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Monday, February 14, 2011

Working OUT What God is Working IN

The KEY to Eternal Security

The following article by Pastor Zac Poonen provides an overview on the topic of eternal security including how a believer can know that they are secure and what the Scriptures have to say about the conditions surrounding this security.

ETERNAL SECURITY – FOR ALL WHO FOLLOW JESUS

Jesus said, “Man shall live by EVERY (single) word that proceeds from the mouth of God” – and not just by any one word of God (Matt.4:4). So, if we take just one verse of Scripture without comparing it with other verses in Scripture, we can arrive at wrong conclusions and end up believing what is false. Many preachers have deceived people by giving them false hopes through quoting just one verse of Scripture, ignoring other verses.

Many a wrong understanding of Biblical doctrines arises from not comparing Scripture with Scripture. When Satan quoted a Scripture to Jesus saying, “It is written”, Jesus balanced it by saying, “It is ALSO written” (Matt.4:6,7). God created birds with two wings, so that they could fly straight. Biblical truth is also balanced in the same way.

When considering the doctrine of eternal security, we must find a balance between the two great truths of the sovereignty of God and the free will of man.

God has given man a free will and never forces anyone to choose Him. But He knows from all eternity who will choose Him and who will not. So His election of some people as His children is based on His foreknowledge (as made clear in 1 Pet.1:1,2) – and not on arbitrary choice.

God created the planets without freedom of choice. And so, even though they have obeyed God’s laws implicitly for thousands of years, they cannot be either holy or sinful or God’s children. God created the animals however, with a free will. But they have no conscience. And so they too cannot be holy or sinful or God’s children.

But when God created man, He gave him both a free will and a conscience. Therefore, man can be either holy or sinful – and can choose to become a child of God.

If God were to take away our conscience, we would become like the animals - incapable of moral choice and therefore incapable of being holy or sinful.

If God were to take away our free will, we would become like robots – and again we would be incapable of being holy or sinful. So God never takes away our free will – even after we become believers.

We must recognize this truth if we are to understand the doctrine of eternal security aright. The teaching that it is impossible for believers to fall away from God, reduces believers to robots, who have no freedom of choice.

God loves cheerful givers” – in all matters, including obedience (2 Cor.9:7). He does not desire an obedience that is forced. That is why He never takes away our freedom of choice. We can choose to follow Christ – and later choose to forsake Him, if we so wish.

Forgiveness of sins is a wonderful, free gift of God. But a person has to choose it, in order to receive it. God never forces it on anyone. If God had thrust forgiveness on people, then everyone in the world would have been forgiven and saved. It is the same with being filled with the Holy Spirit. God does not force believers to be filled with His Spirit. They must choose to ask for it (John 7:37-39).

God’s promises are never fulfilled automatically. The promises of God are all Yes in Christ. But we must add our Amen to them by our free will, if we are to receive and experience them (See 2 Cor.1:20).

Here is an example that proves this. God promised the elders of Israel in Egypt two things:

(1) that He would bring them out of Egypt; and
(2) that He would bring them into Canaan (Exod.3:17).

But only the first of those two promises was fulfilled in the lives of those elders, because they believed only the first and did not believe the second (Num.14:22,23).

The promises of God will not be automatically fulfilled in our lives. We must believe them, if we are to receive them. As James says, we “must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Such a man will receive nothing from the Lord” (James 1:6,7).

Philippians 2: 12,13 commands us: “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God Who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Here we see that it is God Who first works in us by giving us the desire and the ability to do His will. That is one part of the truth. But then WE have to WORK OUT that salvation, if we are to experience it. That is the other half of the truth. Some Christians emphasise ONE WING of this truth while others emphasise THE OTHER WING. To have the whole truth, we need both wings. If we accept only one wing, we will keep going round in circles!!

We can experience the salvation spoken of in the above verses, only if we work out what God works in.

