Eternal Security

Matthew 5:13 -16 13Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house. 16Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Salt is a reference to Christians (born again). As salt of the earth, we teach and maintain Christian morals in society which helps preserve a nation from rotting, just as salt preserves meat. If a Christian fails to maintain Christian principles and morals in society, his message may be disregarded by the world, and he may be disdained with by those who know him because he is not consistent.

We should be dead to ourselves and let the light of God shine through us. If God’s light fails to shine through us (a lighthouse), the lost of the world are tossed about in the sea of darkness and cannot find safety. When allow God’s light (Word of God) to shine through us, lost men can find safety from the darkness. A Christian may lose his ability to be a beacon for God, but still remains a child of God. He is not respected as a light carrying vessel of God by other Christians, or the lost of the world.

Matthew 5:17-20 17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all is fulfilled. 19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so; he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Man realized he could not keep the law, so God provided grace through the sacrifice of his only begotten Son, and the resurrection of Christ. Jesus fulfilled every jot and title of the law and then gave himself as the substitution for sin. A Christian is no longer under the death penalty of the law once he is born again. He passes from death unto eternal life.

Should we still try to keep the Ten Commandments and the laws of God? Yes, they are moral standards for the whole world. Once we are born again we are not under the law and cannot lose our salvation. We are under God’s grace and his promise of eternal salvation. The Law is a guide for the lost to lead them to Christ for salvation. Christians respect the Ten Commandments and use them as a moral guide for society.

Those who are faithful to let the Holy Ghost lead their lives, and teach others to do the same, will have many rewards and be called great in the kingdom of heaven. A Christian cannot lose salvation by breaking the commandments. Why? Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The Scribes and Pharisees tried to live by the law without faith in God, and found the Law is not sufficient for salvation.

The only way we attain a righteousness that exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees is to receive the righteousness of Christ as a free gift from God by exercising faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. All of man’s works are as filthy rags before God. Man cannot use works as part of salvation. Righteousness comes from faith and grace.

Matthew 6:14-15 14For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This passage does not imply a person will become unborn to God (lose his salvation). Christians live in a carnal body of flesh. If a person does not forgive others who have committed misdeeds against us, then God will not forgive your misdeeds. You do not cease being a child of God, but you will suffer correction from God, the same as a parent has to correct one of their children for not heeding their commands.

If you forgive those who trespass against you, God will forgive your trespasses and probably withhold correction from when you repent and ask his forgiveness of them.

Matthew 6:22-24 22The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23But if thy eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! 24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

When a person receives Jesus as Lord and Savior, he has a single objective to let God’s will be accomplished in his life. His life will be illuminated with the truth of God. Those, who make an emotional decision, but never gives their allegiance to God, holds onto the world. They become blinded by the cares of the world and the darkness within them becomes great. Eventually, they lose the light of God innate in all humans and live in darkness for eternity.

A person must decide if his master will be God or if he will follow his own desires (influence of the world/Satan) and become his own god. Those who accept Christ as their master are born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Those who walk away become apostates to God without any hope of salvation. God will not always strive with man.

When a person chooses to accept Christ as his master, he is born again into the kingdom of God and becomes, eternally, one of God’s children.

Matthew 7:18-19 18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

In this passage, it is describing two different types of trees. This passage is basically referring to the preachers and teachers of doctrines and cults. Many are legitimate, but some are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Those, teaching God’s Word, will be in harmony with the Bible. False teachers will teach doctrines opposed to the Word of God or mix false teachings in with scripture.

We cannot judge a person to heaven or hell that is reserved for Christ, but we can judge the fruit from the tree. We should be able to discern the good fruit from the bad to make wise decisions regarding our efforts in God’s vineyard.

Those who bring forth good fruit are probably born again Christians or aligned with Christians. Those who provide bad fruit are evidently the enemies of God. The enemies of God will eventually be cast into the Lake of Fire at Judgment Day.

Matthew 7:21-27 21Not every one that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? 23And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

At the judgment, many will say they loved God because they called him Lord, but Jesus says it takes more than merely calling him Lord. There must be true devotion to Jesus as Lord and Savior. This is shown by total dependence (faith) on Jesus as Lord and Savior. Satan appears as an angel of light and seduces many with false miracles. Satan’s spirit is not of faith, but of antichrist.

Jesus is the Rock of our salvation. Those who place their total faith in Jesus have built their soul upon the Rock of God. They cannot be washed away from the Rock. They cannot lose their salvation. They are eternally secure. Those who build their salvation on their own goodness and morality have built their salvation on sand. Any rain or flood of adversity will wash away their foundation, and the winds of false doctrines will cause their whole structure of life to fall. Those who place their faith in babbling, works, enduring to the end, baptism, etc., instead of basing their salvation on faith in Jesus have built their house on the sand.

Matthew 9:2, 6-7 2And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 6But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thy house. 7And he arose, and departed to his house.

The man was forgiven of his sins and healed of his illness. If he transgressed later, his palsy did not return. Would he lose salvation if he transgressed again, or was it a free gift from Jesus because of his faith? Did Jesus place any conditions on the man in order for him to remain whole? No, he was saved for eternity.

Matthew 9:16-17 16No man puts a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up takes from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

Jesus states the foolishness of mixing legalism with grace. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is a new dispensation of God’s Salvation to man. It replaces the works of the law. Jesus states that you cannot mix works and grace. Jesus has fulfilled and satisfied the requirements of the law.

Mankind is now saved by their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. This brings the indwelling of the Holy Ghost of Christ in us. We are born into the kingdom of God by a new spiritual birth. Christians are free from the law. A Christian dies to himself and lets Jesus live through him. The law has no more power over the Christian. Grace and faith cannot fit into the bottle of the law. Salvation frees us from the law, and we pass from death unto eternal life in Christ.

Matthew 9:28-29 28Jesus said unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. 29Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith it is done unto you.

Jesus did not restore their sight conditionally. They would not lose their sight again if they began to doubt why they received it. If they were to later state, “it was a coincidence”, Jesus would not strike them blind again. We can understand that the restoration of their sight was a free gift for their one-time act of faith, and not conditional upon continued faith.

Matthew 11:28-29 28Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

These verses tell us we will have no more labor for our souls if we receive Christ. We are at rest, eternally secure in Jesus, and working for salvation is not a requirement. Once we have salvation, the law has no hold over us and we are saved forever.

Matthew 16:15-18 15He said unto them, But who say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Simon confessed that Jesus was the Christ. Jesus told Simon the Father had revealed it to him through Simon’s faith. We know salvation is attained through faith. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter because of Simon’s belief and statement. Jesus made it clear that a man’s confession and faith is the action required to attain salvation. Salvation comes from faith and God’s grace, not through Peter.

Anyone, who believes and confesses Jesus is the Christ, is saved for eternity. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against this method of salvation. The born again of this salvation are eternally secure. Peter is not the rock, Christ is the rock.

Matthew 13:24-30 24Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares? 28He said unto them, an enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29But he said, nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. (OWAW: Once wheat, always wheat).

Matthew 17:25-26 25He said, yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, what do you think, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute, of their own children, or of strangers? 26Peter said unto him, of strangers. Jesus said unto him, and then are the children free.

The rulers taxed the subjects for money to pay for the upkeep of the kingdom and its rulers. The sons or family of the rulers did not have to pay the tax. They were free from taxation. It is the same with the born again of God. We are free from the law and never have to worry about the penalty of sin. We cannot lose this status as long as our Father God is the ruler.

Matthew 13:3-8 3And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold.

The above passage is one of the most descriptive in the Bible regarding the lost that never become born again Christians. We are not dealing with the wheat and tares in this parable. This parable represents the sowing of the gospel (seed) of Christ into every man’s heart.

Since man was created from the ground, sowing of the seed into the ground represents the gospel sown in the heart of all mankind. The Word of God is the seed planted in each man by the Holy Ghost. We know the Holy Ghost is the persona of the Word of Christ that has the task of calling sinners to repentance. The Word of God is sown by the preaching of the gospel. The Holy Ghost convicts men of their need of a Savior and presents Christ as the Savior.

In verses 3-8, the seed of the gospel of Christ is planted in the heart of every man. The seed in the “good ground” was accepted by men who chose Jesus as Lord and Savior by faith. When Jesus sees that a person has died to himself and has chosen Jesus as Savior, Jesus quickens him with the Holy Ghost. The person is born again into eternal life. The seed germinates and becomes wheat.

Seed by the wayside is sown in men who hear the gospel, but fowls (Satan & his devils) devour the seed quickly. These hear the gospel of Christ, but neither wants God nor his Son. They give no serious thought to God and therefore do not understand the gospel. They really don’t care.

Those receiving seed on stony ground get emotional, have a good feeling, but do not place their roots in Jesus. They attend church and enjoy the camaraderie for awhile. As facts of the gospel are preached and expectancies of a Christian life become evident, they decide God is not for them.

They begin to feel persecuted by church members, because they do not have the same love for God as Christians. Often, they feel offended and eventually reject God and his Son. They realize they have no true love for God. These are called apostate Christians. They claim to have been Christians, but walk away from God never to return. The apostates were never born again.

The seed among thorns also become emotionally attached to the church and have good emotional feelings, but then look back (as Lot’s wife) and see things of the world they are missing. They eventually choose the pleasures of the world, as opposed to placing their love in Jesus. They refuse to let the Holy Ghost come into their lives and possess their lives.

It is clear; only one group has been born again of the seed of Christ. The seed that germinated and was not choked by the pleasures of the world became wheat. These are saved for eternity. They have allowed Christ to become their masters as opposed to Satan.

