ETERNAL SECURITY

 Give Unto them (my Sheep) eternal life and they shall never shall perish  John 10:28

ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED! 

You Cannot Mix Works and Grace  -  Romans 11:6.

We must be absolutely clear that these two can never mix. Paul declares,
"...if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work"
  (Rom 11:6). Salvation cannot be partly by works and partly by grace. 

We must be absolutely certain that works have nothing to do with salvation. Period! The Bible
clearly states, "For by grace are ye saved... not of works" (Eph 2:8-10). True to such Scriptures,
we firmly declare that we cannot earn or merit salvation in any way. Eternal life must be received as a
free gift  of God's grace, or we cannot have it.
 

Salvation Cannot be Purchased

Salvation cannot be purchased even in part by us, because it requires payment of the penalty
for sin - a payment we can't make. If one were to receive a speeding ticket, it wouldn't help to say
 to the judge, "I've driven many times within the 40 mph limit. Surely my many good deeds will
make up for the one bad deed." 

Nor would it do to say, "If you let me off this time, I promise never to break the law again."
The judge would reply, "To never break the law again is only to do what the law demands. You get no
extra credit for that.

The penalty for breaking the law is a separate matter and must be paid. "Thus Paul writes,"...
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight..." (Rom 3:20). 

If salvation from the penalty of breaking God's laws cannot be earned by good deeds, then it cannot
be lost by bad deeds. Our works play no part in either earning or keeping salvation. If it could, then those
who reach heaven could boast that while Christ saved them they, by their good lives, kept their salvation.
Thus God would be robbed of having all the glory in eternity. 

Salvation Must Be Received As A Free Gift

Salvation can be given to us as a free gift only if the penalty has been fully paid.
We have violated infinite Justice,  requiring an infinite penalty. We are finite beings and
could not pay it: we would be separated from God for eternity. 

God is infinite and could pay an infinite penalty, but it wouldn't be just because
He is not a member of our race. Therefore God, in love and grace, through the virgin birth, 
became a man so that He could pay the debt of sin for the entire human race! 

The Work Is Finished

In the Greek, Christ's cry from the cross, "It is finished!" is an accounting term, meaning that
the debt had been paid in full. Justice had been satisfied by full payment of its penalty, and thus God
could "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom 3:26). On that basis,
God offers pardon and eternal life as a free gift. 

He could not force it upon anyone or it would not be a gift. Nor would it be just to pardon a
person who rejects the righteous basis for pardon and offers a hopelessly inadequate payment instead -
or offers his works even as "partial payment." Salvation is the full pardon by grace from the
penalty of all sin, past,  present or future; eternal life is the bonus thrown in.

Love The Saviour and Live for Him

Love for the One who saved us is the greatest and only acceptable motive for living a
 holy life; and surely the greater the salvation one has received, the more love and gratitude there
will be. So to know one is secure for eternity gives a higher motive for living a good life than the
 fear of losing one's salvation if one sins!

God's Assurance

But God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5: 8.

John assures us, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that
ye may know  [present knowledge] that ye have [present possession] eternal life..." (1 Jn 5:13).
To call it eternal  life would be a mockery if the person who had it could lose it and suffer eternal death.
On the contrary, eternal life is linked with the promise that one cannot perish - a clear assurance of
 "eternal security" or "once saved, always saved." 

John 3:16 promises those who believe in Jesus Christ that they "should not perish, but have everlasting life." 
John 5:24 again says, "hath everlasting life, and shall come into condemnation (judgement)...."

One could not ask for clearer or greater assurance than the words of Jesus: "I give unto them [my sheep]
eternal life; and they shall never perish" (Jn 10:28). If, having received eternal life,
we could lose it and perish, it would make Christ a liar. 

Confidence for Eternity

Our confidence for eternity rests in His unchanging love and grace and the sufficiency of God's
provision in Christ - not in our worth or performance. Only when this is clear do we have
real peace with God. Only then can we truly love Him and live for Him out of gratitude for
the eternal life He has given to us as a free gift of His grace a gift He will not take back
and which He makes certain can never be lost!