Salvation Provides A Secure Salvation Part 2

CTW 2 Peter 1:1-15

Why Are We Secure in Salvation?

Selected Scriptures

 I told you last week that we were moving toward the end of this year long look at the gospel and the work of salvation. No matter where we go from here we will never get away from these things. This is why we exist as a church. We are here to proclaim the gospel and to teach the important doctrines of the faith. So, whether we teach these things as a topic, or we work our way verse by verse through books of the Bible, we are always proclaiming the gospel and explaining the work of salvation.

As we move toward the conclusion of this series I want to cover two more aspects of the work of salvation. We are looking at what the Bible teaches about our security in salvation. Following this we will look at the eternal rewards, or the future for those who are truly saved. Last week we introduced the doctrine of eternal security, or the perseverance of the saints. We looked at a few of the promises in Scripture, especially from the words of Christ that describe the secure nature of God’s saving work. 

Those who are saved are included in the “all” Jesus described in John 6:37. He said, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” This is a description of our secure position in Christ. We are given to Christ by the Father. We come to Him and He keeps us. There are no rejects. There are none whom Jesus keeps for a while, then discards.

Some may say, “Yes, Jesus will not cast them out, but they can choose to walk away from Christ and separate themselves from the work of salvation.” If that were true, then this would nullify the words of Christ in John 10 where Jesus describes those whom He saves as His sheep, who hear His voice, and follow Him. He said in verse 28-29, “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 Jesus says, “no one” He includes even the one who would seek to remove himself from the hand of Jesus and the Father. It can’t happen.

And as we said last week, this is called the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints because the genuine work of salvation provides for the completion of the work God starts. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians of his own confidence in this doctrine. In Philippians 1:6 he wrote, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” God started it, God continues it, and God will finish it when Jesus Christ returns in glory.

There is only one conclusion to be drawn regarding those who “walk away” from the faith. They were never truly saved to begin with. They are among those who were never good soil hearers of the gospel. They will be among those who hear the dreadful words of Jesus, “Depart from Me you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.” Jesus does not say, “I knew you, but somehow you walked away from Me.” He doesn’t say, “Depart from Me, you who walked away from your faith in Me.” He will definitively declare, “I never knew you.”

So having established the truth about our security in salvation last week, and really only scratching the surface of this important doctrine, today I want to continue to explore the Scriptures and show you why we are secure in salvation. Why are we secure in the work of salvation? Are we secure because of what we do? Or are we secure because of what God has done?

If we are secure because of what we do, then how can we know for certain that we have done enough? We all must admit that we fail miserably to live up to God’s perfect standards. If it is up to us to secure our salvation, how will we know when we have messed up badly enough to undo our salvation? I can’t imagine living with the fear and uncertainty of a salvation that can be lost.

One of the clearest pictures of our security in Christ comes from the early parts of the book of Genesis. When the wickedness of man filled the earth, and God decided it was time to destroy man, He brought about judgment in the form of a flood that covered the face of the entire earth. One man and his family escaped God’s judgment. God told Noah to build an Ark, which he did. God told Noah and his family to enter the Ark. Then God closed the door. Go read it for yourself. God did not tell Noah to drive a peg into the side of the Ark and hold on. Noah and his family were securely protected from the wrath of God safe inside the Ark. So too are we who are in Christ.

Our approach to this message is going to be like my approach to the Thanksgiving buffet we are going to have after the service. There will be a lot to choose from on the table at lunch. I’m going down the line and getting some of this and some of that and plenty of the stuff at the dessert end of the table. Well, our message is going to be something like that. We are going to the Scriptures and we will get a little here and a little there. We are going to cherry pick some of the best verses on the topic of security in salvation. You will need your Bible and I am going to show you five reasons why we are secure in salvation.

We could do more than five but I thought five was sufficient because, as we learned from John 10, we are secure in the hand of Jesus. No one can pluck us from His hand, or the hand of His Father. We have five reasons, or the five fingers of the hand of God that holds us securely. This might be a good way to help you hold on to the truth of this important doctrine.

Reason number 1. We are secure in salvation because of our reconciliation to God. Let’s begin in Romans 5. Let’s read verse 10. “For if while we were enemies of God we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” We are secure because we have been reconciled to God through the death of His Son. We can only appreciate this idea of reconciliation if we understand our condition prior to being reconciled. Paul clearly states in the first part of verse 10 that we were the enemies of God before we were reconciled. We were God’s enemies. 