The parable of the tares of Matthew 13:24-30 follows the parable of the seed. In the second parable, Satan plants his seed of tares in the same ground of mankind. Those who reject the seed of Jesus will accept the seed of Satan and let this seed become the master of their lives. The seed of Satan matures into tares. It is evident in the second parable that a tare never becomes wheat, and wheat never becomes a tare. It is conclusive that the wheat (Christian) has eternal life and cannot lose it. Both grow together and the angels gather the tares to burn them.

Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

A little child is not responsible for his actions. He depends entirely on his parents. All of the responsibility for the little child is completely on the parent. He cannot cease to be the child of the parent. The child is trusting in his parents to take care of everything, so the child is free of responsibility. We are God’s children. We were born spiritually unto God by Jesus who resurrected us from death unto eternal life. The blood of Jesus has borne the responsibility for our sins. We can never lose our son ship.

Matthew 18:7-9 7Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offends thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9And if thy eye offends thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Jesus did not say, “Woe unto the Christian”. He warned those of the world. If you do not honor God and you offend his children, you will be cast into everlasting fire. It would be better to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and enter into life (eternal security) with less of yourself than to enter into the everlasting fire with all your physical attributes.

In short, do not let anything stand between you and God. Be willing to give up your life and let the Holy Ghost live through you rather than reject the free gift of life. Once we commit ourselves to Jesus in faith, he will seal us with the Holy Ghost unto life eternal. We cannot be unborn to God after that, but God could correct us severely according to the path we take after becoming one of his children.

Matthew 18:10-14 10Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goes into the mountains, and seeks that which is gone astray? 13And if so be that he finding it, verily I say unto you, he rejoices more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Once a person is born again, becomes a child of God, he is secure in the power of God. There is an angel assigned to each child of God. If one strays from the flock, God will take every action necessary to bring the straying one back into close fellowship with him and the remainder of the flock. It is not God’s will that any should perish. A person cannot be unborn to God once he becomes his child.

If a person continues to stray after God has pursued him with love and corrective action, God will turn him over to the world for the destruction of his physical body, but to the saving of the soul.

Matthew 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few chosen.

Actually, all are called, but only those who respond and accept the gospel of Christ by faith are chosen to be quickened by Jesus. Since Jesus can see into the hearts of all men, he knows the ones who have committed their lives to him. He will not quicken a person with the Holy Ghost until they have truly committed to him.

Matthew 22:11-14 11And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12And he said unto him, Friend, how came thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14For many are called, but few are chosen.

Here we have the redeemed of Christ. An unredeemed person is present not having on a wedding garment. There are many pretenders in Christendom without wedding garments. They are not clothed with the Holy Ghost of Jesus, which is received only from Jesus when one accepts him by faith. This person was not given a wedding garment because he had never met the requirements for receiving the garment. “Ye must be born again”.

Even though there are many who profess to be saved, they have never really committed their lives to Christ. Once they commit their lives to Jesus by faith, he knows their heart and quickens them with the Holy Ghost unto life eternal. At that time, they become clothed with the righteousness of God. Some will try to use the above passage to say a person can lose his salvation. The passage was proving the person had never been saved.

Matthew 25:1-12 1Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9But the wise answered, saying, not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

The important point here is the saved had oil in their lamps which equates to the Holy Ghost of Jesus. When the preachers came with the gospel of Christ, they believed and accepted Jesus by faith. They were born again of the Spirit of Jesus into eternal life. Also note all ten slumbered and slept. The only thing that made a difference was the oil in the lamp. The other five did not have the Holy Ghost, had never been born again.

Matthew 25:14-30 (Read this passage about the talents. In our churches, society, families, world, etc., we have those who are committed to Christ and those who are pretenders. This parable states that the servant with one talent was a wicked person. He accused the Master rather than admitting his own neglect. His priorities were with the world and his own self satisfaction. This scripture cannot be used to show a person can fall from grace. He was never born again.)

Matthew 26:26-27 26And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, take, eat; this is my body. 27And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it.

Jesus told them to eat the bread and drink all of the wine. This is important; it represented their total commitment to Christ by faith. He did not say taste of the bread or taste of the wine. He said, “Drink all of it”. This will be important when other verses are used to say a person can fall from grace that has tasted of God.

Matthew 26:47-50 47And while he yet spoke, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. 50And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come?

If we consider the elect or chosen, we have to consider Judas who was chosen by Jesus as one of the twelve. However, even though Jesus chose him as an apostle, Judas never committed to Jesus, but to the advantage he would have if Jesus had set up an earthly kingdom. Judas was a pretender not a possessor of Christ’s Spirit.

Notice, Jesus called him a friend even as Judas betrayed him. Jesus loved Judas even to the end. Even though Jesus had foreknowledge that Judas would betray him, he did not interfere with the decision of Judas. Jesus let everything play out according to the choice of Judas. This act proves Jesus did not predestinate Judas to hell, but it was a natural act of choice by Judas.

Matthew 26:73-75 73And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech betrays thee. 74He then began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man and immediately the **** crew. 75And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, before the **** crow, thou shall deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

Even though we know Peter was saved (he confessed that Jesus was the Christ), Peter denied knowing Christ 3 times and cursed during the action of denial. He did not lose his salvation; however, he was sorry about his deeds and wept “bitterly”.

Matthew 28:18-20 18And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Jesus has total power over the heavens and the earth. As God, he is all-powerful. When someone becomes his child through the new birth, the power of Jesus keeps his child secure for eternity. Note, Jesus tells his apostles that he is with them forever, even to the end of their lifetime on earth.

Even though Jesus is talking to his apostles, the same holds true for all of his children who are born anew unto him.

Mark 1:6-8 6And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey; 7And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. 8I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

When Jesus said, ye must be born again; he was explaining the reception of a new spirit from God. When Adam sinned, he lost his spiritual soul and was separated from God. The only way a man can be reunited with God is by attaining a new spiritual soul from God.

At the time a man accepts Jesus as his Lord and Savior by faith, He is quickened by the Holy Ghost of Christ, and the person receives a new spirit from God. He has passed from death to eternal life with God. The Holy Ghost now abides with the born again believer and seals him for eternity as a child of God.

Mark 1:16-20 16Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 17And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. 19And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Many use these verses for election. There is nothing that says Jesus made them follow. Jesus said, if you follow me, I will make you fisher’s of men. They followed willingly and by faith in this man called Jesus.

Mark 2:5-7 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?

Jesus said plainly, “this man’s sins were forgiven”. Does Jesus have power to forgive sins or not? Is God limited to forgiving sins for a person only for their past and not for their future? Is God so limited, that a person can be saved one minute and be lost the next minute?

If this is true, salvation depends on man and not on Jesus. It is then up to each man to keep up with all his sins throughout the day, both of commission and omission. You must keep a palm pilot with you at all times to be sure you record every sin. If you miss one of them and do not ask forgiveness, you will be lost again, die, and go to hell. This means the salvation by Jesus is not effective, it depends on the person to keep a list of their sins and be 100% diligent in getting forgiveness for them (salvation by works).

However, if a person accepts Jesus by faith, Jesus baptizes that person with the Holy Ghost; he is born again with a new heart, and has passed from death unto eternal life. This is the gift of eternal life that comes by faith. When you receive the gift, it is eternal. How can you lose something that is eternal? The responsibility has been transferred from yourself to Jesus for salvation. Your salvation is in Christ and not of yourself lest you should boast.

Mark 2:21-22 21No man also sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up takes away from the old, and the rent is made worse. 22And no man puts new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Jesus makes a comparison with law and grace. You cannot mix the law of works with salvation by grace through faith. It has already been proven impossible for fallen man to keep the law or produce good works for salvation.

The new dispensation of grace is attained by faith. All are saved by two acts. The first act is the choice of man to believe the promise that Jesus would be his savior and (2nd act) is birthing him into the kingdom of God by Christ. The born-again is now free of bondage of the law and under the grace of God. He should not try to place himself back under bondage of the law.

Mark 3:28-29 28Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith they shall blaspheme: 29But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

As the Israelites were freed from bondage of the Egyptians by the action of Moses, so was mankind freed from the bondage of Adam’s sin by the atonement of Jesus.

The Israelites were freed from bondage of the Egyptians, but then had to make their own choice to enter the Promised Land by faith or die in the wilderness. When one hears the Word of God (gospel) and accepts it by faith, Christ quickens them with the Holy Ghost and they are born into the kingdom of God. Those that do not accept Christ by faith die in the wilderness of sin.

Jesus is in heaven, but his Holy Ghost is on earth and is the spirit of Christ that enlightens the hearts of mankind. A person may accept this light by faith and live or reject this light of Christ and remain in darkness.

When a man reaches a point in his life where he tells the Holy Ghost to get lost and leave him alone, the Holy Ghost will do so. This action by man constitutes blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. It is not the use of cursing or vain words in addressing the Holy Ghost, it is man’s arrogant attitude of wanting nothing to do with Christ, Word of God. The Holy Ghost will cease dealing with the individual and the person is lost for eternity.

Man is freed from the original condemnation of Adam’s disobedience by the atonement of Christ on the cross. However, he must ingest this bread of life, the Word of God in Jesus, to receive the indwelling spirit of Christ. Tasting of this bread of life, is not effective, the bread of life (Word of God) must be ingested into your inner being. After Jesus fed the masses, there were many baskets of bread left over. Everyone that accepted and ate the bread was filled. However, the many baskets left uneaten may represent that the Word of God is sufficient for “all”, but many will not ingest the bread of life.

Mark 6:56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.

Those touching the border of Jesus’ garment were healed. The healing was contingent on their initial faith. Those that did not exercise their faith to touch his garment were not healed.

