"I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. "A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. (Daniel 7:9-10)

And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (1 John 4:14-15)

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

At the moment of salvation, we also enter a second phase of God’s plan for our lives - the filling of the Holy Spirit which enters us into the Fellowship Sphere for Time. We regain our filling of the Holy Spirit when we confess our known sins to God the Father when needed, with a genuine desire to not do those sins again as in 1 John 1:9. The Greek word for "filling" in the New Testament is pleroma which was used by the Greeks for the afterlife. It is used in Ephesians 5:15-18 for the influence of Bible doctrine and its subsequent application and obedience in our daily lives as advancing Christians. It is also referred to as the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 2:16. All of the good things you do should be the fruit of the Spirit or that inward production because of being filled with the Spirit. These are the things which glorify the Lord Jesus Christ as stated in Galatians 5:22-23.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:15-18)

For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

The Scripture contains all the instruction that mankind requires as far as in God’s plan for each and every one of us. God also provided a teaching mechanism through the Holy Spirit and Pastor-teachers so that we can learn of His perfect plan for us. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that the written Scripture is "God-Breathed" or inspired by God and that every believer is to learn it, believe it, and use it to advance in the spiritual life and to thereby do divine good or "every good work."

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

There are three phases in God’s plan for our lives. The first phase is salvation, the second phase is the believer’s life here on earth, and the third phase is the believer in eternity. At the instant of physical death, we are promised in Revelation 21:3-4 that there will be no more tears, no more death, no more mourning, crying, or pain. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that we are to be encouraged by the fact that one day we all will be absent from our physical bodies and be at home in heaven or face-to-face with the Lord.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)

we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)

During our time here on earth, our bodies are really not ours. We are just pilgrims in this life. We just cannot imagine how wonderful heaven will be. We cannot imagine having total and perfect joy forever and ever. The doctrine of eternal security applies to both salvation and to our time here on earth as believers. We are going to study the doctrine of eternal security through rationales. A rationale is a reason to believe. You must have a basis for everything you believe. The Bible teaches that once you are saved, you are always saved.

The Positional Rationale

The positional rationale to the doctrine of Eternal Security is found in Romans 8:1. In the King James version it adds "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," but this is not correct. The word for condemnation in the Greek is katakrisis. Kata means down and krisis means judgment. Condemnation is for the unrepentant unbeliever, not the believer out of fellowship. If the person continues out of fellowship he will die the sin unto death as did King Saul. He will lose out on all the rewards of eternity, but he will not lose his salvation. To say a Christian can lose his salvation is erroneous and is arrogance. This arrogance implies wrongly that there is some sin you can commit which is greater than the provision of God.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

There will be divine discipline at some points in every believers’ life as God’s way of trying to get them to confess their sins and get back with the Word of God. There is never judgment. The verb "are" is eime in the Greek and means the absolute status quo existence, referring to those who always keep on being in Christ Jesus. If there was a chance you could lose your salvation, it would not say "to those who always keep on being in Christ Jesus." We have an eternal union with Christ Jesus.

This could also be called the baptism of the Spirit rationale. Through the baptism of the Spirit at the point of faith in Christ for salvation, every believer in the Church Age is entered into union with Jesus Christ. This is called positional sanctification and nothing or no one can remove this position we have in Christ as stated in Romans 8:38-39. Every believer in the Church Age shares who and what Christ is. The last phrase "in Christ Jesus our Lord," means this is our union with Christ by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because we are in union with Christ, nothing can separate us from our eternal salvation. We can never get out of union with Christ.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 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. (Romans 8:38-39)

Jesus Christ is eternal life. Being in union with Him means we share His life as stated in 1 John 5:11-13. We also share His divine righteousness as in 2 Corinthians 5:21.

And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

We share the heirship and destiny of Christ as presented in Ephesians 1:4-5. According to Ephesians 1:6, we are accepted in Christ forever. We cannot ever lose this fantastic position in Christ.

