There once was a little boy who made for himself a toy sailboat. While playing in the stream one day, the boat drifted away. A few days later another boy found the boat. The first boy said, "Hey! That's my boat! I made it myself, and I want it back!" The second boy would not hand over the boat, but instead he offered to SELL it to the boy. So the original owner and maker of the toy boat reached into his pocket and gave all his money to pay for the boat. As he walked away, he held the boat to his chest and said, "You're mine! You're mine! You're mine TWICE! I MADE you, and then I BOUGHT you: YOU'RE MINE!"
Upon receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, you will become God's property (I Cor. 6:19-20). You will become His child, His responsibility. You will become the property of God, for he BOUGHT you with his own blood (Acts 20:28). Nothing can ever change that.
Friend, if you've never really been born again, please repent of your sins right now and place your total trust in Jesus Christ to save you. Tell Him that you're sorry for your sins and that you want to live for Him. Tell Him that you want to have a new life in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). Aren't you tired of sin? Do you not want to please God? Repent of your sins right now and ask the Lord to save you. He said that He would save you, if you will call upon Him (Rom. 10:13). Why not call upon Him right now!
If you have been saved, then the next section of this tract is very important for you. Please read it immediately.
If you have not been saved, the next section is NOT for you. You will not understand it, and you will not believe it (I Cor. 2:14). Our prayer is that you will meditate upon the things you've already read and ask the Lord to show you the truth. May you find peace with God today.
God's Promise of Eternal Security
Lord Palmerston, Queen Victoria's Prime Minister, was crossing Westminster Bridge one day when he came upon a little girl who had just dropped a jug of milk. The girl broke into tears as the glass jug shattered into pieces. Palmerston had no money with him at the time, but he was able to stop her crying by promising her that he'd return at the same time the next day and pay her for the jug and the milk. The following morning he was in the midst of a cabinet meeting when he suddenly remembered his promise to the girl. He stood up and rushed out to the bridge and paid the girl the money. You see, to him, a promise was a promise, and he had to keep it. Nothing was more important.
With or without us, God will always be God. He will carry out His wonderful plan, regardless of our actions. He never HAD to promise us Eternal Security, just as Lord Palmerston never HAD to make the promise to the little girl. But God CHOSE to promise us Eternal Security. It was a pure act of grace on His part. He chose to COMFORT and STRENGTHEN us by making the promise:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." John 10:27-28.
"Being confident of the very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6.
"Verily, verily I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24.
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.
We are told in Romans 8:38-39 that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ, and the Lord tells us in Hebrews 13:5 that He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. Eternal Life is a PRESENT POSSESSION for the Christian. If you've received Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you HAVE eternal life. You will not go to Hell, for you have been saved by believing on the record that God gave of His Son (I John 5:11-13, which see.). If you have received Christ as your Savior, then you have received eternal life, because Jesus Christ IS eternal life (John 14:6; Col. 3:4; Rom. 6:23). He placed His Spirit within you to keep you and to preserve you (John 14:16-17; II Cor. 1:22); so you should be REJOICING in Christ, not WORRYING about losing Him!
You say, "But what if I sin after I've been saved? Won't I lose my salvation?" No, because it really isn't your's to lose. You are totally God's property. You didn't earn salvation by any good work of your own, and you can't lose salvation by any bad work of your own. Your salvation is based entirely upon the FINISHED work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Your conduct can affect your FELLOWSHIP with God, but not your RELATIONSHIP with Him. You're His son, if you're saved, and that's the way it's going to stay.
Someone asked Luther, "Do you feel that you've been forgiven?" He answered, "No, but I'm as sure as there's a God in Heaven!For feelings come and feelings go, and feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the word of God, naught else is worth believing.
Though all my heart should feel condemned for want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart Whose word cannot be broken.
I'll trust in God's unchanging word till soul and body sever;
For though all things shall pass away, His word shall stand forever."
God's Treatment of Disobedient Christians
What happens when a Christian sins? If God doesn't send us to Hell, then how does He deal with us about our sins after we've been saved? This subject becomes rather easy to understand when we fully realize that we are now God's CHILDREN. We have entered into a Father/son relationship with God. He will deal with us as a Father deals with a child, NOT as a judge deals with a criminal.
Christians need to understand that their BODIES have not been born again. Only our SOULS have been saved. Our flesh is still corrupt, and it will die one day. Paul said that in the flesh dwells no good thing (Rom. 8:18). Since the soul has been made righteous through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God has found it necessary to SEPARATE the soul from the body. This is called spiritual circumcision. Notice these important words from Colossians 2:11:
"In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ."
