Please turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 5 as we continue our study through Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We are currently in part 4 of our study of the BENEFITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS or the blessings we have because of the righteousness of Christ that has be imputed or poured into our lives by faith!

In our previous studies we have looked at the first 6 of these 8 benefits or blessings so far. We have seen that in Christ we have PEACE WITH God, we have ACCESS TO GOD, we REJOICE IN HOPE OF THE GLORY OF GOD, we GLORY IN (NOT “FOR” TRIBULATION, we have seen how the LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT IN OUR HEARTS, and how we are SAVED FROM WRATH. Not a bad list to say the least. This is what we have in Christ!

And last week we began looking at a very controversial benefit and that is the subject of eternal security. But I don’t believe it is very controversial when you look at what the Scriptures are saying and I hope I am causing you to search the Scriptures to see if these things are true. And thus, we are taking our time going through this benefit or blessing because I believe it is very important that we understand it, that we understand what we say we believe!

Before we get to our text this morning, let me share with you this story from Our Daily Bread. It is called; “Because He Stands I Will Never Perish” and I think it speaks volumes on our security in Christ. We are told:

F. B. Meyer wrote about two Germans who wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They hired three guides and began their ascent at the steepest and most slippery part. The men roped themselves together in this order: guide, traveler, guide, traveler, guide. They had gone only a little way up the side when the last man lost his footing. He was held up temporarily by the other four, because each had a toehold in the niches they had cut in the ice. But then the next man slipped, and he pulled down the two above him. The only one to stand firm was the first guide, who had driven a spike deep into the ice. Because he held his ground, all the men beneath him regained their footing. F. B. Meyer concluded his story by drawing a spiritual application. He said, “I am like one of those men who slipped, but thank God, I am bound in a living partnership to Christ. And because He stands, I will never perish.”

- Our Daily Bread

            Amen to that! Now, with that said, let’s begin reading in Romans chapter 5, starting in verse 1 as we continue looking at this seventh benefit or blessing of righteousness that we have in Christ, ETERNAL SECURITY!

            Our focus this morning comes out of verse 10 where Paul makes the argument that the Rabbis called KAL WAHOMER or “light and heavy.” He is basically saying if the heavier or greater point is true, then the lesser point is also true. Let’s look at verse 10 once again and see Paul’s point.

VERSE 10

            In regards to eternal security, Paul makes a very powerful point here. He is saying that God saved us, that it is a greater work of God to bring sinners to grace, than to bring saints to glory and the reason is simple. It is because sin is further from grace than grace is from glory! Thus, if God saved us sinners, the greater point, then He can surely sustain our salvation, bring it to completion as we will be taken to glory with Him, the lesser point!

            Last time we began looking at the topic, “CAN A BELIEVER LOSE HIS SALVATION?” and I would like to continue to build upon that point this morning. You see, I don’t believe a believer can lose his salvation because he did nothing to obtain it in the first place except believe and receive the free gift. Jesus did the work, He began this work in us, He continues to work in us and He will finish the work that He has started in us!  Thus, let’s continue looking at this very important point this morning.

1.  CAN A BELIEVER LOSE HIS SALVATION? (CONTINUED)

            Folk’s, as I have said, I do understand this is a controversial subject, that some do believe that you can lose your salvation, that sin can cause you to fall out of the grace of God. I do not agree with that. Think about it, if sin causes the loss of our salvation, what kind of sin?  What amount of sin does it take? Obviously that would be important for us to know so we can have assurance of our salvation as the Scriptures teach us and yet, there is not one place, not one verse in the Bible that tells us!

            Look at John 10:27-30 and listen to what Jesus tells us regarding eternal security. He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.”  For those who come to Jesus and receive the free gift of life, what kind of life does Jesus give to us?  Notice what it says in verse 28, “I will give them ETERNAL LIFE.” That means it can’t be taken away if it is eternal! It can’t be lost because it is eternal!

            In fact, when Jesus says, “and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” in the Greek it is very strong. It is saying, “They shall never, no never perish.”  In other words, it is impossible for someone to lose their salvation once they have come to Christ. And not only are we in the hands of Jesus, which is very secure, but we are also in the hands of God the Father and thus, nothing can take us out, absolutely nothing!

