John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;”

As Christians our greatest hope or confidence lies in the fact that at the moment of salvation we have eternal life. One of the saddest things in Christianity is that fact that so many Christians are not living with an absolute confidence in our eternal security. How many people answer the question, “Are you going to heaven?” with the phrase, “I hope so!”?

So what does the Bible say about this?

John 6:28‑29 "Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent."

1Jo 1:11‑12 "This is the record: God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has [eternal] life; he who does not have the Son does not have [eternal] life."

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Notice, there is no AND in any of these passages! It’s not believe, and change your life, or believe and stay faithful, or believe and produce fruit, or believe and ANYTHING!

The whole principle of salvation is that when we believe, God accomplishes our salvation, and nothing we ever do can undo what God has done. Of course, God wants you to change your life, stay faithful, and produce fruit, but our salvation DOES NOT depend on it!

The Sealing Principle

Eph 4:30 says "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

The Greek word for sealed used here is "sphragizo" and it means to stamp with a signet or private mark for security or preservation. And once you are sealed it can never be undone! It’s like branding cattle (or maybe sheep!)

1Co 6:19-20 "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body."

God has purchased us, and the Holy Spirit has put a permanent brand on us. You belong to Him, you have been branded, and you can't erase it or remove it!

What about judgment?

John 5:24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

The word not in this passage is the word ouk, which is an interesting word. Joseph Thayer (a Greek scholar) says “when you join "ouk" with any verb it is used to strongly deny that what is being declared in the verb will ever happen to the subject of the sentence!”

The verb is judgment. The subject is anyone who believes. Therefore, anyone who believes will never come into judgment! You will never be judged or come into judgment. Not might not...but "shall not". We must conclude that once you believe in The Lord Jesus Christ you will never lose your salvation.

We all know this verse:

Eph 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"

So salvation is a free gift from God, and:

Rom 11:29 "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

If the gift is irrevocable, then we can’t give it back, and God can’t take it back. If you could lose your salvation, then God would be a liar!

The Power of God protects our salvation.

1Pe 1:5 You who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

John 10:29 "My Father, who has given {them} to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch {them} out of the Father's hand.

What about the Family Analogy?

Gal 3:26 "For all of you are the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus."

Some of you may know my family in Mobile. Some of you might have family that you really wish you were not a part of! I could change my name, move away, deny that they are my family, and send them all a letter telling them that I renounce my familyship with them, but I am still their family! The very same analogy applies to us as the children of God.

Realize that there never was a time in all of eternity past when God did not know everything about you! God has ALWAYS known ever thought, every word, and every sin that we would ever have. We may be surprised over something we do but God is never surprised!

The day you were born again and God saved you, He took into account every sinful thought, word, and decision you would ever have from the day of your salvation to the day of your death. To think that there is anything you could do that could surprise God, and make Him change His mind and take back His salvation gift, is to say that God did not know everything when He saved you.

When you think that God will take away His salvation because of your sin, then you are saying that your sin is bigger than what Jesus Christ did on the Cross! What arrogance!

Recognize that our salvation depends completely, totally, absolutely, and exclusively on God. Therefore, there is nothing we can do to lose it. Once you simply believe in Jesus Christ, you can (and should) have complete confidence in your eternity in heaven.