Eternal Security: a Scriptural Defense | Part 1

... No, you need a brand new one. You need to be born again. If you're not saved and certain, then you need to get saved and certain. But if you are saved and certain, then also you're saved, certain, and secure. And just by way of review, this is why we have a scriptural defense for eternal security. If you're not saved and certain, then you need to get saved and certain. But if you are saved and certain, then also you're saved, certain, and secure. And just by way of review, do you remember the eight reasons I gave you in order to help you remember why a child of God who has been twice born, who has been regenerated, who has become a partaker of the divine nature, I gave you eight reasons why someone like this can never, ever again be a lost soul. And I told you it's so very important to your spiritual equilibrium that you know, thank God, you are saved. And no matter if you do fail and stumble, you're still in the family. That's good for your spiritual health.

We told you also it's good for your productivity. When your future is secure, you can concentrate on the present. And then I told you also that it is necessary that we tell people about eternal security because that helps us in evangelism. So many people fail to give their heart to Christ because they just don't think they can stick it out. They don't think that they're going to be able to hang on, and because of that, they just fail to give their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.

Afraid they'll make a false profession and then fall away. And I gave you those eight reasons. Remember what they were? First of all, the promise of God. God clearly promises neither height nor depth nor angels or principalities. Nothing can separate us from God. In Romans 8, verses 38 and 39, first of all the promise.

And then we talked about the perseverance. Philippians 1, 6, He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it. That God completes what he started. If God started with you, he's going to finish with you.

The gifts and calling of God are without repentance. And then we talked about predestination, that we are predestined, according to Romans 8, to be like the Lord Jesus. And if we're predestined, nothing can stop it. Then we talked to you about perfection, for by one offering forever we're made perfect in the sight of God. And then we talked about our position, and we said that we are in Christ Jesus just as Noah was in that ark. Whatever happens to Christ happens to us. We are part of his body. For us to ever die eternally, a part of the body of Christ would have to be amputated and severed from him. We talked about our possession, that we now have eternal life. It's not something we're going to get.

It's something we already have. When did you get eternal life? You got eternal life when you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. John 5, 24, He that has the Son has life.

It's not something I'm going to get. I got it the minute I received Jesus. Then we talked about the principle of prayer. Jesus is praying for us.

He's interceding for us. In Hebrews 7, 25, He's able to save unto the uttermost those who come unto God by him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. He has prayed that we would be kept from the evil one.

In John chapter 17, His prayers are always answered. And then the last reason was power, the power of God. Peter says we're kept by the power of God. It's not a matter of our holding on to God.

It's a matter of God holding on to us. Some people would say, yes, pastor, that is true, but what about this scripture? What about that scripture? Now, obviously, we can't deal with all of the scriptures that might tend to indicate otherwise, but may I say that we'll deal with a few of them, and perhaps they'll be illustrative of the rest. When you look at a supposed contradiction in the Bible, then you have to find out that the contradiction is only in your mind. Maybe you've taken a text out of context.

Maybe you've not examined it carefully. And so we want to look at some of these texts and find out what they really say that seem to indicate to some that we might be able to fall away. For example, turn to 2 Peter, if you will.

Let me give you a classic illustration that someone will bring up to you if you say that you believe in the eternal security of the believer. 2 Peter chapter 2 in God's Word. And I'm going to begin reading in verse 20. Peter says, For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Someone says, There, pastor, you see that it teaches that a person can be saved and be lost again.

Well, look, if you will, here at this scripture with me a little more carefully, and I think you'll understand that it does not teach that a saved person can ever be lost again, but it teaches really just the opposite. In verse 20, it says this, For after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that is, here is a person who has been living in sin, and they free themselves. They hear about Jesus. They turn over a new leaf, but they never receive, as we're going to show you, a new life.

They have escaped the pollutions of the world. It doesn't say they're saved. It doesn't say they're on their way to heaven. They have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

That is, they have heard the gospel. They know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but they are again entangled therein. Now, look at the word entangled.