            Also, notice what Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1:4-9, “I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

            First of all they were saved by the grace of God, unmerited favor.  Then Paul speaks of how they were sustained by the grace of God. And in the end, they will be taken up into glory by the grace of God. How did I come to that conclusion? Look at verses 8 and 9 for they tell us that God will complete the work, He will present us blameless and He is faithful to finish the work He began in us! The only way we can be blameless is if we have come to Christ because none of us are blameless apart from Him!

In I Thessalonians 5:23-24 Paul tells us, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.” Do you see that it is God who saved you, He sanctified you, and He will bring you to glory, you can take that to the bank! 

Now we do have a free will and in regards to our sanctification, we need to listen and obey as His Spirit leads us or we can ignore what the Spirit is saying to us and the result is that we will quench the Spirit’s work in our life.  Peter put it this way in I Peter 2:9-12, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.  Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”  God will complete His work in us but don’t wait till you get to heaven, let Him work in you now!

            Also, in II Timothy 4:18 Paul tells us, “And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!”  Notice, who is doing the work in Paul? The Lord is! Who will take Paul to Heaven? The Lord will! Thus, Paul receives no glory but the Lord does and that glory, that praise is forever because of all He has done for us, giving to us eternal life with Him! And that same grace that was working in Paul is working in each of us!

And I also want you to see that the work has been finished, Jesus has paid it in full. That is what Jesus said as He hung on the cross of Calvary and thus, IT IS FINISHED!  Paul, in Hebrews 10:11-14 tells us, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

Now, let me ask you this question. “How long are you perfected in Christ?”  Paul tells us forever which tells me we are secure in our salvation. Not only that, but the priests who offered the sacrifices in the temple never sat down because their work was never done. But we are told here that Jesus has sat down, why? Because the work has been finished, Jesus has completed it!

            In Hebrews 12:2 Paul once again reminds us that we are to be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

            Paul tells us here to keep our eyes upon Jesus, who is the “author” or ARCHEGOS, (ar-khay-gos’) in the Greek and it speaks of the chief leader.  In other words, Jesus pioneered the path of faith that we as Christians are to follow after!  And Jesus is not only the author of our faith, but He is the “finisher” of our faith, TELEOIOTES, (tel-i-o-tace’) in the Greek, which speaks of completing the work.

Jesus will carry our faith through to completion or as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” The Amplified Bible puts it like this, “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”

            And once again, Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, telling us that He completed the work. That is the confidence we have, that is the assurance that we have regarding our salvation. And what great comfort that should be to each and every one of us who are in Christ, saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone!

            Now, let me close this section by looking at who is involved in our salvation before we deal with the next question on eternal security. You see, I believe that the Scriptures clearly show us that the Holy Trinity; God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are involved. One God manifested in three distinct persons and once again, all are involved in our salvation!

            First of all we see that our salvation is secure in God the Father as Jesus tells us in John 17:11, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.”

            Next we see that our salvation is secure in God the Son, in Jesus as He tells us in John 17:9, “I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.”

            And lastly we see that our salvation is secure in God the Holy Spirit as Jesus tells us in John 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” Thus, the Holy Trinity is involved in our salvation from the very beginning until we are taken up into glory and all that is in between!

            We can go on but I think you get the idea of how a believer can’t lose his salvation. That this is impossible. Thus, we can have the assurance of eternal security, point number one!

2.  WHY DO I FEEL LOST AT TIMES?

            The second question or point we are going to be looking at in regards to eternal security is this. WHY DO I FEEL LOST AT TIMES?  And I am not talking about directions; I am talking about feeling like you lost your salvation! I am sure most if not all of us have experienced this from time to time, those doubts about our salvation because we did or didn’t do something. The discouragement we feel when we fail!

            Folks, Satan loves to mess with our minds. He loves to whisper into our ears that we are not good enough for God to love us. He loves to tell us we are not worthy to have God loves us. Folk’s, that is true, get over it!  You see, our salvation is not based in our goodness, our worthiness to be loved by God but His grace and mercy that He extends to us, He loves us unconditionally!