One proof of this can be seen in the very next verse, where we are told to “do ALL things without grumbling and complaining” (Phil. 2:14). How many believers can testify that they have been saved from ALL grumbling and complaining? Can you testify to that yourself? If you cannot, that is NOT because God is not working in you to save you from those sins. It is because you have not cooperated with His Spirit in working OUT your salvation from those sins. The next verse tells us that it is only when we are saved from all grumbling and complaining that we “prove to an evil world that we are the children of God” (Phil.2:15). By that standard, are you proving to the world around you, that you are a child of God?

Consider another area: It is God Who grants people the ability to repent (Acts 11:18). But He wants everyone to repent (2 Pet.3:9). So He is obviously willing to grant repentance to everyone. But most people (even believers) do not respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to repent. They do not work out what God is working in.

Consider yet another area: It is God alone Who can save anyone. But He wants everyone to be saved (1 Tim.2:4). So if people are not saved, it is because they do not respond to what God is trying to work in their lives. They resist the grace of God. They do not work out what God is seeking to work in.

A lot of the wrong understanding of eternal security comes from imagining that “eternal life”. means living forever. But “eternal life” does not refer to a life that never ends, because people who go to hell also live forever – and they certainly don’t have eternal life. Jesus defined “eternal life” as "knowing God and Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). Eternal life is a life that first of all, had no beginning and then has no end. That can refer only to the life of God Himself. This is the divine nature that we can now partake of, in Christ (2 Pet.1:4).

This eternal life is indeed the free gift of God (Rom.6:23). But the previous verse (Rom.6:22) tells us that God gives this eternal life only to those who want to be “freed from sin” and to become “bondslaves of God”. So even though eternal life is a free gift, there are conditions for receiving it.

In relation to the subject of eternal security, consider the following seven passages of Scripture. [It is essential, when looking at these verses, that we give up our pre-conceived ideas of WHAT WE THINK THESE VERSES SHOULD BE SAYING. Read them with a totally open mind – for this is the Word of God – and then you will know the truth]:
  1. John 10:27-29: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will 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 the Father's hand."

    When considering the promise in these verses, we must remember that there are some conditions mentioned here for the promise to be fulfilled. Most Christians do not look at the conditions! Thus they believe a false teaching. The promise of eternal security is given here ONLY to those who follow Jesus until the end. You cannot encash a cheque if it is not in your name; and you cannot claim a promise if you do not fulfil the conditions. If you are following Jesus, you certainly have eternal security. But if you are not following Him, then you are deceiving yourself if you believe that you are eternally secure. No-one can pluck you from Jesus' hand if you follow Him. But you can choose to jump out of His hand yourself at any time – because God will never take away your free will.

  2. Matthew 24:11-13: "Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."

    Jesus Himself says here that to be saved, one must endure until the end. We must take these words of Jesus exactly as He spoke them, if we are to know the truth.

  3. Matthew 6:14,15: “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

    Jesus was very accurate with His words. The fact that He used “heavenly Father” here, indicates that He was talking to God’s children and not to unbelievers. In fact, the whole sermon on the mount (of which these verses are a part) was meant for God’s children.

    Here Jesus tells God’s children that they will not be forgiven if they do not forgive others. What will happen to this “saved” person, if he dies in that state – unforgiven by God, because he did not forgive others. Can he enter into God’s presence with unforgiven sin? Can he receive forgiveness of sins after he has died?? There is NO forgiveness of sins beyond the grave. So he will be eternally lost. Even though He was once “saved”, he lost his salvation.

    Jesus made this crystal clear in the parable in Matthew 18:23-35. There we see that the entire debt that the king forgave his slave was placed back on the slave’s head and he was also put in prison – just because he did not forgive his fellow-slave. Jesus concluded the parable saying, “My heavenly Father will do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart" (v.35). This teaches clearly that ALL the sins that our heavenly Father once forgave us will be placed back upon us, if we do not forgive even one person. And if we die in that state, we will be unforgiven and therefore, eternally lost.

  4. Romans 8:12,13: "Brethren......if you are living according to the flesh, you WILL die.".

    This warning is for “brethren” – believers. The Holy Spirit tells believers here (in no uncertain terms) that they will CERTAINLY die spiritually, if they live according to the flesh – even if they were once “made alive”. Yet many preachers tell believers that they will NEVER die spiritually.

