By Bob Vaughn - uca@uncommonanswers.com
"Contending for the faith once delivered to the saints"
Uncommon Answers Home Page
THE BELIEVER'S
SECURITY
THE
POWER
The
power that created the universe and all that is in it; the power,
wisdom and knowledge by which all this universe continues to operate; a
power that is more immense than man can imagine; the power of the
"Almighty" God is that power that secures a true
believer in Jesus Christ.
If a
believer is kept by this "Almighty" power as 1 Peter 1:5 says,
then there is no other power in the universe that can cause him to be
not
kept -- to be lost. 1 Peter 1:5 concerning believers says,
"Who are kept
by
the power of God through faith unto salvation ....."
If a man
believes
this he need never "fear" losing his salvation.
In John
10:27-29 Jesus said,
"My sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me, And I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has gaven them to me, is
greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my
Father's hand".
The fate of the sheep
of Jesus is sealed in these words: "they shall never perish". Why? They
are in the Almighty's hand, and there is none who can take them from
Him. If a
man believes this he need never "fear" losing his salvation.
Jesus
also said in John 6:37-40,
"All that the Father
gives me will come to me; and the one who comes to me I will by no
means cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will,
but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of the Father who
sent me, that of all which he has given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And
this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life:
and I will raise him up at the last day."
Jesus
stands with
open arms ready to receive all who come to him, casting none out. The
Father's will is that Jesus lose none and that all who believe may have
everlasting life. Oh, how great is the security of a believer. He need never
"fear" losing his salvation.
Paul
teaches in Romans 8:28-39,
"And we know that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknow, He also
did predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that He
might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestinated,
these He also called: and whom he called, these he also justified: and
whom he justified, these he also glorified. What shall we then say to
these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not
spared his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
with
him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against
God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who
condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is alsi risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for
us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all the day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Everything that happens is for
the good of believer's. They are predestined to be like Jesus. The
Almighty
God is for them, giving them freely all things, justifying them, and nothing
can separate them from His love. They need never "fear" losing
their
salvation.
What
further security could anyone want or add to the Almighty power of the
Living God that keeps true believers? This power unfathomed by any man,
is committed to "The Believer's Security". No true believer can ever lose
his salvation.
THE
MEANS
Thus
far it is evident from scriptures that the Almighty God is committed to
the security of the believer. A true believer can never lose
his salvation. The way
by which God's keeping power works is faith. Once again, 1 Peter 1:5
says,
"Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time".
Notice
that it is
"through faith" that the power of God works. Where there is faith there
is the keeping power of God. Therefore true believers, are kept by the
power of God. If real faith can stop, then the
keeping power of God can stop. A true believer, one who is exercising
faith, can never lose his salvation.
Again
in John 10:27-29,
"My sheep hear my
voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch
them out of my hand. My Father, who has gaven them to me, is greater
than
all; and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand".
We notice that those
who never perish and who cannot be snatched out of the Father's hand,
"follow Jesus". True believers follow Jesus. If a follower of Jesus can
quit following Him, then he
can perish and he can be plucked out of the Father's hand. Followers of
Jesus -- His sheep, true believers -- can never lose their
salvation.
Looking
at John 6:37- 40 again,
"All that the Father
gives Me shall come to Me; and he who comes to me I will by no means
cast out. For I come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him Who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent
me, that of all he has given me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who
sent me, that everyone who sees the Son, and believeth on him,
may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
We see
that Jesus
cast none away; but if a man can choose to willingly walk
away then he
will cease to be kept. The Father wills that all who come to Jesus have
everlasting life, but if the Father doesn't always get His perfect will
then one who comes to Jesus may not necessarily receive everlasting
life. II Peter 3:9 says the Lord "is long-suffering to us-ward, not
willing that nay should perish, but that all should come to
repentance". Since it is evident that all will not come to repentance,
then it is evident that God does not always get His will. A man who
does not willingly walk away from Jesus can never lose his
salvation.
Again look at
Romans 8:28-39 (above in Paul's teaching)
Again we see in verse
28 that it is those who love God who have all things working for their
good.
Jesus said in John 14:21,
"He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me".
So those who obey
Jesus are those who have God working for them. Also, in verse 39 the
Word says that it is the "love of God, which is in Christ Jesus"
from which believers cannot be separated. This is a special love God
has for those "in Jesus" (I Corinthians 12:12-13, Galatians 3:27). John
15:10 says,
"If you keep my
commandments, you shall abide in my love."
So a man
who obeys
Jesus, staying "in Him", can never lose his salvation.
Finally,
in Romans 11:20,
"Well, because of
unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be
haughty, but fear."
We are
told plainly
that we stand by faith. Faith is the means or way by which
God's keeping power works. A man of faith need never "fear" losing
his salvation.
THE
REASON
We can
now have confidence in the will and ability of the Almighty God to keep
believers and understand that He has chosen faith as the means by which
they avail themselves of His keeping power. Now let's search for God's
reason or purpose for believers' being kept by faith.
