not your works.

Why is the matter of your eternal security so important to settle?

According to Tom Murray, it is because, as he’s discovered … IF you do not know where you stand with God, THEN it is difficult for you to ever take a stand for God.

What are some of the eternal principles that govern your eternal security in Christ?

There are 10 basic principles that we’re going to look at …

Salvation is not repeatable.
True salvation produces righteous works.
Genuine faith responds to biblical truth.
A believer’s will not save him/her, but those works are/will be rewarded.
Exhortations are based upon God’s mercies, not threats.
Believers do sin, but do not lose their salvation because of those sins.
Persistent sin, in the life of a believer, may show lack of conversion, not loss of salvation.
Perfection is not achieved in this life.
There is a difference between your position and in your condition.
Works neither produce nor secure salvation.

1. Salvation is not repeatable

there is not a single case anywhere in the Bible where a person was saved, then lost their salvation, then was re-saved at a later date.

That teaching is found nowhere anywhere in your Bible old or New Testament.

The verb to be saved is in the aorist tense in the Greek. Now the reason the aorist tense is important is because it emphasizes a singular non repeatable act.

In other words, when God wanted to describe salvation he described salvation as a new birth and he emphasized the word birth. Why?

Because birth whether it’s physical or spiritual is a one time event in your life which is non repeatable irreversible and birth is not experiential that is you didn’t remember the moment you were born. You may have learned later but at the moment you were just being born into the process.

So, there was simply one act of birth, non repeatable, at your physical birth … and there is one birth at your new birth in salvation.

Therefore, salvation is a non repeatable birth, just as physical birth is,

John 3:14-15 Jesus said that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. He didn’t say temporary life. He didn’t say conditional, probational life. He said eternal life.

John 4:13-14 Jesus said the water that He would give will come become a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life, not temporary, not conditional, not probational, until the next time you sin, but everlasting life.

John 6:35 Jesus said he who believes shall never hunger or thirst.

Well, if you could never hunger and never thirst spiritually again that must mean that salvation is non-repeatable.

John 6:51 … if anyone eats of the living bread, which came down from heaven, he will live forever … not just till the next time he or she sins

Now, these verses that I’ve just read you carry particular weight in that they come directly from the Lord Jesus himself.

When you understood that you were born spiritually dead and Adam and that Jesus died and rose for your salvation, you received him into your heart and you experienced a non-repeatable new birth.

You can no more be born spiritually a second or a third time than you can be born physically a second or a third time.

Genuine salvation is a non-repeatable act, just as physical birth is a non-repeatable act

2. True salvation produces righteous works.

Genuine faith the kind that brings salvation will respond to biblical truth when it is heard. When you have truly been saved, you will show some evidence of your new birth, even though that evidence may be very small. You are saved by faith alone … but the faith that saves is not alone.

Salvation is not faith and works, but genuine salvation is the result of a faith that does work … and you work because you are truly saved not to be saved.

Matthew 7:17-20 Every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit … therefore by their fruits you will know them

If a person is saved, they will give some evidence. Even though it may be small fruit or little fruit, there will be some fruit

Titus 2:11-12 for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age

James 2:26 faith without works is dead

just as a physical body without life is a corpse and shows no evidence of physical life,
a faith that does not give evidence of spiritual life is not a genuine faith that is required for salvation. It is a dead faith.

A resurrected physical body will give some evidence of physical life there will be a pulse a brain wave there will be some evidence breathing a heartbeat and a spiritually resurrected or born again person will give some evidence of spiritual life even though that evidence may be very small

3. Genuine faith responds to biblical truth.

If you are truly saved you will accept biblical truth when God reveals it to you by his Holy Spirit. You will recognize and submit to God’s word because you are now his child and in his family you will know when it is your heavenly father who is speaking to you.

2 John 1:14 walking in truth as we receive commandment from the Father

3 John 1:3-4 spiritual children walk in truth

You may not have known all about the virgin birth of Jesus at your conversion, but when you did learn about that virgin birth you readily accepted that truth.

Your response to biblical truth is another test or principle of whether or not your faith is real.

