Chapter 1: Introduction & The Question of Security
Welcome to Truth Time, where you'll get a shot of the truth with no chaser. And now, your Truth Time host, Trey Searcy.
You either subscribe to eternal security or eternal insecurity. We're always interested in which course you're on, and how did you arrive at your conclusion? Was it based on factual evidence or hearsay? Once saved, always saved, or OS as some have titled it, is one of the most heated and debated topics in Christian theology.
The eternal insecurity camps claim you have to do works, remain faithful, display righteous living, bear good fruit, and so forth in order to inherit and maintain eternal life. But the gospel of your salvation—it didn't come from a bipolar source. God did not save you and then flip and say save yourself. That's not how it works. When the Holy Spirit sealed you, it was permanent.
Ephesians 2:8 could not be clearer about salvation being not of yourselves. If it's not of yourself, then how can yourself lose it? Would that make sense? No. But eternal security does. And when the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense. See, having confidence in yourself, that's nothing more than self-exaltation. And it's why Paul penned the words, "Be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is of the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Philippians 3:9)
Chapter 2: Legalism vs. Faith Alone
Self-worthiness is so popular among denominational teaching, but it's not the path to be on. Many suffer from religious trauma because of being told they have to micromanage their salvation and keep short tabs with God. But Paul wrote, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." See, we can't glory. We can't depend. We cannot trust in ourselves. Doing so is adding burdens to the gospel of grace.
The self-righteous hate the fact that it only takes one act of faith to unconditionally assure the believer of never ever being condemned. Because that one act spiritually baptizes each and every believer into the body of Christ. And once in Christ, always in Christ. Some despise this. They despise faith alone. It removes you from being under their thumb. It takes away their control.
The Apostle Paul was most definitely not a control freak. In 2 Corinthians 1:24, he wrote, "Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy. For by faith ye stand." And in the same chapter he wrote, "Who hath sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts." Does Paul sound like he's a teacher of eternal insecurity? I think not. But those who do only prove that they have a very low view of what God's Spirit is capable of doing.
Chapter 3: The Spirit’s Seal and the New Creation
I respect the power of the Spirit. And when Paul wrote, "We've been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise," I believe it. But religion, with its low view of God's Spirit, has them placing limitations on what he's capable of doing—which is keeping a promise. God's word says, "If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature." And these words mean something.
Ephesians 5:30—who wrote that? Paul did. He'll get you straight on eternal security. Watch: "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." Now, if we're members of his body, flesh, and bones, then spiritually speaking, a new creature in Christ would have to be surgically removed in order to lose salvation. Look back at 2 Corinthians again: "Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new." But the insecure camp says old things can come back and all things can be old again. See the switch? You literally have to tamper with God's word to believe what they believe. But they're willing to do so because of their self-righteousness.
Once your spiritual eyes open, you'll discover that eternal life is the inalienable property of God. What Christ earned through his faithfulness we received through faith. It's not about how faithful we are, but how faithful he was on our behalf. Now, this does not excuse us or eliminate the need to be faithful. Out of a heart of gratitude, as believers fortunate enough to be saved by grace without as much as lifting our pinky finger, living a faithful life by allowing his word to work in us should be the goal. Absolutely. But when the way I live becomes the focus on whether or not I'm saved, that's where we have to draw a dogmatic line.
When our faithfulness overshadows his, we're in error. Regardless of what Clement of Rome said, salvation is not linked to your ongoing faithfulness. Saying that a believer must actively endure to the end in order to maintain their salvation is heresy.
Chapter 4: Working Out Salvation—Reward vs. Security
Over the years, I've heard some use Philippians 2:12 to bolster their eternal insecurity position. Paul wrote, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." They love to misuse this. You're not working it out with hopes of getting it. You're working it out because you already have it. You can't work out something you don't have.
And this is a judgment seat, not a salvific issue. We're going to be judged by our works, which is why Paul says, "work out." We do it with fear and trembling because believers can suffer loss of reward, not salvation. And we say this on the authority of God's word. 1 Corinthians 3:15: "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved." Oh, that's clear. This one verse alone proves eternal security.