    God warned Adam in Genesis 2:17, that if he disobeyed God, he would “surely die" (just as it is written in Romans 8:13). But Satan said, "You surely will not die" (Gen.3:4) – just like many preachers are telling believers today.

    Who was right in Eden – God or Satan? 
    Who do you think is right today – God or these false teachers?

  5. Hebrews 3:12-14: "Take care, brethren (these are ‘holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling whose High Priest is Jesus’ – as we see in verse1), that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God………. For we have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end."

    Here we read that “holy brethren” (believers) can end up having an evil, unbelieving heart that makes them fall away from the living God. We are also told that we become partakers of Christ ONLY if we hold fast our faith UNTIL THE END. These words are crystal clear, to all whose minds are unprejudiced by preconceived ideas.

  6. Hebrews 6:4-6: "In the case of those who have been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify the Son of God”.

    These verses clearly refer to believers who were once made “partakers of the Holy Spirit”. We are told here that such believers CAN fall away. We are also told that it is impossible for them to return to repentance AS LONG AS (the meaning of “since”) they live in their sin and thus re-crucify the Son of God. Everyone who takes sin lightly is thereby despising the crucifixion of Christ and in a sense crucifying Christ afresh. As long as a person has that attitude to sin, he cannot be brought to repentance. If he remains in that state, he will be lost eternally. But there is hope for him if he decides to take sin seriously and thus stops re-crucifying Christ.

  7. Rev.3:5. "He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life"

    These are the words that Jesus spoke to an elder (messenger) of a church and to all the believers in that church. Jesus never makes any empty threats. Read this warning of Christ’s, with an open mind and ask yourself, “Can a person’s name be erased from the book of life? Does the Lord always speak the truth?

    Jesus knows more about the book of life than any of us do. We are not to use logic here, but simply accept the words of Jesus as they are. It is true that God knows the end from the beginning and so He knows who will overcome and who will not. But He is speaking to us in human terms here, so that we can beware of this danger of our names bring erased from the book of life. It is written about the final judgment: “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev.20:15). God hides these truths from clever, intelligent people who use their logic and reveals them to “babes” – those who accept His Word, exactly as it is written, with a childlike heart (Matt.11:25).

Many claim to believe that the Bible is God’s infallible word. But they choose what they want to believe in it and reject what they don’t want to. They depend on what their fallible minds tell them, and not on what God’s Word teaches clearly. Thereby they show their arrogance and their pride.

These are matters of extreme importance, because they affect our eternal destiny. So we cannot afford to blindly believe what men teach us and thus be deceived. We must believe the word of God, which is the only light we have in this dark world. Whatever interpretation you may put on any other verse in the New Testament, it cannot cancel out the truths stated clearly in the above verses.

One of the last promises in the epistles is that the Lord “is ABLE to keep us from falling” (Jude 24). This is true - the Lord is certainly able to keep us from falling. But if we do not yield ourselves completely to Him, He will not be able to keep us from falling - for He never forces His will on anyone.

As believers, our relationship with Christ is compared to that of a betrothed virgin, awaiting her wedding (2 Cor.11:2; Rev.19:7). In the next verse (2 Cor.11:3), Paul says that he fears that Satan will deceive us and draw us away from simple devotion to Christ, even as Satan deceived Eve. Eve was in paradise and was deceived by Satan – and was driven out of paradise by God. Today, we who are “engaged” to Christ are headed for paradise. But if we allow Satan to deceive us, we will never enter paradise.

If the bride plays the harlot with the world and with sin, her Bridegroom will refuse to marry her. This is the harlot church referred to as Babylon (in Revelation 17), that is finally rejected by the Lord.

If you love the Lord, you will keep yourself pure for Him, even when you find other believers around you playing the harlot with the world and with sin. Jesus warned us that in the last days, "most people's love will grow cold. (This sentence obviously refers to believers for they are the only ones who love the Lord). But the one who endures to the end will be saved." (Matt.24:11-13).

Satan seeks to deceive all of us. But the Bible warns us that God also will allow us to be deceived, “so that we believe what is false” – IF we “do not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thess.2:10,11).