Mark 8:34-38 34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever saves his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

When a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior by faith he gives up his life and lets Jesus live through him. He makes this commitment by faith; Jesus quickens the person and seals him with eternal life by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. The new creature now has relinquished his ego or desires to the will of Christ.

When the lost person has decided to retain his own ego and be his own god, he may gain much pleasure and much of the world’s pleasures by this decision, but loses eternal life. He is ashamed to be called a child of God and will not become one, so Jesus will be ashamed of him in judgment. We know works and the law have nothing to do with salvation, so this is strictly a matter of man’s will of acceptance or rejection of Jesus.

Mark 13:13 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

This verse is taken out of context by those using works or continual repentance as necessary for salvation. In Mark 13, the apostles ask Jesus about the end time. Jesus makes it clear he is talking about the end of the world and the seven-years of the Tribulation. The Rapture has taken place and no Christians are left on the earth.

The Antichrist emerges and becomes the ruler of the world. The gospel is preached to the world by two supernatural prophets (probably Moses and Elijah), 144000 Jewish witnesses, and finally an angel. Millions will be saved during the Tribulation, but their time of endurance is a maximum of 7 years. Many, who choose God, through the preaching of the two prophets, witnesses, and angel, will be beheaded or killed by the Antichrist.

These potential Christians will have to endure to the death or to the end time. Those who turn from God and worship the Antichrist to save their physical lives will lose their soul. They cannot have it both ways. Mark 13:13 is true for those living during the Tribulation, but not for Christians prior to the Rapture.

Mark 16:15 15And he said unto them, Go you into the entire world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

He that believeth shall be born again into eternal life. There are two baptisms, water and the Holy Ghost baptism. This is speaking of the baptism by Jesus of the Holy Ghost. Water baptism means death only. Unbelievers are not baptized by Jesus with the Holy Ghost (never born again), and they remain separated from God for eternity.

Luke 6:45-49 45A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 46And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47Whosoever cometh to me, and hears my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: 48He is like a man which built an house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49But he that hears, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

A tree is known by the fruit it bears. The Christian has built his house (salvation) on the rock (Jesus). The lost have built their house on sand. Those who place their faith on the Rock (Jesus) will not be moved.

This passage proves a person is saved or not saved, but does not mean they are saved then lost. Faith in Jesus is the foundation on the rock. Foundations built on faith in Christ will not be washed away. Those whose faith is in Jesus have been born again and sealed with the Holy Ghost and are on solid rock. Those relying on themselves or their works have a foundation of sand.

Luke 7:23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

A Christian is never offended for following Christ. There have been many Christians who have failed the Father dreadfully, but are not offended by being God’s child. They become ashamed and feel unworthy, but cannot lose their son ship. They cannot be unborn to the Father.

Luke 7:48-50 48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgives sins also? 50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

The term “saved” means a man is rescued from eternal separation from God and is united to God for eternity by the new birth. If you are rescued from eternal separation, you can only be rescued for eternal life. It is impossible for eternal life to be lost. It is impossible to be rescued from eternal death and still die eternally.

Luke 8:18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have.

This is from the parable of the sower in Luke. The seed came up, but the thorns choked the weak sprout or plant. It never matured and was eventually taken over by the pleasures from Satan. The person actually suppressed the seed or plant and it never matured into wheat. The person let the seed of the tare become his master. This verse states that the person seemed to be a Christian, but in effect never was a Christian.

The person who has the seed of Christ firmly planted in his being will be birthed into the kingdom by the quickening of the Spirit of Jesus. Those that eventually reject the seed of the gospel of Christ will see that seed die. It will be taken by the birds, die on stony ground, or be choked by the thorns and weeds. The seed will not become wheat (born again believer).

Luke 9:23-24 23And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (Read Matt. 13 again, parable of the sower)

Jesus makes it clear to all. If you would accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, you must give up your own life and Jesus will quicken you with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would then be living through the individual. If you try to live your own life, you will eventually lose it eternally. However, if you lose your own life (ego) for the sake of Jesus living through you, you will actually save it for eternity as you will be born again into eternal life.

There are emotional decisions made by many who are not saved, making a statement of a profession of faith, yet they deny the power of God. They do not accept Christ by faith, but try to work their way into the kingdom, which is impossible. These were never quickened by Jesus with the Holy Ghost because he knew, in their heart; they had not made a decision of commitment, only one of emotion.

These are described in Matthew, chapter 13, where the seed fell beside the wayside, on the rocks, and among the thorns. The realization became apparent later that they did not love God. For many various reasons, these apostates did not want God to be their master. They wanted to be their own master and god.

Of course, there are those who never consider God and reject him from the beginning. It makes no difference when a person rejects Jesus, at the beginning or later, the result is the same, it is still rejection of Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Many try to blame their rejection on the actions of Christians, God himself, or some other excuse. There will be no excuse when they stand before God at the judgment; the destination will be the same. It is a clear choice for each individual and each person is responsible for his own decision regarding the rejection of Christ.

The passage in Luke above, makes it clear, this is a decision of the intellect of free choice of the individual.

Luke 8:21 And he answered and said unto them, my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

Again, we see that those who are born again have the desire in their heart to love God and his son. They hear the Word and do it because it is the Holy Ghost desire within them to do so. Those who do not have the desire in their heart to love God are not born again. They are professors of Jesus, but not possessors of the Holy Ghost of Christ.

Luke 12:8 Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the son of man also confess before the angels of God. (Included for those who think they have to ask forgiveness for every transgression on a daily basis or wind up in hell)

If I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and then transgress, this does not mean I have rejected Christ. This passage says nothing about having to ask forgiveness after a transgression to insure that Jesus will still confess us before the angels of God. I confess to mankind that God is my Father, and God will confess that I am His son.

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

This verse in Luke is also a key in understanding the two parables in Matthew, chapter 13, regarding the parable of the “sowing of the good and bad seed” in each man, and the resulting tares and wheat due to the decision of each man in the verse above. A person receives the gospel of Christ and the influence of Satan in his mind.

Eventually, the person has to make a choice to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior or reject him. When the person makes his final decision to reject God, he has rejected the seed of wheat and decided to let the seed of Satan (tare) be his master.

The parable of the tares and the wheat is told by Jesus after the parable of sowing the good seed. The parable of the wheat and tares is indicative of the final decisions of each person regarding their choices. Those that finally reject Christ as Lord and Savior have, in effect, blasphemed the Holy Ghost and can never be saved (tares).

Those that accept Jesus readily as Lord and Savior are baptized by Jesus with the Holy Ghost and become wheat (born again) and will always remain wheat.

There are various stages of rejection according to the individuals. Many reject the Gospel of Christ and the person of Christ immediately and will have nothing to do with their creator. They become hardened immediately to God’s word.

Others may, anon with joy, receive the Gospel in an emotional time, but eventually decide they do not want to be one of God’s, so they eventually reject him also.

I have seen many people make a profession of Christ early in their lives only to decide later they did not want to have Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As the parable points out, they become offended because of many different reasons.

In reality, they choose any excuse, because they really don’t want Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They prefer to be their own god and go their own way. God will not force himself upon any man.

Some say these have lost their salvation. No, they never had salvation. They were intrigued with idea, but did not want to live by the spirit of God’s ethical standards. They preferred to put their lives ahead of God. They only wanted God to be a genie in a bottle. These were never born again by the Holy Ghost.

God knows every man’s heart, and he knew their intentions. God also knows the end from the beginning. Since Jesus knew these people were not sincere and committed to him, he never quickened them with the Holy Spirit, thus they were never born again.

Luke 17:20-21 20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! Or, lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

A born again Christian has the kingdom of God within himself, in the form of the Holy Ghost. It cannot be lost. We are the Temple of God once we are born again.

Luke 18:17 Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein. (A small child has unwavering faith in his parents to provide for him.)

It is the simple child like faith in the promise of God by man that Jesus is willing to seal him with the Holy Spirit into eternal life.

Luke 19:9-10 9And Jesus said unto him, Zacchaeus this day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 10For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham, he believed in Jesus by faith. From this action, he received salvation (eternal life) that instant. Salvation is eternal security from an eternally lost position. Jesus had eternally rescued Zacchaeus from his eternally lost position due to his faith.

Luke 23:42-43 42And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou come into thy kingdom. 43And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shall thou be with me in paradise. (Faith)

The life of the thief was insignificant until he met the master and had the opportunity to make his eternal choice. When he exercised his faith and asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus came into his kingdom, he was living a faith at that time. He understood Jesus was the Messiah (God in the flesh), and knew Jesus would live again. He placed all of his hope and faith in Jesus.

Jesus responded that the man would be with him in Paradise that same day. This man was also dying on a cross, and may have cursed, argued back at those crucifying him, etc., but it did not matter. Jesus had already made his promise so nothing else the thief did before he died made any difference in his fate. Jesus cannot lie, his word is true, and all we have to do is believe his word.

John 1:11-13 11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Eternal salvation cannot be obtained by forgiveness of sin. Jesus has already forgiven the whole world of its sin. He died on the cross and nailed every sin in the world to the cross. All a person has to do is to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior by faith and he will be born again. This is receiving the free gift of God which is eternal life. Jesus is the first fruit of resurrection and has the power to resurrect man from his separation to God with a new spirit from Christ.

Once he receives this power of the Holy Ghost he is born again (sealed for eternity). We exercise our free will of faith to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. No works can be part of salvation. As verse 13 states, we were not born again by blood, or the will of our flesh, or the will of our mind, but we are born again into eternal life by Christ. Once this act is performed by Christ, it cannot be undone.

We have no power within our own selves to bring about this regeneration; this power must come from God. We can only place our faith in Jesus, and he will resurrect us to a new life in Christ.