Real faith responds to the word of God.

true salvation produces works that demonstrate salvation has occurred and

thirdly

Today we’ll study principle #4 of your eternal security in Christ

in our last broadcast I began to look with you at the 10 principles that govern your eternal security in Christ

We covered the first three of those but I discovered in in my search to find out whether or not I could lose my position in Christ by some act of sin specific or general that I committed or because God disappointed me I suddenly and I suddenly began to profess that I really didn’t believe in him anymore

my search led me to discover that once you are in Christ you can never ever lose your position not because you don’t deserve to lose that position but because God is faithful even when you are faithless

4. A believers works are rewarded, but not with salvation.

Salvation is NOT a reward.

Most of us know that we cannot attain our salvation by works … but we also need to know that true salvation, which comes from a true faith, will result in works.

Ephesians 2:8-10 shows us … we are NOT saved by works, BUT we are saved for works. Our works will demonstrate our salvation.

Now, someone might say that if you believe in once saved always saved … that you cannot lose your position in Christ … then it doesn’t matter now you live during the rest of your journey because you’re going to make it home anyway.

However, the person that would make such a statement does not understand what the rest of the New Testament says about the judgment seat of Christ … because, after we become Christians, God does hold us accountable for what we do with his will for our life between our conversion and our glorification.

You cannot lose your salvation … but you certainly can lose your reward.

Hebrews 6:10 for God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward his name in that you have ministered to the Saints and you do continue to minister

in 2 Corinthians 5:10 the apostle Paul says we must all appear including himself before the judgment seat of Christ that each one of us may receive the things done in our body according to what we have done whether good or bad

Paul clearly understood that at the end of of his life he would go into the presence of the Lord

but at the second coming of Christ when he gathers the church Saints around him for the marriage supper of the lamb we are going to be confronted with the judgment seat of Christ

now the judgment seat of Christ has nothing to do with your salvation it has to do with the rewards

only those who are saved will appear at the judgment seat of Christ that is those who are unsafe will not appear before Christ until the great white throne judgment that will be just before eternity begins

those who appear at the great white throne judgment will not be there to be rewarded for their works they are going to be everlastingly condemned and punished for their sinful works

Revelation 22:12 the last thing Jesus said to those who were in Christ is behold I am coming quickly when I come and my reward is with me to give to every one of you according to his work.

What work was Jesus talking about?
- NOT about “works” people may do to try to earn salvation
- BUT about “works”people do after they become Christians.
- IOW, the lives that you and I live after we become Christians

It does matter how we live between our conversion and our appearance before the judgment seat of Christ.

The judgment seat of Christ does not involve losing salvation; it involves losing reward … So a believers works are rewarded … and his lack of works can result in a loss of rewards, but they will not result in a loss of salvation.

5. The exhortations, in the Bible, to live godly are not threats, but they are based upon God’s mercies.

Now there are many exhortations or encouragements in the Scriptures that really encourage you to live a godly life during your journey home because of what God has done for you

these biblical exhortations to live a godly life are never based upon the fear of your losing your salvation

for example Paul spent the 1st 11 chapters in the book of Romans dealing with salvation and he confirms that though those believers in Corinth were eternally saved

but then Paul begins to exhort them in Romans 12/1 I beseech you therefore brethren and he calls them brethren

for example Paul spent the 1st 11 chapters in Romans dealing with salvation and he confirms that those believers in Rome were eternally saved

but then Paul begins to exhort them

in Romans 12:1 he says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God not out of fear of loss of salvation that you present your bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God

notice this that this exhortation to Christ like living is based upon what God has done his mercies and not upon the threat of losing their salvation

God’s mercies are your motivation to serve him not his threat to get you to serve him out of fear

in 2Corinthians 5:15 Paul wrote and he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again

now here again we have another exhortation to Christlike living through not living selfishly but living for God because of what he has done

again this exhortation is based upon responding to God’s mercies and not upon the fear of losing your salvation

later Paul writes in ephesians 4:11 therefore the prisoner of the Lord I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling which you were called

now notice he says I beseech you

now Paul spends the first 3 chapters of ephesians dealing with all that God has done on the behalf of these ephesian believers in Christ

in chapter 4 he begins to deal with the practical application of their response to God’s great mercies

notice that Paul begins in chapter 4:1 with the word therefore that is on the basis of what God has done which he has outlined in chapters one to three

here’s the way you should live and then gives them their exhortation in chapters 4 to 6

again these exhortations are always based upon what God has done, not upon the fear or threat of losing their salvation

now the 6th principle that governs your eternal security in Christ is that believers do sin during their journey home but when they sin they do not lose their salvation

what happens when a Christian sins during their journey?

