Is Your Salvation Secure?
January 2nd, 2008
(By John MacArthur)
In light of the discussion on Hebrews 6, we will be running several articles this week on eternal security. Today’s article comes from a booklet John wrote entitled, Is Your Salvation Secure? The entire booklet can be read here.
For many years people have debated the issue of whether a Christian can lose his salvation. Some within Christendom believe you can lose your salvation; others say you can’t. That, perhaps more than any other single doctrine, has been a dividing issue in the church. How sad that is, because the Bible is clear about the matter.
It is surprising that many Christians would deny or ignore the straightforward presentation of the doctrine of security in Romans chapter 8. There are other texts in the Bible that discuss the security of the believer, but none are as pointed as Romans 8:28-30. We find in those verses that everyone who has been redeemed by Jesus Christ, without exception, will be glorified.
The key phrase in this trilogy of verses is at the end of verse 28: “called according to His [God's] purpose.” We are forever secure because that was God’s purpose. The Son of God and the Holy Spirit intercede for us so that the plan of God might come to pass. So our security is guaranteed not only by the purpose of God, but also by the outworking of that purpose through the intercessory ministries of the Son and the Spirit.
The phrase “called according to His purpose” helps us to understand verses 29-30, which explain God’s purpose: “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.”
God causes all things to work out for the believer’s good, which is “according to His purpose.” There is no other way to explain why He does that; He simply wants to. God is free to make whatever decisions He wants. And He sovereignly chose for all things to work together for the good and glory of those who are redeemed. Nothing can change that.
To continue reading this booklet, click here.
Amen.
The Doctrine of Election is also a call for us to be faithful and diligent to preaching God’s Word – because it alone has the power to save. Not try and ‘add’ to it our own worldy flavor or encapsulate it within a ‘rock concert’ or drama. Just preach the Word.
Just as we have been called / predestined, those who reject the Gospel have not been called. They reject it not because of our lack of presentation skills but because they have been blinded by Satan. We simply need to remain faithful to preaching the Word and let God do the rest.
“But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” 2 Cor. 4:2-4
Your brother in Christ,
Bill
“For He says to Moses, “I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. –Romans 9:15-16.
Thanks for the article. It was a real turning point in my (and my wife’s) walk when I realized the truth about my salvation being God’s sovereign choice. It blew me away, causing me to have a deep thankfulness for Him who truly rescued me. I realized He deserved more glory than I was giving him.
I find the discussion on Heb. 6 interesting in that the writer of Hebrews descrived the readers as dull of hearing, unable to teach, unskilled in the word, and undiscerning (Heb. 5:12-14), and yet he expected them to be able to understand Heb. 6:4-8.
Christian for generations have gone back and forth as to what the text means. Boy this doesn’t speak well of any of us since we can’t seem to get it right and those dull of hearing, unable to teach, unskilled, and undiscerning reasers were expected to understand it.
John is right on with this! The popular phrase that many churches use is…
once saved, always saved!
And yet, they continue living in sin without repentance. I pray that people will see the role of repentance and obedience that should be evident in a person’s life when they put all their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation! Thanks for the article!
God bless
Brian
Let me repeat something I wrote in the thread on MacArthur’s Hebrews 6 post which John refers to in this post: I wrote: “to assert that a genuinely saved individual can actualy undue their salvation by some kind of action on their part, (one) must accept that a man can override and in fact, nullify all the divine transactions that take place in salvation such as: God’s unconditional election of those who will be saved, redemption, reconciliation, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification…you get my point.”
There’s was a fine book written by J.F. Strombeck on this particular facet of eternal security titled SHALL NEVER PERISH. In he he details the utter impossibility of any man undoing the divine transactions that take place in his salvation.
It may be hard to find, but it’s worth the search because it’s written from a layman’s perspective, though theologically sound.
Brian,
Good point. There are many people who have been given false assurance by Christians who use that phrase “once saved, always saved.” Perhaps it would be better to say, “once saved, kept saved!” It is God who keeps a person saved by His gracious work (John 6:35-40; John 10:25-30; I John 2:1).
If we properly present the Gospel to the lost, and avoid manipulating them into making false “decisions” that express an insincere and spurious faith, then we would have fewer tares among the wheat within the church.
One other error we need to avoid is giving people false assurance based upon some “decision” they made. It is the Holy Spirit that provides us with assurance based upon the truth of His Word (I John 2:5; 3:14; 4:13). But such assurance is rightly absent when a believer engages in willfull disobedience.
Blessings,
Steve Lamm
The best presentation (teaching) on Hebrews 6 was done by Dr. J. Vernon MaGee. He points out that the text in Hebrews 6 is about losing one rewards not Salvation.
What glorius assurance from Romans 8 for those who are in Christ and live by the Spirit and not by the flesh.
Read this following article for a different perspective:
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/riffs-010108-losing-the-reformation-treasure-of-a-christ-centered-assurance-of-salvation
P.S. I respectfully disagree with those who advocate that it’s a sound doctrinal basis from which they proclaim non-reassurance.
