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I. God’s will.
II. God’s choosing and calling.
III. God’s love.
IV. God’s grace.
V. God’s righteousness.
VI. God’s covenant.
VII. God’s power.
VIII. God’s life.
IX. God’s eternal being.
X. Christ’s redemption.
XI. Christ’s power.
XII. Christ’s promise.
In Christianity today, people have many different views on salvation. Some think that it is impossible to know that we are saved; others think that we can still perish after we are saved. The Bible, however, shows that our salvation is not only certain but also secure. Once we are saved, our salvation can never be shaken or changed. Therefore, once we are saved, we are eternally saved. This point is proven in the Bible in relation to at least twelve items.
1. “Predestinating us unto sonship...according to...His will” (Eph. 1:5).
God made us His sons and predestinated us unto sonship according to His will, not according to our condition. If our sonship was based on our condition, it would not be secure, because our condition constantly fluctuates. But our sonship was predetermined according to His will; it does not depend on our condition. His will is not based on spur-of-the-moment decisions; rather, it is according to His eternal plan. It is eternal and unchanging; it does not depend on and cannot be influenced by our condition. Thus, our sonship is eternally secure.
2. “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose” (2 Tim. 1:9).
God saves us and calls us according to His purpose, not according to our works. The salvation and calling of God are according to His will and apart from our works; they have absolutely nothing to do with our behavior. Thus, our salvation will not change even if our behavior changes; instead, it is eternally secure according to God’s unchanging purpose.
3. “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing” (John 6:39).
God’s will is that all whom He has chosen and given to the Lord, according to His unchanging purpose, would not be lost. Since we were saved according to His choosing and belong to the Lord, we will never be lost. We are eternally secure.
4. “The unchangeableness of His counsel” (Heb. 6:17).
God’s counsel cannot be changed; therefore, the salvation that God gives according to His counsel cannot be changed. How could it? Our salvation is eternally secure according to God’s counsel and purpose.
1. “Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).
God did not choose us accidentally or on the spur of the moment; He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. His choosing was not because of any special condition of ours. Our salvation is not accidental or coincidental; it is according to God’s choosing in Christ before the foundation of the world, which cannot be influenced by any change on our part. Thus, our salvation is eternally secure and unchanging.
2. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15:16).
We did not choose the Lord. We would not choose the Lord or even think of Him; rather, He chose us. Even if we had chosen the Lord, our choosing would change because we are prone to vacillate. Instead, the Lord chose us. He is eternally unchanging; therefore, His choosing is also eternally unchanging.
3. “That the purpose of God according to selection might remain, not of works but of Him who calls” (Rom. 9:11).
God Himself selected us according to His purpose, not according to our works. Therefore, our works are not related to God’s choosing and absolutely cannot affect His choosing. God’s choosing is of Himself and according to His purpose. Both He and His purpose are eternally unchanging, so how can His choosing change? How can His choosing not be eternally secure?
4. “The gracious gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom. 11:29).
Since God’s calling is according to His unchanging person and unchanging purpose, He will not repent of it or change. Therefore, the salvation that we received according to His choosing will not change. According to God’s choosing, our salvation is secure.
1. “Not that we have loved God but that He loved us” (1 John 4:10).
If our salvation was because of our love for God, it would not be reliable because our love easily changes. But our salvation is because God loved us. It comes out from His love for us. God’s love, like His person, is unchanging. Therefore, our salvation is secure and unchanging.
2. “Eternal love”; “He loved...to the uttermost” (Jer. 31:3; John 13:1).
God’s love for us is an eternal love, a love that is to the uttermost. God’s salvation, which is out of His love and because of His love, is also eternal and to the uttermost. It will not change or cease because of a change in our condition.
3. His love, which “will not forget,” being stronger than a nursing mother’s love (Isa. 49:15).
God’s love for us is a love that does not forget. Even a mother may forget her nursing child, but God will never forget us. His love is stronger than a mother’s love. This love makes Him unable to change, to cancel, or to rescind the salvation that He has given us.
4. “Neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God” (Rom. 8:38-39, see also vv. 35-37).
Since God loves us, what can separate us from His love? Nothing! Neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God. The love of God from which we cannot be separated secures His salvation in us.
1. “By grace you have been saved...and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works” (Eph. 2:8-9).
Our salvation is not of ourselves or our works but by God’s grace; this grace is the gift of God and is of God. If it were of ourselves or our works, it would be changeable; however, it is of God and His grace, so it will not change. We and our works fluctuate and are undependable, but God’s grace is stable, immovable, and eternally secure.
2. “Who has saved us...not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the times of the ages” (2 Tim. 1:9).
God has saved us according to the grace that He gave us in Christ before the times of the ages, not according to our works. This grace was given to us by God in Christ before the times of the ages; it was not given to us in the present because of our works. Therefore, it cannot be influenced or changed in the future by our works. Since God gave grace to us in Christ, it does not depend on us. Regardless of our condition, we can never change God’s grace that has saved us.
3. “We have redemption...according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).
Our salvation is according to the riches of God’s grace. The riches of God’s grace are His all-sufficient grace. Since we are saved by God’s all-sufficient grace, this grace is fully responsible for us, it meets our every need, and it saves us to the uttermost. This grace is without any lack or deficiency that could cause our salvation to be jeopardized. Hence, it is eternally secure and established.
1. “The gospel...is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes...for the righteousness of God is revealed in it” (Rom. 1:16-17).