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, (Ephesians 1:4-5)

to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:6)

The Logical Rationale

Systems of logic is commonly used in the Bible to present doctrines. Romans 8:31-32 uses a system of logic called "a fortiori" in Latin which means "with stronger reason." The writer of this passage (Paul) uses "a fortiori" logic to present God’s way of dealing with mankind. This passage says that if God did the greatest thing possible at salvation by not sparing His own Son, it follows logically that He can do less than the greatest thereafter by giving each of us eternal security. "Less than the greatest" is all that God provides for us in grace during our lifetime and forever in eternity. If the justice of God can provide the greater at salvation, it follows logically that the justice of God can provide the lesser for the believer.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)

Romans 5:8-9 says that God demonstrated His own perfect unconditional love toward all of mankind while we were sinners and spiritually dead in that Christ still willingly died spiritually for all of us. We cannot earn the imputation of divine righteousness. Because we are now justified by means of His blood, we shall be delivered from the wrath of God and cannot lose our salvation.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (Romans 5:8-9)

We, as believers, are God’s sons and He can show His personal love for us. We see in Romans 5:15 that by the transgression of Adam, we all are born spiritually dead. By the spiritual death of Christ, the grace of God can abound toward the many who accept this salvation work. This is also stating that those who receive the abundance of grace in time can also receive great spiritual blessing, the much more grace of God.

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:15)

Romans 5:20-21 says that where there is knowledge of the Law of Moses, we know what is sin and what is not. This passage continues to say that where sin increased, grace abounded even more through the imputed righteousness of God at salvation. We as believers are not lost nor are we God’s enemies. Now, He can do more than the most for each of us through His grace policy. This refers also to the "a fortiori" logic of the grace of God toward all believers.

And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

Nothing and no one else can hinder God from conveying blessings to us except our own negative volition. Eternal security is related to blessings from God. The believer’s capacity for understanding the purpose and source of God’s blessing includes total awareness of eternal security. No believer can attain maturity without thoroughly understanding the doctrine of eternal security. Eternal security is not a possibility for a believer - it is an absolute and permanent reality, whether you know it or not. Your eternal security was complete and locked from the moment of salvation onward through eternity.

The Hand of God Rationale

The hand of God rationale uses an anthropomorphism approach to illustrate eternal security. An anthropomorphism assigns a human characteristic or a part of the human body to God which God does not have. It is used to explain God’s policy to the human race in terms we can easily understand. In John 10:28-30 shows that we as believers are the possession of Jesus Christ and that He will not let any one of us be removed from His hand.

and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. "I and the Father are one." (John 10:28-30)

The word "never" in John 10:28-30 is a double negative in the Greek and means never, no not ever. Now, that is eternal security. Remember, a double negative in the Greek is different than in the English and provides much more emphasis on the negative when used. This passage goes on to say that no one is able to take them out of the hands of either Jesus Christ or the Father. This means that both the Father and the Son hold our hands. This is a sure-fire and eternal grip as found in Psalms 37:23-24.

The steps of a man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. (Psalms 37:23-24)

The Experience Rationale

The experience of a believer denying God is found in 2 Timothy 2:11-13. This passage means that if we died with Him or identified ourselves with Him on the cross, so shall we live with Him. However, if we died with him, we also reject human good and evil. This is retroactive positional truth. Water baptism is a sign of our rejection of anything produced by our old sin nature and for anything produced by our being filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

Baptism teaches past and present positional truth. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 also says that if we persevere, we shall also reign with him. This is a first class condition in the original Greek which means that it is a true statement and refers to those Christians who grow up spiritually. Those who deny Him, He will also deny them, meaning denying them eternal rewards, but not denying them salvation. We can be faithless, but He cannot deny Himself, as He has promised us. He is always faithful. Some Christians do deny God, but God is immutable and unchangeable, and therefore he remains faithful forever.

The Family of God Rationale

Every believer becomes a part of God’s family as a son of God at salvation and therefore becomes a member of God’s royal family in the Church Age as in Galatians 3:26.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26)

The verb "are" in the Greek is eime which is an absolute status quo verb and means it will always be this way. The verb’s mood in the Greek is a mood of reality and means you always keep on being sons of God (i.e., eternal security). The Greek word here for "sons" is huios and means sons of God. This means both male and female persons are sons of God. This came from the Roman custom of adopting a son into their family. This was true of Nero. He was adopted into a Roman family.

