Are Christians Eternally Secure?
Many Christians are not certain they will enjoy eternal life when they die. Some doubt because they have neglected to study God’s Word and maintain their spiritual walks with Christ. Others believe they haven’t lived righteously enough, perhaps due to hidden sin. Age and illness have left some confused and unable to think correctly, and still others are taught that Christians can lose their salvation.
A person is not a Christian because he or she was born into a Christian family, baptized at birth, raised as a Christian, attended a Christian school, or made a profession of faith during a church service. Scripture unequivocally teaches that all who place their faith and trust in Christ alone are born again and become new creations in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). Salvation is God’s gift of grace to everyone who truly trusts Christ as Savior (Jn. 3:16; Eph. 2:8–9).
Believers are “preserved in Jesus Christ” (Jude 1). The word preserved (Greek, tetērēmenois) is a perfect participle in the Greek text, signifying a past action. Thus, believers are preserved from the moment they receive Christ and are kept as eternal possessions of Christ by God’s power, not their own (1 Pet. 1:5). If Christians could lose their salvation, then salvation would depend on them, not on God. Christians are secure in their salvation because of God’s power to secure them.
Jesus said believers “shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of [His] hand” (Jn. 10:28). The word never (Greek, ou me) forms a double negative, meaning under no condition will believers die eternally or lose their salvation.
Jesus keeps all whom the Father has given Him, and He will lose “none of them . . . except the son of perdition” (17:12). If people could lose their salvation, Jesus’ words would be false and cast doubt on His other teachings concerning salvation.
God the Father seals believers “with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13) when they receive Christ. Sealing is a once-and-for-all, irreversible action. It authenticates the validity of their salvation (v. 13); identifies them as God’s possessions (Rev. 7:3); and guarantees their eternal security until the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30), when their bodies will be glorified, completing the redemption process. Should you doubt your salvation, you can become certain by acknowledging your sin and asking Jesus Christ to be your Savior today.
