Eternal Security, 1of2

~ The Trinity in Romans 8 ~                

The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is for eternal life.  Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ for their salvation can never lose their salvation.  The Christian is eternally secure because of the work of each member of the Trinity.  While God is One and all Three Members of the Trinity work together each Member is also a specialist.  Consider the eighth chapter of Romans where we find that all three members of the Trinity involved in our security.  (Scripture quotations in this post are from The Message.) 

The Messiah’s Work (Past)  ~  “With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved.  Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud.  A new power is in operation.  The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.  God went for the jugular when He sent His own Son.  He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant.  In His Son, Jesus, He personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all” (Romans 8:1-3a).

The Holy Spirit’s Work (Present)  ~  “So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent.  There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all.  The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life.  God’s Spirit beckons.  There are things to do and places to go!  This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.  It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’  God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are.  We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children.  And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance!” (Romans 8:12-17a).  “Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along.  If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter.  He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans.  He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.  That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good” (Romans 8:26-28). 

The Father’s Work (Future)  ~  “That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times.  The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next.  Everything in creation is being more or less held back.  God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead.  Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.  All around us we observe a pregnant creation.  The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs.  But it’s not only around us; it’s within us.  The Spirit of God is arousing us within.  We’re also feeling the birth pangs.  These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance.  That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother.  We are enlarged in the waiting.  We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us.  But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy” (Romans 8:18-25).  “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  God knew what he was doing from the very beginning.  He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love Him along the same lines as the life of His Son.  The Son stands first in the line of humanity He restored.  We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in Him.  After God made that decision of what His children should be like, He followed it up by calling people by name.  After He called them by name, He set them on a solid basis with Himself.  And then, after getting them established, He stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what He had begun.  So, what do you think?  With God on our side like this, how can we lose?” (Romans 8:28-31). 

Summary  ~  In light of the Trinity securing our destiny it is impossible to be separated from the love of God.  Romans 8 continues, “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us?  There is no way!  Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: they kill us in cold blood because they hate You.  We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.  None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us.  I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us” (Romans 8:35-39). 

Conclusion  ~  Do you ever have doubts about your security in Christ?  If so, you need to put that behind you.  One way is to memorize the verses in the summary above or the verses that will follow in the second part to be posted.  Then when Satan attacks you with doubts quote those verses to him and to yourself.

 Jesus said, “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.  I and My Father are one” (John 10:27-30, nkjv). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .

Fall From Grace

~ Confusion Exists Concerning In Some Circles About “Falling From Grace” ~

The Scripture  ~  “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.  And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.  You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love” (Galatians 5:1-6). 

The Problem  ~  Some teach that if you do not live correctly as a Christian you can lose your eternal salvation! 

The Fallacies  ~  1.  What is the definition of “eternal” life?  Given the definition of eternal—one could not possibly lose their salvation!

Perhaps the most basic principle of hermeneutics (the art and science of interpretation Scripture) is that we must interpret a passage in harmony with the rest of Scripture. 

2.  Those who hold to this teaching (of losing salvation) are making Christianity a religion of works… of our doing!  The clear teaching of Scripture is that Christianity is about a relationship… with the One who has done it all for us—“It is finished!” was His statement on the Cross.

Another key principle of interpretation is to look at the context. 

3.  In the Galatians passage above Paul starts by saying “Christ has made us free” – he is speaking to believers.  Then he states that “Christ will profit you nothing” if you return to a religion of works.  He doesn’t say (or even infer) you no longer belong to Christ.

4.  In the book of Galatians Paul calls these same Galatians: “brethren” (9 times), “children of God” (3:26), “sons of God” (4:6), and “heirs of the promise” (3:29).  It is clear that the Apostle Paul considered those who had fallen from the current benefits of grace were still believers with eternal salvation in Paul’s mind. 

The Interpretation  ~  To fail to live by grace is to live by The Law.  But Christianity’s great unique message is that we cannot earn, or do anything to earn God’s favor—but Jesus Christ has done it all for us.   Our only thing to do is to “accept” His gift of salvation through putting our trust in His shed blood for us. 

Conclusion  ~  This passage is not about losing salvation—it’s about becoming entangled in the do’s and don’ts of The Law (or of legalism).  It’s about allowing Christ’s death for you to become meaningless during this life on earth!  This passage is not about keeping or losing salvation! 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

NOTES:

(1)     The current TOP 10 ALN posts are listed at the very bottom of this home page.

(2)     There is an INDEX of all ALN posts accessed by scrolling down the left column.

(3)     You may LINK to any ALN posts on your own blog or website. 

(4)     You may COPY any ALN post, but please credit ALN as the source by prominently displaying the following statement:  Reprinted from “Abundant Life Now,” a free blog which offers inspiring moments, thought-provoking comments, and solid Biblical insight at http://RobertLloydRussell.blogspot.com/ .