The word entangled literally means to weave something into a pattern. And what happens is this, that these people are weaving themselves deeper and deeper into bondage by following certain false teachers. And all that Peter's talking about here in 2 Peter hinges on the area and in the arena of false teachers. They never really learn what it is to be saved, to be born again. And they get themselves enmeshed. They weave into their hearts and minds certain philosophies, certain false truths. They never know the gospel of grace.

They get themselves deeper and deeper into bondage through false teachers. And when they do, they're worse off than they were before they ever even heard anything about Jesus. Look in verse 21. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they had known it to turn from the holy commandment deliberate unto them. Now, here's a principle.

Listen to it. Those who live by truth get more and more freedom. Those who do not live by truth, those who live by lies, experience more and more bondage.

Now, here's the statement. Reformation without transformation leads to greater degradation and final condemnation. Reformation without transformation leads to greater degradation and final condemnation. It's better for you not to have known the way of truth than to reform your life without meeting the Lord Jesus Christ. A classic example of that is Judas. Jesus said of Judas, it had been better for him that he had never been born. Judas heard the truth. Judas reformed his life. Judas was a disciple of the Lord Jesus.

He escaped the pollutions of the world for a while, but his latter end was worse than his first. Jesus said it had been better for him that he had never been born. Sinful desires do not disappear by reformation.

They only hibernate and wake up stronger. That's what Peter is saying. It had been better for them not to have known the way of truth than after they've heard the holy commandment to turn from it. Salvation, on the other hand, gives you a new nature. Reformation doesn't give you a new nature. It doesn't change anything.

And in a moment when we get to the illustration about the dog and the hog, it'll be very, very clear to you. Now, somebody says, well, you know, Pastor Rogers, if I believed in eternal security, I'd get saved and I'd sin all I want to after that because I wouldn't have to worry about it. I'd have a ticket to heaven.

I could never lose my salvation, so I'd just get saved and then I'd have a blast. I'd just sin all I want to. I sin all I want to.

Did you know that? I sin all I want to. I don't want to. I don't want to sin. Nothing would make me happier than to know I would never sin again. If there's some sort of a contract that I could sign to say it'd be impossible from now on for you to sin, I believe I'd sign it. I don't want to sin.

And if you had the idea that somehow eternal security is a license to sin, do you know your problem? You probably need to be saved. You see, you need to get your water fixed.

No, you need a brand-new water. You need to be born again. These people that Peter is talking about had reformation, but they never had regeneration. And then he gives two classic examples in case somebody thinks that he is talking about somebody who is saved and lost to salvation. He gives the example, and the example makes it so very, very clear. Example number one is the example of a dog. Example number two is the example of a hog.

Now, put this down big and plain and straight. God never called any of His children either a dog or a hog. Isn't that right? A sheep, but never a dog or a hog. And then he gives the example of a dog who vomits and then hates to leave a warm meal on the ground.

And so he goes back to the scene of the crime, and he laps it up. You say, Pastor, that's disgusting. Peter wanted it to be disgusting. I mean, that's the reason Peter used it. I mean, that's Peter's illustration, not mine.

I'm too cultured to use an illustration like that. That's Peter's illustration. Here's this dog who goes back to his vomit and eats it again. Now, he has regurgitation, but he doesn't have regeneration. There's something that upset his stomach, and he got rid of it. And when he regurgitated, he felt better, but he was still a dog.

He was not changed. Why did he go back to his vomit? Friend, that's a dog trick.

Dogs are noted for that. And it's happened to him according to the true proverb, the dog is returned to his vomit. And then the pig. Let's look at it again.

Here Peter illustrates it. The dog is turned to his own vomit again, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Now, you can take a pig, a sow, scrub it till it's pink. But I'm going to tell you this about a pig. A pig will only stay clean so long.

Now, Peter's a classic teacher here. The dog feels better. The pig looks better.

The dog is cleaned out. The pig is cleaned up, but neither are changed. God never calls one of his children a hog nor a dog.

Neither has been essentially or eternally changed. You remember the story of the prodigal son? Well, have you ever heard the story of the prodigal pig? Now, the story of the prodigal son is in the Bible, but the story of the prodigal pig is not, but I'm going to tell it to you.

