Are You Convinced?

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
                                                                    Romans 8:38-39




Living in the south provides an interesting perspective of faith and eternity. Most people would state that they are believers and many people follow this up by regular church attendance and prayers before meals. The interesting aspect of this, though, is that most have been inoculated. That is, we have been given a small enough dose of Jesus that we think we are fine spiritually and that precludes us from having a full on relationship with Christ and becoming a true follower of Him alone.

Most are pretty sure that they have been saved and that, at the end of this life, they will be going to heaven. We mentally assent to accepting Christ as our Savior and try to live a good or decent life, believing all the while that we are okay spiritually. Some even think that by their good works or deeds that we will somehow gain access to heaven. The problem with this theory is that it does not line up scripturally with what God has told us about salvation. The truth is that salvation all begins and ends with God and His ability to keep us, and not about what we can do to somehow obtain or manage our own.

It is when we come to really know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior and we are brought into relationship with Him that begins the guarantee of our eternal security. Jude 24 states, "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy." This means that true believers are "kept" by God and can be assured that they are going to heaven when we are yielded to Him and "keep ourselves in the love of God" (Jude 21).

Jesus says, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My Hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all and no one can snatch them out of My Father's hands" (John 10:28-29). God has us in His hands. Jesus has us in His hands. Who in this world could ever remove us from them both?

Then, the Holy Spirit seals us. Ephesians tells us that believers are "sealed for the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:30). John tells us that whoever believes in Jesus will have "eternal life" (John 3:15-16). If we are sealed and have eternal life then we do actually have eternal security, otherwise it could never be called eternal.

There are indicators of our salvation that the book of 1 John clearly delineates for us.  John tells us, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13). Paul reiterates this point when he says, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-- unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).

In our sermon this week, Pastor Brady Cooper outlined the test of salvation. He asked 4 simple questions. They are as follows:
                                               1. Have you made a clear confession of faith?
                                               2. Are you growing in obedience?
                                               3. Are you growing in love for others?
                                               4. Are you aware of the Holy Spirit alive within you?

He went on to explain that a clear confession of faith encompasses accepting and acknowledging Jesus as Lord (1 John 2:23), confessing Jesus before men (Mathew 10:32), declaring with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and "believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead" (Romans 10:9), loving God the Father and Jesus who was born of Him (1 John 5:1), recognize that we are saved by grace through faith and that it is a gift of God and then doing the good works that God prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10). A saving faith is one that trusts Christ alone for our salvation. Brady said, "Grace is God's hand reaching down from heaven and faith is our hand reaching up to heaven."

Recognize that there is a difference between doubt and unbelief. There can be times when we doubt our salvation, but we have to remind ourselves of what God's Word says. Unbelief is when we do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God or we do not believe all that He has accomplished on our behalf. Doubt is transient whereas unbelief may not be.

Growing in obedience is essential to our spiritual growth. If we sin, we must keep a very short list with God and repent. This not only includes actions, but thoughts and attitudes as well. Intentional or willful sin is not the behavior of one who is in Christ. John says, "All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that He appeared so that He might take away our sins. And in Him is no sin. No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him" (1 John 3:3-6).

A change of heart will lead to a changed life. None of us are perfect and we will journey through a sanctification process, but it is God that empowers us to do so. Our good works are not a condition of our salvation; they are a consequence of it.

Growing in love for others is also part of our journey. We cannot be a follower of Christ and hate others (1 John 2:9-11), we love others because God first loves us (1 John 4:19), we pass from death to life because we love each other (1 John 3:14-15), and we are all one in Christ so there should be no prejudice or divisions (Galatians 3:28). The cross not only unites us to god, but it also unites us to others, especially for the mission of God.

Being aware of the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us is also very important.The Holy Spirit works in our hearts, convicts us of sin, counsels us, helps us, teaches us, guides us, gives us spiritual gifts, enables us to walk in the fruit of the Spirit, empowers us, gives glory to Jesus, and dwells with us.His role is vital in helping us keep God's commands (1 John 3:24) and in helping us know with certainty that we are in Christ (1 John 4:13).

So, the question is, did you pass the test? Are you convinced of your eternal security? If you die today, are you positive of your destination? If you have any doubts whatsoever, would you please pray the following prayer and then tell someone of your decision? There could be no better way to start 2019 then in knowing you definitely have eternal security. Jesus died so that we could know for sure!


Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your goodness, kindness, and mercy. I confess to you that I am a sinner in need of a Savior and Lord. Thank you for pursuing me and allowing me to have the security and assurance of my salvation. I believe that Jesus is Your Son, the Living Christ that died and was resurrected on the third day for my sins. I receive your generous gift of salvation and am ready to trust You both as my Lord and Savior. Thank you for taking my sins away and giving me the gift of eternal salvation. I recognize that I am not worthy, but acknowledge that you paid the price in full for all my sins. Please help me to start doing things Your way and fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Help me to trust You, and love You, and to live my life for You. Help me to understand Your grace, and mercy, and love to its fullest. Seal me until your day of redemption and help me to continually grow in You. It is by the blood of Jesus and in His precious Name that I pray. Amen!