The Glorious Security of the Children of God

Theology
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The true children of God are, according to Scripture, eternally safe because:

  1. They are born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed (1Pe 1:23).
  2. His sheep shall never perish (Jn 10:28).
  3. Their lives are hid with Christ in God (Col 2:3).
  4. They are chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).
  5. They are already “seated” in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph 1:3; 2:6).
  6. They are sealed by the Spirit “until the day of redemption” (Eph 4:30).
  7. The Lord knoweth them that are His (2Tim 2:19).
  8. Having begun a work in you, He will complete it (Phl 1:6).
  9. They are already living-stones in the spiritual building of God of which Christ Himself is the Chief Cornerstone (1Pet 2:5; Eph 2:20-22).
  10. They are members of the Body and Church of Christ, each with a peculiar function. Without the least member, the Body would not be complete (1Cor 12:12-27 – the time will come when the final and last Gentile is saved, then Israel restored to fellowship, but not in the sonship capacity like Christians being children of God; they will continue as a “people of God”—NC Rom 11:25, 26).
  11. They “are kept by the power of God” (1Pe 1:5).
  12. An inheritance is reserved for them (God knows every name in the Book of Life—NC - 1Pet 1:4).
  13. God’s people are a gift to His Beloved Son (Jn 17:6, 7 – the Father covenanted with the Son that if He would die for those who would believe in Him, the Father would raise Him from the dead – “Covenant of Redemption”—NC).
  14. “He is able to save them to the uttermost” (Heb 7:25).
  15. They are already accepted in the Beloved Son (Eph 1:6).
  16. Nothing can separate them from the love of Christ (Rom 8:38, 39).
  17. He loves them “to the end” (Jn 13:1).
  18. By one offering He hath perfected forever them that are “sanctified” (Heb 10:10-14 – sanctification is a single, one time work that separates the heart from the “old man” (Ro 8:9); it’s not what some might think, that it’s a continued work of separating the heart from the sin nature. This answers to why the word “sanctified” is always given in a text that expresses a complete one-time work—NC).
  19. They are nevermore reckoned in the first man Adam, but have passed through in the Last Adam (1Co 15:45, 47).
  20. They cannot be unborn (John 3:6-8).
  21. Christ dwells in them (permanently 2Jn 1:2).
  22. He gives His sheep eternal life (Jn 10:28).
  23. Whom He foreknew, He also predestined, called, justified and glorified (Ro 8:28-30).
  24. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance (irrevocable – Ro 11:29).

-MJS

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If someone believes in Jesus, and later doesn’t believe. Were they never saved?

If the answer is yes. Then doesn’t that mean that nobody can have assurance of salvation?

How can I know I’m saved if those who believe, then later don’t believe, were never “truly saved”? I believe. But maybe I’m wrong, and I don’t actually believe and I’m just fooling myself. I’m not asking because I don’t know–I’m trying to offer meaningful questions to challenge the premise.

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I think this is an interesting question because many Christians have wrestled with it over the centuries.

What has always given me comfort is that assurance is not based on my ability to be perfect, but on God’s faithfulness. At the same time, I think self-examination and perseverance are themes we see throughout Scripture as well.

TheologyNerd’s question reminds me that there is a difference between occasionally struggling with doubt and completely abandoning the faith. Many faithful believers in the Bible experienced seasons of doubt, fear, or confusion, yet God did not abandon them.

For me, the focus is less on trying to figure out whether I have achieved perfect certainty and more on continuing to trust Christ and follow Him day by day.

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This is what I have been told over and over. To restate the fact, I WANT TO BELIEVE so very much in the OSAS, but I have doubts. Is there Salvation for the Saved? Forgiveness for the Forgiven? Can you lose your Salvation?

James 4:17

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

If I do not know that it is a sin to hold a grudge, and I do, am I sinning? Yes. However, can it be held against me? No. If I know the truth, that I must forgive to be forgiven, and I hold a grudge, then I am sinning knowingly, and it is held against me, and I am then accountable for it.