If we accept the truth that is written in God’s Word, and if we face up to the truth about the sins in our own life that the Holy Spirit shows us, and if we are eager to be saved from ALL those sins, then we will never be deceived.

But if we do not accept what is clearly written in God’s Word, or if we do not desire to be saved from sin, then God will allow us to be deceived and to believe what is false – not only in this matter of “eternal security” but in other areas as well.

Here then is the conclusion of this whole matter:

We love the Lord, because He first loved us and because He forgave us all our sins. Therefore, by His grace, we will keep our conscience clear at all times and we will love Him and follow Him until the very end – and so we are eternally secure.

Every disciple of Jesus who is following Him is eternally secure.

But let him who thinks he is standing take heed, lest he fall (1 Cor.10:12).

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

11 comments:

  1. This is the most wonderful teaching. It is the most complete and easy to understand I have ever read.

    Thank you for posting.

    D.

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  2. this was so amazing!..
    it helps me a lot to fully understand what is plain lies among all lies about eternal security.
    I'm convinced and I wanted to share this to my fellow bible study group..
    Godblessyou!

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  3. “The promise of eternal security is given here ONLY to those who follow Jesus until the end.” I can’t find any where in these verses John 10:27-29 ‘UNTIL THE END’ or anything of the kind.’ In fact what I see is “THEY WILL NEVER PERISH” and if they perish God is a liar which is not so. Then I see “NO ONE will snatch them out of my hands. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all” I believe I’m in the “no one” and when God Says He is greater than all then I’m included in the ‘all’ We must take these words of Jesus exactly as He spoke them, if we are to know the truth.
    You say in Matthew 6:14,15 “There is NO forgiveness of sins beyond the grave.” I support you in that. But when u say” So he will be eternally lost. Even though He was once “saved”, he lost his salvation.” you make a grave mistake, what I understand when I die without forgiving my brother I will pay it at the Lamb’s book of life judgment seat of Christ in1 Cor 3:15 but not losing his salvation as you are trying to say. not written anywhere in the bible.
    Romans 8:12,13: "Brethren......if you are living according to the flesh, you WILL die.".
    The Holy Spirit tells believers here that they will CERTAINLY die spiritually, if they live according to the flesh, rally support that not only spiritually but physically “for the wages of sin is death.” If we can live without sin we can live forever. But the gift of God is eternal life.
    Hebrews 3:12-14: "…For we have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end." And this is the ASSURANCE that we have: [And you also were included in Christ when you HEARD the word of truth, the gospel of your SALVATION. HAVING BELIEVED, you were marked in him with A SEAL, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit GUARANTEEING our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14) (Rom 10:9-10).]
    "In the case of those who have been enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have FALLEN AWAY, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify the Son of God”.

    You in Hebrews 6:4-6 “Such believers CAN fall away. But there is HOPE for him if he decides to take sin seriously and thus stops re-crucifying Christ.” these verse also says it is IMPOSSIBLE and it very clear so there is no hope for him if he falls away We must take these words precisely. I’m yet to see one Christian who does not sin, and if he sins it is IMPOSSIBLE TO RENEW them again. it seems that the law was better than grace.

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  4. You say “Jesus never makes any empty threats. Can a person’s name be erased from the book of life? Does the Lord always speak the truth?” the question here is not if our names be erased because Jesus assures us he will not, These words are crystal clear, but it is if we overcome. And how do we overcome? This is how we overcome. "For whatsoever is BORN OF GOD OVERCOMES the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our FAITH Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who BELIEVES that Jesus is the Son of God”. 1 John 5:5 thanks to John who saw it is important to write this verse so no one will come to his own conclusions. For sure man shall not live in bread alone but every [single] word that comes from God. Those who believe His promise of everlasting life,[ETERNAL, OSAS] received it.
    [john 3:16] which does not say one can loose his eternal life John 16:33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have OVERCOME the world.” So according to 1john 5:5 overcoming is BEALIVING that Jesus is the Son of God. God hides these truths from intelligent. We are to depend on what God’s Word teaches clearly. Another verse that proves overcoming in Rev 2,3 is “You, dear children, are from God and have OVERCOME them, BECAUSE THE ONE WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN THE ONE WHO IS IN THE WORLD. (1 John 4:3-4)”

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  5. Hello AmaingAceGraphics,

    The words above are not my own, but are the words of Pastor Zac Ponnen. Feel free to send any questions you may have his way.