Truth Time Radio is all for doing good works (Ephesians 2:10), fleeing from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14), departing from iniquity (2 Timothy 2:19), fleeing youthful lust (2 Timothy 2:22), fleeing fornication (1 Corinthians 6:18), and abstaining from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22). We believe in fleeing all these things and following after righteousness (1 Timothy 6:1). But none of these things—not a one—can save you. This is such a simple message.
And if you're here today and you're guilty of trusting in any of these things for your salvation, it's my hope that you repent. Change your mind and trust Christ alone. Christ plus nothing. That's salvation. Most center their salvation around themselves, thinking they're capable of securing it. You're not. In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul said, "We're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the day of redemption of the purchased possession." God didn't make a down payment to only abandon the deal later on.
Chapter 5: The Body, the Seal, and Unbreakable Security
Paul wrote, "For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13) Now, if by one spirit we're all baptized into one body, how can we be unbaptized out? Someone's going to have to explain the mechanics of how that works.
Man's traditions are responsible for this confusion, with the Roman Catholic Church leading the way in the confusion. The Armenian and Orthodox say you can forfeit salvation by not following certain conditions. And Paul warned of this very thing. In Colossians 2:6, he said, "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." Which begs the question: how did you initially receive Christ? If you're saved, you received him by grace through faith. So what does that mean? That means that's how you should live—by grace through faith and not on the treadmill of performance.
This is so clear. I was recently asked, does suicide break the seal of the Holy Spirit for the believer? For the seal to be broken, there has to be the presence of sin. But God is not imputing sins (2 Corinthians 5:19). Once we repent from the religious system, change our minds, and start operating from this premise, it's much easier to find the answers to some of these questions.
If he's not imputing sins, then no sin, including suicide, can break the seal that the Holy Spirit has put on the believer. Praise God. He won't break the seal because the believer is dead and their life is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3). If a believer loses interest in serving God, is that a sign of them having lost their salvation? No. Losing interest cannot break the seal either. And "wouldn't that mean they were never genuinely saved to begin with?" That's another popular false teaching. In the work truster's camp, you'll encounter both front loaders and backloaders. One frontloads works to be saved, and the other backloads works to stay saved. Both are evil, and they're from the devil's religion.
Losing interest or not living up to certain standards is not proof of losing salvation. The body of Christ is not made up of cookie-cutter believers all at the same mile marker of their walk. God deals with each one of his children differently, just like we do with our children. You might be at one point of your growth in Christ while someone else is at another point, making it impossible to judge which one is "genuinely saved." As believers, each on our own course, we're at different places in our walk. If salvation is based on grace instead of human effort, then human failure cannot undo it. Now, think about that.
Chapter 6: Christ Paid It All—Our Life Is Hid in Him
If salvation is based on grace instead of human effort, then how can human effort undo what grace did? That would be impossible. It's impossible to undo the Holy Spirit's seal. Salvation is getting self out of the way and allowing the Father to evaluate you on Christ and his performance. Which is a good thing because entrance into heaven requires perfection, and we do not measure up. It's about his righteousness, his perfection, not ours.
For as by one man's disobedience—that's Adam—many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one—that's Christ—shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5:19) We owe it all to him. Jesus paid it all. We sing about it. Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain; he washed it white as snow. And when before the throne I stand in him complete, Jesus died my soul to save. My lips shall still repeat.
Oh, praise the one who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.
We've got to stop living like someone who's in debt. We're not. We're debt-free.
If you've been around a while, you've most likely heard it said, "The Lord is coming, so get your house in order." Listen, no one can be saved by the housekeeping gospel.
If he paid it all, he paid it all. If he paid it all, what can we add to all? Colossians 2:10: Ye are complete in him. What can we add to complete? My life is hid with Christ in God. Remember that's what salvation is—life. Salvation is life, and mine's hid in God. I can't lose eternal life because it's eternal.
Verse four says, "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Oh, this is a done deal. Yes, it is a done deal. No question about it. Hey, if my life is hid with Christ and God, that's as eternally secure as I can get.
