ETERNAL SECURITY
By David J. Stewart | March 2009
Ephesians 1:13, “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
Chapter 8 — Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise
Every born-again believer is SEALED at the time of salvation with God's Holy
Spirit. The word "sealed" means "to stamp (with a signet or private
mark) for security or preservation." Oftentimes a judge will seal court
documents for decades to come, prohibiting anyone from reading them. Such is
the case with court documents concerning Martin Luther King Jr., who was a
Christ-rejecting Communist. In order to falsely honor King and promote a
national holiday for civil rights, US Federal judge John Lewis Smith, Jr.
ordered all the FBI records sealed up in the National Archives for 50 years
(till 2027). King's court records are sealed, secure and preserved.
Likewise, every new believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit, making us eternally secure and preserved in God's protective hands. The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are saved. Romans 8:16, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Amen! We are sealed by God the Father when we get saved. John 6:27, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed." Notice the words, "him hath God the Father sealed." Every believer is sealed with the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation, safe and secure in the loving hands of the Heavenly Father.
In view of the plain teaching of the Scriptures, how ridiculous it is for anyone to question the eternal security of the believer. We are sealed by God's Holy Spirit, i.e., that Spirit of promise, the moment we place our faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Salvation is a matter of God keeping His promise to those who come to Him by way of His Son, Jesus Christ. John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 6:37,47, "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." God the Father PROMISES eternal life to those who believe on Jesus Christ! We repeatedly find the word "promise" in the Scriptures concerning eternal life. For example, Titus 1:2, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Notice the word "promised."
Those critics who reject the Biblical doctrine of the Eternal Security of the believer are calling God a liar, because they have not taken God at His PROMISE. God PROMISES eternal life to anyone who acknowledges their guilt of sin and comes to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness. God then seals that person with the Spirit of PROMISE. The Holy Spirit Who lives within the body of every believer then testifies "with our spirit, that we are THE CHILDREN OF GOD" (Romans 8:16). No amount of sin, nor backsliding, nor anything else can cause us to lose our salvation, because God PROMISED eternal life to anyone who believes on the Lord. Salvation is a matter of God keeping His PROMISE; and not how we live or think as believers. Salvation is receiving; not giving. Our part is only to believe, God does the rest. God gives us His Holy Spirit of PROMISE the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, and the Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit that we are God's child. If salvation can be lost, and then gained, and then lost again, and then gained, then salvation would not be a matter of God keeping His PROMISES to us; but, rather, of how well we are doing in our Christian life, which is self-righteousness. No my friend, salvation cannot be lost, because God has PROMISED eternal life to him who believes.
Ephesians 4:30, "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." The Bible teaches that the believer is "SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE" (Ephesians 1:13). Jesus PROMISED that the Holy Spirit would come once He was departed from the earth. John 14:26, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Jesus promised the Holy Spirit would come, and so it is. This is why the Bible refers the the Holy Ghost as "that Spirit of promise." God keeps His promises. This is why we are encouraged in Romans 10:11, "For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Many people misinterpret this Scripture to mean that one who is embarrassed of Christ is not saved. No, no, no! That is not what this verse means at all. Look at the Apostle Peter, who cursed the name of Jesus and denied any affiliation with the Savior. Yet, later Peter wept bitter tears of sorrow and got right with God. Romans 10:11 means that Jesus won't fail anyone who believes on Him. This is another wonderful Scripture that exposes the heresy that salvation can be lost. The Bible PROMISES, and I love that word "promise," that whosoever believes on Jesus Christ will not be disappointed whatsoever!
Every believer is given the Holy Spirit of God at the time of salvation, which is God's seal upon us, showing that we belong to God and are eternally secure and preserved in Christ Jesus. Our salvation is secure in the PROMISES of God.
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