If you’re a Christian, do you believe you could lose your salvation? Is there some sin you could commit that could cost you your relationship with God? Can anyone know for sure that they will go to heaven? Is there such a thing as eternal security? These are important questions with eternal consequences. But the answers are also important to our daily walks with God. We’ll consider these questions in today’s post.
We’ll also read about takers and givers, the focus of our worship, and the connection between suffering and sin.
Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day,” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here or subscribe and watch on YouTube.
Today’s Readings:
Job 5 & 6
Psalm 92.1-7
Proverbs 22.16
Romans 8.22-39
Can We Really Have Eternal Security?
Romans 8.22-39:
Biblical Hope
Verses 24-25:
For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
Biblical hope is not the “wishing and hoping” kind of hope, as if something might happen. Although it has not yet happened, biblical hope is a sure thing because it is based on God’s promises.
Paul provides us with some of the greatest examples of biblical hope in the remainder of this chapter. Verses 28-30:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
In verse 28, He promises to work all things for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Notice it said all things! That thing you are going through is part of the “all things.” (Notice Paul didn’t say all things are good, but that God would use them for good.)
In verse 29, He says that God has predestined us to be like Christ. This is one of the ways God is using the all things in our lives for good.
If we are truly saved, God is working in our lives to make us more like His Son, and sometimes, He uses tests and trials and difficult people to do that. Instead of murmuring and complaining, we need to see it as God’s hand molding and shaping us.
But God’s promises in this chapter don’t end there.
Eternal Security
Look again at verse 30:
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
We won’t be glorified until we get to heaven. That means if He called us and justified us (made us right with Him), He will glorify us. We will not lose our salvation somewhere along the line! This is God’s promise of eternal security, another sure thing in which we can place our hope.
And just to be sure we get it, Paul adds:
36 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
And then He answers his own question in verses 38-39:
[Tweet “Nothing can separate believers from the love of Christ! #Christianity #loveofGod #soulsurvival”]38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If we are saved, if we have put our faith and trust in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone, and have been adopted into His family, we won’t lose our salvation—not through death or life; through the work of angels or demons; by things in the present or things in the future; neither our greatest successes nor our worst failures can cause us to lose it; no created thing can, whether an object, a person, or Satan himself—nothing can separate us from the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The only question is … have we made Him our Lord? Have we placed all our trust and confidence in the finished work of Jesus on the cross?
Once we have that confidence, that hope, firmly fixed in our hearts, we are free to obey Him, not out of fear, but out of a desire to return His love and please the One who loved us that much!
If you’re not sure of your relationship with God, I hope you’ll check out one of these two posts:
“Do You Live with a Sense of Guilt?”
“Could You Be a Christian in Name Only?”
[Tweet “We obey God not out of fear, but because of His love! #Christianity #soulsurvival”] [Tweet “Could you lose your salvation? #salvation #Christianity #soulsurvival”]
Today’s Other Readings:
Job 5 & 6:
Suffering & Sin
If you know Job’s story, he had suffered incredible losses: the death of his children, the loss of his wealth, and even his health. In chapters 4 and 5, his friend Eliphaz implies that there must be some sin in his life to cause all this destruction to come on him. Job responded in Chapter 6 by defending himself and saying he had not asked anything of his friends (Job 6.22-23). All he wanted was their kindness (Job 6.14). But while he defended himself, he did remain teachable: “Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong” (Job 6.24).
While we understand there are times when difficult circumstances are the result of our own sinful choices, there are other times when God is pruning us or they are merely the result of living in a world devastated by the fall. Sometimes we suffer because God has a higher purpose in it all, just as He did in Job’s life.
John 9.1-3 says:
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.”
The disciples’ question revealed a common though incorrect assumption. Like them and Job’s friends, we should be careful with our judgments and not assume that tragedy in a believer’s life is a direct result of his or her own sin.
And while we should examine our own hearts and lives for sin when trials come our way, there are times when we see no obvious reason either. When we’re filled with why questions, we ultimately need to trust the sovereign work and grace of God.
Psalm 92.1-7:
Worship … It’s Not About Us!
This psalm is called a song for the Sabbath Day. It reminds us that corporate worship—church— is not about us: the style of music we like, the right “worship experience,” whether the preacher is funny or not, whether the chairs are to our liking, and a million other things we focus on. Worship is about God: who He is and what He has done. It is a time for us to praise Him, worship Him, and express our gratitude toward Him. Everything that is done, the sermon, the music, and everything else, should exalt Him.
Proverbs 22.16:
Takers & Givers
He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.
This verse speaks about trampling on the rights of others and giving with greedy selfish motives.
It’s not that we shouldn’t do our best in our work or business, or that it is sinful to be successful. But when our success comes at the expense of others or through immoral means, God will not bless it. Ephesians 4.28 says:
Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
Notice this is about more than working and not stealing. It’s about working so we can also help others. The old sinful man was a taker. He may not have robbed banks, but he was out to get what he could from life and other people. The new man wants to glorify God by doing the best job possible, but he uses his finances and other resources to be a blessing.
Lord, thank You for the free gift of salvation. Let us not take it lightly. Instead, may we seek to bring You glory in all that we do, whether it’s with the material resources You’ve provided, the grace we extend to others, or how we worship You corporately and personally, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, as we go through the books of Job and Romans and continue our yearlong journey through Psalms and Proverbs, we’ll talk about the connection between suffering and sin, look at contagious sins, and talk about how to respond when life is hard and confusing, among other things.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out the latest videos on our YouTube channel.
And if this post spoke to you, consider sharing it on your favorite social media platform.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
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