“The key phrase in this trilogy of verses is at the end of verse 28: “called according to His [God’s] purpose.””
Amen. God is the sovereign merciful Lord, who loved us, His elect, before He created Adam.
The key portion of the verse for me is “them that love God”. Not that we loved Him first, but because He loved us first.
I had a friend in church who fell into sin. He came to the elders, and seemed genuinely repentant and sorrowful to God. He was encouraged in all the ways he needed to be by the elders.
And yet i saw him a few months later at a funeral, and he told me he wasn’t sure if he was born again.
I simply asked him if he loved Christ. (I already knew all his theology, he was firmly reformed/dispy.) He didn’t say anything at first. I asked him, “Do you really love Jesus? I mean really love Him? Not like all those who say they love Him; those who are no more than humanist/moralist. Do you love Him is the question for you?”
He looked at me and thought and said, “Donald, I really love the Lord Jesus.”
“Well, if you really love Him then you will struggle with your sin, even hate it, because it harms Christ’s testimony in you. And when you repent and come to Christ through the leadership of the Church, then Christ can redeem and restore. And there may be consequences as well.”
If you are truly saved…you will persevere.
If you persevere…you are truly saved.
All,
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the former and current eternal security postings and look forward to more here.
I am curious about the position of the Holy Spirit in salvation:
-If the Holy Spirit can leave a believer thereby leaving him in a lost condition, what level of sin will create this condition?
-If our salvation is conditional to our actions, where does the Holy Spirit contribute to our efforts to make our salvation sure?
Respectfully,
Tim
Eddie, does the corollary apply too?
If you are truly lost… you will not persevere.
If you do not persevere… you are truly lost.
And when you repent and come to Christ through the leadership of the Church, then Christ can redeem and restore.
That sounds almost Catholic. Christ can’t redeem and restore without the church? Better not live in the wilderness then! I’m sure that’s not what you meant.
Truth,
I would say that is true.
“That sounds almost Catholic.” And it is Protestant as well. And it is biblical as well.
The Church is made of many local churches. And each church has elders and pastors, teachers, evangelists, and rulers. The congregation needs to submit to their elders and be accountable to them.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule, who may not have a church.
But basically, what i was sharing was a church member, who needed to come back to Christ. He certainly can cry out to Christ himself, and that is good, but he needs to go to his church leadership, and find restoration and acceptance in the church as well.
If someone sins, and does not hear the elders, then he is to be treated as an unbeliever. Hopefully he will come to repentance. If he doesn’t, then perhaps he was never a genuine Christian.
I hope this isn’t to far off the path.
Think of the Ethiopian who when he heard the Word was baptized and went off. There was no follow up with him. If a person is truly saved, God will keep them. The problem with saying you must be under the authority of elders in a church is that too many elders are not truly saved themselves. I have seen elders who were extremely hypocritical and not repentant of their sins. We are to be under the authority of Christ. He is the cornerstone and is the Head of the church. Church is for the purpose of being edified and lifting one another up. To give support and to encourage, but our submitting is not to be towards man, but to God.
“our submitting is not to be towards man, but to God.”
Surely we submit to God. But the Scriptures teach us to submit to one another, and the rulers of the Church, those who are genuine shepherds of Christ. Hebrews 13:7-9, 17 1 Peter 5:1-5 Ephesians 4
Tim,
You asked, “If the Holy Spirit can leave a believer thereby leaving him in a lost condition, what level of sin will create this condition?”
This condition is not dependent on our performance, but on God’s decision to bestow mercy or not to bestow mercy (Romans 9:10-16). God has already decided our eternal condition before we were born, so in God’s perspective, He creates this condition not us.
You also asked, “If our salvation is conditional to our actions, where does the Holy Spirit contribute to our efforts to make our salvation sure?”
This debate is all about perspectives. From our human perspective we actually do contribute to our salvation. However, from God’s perspective, we are vessels fitted by Him for whatever He divinely chooses. So to answer your question, ultimately (when I say “ultimately” I mean “from God’s perspective”) the Holy Spirit directs every decision we make, so we do not contribute an ounce to our salvation. The Holy Spirit also ultimately sanctifies us so that we bear the fruit of the Spirit, the evidence of our salvation.
Below is the text from a brochure in our church. It’s a different way of looking at salvation security.
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The New Testament was written in the common Greek language of the day, used by everyday people. One of the more interesting aspects of the language is the perfect-tense verb, describing an act that was brought to completion and has abiding, permanent results. The following verses, used in biblical context, emphasize security of the believer’s salvation based on this perfect-tense verb.
(1) EPHESIANS 2:5, 8: “… by grace you have been SAVED.”
The verb sozo means “to keep safe and sound; to rescue from danger.” Believers have been saved in time past, with the abiding result that their salvation persists through the present time. Due to God’s free gift of grace, at the moment you believed in Christ, your salvation from sin and eternal death is permanent.
