Eternal Life = Eternal Security = Born again.

[Behold]

-
Jesus will never leave you. He promised.
Where you go, He goes, .. because He is in you.

Which explains WHY "Christ in you IS YOUR HOPE OF GLORY".....
And "hope of glory" means, you are going to heaven, expect this, look for this, and be happy about it. (HOPE).
"Glory" is eternity with God with Christ.. Its everything that you will encounter after you are either Raptured or you die. And its all GOOD, and so good is it, that it has not even entered into your imagination, what God has prepared for those who love Him who are justified by Christ's blood. = Born again.

As i was driving to the Gym one morning, i was thinking about teaching the simplicity of salvation, as this is not always taught in a way that allows it to be seen in its simplicity.
Now, ive taught the Grace of God all over the world, to people of many different cultures.... French, Asian, Russian, Muslim......etc.. And so, i learned that for Salvation to be understood as Jesus would want, for the benefit of the hearer, i need to be very clear.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So here is a clear understanding of becoming saved..
Lets say, You are not saved. This means you are not joined to God and His Family and to Christ by Spiritual BIRTH The barrier between you and God is your Sin.
Your sin has made you UNRIGHTEOUS..... So, Salvation is God's method of making you Righteous. Thats it. Thats all it is... See, You have no righteousness... and so you can't be joined to a Righteous God, whose name is HOLY.
So, you have an eternal problem. How do you get the (God's) righteousness that you need so that you can become a part of God's righteous eternal family? And this is where all ideas and false theology and "religion" bite the dust and die. = See there is nothing you can do, of yourself, to become righteous or STAY righteous. You can't of yourself provide or do either. God knows this, so, He provided His very own Righteousness for you, as "the gift of Salvation", "the gift of Righteousness".
The main difference between an unbeliever and a believer is that the believer has been given God's righteousness, as a gift and is born AGAIN.

God righteousness given to a person, functions as a completed righteousness.
Its all of it given to you, at once, and its sealed unto you, into you, and on you, until your day of redemption. (When you meet Jesus).
God's righteousness Is Jesus on The Cross saying , "it is finished", and proving this is TRUTH by walking out of His Tomb....ALIVE.

All of this is defined by and as, GRACE. Grace, God's Grace, defines all of it. God's Grace is Jesus. God's Grace is GOD making you Righteous. And the Righteousness He Gives you, comes from Jesus... who IS your Righteousness.
On the Cross, Jesus became your sin and DIED, and upon being Born again, you become the Righteousness of GOD and LIVE as a Born again Child of God.

Jesus is your Righteousness. So, If you are born again, then you have Jesus's Righteousness in place of your unrighteousness.
Being "in Christ" means you are BECOME the Righteousness of Christ. This happened because God MADE YOU RIGHTEOUS when you FIRST BELIEVED and were Born Again.. And in fact, you are exactly the same Righteousness as Christ, right now, and forever, if you are born again.

Being SAVED, means you have Jesus in your heart, and in your Body. Being Saved is to become in Spiritual UNION with God's Holy Spirit. "ONE" with God and Christ.= Born again.

Jesus said He will never leave you.. Being Redeemed means you have Jesus's Righteousness, in place of your unrighteousness. God dying as Jesus on the Cross is how God accomplished this for you. Jesus's sacrifice of Himself for you on the Cross, is how His Righteousness is given.... God then takes this Righteousness and offers it as = "For God so loved the world, that He GAVE"..... And everyone who will call on the Name of Jesus, believing in their heart the Gospel, ... God sees each heart that does this, accepts this faith AS Righteousness, and He then takes The very righteousness of Himself, which is Christ's righteousness, and (imputes) GIVES IT TO YOU, and it becomes you. You as the "new creation in Christ" is you becoming God's very righteousness. Born again INTO IT and IT BECOMING YOU as the "New Creation".. "Christ in you", is what causes this, and you being "in Christ" is the eternal result.

And then it gets even better. Thats right, it gets even better. .....