In application to our spiritual way of life, when we expressed faith alone in Christ alone, we were brought into God’s relationship sphere for eternity which is the family of God. We are adults positionally at the moment of salvation through faith only in Him and apart from any merit or works on our part. This is placing our complete reliance in God. We must believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Savior to be saved. This is the family of God approach. We are born through regeneration into the royal family of God and we cannot be unborn out of it any more than we can be physically unborn.

Every one of us has a father and a mother. Once we are born into that family, we remain in that family no matter what we say or do in our life. Therefore, once we become part of the family of God, we forever remain in the family of God. Some believers or sons of God will turn out to be spiritually mature, but most will not due to their own decisions not to consistently follow God’s plan for their lives. All are given equal opportunity, but not all take God up on it. No matter what we do, however, none of us can leave God’s family. This is eternal security.

As members of God’s royal family, we all are joint heirs with Jesus Christ in that we share His destiny as in Romans 8:16-17, Titus 3:7, and Galatians 4:7. We will always be an heir of God no matter how we succeed or how we may fail.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:16-17)

that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7)

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:7)

The Inheritance of God Rationale

When we become born again through personal faith in the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus Christ for our sins, we are also promised a resurrection body when we die which is being reserved for us in heaven as stated in 1 Peter 1:3-5. We will each receive our perfect resurrection body at the Judgement Seat of Christ just following the Rapture of the Church. This is because Jesus Christ first received His resurrection body.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5)

God is the author of this inheritance. Since God guards this inheritance with His perfect character, His perfect power, and His perfect immutability or inability to change from absolute perfection in every way. Therefore, we can have a wonderful confidence in relying on God’s power to keep us and we know we will always have this perfect inheritance and cannot lose it. Our eternal security is kept by God’s power, not our power. We are protected also by the power of God through faith unto our deliverance at the Rapture of the Church. Our eternal inheritance is kept by the power of God just as we are kept by the power of God forever.

The Body of Christ Rationale

The body of Christ rationale is another reason to believe in eternal security. 1 Corinthians 12:13 says that the Holy Spirit has baptized all of us into one body. This makes us forever members of the invisible body of Christ, Christ being the head of the body. This means that once you are baptized, or identified, with Christ, you cannot be unbaptized. Therefore, we are forever a part of the body of Christ whether Jew or Gentile, slaves or free. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)

The Shekinah Glory in the temple of the Jews was a sign of His blessing to them in Old Testament times. We know today that we are under His blessing with the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit. This indwelling is parlayed into the filling of the Spirit when we are under the full influence of the Spirit, as we have referred to it, as the filling of the Spirit. Without this filling of the Spirit, there is no Christian way of life with the full influence of the Spirit over the soul through confession of our sins. In one verse we have both the baptism and the indwelling of the Spirit, so as to emphasize the importance of every member of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:14-16 goes on to say that whether you are an eye, an ear, a hand or a foot, you should not have a superiority complex or an inferiority complex, because every member of the body is equally important for the purpose that God has for us under operation teamwork in the function of our spiritual gift or gifts. Christ makes it very clear here that He can never tell them He has no use for them. Every member and part of the body is important to Him. At the Rapture of the Church, our body will be a perfect resurrection body, and will be absolutely perfect, just as His is perfect.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. (1 Corinthians 12:14-16)

The Sealing of the Holy Spirit Rationale

The sealing of the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee of eternal salvation at the moment of faith in Christ. It is God’s promise that He will take each and every believer from the moment of salvation here on earth to eternity and our everlasting home in the third heaven.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 is talking about what God does for us with the forty things he has given us at the moment of salvation. One of these is the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit permanently indwells our body from the point of salvation onward. In contrast, our soul is controlled by the Spirit whenever we have confessed known sins to God the father. The very fact that there is the universal indwelling of the Spirit there is the universal possibility of the filling of the Spirit. The sealing of the Holy Spirit is a pledge from God that we have the indwelling of the Spirit. The seal refers to the signet ring of a ruler. In the ancient world this seal verified the authenticity of both the document and that of the sender.