As it also says in…

2 Peter 2:20-22

" For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

In other words, it would be better if you were never saved to begin with. That once you are, you then know and understand the Truth. If you turn away from that Truth, you become even worse off than you were before. In..

John 15:5-6

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

In all these passages, God is talking to the saved. He is talking to the Church. The body of Christ. Can you lose your Salvation? It would appear that the answer is, yes. It seems that the human concept of once saved always saved is not a truthful saying.

It does make sense if you think about it. If you come to me and say, " Please adopt me into your family." I agree. However, if you want to be a part of my family, I will require from you the same as I would require from all my children. If you are a faithful and good Son, you, as with all my children, will inherit part of my vast estate and fortune.

However, you decide to stop coming to my house. You decide to go off and do your own thing. You decide to forsake my family and me. That is totally your choice. By doing this, though, you are disqualifying yourself from all my blessings and promises. I can not bless you, help you, or even love you if you are no longer with me. As in all things, the choice is yours. As it says in…

Revelation 3:15-16

> “'I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

Also in…

Hebrews 10:24-31

**" And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

Due to extremely personal reasons, people I love more than life itself, who once were saved and on their way to heaven, have completely rejected God, the Bible, Jesus, and anything Christian. From Missionary to Catechumen. I am hoping not, from saved to lost.
Peter

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Theology Nerd—

You got me thinking. And you know what? I have never heard or read a “de-convert” say: “How could I have fallen? The Lord PROMISED he would KEEP ME”. They say a lot about how their prayers weren’t answered, and how their doubts grew. They claim they didn’t want to disbelieve but the doubts just “proved” to them God was not there. BUT I never hear them asking about why GOD’S PROMISE didn’t hold true. So, it makes you suspect that they may never have really TRUSTED in Christ at all. We, on the other hand KNOW we have trusted in Christ. We put our trust in verses like “He gives them eternal life and they shall never perish” (John 10:28). Did the apostate ever really put his trust in that verse? It really does come down to real faith.

If one believes that GOD said that it is impossible to restore those who have apostasized (Heb. 6: 4-6) then that verse will KEEP YOU FROM APOSTASIZING. Why? You BELIEVE IT. The fear of those verses is a result of BELIEVING them. An Apostate can quote those verses without fear. Why? They don’t BELIEVE them. Therefore they are NOT KEPT by God.

I’m not sure if I’m making sense here----but we can KNOW that we are saved and will NEVER fall because we have claimed and believed such verses as John 10:28. The de-convert CAN FALL because they are not TRUSTING in verses like that. Instead they are doubting them. They have never truly believed. When you were a little child at the zoo you thought you were holding onto your dad’s hand so as not to get lost. But in reality it was the other way around: Your dad was holding onto YOUR hand. A Christian trusts that God is KEEPING them–they believe Jesus is interceding for them so their faith doesn’t fail. The De-convert has never really put their trust in that fact and that is why they CAN FALL, while a true believer CANNOT.

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You “touched” on a raw nerve here brother, and correct you are.

2Ti_2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Php 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

J.

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It says in Ephesians that once we believe, God seals us with the Holy Spirit. (Eph1:13) It also tells us not grieve the Holy Spirit because He sealed us for the day of redemption. (Eph 4:30) And there’s all kinds of other verses that speak to our security in Jesus, but these verses make it clear to me.
The real question is what constitutes belief in Jesus. It’s not an intellectual belief. The demons have that and tremble. Believing is trusting Him and trusting in what He did on our behalf.

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Hi TN! Pertinent inquiry, but isn’t it nonsensical? The foremost understanding here in my opinion is that one can’t believe and then not believe, for faith is permanent. Paul says Faith continues even after prophecy and knowledge will cease (1 Corinthians 13:13). One can think they believe and then decide they don’t believe.

Those who think they believe and then decide they don’t believe are merely in a hypocritical state and just never truly believed. They can leave the doctrine of faith, but one will not leave the true faith!

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I hear you @NetChaplian but I do agree with @TheologyNerd.

And your statement is too absolute. Whether one holds to the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints or not, Scripture does record people who appeared to believe and later abandoned the faith. The debate is not whether this happened, but how these passages should be interpreted.