First lets look at some words that actually mean "Grace", which actually mean "Jesus". First...Understand that Jesus is Grace. God's Grace IS Jesus...
Jesus is Salvation.
Jesus is Righteousness.
Jesus is the Blood Atonement.
Jesus is Redemption...
Jesus is Eternal Life So, if you have Him inside you, if you are born again, then you have all those inside you, also. = Hallelujah !! .... And because Jesus said He will NEVER LEAVE YOU, then all of those concepts, that are your "Christ in you" reality..... are also never going to leave you. Not ever.

Simplified ?? = Because Jesus will never leave you, then Redemption, Eternal Life, The Blood Atonement, Justification, Sanctification, also will NEVER LEAVE YOU.

So, do you see how God's Grace just keeps getting better and better? All of that is in you, because Jesus, who will never leave you, is in you.

-------------------------------------------------

And here is the icing. Here is the pièce de résistance........ Philippians 1:6

""""Being confident of this very thing, that God which hath begun your Salvation in you will Himself perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ""

Saint......Notice this verse carefully, as its a Gold Mine found in a universe of Glorious Hallelujah's .

This verse is one of the greatest verses in the bible, maybe the greatest verse in the New Testament, outside of "God is Love and For God so loved that He gave, Jesus."

This verse is telling you something, very very very important. Seal it in your heart. Deeply.
Its telling you, that you can have Confidence in the reality, and the truth, regarding the FACT that God HIMSELF who started your Salvation, (made you Righteous) is Himself Going to Complete it for you..."FAITHFULLY".. until you meet Jesus.

So what is the simple understanding of this verse? It means that God's salvation, that is given to YOU as a Gift, is all in His hands to complete for you, and He promises He will.
It means that YOU DONT COMPLETE IT....... He DOES !!

What you do, is try to please God with your life, that is your Discipleship, but that is not your Salvation. Your salvation is for God to complete, after Christ has become "Christ in you".

Do you want the Koine Greek, and the Ghetto version, understanding? Do you want it right across the plate so that you can give it your best swing?
Saint, this verse means, that God created HIS Salvation, that you dont control. A Grace, that you dont maintain. A Redemption that you dont supervise. Its simply means that God created His righteous merciful GRACE that saved you, so that you can't mess it up after you are Born Again.

And that is why you can't lose your salvation. Its because God who started it, is the Same God who will FAITHFULLY finish it FOR YOU.

Not you. Him.

Philippians 1:6

This verse is simply teaching that The God who saved you, will Himself, keep you saved..... And as the verse tells you, you are to have CONFIDENCE IN GOD to do it.

 

[Behold]

Let this verse be one you memorize.

Philippians 1:6

God who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God who began your salvation in you will Himself be faithful to complete it

 

[Randy Kluth]

-
So here is a clear understanding of becoming saved..
Lets say, You are not saved. This means you are not joined to God and His Family and to Christ by Spiritual BIRTH The barrier between you and God is your Sin.
Your sin has made you UNRIGHTEOUS..... So, Salvation is God's method of making you Righteous. Thats it. Thats all it is... See, You have no righteousness... and so you can't be joined to a Righteous God, whose name is HOLY.
So, you have an eternal problem. How do you get the (God's) righteousness that you need so that you can become a part of God's righteous eternal family? And this is where all ideas and false theology and "religion" bite the dust and die. = See there is nothing you can do, of yourself, to become righteous or STAY righteous. You can't of yourself provide or do either. God knows this, so, He provided His very own Righteousness for you, as "the gift of Salvation", "the gift of Righteousness".
The main difference between an unbeliever and a believer is that the believer has been given God's righteousness, as a gift and is born AGAIN.

I'm just going to deal with this much. 1st, let me say that you've included in your Salvation Formula a very important truth, that the source of righteousness is in God. But I must say that all righteousness, whether practiced by believers or unbelievers, originates from God. Unbelievers, however, walk back and forth between doing right and doing evil. And this is not so much "righteousness."

2nd, you emphasize the New Nature, in which God's righteousness is planted within our heart. I very much agree with this. Unless our righteousness becomes a part of our nature, and not just isolated incidences of doing good, we will not know God and will not be saved. Righteousness is a *relationship with God.* And that relationship is only possible if we have a new nature that is, by nature, righteous. In this way we can live in constant relationship with God, and can constantly receive of His righteousness.

