Safe & Secure: The Permanence of Salvation

by Mart De Haan

 

Can you lose your salvation? Can the belief of "once saved always saved" be biblically supported?

 

When God saves a person, He gives an irrevocable relationship with a Savior who promises to protect by His own power.

 

There is only one basis upon which anyone can qualify for eternal refuge from the judgment of God's law, which is summed up in two simple words: in Christ. Because I believe and trust in Christ, I have a protection that begins and ends with God.

 

Can I be "in Christ" today but lose that protection tomorrow? Could my faith or lack of faith determine whether I am presently "in" or "out" of Christ?

 

God's Word doesn't call us to uncertainty but to believe in Christ, and to assume a new identity and a new destiny.

 

The Past In Christ: Salvation Accomplished.

What if I told you that I know my future is secure because all of my sins are already paid for? I enjoy immunity from the eternal punishment of God. The basis for my security is that I am in Christ (Romans 6). I have been crucified with Christ (v.6) and resurrected with Christ (vv.4-5). In Christ, I have already paid for my crimes against God.

 

The Present In Christ: Salvation Protected.

This is security that doesn't depend on what we do but on what Christ has done for us. It reminds us that our Savior has not only paid the price for our salvation, but He has also promised to intercede for us now on the basis of what He did for us in

the past.

 

The Future in Christ: Salvation Completed.

What about that day when we all stand before the Judge in the final day of accountability? Is it possible that at that critical point we might lose everything?

 

God has already announced that He has given

authority to His Son to judge the earth (John 5:24-30). It is at the judgment seat of Christ where we who are in Christ must one day appear (Romans 14:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10). It is that same Judge who has already promised all who are in Him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

 

If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, count on those words. They are God's promise to you.

 

Adapted from the Discovery Series booklet: 

"Safe & Secure: Permanence of Salvation."

The entire booklet can be found on our Web site at:

http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0606/