John 1:16-17 16And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. 17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

This verse merely states a person cannot save himself by the law. We cannot perform one work to get us into heaven; we must rely on faith in Jesus and the grace of God.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Man is born of flesh, but flesh cannot enter heaven. He must receive a new spiritual soul from God which is eternal. A man must be born again of the Holy Ghost from Jesus. This new birth is totally accomplished by Jesus, and man cannot attain it any other way than placing his total faith in Jesus, who then gives him this free gift of eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Those that believe (have faith in Christ) will never perish, even if they commit a transgression and do not get forgiveness. Jesus has already died and forgiven every sin. Those that believe have (present tense) everlasting (eternal) life and it cannot be lost. The term “eternal” means forever. You cannot lose forever.

John 3:19-21 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

This passage tells us the difference between those who are born again of the Spirit of Christ and those who are not. Those who love darkness will not bring their deeds to the light, but those who are born again will bring their deeds to the light. What is the light? Jesus is the light of the world. He is the Word of God. Those who are saved will want to let the light of the scriptures examine their life.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. [Again, hath (present tense) eternal life.]

John 4:10,14 10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to thee, Give me to drink; thou would have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 14But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

This water is the Holy Ghost of Jesus who comes into a person’s life when he accepts Jesus by faith. This Holy Ghost of God is a rebirth of the spiritual soul of man to reunite him with God. This Spirit of Jesus in man is the well of water that remains in him. This spirit remains in him for eternity (everlasting life).

John 4:48-50 then said Jesus unto him, except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. 49The noblemen said unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. 50Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy son lives. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

The man believed, had faith and Jesus healed his son from a fatal illness. If the father or his son later committed a transgression or attributed the healing to a coincidence, would the son suddenly die, or was the healing a free gift from Jesus? Jesus is not an Indian giver. His gifts are irrevocable once you accept them.

John 5:21-22 21For as the Father raises up the dead, and quickens them; even so the Son quickens whom he will. 22 For the Father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.

The term “Jesus quickens a person” means Jesus baptizes the person with the Holy Ghost and seals him with eternal life. The person passes from eternal death to eternal life. It is a free gift from God and cannot be earned by works and is an irrevocable gift.

The process of baptizing a person with the Holy Ghost into eternal life is performed completely by Jesus and man has no part in it other than his initial act of faith. Therefore, man cannot undo the birth God has performed. Salvation is by God and it is eternal and cannot be undone by any act of the person.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Can it be any clearer, he that is born again already has eternal life and cannot come into condemnation, even for committing a trespass of which he has failed to ask forgiveness. He passed from death unto eternal life when he was born again of the Holy Ghost. We cannot pass back into eternal death from eternal life. It is impossible.

John 6:26-27 26Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.

Jesus is the meat or bread of life. The person who has accepted Jesus by faith is quickened by Jesus with the Holy Ghost (Word of God) and is sealed for eternal life. This bread of life is the only bread or meat that will cause a person to endure unto everlasting life.

John 6:28-29 28Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29Jesus answered and said unto them, this is the work of God that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

It should be well established by now that it is faith and not works that causes Jesus to quicken us and give us the new birth. If any one ask you about doing the works of God, the answer is in the above verse, “believe on him (have faith)”. The only two commandments that we have are written in the Christian’s heart.

These two commandments are to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second one is to love thy neighbor as thyself.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

The person who is born again of faith and God’s grace will never hunger or thirst. This is a spiritual description and not a physical one. If a person shall never hunger or thirst spiritually, this means he is always secure even if he transgresses each day.

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which sees the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. (Again, it is faith, then non-conditional eternal life.)

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (Another passage verified in the present tense. Those who have faith already have eternal life)

John 6:53-54 53Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Again, some will say a person has tasted of Christ, but has drawn back and become apostate. These were never saved (born again). As this passage indicates, a person must eat of the bread and drink of the blood of Christ to have eternal life. This is not literal, but spiritual. It means a person must have total faith in Jesus, which is placing his life unconditionally in the person of Jesus. The person does not taste, they ingest the Word of God into their soul.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Jesus baptizes a believer with the Holy Ghost into eternal life. Jesus said, “The words I speak to you are life”. Jesus is the resurrection and life. When Jesus says life here, He is saying a man passes from death unto eternal life. This passage also explains the spiritual part of verses 53-54 of the Word of God (Jesus) being the spiritual flesh and blood of Christ.

John 7:37-39 37In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Another passage proving the Holy Ghost comes into a man after he accepts Jesus by faith. This living water, the spirit of Jesus seals the child of God for eternity.

John 8:12 Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

The person, born again of the Holy Ghost, will always have the light of Jesus living in him which is eternal life in Christ.

John 8:31-32 31Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Those that continue in Jesus are born again. Those that do not continue were not born again. Jesus said that those who are born again are set free by the truth (Holy Ghost) that is in them.

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (Jesus is the door to God the Father, who is eternal.)

You find peace (pasture) in the spirit of God. A Christian is of two kingdoms, one of the earth and one of heaven. Until we are released from the flesh and blood of this life, we must render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars and unto God the things that are God.

However, we can enter the Holy of Holies through the door (Jesus) and find peaceful pasture in the heavenly kingdom. Those who are not saved do not have this peace.

We must continue in this world to witness to the lost, but we also are at peace because of our presence with God. The unsaved are enslaved with the worries of this world and have no peace.

John 10:27-30 27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish; neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and my Father are one.

The born again hears the voice of Jesus (Holy Ghost) and follows him. Jesus knows his sheep personally. They shall never perish nor be removed from the security of Jesus.

John 11:25-26 25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever lives and believeth in me shall never die. Believe thou this?

When a person accepts Jesus by faith, he is resurrected from the dead state of his soul. He then passes from death unto eternal life and will never die the second death.

John 14:15-17 15If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16And I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

When a person is born again of the Holy Ghost (Comforter), the Holy Ghost abides with us forever. Forever means we cannot lose this Holy Ghost from dwelling in us. He has sealed us for eternity.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

We are the temple of Christ. He abides in us and keeps us secure. When you transgress, the Holy Ghost does not leave you and return only if you ask forgiveness? Each time you transgress, you grieve the Holy Ghost in you, but he never leaves you. We are sealed for eternity with the presence of the Holy Ghost dwelling in the Christian.

Jesus will not dwell in an unholy temple, therefore he has perfected us unto righteousness in our faith toward him and his grace provides the new birth in us.

John 15:1-7 1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4You Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

I have seen this explained two ways. Either way is still within the concept of eternal security. The first example is that any person who is born again is a branch that abides in the vine and will bring forth fruit. God will purge the branch that abides in the vine so that it will be a healthy branch. If a person is not born again of the Holy Ghost of Jesus, he does not abide in the vine, brings forth no fruit, withers, and is cast into the fire.

The second example is that the withered branch is a rebellious child of God and produces no fruit. They are cast out of the church body into the world to suffer in the flesh. They do not lose their soul (eternal security), only their witness withers. The passage says that “men” gather them and cast them in the fire. In this passage, the church leaders cast them out of the congregation because they are harming the whole body. They are let go into the world where they will suffer without the protection of God. In this passage, it does not say God or the angels gather them and burn them, but “men” (church leaders) purge the body by casting them into the world (out of the local church body).

John 16:2-3 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Once a person is born again, he knows God. Once this happens he can never be unknown to God, because he has become eternal with Christ.

John 17:1-3 1These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

This is not predestination of salvation for a select group, but predestination that “everyone” choosing to believe in Jesus by faith becomes part of the church. God, the Father, will give the Church to Jesus as his Bride. All who “choose” Christ by faith are predestined to be “sealed” with the Holy Ghost from Christ. They are not predestined to be saved, but Jesus is predestinated to receive them unto himself once they believe by faith. Those rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior will not be given to Jesus. Again, all who believe are given eternal life, not a conditional salvation.

John 17:11-26 11And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thy own name those whom thou hast given me that they may be one, as we are. 12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gave me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou should keep them from the evil. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

19And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. 20Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22And the glory which thou gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou loved me before the foundation of the world. 25O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Even though we know Jesus is basically referring to the apostles, he is also referring to all who will eventually be born again from this same gospel. Jesus tells the Father to keep those who belong to him. Is there any doubt that the Father will honor this request of the Son? All, who come to the Son through the Father (Word of God), are secure for eternity. Both the Father and the Son keep us secure in Christ.

Read the entire chapter. It becomes clear we are eternally secure in Christ. There is no way to be unborn to the Father.

Acts 10:43 To him give all the prophets’ witness, that through the name of Jesus whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior receive the free gift of resurrection into eternal life. Those who do not accept this free gift remain in their freewill rejection of Christ)

John 17:6-10 6I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave me out of the world: they were yours, and thou gave them to me; and they have kept thy word. 7Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8For I have given unto them the words which thou gave me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are yours. 10And all mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in them.

This is the same as the previous situation. The Word of God is incarnate in Jesus. Jesus is both the Son of God and the Son of man and the salvation for all who will accept him by faith. The Word of God is glorified in each individual who accepts Jesus by faith as God incarnate in the Son of man. These individuals of the church (Bride) are given by God to Jesus. He states they have received him and that he is glorified in them. They eternally belong to Jesus.

Acts 13:38-39 38It is now known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law.

All sins are forgiven by Jesus being nailed to the cross. Now, a man is saved by the regeneration of his soul unto eternal life. A person cannot be justified by continually asking forgiveness for his sins. That would be considered as justification by obeying the law. A man is justified by his faith and Gods grace. He is born again unto life eternal. The word Justified means you are eternally secure in Christ Jesus.