3rd, I would emphasize that our righteousness is a regular fellowship with God. Unless we live in relationship with God, accepting His lordship, we will be diverted from our righteous nature, and capitulate to our lower, carnal nature. To receive righteousness is one thing, to receive a new nature is another, but we also must know that keeping our new nature intact we must recognize that it is based on a our relationship to God as our Lord. We can choose to capitulate to our carnal nature and sin. But in keeping our eyes on the Lord, we can overcome our sin nature.

We agree on most, if not all of this. Thanks!

 

[justbyfaith]

Two things about the OP:

1) Righteousness that is given has a practical aspect to it (1 John 3:7, Romans 5:19, Matthew 5:6); it is practical in its very nature.

2) There is a faith that does not result in everlasting life (Luke 8:13)...a nominal, lukewarm, or shallow faith.

Faith that is unto everlasting life (John 6:47) is a heart faith that is unto righteousness (Romans 10:10) and enduring to the end (Matthew 10:22, Hebrews 3:6, Hebrews 3:14).

 

[theophilus]

There is one thing you need to be careful about in teaching eternal security. As stated in the OP, anyone who is save is eternally secure. But there are some who think they are saved when they are not. Generally they are people who have made a profession of faith which wasn't real. They look back at that profession and think they are saved. If a person like this is taught eternal security this false belief that the is saved can lead him to stop worrying about his eternal destiny and can in fact be a barrier to his really believing the message of salvation.

Everyone who is genuinely saved should also know that he is secure but it is a tragedy for someone who isn't really saved to think he is secure.

 

[Behold]

I'm just going to deal with this much. 1st, let me say that you've included in your Salvation Formula a very important truth, that the source of righteousness is in God. But I must say that all righteousness, whether practiced by believers or unbelievers, originates from God.

Randy,
"there are none righteous, no not one....all are fallen short of the GLory of God, all are filthy rags"
You said that an unbeliever can be righteous, and that is impossible.
None are righteous... all are sinners, lost, damned, hell bound, until they are born again.

He is there reality for all unbelievers, John 3:36. They are all UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD while they are BREATHING.
They are completely damned and hell bound, even before they die.....>None are righteous.....not any unbeliever.
To be born again is to become the Righteousness of God.
Otherwise, you're damned to hell, waiting to meet God as Judge for final judgement.
Jesus said "you must be born again"... otherwise you are as damned as the devil and his angels.

 

[Behold]

There is one thing you need to be careful about in teaching eternal security. As stated in the OP, anyone who is save is eternally secure. But there are some who think they are saved when they are not. Generally they are people who have made a profession of faith which wasn't real. They look back at that profession and think they are saved. If a person like this is taught eternal security this false belief that the is saved can lead him to stop worrying about his eternal destiny and can in fact be a barrier to his really believing the message of salvation.

Everyone who is genuinely saved should also know that he is secure but it is a tragedy for someone who isn't really saved to think he is secure.

Its unlikely that anyone who does not understand their salvation, will believe they are eternally secure.

I say now "all".... yet with exceptions... as there is always an exception, but this does not prove the rule.
So, when i say "all Charismatics" believe you can lose their salvation, means they are not eternally secure in their FAITH in Christ.
This is all the Assembly of God and similar denominations.....such as Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, and all the Pentecostal members.
All the Catholics have no eternal security, and most of them are not saved, and believe that Water is salvation (Baptism, confirmation), and pray to Mary.
The Methodist denominations teach that you can lose your salvation....= they have no Eternal Security.
I could list a long list of denominations that all TEACH that "you can lose your salvation"... as this heresy has infected most of them. Some of them are established on this heresy.

See you can't have any Eternal Security if you've bought the devil's lie that you have to keep yourself saved.
And if you are that person, you are a sinning and confessing mess.
You have some adjustment in your BELIEVING before you can stop sinning....and this can happen, but when you consider that you are so deeply indoctrinated by lies and liars.......Your church, your friends, your family members.....they all believe you can "lose it"....so, for you to come out from all that wrong influence, ... you would have to be someone that really wants Jesus and wants to be FREE and refuses to believe lies.
Not too many can be that person, as it takes a backbone to get yourself away from all that is wrong in your faith and in your life.