            But how can we dispel those lies that the Devil puts into our minds? It is really simple. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17a, “And take the helmet of salvation.”  Paul is speaking of this helmet of salvation, and it is part of our spiritual armor that we are to put on. In fact, this piece is to be at our disposal at all times, to be ready for the attacks of the enemy!

            In regards to what we are to do, Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-13, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  God does not give us this armor because it looks nice, it looks cool, but because we will need it to withstand the attacks of the enemy. And thus, the helmet of salvation is important to us!

            You see, the Roman soldier wore a helmet that was basically made of thick leather that was covered with metal plates.  Other types of helmets that were worn were made of heavy molded or beaten metal.  Some also had cheek plates that helped to protect the face.

            The obvious purpose of the helmet was to protect the head from being injured as the enemy swung the large double-edged, two handed broadsword called RHOMPHAIA in the Greek.  Paul is telling us that our spiritual helmet is that of salvation.  The helmet is used to protect the head or mind against the attacks of the enemy. Many times he gets us to doubt our salvation or the security we have in Christ. 

And yes, Scripture supports that fact of our security regarding our salvation as Jesus said in John 5:24, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”  And John tells us in I John 5:13, “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”

            Satan loves to swing that double-edged sword of doubt and discouragement, trying to get us to stumble and make us ineffective as Christians. He can’t take us out of the Fathers hand, out of the hand of Jesus, but he can make us weak and insecure in our actions and ineffective in our walk. Put on the helmet of salvation so Satan will not be able to strike you with doubt and discouragement, stand strong in the Lord.  I like the way John MacArthur put it as he said, “The helmet of salvation is that great hope of final salvation that gives us confidence and assurance that our present struggle with Satan will not last forever and we will be victorious in the end.”  That is the helmet of salvation and obviously it is important if we are going to withstand those lies of the Devil!

            John MacArthur also wrote this regarding the helmet of salvation:

When the coal truck delivered a ton of coal on the sidewalk in front of her house, a little London girl took her small shovel and began carrying the coal into the basement. When a neighbor man who was watching told her, “You'll never be able to get it all in,” she replied, “Oh, I will sir, if I work long enough.”

The test of a person's character is what it takes to stop him. Some people retreat as soon as the first shot is fired, while others fight through battle after battle with no thought of giving up. Satan will try every means to discourage and deter us, reminding us of defeats and dangers and setting every possible object in our way to destroy our assurance in Christ. The Lord allowed Satan to strip Job of every good thing he possessed except his life, yet that man of God declared, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15). The book of Job demonstrates the character of true saving faith in revealing that it is not connected to what benefits and blessings a person has or loses. Job's helmet deflected every blow against him, and he maintained his faith in God's love and care. When God first called Jeremiah, He told the prophet that no one would listen to him and that he would be rejected and afflicted; yet he testified, “Thy words were found and I ate them, and Thy words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; for I have been called by Thy name, O Lord God of hosts” (Jer 15:16).

Satan also tempts us to become discouraged when we see other believers going through times of trial. Realizing the Ephesians' deep concern about his imprisonment, Paul told them, “I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory” (Eph 3:13). He tempts us to give up when we cannot see results from our service to the Lord. When the Galatian believers faced that problem, Paul told them, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal 6:9).

Because the adversary will never lay down his sword against us as long as we are on earth, God's armor is a constant necessity until we leave this earth forever. Only when our work on earth is finished can we say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7). In His brief letter to the Ephesian church recorded in the book of Revelation, the Lord wrote these words of encouragement: “You have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary” (Rev 2:3).

- John MacArthur, Commentary Ephesians

            Thus, may we put on the helmet of salvation so that the enemy, the Devil can’t put those lies into our minds, cause us to doubt our salvation, discourage us in the work. May we stand strong in the Lord and the power of His might! Don’t let the enemy tell you that you have lost your salvation because that is impossible if you are in Christ, as we have clearly seen!  You see, you will not feel like you lost your salvation if you put on the helmet of salvation, it is impossible to lose it, point number 2 – put on the helmet of salvation.

