[Oct 25]--Not One Lost

John 6:33-40

            Jesus was comparing and contrasting himself with the work of Moses, specifically the Manna which Israel ate for 40 years, and of course they misunderstood him. Just like the woman at the well, he offered them something eternal and they were fixated on the temporary. I’d like to take a moment today, however, to focus on something a little off topic. We’re going to return to this subject several times over the course of these devotionals, but I thought this would be a good time to bring it up.

            The subject I’d like to discuss is that of eternal security. In case you’re not familiar with it, it refers to the belief that once you’ve truly received salvation/eternal life/spiritual rebirth, etc., you can never lose it, no matter what. I realize that this is controversial among some Christians, and I have several friends who disagree with me. I think they’re sincere, and I'd never break fellowship over this issue, but I think the Bible’s pretty clear on this.

            In short, yes, I believe in eternal security, as long as we’re clear on the concept. Notice that in my definition above I inserted the word “truly received,” and that was no accident. I did that to clarify my answer to some who immediately raise the objection of the backsliding believer: “What about my friend Joe? He walked down the aisle, said he was a Christian, was baptized, and now doesn’t follow Christ at all. The last I saw him, he was bar-hopping and sleeping around with a different woman every week.” I’ll go into more detail at another time, but for now, let me be clear: If someone claims to have been a Christian and shows no interest in obeying Christ, then the Bible offers no comfort for him. If someone truly has placed their faith in Christ, it will show up in a change in their lifestyle. If there’s no change in their attitude towards sin, towards the Bible, or towards holiness, then I question whether or not they ever truly received him.

            But for those of us who do want to follow and obey him, here’s hope. As James said, “We all stumble in many ways,” and all of us struggle with sin. But no matter how hard I fall, he’s there to forgive and restore. And better yet, I know how it’s going to end for me. Read vs.39 again. The Father has given me to his Son. I belong to him, like a jewel in his crown. And out of all that the Father has given Jesus, how many will Jesus lose? 5%? 1%? The answer to that question is pretty clear.

            But I can hear the objection already: “But that’s just the will of the Father. It doesn’t mean that it’ll necessarily happen.” We can have an argument later over whether everything that happens is God’s will, but that’s not the question here. Read the next verse. God’s “will” in verse 39 is the same as his “will” in verse 40. Is anyone going to say that there are some who look to the Son and believe in him who won’t have eternal life?

            The point here is pretty simple. If you’ve truly placed your faith in him, then he'll never lose you. The Enemy has no claim on you anymore, and he never will. You're precious in your Savior's eyes, among his most valuable possessions, bought with his precious lifeblood. He loves you with an everlasting love, and one day you’ll see the full extent of that.

             In case you're interested in this subject, I've included my devotions on this here. 

Lord Jesus, I thank you so much that my home in Heaven isn't based on me holding on to you, it's based on you holding on to me. You and I are united forever, and nothing I could do can ever change that. You're so good to me.