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

Ephesians 1:13-14 refers to the seal as God’s pledge to us that our eternal inheritance cannot be broken. This is like God signing a promise for us, guaranteeing us all the assets He has laid up for us which relate to the Christian way of life. These blessings are waiting for us whether we use them or not. The seal is there and it cannot be broken by the Devil, by an unbeliever, or by our very own volition. God has reserved this for us forever.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the Gospel of your salvation - having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Ephesians 4:30 describes God’s desire that every believer stay in fellowship with the Holy Spirit and maintain their spiritual momentum to maturity. It also states that we are all sealed in our redemption from the penalty of sin through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

Sealing was a sign of possession. A seal attached to something signified ownership. No matter what happens after salvation, God owns us and will deliver us at the point of ultimate sanctification (i.e., the Rapture of the Church). Anything to which God attaches His seal belongs to God forever. Through the function of the integrity of God, we are permanently owned by God. Therefore, the sealing of the Holy Spirit at salvation is a challenge to every believer to avoid carnality and maintain their progress towards spiritual maturity, no matter how many times they may fail along the way.

The Greek Tense Rationale

One of the most powerful passages in the Bible that presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the perfect non-meritorious gift of grace is Ephesians 2:8-9. This passage says that we were saved in the past through faith with the result that we keep on being saved forever. This act was not from ourselves, but was a perfect gift from God to an imperfect person - each of us. If we did nothing but believe, how can we boast?

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The Greek tense in Ephesians 2:8-9 is composed of two verbs. They are the perfect passive participle of sozo which means to be saved and the present active indicative of eimi. This verb tense in the Greek was used to provide a more forceful expression. Nothing is more forceful than the expression of eternal security of the believer in this passage! In the Greek language, it is so strong that there is no way to possibly "interpret" this as anything other than what it is. Every believer is graciously given eternal life in the few seconds it takes to believe in Christ.

This passage indicates that at the moment of our faith in Jesus Christ, we were saved and will always be saved. This means we all have eternal security. The verb eimi presents a universal doctrine which is eternal security. It expresses an absolute truth that will always exist because God will never change. You can never lose your salvation! Salvation is not relative. Salvation is an absolute. In the first few seconds when you first believed in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you were given eternal life by God the Father. This verb tense in the Greek presents a completed action with eternal results - the doctrine of eternal security.

Another verse, Acts 16:31, says that when you receive Christ as your Savior you will be saved and if your children believe in Christ they also will be saved. It does not mean that your children are automatically saved. There is no such thing as salvation by proxy. We know, however, that when a child has not reached accountability, or when any individual has a mental handicap to the extent they cannot understand the Gospel and dies, they are automatically saved. This is God’s grace.

And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31)

The Greek word for "believe" in Acts 16:31 is pisteuo and is in the constantive aeroist tense which means to believe in a point of time which is perpetuated throughout eternity – and you shall be saved forever. This is referring to an instant of faith, and it means once and forever you are saved.

The Promise of God Rationale

There is no greater promise than eternal security given by God to the human race. This is seen in Jude 24-25 where a doxology is used to close the message. Here, he is talking about the fact that God keeps every promise he has ever made.

Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory blameless with great joy..." "To the only wise God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory now and forever. Amen." (Jude 24-25)

We do not keep ourselves from falling. God keeps on preventing us from falling and He does so by His grace. This passage says that God has the infinite power to maintain the relationship that He started when we first expressed our faith belief in the salvation work of Jesus Christ. This is eternal security with great joy. This is ultimate sanctification with indescribable happiness. The word "Amen" means I believe it. God’s promises depend on His power, not our power. He has promised to keep us from stumbling and He always keeps His promises.

God is immutable as stated in James 1:17 and He cannot ever change from His absolute perfection. Therefore, He cannot cancel the salvation of any believer once He has given salvation as a grace gift to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as presented in Ephesians 2:8-9. God cannot cancel His grace gift to you no matter how bad or sinful you may become.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The perfect integrity of God cannot be canceled by the failure or renunciation of any believer living on earth according to 2 Timothy 2:11-13. God is faithful to His Word. If we died with Him as we have as believers, then we will live with Him forever. If we endure suffering for blessing, we will rule with Him as mature believers. If we deny Him by refusing to grow spiritually, He will not be able to convey rewards and blessings that spiritual growth always brings. Even though we may be unfaithful, disbelieving, or faithless following our salvation, He remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself.