You may not feel like you were ever the enemy of God. You may make the claim that you have always liked God. But the truth is that your sin made you the object of the wrath of God. If you remain in your sin you will be the object of God’s eternal wrath. This will be a fate we would not wish on even our worst enemies. But God’s holiness demands justice. God must punish all sin wherever it is found. Those who perish will know the fullness of God’s wrath as His enemies. 2 Thess. 1:5 tells us that when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His holy angels, He will be dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we think of being someone’s enemy we think of being opposed to someone in a conflict. Paul told the Thessalonians that God deals out retribution, not to those who fight against His gospel, but those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are not the enemies of God only if we oppose Him. We are His enemies if we are not reconciled to Him.

Unless we are reconciled to God, we too would be the objects of God’s wrath. But it was while we were enemies of God we were reconciled to God. This word “reconciled” is “katallasso” in the Greek. The root word is “allaso” which means “to change.” It is intensified with the combination with the preposition “kata.” My favorite Greek scholar writes, this word is “used of the divine work of redemption denoting that act of redemption insofar as God Himself is concerned by taking upon Himself our sin and becoming an atonement. Thus a relationship of peace with mankind is established which was hitherto prevented by the demands of His justice.”

God Himself initiated our reconciliation. God Himself became the atonement. God poured out His wrath on His own Son in order for there to be a way for us to be reconciled to God. We are reconciled by faith in Christ. We are reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.

This is the only way that sinful man can ever be presented acceptable in the presence of a holy God. There has to be reconciliation. The sin of man must be set aside, covered, atoned for. Reconciliation requires a propitiation, which Jesus provided. The wrath of God was satisfied as Jesus took upon Himself our guilt and paid the price. Therefore, we who were the enemies of God are now reconciled to God through the death of His Son.

Having been reconciled, we now have peace with God. Look at Romans 5:1. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” These are words of welcome relief following what has been outlined in the earlier part of Romans. Chapter 1, verse 18 warns, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Chapter 2, verse 2 says, “And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.” The “things” spoken of there are the things of chapter 1 which leads God to turn sinners over to their rebellion. Chapter 2, verse 5-6 warns, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds.”

In light of those dreadful warnings it is sweet relief to learn in Chapter 4 that we are justified by faith alone in Christ and that having been justified by faith, when we come to Chapter 5 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The relief of reconciliation is a wonderful truth. In fact, it is so wonderful that when Paul comes to Romans 8:1 he pens words that, without a doubt, are among the sweetest ever written or heard. “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because we have been reconciled, we no longer fear condemnation. Reconciliation removes us from the list of those condemned and places us in the “no condemnation” status. Our names are written on the “no condemnation” list with the precious blood of Christ.

Reason number 2. We are secure in our salvation first of all because of our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ. Secondly, we are secure in our salvation because of God’s sovereign eternal plans and purposes. God is sovereign. His throne is established in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over all. (Psalm 103:19) An established throne is one that is secure. It will not be shaken. If you were shaken by the election results of this past week, relax. God’s throne is firmly established in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over all. He is not wringing His hands trying to figure out what He is going to do to save America. It is all unfolding according to His sovereign plan.

His sovereign plan includes His work of salvation. I know I reference these verses often but I want you to look at Romans 8:28-30. “And we know…” We know because this is what the Bible reveals. We know because we know the God of the Bible. We know because we know He is on His throne and He alone is sovereign. “…that God causes…” God causes the things to happen that bring about His purposes. God is the Supreme Cause. He isn’t rendered helpless because we do something stupid. His specialty is allowing man the free will to choose to do foolish things, sinful things, and still He causes His purposes and plans to come to fruition.

God causes “all things to work together for good…” God uses everything. I can’t tell you how many times I looked at a situation and declared it utterly hopeless, and then God went to work and made things happen that only He could do, and He is being glorified in what He is doing. We can count on God to do those things which are in accordance with His purpose for those who love Him. Only those who are truly saved are those who love God.

What I want you to notice from verses 29-30 is the fact that there is zero loss. Who are those who are called according to His purpose? Those whom He foreknew are those whom He predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. Those whom He predestined He called. Those whom He called, He justified. Those whom He justified He glorified. How many did He loose along the way? He doesn’t loose any along the way. We are eternally secure because of the eternal, sovereign plans and purposes of God.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Hopefully you remember a little about this from our study of 1 Thessalonians. It was a little over a year ago we studied this. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely…” Notice the emphatic way that is stated. “God…Himself sanctify you entirely.” Read the rest of verse 23. Verse 24 says, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” We are secure in salvation because in God’s sovereign plan and purposes He intends to bring about our entire sanctification and preserve our entire being without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Reason number 3. We are secure in salvation because we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and now have peace with Him. We are secure in salvation because it is His purpose and plan to present us complete, to finish what He has started, to glorify those whom He has saved. Next, we are secure in our salvation because we have an Advocate interceding on our behalf before God.