Now, remember, this is a little Adrianology here. But when the prodigal son was down in the hog pen, the prodigal son said to himself, I'm sick and tired of this hog pen. I wasn't made to live here with these hogs. I will arise and go to my father. And one of the pigs said, what is that? He said, I'm going to go to my father. He said, what is your father? Oh, he said, my father's house is beautiful.

He said, we've got servants, and my mother's a wonderful cook, and we live in a big house. I've got a place to bathe. I've got a bed. I'm going to arise and go to my father. And the pig said, hey, that sounds good.

Mind if I go with you? The prodigal son says, come on, let's go. And so the prodigal son and the prodigal pig begin to go home together. Now, you understand this is not in the Bible. Okay.

It's just Adrianology. And so the prodigal pig and the prodigal son, they go there back to the father's house. And the father sees the son coming home, and he says, son, welcome home. Here, son, here's a robe. Here's a ring. Here's shoes.

Here's the fatted calf. We're going to have a wonderful time. Well, dad, I brought a friend of mine with me. Here's a pig. He wants to come and live in our house. And dad says, okay, bring him in. And the prodigal son's mother says, but wait a minute.

He can't come in like that. We've got to scrub you up. And so this pig is scrubbed.

And then it says, now we've got to teach you manners. You can't eat out of a trough anymore. You're going to have to tuck a napkin under your chin. You're going to have to sit at the table. You're going to have to use a knife and a fork. A what?

A knife and a fork. We have manners here. You just can't stick your snout down and begin to eat. And by the way, you can't go outside in the mire anymore and in the mud. You can't lie down with the stench and the flies. You're going to sleep on a clean bed. But you're not going to sleep on my bed unless you take a bath every night. How long do you think that pig will do that?

Well, for a while. And then you know what the pig will say? The pig says, I just believe I will arise and go to my father.

I am going to return home. I don't like it over there. Of course he doesn't. He doesn't belong there. He belongs in the hog pen. The child of God doesn't belong in the hog pen. He belongs over there in the father's house. It's just that plain.

It's just that simple. The sow that is washed is returned to the mire. Well, that's one scripture that someone would use, but just remember here that he's talking about reformation without regeneration, and reformation without regeneration makes a person worse off than they were before. All right, let's turn to another scripture. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 24 here. Here's another scripture that people will frequently use to try to prove that once we are saved, that we can lose our salvation. Matthew chapter 24 and verse 11. And many false prophets shall rise and deceive many, and because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And someone will put that verse under your nose and say, don't you see it? That in order for you to be saved, you have to endure to the end, but God teaches here that in order for you to endure to the end, you have to be saved.

That's all he's saying. You want to know who's saved? Those who endure are the ones who are saved. They're not saved because they endure. They endure because they are saved.

You see, endurance is the mark of reality in the life of a human soul. I've been saved now for over four decades, and I'm so grateful that I'm saved. I have endured. Do you think I'm saved because I endured?

Of course not. Do you know why I have endured? Because God put something in my heart, because God worked a miracle in my life. And it's not that I've held on to Him, it's that He held on to me. There's a classic story about a father was crossing the road with a son, and the traffic was pretty heavy. And so the father said to the little boy, son, hold on to daddy's hand as they started to cross. And he gave his daddy his big index finger, which is a handful for a little boy's chubby fist. The little boy got his daddy by the finger, and they started to cross the road. The dad saw the light change, and he saw the oncoming traffic coming faster than he had anticipated. He took his finger out of the little boy's fist and put that little boy's hand in the middle of his hand and drug the little boy across the street with his toes just turned over being drug across that way. When they got to the other side, the little fella said, I held on, daddy.

Now, actually, it was the dad holding on to him. He that endures to the end, those are they that are saved. Now, you can see that so wonderfully if you'll turn to Luke chapter 22. Luke 22 and verse 31.

And the Lord said to Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But notice verse 32. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.

And when thou art converted, it doesn't mean when he's saved, the word converted means when you're turned, strengthen thy brethren. That is, Peter, I am praying for you. And because I'm praying for you, your faith will not fail.