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

This verse can be understood if taken in the general context of the teaching of the scriptures. The thread of the Bible teaches that salvation is available to all, but all will not accept, because many harden their will to the call of God.

The act of ordaining is similar to a certified group of pastors and deacons who takes a prospective preacher or deacon into their midst for inspection and agreement. After a thorough inspection of the person, the group agrees that he is worthy of the office which means he has been ordained by the group. A person who accepts Christ by faith has his heart searched by Christ to see if he has truly relinquished his will to Christ. If so, he is quickened by Christ into eternal life, or ordained into eternal life.

All who exercise their will to choose Jesus are preordained by God to be saved by the new birth. The new birth is administered by Jesus with the sealing of the individual by the Holy Ghost.

Acts 15:8-9,11 8And God, which knows the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 11But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Why are some individuals born again when making a public profession of faith, while others are not and later become apostates? Verse 8 tells us the reason. God knows our hearts. We can profess with our mouth, but not believe in our hearts. Those who make a total commitment in their heart are baptized by the Holy Ghost unto eternal life. Our hearts are purified by Christ, and we receive a new heart.

Acts 16:30-31 30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? 31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved, and thy house. (Again, faith and God’s grace saves for eternity.)

Acts 26:17-18 17Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 18To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Preaching of the gospel changed many from darkness to light who were sanctified by faith. They are born again into the kingdom of God and cannot be unborn. They are secured by sanctification.

Romans 1:16-17 16For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

The righteous are saved by faith, God’s grace, and nothing else. Repeatedly asking forgiveness for transgressions, in order to stay saved, is living under the law. What sacrifice do we make for each transgression? Jesus has sacrificed “once” for all sins. The just shall live by faith, not by repeated prayers of forgiveness.

The Just ask for forgiveness for our mistakes to maintain a close relationship with God. We never lose eternal life by failing to ask forgiveness for our mistakes.

Romans 2:6-7 6Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:

To understand this passage, we must read all of the verses prior to and after this passage. Paul is writing about the works of the wicked, but inserts this passage of those who “continue in well doing”. Those who “continue” are the born again. He is using this verse of the born again to contrast them against the wicked in the other verses in this chapter.

Romans 2:12-16 12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15Which shows the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Here we see the futility of the salvation by law. No person can win as verse 12 attests. Verse 13 tells us that everyone who hears the gospel is not justified, only the ones who accept Jesus by faith (doeth the law/obeys the 1st commandment of the NT). Verse 14 and 15 teaches us that those who are born again have the nature of the law (new heart) written in our conscience. This Holy Ghost conscience bears witness to God that we belong to him. We are his child and can never lose our eternal life in him.

Romans 3:22-26 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Again, it is shown that all who believe totally in Jesus as Lord and Savior are justified (made righteous) by our faith and God’s grace. If we are made righteous, we cannot be unrighteous in spirit because we are sealed with the righteousness of the Holy Ghost for eternal life.

Romans 4:3-5 3For what says the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4Now to him that works is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that work not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

A person is not justified by a continual asking of forgiveness, but by his faith and God’s grace. A man is justified (made perfect in spirit) by grace through his faith which is counted for righteousness (life eternal).

Romans 4:5-8 5But to him that works not, but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6Even as David also described the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputed righteousness without works, 7Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Our faith and God’s grace has justified us (made us righteous). All sins we ever commit are covered by the blood of Jesus. God no longer imputes sin to us. Impute means to account sin to us or number us among the sinful. We are eternally secure in Jesus.

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.

There is nothing more binding than a promise of God. God promised we would be sure in him if we believe him by faith and accept his grace. God is now our Father; we are born again as his child, and cannot be unborn to him.

Romans 4:17-25 17(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which be not as though they were. 18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, so shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; 25Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

The faith exhibited by Abraham is the same as our faith to attain salvation by grace. Abraham believed the promise of God when Abraham was told that the seed of Isaac would fill the earth with believers. Even though God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham knew by faith that god would raise him again to fulfill the promise. This act of faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness. The same righteousness is imputed to the born again believers.

Romans 5:20-21 20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin rules the life of the lost one as he is unable to keep the law. After the new birth, grace rules in our life unto righteousness and provides eternal life in Christ. Grace is from God, is a free gift, and is eternal. Once God applies grace to a person and gives him a new spiritual soul, he is secure eternally without the law.

Romans 5:1-5 1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

We are justified (made perfect in Christ) and have “peace” with God. Note the descriptions below for the word peace in the original text. It is an eternal and secure peace. Faith, grace, and hope justify us, not our efforts to remember all of our failures and attempts to get forgiveness for them. When we are justified, we are made perfect in Jesus. We are sealed with the Holy Ghost by the promise of Jesus. Also, we receive a new heart from God from the born again experience when we are sealed with the Holy Ghost of Jesus.

1515 eu7984 ?u942 ?u951 [eirene /i•ray•nay/][Peace] n f. probably from a primary verb eiro (to join); 1: a state of national tranquility. 1A: exemption from the rage and havoc of war. 2: peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord. 3: security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous). 4: of the Messiahs’ peace. 4A: the way that leads to peace (salvation). 5: of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is. 6: the blessed state of devout and upright men after death.

Romans 5:9-11 9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Another verse stating a believer is perfected in Christ and by the blood of Christ. The believer is saved (born again into eternal life) by the resurrected life of Jesus. We have received the eternal atonement because we have accepted it by our faith and God’s grace.

Romans 6:1-7 1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Can a person who is under grace, sin? No. We were baptized by Jesus unto his death and raised up (born again) by the glory of the Father. We now walk in a new eternal life. We were planted in his death and became a new creature in his resurrection. We are freed from sin, we have no more sin.

Romans 6:8-14 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he lives, he lives unto God. 11Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

Jesus died for sins once; his death is not required again. He was resurrected once; his resurrection is not required again. We died to sin one time; we are resurrected (born again) once into life eternal. We are now instruments of righteousness unto God. We are under grace and not bound by law (sin). We are under eternal grace.

Romans 6:15-16 15What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. 16Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

We have a perfect spirit in a body of sinful flesh. Our spirit will be in a continual war with the lusts of the flesh until we receive our new glorified bodies. Our goal is to let the spirit of Christ in us have control of our minds and bring the lusts of the flesh under control as we mature in the Christian life. We should strive to avoid all elements of evil to keep from bringing shame to his work through our lives.

Romans 6:18, 22-23 18Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. 22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are free from sin and have become righteous by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. This Holy Ghost possession is for eternity (everlasting life). It is the gift of God to all who accept it.

Romans 8:1-2 1There are therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The born again walk after the spirit and not after the flesh. We are completely free from sin and spiritual death. There is no condemnation in the Christian.

Romans 8:8-9 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Those that claim they were once saved, but are now apostate, were always walking after the flesh and were never born again. They never had the spirit of Christ (Holy Ghost) and were never one of his.

Romans 8:10-11 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in you.

A person born again of the Spirit (Holy Ghost) is made righteous. Once you are made righteous, God lives in you and you cannot sin in the spirit, only in the flesh. When Jesus quickens a person, it is the baptism of the Holy Ghost that seals a person for eternity and gives them the new birth. John the Baptist said water baptism could not do this, but Jesus would baptize with the Holy Ghost (quicken the person into eternal life).

Romans 8:14-17 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

If a person is born again of the spirit of God, he becomes a child of God’s. He is an adopted child of God at that point, and a joint heir with Christ. Once this happens, the person is sealed for eternity in God and cannot lose his son ship (salvation).

Romans 8:23-25 23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why doth he yet hope for? 25But if we hope for that we see not, and then do we with patience wait for it.

We have the first fruits of the spirit within us, born again spirit of Jesus, but we are still living in sinful flesh. We are awaiting the Rapture when we shall have a glorified body to match our new spirit. We are saved by hope (faith) and have attained eternal life, but we also earnestly await the Rapture and our final destination of heaven.

Romans 8:26-30 26Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. 27And he that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

A Christian (born again believer) has the Holy Ghost of Jesus abiding in him. This spirit is with us eternally and intercedes to God for us at times when we need God, but we do not know what to say to God. The Holy Ghost is our ever-present intercessor.

We are conformed to the spiritual image of Jesus by the new birth, thus we are secured by his resurrection and his resurrection of us from death unto eternal life.

Romans 8:31-35 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

We who are born again by faith and grace belong to God. If God is for us, who can possibly take us out of his hands. If salvation is by God, how can we possibly undo what God has done in our hearts? Since God knows all who truly receives his Son by faith, he will insure that we are quickened unto eternal life.

Jesus is at the right hand of God in heaven and has our souls sealed with his Holy Ghost and promise. Verse 35 states that “nothing” can separate us from Jesus.

Romans 8:37-39 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor 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.

How does a born again child of God ever lose his son ship. The passage says we cannot lose it in life, nor death, nor height, nor depth, etc. There is absolutely nothing that can possibly separate us from God because we are part of him and he is part of us. We are one in Christ, and cannot be separated even by our own attempts.

Romans 10:8-11 8But what says it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9that if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This passage affirms that believing in our heart brings us salvation. When we are born again, we actually become righteous. The only righteousness that exists is the righteousness of God. If we have righteousness in us, it would have to be the eternal God united as one with us.

Romans 10:13-17 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias said, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The plan: Every man “will” hear the gospel of Christ. Each will respond and either make Jesus their Savior and Lord, or reject him as Savior and Lord. Those that accept him by faith do believe Jesus is God in the flesh. They accept him as their Master, immediately quickened, and sealed with Holy Ghost, unto eternal life. This stresses that the gospel (Word of God) must be accepted for salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:4-9 4I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; 5That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; 6Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

The grace given by Jesus is the free gift of eternal life. The testimony of Christ is confirmed in all that are born again of the Spirit of Jesus. We are confirmed for eternity and will be blameless when Jesus returns, or when we die and our souls go to meet him. God is faithful and keeps us secure as he has promised.

