Just How Secure is
the Believer?
What Are
You STILL Trusting In?
Christ’s Death, or Your Best Efforts?
1 John
5:11-13
July 2, 2017 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
I.
Introduction
A.
Loads of confusion about Salvation
1.
So many modern religions say “Do your best – that’s all you can do”
2.
And the same groups can never give any assurance that you have actually
done enough
3.
Or that you haven’t blown it some way or another!
B.
The Bible teaches “once saved, always saved”
1.
That means a person can be “saved” once and for all through a single,
repentant, act of saving faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16,17)
2.
Unfortunately for many people, the devil plays on their fears and causes
them to wonder if once a person has accepted Jesus Christ as their
Saviour – once they have been born again, the Bible way, is it possible
to lose that salvation?
a.
What if they commit a sin AFTER they believed?
b.
What if they commit a lot of sins after they got saved?
c.
What if they do something very, very wrong?
d.
Is it possible to be saved, and then lose that gift of salvation?
3.
Fortunately, the answer is a resounding “NO.” Once a person has accepted
Jesus Christ in their place, as Saviour, he/she is forever saved.
4.
This truth is referred to as the doctrine of “eternal security,” often
summarized as “once saved, always saved.”
C.
So many people believe they can never KNOW that they actually HAVE been
saved! They only HOPE that they will wake up in heaven after they die!
D.
But as a BIBLE believer, I “KNOW” some things
1.
That I right now HAVE eternal life (1John 5:11-13)
2.
That God is able to keep what I have committed to Him (2Tim 1:12)
3.
And that God’s grace is still greater than any sin any of us could ever
commit against God (Romans 5:20)!
II.
Summary
A.
John 3:15-18 says “HAVE everlasting life” – not “HOPE FOR everlasting
life” but possess it
B.
John 10:28-30 says Jesus GIVES eternal life to His followers (eternal
from the moment that a person believes)
– not probationary life until death
C.
1Cor 1:18 says we ARE saved, not “BEING” saved (unless you have one of
those fake, new bibles that teach a false gospel!)
III.
Background
A.
The reality of your spiritual condition before God (Rom 3:10; John 3:36)
1.
To everyone around you, you could SEEM to be nice, and respectable, and a
good person…
2.
But unless something has changed on your inside (born again of the Spirit
of God), you only are completely:
a.
Lost – away from God and unable to find Him
b.
Dead in your sins
c.
Blind to how wicked you truly are in God’s sight
d.
Under the power of darkness, and Satan himself – a true puppet of his lust
and will
e.
In bondage, slavery to sin and sinful habits
f.
So unless something changes, you are under the judgment, the wrath of God
for the rest of eternity!
3.
Is THAT how you want to live out the rest of your life, and then into
eternity? Without God and without hope?
B.
CAN Anyone be Made Righteous Before GOD? (Job 25:4)
1.
Is anyone in this room prepared to admit/own up to just how messed up we
truly are?
a.
It is in our nature to sin – to disobey God – to do our own things and go
our own way.
b.
We sin without even thinking about it – selfishness, lusts, bitterness,
laziness
c.
God takes note of EVERY idle word. Mat 12:36
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak,
they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
d.
He takes the breakage of ANY commandment seriously (James 2:10)
2.
Big question… Job 25:4
How then can man be justified with
God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
3.
Impossible unless God does it. Period!
4.
The thing that has separated us from God is our sin – no matter how small
5.
We could NEVER justify our lives and all our actions – not all of them!
6.
So, how can someone be saved from their way of life? Their nature? Their
sins?
C.
How to Be Saved! The MOST important thing to know!!!
1.
How to be saved is within the reach of every human being on the face of
the earth (John 12:32,33)
a.
All men can come to Christ and be saved!
b.
Jesus said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL MEN
unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.”
2.
God took your place! Do you realise that God Himself took your place under His own righteous
judgment?
a.
Only God can make a wicked man right and good and still be right Himself,
and He did it at his own expense!
b.
Rom 3:26; 2Cor 5:17-21
3.
He made His substitution a Gift to us! Not something to be earned!
a.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He provided salvation as a gift! But
it must now be accepted.
b.
Once a man or woman recognizes the need for salvation and realizes that
God has provided for their salvation through Jesus Christ, he or she
must determine to embrace it.
4.
But you have to believe
a.
That the Son of God actually came, was crucified, buried, and rose again…
b.
And that He did it for YOU
5.
So, Receive the gift of God – accept it – take it by simple believing faith (Rom 6:23)
6.
And you and anyone else here from THAT MOMENT ON, are born again, saved
from wrath, converted from sinner to saint, redeemed from judgment, and
justified from all your sin!
7.
Listen to how simple this is from Scripture (Romans 10:9-13)
8.
HALLELUJAH!
9.
Once Again!
a.
Do you understand that you are a sinner?
b.
Are you able to accept that Jesus Christ came as the one and only Saviour
capable of paying off all your sin?
c.
If so, are you ready to receive God’s gift of His Son, Jesus Christ?
d.
Then believe it is for you! Your sins are what has separated you and God
for all your life, so turn away from them, and commit the rest of your
life to following Jesus as your Lord!
e.
And from THAT moment, you and anyone else in this room will be gloriously
saved!
D.
The big question is, do we need to KEEP ourselves saved?
IV.