3.  WHAT ABOUT THOSE EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO WALKED AWAY FROM THE FAITH?

            The third question or point we will be looking at is this. WHAT ABOUT THOSE EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO WALKED AWAY FROM THE FAITH? That is obviously an important question that needs to be answered. But to put it bluntly, if you walked away from your faith in Jesus Christ, you never really had it in the first place! I know that is a pretty bold statement to make, but let’s look at what the Scriptures say before you discredit this statement!

            In regards to walking away from the faith, one writer put it like this, and please understand I don’t agree with everything that he said in this article, but I believe he is right on with these words we are going to read this morning. He wrote:

A born-again believer does NOT convert to the Mormon faith or become an atheist. When a man claims that he "used to be a Christian" but now has become a Jehovah's Witness, he's a liar. He never was a Christian to begin with. He may have once had the philosophy of Christianity, or the organization of Christianity; but he never had genuine Christianity, which is found by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

You don't trust Christ one day and then forsake him the next, it doesn't work that way. A child of God will always be a child of God. If you don't have Jesus Christ today, it is ONLY because you never really trusted Him at all. 

- David J. Stewart, You CANNOT lose your salvation!

            I agree with what he is saying and let’s look at the first example of someone who appeared to be saved, but I don’t believe ever was, and that is Judas!  This man was called by Jesus, walked with Jesus for 3 years, heard all the teachings of Jesus, saw all the miracles of Jesus, even did some of his own miracles and he spoke of Jesus, and yet I don’t believe Judas was every saved. He was a professor of Christ but not a possessor of Christ, and there is the difference!

In John 12:4-6, when Jesus was anointed by Mary with very costly oil of Spikenard, we are told, “But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?’ This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.”  Notice, it was not that Judas became a thief but he “was a thief.” He was never saved; his life was never truly given to Christ.

            I do realize that some of you may have a hard time with this, that Judas was never saved and in the end he went to Hell because he never came to Christ.  But let me share with you these sobering Scriptures in Matthew 7:21-23, where we are told, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Now this is a hard one for many to swallow. People serving the Lord, doing work, even casting out demons, doing wonders, doing miracles, prophesying, and yet, Jesus says that He never knew them! What happened? How can this be? How can they do the work of the Lord and yet not be saved?  Some believe that demons were doing these things through them, but I am not convinced that is what Jesus is saying here. Let me just throw this out to you. Judas cast out demons, went out doing the work of the Lord, and yet he was not one of them, he betrayed the Lord. Maybe that is what we see going on here.

There are many religious people out there who don’t have a relationship with the Lord. You see, their actions give them away. Yes, they were serving the Lord, but they were living contrary to God’s standards, doing their own thing.  Their works don’t save them but it shows where their faith is.  And yes, on one hand they are serving the Lord but on the other hand they are living like the Devil!  And the key to me is that Jesus says that He never knew them. It was not that He knew them for a time and then they walked away, He never knew them and I see that with Judas, he was never saved!

In John 15:6 we are told, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”  The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “If a person does not dwell in Me, he is thrown out like a [broken-off] branch, and withers; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.”

I think you get the idea. You see, here is what we might call the Judas branch, a professor of Jesus but not a possessor of Jesus! How can I say that?  Because there is no abiding in Christ, they never knew Him, they had a form of righteousness but denied its power, they were religious but there was no relationship with Jesus!

Then why do some people look like they are saved, it almost seems impossible to tell sometimes the saved from the unsaved. That is true, it can be difficult because we can only look at the fruit, what is born in their lives and there are some that have really good fake fruit in their lives while some Christians look like they have no fruit in their lives. God knows the heart and we can only know if we are truly saved.

            In Matthew 13:24-30 we see this played out as we are told, “Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Here we see the farmer who sowed his seed and before it began to grow, while the farmer slept, someone came in and sowed tares or darnel amongst the good seed. Now this darnel is a weed that closely resembles wheat and is almost impossible to distinguish from the wheat until the wheat ripens and bears grain, fruit. Now his servants were ready to go and remove the darnel but because it so closely resembled the wheat, the farmer wanted them to wait until the harvest and then the reapers would come and separate them. The grain would go into the barn and the darnel into the fire.