1 Corinthians 2:12,16 12Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 16For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

We have the Spirit of God in us. This Spirit has the power to keep our salvation secure. Because this power is not of us, but of God, it cannot fail. If our salvation was achieved by our works then we could lose it, but God will not lose it. We have the mind of Christ. We are one with Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:11, 14-15 11For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 14If any man’s work abides which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15If any man’ work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Our foundation is Jesus. When our will is his will, righteousness shines through us to others. When God works through us, we reap rewards in heaven for our selflessness. If we live for self, we gain no rewards for heaven, but our salvation is still secure.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 16 Do you not know that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

God lives in the born again Christian. If we defile the temple and make it unfit for the presence of the Holy Ghost, God will destroy this temple. God will turn the flesh over to the devil (world) for its destruction, but our soul is secure. We will suffer in the flesh and have a shortened life.

1 Corinthians 6:9-12 9don’t you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 12All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

The unrighteous shall not be in heaven. Christians have been sanctified (set aside) and justified (made perfect in the spirit). It is now lawful for us to do anything, but the Holy Spirit dwelling in us restrains us from unlawfulness and keeps us secure.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19What? Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

The Holy Ghost dwells in us. We do not belong to ourselves; we belong to God. We are his possession. He bought us with the price of the blood of his only begotten Son, Jesus. We cannot leave God as we are not our own possession.

I Corinthians 15:1-2 1Moreover brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye believed in vain.

This passage confirms that a person is saved by faith in receiving the preaching of the gospel. These stand in this faith and have been born again (saved) by Jesus.

He then warns those who profess, but do not possess the Spirit of God. Unless they have truly received the Spirit of God, they have believed in vain. They made an emotional decision, but did not receive Jesus as the Lord of their life and were never born again into eternal life. Read again the first parable of Matthew, chapter 13.

2 Corinthians 1:20-21 20For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 21Now he which established us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

For those who are born again, the promises of Jesus are sure (yea). We have been “established” in Christ and anointed by God who sealed us with his truth.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

The born again Christian is a new creature. We are reconciled to God and now belong to him. We are not our own and cannot walk away from God.

2 Corinthians 13:5-6 5Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 6But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

We can examine ourselves to know if we belong to God and Christ lives within us. If we live by faith, not works, and we come to the light (Word of God) to illuminate our lives for inspection, we can be sure we belong to God. If we shun the light, want to live without the light of the Word of God, we should have doubts and seriously consider our situation. When we prove to ourselves that we are God’s by faith, we then remove all doubt.

Galatians 2:20-21 20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, and then Christ is dead in vain.

It is clear; we are secured by faith (belief). It is also clear, Christ died in vain if we still try to live by the law (having to ask forgiveness for every transgression to remain secure in Jesus). We have received righteousness and cannot lose righteousness. We should ask God to forgive us of our shortcomings and failures, but we do not have to ask forgiveness to maintain our secure status with God.

Galatians 3:6-7, 11, 14, 27 6Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7You know, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 11But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith. 14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 27For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

We are baptized with the Holy Spirit into eternal life by Jesus as he has promised, when we accept his promises by faith. Salvation (grace) is attained through faith, nothing else. Salvation cannot be obtained by the law which is a continual progression of sinning, asking forgiveness, and a sacrifice; sinning, asking forgiveness, and a sacrifice; etc. Since we have put on Christ, we are new creatures in him and secure eternally.

Galatians 4:4-7 4But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Again, those who are born again receive the very Spirit (Holy Ghost) of Jesus in our hearts. We are now sons of God, and heirs through Christ, and cannot lose this son ship.

Ephesians 1:5-7 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

All choosing Jesus as Lord and Savior are predestined to be adopted by Jesus. We are born again into eternal life.

Galatians 5:1, 4-5 1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you is justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Those who do not accept Jesus totally by faith have believed in vain. They cannot be saved by works (yoke of bondage). Bondage of law continually seeks forgiveness and continual sacrifice. If one has to keep a list of their sins in order to get forgiveness for them, they are living under the law and have not been born again into eternal life (Christ has become of non-effect in them).

The believers by faith are born again unto eternal life and have obtained liberty (freedom from sin). They are not entangled with the bondage of sin, and are free from death with the free gift of eternal life. Those trying to work their way into heaven are entangled with the law and are not born again (verse 4).

Paul makes the statement, “if ye are justified by the law, then you have fallen from grace”. We know it is impossible to fall from grace. This is shown with the verse, “If ye are justified by the law”. We know no person can be justified by the law, so Paul was merely stating this point in a negative example.

Ephesians 1:11-14 11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his own will: 12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

Those who choose to accept Jesus are predestined with an inheritance of eternal life with Christ. As verse 12 denotes, because we first trusted in him. It cannot be any plainer than this? We are sealed with eternal life and cannot lose it. It is a promise of God. There is nothing more binding than a promise of God. Being sealed by The Holy Ghost is the earnest money put down on us by Jesus until he comes again and redeems us.

Ephesians 2:1,5-6,8-10 1And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

When we believe by our faith, Jesus quickens (baptizes) us with the Holy Ghost, and we pass from death unto eternal life in Christ. We are saved by his grace and we did nothing but accept him through our faith. Salvation (eternal life in Christ) is a gift of God. What God hath joined together, man is incapable of severing. It is an eternal union.

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Even though we are eternally secure, we grieve the Holy Spirit when we are not in fellowship with the Father. If we grieve the Holy Ghost too much, we can be suddenly cut off from our physical lives, even though we are still secure in Christ.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Paul is confident (knows without doubt) that Jesus will finish the good work he has begun in each Christian.

Colossians 1:12-13 12Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

The born again are already partakers of the inheritance of light (Jesus). We have already been translated from darkness unto light in Jesus through our faith and the redemption of his blood.

Colossians 1:21-23 21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled 22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and un-blamable and unreproveable in his sight: 23If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven. (Read Matt. 13 again, parable of sower)

Jesus has reconciled all men to God by becoming the sacrifice for sins for all of mankind. Jesus died for the sins of each person. If anyone dies in his sins (lost), they die unnecessarily. Jesus has already paid the penalty for their sins, but their rejection of Jesus seals their fate. Condemnation from the original sin has been paid by Christ and salvation is available, but the rejection of the free gift of salvation results in the choice of damnation.

The seed of God is planted in every man along with the seed of evil. Both influences remain until a person makes his choice as to which he prefers to be his master. If a person makes Jesus his master and Lord, he is born again unto eternal life. We have been made blameless and un-accused forever.

Read the first parable in Matthew 13. “Man cannot serve two masters, he will love the one and hate the other, or he will hate the one and love the other”. He must eventually make his choice.

Colossians 2:11-14 11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. 13And you, being dead in your sins and the un-circumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

Those born again by faith and grace have seen their sins circumcised (removed) by Christ. We have risen with him in his resurrection unto eternal life when we were quickened by Him. We have been forgiven for all trespasses forever.

Colossians 3:1-4 1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. 2You set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, and then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (We are eternally in Christ and God. When he appears, we will appear with him in glory.)

2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15 6Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us. 14And if any man does not obey our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. 15Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. (He is still eternally secure as a brother in Christ. but may be limited in his effectiveness with the local church body)

1 Timothy 1:5-6 5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;

This did not say these had lost their salvation. They have become ineffective in their witness to God.

1 Timothy 1:19-20 19Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith Has made shipwreck: 20Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Paul has stated that some have let their conscience veer from the faith and has made a shipwreck of their lives and their witness for God. There are several passages in the Bible where Christians have been turned over to Satan (world), cast out of the local assembly, and released to go their own way. These Christians normally die an early death and suffer in the flesh, but are still secure eternally.

1 Timothy 4:1-2, 6 1Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 6If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

This passage tends to indicate that some Christians will shrink back from their faith and begin to engage in things in which a Christian should not be involved. Verse 6 tells us to talk with these brothers in Christ urging them to turn from their destructive ways and back to spiritual sanity. Verse 6 gives these admonitions. It does not say a person will lose their brotherhood in Christ.

1 Timothy 6:11-12 11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 12Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

We are born again unto eternal life; we have been called and made our profession. Jesus is not slack regarding his promises. We are to claim boldly this eternal life (lay hold on). Be not ashamed to state we have the Holy Ghost in us and eternally his.

1 Timothy 6:13-14 13I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickens all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession. 14That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Paul charges us emphatically that Jesus has quickened (made alive) each of us who has believed and made a profession in Jesus. Paul told us to lay hold on this eternal life, and tells us to keep this commandment of eternal security without any doubt until Jesus returns.

2 Timothy 1:12-14 12For Which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us.

Paul tells Timothy he is persuaded that Jesus will keep his promise to us since we have committed ourselves to him by faith and profession that Christ is God. He also tells Timothy that the Holy Ghost dwells in us. This insures Timothy that he is sealed by the Holy Ghost unto eternal life.

2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

Who are the quick and the dead? The dead are those who have died in their sins, were never born again. The quick are those who have been born again by the quickening of Jesus, baptism of the Holy Ghost unto eternal life.

Titus 1:2-4 2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior; 4To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior.

God cannot lie and has promised eternal life to those who are born again through preaching of the gospel. Those that receive the gospel by faith are quickened by Jesus into eternal life as the free gift of God. It is produced by the faith of man and the grace of God.