Think of it like this..... you are in a denomination all your life. You mama is there, you friends, your children, and one day, you realize that "Jesus who saved you, is going to keep you SAVED", and you dont have to worry about this anymore.
THEN, you look around and everyone in your church is a heretic........because they all believe they can lose their salvation and they all teach it. Its taught from the PULPIT..
What do you do then? ????
So, when LIGHT comes, it's can be HARSH..., as you might have to let go of all you hold dear that has been ruining your faith, all your life.
This is where you find out if you Love Jesus or if you just want to have your own way, and stay in the theoligical ditch.

 

[Randy Kluth]

Randy,
"there are none righteous, no not one....all are fallen short of the GLory of God, all are filthy rags"
You said that an unbeliever can be righteous, and that is impossible.
None are righteous... all are sinners, lost, damned, hell bound, until they are born again.

I often hear this quoted in knee-jerk fashion whenever a Christian wishes to prove to "the world" that they are sinners in need of salvation. But often it accomplishes the opposite effect, because it is naturally offensive to say someone's good works are like "dirty menstrual cloths" when in reality those works may have real virtue.

Anything men do, saved or otherwise, that is actually good is a result of following God's word, whether conscious of it or not. All virtue comes from God, whether a person is saved or not. People in fact do good works even before they are saved. Consider Cornelius, in the book of Acts, an example of this.

We all agree that being eternally saved is more important than just accomplishing a few good works. But we're not going to get them saved if we accuse them of covering up their good works with "filthy rags." Isaiah used this term only for Israel when they were using religious rituals and good deeds to cover up outrageous acts of sin. In Jesus' day, the Pharisees were doing the same--covering up their evil intentions with religiosity.

So Paul was proving the universality of the sin nature not by saying all cover up their evil with good works, but rather, to show that if even Israel--the people of God--did despicable sins beneath the surface, then how can pagan nations be considered any more clean? It was an argument not that every individual is despicable but that at a certain time in Israel's history, virtually every individual ended up despicable. It was an argument that if even a nation called by God to be godly could end up universally wicked, how then can any pagan nation ever claim to be better?

He is there reality for all unbelievers, John 3:36. They are all UNDER THE WRATH OF GOD while they are BREATHING.
They are completely damned and hell bound, even before they die.....>None are righteous.....not any unbeliever.
To be born again is to become the Righteousness of God.
Otherwise, you're damned to hell, waiting to meet God as Judge for final judgement.
Jesus said "you must be born again"... otherwise you are as damned as the devil and his angels.

"Damned to Hell" simply means that one has become ineligible for eternal fellowship with the holy God. That can be fixed. But the cost was very high for God. The punishment, as well, has been very expensive for mankind.

The important thing is that we come out from under the punishment God has visited upon mankind. We've never stopped being loved by God. We've not ever stopped having redeeming values that God created us with. We're not despicable monsters because God's virtues have remained with us, even in our sins.

The important thing is to realize that God had always planned a way out of our mess. He certainly never planned on leaving all of mankind in Hell. Only those who reject His offer of salvation will end up in the Lake of Fire, having salvation forever removed from them.

 

[Behold]

I often hear this quoted in knee-jerk fashion whenever a Christian wishes to prove to "the world" that they are sinners in need of salvation.

'
Randy,

When i talk to someone about God, regarding their unbelief, i dont beat them with a bible.
They are already beaten down enough by guilt, and sin, and the world, and parents, and life, and failures, and regret.
The Gospel, is GOOD NEWS.....so, it should be presented as HELP and not as accusation.

Here is what i can tell you about all people.
Everybody hurts, and everybody wants to be loved and accepted and praised a bit.
Talking to someone who is lost, is to talk to someone who needs love and hope.
God is both, and when they can SEE this,....as 100% of unbelievers feel that God is angry at them, and is out to get them...
So, when we help them see the GOD of LOVE, that the CROSS is LOVE for them.......its a "welcome home" sign, Randy.
Its a "come home"...sign.......its a "you are always welcome" sign..
Love never fails..
Every unbeliever wants God's love, but they dont understand how to get it... as its again a believing issue.
God wants us to show them God's love and invite them HOME.
We help them to believe regarding the right understanding of God's love for them, and they will want this...every-time.
Sometimes, not right then, but later.......they will.