You're going to endure. Peter who did tremble, Peter who was frightened, Peter who did curse and swear and deny the Lord Jesus Christ never ultimately forsook the Lord Jesus Christ. Eternal security is like a strong rubber band that God puts around you when you get saved.

You may stray away, but he just keeps drawing you back. That's the love of God because he's prayed for Peter that his faith will not fail. Before Judas betrayed Christ, if you'd put Simon Peter up there and put Judas up there, which one would you say is saved? I dare say almost every one of us would say it was Judas and not Peter.

Almost every one of us. We just look at them and we say, well, bound to be Judas, certainly not Peter. I mean, Peter was a mess. About the only time Peter ever opened his mouth was just to change feet. He's always putting his foot in his mouth. He's always impetuous. He's always blustery.

He's always this and that. We would have said, Peter, he's not saved. Probably not, that big old fisherman. But now Judas, we'd say he's saved.

Why do you think we would say that Judas was saved? Who do you make the treasurer? The person you trust the most.

Isn't that right? The person you trust the most. Judas was the one who had the bag, the money bag. They trusted him. When Jesus said, one of you is going to betray me, none of them said, well, it must be Judas.

None of them suspected Judas. Well, did Judas endure? Of course he didn't endure.

He fell away. He cursed. I mean, he betrayed the Lord Jesus, committed suicide, died, and went to hell. But now look, if you will, in John chapter 6 and verse 64. Jesus said, but there are some of you that believe not. He's talking to those who are standing around him.

But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. Do you think it took Jesus by surprise?

Do you think he said, what a revolting development this is? Oh, no. How could I have chosen Judas? Wow. Look, here's the man that I was trusting and now he's betrayed me.

Oh, no, friend. Jesus chose Judas with his eyes wide open. Jesus knew that Judas never believed in him.

Look in this same sixth chapter to verses 70 and 71. Jesus answered them, have I not chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him being one of the twelve.

Nothing got out of hand. Jesus said in another place, I've chosen Judas that the scripture might be fulfilled. What's the point? The point is Peter endured, Judas didn't.

Why? Why did Peter endure to the end? And why did Judas not endure?

Very simple. Peter had faith. Peter, I prayed for you that your faith fail not. Judas didn't have any. Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not. Judas never believed.

Simon Peter did. And coming up tomorrow, we'll hear part two of this important message. But maybe today you have questions about who Jesus is, about what he means to you, about how to receive the forgiveness from him today and begin a relationship with God. We would love to continue this discussion on our Discover Jesus page. Just go to lwf.org slash radio and you'll find resources and materials that will answer questions you may have about your faith. Again, go to lwf.org slash radio and click Discover Jesus. Now, for a copy of today's message, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD to order Eternal Security, a Scriptural Defense. This message is also part of the insightful Back to the Basics series. For the complete collection, all 18 powerful messages, call that number 1-877-LOVE-GOD or you can go online to lwf.org slash radio or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Many of the messages in this series are also featured in our new resource, What Every Christian Ought to Know.

Utilize this study tool again at lwf.org slash radio. We're so glad you joined us for today's message. As you continue with your day, remember these powerful words from Adrian Rogers. Those who live by truth get more and more freedom.

Those who live by lies experience more and more bondage. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of Eternal Security, a Scriptural Defense right here on Love Worth Finding. A listener wrote recently with a powerful testimony. He said, when I allow the profound truth of these messages to marinate in my mind, I'm in awe of our Lord who is the light of the world. I am grateful for the messenger of God's holy word. Well, it's our honor to share the inspiring teaching of Adrian Rogers and we are only able to do that because of your prayer and your generosity. When you donate to the ministry this month, we want to thank you by sending our Factors of Faithfulness Discipleship Tool with focuses on worship, fellowship, evangelism, and more. This seven-week study will deepen your understanding of discipleship as you cultivate life-giving relationships for God's glory. Our number 1-877-LOVEGOD or give online at lwf.org slash radio. And again, thanks for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.