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him; If we endure, we shall also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He also will deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13)

The Eternal Life Rationale

Eternal life means eternal security. When we were born physically, God imputed human life to our soul. When we believed in Christ, God the Holy Spirit created a human spirit, to which God the Father imputed eternal life. Eternal life is the basis for eternal security. Eternal life is life forever with God. Both eternal life and eternal security are guaranteed by the virtue or integrity of God.

God is perfect integrity, holiness, and virtue. He is immutable, and always has perfect integrity. Therefore, God always keeps His word. John 3:15-16 says in both verses that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will be given eternal life. If you have had faith alone in Christ alone, you have been given God’s very own eternal life. John 3:36 and John 5:24 also mention eternal life.

that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:15-16)

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)

In pre-salvation grace, the Holy Spirit takes your faith belief in Jesus Christ and makes it effective for salvation. At that moment, every believer receives eternal life which cannot be canceled. 1 John 5:11-13 also tells us that this eternal life is in union with Christ.

And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:11-13)

Eternal security is an unbreakable relationship, because it depends entirely on who and what God is, never on who and what we are. Grace always depends on God’s divine policy in dealing with us as believers. Your weaknesses cannot cancel God's strength. Your failures cannot nullify or reduce in any way the integrity of God.

The Love of God Rationale

God loves the entire human race with a divine unconditional love. This absolute love is based on God’s own perfect characteristics and is motivated by His infinite love. This is the basis for salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. Christ died spiritually as a substitute for the entire human race. Also, as believers, we all receive divine unconditional love because we each now have the very righteousness of God and we share it in union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have something that God loves, his righteousness and eternal life.

He loves every believer unconditionally as stated in John 3:16. God also has a divine personal love for the few who fulfill God’s plan for them in the Christian way of life through positive volition to Bible truth. They grow up spiritually and God gives them blessings on that basis. These blessings are imputed to the righteousness which they have in their souls. Divine unconditional love also is given in eternity to all believers in heaven as they have perfect resurrection bodies. Additionally, God gives divine personal love to those in heaven who have matured spiritually while on earth. These are part of our eternal rewards for growing spiritually and living our lives as unto the Lord.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

These are the few who have taken the narrow road and have become the friends of God. The Apostle John said in 1 John 4:17-18 that there is no fear in agape love which is God’s perfect unconditional love for us. This casts out all fear including any fear of condemnation. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in union with Jesus Christ our Lord.

By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (1 John 4:17-18)

The Sovereignty of God Rationale

God does not desire unbelievers to be lost or perish as clearly stated in 2 Peter 3:9. Those that perish do so willingly because they reject Christ as Savior as in John 3:36. God never desires one of his own to perish, or lose their salvation, and since God is not willing for this to happen, it most certainly will not happen. It is His sovereign will. Once saved, always saved!

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

The Imputation Rationale

This is the double portion of sharing the righteousness of God and eternal life. The doctrine of imputation says that at the moment of salvation the righteousness of God is credited to our account as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21. Each of us now have this perfect standing in heaven. Also at the moment of salvation, every believer received the eternal life of God. There are no exceptions. God’s eternal life is imputed to our human spirit which God the Holy Spirit also created for us at the moment of salvation.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

When we receive Christ as our Savior, God actually imputes to our soul His very own perfect righteousness. At that same moment, the Holy Spirit enters us into union with Christ (Baptism of the Holy Spirit) which is also called the Fellowship Sphere for Eternity. Here, we share His absolute righteousness. When we first shared His righteousness, the justice of God was immediately able to allow His omnipotence to impute His eternal life to our regenerative human spirit. He has given us His righteousness and His life, so that we are qualified to live with Him forever. Regeneration is everything that is represented by eternal life in the Christian soul.

The greatest thing God does for us at the moment of salvation is our personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ causing salvation adjustment to the justice of God. The justice of God can then call for the imputation of His righteousness. The omnipotence of God carries this imputation out. We can do nothing to make it happen or help make it happen - God does everything as presented in Romans 9:30-33, Romans 3:22-28, and Romans 4:2-5.