Saint.... here is something to remember.
We are not responsible for someone's salvation.. That is GOD's responsibility.
God is the Savior, we are THE message bringer..
Our part, is to be a Light, and a spiritual seed planter, and "the right word at the right time".
Our job is to be available and dependable, so that God can, through us, do HIS Work.

 

[justbyfaith]

But often it accomplishes the opposite effect, because it is naturally offensive to say someone's good works are like "dirty menstrual cloths" when in reality those works may have real virtue.

There is an offence in the Cross (Galatians 5:11) and God often uses this offence to get His work of salvation done.

But we're not going to get them saved if we accuse them of covering up their good works with "filthy rags."

It will indeed get them saved. Because they know that even the good that they do is tainted by sin. So their good works *are* filthy rags.

It was an argument not that every individual is despicable but that at a certain time in Israel's history, virtually every individual ended up despicable.

No; because the word of the Lord is timeless (2 Timothy 3:16).

We've not ever stopped having redeeming values that God created us with. We're not despicable monsters because God's virtues have remained with us, even in our sins.

The unregenerated heart is defined for us in Jeremiah 17:9.

 

[justbyfaith]

Its unlikely that anyone who does not understand their salvation, will believe they are eternally secure.

I say now "all".... yet with exceptions... as there is always an exception, but this does not prove the rule.
So, when i say "all Charismatics" believe you can lose their salvation, means they are not eternally secure in their FAITH in Christ.
This is all the Assembly of God and similar denominations.....such as Church of Christ, Church of the Nazarene, and all the Pentecostal members.
All the Catholics have no eternal security, and most of them are not saved, and believe that Water is salvation (Baptism, confirmation), and pray to Mary.
The Methodist denominations teach that you can lose your salvation....= they have no Eternal Security.
I could list a long list of denominations that all TEACH that "you can lose your salvation"... as this heresy has infected most of them. Some of them are established on this heresy.

See you can't have any Eternal Security if you've bought the devil's lie that you have to keep yourself saved.
And if you are that person, you are a sinning and confessing mess.
You have some adjustment in your BELIEVING before you can stop sinning....and this can happen, but when you consider that you are so deeply indoctrinated by lies and liars.......Your church, your friends, your family members.....they all believe you can "lose it"....so, for you to come out from all that wrong influence, ... you would have to be someone that really wants Jesus and wants to be FREE and refuses to believe lies.
Not too many can be that person, as it takes a backbone to get yourself away from all that is wrong in your faith and in your life.

Think of it like this..... you are in a denomination all your life. You mama is there, you friends, your children, and one day, you realize that "Jesus who saved you, is going to keep you SAVED", and you dont have to worry about this anymore.
THEN, you look around and everyone in your church is a heretic........because they all believe they can lose their salvation and they all teach it. Its taught from the PULPIT..
What do you do then? ????
So, when LIGHT comes, it's can be HARSH..., as you might have to let go of all you hold dear that has been ruining your faith, all your life.
This is where you find out if you Love Jesus or if you just want to have your own way, and stay in the theoligical ditch.

We have pointed out that there are those who do not have a genuine faith who think that they are in fact saved; and that OSAS doctrine can be detrimental to them.

If you are truly born of God (1 John 3:9) and abiding in Him (1 John 3:6) for ever (1 John 2:17), then you have eternal security.

But it is not OSAS apart from receiving the holiness of God on a permanent basis.

Perseverance of the Saints, is what I believe in...in this, we must persevere as saints...and the Lord will also keep us if we are saints. That word "saints" is an interesting term. It means "holy ones".

 

[theophilus]

Its unlikely that anyone who does not understand their salvation, will believe they are eternally secure.

I have met people who believe they are eternally secure because they don't understand salvation. At some point in their life they have made a profession of faith and are convinced they are eternally saved because of it. I have even heard of preachers who tell the convert that if they ever doubt their salvation they simply need to remind themselves of the time they made that profession. It is possible to make a profession of faith without really being saved and if the one who does this is taught that their profession makes them eternally secure they will believe it. When teaching about eternal security you need to make sure the person you are teaching is really saved or you will be doing harm.