Several texts explicitly describe people who believed, followed Christ, or were part of the Christian community and then turned away.

Luke 8:13 (ESV) – in the Parable of the Sower:

“And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

Jesus Himself says they “believe” (πιστεύουσιν – pisteuousin, present active indicative of πιστεύω, “to believe”), and yet later “fall away” (ἀφίστανται – aphistantai, “depart, withdraw, apostatize”).

John 6:66 (ESV)

“After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.”

These were not outsiders but “disciples” (μαθητῶν, mathētōn). They ceased following Christ.

1 Timothy 1:18–20 (ESV)

“This charge I entrust to you, Timothy… holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander…”

Paul describes certain individuals as having “made shipwreck” (ἐναυάγησαν, enauagēsan) concerning “the faith.”

1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV)

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”

“Depart” translates ἀποστήσονται (apostēsontai), from ἀφίστημι, the verb from which the English word “apostasy” is derived.

Hebrews 3:12 (ESV)

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”

The warning is addressed to “brothers” and speaks of the danger of apostasy.

Hebrews 6:4–6 (ESV)

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit… and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance…”

This is one of the strongest warning passages. Calvinists and Arminians interpret it differently, but both acknowledge that the text describes a serious falling away.

2 Peter 2:20–22 (ESV)

“For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”

Peter speaks of people who had escaped worldly corruption through the knowledge of Christ and then returned to it.

Galatians 5:4 (ESV)

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

Paul warns professing believers of the consequences of abandoning the gospel of grace.

Regarding 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul says:

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The point of the chapter is not that every individual’s act of believing is irreversible. Paul contrasts the temporary nature of gifts such as prophecy and tongues with the enduring virtues of faith, hope, and love in the Christian life. The passage is not directly addressing apostasy.

Therefore, your claim, “One can’t believe and then not believe, for faith is permanent,” goes beyond what the text of 1 Corinthians 13:13 actually says. Scripture contains numerous warnings and examples of people who believed, professed faith, participated in the covenant community, or followed Christ, and later abandoned that profession.

The theological question is whether these people were never truly regenerate or whether genuine believers can apostatize. Christians have differed on that interpretation for centuries, but the existence of these warning passages cannot simply be dismissed.

2 cents.

J.

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Because of the way Scripture often reads I can see why there can be those who will not understand the permanency of genuine faith. I believe the Word often tests the reader by the way it teaches, but the permanency of faith is the most significant doctrine to get right. Like understanding that the receiving of eternal life cannot be withdrawn, or it isn’t eternal life!

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I have an interesting take on the “warning” passages. I’m not the first to espouse this idea. But I share it because Hebrews 6:4-6 and 10:26-29 scared the living daylights out of me for years! It is very interesting that I “discovered” those verses after “falling” very badly as a Christian many years ago. The Devil TORMENTED me with those passages. I was literally paralyzed with fear and would cry for hours to God to forgive me. But the feeling of hopelessness was overwhelming—and the spiritual suffering was ENORMOUS. Others have suffered these fears. Read John Bunyan’s account in “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners”. Through time, and greater understanding of the Scriptures, and learning the “devices of Satan” my ravaged conscience came to know peace.

But what I truly believe is that a TRUE CHRISTIAN can never FALL AWAY like it is warning in those verses. In fact, I think the WARNING was put there by God to PREVENT A TRUE CHRISTIAN FROM FALLING AWAY. Imagine a sign that says “DANGER: 200 feet to Cliff’s edge” at the end of a road. If you BELIEVE and HEED the sign you stop right away. If you DO NOT BELIEVE and DO NOT HEED the sign you risk driving off of a cliff.