Turn to 1 John 2. “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” The language of this passage takes us to the scene in a courtroom. There is an accuser of the children of God. If a child of God sins, and we know that all of us sin. When we sin we open the door for the accuser. Satan can present the argument that we deserve the same sentence of hell that he has received. You know what? Satan would be right. We have already established that God is holy and He is a just Judge so He must punish all sin wherever it is found. If we sin we are deserving of God’s just wrath.

If we sin, we have an Advocate. We have a defense Attorney that is even better than Caleb. Caleb is a good lawyer but I doubt that Caleb has been successful in getting every charge against his clients thrown out. Jesus gets every charge thrown out of court. Jesus gets every charge dropped. We don’t even go to trial. He comes to our defense and proclaims that the penalty for that sin has already been paid. I don’t know if this is what happens but all He has to do is show His hands and remind the court that He was pierced for that transgression. Charge dismissed. Case closed. We have an Advocate. We are secure in salvation because we have an Advocate who stands before God and pleads our case. He never looses in court. It is kind of a rigged trial. It is rigged in our favor. We can’t lose. The Judge is our Father. Our defense Attorney is our joint heir. There is a family connection. But God will never recues Himself as the Judge. 

Reason number 4. We are secure in our salvation because we have been reconciled to God. We are secure in our salvation because of God’s sovereign purposes and plans must come to completion. We are secure in salvation because we have an Advocate pleading our case when we sin. We are secure in salvation because of the faithfulness of God. Turn to 1 Cor. 1:8-9. Let’s begin reading in verse 4. As we get to verse 8 we read that God will “confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Greek word translated “confirm” is “bebaioo” (beb-ay-ah-ow). It wasn’t a Greek word I was very familiar with. It means “to make firm or reliable so as to warrant security and inspire confidence. It is to strengthen, make true.”

Verse 9 puts the icing on the cake. “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” God is faithful, “pistos” which means ‘worthy of belief, trust, or confidence.” God is true, sure, trustworthy, believable, worthy of our confidence. God is faithful. This is exactly what we just read in 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” This is why Jesus could say with assurance in John 5:24, “Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Notice how many ways Jesus assures us. We have eternal life. We do not come into judgment. We have passed out of death into life. How do we know this? Because faith is He who calls us and faithful is He to bring it to pass.

Reason number 5. We are secure in salvation because we have been reconciled to God. We are secure in salvation because of God’s sovereign purposes and plans. We are secure in salvation because of Christ’s advocacy for us before God. We are secure in salvation because of God’s faithfulness. Finally, we are secure in salvation because of God’s protection. God saves us and God protects those who belong to Him. In Romans 8 we learn that we read beginning in verse 14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God.”

Don’t you think that as our heavenly Father, God has a desire to protect His children? I want to protect my children and grandchildren. I’m not a perfect father. God is a protector of His children. Does He protect us from every danger, every evil, and every threat that we might encounter in life? He does not. Christians still get sick, even diagnosed with cancer, or heart problems. God’s children are involved in accidents. God’s children are persecuted, sometimes even to the point of death. While God doesn’t necessarily protect us from those threats, there is one threat we never face. We never face the threat of being separated from His love or His work of salvation. If the persecutors kill us they simply usher us into the very presence of God. If a tragic accident takes our life, we are eternally secure. If we hear that dreaded “c” word from the doctor, God still has us in His hand. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Turn to Jude. It is the last book before the Revelation. Verse 24 proclaims this promise of God’s protection in this great doxology of praise. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” This is not a promise that we will never stumble into sin. Our experience tells us that this will happen. It is a promise that we will never fall away from salvation. This is a promise of eternal security. It is a promise that is true because of protection of God.

Look at 1 Peter 1:5 tells us that we are those “who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” We are secure in our salvation because of the protection of God.

We are secure because we have been reconciled to God. We are secure because of God’s sovereign plan and His eternal purposes. We are secure because of Christ’s intercession. We are secure because of God’s faithfulness. We are secure because of God’s protection.

There is one more message I want to share with you regarding our security. Because our salvation is secure we should have assurance. But our assurance must have a basis. Far too many people have assurance that appears to be based on some faulty assumptions. Next week we will look at what it takes to have real assurance of our salvation.

Let me close by saying that these five reasons for our security only apply if we are in the hand of Jesus. If we have never come to Him in faith to receive the gift of eternal life, we are not secure. In fact, you are still the enemy of God who needs to be reconciled. If that is your spiritual condition we can show you how to be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to Him today.

Let’s pray.