HOW SECURE IS THE BELIEVER "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." JUDE 24-25 "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 Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen." OTHER AFFIRMATIONS There are many other texts on this subject. "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" (Phil 1:6). "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet 1:5). "Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:25). --Monday:
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
When we proclaim the possibility of falling away (Heb 6:6), denying the faith (1 Tim 5:8), or becoming a castaway (1 Cor 9:27), the denominational pot is brought to a boiling point. Some say when we enter the door of salvation, we are locked in. Others, however, are equally absurd in their emphasis on falling away, leaving the impression there is no security for the believer at all. This is not the case, however. I therefore consider it good to confirm the nature of salvation, and the firm provision it contains for joyful confidence and full assurance.
A salvation that leaves people questioning if they are accepted by God, and dominated by fear, is no salvation at all. There IS security in Christ, and it is solidly affirmed in scripture. The following texts are not building blocks for a creed, nor have they been inspired by the Holy Spirit to support certain sectarian dogmas. These are Divine affirmations, intended to confirm and strengthen our faith.
The "them" of reference are Christ's sheep -- those who are believing on Him. Their believing is not something that has occurred in the past, but is in process right now. As the previous verse affirms, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Such individuals are unquestionably secure. No man can remove them from Christ's protective hand. Additionally, Christ and the trusting one are in the Father's hand, and no man is able to remove them from that shelter.
This is what the verse says, and this is what it means. It has no relevance whatsoever to a person who is not hearing and following Jesus, profession notwithstanding. It is our business to believe and embrace this, not spending endless effort to establish what it does NOT mean. What these verses DO mean sustains the soul.
If there was no danger of falling, we would have no need of this rich consolation. This expression obtains its power in the face of jeopardy, danger, and the liability of human weakness. Faith, however, lifts us beyond human weakness and the power of the devil. God our Savior is able to keep us from falling, AND to present us faultless before His presence in a state of rejoicing. He will do it through our faith--but He WILL do it.
Of the believer that is "weak in the faith," immature and possessing an untrained conscience, the Scriptures affirm, "God is able to MAKE him stand" (Rom 14:1-4). Who is the fool that will attempt to take that from struggling believers? If this was not the absolute truth, God would not have said it. Further, if He said it, you can trust in, leaning the weight of your whole soul upon it.
All of these hinge upon faith, which is our only connection with the Lord. Anything and everything we have from Him is "by faith." At no point, from beginning to end, does salvation move beyond being "by grace through faith" (Eph 2:5,8). That is what we fight to maintain -- our faith. It is the "good fight of faith" (1 Tim 6:12), and no one who fights it will lose.
If you ARE believing, it is not possible to be any more secure that you are. Devote your energies to believing, and God will see to it that you do not fall. But God has made no pledge of safety to a person who is not believing, not trusting, and not relying upon Him. Scripture contains not one syllable of comfort to anyone who is faithless and unbelieving. But it is replete with words of assurance to those who ARE believing.
The persuasion of security is called "assurance" and "confidence" in God's word--and both of them are tied to faith. "in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him" (
We will not argue about whether or not men can "lose their salvation" -- an expression that is not even found in Scripture. Salvation is never offered to, or confirmed to be in, anyone who is not believing. Believing is really the issue, not security. That is just a theological smokescreen that has clouded the issue. Where there is faith, there unquestionably is security. You can depend on that!
Where faith is lacking, security is not even the point. Such an individual has got to get to the business of believing and trusting. When they do that, they are secure in their faith.
PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for giving such comforting promises to those who believe. I feel I can identify with the father who cried out with tears, "Lord I believe, help Thou mine unbelief." In Jesus' name, I ask for such help.