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Day 5 –
Security of the Believer (John
10:28-29)
28 I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch
them out of My hand. 29 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.
Does the Bible really teach “once
saved, always saved”? If you are truly saved and going to heaven, is it
possible to sin so badly that you would lose your salvation? If that is true,
then it calls into question what “eternal life” means if you can only have it
until you lose it. Let’s look at four reasons how we can have the blessed
assurance of eternal life.
1. God’s Word says we
can know we have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 states that “you may know that you have eternal life”. In Romans 8:1-2,
it says there is no condemnation “to
those who are in Christ Jesus.” 2
Timothy 2:11 proclaims that “if we are
faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” And Hebrews 13:5 says
that God “will never leave you nor forsake you”, leading us to bold
fearlessness. Jesus said we will not “come
into judgment” in John 5:24 and would always be with us in Matthew 28:20.
Jesus also said that because we are God’s children, we will “abide forever”
in John 8:35.
2. God’s Will is what
saves us, and not our will, according to John 1:12. Jesus also said He
will not cast out those given to Him by the Father (see John 6:37). Paul knew
in 2 Timothy 1:12 that God’s will not only saved him, but he was persuaded that
God was able to keep him saved “until
that Day.” Paul also knew that if God was for us, who can be against us?
Again Paul was persuaded that nothing, no created thing, could “separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39). We were
predestined to be saved by “the good
pleasure of His will” Ephesians 1:5 says. “Not by our works of righteousness, but according to His mercy He saved
us,” Paul assured Titus in his letter, chapter 3 verse 5.
3. God’s Work in the
resurrection, not our work, is what we base our salvation on. Romans 8:11 says
“He who raised Jesus from the dead will
also give life to our mortal bodies.” Our lives are “hidden in Christ in God,” Colossians 3:1 says and that we are
already raised with Christ. Our earthly works may perish, but the believers
themselves “will be saved, but so as by
fire”, says 1 Corinthians
3:15. God’s work is what keeps us in His hand and in the hand of Jesus and no
one, not even us, can snatch us out, Jesus said in John 10:28-29. The writer of
Hebrews 6:9 was confident in God’s work, because it is impossible for God to
lie, and he had an anchor in his soul (6:18-19). Peter said we are kept by the
power of God, and that our reserved inheritance would not fade (1 Peter 1:4-5).
4. God’s Witness is the
Holy Spirit, who “sealed us … as a
guarantee” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Eph. 1:13-14). We are sealed until the
Day of Redemption, Ephesians 4:30 says. That guarantee keeps us confident (2 Corinthians
5:6). His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children
(Romans 8:15-16). His Spirit of Truth will abide with us forever (John
14:16-17).
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Day 5 (Continued) – Trinity
(Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit) (Galatians 4:6)
6 And
because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, “Abba! Father!”
The
Trinity is not a sole distinctive
that identifies Baptists only. In fact, if a group does not believe in the
Trinity, it is not a true Christian faith. However, since the doctrine of the
Trinity is so foundational and somewhat hard to understand, we cite what the
BF&M says. (Did I say “somewhat hard to understand”?)
From
Article II, BF&M, 1963. 2000 is underlined or footnoted
“There is one and only one living and true God. He is an
intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver,
and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other
perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge
extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future
decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence,
and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature,
essence, or being.
A.
God the Father
“God as Father reigns with providential
care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human
history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving,
and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God
through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
B.
God the Son
“Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His
incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon
Himself [1]the
demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with
mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience,
and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from
sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His
disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended
into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One
Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is
effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and
glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now
dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
C.
God the Holy Spirit
“The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He
inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He
enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of
righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects
regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into
the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers,
and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He
seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the
Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of
the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church
in worship, evangelism, and service.”
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