Instead of being PHYSICALLY circumcised as the Old Testament Jews were, we have been SPIRITUALLY circumcised by the Holy Spirit. Our flesh has been cut loose from our righteous soul. When you received Jesus Christ as your Savior, your soul was SET FREE! The burden of sin was LIFTED, and the Holy Spirit of God came to live within your soul (not in your flesh!). A Christian's flesh is still corrupt and sinful, so we are to live in the SPIRIT, not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh (Rom. 8:1-9; Gal. 5:16). In Matthew 26:41, Jesus Himself said, "....the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Since the soul has been made righteous, God sees us as righteous individuals. He does not see our sins, because Jesus PAID for our sins. Our souls are FOREVER PERFECT (Hb. 10:14). So, if I sin, I do so in the flesh, and God will deal with me in the flesh about it. He will NOT judge my soul, for it's sinless.
Let's take an example of a Christian who sins against God. For stronger emphasis, let's take an extreme case where the sin committed is a most horrible sin. Such a case is found in I Corinthians chapter five, where a man is charged with having his father's wife. That's pretty bad, is it not? Some would think that this man should go to Hell for this sin, but that's not what happens to him. Paul tells the Corinthians to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the FLESH, so that the spirit might be saved. What happened? God dealt with this man just as a Father would deal with a child. God did not disown the man, but He DID chasten him in order to get him back in fellowship.
To "chasten" is to punish or discipline. Revelation 3:19 tells us that God rebukes and chastens his children. He does NOT forsake them, but He does correct and instruct them. Hebrews 12:4-8 explains how that all of God's children are chastened of the Lord. In fact, Hebrews 12:8 actually says that you're a "bastard" if you're not chastened! So there are two kinds of people in God's sight: sons and bastards. He corrects His sons, but He doesn't worry so much about the bastards, because they're going to get their punishment in Hell. Notice these inspired words from I Corinthians 11:31-32:
"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
You wouldn't send YOUR children to Hell, and God doesn't send HIS there. But He does discipline Christians in order to keep them in tune with His will. No one gets away with sin. No one has a "license to sin."
If you are a Christian, then you should always be conscious of the fact that YOU are not your body; you are INSIDE your body. Your soul has already been redeemed, but you are still waiting for the redemption of your body (Rom. 8:23). Your body is no good, for it is still under the law of sin and death. But remember, your SOUL has been made perfect by the Blood of Christ. The words of this poem by Dora Johnson illustrate this truth very well:
You tell me I'm getting old, I tell you not so;
The "house" I live in is worn out--and, that, of course, I know,
It's been in use a long, long while, it's weathered many a gale;
I'm really not surprised you think it's getting somewhat frail.
The color's changing on the roof, the window's getting dim,
The wall's a bit transparent, and looking rather trim.
The fountain's not so steady as once it used to be.
My house is getting shaky, but my house isn't me!
My few short years can't make me old--I feel I'm in my youth;
Eternity lies just ahead, a life of joy and truth,
I'm going to live forever there; life will go on--it's grand!
You tell me I'm getting old? You just don't understand!
The dweller in my little house is bright and young and gay--
Just starting out on a life to last throughout eternal day.
You only see the outside, which is all that most folks see.
You tell me I'm getting old? You've mixed my house with me!
Being a Christian, you are like a prisoner chained up in his cell. He is lonely and miserable. Then one day someone comes in and cuts his chains loose, allowing him to begin moving freely in his cell. He's no longer chained to the wall, but he is still in the cell until someone comes and frees him completely. Do you get the picture? You are no longer "chained" to your sins. You're free from them. Geographically speaking, you are still stuck in your corruptible flesh until the Lord calls you home to Heaven, but SPIRITUALLY speaking, you are IN THE BODY OF CHRIST. If you slip and fall, you'll do so IN CHRIST. You see, there is a difference between falling IN Christ and falling OUT of Christ, just as there is a difference between falling down IN an airplane and falling OUT OF an airplane! Spiritually, we are seated in Heavenly places IN CHRIST, according to Ephesians 2:6, and that's where we'll stay - FOREVER!
God's Judgment for Christians
God also has a separate judgment for Christians. It is called the "judgment seat of Christ" in Romans 14:10 and II Corinthians 5:10. This is not a judgment for determining whether or not we go to Heaven, but rather a judgment to determine whether or not we receive any REWARDS for our Christian service. II Corinthians 5:10 says, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
Unsaved people have their own judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. No one will go to Hell from the Judgment Seat of Christ. A Christian may lose his rewards, but he himself shall be saved (I Cor. 3:11-15). All Christians will be judged for their Christian service at the Judgment Seat of Christ, so we are supposed to be laying up treasure in Heaven (Lk. 12:33-34), and we do this by SERVING GOD in this life. So let's get busy and serve Him. Let's stop worrying about salvation (If you've been saved), and let's START earning some rewards, lest we find ourselves ashamed in that day!
May God save you, bless you, and use you for His honor and glory.
Copyright © 1994 James L. Melton
