Theology 201 #5: Saved & Secure

Jesus said, “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28).

Last month we considered how the Bible does not teach perseverance of the saints (once saved, always saved) as the Calvinists teach, and that just as a person can accept Christ based upon their own freewill choice, so too can a person reject Christ based upon their own freewill choice. God is not going to force someone who no longer desires to spend eternity with Him to remain saved. Thus, a person can forfeit their salvation.

On the other hand, this month we are going to consider how a person can know for a fact that they are saved! There are three pieces of tangible evidence that a genuine believer can point to for giving them piece of mind about their salvation.

The first piece of tangible evidence is a present active trust in Christ for their salvation. The Greek word that gets translated as “believes” in John 3:16 literally speaks of a present active trust in Christ. A present active trust means that that belief/trust begins at some point yet it continues until either we die, or Jesus returns. It is a continual faith in what Jesus did for us in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is a faith that is not based on any good works that we might do. It is not be being “a good person.” It is faith that was, is, and always will be in Christ alone. And it is a faith that remains regardless of trials and/or circumstances that come our way.

The Apostle John said in 1 John 5:13 (NASB), “These things I have written to you who believe (present active trust) in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Notice that John doesn’t say that you might have eternal life, or possibly have salvation. No, John states that we can KNOW for a fact that we are saved when we have the sort of belief that he is referring to. Paul describes a present active trust when he tells the Colossians that they will be saved on the last day, “provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard” (Col. 1:23). And Hebrews 3:14 says, “We share in Christ, if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.”

Therefore, a person should ask themselves, “Today, do I trust in Christ to forgive my sins and take me without blame into heaven forever? Do I have confidence in my heart that He has saved me?  If I were to die tonight and stand before God’s judgment seat, and if He were to ask me why He should let me into heaven, would I begin to think of my good deeds and depend on them, or would I without hesitation say that I am depending on the merits of Christ and am confident that He is a sufficient Savior? If a testimony of saving faith is genuine, it should be a testimony of faith that is active this very day.

When a person has a present active trust in Christ for their salvation it will cause them to follow the Lord’s leading. This is exactly what Jesus spoke of in John 10:27-28, quoted above. This sort of faith will naturally lead to the second piece of tangible evidence which assures a believer that their salvation is the real thing is: the fruit of the Spirit being displayed in their life.

The nine fruits of the Spirit are listed in the chart below explaining what each of these entail. Yet the bottom line is this: is there evidence of the Holy Spirit in my heart? As you examine this list, it is important to remember that the question is not, “Do I perfectly exemplify all of these characteristics in my life?” but rather, “Are these things a general characteristic of my life? Do I sense these attitudes in my heart? Do others (especially those closest to me) see these traits exhibited in my life? Have I been growing in them over a period of years?”

Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
1	“love”	for God and others
2	“joy”	it does not depend on circumstances, instead it triumphs over circumstances
3	“peace”	freed from inner turmoil of guilt, and despair because His righteousness is ours
4	“patience”	refusal to respond with vengeance or malice; willing to wait
5	“kindness”	goodness in action—a person is friendly, decent, reliable, gentle and kind
6	“goodness”	uprightness of soul that abhors evil
7	“faithfulness”	obedience to God and demonstrates to trustworthiness among men
8	“gentleness”	humility—power under control; seeing others as more important than themselves
9	“self-control”	restraining one’s desires

The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit testifies within our hearts that we are God’s children (Rom. 8:15-16; 1 John 4:13). This testimony will usually be accompanied by a sense of being led by the Holy Spirit in paths of obedience to do God’s will (Rom. 8:14). The Holy Spirit will lead us to continue believing and accepting the sound teaching of the church.

 Those who begin to deny major doctrines of the faith give serious negative indications concerning their salvation: “No one who denies the Son has the Father…If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father” (1 John 2:23-24). This abiding in Christ will include not only day-by-day trust in Him in various situations, but also regular fellowship with Him in prayer and worship. 

The Holy Spirit will lead us to obeying God’s commands: “Faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). A perfect life is not necessary, of course, but a consistent pattern of obedience in life is.  Again, it is not that we are saved by our good works; we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone. Rather, good works can be evidence that genuine salvation has taken place in our lives.

Lastly, do I See a long-term pattern of growth in my Christian life? Peter tells us that there are some character traits which, if we keep on increasing in them, will guarantee that we will “never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). He tells his readers to add to their faith “virtue…knowledge…self- control… steadfastness… godliness…brotherly affection…love” (2 Peter 1:5-7). Then he says that these things are to belong to his readers and to continually “abound” in their lives (2 Peter 1:8). He adds that they are to “be the more zealous to confirm your call and election” and says then that “if you do this (literally, “these things,” referring to the character traits mentioned in verses 5-7) you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10).

Everyone who gains assurance through a self-examination such as the one above should know, “I am truly born again; therefore, I will certainly preserve to the end, because I am guarded by God’s power working through my faith (1 Peter 1:5) and therefore I will never be lost. Jesus will raise me up at the last day and I will enter into His Kingdom forever” (John 6:40).

Even Calvinist Wayne Grudem admits, “Once one stops trusting in Christ and obeying Him, I am speaking in terms of outward evidence (as have been discussed above), they have no genuine assurance of salvation, and they should consider themselves unsaved, and turn to Christ in repentance and ask Him for forgiveness of their sins” (Systematic Theology, pg. 806).

In His service,

      Matt

  (Portions of the chart above was taken from Kenneth L. Boles, The College Press NIV Commentary: Galatians & Ephesians, pgs. 148-154.)