well it severs their fellowship with God the father but it does not change their position in Christ

1 John 1:6,7,9 if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness meaning we are walking in a sinful lifestyle we lie, and do not practice the truth, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin.

sin in your life as a believer in Christ severs your fellowship with God and with other believers but it does not cost you your eternal salvation

when you first believed and received Christ you entered into a family relationship with God and with the other members of his family

when you were born physically you became a part of a family and you will always be a part of that family

your communion and fellowship within your family can be strained or broken through anger or hurt between you and the other members

and the same thing is possible in the family of God

your sins as a believer in Christ break fellowship which you will always remain in God’s family

if one of my children who was born from my genes suddenly went into a lifestyle that caused us so much grief and pain over such a long time that I finally called that child in and said listen I want you to leave this house and never return.

As far as I’m concerned I don’t have a child like you anymore

suppose my child went away and never made contact with me again and they died of a drug overdose in a drug house somewhere in a drug-infested community

even though the fellowship was broken and there had been no contact for a long period of time when they put that child in the grave whose name would they put on the grave marker

well, they would put my name even though the fellowship has been broken they still are a member of my family because physical birth makes them a member of my family

and the minute you became a member of the family of God your sin and rebellion can break fellowship with your father and the family but when you die you are still a member of that family.

Ain may sever your fellowship but it does not terminate your salvation

Your condition may change, but your position is sure in Christ.

the 7th principle that governs your eternal security in Christ is that when there is persistent sin in the life of someone who professes to be in Christ that persistent sin may show a lack of conversion.

now this is the point that the apostle John brings out

1John 36-10 whoever abides in him does not sin habitually chronically and progressively whoever sins that way has neither seen him nor known him little children let no one deceive you he who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous

the sin John discusses refers to a lifestyle of continuous deepening and unrepentant sin

if anything persistent sin may show that such a person is not saved

John is not saying that a true believer will never sin

In 1John 19, he gives the remedy for the sins of a believer and John includes himself

The sin in the passage we just read is not an occasional sin but a lifestyle that gives no evidence of loving God or any desire to please him in daily living.

The 8th principle that governs your eternal security in Christ is that you cannot achieve perfection in this life

This is because you still have your old adamic sin nature in you … even though that sin nature has been severed from its master-slave relationship over you.

While it is not necessary for you to sin, because you do have a way of escape and that you now have the Holy Spirit in-dwelling you, and you have a new nature, you will sin.

If we have to reach, or maintain, perfection in this life, in order to retain our salvation, then every believer I know is in trouble.

If anyone could have made it to perfection, it would have had to have in the apostle Paul,

and yet Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12-14 that he was not yet perfect.

This was written late in his life. What Paul was saying is that while he was perfect in his position he was by no means perfect in his condition .

In 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul wrote these words toward the end of his life this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief.

Notice that Paul at this late date in his life is using the present tense . He says not I was but I am chief of sinners

Therefore, eternal security is not the consequence of living to perfection. You do not have to sin but you will.

The 9th principle is that there is a difference between your position and your practice or your condition.

Salvation is yours because of your position in Christ, but your actual practice of that Christianity may not always show it.

if you think about the church at Corinth Paul referred to this body of believers as positionally sanctified in 1 Corinthians 1:30 , but

looking at their practices, they even had a young man who was sexually involved with his stepmother.
There were also people in the Corinthian church who were getting drunk at the agape dinners and were getting drunk on the wine at the Lord’s table

Paul had to write them, to rebuke the condition that they had allowed their lives to become, but Paul, again and again, calls them brethren.

In their condition or in their practices, they were one of the worst churches recorded in the New Testament.

If you remember that there is a difference between your position and your practice or condition, then you will realize that your sinful practice does not mean that your position has been lost. Remember that your position is not the same as your condition or your practice and therefore your salvation is secure in your position not in the way you practise your condition.

now the 10th and final principle that governs your eternal security in Christ is that your works do not produce nor can your works secure salvation.

this principle teaches that IF your works are needed to keep your salvation, THEN your salvation is by works .

What are the scriptures actually teach?