A True Christian WILL STOP. The warning is real!!! But they cannot continue to drive forward. Why? They BELIEVE what the sign is saying. So, even though the warning is real for a true Christian—they could NEVER drive off the cliff. Yet, there are those who say a true Christian COULD drive off the cliff and the warning is there because it’s possible that they could. No–I don’t believe so. BECAUSE a True Christian BELIEVES GOD’S WORD they can NEVER fall away like the warning is stating. Who can??? Someone who NEVER TRULY BELIEVED can continue to drive off the cliff because they DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THE WARNING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

That is why I believe Apostates were never born-again believers. They may have been “enlightened” mentally, and “shared” in the Holy Spirit through church services, etc.—but they DO NOT REALLY BELIEVE the Gospel and have never been regenerated. They are NOT AFRAID of Hebrews 6:4-6 or 10:26 because they DO NOT BELIEVE IT. The warnings are REALLY FOR THEM—but they will not heed them!!!

So, the devil uses warnings meant for apostates to scare and torment those who really believe!! But he is actually doing the WILL OF GOD in many cases—because he is causing a true sheep to stop and tremble in fear of the consequences should he fall that far. So, the “warning” is doing what it was meant to do all along----KEEP sheep in the fold—and DRIVE OUT those who are not truly sheep to begin with (see 1 John 2:19).

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I like the way you put everything, but it’s my belief that a Christian cannot lose their salvation.

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NetChaplian—

If you are responding to my post about the Hebrews verses that is what I am saying. A True Christian cannot lose their salvation. The verses are not about “true” believers. In fact, verse 9 which follows those verses says “I am persuaded better things of you brethren, and things that accompany salvation”. My point was that God has put warnings in Hebrews that are there for APOSTATES, not true believers.

The verses themselves act as PREVENTIVE measures though for true believers. Should a believer fall terribly the verse is there to bring them to a stop. Because they truly believe they become paralyzed with fear! The verses literally act as a “fence” to keep true believers in the fold!!

But the verses do the opposite to apostates. They CAN keep moving towards destruction because they don’t really believe. “The Word of God is powerful, like a TWO-EDGED SWORD”. One side of the sword keeps believers INSIDE THE FOLD, while the other side of the sword pushes apostates OUT OF THE FOLD. Does that make sense? Maybe not. LOL. But it does to me.

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I knew what you meant.

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@NetChaplain

What’s the difference between a person who thinks they believe, but doesn’t; and a person who thinks they believe, and actually does?

More to the point: Is there a way I can know in which camp I am? Note, I’m not asking because I don’t have an answer to that question–I’m asking to provoke deep and serious thought on the subject.

Allow me to explain where I come from: I believe that the danger of the OSAS doctrine is that it undermines the assurance and comfort we should have in the Gospel, in the promises of God which are ours in Christ. When I tell people this, it always sounds confusing and counter-intuitive, but allow me to explain.

I asked how can I know whether I am a true believer or just a pretend one–whether I truly believe or merely think I believe but don’t. Ostensibly, everyone who is in the “thinks they believe, but doesn’t” camp, well, thinks they believe. And by all accounts they do. The only way one can know they didn’t really believe is when they no longer profess belief. And that also means there is the inverse: I can only know that I believe truly is that I endure in that belief all the way until the end. Presumably, then, I will only know if I was a true believer (rather than a false believer) when I stand at the Day of Judgment and either hear “Well done good and faithful servant”–or I don’t.

But that leaves us with a huge empty vacuum: What about right now? Right in this moment. Can I have assurance that I am saved? Can I find comfort in the Gospel right now? I believe the answer should be yes. Because without that assurance, without that comfort of the Gospel, I am not in a state of faith but doubt. Faith means trust, but it’s also about confidence: We should be able to have confidence in Christ, in the Gospel, in God’s promises.

I speak, of course, as a Lutheran here. In the context of the Reformation five hundred years ago, one of the central pastoral concerns Martin Luther had as a priest and minister of the Gospel was the deep existential dread that so many Christians (himself included) had–they did not rest in the comfort of Christ and what He accomplished on the Cross, but rather were, by the popular religious sentiment of the day, under the impression that they must earn and merit salvation through the toil of good works and, every moment, living in fear of hellfire. Luther found his comfort in the Gospel, and that became his rallying cry for reform, that every Christian should be able to find comfort in the Gospel.

So, as a Lutheran, this is incredibly important to me.