    Maybe your problem in understanding the Scriptures is in fact with what you choose to "see". The only ones who are promised to "never perish" are those who "follow" (verse 27). It is to "them" who follow Him which are promised eternal life. You cannot abscond with God's promises by separating them from the conditions of those who whom they apply.

    What do you think "follow me" means? Is it your contention that we only need to follow Jesus for a year? For a month? For an hour?

    "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." John 12:26

    "And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Mark 8:34

    "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27

    Your understanding is in error. I Corinthians 3:15 is not about paying a price for unrepented sin. It is about the effectiveness of ministry work for God and how ministers will be judged in building upon the foundation of Christ. The context has absolutely nothing to do with judging the merits of a person's individual salvation (although those who hold to the error of OSAS will often pervert that text to make it seem so). For more on this topic, please see: We Can Only Lose Our Reward.

    Falling into sin and falling into apostasy are not the same thing: God Doesn't Mince Words

    Jesus states that He can blot names out of the book of life for those who do not overcome: Names Blotted Out of the Book of Life

    But what does it mean to be born of God? To overcome? To have faith? To believe? People cite those words, but very few understand what they mean.

    Yes, believers in Christ are overcomers, but overcomers of what? Of evil (Romans 12:21), of the world (I John 5:4-5), of Satan (I John 2:13-14), and even of their own flesh (I John 5:18). It is through obedience that we overcome and obedience is even the witness that we abide in God's love (John 14:15; John 15:10; I John 5:3-4).

    "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." II Peter 2:19-20

    "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12:11

    If we believe God, we will obey Him. That is a "condition" for eternal security. Anything short of that is turning God's grace into lasciviousness (Jude 1:4).

    "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." Titus 2:11-12

    I encourage you to seek the truth of the Scriptures via the Spirit of God and not simply rely on what you have been taught in error.

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  6. Jesus says He Knows His Sheep (saved persons), and His sheep hear His voice (come you who labour and I will give you rest.etc), and they follow Him. First before His sheep follow him He says He KNOWS them, and subsequently they follow. so it Faith first then works follow, secondly I have never heard of a person who is able to follow Christ constantly or continuously all the way. What does the shepherd do to his lost sheep? Cast them away? I would like you to tackle the parable of the lost sheep, Ephesians 1:13,14and Hebrews 12:6-8 if you are concerned about people endless security.

    "And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." is Luke 14:27 about discipleship or eternal security? Or are the two one and the same things? If then will only Jesus disciple see heaven? Why did Jesus call Judas a devil while he was still “following” Him? Why did He not first let Judas forsake Him then call him a devil? What I know, u can be a disciple, going up and down doing all the works to retain salvation but end UP not having it.

    Then Can God not use the affirmative to assure people who are in doubt about anything? like there eternal security?(It is not for this item but I have chose to ask you.)

    I’m not saying works are not good or encouraging sin because of Gods grace or our faith Romans 3:3,1Romans 6:15. But am saying salvation is without works .We are not to put fruits (obedience) as condition but roots (faith). Because many people obey yet they don’t believe, every where in the word of God there is the word ‘unbelief’ or ‘they believed him not’ there is no salvation. We are not to emphasize on works but faith then works will manifest themselves in time as the lord works them as we yield to the Holy Spirit

    You say ‘God does not forsake His people, but His people can in fact forsake Him’ (Romans 11:19-21) they were broken of because of ‘unbelief (Hebrews 3:12) it is all about UNBELIEF Matt 7:22do you know one can do many wonderful things in Jesus name and doesn’t trust him as his/her saviour? Or have the zeal to serve without belief (Hebrews 10; 38-39). Those who draw back don’t BELIEVE into the saving of the soul.

