Are you saved if you have repented and believed in the Lord Jesus? Is your salvation real and secure? Or is it possible to lose your salvation once you have received it? Let’s read a few quotes from a booklet entitled “Assurance, Security, and Joy of Salvation” to see how we are assured of our salvation.
“He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). “For, Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13). These two statements [prove that once a person believes and is baptized, calling upon the name of the Lord, he is immediately saved. This fact should be recognized and acknowledged immediately without dependence on human feelings.]
“He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and Will not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). “He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. I write these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe in the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:12-13). These two portions of Scripture [prove that once a person believes in the heavenly Father and believes into the name of the Son of God (the Lord Jesus Christ), he has eternal life (that is, the life of God). He will not come into judgment and perish, but has passed out of death into life. A person is saved in this way to have the life of God based on what the Bible says and not on his own feelings.]
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave authority to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born...of God” (John 1:12-13). [The Lord Jesus gives to those who receive Him by faith, that is, to those who believe into His name, the authority to become children of God. This authority is the life of God, enabling those who believe into the Lord Jesus to be born of God, that is, to be regenerated to become children of God. This is also proven by the words of the Bible and not determined by human feelings.
The words in the Bible are trustworthy and can never be changed or annulled. Human feelings will fluctuate according to mood and environment and are undependable. Since the Bible clearly states that a person is saved upon believing in the Lord Jesus, this fact is then established regardless of human feeling. We should stand on the trustworthy words of the Bible and disregard our fluctuating feelings, believing strongly and knowing with assurance that we have been saved.]
“The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:16). [When we believe in the Lord Jesus, receiving Him as our Savior, God gives His Holy Spirit to us, putting His Spirit into our spirit (Ezek. 36:27). This Holy Spirit is in us to be with us eternally (John 14:17). He witnesses in our spirit that we are the children of God, who are born of God. Every one of us who believes in the Lord likes to address God as “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). It is very natural for us to address God as “Abba, Father.” As we address God in this way, we feel sweet and comfortable within. This is because we are children who are born of God, with God’s life, and the Spirit of God’s Son has entered into us. This is the inward proof of our salvation.]
“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten of God, and everyone who loves Him who begets, loves him who has been begotten of Him” (1 John 5:1). [Once we believe that Jesus is the Christ, we are born of God. God is love (1 John 4:16), and the life of God is also the life of love. Therefore, everyone who is begotten of God loves God and loves him who has been begotten of God, him who is a brother in the Lord.]
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers” (1 John 3:14). [This word states that, as believers, our love for the brothers in the Lord is a proof that we have God’s eternal life. Loving the brothers in the Lord is an experience in the eternal life of God after we have believed in the Lord to be saved. There is an inexplainable joy and feeling of dearness when a saved person sees a brother in the Lord. This kind of love toward a brother in the Lord is also a proof for us to know that we have been saved. It can be called the proof of love, the proof of our experience in the life of God.
Therefore, whether it is by the definite word of the Bible, by the witnessing of the Holy Spirit in our spirit, or by our experience of love in life, we may know assuredly that we are saved. Furthermore, the salvation that we have received is an eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9). Once we have received this salvation, we shall by no means perish forever, and no one can snatch us out of the Lord’s and the heavenly Father’s hands (John 10:28-29).]
We are sure that we are saved by the written Word of God, the Spirit’s inward witnessing, and our experience of life.
God’s salvation is eternal. We can never be unsaved once we have been saved. God can’t change it. We can’t change it, and Satan can’t change it either.
[God’s eternal salvation is secured by the will of God. Ephesians 1:5 says that we have been predestinated according to God’s will, and John 6:39 tells us that the Father’s will is that none of those whom He has given the Son should be lost. This is the will of God concerning our salvation. God’s will is more steady and stable than a rock. Although heaven and earth may be removed, God’s will remains forever. It does not go up and down like an elevator.]
[God’s salvation is secured by the selection and calling of God. He has chosen us, selected us, before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). It is not we who selected Him but He who selected us (John 15:16), and His selection is not of our works but of Himself who calls (Rom. 9:11). He has not only predestinated us but also called us (Rom 8:30), not according to our works but according to His own purpose (2 Tim. 1:9). His calling is irrevocable. He will never repent of it nor regret having called us. His selection and calling have nothing to do with our works; our works can never affect them, for they are unchangeable. Both God’s selection and calling, being initiated by Him, not by us, are the security of our salvation.]
[God’s eternal salvation is secured by the righteousness of God which is revealed to faith (Rom. 1:16-17). For the showing forth of His righteousness, God must justify us, and He has justified us who believe in the Lord Jesus (Rom. 3:26). It is the righteous God who has justified us (Rom. 8:33). His righteousness is the foundation of His throne (Psa. 89:14, Heb.). His throne is established forever.]
[Our salvation is eternally secured by the life of God. The Lord said, “I give to them eternal life, and they shall by no means perish forever” (John 10:28). Do you believe that the eternal life can be recalled once it has been given to us? To say that once we are saved we can be lost again means that the eternal life which has been given to us would be called back. This is altogether illogical. Once we have the eternal life, we shall never perish.]
By all these things, we can see that our salvation is eternal. It does not change with time. It does not change if we are good or bad. It does not change and it cannot change eternally.