James
1:3 and 1:12 say,
"Knowing this, that
the trying of your faith produces patience",
"Blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been
approved he will receive the
crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."
It seems
clear here
that there is to be trying or testing or proving of a man's faith in
God and of his commitment to God, and a crown of life for those who
love Him, or as John 14:21 says, those who obey Him.
This
same trying is expressed in 1 Peter 1:7 and 4:12,
"That the genuineness
of
your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes,
though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and
glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ",
"Beloved,
do not
think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as
though
some strange thing happened to you."
Every
believer has
his faith put to the test -- tried, proven.
But
where does the power of the Almighty God that keeps believers, come
into action? In 1 Corinthians 10:13:
"No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man: but God
is faithful,
who will not allow you to be tempted beyond that which you are able;
but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that you may be
able to bear it."
Paul
teaches that
God's power works for believers during the time of trials to assume
that their testing will not be too difficult for them to pass, and that
God will provide to those who are obedient ways of escaping trying
situations -- thus passing the test. So God's power works for true
believers in a way that will always assure their success. The man
exercising faith can never lose his salvation for God's power
enables him and provides him a way of escape.
Paul in
1 Timothy 1:19 and 4:1,
"Having faith and a
good conscience; which some having rejected, concerning faith have
suffered
shipwreck",
"Now the Spirit
expressly says, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
faith",
shows us
that some
believers will stop doing the truths that the faith teaches. They will
be tested and fail.
God has
always tried His people as He did Abraham in Genesis 22; Israel in
Exodus 16:4, 20:20, Deuteronomy 8:2, 8:16, Judges 2:22, 3:1, 3:4; David
in Psalm 26:2; Job in Job 23:10; Joseph in Psalm 105:19; Jeremiah in
Jeremiah 12:3; People in general in Psalm 7:9, Proverbs 17:3; the
righteous in 1 Thessalonians 2:4, Psalm 11:5, Jeremiah 20:12,
Revelation 2:10, James 1:12, 4:12, 1 Peter 1:7, Hebrews 11:36. Every
believer has his faith tried.
Jesus
teaches in John 15:1-6:
"I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does bot bear
fruit he takes away: Every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that
it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the
word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine:
neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the
branches: he who abides in me, and I in him, the same bears
much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide
in
me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them,
and throw them into the fire and they are burned".
Every
branch does not
bear fruit; also, every person, receiving his life from the true vine,
Jesus, does not bear fruit. Therefore, that branch or person who does
not bear fruit is separated from its life source and cast into the
fire. A healthy branch in a vine will bear fruit; so also will a true
believer who is in Jesus. So if the man in Jesus stops having faith,
the means for the keeping power of God, he will stop being fruitful for
Jesus. He, as an unhealthy branch, will be separated from Jesus, the
vine.
Clearly,
then, the reason for our being kept by the power of God through faith
(1 Peter 1:5) is to provide for the testing, trying, proving of our
faith. A man possessing real faith will never lose his
salvation for he is kept by the power of the Almighty God.
THE
RESULTS
The
results of having our faith tried and our being kept by the power
of God are glorious. The Bible then calls us "overcomers". Jesus said
to each of the seven churches in Revelation, chapters 1 and 2, that it
would be the overcomers who were so gloriously blessed. John in 1 John
5:4-5 says that the victory that overcomes the world is by our faith.
If we keep the faith, keep on believing, keep on trusting, the power of
the Almighty God keeps us. No true believer will ever lose his
salvation.
Paul in
II Timothy 4:7-8 said,
"I have fought a good
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing."
It is very clear that
since he had kept the faith there was laid up for him that crown of
righteousness. Had he not continued in the faith when he was tried, he
would never be given the crown of the righteous. He kept believing,
even in the midst of trials, and God's power kept keeping him, even as
1 Peter 1:5 says,
"Who are kept by the
power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time."
Paul
provided the
means -- faith, and God provided the power.
Paul,
writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, said,
"Moreover, brethren,
I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also you
have received and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if
you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed
in vain."
Paul had
preached the
gospel, they had received it, and they stood in it. But Paul said they
would only be saved by it "if" they kept it in memory, and if not, they
had believed in vain. A man who is truly believing need never
lose his salvation.
Jesus
in the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:21 says,
"Well done, thou good
and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
He have us this
parable and many others to teach us the necessity of our being faithful
to our Lord. Where there is true faith there is faithfulness. Again
in Revelation 17:14 the saints with Jesus will be "called, and chosen,
and faithful."
The conclusion of the
whole matter is that if you are a true believer, you will overcome, you
will be faithful, you will be kept
"HE
THAT OVERCOMETH SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS;
AND I WILL BE HIS
GOD, AND HE SHALL BE MY SON."
REVELATION 21:7
Bob Vaughn