Titus 1:15-16 15Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. 16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

The pure are the born again of the Holy Ghost. To the pure, they are pure by the quickening of the Spirit unto eternal life. They can never become impure. Those who are not born again are not pure and are reprobate. The reprobate thinks their works and goodness gets them into heaven.

Titus 3:5-7 5Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; 7That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

God has saved (secured) us by his mercy and grace. We chose by faith to accept his grace and Jesus regenerated us by the Holy Ghost into eternal life. He sealed us with His Holy Ghost. We are made heirs with Christ by this free gift, not by any act of man.

Hebrews 2:11-13 11For both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Jesus through the Holy Ghost sanctifies the believer and we become one with Jesus. He is not ashamed to call us brothers. He promises that God has “given” us to Jesus. If we are given to Jesus and he sanctifies us, we cannot be lost again.

Hebrews 4:9-10 9There remains therefore a rest to the people of God. 10For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

Those, who commit to Jesus by faith, receive the Holy Spirit and are sealed unto this rest. They have entered into their rest and need not fear the loss of salvation.

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Some try to make this verse say we must secure our own salvation by holding fast until the end. This is not true; the following passage explains the reason.

Hebrews 3:7-12 7Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost says, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11So I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Verse 6 above can be explained with Matthew, chapter 13, regarding the seed sown by the wayside, on stony ground, and among the thorns. It always remained in the seed or sprouts stage and died because the person preferred his own way instead of God as his Master. The Israelites were glad to be out of bondage from the Egyptians and rejoiced in this, but they never accepted the Promised Land by faith. They were glad to get out of bondage, but did not want to be part of the Promised Land.

God said they never knew his ways, they never knew him as Lord. They had evil hearts of unbelief and wandered in the desert for 40 years and died without entering the Promised Land. Now if you go back and read verse 6, it makes more sense and falls in line with all other scripture.

Hebrews 3:17-19 17But with whom was he grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? 18And to who swore he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:1-2 1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Can a Christian fall short of salvation? No! An apostate never had a committed faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They were in the game while it benefited them. Their profession was not with faith. A characteristic of faith that many overlook is that God/Christ is faithful and “will” keep his promise to keep a Christian secure.

We accept grace by faith. We have zero input into grace (free gift of eternal life), but we can accept or reject it. Once we accept it, the grace is applied to us by Christ through the Holy Ghost. This application and the grace is 100% by Christ and we had nothing to do with this grace, nor its application. Since it is of Christ, we have no power to undo this application even if we thought we wanted to do so. It is impossible to undo the work of Christ.

Hebrews 4:11-12 11Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

We are urged to receive the gospel, continue in faith until we commit our self to Jesus. Tasting and ingesting the Word of God are two different things. Verse 12 states that Jesus knows the thoughts and intents of the heart. He knows who is sincere, and who is not sincere. Jesus quickens the sincere with the Holy Ghost unto eternal life.

Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

This passage is often used to say you can lose salvation. This is not true. First, who has been enlightened? The answer is everyone who has been born into the world (John 1:9). The Holy Ghost reveals Jesus to “all” men through the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Most of humanity will not heed this enlightenment. Many will reject the light of Jesus and prefer darkness, lest they come to this light and be saved.

All of mankind hears the gospel and the seed is planted in each. Read Matthew, chapter 13. Some who hear the gospel (God’s Word), reject it immediately. The seed of righteousness and truth remains on the surface of a hardened ground (heart) and the fowls (devils) come and pick the seed from the ground. These did not want this seed in their lives nor cared to consider the gospel.

Others receive the gospel with joy, but shortly decide they do not want Jesus as their Savior. They have no root in themselves. Because of tribulations and persecution by the world against them, they choose to let the seed die in the ground of their lives. They will not let the seed take root and prefer to reject the seed due to the tribulations and persecutions associated with being a Christian.

Still other men receive the seed of the gospel and actually enjoy the feeling they get from the association with Christians and the spiritual aura that comes with it. They actually taste a little of the joys of the Christian life and allow themselves to let the seed germinate and sprout up into a small plant. These people taste the goodness of God and feel the presence of the Holy Ghost around them, but not in them.

This latter group begins to look at the world and selects the joys and pleasures of the world rather than assume the full essence and worship of Christ. The preference of pleasures of the world, and lust for riches, choke out the growth from the seed and it dies. It must be noted in all of the three examples; this is still the sown seed of the gospel of Jesus.

We have a fourth example. The seed (gospel of Christ) is sown on the good ground. These have eaten the body of Christ and drank his blood. They did not taste of the heavenly gift and then spew it out of their mouths; they ate the body of Jesus and drank his blood. This means they not only tasted of the Word of God, but they took the Word of God (Bread of Heaven) into their innermost being and it became part of them. They also allowed the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to cleanse them from “all” unrighteousness.

The first parable is all about seed, not wheat and tares. Read the second parable. Wheat never becomes tares, and tares never become wheat. The first parable does not deal with wheat and tares, but planted seed.

Once a person has tasted of the heavenly gift, experienced the presence but not the baptism of the Holy Ghost, and then turned their backs on God, they can never be saved. They were never born again and will never have that chance again. These people have witnessed the power of God in the church and in Christians, and they have observed the goodness of God in the church membership, but finally reject Jesus.

Jesus knows the hearts of all men. He knows who has a sincere heart and who does not. He knows many are not sincere and will fall by the wayside, because they will not ingest the Word of God totally.

Hebrews 6:7-8 7For the earth which drinks in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: 8But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

This passage reiterates the difference in tasting and ingesting. The born-again drinks in the rain (Holy Ghost), are blessed by God, and bring forth fruit. Those that only taste of the rain are not born again, bring forth thorns and briers, and are destined to be burned.

Hebrews 6:11-12 11And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Paul wants all of the members of the local assembly to be saved including those who have only tasted of the promise and have not committed themselves to Christ. He urges them to be not slothful, but be like those who believe by faith and inherit the promises.

Paul is discussing two separate groups of people, the born again and those who have not committed themselves to Christ. Hebrews 6:13-20 tells of God’s promise that he will keep those who believe by faith. God’s promise is an anchor of the soul.

Hebrews 9:11-12, 14 11But Christ, by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 12Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. 14How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God; purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

When Jesus quickens us after we have placed our faith in him, we obtain “eternal” redemption. He purges our conscience with the Holy Ghost and we pass from death unto life.

Hebrews 10:14-18 14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Jesus has perfected us eternally when he sanctified us with the new birth. Sanctified means made Holy, dedicated to God, consecrated to God, purified, regeneration of the soul. This is accomplished by the sealing of our souls with the Holy Ghost, who is our eternal witness that we belong to God. At the new birth, God’s laws are written in our hearts and will remain there. We never need another offering for our sins.

Hebrews 10:19-23 19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised

We should be bold in our faith and claim victory in his grace. Jesus is our eternal high priests and we can boldly enter in to God through the person of Jesus. We have been washed with pure water (Holy Ghost), and we can have complete (full) assurance of our eternal security.

Hebrews 10: 26-27 26For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins, 27But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Some try to say this verse proves a saved person can be lost again. It does not say a person has been born again, saved, believed, quickened, etc. It says some receive the “knowledge” of the truth. Each person born on the earth receives the knowledge of the truth.

Each person has the truth preached to them, but not all respond to the truth. A person must ingest this truth (Word of God) to have it affect them. If they reject this truth, they have no other sacrifice for their sins. They will die, be judged, and receive God’s fiery indignation. A person can receive knowledge of many things, but refuse to accept that knowledge as truth.

Hebrews 10:29-32 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 32But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

This is a continuation from verses 26-27. It continues to describe a person who has tasted of God’s love, miracles, preaching, fellowship, and general protection under God while continuing to determine who would be his master, Jesus or Satan. Since this person is in fellowship with the church and its members, he is treated as part of the sanctified body of Christ, even though he has never been born again.

When a guest stays with you, they are under the protection of your home and family, but are not members of your family. It is the same with the church. Some of these members become born again when they decide to choose Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Others decide they cannot accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, turn from him, and actually become an enemy of Christ.

God will judge his people (church) and remove the tares at the judgment day and cast the tares into the Lake of Fire.

Hebrews 10:35-39 35Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. 36For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 39But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

An admonition to those seeking the Christian life to hold onto the faith they have exercised and not cast it aside. If they continue to strive for faith in Jesus, they will eventually receive the promise and be quickened by Jesus into eternal life. If they draw back from the faith, they become apostate. Born again Christians are not of those who draw back unto perdition.

A person is made Just (righteous) by faith. The gospel is preached to all men and the seed is planted in each person. A person who draws back from this seed (parable of the sower in Matthew, chapter 13) will not become wheat (born again). Those receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior are baptized with the Holy Ghost unto eternal life and are not those who draw back unto perdition.

Those that draw back never became wheat, but the good seed (planted in them) was choked out by the cares of the world and they never became wheat (born again).

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

The crown of life does not infer that a person must endure to be saved. The crown of life is the reward for allowing God to produce fruit through his obedience while on earth. Notice the crowns are for those who love him and are born again children, not those who have rejected him.

James 2:14-17 14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone.

This passage is badly misinterpreted by many. We realize the Bible never contradicts itself. If you find a verse that is contrary to others, you have taken its meaning out of context. There are 150 verses in the New Testament stating that the child of God is saved by only faith and God’s grace.

An example is Ephesians 2:8-9 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.

We know works does not save a person, only faith and grace. If a person is unsaved, he has never exercised faith to attain salvation. If he is unsaved, he has neither faith nor works. When there is no fruit in a person, it indicates he is either not attached to the vine. Works never produce faith, faith produces works.

A person could be a born again Christian, but has strayed, become a rebellious child, and produces little or no works. His faith has dwindled, he has forgotten he is a child of the king, and he wallows around in his misery. It is much like the Prodigal Son.