I don’t see how OSAS provides comfort without presumption of arrogance, “Well, THAT person was just a false Christian hypocrite, but look at ME, I’m one of the real ones” that isn’t boasting in the Cross, that’s boasting in myself. Just another form of works-righteousness. If one approaches the subject with reverence and humility, OSAS doesn’t lead to comfort, but despair–I can’t have assurance because even the false-believers mistakenly think they are saved, what makes me different?

It changes the paradigm from a Cross-centered and Gospel-centered view, to one that is Me-orientated.

This is my chief problem with the OSAS doctrine. It presents itself as a doctrine of security, but beneath the surface it is a doctrine of fear and doubt.

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Hi, and appreciate your personal concerns. I’m glad though your certain of being saved, and one of the strongest manifestations of being saved is occasionally wondering if you are truly saved.

Not saying this is you, but this is just an indication that one needs to be more into the Scriptures, esp. the New Testament, which is where the majority of Christian teachings are; esp. the 13 Epistles of Paul which contain spiritual growth in Christ.

I think one of the most important doctrines is realizing that “The Christian life is not our living a life like Christ, or our trying to be Christ-like, nor is it Christ giving us the power to live a life like His; but it is Christ Himself living His own life through us; ‘no longer I, but Christ.’” -MJS

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Sure, I’d be willing to say that occasionally wondering if one is saved is normal. Insofar, that as Christians, we continue to struggle with the flesh in all of its weaknesses. One aspect of the flesh is that of doubt. So certainly doubt is normal–but doubt should always be addressed and answered with the confidence of the Gospel.

And that’s where the heart of my concern and argument lay: the confidence of the Gospel.

I am asking how, under OSAS, a person can know, or have assurance, that they are saved (rather than only mistakenly thinking they are saved). And unfortunately you did not touch upon this central issue which I raised in my previous post here.

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@TheologyNerd

On the basis of these passages, I am persuaded that a believer can possess genuine assurance of salvation, eternal security in Christ, and confidence that God preserves His saints to the end. For that reason, I find it difficult to understand why the phrase “Once Saved, Always Saved” is often viewed so negatively, particularly by Christians who express uncertainty regarding their own salvation.

The biblical emphasis appears to be on God’s preserving grace and the believer’s assurance grounded in the promises of Christ rather than in human effort or perseverance alone.

  1. 1 John 5:13 — Written So You May Know

“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.”

John explicitly states that believers can know they possess eternal life.

  1. John 5:24 — Has Eternal Life Now

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth 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.”

Notice the present tense: has everlasting life and has passed from death to life.

  1. Romans 8:16 — The Spirit Bears Witness

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

The Holy Spirit gives inward testimony that we belong to God.

  1. Romans 8:1

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”

Those who are in Christ stand free from condemnation.

  1. John 10:27–29

"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."

Christ’s sheep are given eternal life and are secure in His hand.

  1. 2 Corinthians 13:5

“Examine 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?”

Paul expects believers to be able to examine themselves and recognize Christ’s presence in them.

  1. 1 John 3:14

“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.”

Love for fellow believers is evidence of spiritual life.

  1. 1 John 2:3

“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

Obedience is one of the evidences that a person truly knows Christ.

  1. 1 John 4:13

“Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.”

The indwelling Spirit is evidence of union with Christ.

  1. Ephesians 1:13–14

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation… ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance…”

Believers are sealed by the Spirit as God’s guarantee of their future inheritance.

  1. Hebrews 10:22

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…”

God intends believers to have full assurance, not perpetual uncertainty.

  1. 2 Timothy 1:12

“…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.”

Paul speaks with confidence regarding his salvation and future hope.

Biblical grounds for assurance

According to Scripture, assurance rests on:

Faith in Christ’s promises (John 5:24; John 6:47).
The witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16; 1 John 4:13).
The evidence of a transformed life (1 John 2:3; 1 John 3:14).

The clearest single verse is probably 1 John 5:13, because John says he wrote his letter specifically so believers “may know that they have eternal life.”

Shalom achi.

J.

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Hi J, and really good security passages! God bless!!

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Wondering about one’s salvation is probably one of the best confirmations I know, because it manifests our greatest concerns.