Text: "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."

"Everlasting life’ ever lasts or it is not ’everlasting life.’"-Calvin

The doctrine of the "Security of the Believer" entails two doctrines: the "Perseverance of the Saints," and "Their Preservation by God." People who believe Christians can lose their salvation do so, first, because they do not know the nature of salvation, and that it involves everlasting life. (John 3:16) Second, they do not know to whom salvation belongs, and that "Salvation belongeth unto the LORD." (Psalm 3:8) It is His. The Lord is the giver of life. And third, they do not know that neither persons, places or things "shall be able to separate (them) from the love of God," and this includes circumstances. (Romans 8:35)

"Salvation is of the LORD." (Jonah 2:9) Jesus is "The author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2), and He said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)

In order to understand the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, it is necessary to understand their preservation is of God.

The doctrine of the Preservation of the Saints was well known to David, to Solomon and to the prophet Isaiah. David testifies, "For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever." (Psalm 37:28) And again, he declares, "Ye that love the LORD hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints..." (Psalm 97:10)

Solomon wrote, "He keepeth the paths of Judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints." (Proverbs 2:8) David declared the saints and their souls are preserved, while his son Solomon testified their way is preserved.

Consider the words of the Lord preserved by the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 43, note the verbs in verse 1, "But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, ‘Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.’"

In verse 2, note the promises of God. ‘When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Note the reason this is so in verse 3, but consider the nouns. "For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."

In Isaiah chapter 54, note verse 10: ’"For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,’ saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee." The covenant God makes with His people is sure.

John testifies, "For God so loved the world, that be gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." In his comments on this verse, John Calvin states "Everlasting life ever-lasts, or it is not everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Again, In verse 36, John writes, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life," i.e. he is already in possession of it: "and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life," not today, not tomorrow, not ever; "but the wrath of God abideth on him." The sinner is already under the Just condemnation of God.

In John chapter 6, beginning in verse 38, Jesus said, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day." (John 6:38,39) Note: It Is the Father’s will that Jesus should lose "nothing," i.e. "no thing;" and Jesus will raise It up again at the last day.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one." (John 10:27-30) Reader, note the words, "they shall never perish." It means they shall not perish today, or tomorrow, or ever!

Men who think they can lose salvation do so because they take salvation out of the hands of God and place it in the hands of man. They are trusting man and not the Lord. Certainly, if salvation is in the hands of man, it will be lost "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

Paul asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, ‘For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35-39) We must not judge the love of God by our circumstances. Neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, etc. is a sign the Lord no longer loves us.

In Ephesians chapter 1, we read beginning with verse 13, "In whom," i.e. In Christ, "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, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."

Note first, that believers are sealed by the Holy Spirit. That which is "sealed" is "preserved." Second, this Holy Spirit is the "earnest" or "downpayment" of our inheritance. So, a man who sets his heart to make a large purchase will put up "earnest money" to show that he is in earnest about the transaction. Third, the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance "until the redemption of the purchased possession." In chapter 4, in verse 30, Paul wrote, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

Consider Philippians chapter 1, verse 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." And this, "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Unlike men, God does not begin a work and leave it incomplete. Note also, that they who want to do God’s pleasure were not born with such a desire: It is God at work in them.

In Colossians chapter 3, beginning in verse 3, Paul wrote, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." And, shortly before he was put to death, he wrote, "And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." (II Timothy 4:18)

The writer of Hebrews testifies, "Neither 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." His purpose was accomplished. "For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how 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? And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:12-15)

Consider again, "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:11-14) People who believe they can lose their salvation do so because they do not know what Christ has accomplished.

Peter rejoiced, saying, "Blessed 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, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved In heaven for you. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (I Peter 1:3-5)

Jude began his epistle by saying, "Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied." (Jude 1,2) Then, he doses his epistle saying, "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, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (verse 24,25)) Reader, you believe God is able?

The knowledge that we are saved is very critical; and for this reason John wrote, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Salvation is in Jesus Christ. He that has Christ has life. Eternal life has already been given to us. "He that hath not the Son of God hath not life." He does not have it today; he will not have it tomorrow; not ever.

John continued, "These 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." Note the words carefully: he said, "that he may know." He did not say, "that ye may hope that ye have eternal life," or "that ye may think that ye have eternal life;" but "that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life." Reader, if is a serious thing if you do not know that you have eternal life. If there is any doubt, call unto Him, for "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

The psalmist confessed, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy fight hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore."

Let no man argue that the doctrine of the Security of the Believer fosters sin. That is a lie. To say such a thing is equivalent turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. The psalmist said, "Ye that love the LORD hate evil." Let no one say they love the Lord who can tolerate evil.

The second doctrine underlying the doctrine of the Security of the Believer is the "Perseverance of the Saints." Jesus taught his disciples, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

"And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." (Matthew 10:16-22)

Jesus is not teaching men to put their confidence in their flesh. He is not telling us that if we endure to the end we shall earn the right to be saved. What He is saying is that he who endures, who continues in the things of God, gives evidence that he is saved. It is a fraudulent gospel that teaches a man is saved because he has made a decision to be saved, yet is "backslidden" since for the past 10 years he has continued living in sin without any regard for the things of God. Such a gospel is pure fraud. When will such nonsense cease in our churches? Will the Lord allow us to turn from it?

John wrote, "They 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." (I John 2:19) John Wycliffe wrote, "He that leaveth off preaching for fear of being excommunicated by men has already been excommunicated by God."

Boettner wrote, "If God has chosen men absolutely and unconditionally to eternal life, and if His Spirit effectively applies to them the benefits of redemption, the inescapable conclusion is that these persons shall be saved."

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September 16, 1992 -We retired for the night about 11:20. At 12:15, my wife awakened me saying there was a knock at our door. I hastily dressed; but when I went into the hallway, I smelled something electrical burning. Just as I looked into Anna’s room I saw her window fan burst into flames, I hastily turned it off, and unplugged it. The cord was not yet warm since the problem was in the motor. I went to the front door, but saw no one about. The Lord is good!

Bulacan, Philippines - "I’d like to obtain your monthly magazine "The Angelus." I’m pastoring now. I am in need for some Bible study materials and if there are books and Bibles available. Books and Bibles are very expensive here..." Pastor Peter Salinas