Now we don’t really have to guess what this parable means because Jesus tells us. In Matthew 13:37-43 we are told, “He answered and said to them: ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’”

Obviously this is important for us to understand because Jesus wants us, He admonishes us to hear what He is saying in this parable. The sower of the good seed is Jesus and the good seeds are those who have received Him, while the bad seed are those that have rejected Him and Satan sows the seed they receive. One is born of God, the other are children of Satan. Not many like to look at it that way, but that is what Jesus is saying! And both are living in the field, or the world, together. Thus, from the beginning of the church age both Jesus and the Devil are working and the culmination of this work will be the harvest, judgment day, the end of the age!

Now this may be harsh, not politically correct, but it is true. For those who reject Jesus, they will face the fire of His judgment and ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. But for those who have received Christ, they will enter into eternity with Him! They will enter into the kingdom age! It is as Paul said of the Thessalonians, "For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything. For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." I Thessalonians 1:8-10.

And Paul, in Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us, “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.” Did you notice what it says here, that it is “IMPOSSIBLE” for those who have come to Christ to walk away!

Now keep in mind he is writing to Jewish believers who are struggling with their faith, going back to the legalism of Judaism because of persecution.  Thus, I believe this is just a hypothetical or supposed situation that Paul is speaking of. In other words, to those who are thinking about leaving the Lord, walking away from Him, where are you going to go if you could go, what else are you going to do?  If you reject Jesus, if you write Him off, what other hope is there for you and if you reject Him there is nothing else you can go to, He is the only hope.  And keep in mind the reason they are even thinking like this, it is because they are dull of hearing!

            And here is an important point. When Paul speaks of them “falling away” in verse 6 he doesn’t use the Greek word APOSTASIA (ap-os-tas-ee’-ah) that we find used in II Thessalonians 2:3, but he uses the Greek word PARAPIPTO (Par-ap-ip’-to) which speaks of falling alongside.  In Galatians 6:1 we are told, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

            That word “trespass” or “fault” is the Greek word PARPATOMA (par-ap’-to-mah) from which PARAPIPTO comes from.  So I don’t see this as the falling away spoken of in II Thessalonians but a falling alongside, not departing from the faith but slipping, moving away from it.  You see, I think Paul is trying to encourage them to hang in there, don’t give up, where else were they going to go when Jesus has the words of eternal life. And when you look at Hebrews 6:9, which says, “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner” I think Paul is writing to believers. Yes, maturity is vital but not for salvation but for the deeper things of God, that is the call, to grow in the Lord, don’t move away, don’t remain spiritual babes in Christ, don’t go backwards!

            Also, look at the words that are used of them: enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word. Those are the things spoken of believers, not unbelievers, so these verses are dealing with believers and like I said, it is a hypothetical situation, not that it could happen, but how foolish it would be to go down that path.

            Obviously we will not finish this subject on eternal security this morning and we will pick up again next week because I want you to see clearly what the Scriptures teach regarding this very important issue.  But again, I hope you can see that a true believer in Christ can never walk away from the faith, only those who never were really saved, the great pretenders we might say, can!  It is as John tells us in I John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”

            In other words, people can join a church, be involved in ministry, carry a Bible, speak Christian jargon and yet never be born again. How do we know that they were never born again? Because they left the faith that they said they once had, but the reality is, they never left it because they never had it in the first place!  And you may know people like this. They supposedly got saved, and they went to every Bible study, every prayer meeting, they were always at church, always studying the Bible and then one day, they are gone. You never see them again. That is what John is talking about, they went out because they were really never in Christ!     And I do understand, some of these people may have even led you to the Lord, and now they are embracing some garbage for their faith. God used Judas and thus, He can use the unsaved to get our attention also. That does not mean they are saved!

As I do close this morning, let me leave you with these words to think about. We are told:

You may have heard of the Irishman who was converted to Christ but was seized with a dreadful fear that some day he might commit some great sin and lose his soul, that he might be lost after all, and he trembled at the thought. He went to a meeting and heard the words read, “Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” “Glory to God!” shouted Pat. “Whoever heard of a man drowning with his head that high above water?”

We are linked with Him, we belong to the new creation, and that is why we shall never be lost.  Glory to God!  I think we have seen and will continue to see how we can have assurance of our eternal security that we have in Christ and what a benefit, what a blessing that is as we receive the righteousness of Christ into our lives by faith!  We are secure in Him!