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God Desires You To Be Secure

God Desires You To Be Secure

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Reading time: 4 minutes

What would it take for you to feel secure? Would money do it? Health? Fame? What about possessing the certainty of God’s promises to you? That is my most valuable possession. How about you?

What assurances of eternal life do you have? Believers possess full assurance of salvation, gain complete joy because of salvation, and can abide in Christ.

The way to be saved is by believing that Jesus is the Christ. If you have persistent doubts about your salvation, you’re probably not saved. But if you’ve made this declaration and you know in your heart it is true, by faith, then you have been born of God.

Whether you are a believer or not will greatly influence how you interpret and understand the Bible. To the degree you doubt whether you are saved, you increase the chance that you’ll interpret the Bible incorrectly. That’s because only believers have the Holy Spirit and the only way to understand the Bible is through the Spirit. You won’t be able to put your confidence in the words of truth if you can’t even know for sure that you are saved.

Believing Confirms You Can Feel Secure

1 John says clearly that once you cross over to being a believer, you can know with confidence that you have eternal life. Several verses in chapter 5 drive home that you can feel secure.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

1 John 5:1, 13, 14, 18 ESV

When you are confident in Jesus, you believe He will listen to you when you pray. If you are born of God then:

  1. You won’t keep on sinning.
  2. God will protect you (and keep you from continuing to sin).
  3. The evil one can’t snatch you away from God’s hand (John 10:28-29).

Joy Results When You Feel Secure

John, even earlier in Chapter 1, provides a formula for having complete joy: to have fellowship with the Father and the Son. Jesus is the life made manifest, the eternal life. To know Jesus is to secure life for all eternity (John 17:3).

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:1-4 ESV

Abiding Keeps You Secure

1 John 3:6 makes it clear that those who keep on sinning (with a hardness of heart and without repenting) never had salvation. If you have any doubts also consider verses 5:1 and 5:13.

No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

1 John 3:6 ESV

The entrance into the Christian life is all or nothing. Only believers will be with Christ forever. This will keep some people out of the kingdom of God. However, it also means that once you are in, you will remain in, because God is the one who has the power to keep you secure.

If there is a way to lose salvation, the only way would be not believing and trusting in Jesus Christ. God promises you eternal life as long as you keep in your heart the gospel message which you heard when you became a Christian (see 1 John 2:24-25). This should be the very thing we as believers are eager to do.

Read more about eternal security.
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Holy Spirit Guarantees Your Inheritance

Holy Spirit Guarantees Your Inheritance

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Reading time: 3 minutes

God desires that you feel secure with Him. He accomplishes this through His Holy Spirit, given to you when you are born spiritually. Once you are saved, He accepts responsibility for you and is able to keep you from falling away (Jude 1:24).

Holy Spirit Seals You

God gives the believer His Holy Spirit. As soon as you believe, God seals you with His Holy Spirit so you can feel secure. You become a genuine believer by hearing the word of truth, which is the gospel, and believing the truth.

God personally guarantees your inheritance until you receive it. If God is the guarantor, there be no doubt that He will keep His promise. God is the giver of good gifts. He is not one to revoke His gift (James 1:17, Matthew 7:7-11). This makes sense, doesn’t it? God is not someone who plays games with us. Once He chooses and calls you, He doesn’t change His mind (Romans 11:29).

A genuine believer can know he or she is eternally secure because of Ephesians 1:14.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

—Ephesians 1:11-14

Holy Spirit Intercedes for You

God is master and we are His followers. As a follower, you don’t need to know as much as God knows. You can’t know as much as God.

Since you are weaker than God, this places you in a position of dependence. Believers relate to God through faith and trust.

You don’t always know what needs to happen or what you should pray for. God makes up the difference by intervening in the best way possible. He knows us completely. Therefore, He cannot miss a necessary detail. He has life figured out. He has you covered.

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people.

Romans 8:26-27 CEV

Holy Spirit Guides You

When people are blind, they especially need someone to direct their steps. Chances are, you are not blind, but even so, you cannot see everything.

Since you see less clearly than God, you must depend upon Him. You must walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This means moving forward in confidence that God is on your side, God is protecting you, and God is preserving you.

In the physical world, salt is a preservative. In the spiritual realm, truth is a preservative. Without the truth, you decay and die. The truth strengthens your resolve to face all that you must endure in this life.

The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen.

John 16:13 CEV

Consider all these words and may the peace of God rest upon you now and forever.

This post is part of a series on eternal security. You can read the introductory post: eternal security means full assurance of salvation.
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Eternal Security Means Full Assurance Of Salvation

Eternal Security Means Full Assurance Of Salvation

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Reading time: 3 minutes

All born-again Christians have eternal security: a full assurance of their salvation. Jesus guaranteed this when He paid for our sins once for all time (Hebrews 10:12).

A promise of security that is temporary or conditional wouldn’t provide assurance. But worse, it would be fraudulent. The reasons to worship or trust God would be limited. Security is an emotional need that God fulfills through His care for us. Fortunately for us, God is fully capable of meeting our need for assurance:

The name of the Lord is a strong fortress;
    the godly run to him and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10 NLT

Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.