The gospel of God is His power. It can save everyone who believes because His righteousness is revealed in the gospel. His gospel speaks not only of His love and grace but also of His righteousness. We are saved not only because of His love and grace but also according to His righteousness. Love and grace are related to feelings, but righteousness is a judicial matter. Emotions can change with a change of the heart, but judicial matters are principles that are eternally unchanging. Matters of love and grace are not bound by law; they are subject to a person’s willingness or unwillingness. However, judicial matters of righteousness are absolutely bound by law. They are not matters of choice but matters of requirement. If God came to save us merely by His love and grace, our salvation would merely be a matter of His willingness to save us. But He saves us not only because of His love and grace but also according to His righteousness. He is not only willing to save us; He is required to save us. Although His heart causes Him to love us and to give us grace, His love and grace cannot bind Him. The only thing that binds God is His righteousness. When we believe, His righteousness leaves Him no choice but to save us; it requires that He save us eternally and to the uttermost. This righteousness is of Him, not of us. It is not only powerful but also secure.
2. “With a view to the demonstrating of His righteousness...who justifies him who is of the faith of Jesus” (Rom. 3:26).
Out of His love God gave us His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, as our Savior (John 3:16). Because of God’s grace, the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption for us (Heb. 2:9). When the Lord Jesus went to the cross and bore God’s righteous judgment in our place, He satisfied the requirement of God’s righteousness. Now God justifies those who believe in the Lord Jesus, according to His righteousness and with a view to demonstrating His righteousness. If the Lord Jesus had not satisfied God’s righteous requirements for us, even though He wanted to give us His forgiving grace because of His love, He would not have been able to forgive and to justify us without falling into unrighteousness. However, since the Lord Jesus satisfied God’s righteous requirements on our behalf, God must forgive and justify us according to His righteousness. If He did not, He would fall into unrighteousness. Before the Lord Jesus resolved the problem of God’s righteous condemnation of us, God could not have forgiven us without being unrighteous. After the Lord Jesus satisfied God’s righteous requirements on our behalf, God would be unrighteous if He did not forgive and justify us. Formerly, if He justified us, He would have been unrighteous; now, if He does not justify us, He would be unrighteous. Formerly, He could not justify us; now, He cannot but justify us. He must justify us because He is righteous and cannot be unrighteous. His righteousness requires Him to justify those who believe. His righteousness cannot change; therefore, the justification that He gives us according to His righteousness cannot change.
3. “Who shall bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33).
Since God justifies us according to His righteousness, nothing and no one can bring a charge against us. Because God is righteous, the justification we have received is secure, and no one can condemn us again.
4. “Righteousness...the foundation of Your throne” (Psa. 89:14).
God’s throne is built upon righteousness. If there were a problem with God’s righteousness, the foundation of His throne would be shaken. This tells us that His righteousness is extremely secure and solid. Since our justification is based upon His secure and solid righteousness, it is equally secure and solid. His righteousness is the foundation of His throne, and it is the basis for our justification. Our justification is as secure as God’s throne.
1. “A new covenant” (Heb. 8:8).
God saved us not only because of His love, by His grace, and according to His righteousness but also through His covenant. Through the blood shed by the Lord Jesus, God made a covenant with us to save us (Matt. 26:28). His covenant with us is based upon His faithfulness. His faithfulness causes Him to keep His covenant and to be bound by this covenant. Based on this covenant, He must save us, and He must save us to the uttermost.
2. “I will not profane My covenant, / Nor will I change what has gone forth from My lips” (Psa. 89:34).
God is faithful, and His faithfulness will not fail (v. 33). He will not profane His covenant or change His word. Since He saves us according to His established covenant, according to His word in the New Testament, our salvation cannot be changed. Our salvation is secure and solid because of His covenant and the word of His covenant.
1. “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:29 see also Psa. 89:13).
Our Father is greater than all, so His power is greater than all, and no one can snatch us out of His hand. Therefore, according to His power, our salvation is secure.
1. “I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever” (John 10:28).
God’s life, which is the eternal life, entered into us and brought us into an eternal relationship with God, a relationship of life that we can never break. Since the life of God is eternal, our life relationship with God is also eternal. His eternal life is in us, keeping us from perishing forever and making our salvation eternally secure.
1. “With whom is no variation or shadow cast by turning” (James 1:17).
God will not change; He does not even cast a shadow by turning. Since our salvation is out of such a One, how can it change?
2. “I, Jehovah, do not change; therefore you...are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6).
We are not consumed because God does not change. Our salvation is eternally secure because God’s being never changes.
1. “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died and, rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34).
Who can erase the eternal efficacy of the redemption of Christ’s death and resurrection and make His intercession for us of no effect? No one can. No one can ever condemn us again. Our salvation is secure.
2. “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25).
The Lord is always interceding for us, and He is able to save us to the uttermost.
3. “He became...the source of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5:9).
“Eternal salvation”! How sure is this phrase! Moreover, this verse says that the Lord Himself is the source of eternal salvation. Just as He is eternally unchanging, our salvation is eternally unchanging.
4. “By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Heb. 10:14).
“Perfected forever”! How certain is this phrase! The Lord accomplished redemption once, perfecting us forever. Therefore, we receive His redemption once and are eternally saved.
1. “No one shall snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
No one can snatch us out of the Lord’s powerful hand, which is the hand of God. His powerful hand makes us eternally secure.
1. “Him who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out” (John 6:37).
The Lord promised that He would not cast out any who come to Him. This promise guarantees that our salvation is eternally secure. In His Word God shows that once we are saved, we have eternal salvation, we are perfected forever, and we will never perish. This is our eternal security. Verses such as John 15:2 and 6, Romans 11:22, Galatians 5:4, Hebrews 6:4-6, and 10:26-27 do not refer to perishing after our salvation; they refer to the consequences in this age of not living according to the Lord’s life in our salvation.
