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In this lesson we will see the assurance and security of salvation. Among today’s Christians there are many different views concerning salvation. Some people consider that it is impossible to know today that we are saved, while others think that after we are saved we may still perish. The Bible shows us, however, that our salvation is not a matter of speculation, nor is it a matter of uncertainty. Rather, it is something which can be confirmed with assurance and which we may know with full confidence. Moreover, our salvation is secure. Once we have it, we have it eternally. It can never be shaken or changed.
Many people consider that believing is a present matter and that receiving salvation is a future matter, that is, that a man believes today and will be saved in the future. However, the Bible tells us clearly and definitely that at the moment a man believes, he is saved (Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:10). It is not that he will be saved in the future, but that he is already saved today. He is saved at the very time that he believes. Salvation immediately follows believing, for there is no space of time between the two.
When a person believes, he is saved. The Bible clearly reveals that when a person believes, he is forgiven of his sins (Acts 10:43; 1 John 2:12), freed (John 3:18; Gal. 3:13), washed (1 Cor. 6:11; Acts 15:9), sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11; Acts 26:18), justified (Rom. 5:1; 3:28, 30; Gal. 3:8, 24; Acts 13:39), and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10). Therefore, when we believe, we are redeemed and we are saved.
When a person believes, he is not only redeemed but also regenerated. John 1:12-13 clearly points out that anyone who believes in the Lord is born of God and becomes a child of God. Hence, as long as a man believes into the Lord Jesus, he is regenerated, he has God’s eternal life, and he will not perish forever (John 3:15-16); that is, he is saved.
When a person believes, he passes out of death into life. John 3:16 and 5:24 tell us that he who believes has eternal life, and he will not be judged nor will he perish; he has passed out of death into life. Hence, as long as we believe, we have eternal life, and we are no longer condemned or judged; we have passed out of death into life.
The above three points clearly prove that we need only to believe, and we are saved immediately.
First, the assurance of our salvation is based on the Word of God (1 John 5:13). Through the Bible God tells us and testifies to us concerning the redemption which He has accomplished for us through His Son; through the Bible He also reveals to us and bears witness concerning the salvation that has been wrought in us through the Spirit in His Son. Therefore, by the word of God in the Scriptures we know that we are saved. The Scripture verses quoted in the foregoing section concerning our receiving salvation at the moment we believe are not only God’s revelation and promise to us, but they are also His covenant and written evidence to us. By His word in the covenant and by the written evidence we can know, even with confidence and assurance, that once we believe in the Lord, we are forgiven of our sins, freed, washed, sanctified, justified, and reconciled to God, we have eternal life and shall not perish, we have passed out of death into life, and we are saved.
Man acquires an inheritance by a testament. The written words of the covenant in the Bible were left to us by the Lord as a testament (Heb. 9:15-16), by which we may inherit the blessings of His salvation. When a person intends to bequeath his possessions, he lists his possessions in a will and bequeaths them to the inheritor. Likewise, the Lord has given His salvation to us by including it in His testament—the Bible. A man receives a bequest according to the clear stipulations expressed in the will, not according to his own consideration or imagination. Likewise, we inherit the Lord’s salvation according to the plain statements contained in the Bible, His testament, not according to our own imagination or sensation. Hence, since we have the Bible as an outward proof to us, we do not need our feelings; according to the plain statements, we can assuredly know that we have received grace, that we are saved. This is a proof that is outside of us, which we may call the outward proof.
The assurance of our salvation is based on the Spirit’s witnessing with our spirit (Rom. 8:16). We not only have the Word of God outside of us confirming the fact that we have been saved, but we also have the Spirit within us witnessing with our spirit that we are the children of God and that God is our Father. Everyone who believes in the Lord enjoys addressing God as “Abba, Father.” It is a spontaneous matter for us to call God “Abba, Father.” Moreover, every time we call Him “Abba, Father,” we feel sweet and comfortable within. This is because we are children begotten of God, we have God’s life, and the Spirit of God’s Son has entered into us. Concerning our father in the flesh, it is spontaneous and sweet for us to call him “Father.” Therefore, since we enjoy calling God “Abba, Father,” and do it spontaneously, even with a sweet and comfortable sensation, this proves that we have God’s life and are children begotten of God. Hence, by the Spirit’s inner witnessing with our spirit we can know with certainty that we are God’s children and that we are saved. This is a proof within us, which we may call the inward proof.