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and he who believes in Him will not be disappointed." (Romans 9:30-33)

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. (Romans 3:22-28)

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, (Romans 4:2-5)

At that same moment of salvation, the baptism of the Holy Spirit enters us into union with the Lord Jesus Christ, where we share His eternal life. The doctrine of the double portion says we have the double portion of God’s righteousness and the double portion of God’s eternal life. Imputation is a wonderful rationale for eternal security. Wherever you study imputation in the Bible, it teaches that whatever is imputed by God stays imputed. When God imputes something, it is perfect and because he is immutable, He cannot change His mind and He cannot reverse His decision.

Jesus Christ asked a question in Matthew 16:26 that dealt with the issue of what could anyone give in exchange for their soul. The answer was that nothing could be given - it can only be received as a non-meritorious grace gift from God at the instant of salvation. Your soul is the real you – whatever makes you what you are. The body is simply a tabernacle or a tent. The unbeliever will spend his soul life in hell whereas the believer will spend his soul life with God in His eternal heaven. For the unbeliever, God imputes spiritual death and it stays imputed as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22.

"For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22)

God’s imputations stick. By this, we have absolute confidence that we cannot lose our salvation. God’s righteousness goes on forever. Our double portion goes on forever because our imputed eternal life goes on forever. Fantastic isn’t it? What God gives, sticks.

The imputation of divine righteousness is the only means of justification as presented in Romans 5:1-2. Justification is an eternal relationship with God based on His integrity, not ours. It is based upon our possession of His righteousness. 

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

The phrase "this grace in which we stand," does not refer to our morality or self-righteousness, but the virtue of God. Our relationship with God does not depend on our integrity, morality, or virtue. It depends on His holiness and integrity. The spiritual life is not morality, but far above morality. Virtue is infinitely greater than morality, but virtue can only be produced by the filling of the Spirit and the intake and application of Bible doctrine. Morality can be produced by human self-determination and the energy of the flesh. This is why so many unbelievers have a morality greater than that of some believers.

Eternal security is defined as an unbreakable relationship with the integrity of God and depends on the integrity of God. It is an unbreakable relationship because God will not break the relationship regardless of what we do or fail to do. Neither God nor man nor angel can cancel or destroy this unbreakable relationship with God. The moment we believe in Jesus Christ, God gives us 40 things. Demons cannot cancel those 40 things. We cannot cancel them by renouncing God or our faith. Our relationship is based on grace - never on our merit. God always provides the grace and our eternal standing. If we stood based on our own strength, we would collapse. We stand in the grace of God.

You have to be arrogant to think you can commit a sin or renounce God such that it can cancel the work of God! There is nothing the believer can do to cancel the faith decision of believing in Christ. No one has the power or ability to cancel it, no matter how evil they become. In other words, God is greater than all of us. Still, some people are so arrogant that they think they are greater than God. The dumbest people around are those who think they can reject eternal security by attempting to cancel the grace of God. It cannot be done!

Man's failure does not abrogate the integrity of God. Man's weakness does not cancel God's strength. Lack of integrity in the believer cannot cancel the integrity of God. Failure to execute god’s plan for your life does not cancel your eternal salvation! Unfortunately, we seem to be far more impressed with our failures than with the integrity of God. That is our problem. We need to be more impressed with the integrity of God and less impressed with our failures. This is why many believers don't believe in eternal security.

Knowing the doctrine of eternal security shouldn’t cause you to go out and raise hell. Rather, it should motivate you to want to know more about this wonderful God who has permanently provided such fantastic things for you because of one non-meritorious decision you made in a few seconds.

The possession of the righteousness of God forever eliminates the possibility of losing salvation by any failure on our part. Our righteousness breaks down because we have an old sin nature. In contrast, God’s righteousness will never let us down. We have it permanently. Therefore, we stand before God, not on the basis of our righteousness, but on the basis of His righteousness. It is the quintessence of human arrogance to assume we can do anything to cancel or abrogate our eternal salvation. The integrity of God is infinitely greater than any failure of man.