Psalm 23:4 NLT

Psalm 23 ends with David’s conviction that he will live forever:

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever.

Psalm 23:6 NLT

Assurance is Possible Because Salvation is Freedom

When interpreting the Bible, it is important to look broadly (across many scriptures) and narrowly (in the immediate context of a verse). Also, everything written has an intended audience. The Bible has two main audiences: the Christian and the non-Christian.

The question of eternal security is a positional one. The Christian should approach the Bible as someone who is already saved and interpret every verse from this perspective. The true believer has complete freedom and no condemnation (Galatians 5:1,13; Romans 8:1). As a Christian, you can: Interpret The Bible With Your Christian Identity. The non-Christian should feel condemnation for their sin and the need for the Savior.

Can we agree on what is required to become a Christian? All of us should be able to evaluate whether or not we are saved at the present moment. If you can’t assert that you are saved right now, then that is a different problem: you then must consider if you are saved at all.

Assurance is Possible Because Salvation is a Gift

The process of gaining salvation requires putting your faith (actively believing) in Christ’s work on your behalf. You can’t provide any “work.” All that is required is your faithful belief. Salvation is a gift. Gifts are received not earned as Paul makes clear:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

If someone can lose their salvation, there must be an equally clear procedure of how that happens. I suppose someone could return the gift, but there isn’t any reason why a true believer would want to do that. Only someone who hasn’t already received the gift can refuse the gift.

Assurance is Possible Because Salvation is Rest

If you can lose salvation by not working hard enough at it, then this would make salvation a trap: it’s easy to step in, but once you’re in, you have to work increasingly harder to stay in, otherwise, you’ll be kicked out. But then is it easy or hard to get back in again? Besides being confusing, this seems to go against the Gospel message and many Bible passages that grace, not works, saves you.

Consider Jesus’s words about coming to Him for rest:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

—Matthew 11:28-30

Salvation is not gained by working harder to avoid sin. That would be self-effort to keep salvation. Jesus is saying that salvation is the process of finding rest for your soul.

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Demonstrate Faith To Complete Your Training

Demonstrate Faith To Complete Your Training

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Reading time: 3 minutes

The fourth and final step to complete your training depends upon the lessons learned in the first three steps. The first three steps build faith so you can achieve victory over significant life challenges. This post describes step 4 of 4 of the transformative journey.

Depend on God Alone to Demonstrate Faith

From steps two and three, a person learns to tell the difference between friends and enemies. To complete your training you need to learn more than that. You must also come to realize that even friends can let you down. They can and will help, but they are limited just like you.

In Star Wars, Luke wants Han Solo to help but he presses forward even when Han plans to return home when the rebels need him most. Luke listens to Obi-Wan’s prompting to “use the force” instead of relying on his ship’s computer sensors. But Luke is the one who turns off his targeting computer.

Only God gives inward peace,
    and I depend on him.
God alone is the mighty rock
    that keeps me safe,
    and he is the fortress
    where I feel secure.

Psalm 62:5-6 CEV

When have you been tempted to wait for someone (other than God) to rescue you? Even when your friends help, keep in mind that God is the only one who can bring about a victory. Count on your friends, but never stop counting on God no matter what else happens.

Confront Goliath-sized Problems to Demonstrate Faith

What good would all the trouble of the first three steps be if you didn’t put it into practice? God prepares us for bigger problems than we can handle alone. Our active faith in Him paves the way for victory.

Luke takes on the death star, against incredible odds. He stays focused on his target while relying on fate. After his victory, Obi-Wan says, “Remember, the force will be with you always.”

David certainly had to rely only on God to be able to defeat Goliath. All of his other friends were too afraid to attack him. But David attacked Goliath in the name of the Lord. “In the name” is the same as saying “by the power.”

Today the Lord will help me defeat you. I’ll knock you down and cut off your head, and I’ll feed the bodies of the other Philistine soldiers to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know that Israel has a real God. Everybody here will see that the Lord doesn’t need swords or spears to save his people. The Lord always wins his battles, and he will help us defeat you.

1 Samuel 17:46-47 CEV

Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you? Are you so discouraged that you have stopped trying to exercise your faith? You wouldn’t have a need for faith if you alone had the power to obtain the victory. Step out in faith to tackle problems bigger than yourself that you know God wants to resolve.

Mentor Others to Demonstrate Faith

As God has been faithful to you, share your faith with others. No matter how old you are, your faith will continue to grow as you put it into practice. You can testify about God at any age, but those who have walked with the Lord longer will have a stronger story to tell.

Now that I am old and gray,
    do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
    your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

Psalm 71:18 NLT

Take some time to remember all the ways God has been faithful to you. Don’t stop remembering until you can conclude that God has been faithful to you. This doesn’t mean you have never had trouble or heartache. It only means that you didn’t lose the sense of God’s goodness along the way.