Satan can't have me because he can't find me. I'm hid.
Second Corinthians chapter 1, beginning with verse 19. Listen, listen to the book: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Sylvanius and Timoththeus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Now he which established us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed us and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts.
Are you hearing this? I mean really, really hearing this. It's from the word of God, not the word of man.
So let's connect some dots here. After we believed the gospel, we were established, made stable in Christ. Then what did Paul say? Anointed. We were anointed by God, who also sealed us and gave us something. What did he give us? Look at what he says next—the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. How beautiful is this?
Should be exciting news to all believers. So to lose salvation, we would have to get un-anointed and unsealed.
It doesn't make sense. We were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. And I don't think most are aware of what that actually means. Being sealed signifies ownership.
In time past, a king would have what they called a signet ring. He would have it pressed into wax. That was a seal to mark his personal property.
Merchants did the same thing with cargo. This seal was a guarantee—a guarantee that whatever was in the package would safely reach its destination. It would ensure that the contents were protected, unbroken, unharmed, undamaged.
Just as the king used the seal to mark his personal property, my friend, you've been marked. You are God's property, and no one better mess with his property. God's seal comes with a 100% guarantee.
You were bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20.
How anyone can claim to be tracking here with God's word and still think that they can lose their salvation—well, that's beyond my comprehension.
Chapter 7: The Ultimate Guarantee—Peace, Assurance, and the Gospel’s Power
Our Apostle Paul penned the following in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 5: Now he that has wrought us for the self-same thing is God, who also hath given us the earnest of the spirit.
There it is—more evidence. The earnest of the spirit is where the spirit acts as a down payment. This assures the full delivery of our eternal inheritance.
That's eternal security every day of the week. We're sealed until the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30) The seal of the Spirit is our guarantee that he'll complete our salvation.
The proof is also found over there in Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
This is a full guarantee that our soul will be delivered to its rightful owner. And this should bring peace, not worry and anxiety. Just let that go.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
I'm reminded of an outstanding passage in Romans 8 that no work-trusting grace frustrator has ever been able to give me a good rebuttal to. Starting at verse 37, "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
What comfort—such comfort—that we find in the word of truth, rightly divided.
As ambassadors, we're to tirelessly be preaching the word of reconciliation so that others can come to the faith of Christ. All false religious systems have their focus on what human effort can accomplish. But Paul's gospel focuses on Christ alone and what he accomplished. Salvation is either by human effort or it's by grace. It cannot be both. If it were both at the same time, that'd be violating the law of non-contradiction. This isn't about your life. It's about the life of Christ.
You know, Adam lived 930 years. Yet, his story ended with three simple words: And he died.
At the end of all this, all that matters is: did you trust Christ? Did his life become your life? Did his test score become your test score?
So, go share this good news with someone. Keep planting seeds. Hey, when you plant a tree, you dig the hole, you place the seed, and then you water it. Months go by, and you may see nothing. The surface hasn't changed one bit. But because you can't see it doesn't mean nothing's happening.
Beneath the ground, roots are spreading. New life is shaping. Sort of like a child in the mother's belly. Life is forming even though you can't see it. Then the day comes when a shoot breaks through the surface of the soil there. And while you thought nothing was happening, that tree was busy doing what it was created to do.
So don't waste your time and energy looking back and being discouraged. Just keep dropping seed. Keep pressing forward. Spread the word of reconciliation. And don't get caught up wondering if you're being effective or not. Just dig the hole, plant the seed, and keep it moving.
In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul said, "I've planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." Some mistakenly teach that the phrase "God gave the increase" means he's increasing your knowledge. But pay that no mind because that's out of context. The increase here is dealing with adding to the body of Christ. Some make it about you and your knowledge when it's really about your love for others, for seeing souls saved.
Okay, God stopped imputing your sins because Christ died for them all. He was buried but rose the third day to make righteous and justify all who will put their trust in him by believing the gospel. See, light and darkness cannot compete because they can't coexist. Wherever light is, darkness must flee.
This has been Truth Time with Trey Searcy. Visit our website at truthtimeradio.com.
Until next time, remember: When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest.
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