Romans 4:4-6 now to him that works. the wages are counted, not as grace, but as debt, but to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Psalms 32:1-2 David describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain

1 Timothy 1:9 God has saved us and called us with a holy cold calling not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace which was given to us here’s our phrase in Christ Jesus

IF works are necessary to keep your salvation, THEN your salvation is ultimately by works. Thankfully, the Bible consistently teaches that your salvation and security are by grace through faith … and not by your works

Eternal salvation and security is a testimony to God’s mercy, God’s grace and God’s faithfulness … not to your merit or to your performance.

God alone will be praised in eternity for your eternal security not you.

Romans 4:4-6 David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works (Psalms 32:1-2)

David as an Old Testament saint living hundreds of years people of Christ understood that salvation was not by works it was by grace through faith.

David was saved by grace through faith and not his works.

The Old Testament Saints clearly understood that no one could ever earn salvation … that salvation was a gift … and all they had to do was admit their condition in Adam, turn and ask God to be merciful to them a Sinner and, upon their repentance and their faith toward God, God would restore that life which was lost in Adam. And when that person was restored to that condition in which Adam was created, that person was eternally saved.

That’s why later when David had his affair with Bathsheba and the consequence of his sin was that there was public exposure there would be a plague and a famine in the land but also David lost his son by Bathsheba, David later went into the presence of the Lord and he didn’t ask God to restore his salvation for his sin

he asked God to restore the joy of his salvation.

David did not lose his salvation; he simply lost his joy because he had broken fellowship with God.

So the 10 principles that we want you to be aware of as we approach our study on why you cannot lose your position in Christ are …

Salvation is a one time act and is non repeatable … just like physical birth is not repeatable.
True salvation will make a change internally — in a spiritually dead person — and that person will give some evidence of life, just as a physical corpse will give evidence if physical life is restored so true salvation produces righteous works. There may not be many … and they may be far between … but there will be some.
Genuine faith responds to biblical truth. Once the Holy Spirit comes to indwell a newborn believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit (from within) bears witness to the written word to God because he authored and superintended every word of that of that scripture. Therefore, those who are genuinely regenerated in Christ, because the spirit lives in them genuine faith will respond to biblical truth … to recognize it as God’s word … and then to be convicted to obey it.
A believers works are rewarded, but salvation is not a reward.

Salvation is by grace through faith but there is a reward for believers in Christ at the judgment seat of Christ.

When Jesus returns to gather his bride, each of us will individually appear before him and give an account of what we’ve done in our bodies since the day of our conversion.

We will not lose our salvation. On that day, only believers will appear but we can lose the rewards that ours, potentially, in Christ, if we had lived to our potential in Christ.

Exhortations throughout the Bible to godly living are based upon God’s mercies not upon threats that you can lose your salvation.

Believers in Christ can and do sin on their way home, but those believers do not lose their salvation … They simply break fellowship and lose their joy.

Persistent sin in a person’s life may show there was a lack of conversion, not a loss of salvation.

When there is a persistent, habitual, chronic, downgraded sin in a person’s life, it is consistently downward with no remorse and no intent to change.

That persistent sin may not show that a person has lost their salvation.

That persistent sin may show that there was a lack of conversion to begin with.

Perfection is not achieved in this life.

As long as we live in this mortal body on this fallen earth … and as long as we have the sin nature residing within us … and Satan and his demons are tempting us … we will sin.

Perfection is possible when we get to heaven and we are glorified … but, in this life, perfection is not achieved.

That said, we should be maturing and progressing toward Christ-likeness, but we will sin … and the apostle Paul confirmed this when he said, late in his life, that he was chief of sinners.

There is a difference between your position and your condition (practice).

Too many times, people look at the condition of their life to determine their position and that is an inverted gospel.

What Paul teaches throughout his epistle is … he encourages people in their position … then he challenges them concerning their condition.

You may not be practising Christ-likeness in your daily life, but that is your condition. Your position is based on the fact that you are in Christ. Your position is in Christ.

Your condition does NOT determine your position.

Your position comes from the new birth in Christ.

Works do not produce … or secure … salvation.

Your salvation is not probationary.

You are not on approval.

You are not on a performance treadmill.

The moment God accepted you in Christ, you became His child forever.

You could not work to produce your salvation … or earn it … and you cannot work to secure, or keep, your salvation.

This foundation needs to be laid in every Christian’s life before they can begin building the Christian life.

what does eternal security mean?

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Introduction

The Meaning of Eternal Security

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