The assurance of salvation is based on the fact that we love the brothers. First John 3:14 says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.” Since God is love (1 John 4:16) and since we have His life, we surely have the divine love. Furthermore, since we have been begotten of God, we certainly love those who have been begotten of Him (1 John 5:1). When a saved one sees a brother in the Lord, he has an affection for him and even loves him in such a manner that is incomprehensible to himself. Therefore, our love toward the brothers in the Lord is a proof by which we know that we have been saved. This is a proof of our experience of life, which we may call the proof of love. By our believing—believing in the Lord—we have life and have passed out of death into life; by our loving—loving the brothers—we know that we have life and that we have passed out of death into life.
Therefore, by the clear words of the Bible, by the sensation in our spirit, and by the experience of love, we can know with certainty that we are saved.
Now we will go on to see the security of salvation. Our salvation not only can be proved with assurance, but it is also secure. According to the revelation of the Bible, the security of salvation is demonstrated by the following twelve items:
First, our salvation is secured by the invariable God. James 1:17 says that with the Father there is “no variableness or shadow cast by turning.” James clearly indicates that God is not variable, and with Him there is no shadow cast by turning. He is not like the heavenly bodies, which turn and whose shadows also change, as seen in the waxing and waning of the moon while it revolves around the earth and in the eclipsing of the sun by the moon. God is secure; He is not variable, not changeable. Therefore, since He has saved us, our salvation can never be changed, and we shall never perish.
Our salvation is secured by God’s unchanging will. Hebrews 6:17 speaks of “the unchangeableness of His [God’s] counsel.” Since God’s counsel, that is, God’s will, is unchangeable, the fact that He chose us and predestinated us before the foundation of the world that we might receive His salvation (Eph. 1:4-5, 11) is also unchangeable. Since He chose and predestinated us in eternity past that we might receive sonship and become His inheritance, He will carry it out and will not fail. Hence, our salvation is secure.
Our salvation is also secured by God’s inseparable love. First John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son a propitiation concerning our sins.” If we are saved because we love God, then our salvation is not reliable. However, we are saved because God loved us; that is, our salvation is of God’s love. Since God is unchanging, His love is also unalterable. Moreover, His love toward us is an inseparable love (Rom. 8:39). Hence, nothing can separate us from His love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither things present nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God. Because of God’s inseparable love, His salvation within us will never fail; it is forever secure and unchanging.
Our salvation is secured by God’s irrevocable calling. Romans 11:29 says that the calling of God is irrevocable. Since God’s calling comes out of His invariable being and is according to His unchanging will, it is irrevocable and unalterable. Hence, the salvation which God has called us to receive is also unalterable. Therefore, according to God’s calling, our salvation is eternally secure.
It is because of His love that God gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, to us to be our Savior (John 3:16), and it is by the grace of God that the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption for us (Heb. 2:9). However, after the Lord Jesus was judged on the cross by God’s righteousness on our behalf and thereby satisfied God’s righteous requirement, we who believe in Him are justified according to God’s righteousness to show forth God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:26). If the Lord Jesus had not satisfied God’s righteous requirement on our behalf, even though, because of His love, God desires to grant us the grace of forgiveness, He could not forgive us or justify us, because that would make Him unrighteous. However, since the Lord Jesus has satisfied God’s righteous requirement on our behalf, God can—and He must—forgive us and justify us according to His righteousness; otherwise, He would make Himself unrighteous. Hence, bound by His righteousness, God must justify us. Romans 8:33 says, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Shall God that justifieth?” (ASV, margin). Since God is bound by His righteousness, He must justify us; He cannot accuse us or condemn us any longer. God’s righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne (Psa. 89:14a, ASV). God’s throne is securely established and cannot be shaken. Likewise, God’s justification according to His righteousness is securely established and forever unchallengeable. Hence, our salvation is eternally secure.