A strong faith believes in God even when circumstances are challenging.

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Learn To Trust To Complete Your Training

Learn To Trust To Complete Your Training

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Reading time: 4 minutes

Trust is an essential skill for many aspects of life. It’s the foundation of every relationship you have. You need relationships to move forward in life. This post describes step 3 of 4 of the transformative journey.

Learn To Trust: Be Vulnerable in Relationships

You can’t accomplish anything apart from God. And, since God uses other people, you probably need them too. Trusting involves risk, but it also results in vulnerability which is required if you want to grow more emotionally healthy. It’s easy to trust when no suffering is involved. But God wants us to wait patiently for Him during our suffering.

The Lord’s people may suffer a lot,
but he will always bring them safely through.

Psalm 34:19 CEV

In Star Wars, when Luke attempts to rescue Princess Leia, he ends up trapped in a room-sized trash compactor. When a creature in the compactor strangles him and pulls him underwater, and yet again when the compactor starts shrinking, he must rely not only on his friends Han Solo and Princess Leia but also his droids C3PO and R2D2.

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1 NIV

When have you had no choice but to trust others when you’ve been at the bottom of your pit?

Learn To Trust: Replace Lies with Truth

In the midst of suffering, God would have us both accept the suffering and yet confront the lies that the suffering makes possible. When faced with the hopelessness of the moment, hope in God’s decisive, but future, victory is the only way to endure the pain.

Luke escapes the compactor only to see his mentor Obi-Wan struck down by Darth Vader. At that point, he lacks the understanding that something better is coming. But before Obi-Wan dies, he tells Vader, “You can’t win. If you strike me down I will become more powerful than you can imagine.” I imagine that’s what Jesus could have said to the devil.

Obi-Wan’s sacrifice is Luke’s gain because he can speak directly to Luke through the force. I know the force is fiction and impersonal, but it’s hard not to think of the parallels to the Holy Spirit after Jesus’s sacrifice. Obi-Wan guides Luke similarly to how the Holy Spirit guides Christians into truth.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

Psalm 40:2 NIV

What lies are you believing about God or yourself that keep you in a pit? When have you experienced God removing sin, cleaning you, and blessing you with the truth so your footing is firm?

Learn To Trust: Accept a Positive Interpretation of Your Life

When you experience God the Holy Spirit within you, you have no choice but to see who you are from a positive perspective. You can rejoice that God’s sacrifice sets you free to contend with evil. Life can be hard, but victory is not only possible, it’s guaranteed.

After Luke feels the sting of Obi-Wan’s death, he resolves to continue to fight against evil. His confidence increases as he realizes he has the skills needed to contend with evil. “It’s not impossible,” Luke says as the rebels discuss the death star attack plan. Later he agrees with an old friend that, “they will never stop us.”

He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.

Psalm 40:3 NIV

When have you had a goal so big that you have no choice but to trust God for a positive outcome?

God is worthy of trust no matter the degree of difficulty you face in this life. There are plenty of “false gods” to choose instead of God, but these will only keep you in a pit.

Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.

Psalm 40:4 NIV

What false gods do you need to put out of your life so you can accept the amazing plans God has for you?

Read more about developing trust.
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Is Your Fear Healthy?

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Reading time: 2 minutes

Halloween can be a fun time of dressing up and eating your favorite form of sugar. But for the careless, it can be an invitation to journey further along a dark path, unaware of the real danger ahead. It’s possible to be so ignorant or hateful of what is good, that looking upon evil with fascination is preferred.

You nearly scared me to death! We say this after becoming connected with our deepest fears when we didn’t have the time to analyze what was really taking place. Our bodies act defensively before we understand the threat is relatively harmless.

Whatever we’re focused on is where we’re heading. If we’re obsessed with fear, how will that ever end well? Excessive fascination with anything other than God is, essentially, an addiction.

I don’t blame anyone. We’re all looking for a way out of suffering. In our desperation though, let’s look to what will bring life.

Have you ever been “scared to life”? It’s an opposite reaction to a fascination with evil. One day you realize your focus is leading you over a cliff and you finally feel appropriately scared. You want to turn around and run the other direction.

That’s awesome! But if you run recklessly in another direction, you’ll eventually come to another cliff.

Healthy Fear is a Respect for Reality

A healthy fear of a deadly weapon, such as a gun, keeps you alive. With a lack of fear, or with a hysterical fear, you might end up losing a life.

Healthy fear has nothing to do with anxiety or worrying. A healthy fear recognizes that God is in control and dependence upon Him is the only way to stay alive.

Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 10:28 NLT

If you know of anyone who is fascinated with fear, Pergamum might help save their soul.

Pergamum is a haunted trail in Southwest Ohio “Where the dead, come to Life!” “The goal of Pergamum is to use the Halloween holiday to bring people to the realization that there is life after death. At the end of Pergamum, every visitor will be given the life-changing message of Jesus Christ and the opportunity to choose life over death.”

Image by Andreas Lischka from Pixabay