His faith has dwindled until it is dead for all practical purposes, because there are no fruits through his life. He is a rebellious child, but is still a child of God. If he does not repent and return to his first love, he can expect God’s chastisement which may include an early death in the flesh. He can never lose his salvation as it is secure with his Father.

The passage merely means that a person without works either has no faith, or it appears to be non-existent. His works of Christ indicates faith. If there are no works, it is an indication that the faith is dead for all practical reasons.

Salvation is 100% of God and man’s works has nothing to do with salvation. Works is only an indication that faith is present. The absence of works is an indication that the faith is dead or very weak. Lack of works does not assure a person is not saved.

James 2:21-22 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Abraham believed God’s promise that his seed, Isaac, would populate the earth with Christians. He did not set out to prove God’s promise by the sacrifice of Isaac. He already believed (trusted) God’s promise concerning Isaac. He did not set out to produce any works for God to prove his faith. Abraham set out to do God’s will because he already had faith that God would keep his promise.

Abraham was justified by his works, that is, his faith was proven to be true because he was willing to follow God’s will. It was not works that caused Abraham to be faithful. His works only made his faith visible.

1 Peter 1:3-5 3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Jesus hath begotten us of God. We are born again of the Holy Ghost. Our inheritance is reserved in heaven. We are secured by the power of God through faith.

1 Peter 1:7-9 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: 9Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. (Our faith is tried by fire. These fiery trials make our faith stronger.)

1 Peter 1:22-23 22Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever. (We are born of incorruptible seed, the Word of God, which purified our souls by the Holy Ghost. Our birth is eternal, abides forever.)

1 Peter 2:16 We are free, but should not use our liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. (Even though we are free from the penalty of sin, we should not abuse these liberties.)

2 Peter 1:1-4 1Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: 2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We obtained the same faith as Simon Peter through the righteousness of God and Jesus. This righteousness is by the promise that Jesus would baptize us with his Holy Spirit into a new birth. We are partakers of the divine nature of Jesus and have escaped corruption.

2 Peter 1:8-10 8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But he that lacks these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Peter is writing to Christians. Verses 5-7 tell Christians to add other attributes of God to their faith. If we fail to add to our faith, we become unfruitful, blind to our mission, and forget we are saved. Our self worth fails and we doubt our salvation. If we continue to add to our faith, we avoid failures and become good husbandmen of God’s vineyard. We cannot fall from grace but can fall from our mission.

1 John 2:18-19 18Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

This passage sums up the apostate. Apostates are those who have made a profession and have tried to live the Christian life, but never really committed their lives to Jesus. They were never born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Jesus. Eventually, the apostates are uncomfortable around Christians and manifest that they are not a Christian by denying Christ.

1 John 2:20-21, 24-25, 27 20But ye have unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 21I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 24Let therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. 27But the anointing which ye have received of him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

The born again have unction in them. It is the Holy Ghost of Jesus. This unction verifies to us the truth of God. Even though the verse says “if” the Word shall remain, the verses that follow tell us it will remain in us. The remaining verses tell us his promises are sure and this anointing abides in us.

Again, we have been promised eternal life when we accept Jesus by faith. The Holy Ghost, seals us unto eternal life. The last part of verse 27 attests that we abide in Jesus.

1 John 2:28-29 28And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29If ye know that he is righteous; ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

If we fail to sustain our maturity in Jesus and omit qualities to be added to our faith, we lose our confidence, but not our souls. However, we will be ashamed at his coming because we did not do our best. Righteousness and fruits of righteousness are not the same. A person is made righteous by the new birth.

Those, who love God, their neighbor, and lets the light of God shine through them, produce fruits of the spirit. God may see righteousness in a person even if we don’t, because God sees the heart while we look at the outward appearances.

1 John 3:1-3 1Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. 2Beloved, now we are the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.

A born again person has become a new creature, a son of God. Once you are a son of God, you cannot lose your son ship. Any child of a father never ceases to be the son of that father, regardless of his actions.

1 John 3:9, 14 9Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 14We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death.

This does not mean that a man cannot err in the flesh; it means he cannot commit any spiritual action to lose his eternal security in Christ. Another sign that a person is born again is his love for God and man.

1 John 3:23-24 23And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24And he that keeps his commandments dwells in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Here is an important truth. The Law was fulfilled by Jesus. We are no longer under the law, but under grace (love). Our commandment is, “We shall love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength”. The second commandment is “We shall love our neighbor as ourselves”.

We may be able to fool others, but we cannot fool ourselves, or God. If we have confidence that we love God and others, we know we are secure in Jesus.

1 John 4:7-8, 12-13 7Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loves is born of God, and knows God. 8He that loves not knows not God; for God is love. 12No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

Another passage stating that love is an indication we are eternally secure (born of God). If we love one another, God is perfected in us and we know we have his spirit in us.

1 John 5:1, 4-5 1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loves him that begat loves him also that is begotten of him. 4For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.

I am a child of the king for eternity when I am born of God. I am now a child of God. My biggest concern is “not to disappoint my heavenly Father”, just as I did not want to disappoint my earthly Father.

The passage does not say, “Must overcome the world”. Anyone, born of God, “will” overcome the world. It is through our faith and God’s eternal saving grace that we overcome the world. It is not due to continual forgiveness of sins that we overcome, nor works, nor babbling, nor enduring, etc. We already have the victory (eternal life) through faith and grace.

1 John 5:10-13 10He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. 11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

These things are “written” that ye may “know” you have eternal life. Then, how is it possible to lose eternal life? It is not possible. When you “know” you have eternal life, you also “know” it cannot be lost.

Eternal life means forever. If it could be lost, it would not be eternal. This eternal life is in Jesus. Anyone who attains eternal life has nothing to do with it other than accept it. Jesus provides this gift of eternal life to us when he baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. Since this application of eternal life is by Christ, we cannot undo it, only Jesus can undo it. He has promised that he will never take it away.

Anyone, who believes that eternal life in Christ can be lost or relinquished, has no faith in the promises of Christ. There is nothing in God’s plan of losing eternal life provided by the new birth. Verse 10 says the person who does doubts this is calling God a liar.

1 John 4:15-16 15Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him, and he in God. 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God and God in him.

It does not say we must get forgiveness continually to keep eternal life. It states plainly that God lives in us and we live in God. When we are born again, we become the temple of Christ. Christ dwells in us and we in him. When an apostate walks away from Jesus, rejecting him as Lord and Savior, God never lived in him from the beginning. It is proven by his latter denial of God and his Son.

1 John 5:18, 20 18We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one touches him not. 20And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

Again, a born again Christian cannot sin to the losing of his security in Jesus. As verse 20 attests, we are in Jesus, he is in us, and he is the true God and gives us eternal life. How can we keep ourselves when it is Christ who actually keeps us secure, not our own selves? It is simple, we do not keep our salvation, and Jesus is in control of this. We maintain our confidence (faith) at peak condition which makes us alert to all of Satan’s tricks, and we can rebuke him by our faith in Christ.

2 John 1:1-2 1The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2For the truth’s sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us for ever.

To all who have known the truth, born again ones, the truth (Jesus) will be in us for eternity.

Jude 1:24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

Since salvation is of God and not ourselves, it is up to God to keep us from falling. He will present us spotless at the judgment day. We will be covered by the blood of Christ.

Revelation 1:5-6 5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

If Jesus washed us from our sins with his own blood, he did it only one time. He need not repeat it because it is for eternity. When he washed a born again believer in his blood, we were made kings and priests at that time.

Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Many try to use this verse to say we can lose the Holy Ghost. It must be remembered in this passage that it is to a church not an individual. God often removes the Holy Spirit from a church when it refuses to do his will and it becomes a dead church.

Revelation 2:11 He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.

Those that overcome are the born again ones. Those that turn from God are not and are apostates.

Revelation 2:17 To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows saving he that receives it. (Again, he that overcomes is the saved person.)

Revelation 3:5 He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

There are two books, the book of life and the Lambs book of Life. Whosoever is not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be blotted out of the book of life and remembered no more by God. Every person born is found in the book of life, but only the born again are found in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Those blotted out of the book of life are the lost and they suffer the second death, become eternally separated from God.

Revelation 3:11-12 11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man takes thy crown. 12Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

We are also dealing with end times and times of persecution. Those, who are true Christians (born again), will not curse God or deny him to save their physical lives. They will endure the persecutions and stay faithful to God. It is written in their hearts and they will be true. Also, the word crown is regarded as rewards for works and not salvation.

Revelation 3:19-22 19As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches.

This passage is to the Church of Laodicea which is the last church age and this last passage is immediately prior to the 4th chapter of Revelation which starts the Rapture. Of course, we have seen innumerable verses stating that the born again Christians “will” overcome the world.

There are still those in the church who are not born again, but still have not become apostate. If they continue in their steadfastness of seeking the goodness of Christ, they will eventually commit their hearts to God fully and will also be born again into the kingdom. If they truly open their hearts door, Jesus will come in unto them and be one with them.

There will also be many church members on the rolls in this last church age that will be left behind at the Rapture of the Church. They have never been born again. The Church will no longer be in the earth to help them, so they will be on their own with the two supernatural witnesses, the 144,000 Jews (144,000 evangelical preachers), and finally an angel preaching around the world in the last seven years.

These left behind from the churches will remember the gospel preached to them from the church pastors and teachers. Since there will only be seven years, the ball game has changed somewhat. These left behind will have to accept Jesus by faith, but will also have to endure to the end of the seven years or until they are killed by the antichrist. If they reject Christ and bow down to the antichrist during this time, they will lose their souls.

Father Time