    What work must I do to retain my salvation? Is the doing not works? What of baptism how many times should be baptised every time I get saved (born again) again.
    Is salvation by faith and then is reliant upon behaviour i.e. stopping to love or obeying God or is obeying not behaviour? What am I obeying his commandments? How do I know that I have stopped loving the one who purchased my own without charging me anything? When I believe God that he paid for my sins and purchased my eternal life and it is only by faith that I have it, I will do everything good to please him out of gratitude. He says yet when I was still a sinner he loved me, that is enough for me to love him back and love others. Without even charging me to love Him or love others. how can you explain these verses (FREE GIFT- Rom 5:15, 11:6, 5:18)(NOT BY WORKS- Titus 3:5, Eph 2:8-9 Gal 5:6 Rom 9:32, 2 Tim 1:9 Heb 4:10)(BELIEVE. Acts 10:43, John 1:12, 5:24, 6:29, Rom 10:13)(PHYSICAL BLOOD 1st Pet1:18-19; Heb 9:12, Rev 1:5)(NEVER LEAVE THEE 1st John 5:13)(CHASTENS HIS CHILDREN Heb 12:6-8)(OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS Rom 10:3-4)(JUSTIFIED. Gal 2:16, 3:5)
    I would request you to explain James 2:14-21 and Romans 4:2
    For if They without being double tongued if sure one can loose his salvation I would sincerely request you to explain all the verses above without leaving any stone unturned. (John 8:39)

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  7. Hello Amazingacegrpahics,

    The fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Obedience is not a "fruit".

    Neither is obedience is a secondary "work" to faith as you claim. Obedience is the evidence of saving faith. Even the demons believe (James 2:19); according to your logic, they must also be saved.

    God's word does not separate faith from obedience the way you have. They go together.

    "My sheep hear my voice, AND I know them, AND they follow me" John 10:27

    Following Jesus is not subsequent to believing Him; rather they follow because they believe (John 10:4).

    The word for faith in Scripture "pistis" means having faith AND being faithful. Embodied in pistis is not just our belief in God, but our simultaneous, responding faithfulness to Him. You cannot separate one from the other by the very definition of the word.

    Pistis: 1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; 2) fidelity, faithfulness

    You say believing is the root, but can a person fall into unbelief after having saving faith in Christ?

    "Take heed, BRETHREN, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." Hebrews 3:12

    If one must not draw back from God, but "believe unto the saving of the soul" (Heb. 10:39), then one must continue believing/obeying until the soul is saved.

    "Receiving the END of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." I Peter 1:9

    It is not true that "many obey but don't believe." Those who do not obey God are the "children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2, 5:6; Col. 3:6). Either we obey God and belong to Him or we don't.

    "Ye are my friends, IF ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14

    I am not going to go back and forth on this. I am happy to address sincere questions, but I won't strive about it one way or the other. So I will not approve any more debating comments. My only counsel to you is this: Repent, Seek the Lord, and Follow Him.

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    Replies
    1. If believers are reduced to robots by being saved eternally are sinners not reduced to robots since they did not choose to be sinners? The only people who became sinners by there own choice was Adam and Eve, others are conceived in sin even without there choice. Again if being reduced to a robot will guarantee my eternal security, then I would rather choose that.
      I would like you to answer if you can testify that you have been saved from ALL grumbling and complaining? If yes, is this salvation a guarantee for eternal life? Are we told to do this to secure our place in heaven?
      Are the seven verses keys to eternal security? If yes I think your heading is supposed to be Keys to eternal security but that is just my opinion. But are we saved seven times by following these verses?
      1 I wanted to understand what Jesus meant when He said that he knows his people in John: 10:26-29. Will Jesus prove Himself for the first time a liar if He says “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity,” in Matthew 7:23? Because in john 10 He says, He knows His sheep even before the sheep follow Him.
      In Heb 3:12-14 can it not be that Paul is cautioning believers that there are some people among them who are not believers?
      Anyway my opinion is that we are saved by faith thru grace, and holding this assurance (faith) firmly to the end as Heb 3:12-14 states

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    2. Hi Anonymous,

      Believers are saved eternally; it is just not an unconditional salvation. There are requirements or conditions which must be met for man to be saved, the first of which is to believe in Jesus Christ.