Message
A.
Every believer is STILL a sinner even after their new birth
1.
If someone has been born again, does that mean they are sinless? No! They
are sinners still
a.
A Christian has not become perfect by their belief in Jesus – only
forgiven
b.
By the way, ALL their sins, past, present and future have been forgiven
2.
Yet so many Christians today believe
some sins CAN cost you heaven! Can get you to lose eternal life
3.
Well, How much sin is too much?
a.
Thievery
b.
Lying
c.
Lusting
d.
Rebelling, disobeying clear instructions
e.
Murder
f.
Blaspheming
g.
Laziness
h.
Hatred without a cause
4.
FOUR FACTS - If we are not eternally secure:
a.
If we are not eternally secure, then ANY sinning will cause us to lose our
salvation (Rom 6:23) – not just the “bad” sins – the catholics call
these mortal sins
b.
If you could EVER be good enough to keep the law, then Christ was not
needed! Think about it! (Gal 2:21)!!!
c.
We are “flying blind” so to speak! There is no scriptural “measuring cup”
given to tell us how many or what kind of sins are enough to void our
salvation.
d.
Without eternal security, a Christian would be in a perpetual game of
Russian Roulette; a life in which condemnation and salvation
alternate every time we sin and confess, and we never know if we’re
saved or not.
5.
It is either Do, Do, Do… or Done!
a.
Almost ALL religions have the concept of DO, DO, and DO more good, and
hope for the best that you have enough to make up for all the bad you
have done! And then come to confession and Mass to make sure you were
not accumulating sins that would damn you
b.
Is that what you want to still believe now that you have been truly born
again?
c.
My Jesus did absolutely everything for me to not only BE saved, but STAY
saved!
B.
Works never could Save ANYBODY, and they CANNOT keep us saved (GRASP
THIS)
1.
Don’t look to the Law to save you! The law never gives anyone assurance
that they are good enough - only gives us knowledge that we sin. Period
(Rom 3:20)
2.
We are justified by faith alone, without ANY of the works, the keeping of
the law (Rom 3:18)
3.
At no cost to the receiver, the believer
4.
Simply because of GRACE / kindness of God (3:24)
5.
By believing in Christ’s blood atonement (3:23)
6.
That atonement can justify the most ungodly, most sinful (Rom 4:4,5;
5:1,2; 5:6,8)
7.
All without ANY good deeds of the law (3:28)
C.
The work that brings us salvation is the same that keeps us saved!
(Learn these next week)
1.
We are not just saved…
2.
Born all over again – on the inside (John 3:7) – this time born of God
3.
Fully Justified (Acts 13:38,39) – made right in God’s sight
4.
Adopted (Rom 8:15) into God’s family
5.
Already seated in heavenly places (Eph 2:4-6)
6.
But SEALED (Eph 4:30) – we are a packaged until we arrive in heaven –
unopenable!
7.
HID in Christ (Col 3:2-4)
8.
Translated (Col 1:13) – changed into a new creature on the inside
9.
Completely forgiven (Col 2:13) – COMPLETELY!
10.
KEPT (1Peter 1:5; Jude 1:24) – held onto, protected
and preserved
11.
None of this can be UNDONE by our failures! Because
none of it was granted because of our abilities!
12.
Folks, there is no such thing as probationary
salvation IN Christ – it is a done deal. Period!
V.
Conclusion (Philp 3:9)
A.
If “once saved, always saved” is not true…
1.
Then we are saved by BOTH our faith and our works.
a.
If we can lose our security in Christ, then our good deeds are a part of
our salvation.
b.
The doctrine of “eternal security” goes hand in hand with the doctrine of
“saved by faith alone.” To deny eternal security is to endorse a “faith
plus works” salvation system.
2.
This is contradictory to Scripture.
3.
It also creates an unlivable scenario where we have to try to do enough
good to outweigh our sinful natures AFTER we have claimed to be born
again.
B.
Next Week, we will explore more of our security in Jesus Christ, and I
will tell you about all the people who SHOULD have lost their salvation,
if it actually was possible!!!
1.
The following examples in the Bible SHOULD have lost their salvation if
it was possible:
2.
John the Baptist (Luke 7:19,20) – he stopped believing Jesus was Saviour
and Messiah
3.
Peter (Mt 26:69-75) – publically denied even knowing Him and cursed His
name
4.
David (Lev 20:10; 2Sam 11:2,3,14,15) – 5 heinous sins: lust, adultery,
lying to cover it up, murder, no remorse until caught
5.
Abraham stopped believing God and did his own thing trying to get the
promised baby!
6.
Paul (Rom 7:24) – wretched man!
7.
EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM
C.
Just suffice it to say, Nothing can now get you to become lost,
unforgiven, condemned again, headed for hell once you have been truly
born again of the Spirit of God!
1.
The devil can’t take your forgiveness and salvation away
2.
Failure can’t take it away
3.
Confusion and unbelief can’t take it away
4.
Because CHRIST is our righteousness – not us!
D.
Only self-righteous pride makes Christians believe a person has to stay
good enough to go to heaven. Period.
1.
If any person actually believe they are KEEPING themselves saved, then it
was THEY who probably saved themselves to begin with!
2.
But if Christ saved you when you were ungodly, He can and will KEEP you
even if you get ungodly (as awful as that would be)!