(2) ACTS 26:18, “… those who have been SANCTIFIED by faith in Me …”
The verb hagiazo is translated as “sanctify,” with the adjective and noun being “holy” and “saint.” It means “to be set apart to God.” Believers have been cleansed of sin, separated from the world, with the abiding result that they always belong to God. You became a saint at the moment of salvation, and your position with God is permanent.
3) 1 PETER 1:23, “You have been BORN AGAIN … through the living and enduring word of God.”
The verb anagennao means “to produce again; to be born again, anew.” Believers are born again with the abiding result that they are continually new persons in Christ. At the moment of salvation, your new life is eternal because it was given by the eternal God through His eternal word. Your position as a born-again believer is permanent.
(4) JOHN 5:24, “… has PASSED out of death into life.”
The verb metabaino means “to change one’s dwelling; to move from one place to another.” Believers were transferred from death to life, with the abiding result that they will always have eternal life. This transition is made upon your belief in the Lord Jesus. Your eternal life is permanent.
(5) LUKE 10:20, “Rejoice that your names are RECORDED in heaven.”
The verb grapho means “to write; to register in a book.” Believers’ names are written in heaven with the abiding result that they are on permanent record. Believers are enrolled as citizens of heaven even while on earth. Your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life, and it will never be erased. It is permanent.
(6) ROMANS 6:7, “… he who has died is FREED from sin.”
The verb dikaioo means “to declare a person just or righteous; acquitted.” The sinners who died were made free with the abiding result that they stand in the position of permanent freedom from the sinful nature. Sin no longer has the legal right to force its mastery and control on a believer. Your justification, freedom from sin, is permanent.
(7) ROMANS 5:2, “… through Whom we also have OBTAINED our introduction by faith into this grace in which we STAND.”
The verb exo means “to possess or hold”; the verb histemi means “to place; make firm.” At salvation, believers obtained access to God and a firm footing through Jesus Christ to full salvation of God, with the abiding result that they will always have this access and firm footing. Your access to God, and your firm standing in His grace, are permanent.
(8) HEBREWS 10:14, “For by one offering, He has PERFECTED for all time those who are sanctified.”
The verb teleioo means “to make perfect; accomplish.” At salvation, believers were perfected with the abiding result that they are perfected forever. They are new creations whom God sees as holy. Christ’s sacrifice secured your complete and final salvation. Because of His sacrifice, your salvation is permanent.
(9) HEBREWS 3:14, “We have BECOME partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end.”
The verb ginomai means “to become; to come into existence.” Believers became partakers of Christ, with the abiding result that they will always be in a permanent relationship with Him. The possession of your salvation is evidenced by your continuation of faith. Your union with Christ is permanent.
(10) JUDE 1:1, “To those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and KEPT for Jesus Christ.”
The verb tereo means “to take care of; to guard.” Believers of Jesus Christ, from the moment of salvation, have been guarded with the abiding result that they are in a permanent state of being carefully watched. God is keeping the saints so that they might continue to be forever the possession of the Lord Jesus. Your eternal life, secured by God for Jesus Christ, is permanent.
(11) 1 JOHN 4:13, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has GIVEN us of His Spirit.”
The verb didomi means “to give, distribute, supply, or bestow.” At the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit was given to the saints, with the abiding result that He is a permanent gift. This is proof of our fellowship with God. It is one of the clearest evidences that we are the children of God. He has lodged the image and fruit of His Spirit in our hearts. Your salvation is secure because the gift of the Spirit is permanent.
(12) 2 THESSALONIANS 2:13, “… brethren, BELOVED of the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit.”
The verb agapao means “to love.” It is a love of preciousness, esteem, and of prizing. Believers have been loved with an absolute love with the abiding result that it is a permanent attitude on His part. Christ is the Beloved of the Father. Because God the Father has always loved God the Son, believers are accepted in Christ, and are also beloved of God. The divine order is this: God the Father elects the sinner to salvation, God the Spirit brings him to the act of faith, and God the Son cleanses him from sin. Your place as a beloved child of God is permanent.
(13) JOHN 10:29, “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.”
The verb didomi means “to give, distribute, supply, or bestow.” The elect were given to Christ by God, with the result that they remain eternally in His care. They were given to the Son as a trust to be managed by Him, and therefore, God will still look after them. Jesus had experienced the power of His Father upholding and strengthening Him, and therefore puts all His sheep into His hand too. Your salvation is secure because God’s power to keep you is permanent.
Respectfully, I tried to comment on the Hebrews 6 passage and my comments were never printed. I imagine because I look at things from a dispensational view, they were disregarded. The Book of Hebrews was written to Jews who had heard the Truth but were considering listening to those who were telling them that they should incorporate some of the Laws of Judaism along with this Truth for salvation. Paul was telling them that if they neglected to believe what he had told them and accepted this other way then there was no hope of salvation for them. Salvation was only available in Christ alone and His finished work. The book of Hebrews is Truth for all believers, of course, but when taken in the context it was written and to whom it was directed,then it becomes clear what the author was trying to say. It is not really a passage about losing your salvation if you have believed the Gospel message of 1Co15:1-4.