“Eternal Security!”

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”  (1 John 5:13 ESV)

Eternal Security is a doctrine that is taught throughout the New Covenant letters, and I feel throughout the Old Testament as well. I am saddened by those who believe that they can never know for sure if they have everlasting life or not.

Before I became a believer in the saving grace of our Savior, I spent my teenage years hoping that I was “good enough” to have earned God’s love and forgiveness. Then a young seminary student that was doing pulpit supply at our local Baptist church, explained that I could never be “good enough”, he showed all of us how God’s mercy and grace extends to all mankind, and without God’s mercy (not receiving what I deserve) and grace (receiving what I don’t deserve) I could never meet God’s standard for perfection. He explained that every person who has ever lived has sinned, and that sin separates us from a holy and righteous God. This was a terrible position to be in; I was separated from God, and there was nothing that I, on my own, could do about it. That was the bad news part of the gospel, and thank God that he did not stop there.

He also shared the good news with all of us that even though we could do nothing on our own to impress God with our good deeds, there was someone who had never sinned, and He was willing to die on the cross as a sacrifice to God the Father for our sins. He was willing to pay the price that I could not pay, for sins that He had never committed, and His name was Jesus. This young preacher explained what I had to do to receive this forgiveness for my sins, so I was no longer separated from a holy God. He said that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) and “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40).

You see Jesus had already paid the price required for my eternal life, there was nothing that I had to do but to accept this gift of eternal life that God, through His grace, offered me. Now that was good news indeed. From that moment on, God allowed me to understand a wonderful truth: I could do nothing to earn eternal life, and I could do nothing to keep it; my eternity was secure in the finished work of Jesus, not in anything I could do.

That was a special gift from God, for me to be able to rest in the finished work of Jesus and not be concerned about whether I’ve been good enough today to keep the gift He had given me. But many do not teach this truth, and it breaks my heart to think of the misery that so many Christians experience in not knowing that they are secure in the love of the Father because of what Jesus has done.

Once you have a proper understanding that salvation is completely a gift from God, not of your efforts, and that we receive this gift of God’s grace through faith (which is also a gift from God) and faith alone, then we can indeed rest in our eternal security of being forgiven for all of our past, present, and future sins. Remember, it’s all about Jesus and what He has done that makes our eternity secure.

"Living in Grace is not about what I can do, but about what Jesus has already done!"