Eternal Security Part 2

 MEMORY VERSES: John 10:27-28; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:4

 In this lesson we continue our study on the doctrine of eternal security by answering two more important questions on this subject: First, does the doctrine of eternal security mean anyone who professes Christ has eternal life? Second, does it cause people to live carelessly?

 

Does the doctrine of eternal security mean that anyone who professes Christ has eternal life?

 

No, the promise of eternal security is only for those who have been saved, not for mere professors. Salvation always changes a person’s life.

 

1.  Salvation demands repentance (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

 

God requires repentance for salvation, and repentance means a dramatic change of mind resulting in a change of life. It means to surrender to God. The person who has never surrendered has never been saved. The believers at Thessalonica exemplify biblical repentance. They “turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God.”

 

2.   Salvation requires the new birth, and the new birth changes a man’s life (2 Corinthians 5:17).

 

Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7), and the new birth is a great miracle that God does to and for the believer. It is a dramatic transformation, and

those who can continue to live as they did before they professed Christ have never been born again.

 

3.  Those who are saved hear Christ’s voice and follow Him (John 10:27-29).

 

In this passage, Jesus gives the definition of a true believer who has eternal life. Jesus’ sheep hear His voice, meaning they respond to His Word, and they follow Christ, meaning they submit to Him as disciples. The promise of verses 28-29 cannot be divorced from the evidence of verse 27.

 

4.  Saving faith always produces holy works (Ephesians 2:8-10).

 

Ephesians 2:8-10 describes the proper relationship between faith and works. It is faith that saves and works follow as the result. The works in the Christian life are God’s works in the believer, thus there is no glory for man. To mix works together with faith for salvation is a false gospel (Romans 11:6). But it is also true that holy works always follow saving faith. James describes the Christian life from man’s perspective (James 2:14-17). If a man “says” he has faith and does not have anything in his life to back it up, he does not having saving faith.

 

5.      The Bible says true believers keep God’s commandments and purify themselves (1 John 2:4; 3:2-3). In 1 John 3:2-3, God’s Word says that those who have eternal life are those who purify themselves. The promise of verse 2 cannot be divorced from the evidence of verse 3.

 

6.  The Bible warns about those who profess Christ but do not obey Him; they are false professors (Titus 1:16).

 

If a person claims to have faith in Christ but his life does not reflect this, he is deceived. A fruitless profession of faith cannot lay claim to God’s promises of eternal security. If an individual professes Christ and then turns away, this is evidence that he never was saved.

Does the doctrine of eternal security cause people to live carelessly?

 

Those who do not believe in the doctrine of eternal security say that it causes people to live carelessly. In fact, the opposite is true. I began my preaching career in a part of Tennessee where Methodists had predominated for a couple of centuries. The doctrine of losing your salvation had devastated that area. It was filled with people who had “tried to live the Christian life” and failed and now lived like the devil.

 

1.  The Bible teaches that the grace of God motivates believers to serve God with a thankful heart (Romans 2:4; Ephesians 3:14-19). The more a believer understands the unfathomable love that God has for him in Christ, the more he wants to please God. The Bible says, “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

 

2.  The true grace of God teaches people to live holy lives (Titus 2:11-14).

 

 

REVIEW QUESTIONS ON ETERNAL SECURITY PART 2

 

1.  What are six reasons why we know that salvation always changes a person's life.

 

2.  What verse says if any man is in Christ he is a new creature?

 

3.  In what book and chapter did Jesus say that His sheep hear His voice and follow Him?

 

4.  What passage says the believer is saved unto good works?

 

5.  What verse says that if salvation is of grace it is not of works?

6.  What verse describes those who profess Christ but deny him in their works?

 

7.  What are two reasons why we know that the doctrine of eternal security does not cause people to live carelessly?

 

8.  What verse teaches that we love God because he first loved us?

 

9.  In what book and chapter does Paul teach that the grace of God teaches us to live holy lives?