The security of our salvation rests on God’s almighty hand. In John 10:29 the Lord said, “My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” Because God is greater than all, He is more powerful than anything. No one can snatch us out of His almighty hand. Hence, as far as God’s almighty hand is concerned, our salvation is secure.
The security of our salvation also rests on God’s eternal life. In John 10:28 the Lord said, “And I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever.” Eternal life is God’s life. The Lord has given this life to us and has brought us into an eternal relationship with God, a relationship in life, so that we can never be separated from Him. Today, God’s eternal life in us maintains the eternal security of our salvation so that we shall never perish.
Our salvation is secured by the new covenant which God made with us (Heb. 8:8-12). This covenant was consummated through the redemption accomplished by the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:20). According to this covenant, God will forgive the sins of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus and will not remember their iniquities any longer; He will impart His laws into their mind and inscribe them on their hearts; He will be God to them and they will be a people to Him; and they all will know God and will not need others to teach them. At the same time, this covenant is an eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20), which will remain eternally and is effective eternally. Furthermore, because God is faithful and is One who keeps His covenant (Deut. 7:9), He will never break His covenant (Psa. 89:34) but will fulfill it in us accordingly. Hence, His covenant, which cannot be annulled, guarantees the eternal security of our salvation.
Our salvation is also secured by Christ’s eternal redemption, which is perfect and complete. Hebrews 10:14 says, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified.” By offering Himself on the cross without blemish as the one sacrifice to God, Christ has accomplished an eternal redemption (Heb. 9:12; 10:10, 12). Hence, this redemption is eternally perfect and complete, without any blemish or shortcoming. Through Christ’s eternal redemption we, the sanctified ones, have been perfected eternally. No one can condemn us any longer (Rom. 8:34), nor can anyone nullify the perfect, complete, and eternal redemption which Christ has accomplished for us. Hence, our salvation is eternally secure.
We are saved with security by Christ’s eternal salvation. Hebrews 5:9 says that Christ “became to all them that obey Him the cause of eternal salvation.” The salvation brought to us by Christ is an eternal salvation, all the effects, benefits, and issues of which are of an eternal nature, transcending the limitations of time. Our salvation, therefore, is eternally secure.
The security of our salvation rests also on Christ’s almighty hand. In John 10:28 the Lord said, “And I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.” Just as God’s almighty hand is powerful, so also Christ’s almighty hand is strong. Both are safeguards to our salvation. Eternal life shall never run out, and the hands of the Son and the Father shall never fail. Therefore, our salvation is eternally secure, and we shall never perish.
We are saved with security by Christ’s unfailing promise. John 6:37 says, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and him that comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” The Lord has promised that He will never cast out those who come to Him. Such a promise guarantees the eternal security of our salvation. Therefore, God has shown us in His Word from different angles that once we are saved, we are eternally saved, we are eternally perfected, we shall by no means perish eternally, and we are eternally secure.
At the time that a man believes, he is redeemed and regenerated, and he passes out of death into life. Hence, at the moment a man believes, he is saved. Our salvation is assured, first, by the Word of God, that is, the plain statements of the Scriptures, the covenant which God has made with us and the testament which He has given to us. This is a proof that is outside of us, which we may call the outward proof. Second, our salvation is assured by the Spirit’s witnessing with our spirit. This witnessing proves that we are the children of God and that God is our Father. This is a proof within us, which we may call the inward proof. Third, our salvation is assured by our loving the brothers. Our love toward the brothers in the Lord is also a proof by which we know that we have been saved. This is a proof of our experience of life, which we may call the proof of love. Moreover, our salvation is secured by the invariable God, by God’s unchanging will, by God’s inseparable love, by God’s irrevocable calling, by God’s unchallengeable justification, by God’s almighty hand, by God’s eternal life, by God’s new covenant, by Christ’s perfect, complete, and eternal redemption, by Christ’s eternal salvation, by Christ’s almighty hand, and by Christ’s unfailing promise. Therefore, God has shown us in His Word from different angles that once we are saved, we are eternally saved, we are eternally perfected, we shall by no means perish eternally, and we are eternally secure.