      Consider your question. No man chooses his inheritance. An inheritance is merely something which is passed on to us from our progenitors or those who came before us. In the United States, there is a national debt over a trillion dollars in value. This generation will not be able to pay this off. So what happens? It is passed on to future generations. It is an inherited debt because no existing generation could repay it, and the cycle continues is.

      So it is with sin. Adam & Eve incurred a spiritual debt to God in sin; a debt they could by no means repay. So, this debt - being unpaid - is inherited by their children, and their children's children. No mere man being able to repay it, the debt merely grows as the "spend" of sin increases in each generation.

      Each person is born in sin (through inherited debt), yet each still personally chooses to sin for themselves. The Scriptures say that all have sinned (Rom. 3:23); with the exception of Jesus Christ of course. Does not each person then choose to sin?

      What you seem to be recognizing is that we are slaves to sin apart from Jesus Christ. That is true! This is why Jesus came, to set us free from sin. So, God Himself ave His life to free us from a condition that He did not place us in. Jesus paid the sin debt for all men, and those who believe have their accounts settled in God's books.

      There is only one key to eternal security, and that is believing. However, that is a big word; it is not simply a mental acknowledgement of fact, but a fidelity of heart. If we believe, we will obey, we will love, we will be faithful, we will endure, etc. All of these things are merely the evidences of our faith.

      John 10:26-29 confirms that there are those who do not believe. Matthew 7:23 shows that there are some who Jesus never knew.

      The question you need to ask yourself is whether Scripture indicates that it is possible to believe for a time and then stop believing. Is it possible to know Jesus - and be known by Him - and then later choose to stop following Him? Is it possible to forsake Jesus, even after salvation? Scripture says that it is. (John 6:66; John 8:31; John 15:6; Matt. 13:20-21; Matt. 5;13; II Tim. 1:15; II Tim. 4:10; Heb. 6:4-6; Heb. 10:26-29; Heb. 10:38; Heb. 12:15-17; II Peter 2:18-22; )

      Your problem is that you are content to hold on to your "opinion". There is never a more precarious foundation upon which to establish faith than on the wisdom of men. Would you not rather have the truth of God? It is Jesus - the Truth - who is to be our Rock. And I am not saying, "Turn from your opinion and believe 'my' truth." I am saying to never downgrade seeking God's truths to settle for your opinion. If you do not maintain a standard of only receiving that which is true, then you will be deceived.

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  8. Please keep me in your prayers, all I want is to honor God. I have been taught over and over that to believe that I can walk away from God is to believe that I saved myself and have something to boast in. Like having free will is taking glory away from God and being your own savior. This is why I have struggled with this. In my own life I feel as though the holy spirit won't let me walk away. Whenever I sin there is conviction that I can't imagine feeling that and not repenting. I'm sorry if this is confusing I know what I am trying to say I just can't find the words to get it out. I believe I was but I don't believe that if you get saved by saying a prayer you can then live any kind of way and claim to be a christian.I think those people were never really saved. I believe that you won't live a life of sin because you can't and if you are living a life of sin then your not saved. My other question if you believe you can lose your salvation how do you ever have security. How much sin is too much, what if you have an attitude and then get an a car accident and die do you go to hell because you didn't get a chance to repent. What aboutthe sins you commit that you are unaware of? Even the most sincere believers who hate sin are not perfect.This is where confusion sets in for me and I would walk around paranoid that I would forget to confess a sin or not be aware of a sin. I know there have been times in my life that the holy spirit has showed me an area of sin that I had been blind to and when he opened my eyes to it I repented but I was saved that whole time.can you offer any help in understanding this. Thank you

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    1. Hi Jessica,

      Please forgive the delay in responding to you. There is much going on right now for me and I just have not been able to respond any sooner.

      If You are correct in that the Holy Spirit works within us to keep us in the love of God and to remain in obedience to Him (Jude 1:21; Hebrews 12). The point is that the Lord does not force us to obey. We must still heed Hus prodding; we must remain abiding in Him...and Scripture is clear that we have a choice in doing this.

      "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Hebrews 3:6

      Perhaps the following will help: The ONLY Reason Salvation Can be Lost

      May God bless & strengthen you Sister!

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