 

[Behold]

I have met people who believe they are eternally secure because they don't understand salvation. At some point in their life they have made a profession of faith and are convinced they are eternally saved because of it. I have even heard of preachers who tell the convert that if they ever doubt their salvation they simply need to remind themselves of the time they made that profession. It is possible to make a profession of faith without really being saved and if the one who does this is taught that their profession makes them eternally secure they will believe it. When teaching about eternal security you need to make sure the person you are teaching is really saved or you will be doing harm.

Yes absolutely.
Catholics are doing it all the time.
its this....>"ok, to join us you have to agree to say this, ...ready...." and you have to believe that we are the one true cult.
and they agree.
Salvation is not found in that situation.
Salvation is YOU and GOD and YOUR SIN and your FAITH......All this being involved.
its a person dealing "one on one" with God and the Cross and The Christ.

Eternal Security comes from having Eternal Life IN YOU.
Eternal life is Jesus Himself.
The proof of Salvation is only found by being born again.
Jesus said.>"you must be born again" to be in His Family.

 

[Randy Kluth]

There is an offence in the Cross (Galatians 5:11) and God often uses this offence to get His work of salvation done.

Yes, the Cross offends because it destroys the pride of the flesh. Salvation comes by a New Nature given by Christ. It cannot be accomplished by self-effort alone. But to falsely claim someone hasn't done anything good when they have is just bad "witnessing."

It will indeed get them saved. Because they know that even the good that they do is tainted by sin. So their good works *are* filthy rags.

Insulting someone and slandering them will turn them off. Convicting them that they need *more* than good works will encourage them to want more than isolated or intermittent good works--they can have a New Nature that wants to do good works all the time!

 

[justbyfaith]

But to falsely claim someone hasn't done anything good when they have is just bad "witnessing."

They have done good...it's just that the good they have done stinks like filthy rags in the sight of the Lord.

It is tainted by sin....filthy.

 

[justbyfaith]

You seem to want to get them into the kingdom by flattery...that is not going to work.

People must understand that they are sick before they will accept the remedy to their disease.

'nuff said!

 

[Randy Kluth]

They have done good...it's just that the good they have done stinks like filthy rags in the sight of the Lord.

It is tainted by sin....filthy.

Why didn't God treat Cornelius like this before he got saved? You're just quoting Scriptures without knowing what they mean. "Filthy rags" refers to covering up evil works with false religious works. It doesn't refer to the good people do before they're saved.

Paul's intent in proving that even the best nations sin is that we all need a better covering than "good works," which I agree are insufficient to redeem us. We need to rely on Christ's works of atonement to not only cover the bad we do, and complete the good we do, but to also give us a new nature that is regularly covered in the blood of God's Son.

 

[justbyfaith]

It doesn't refer to the good people do before they're saved.

No one is good before they are saved (Romans 3:10-18).

 

[Randy Kluth]

The saints of God before Christian Salvation were certainly good. And many men who didn't even know about Faith have done good things. You're wrong and judgmental, taking these Scriptures out of their context. Yes, we are all riddled with sins, but we can still do good even with a sinful nature because God made us to be able to do good. But what God wants more than just us doing good is our embrace of a new nature that wants to do good all the time.

 

[Behold]

They have done good...it's just that the good they have done stinks like filthy rags in the sight of the Lord.

It is tainted by sin....filthy.

God came to earth to Give us His Righteousness.
Why? Because we dont have any of our own.
And even after we are Giving God's righteousness, our works are still the same nothing.
Our works never become Righteous....its only our born again Spirit that has become the Righteousness of God, in Christ.

Our works, are always nothing......regarding God seeing them as "righteous"..
What God looks for, is not our works, but our MOTIVE for doing them....as that is part HE SEES, not the giving, or the trying not to sin...
He looks at WHY you do what you do, as the WHY is the HEART, and God looks on the heart and not on the deed.
We look at the deeds..
Good looks at WHY are you doing it...which is your MOTIVE.
"Motive" it the real "fruit".....not the deed.