From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, you'll discover if it's even possible to lose your salvation.

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See, anytime you talk about eternal security, the lights go off in people's heads and they say, wait a minute, you guys say once saved, always saved.

Well, that can't be true because I know someone who was once saved and now they're an atheist. Now they reject Christ. Now they're no longer saved.

You don't know someone who was once saved and now no longer saved. You know someone perhaps, who once claimed to be saved and now they've rejected God.

Big difference.

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This is From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. Thank you for joining us today. All month long, he's been tackling the important and timely tough questions that we all wonder about. And they're really tough to explain, but there are sound, logical biblical answers for this.

Can I lose my salvation? The question today is from Pastor Jeff's series. Now that's a tough one, answering the difficult questions of life. We aired part one on Tuesday. We'll surely catch up from there first and then continue with the message on today's broadcast.

But if you missed last time and you can't stay for the whole lesson today, go online to promisheart.org, click the listen link to listen or download a free MP3 of the broadcast or any broadcast, as well as the sermon outline and notes from Pastor Jeff. Again, go to the Listen link at From His Heart.

Right now, though, open your Bible to Hebrews chapter six. Here's Pastor Jeff to answer this question: Can I lose my salvation?

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**Hebrews chapter six.** I'll begin reading. In verse 17, Scripture says, "In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his purpose, interposed with an oath in order that by two unchangeable things, God's oath and God's promise, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in laying hold of this hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both steadfast and sure, and one which enters within the veil where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."

Now, we're not going to delve into a lot in that passage, but I wanted you to see two things from it. Number one, it's impossible for God to lie. But not only does it say here that it's impossible for God to lie, but it says that we have a hope that's an anchor of the soul, a hope both steadfast and sure. The anchor in the life of a Christian is the Lord Jesus Christ, who comes in to live by His Holy Spirit.

So we want to look tonight at six foundation stones to help us understand what the Bible says about eternal security.

**Foundation stone number one.** God has said that there will be those who pretend to. You and I can't really tell about somebody because you can't see into that person's heart. The person that you can know that you can know that you can know about is you. Because you're the one that can control giving your heart to the Lord. The disciples all thought Judas was the most trusted, the most godly one around. They made him the treasurer. Judas was one who performed miracles, who cast out demons, who did great works in the Lord's name. But it wasn't real. See, Judas didn't lose his salvation; he never had it. Jesus said in John 6:70, "Did I not choose you the twelve, yet one of you is a devil." Listen, you can't lose it once you really have it.

**Cornerstone number two.** God has promised eternal life to those who believe. First John 2:25 says this: "And this is the promise which He Himself has made to us: eternal life." The promise is eternal life. Remember what Hebrews 6:18 said? It is impossible for God to lie. So it's impossible for God to give a promise and then not come through on the promise, because that would be lying. And this is the promise that He has made: eternal life. I have that promise; I hope you have that promise. If you could lose it, whatever it was wasn't eternal. Because eternal life that you have right now means it lasts for all eternity. And that's what God has promised to those who believe.

**Cornerstone and foundation stone number three.** God has promised to complete what He has started in believers. To complete what He started. Look at Philippians chapter one and verse six. Great verse. Paul says, "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." And Hebrews 13:5 says, "He will never leave you, nor will He ever forsake you." See, the going never gets too tough for the Lord, where He says, "I'm out of here." No, He's going to stick with you. When He comes in, He sticks with you forever until He can present you to the Father perfect in Christ.

**Foundation stone number four.** Not only has God promised eternal life to those who believe, and God has promised to complete what He has started, but God has placed us in Christ when we believe. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away; behold, new things have come." Therefore, if any man is in Christ. Did you know there are two places that every person on the planet lives? Two places: either in Christ or you are in Adam. The Bible says in the Book of First Corinthians, "In Adam all die, and in Christ all are made alive." And your position now as a Christian is in Christ. When I'm in Christ, that means wherever He is, that's where I am.

Look what the Scripture says in Ephesians chapter 2: "But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you've been saved and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." That's where we are spiritually as believers. We're already seated with Christ in the heavenly places. Spiritually. Now that's positional truth. Experientially, we're not there. But spiritually, that's where we are.

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Now.

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We still have to live this life. But what does that mean? That means that I will lose. Because I'm in Christ. I will lose my relationship with God the Father when Jesus loses his. Because I am in Christ. And how can I get out of being in Christ? Romans chapter 8 says that nothing can separate me from the love of God. Shall tribulation or distress or famine or nakedness, apparel or sword? No. Paul says, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor things present, nor things to come, nor any created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Once you are in Christ, you are in Christ forever. And you will lose your relationship with God. When Jesus loses his relationship with God the Father, that will never happen in Christ. That's a great truth to think about your position as a believer.

Now, in the Old Testament, there's a picture of positional truth. And it's found in the story of Noah and the ark. You know, God was getting ready to send judgment, and he told Noah, he said, you found favor in my eyes, so build this boat, because I'm sending a flood and I'm destroying the earth. And so he built this huge boat. And the animals came on the boat. The boat was big. There was room on the boat for lots and lots of people. But there were only eight people that were saved: Noah and Mrs. Noah, and his three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth, and their three wives. Just eight people. And the Bible says that they went into the ark and God closed the door behind them. God sealed the door behind them, and there they were in the ark.

And the ark is a picture of Jesus, who is our salvation, who is our deliverer, because that ark delivered Noah and his family. Now, Noah may have fallen down many times in the ark, but he never fell out of the ark because he was placed in it. And the ark was his ark of safety. People who believe that you can lose your salvation, this is what they have to think. And think about it in terms of Noah's ark, and you'll see how ludicrous it would be if God told Noah, "You build this boat, and this boat is gonna be a boat of deliverance and a boat of safety. And, Noah, this is what I want you to do. I want you to take some broom handles and I want you to get a hammer, and I want you to go up to the top part of the boat and I want you to hammer in eight broomsticks into the side of the boat. And then when the rain comes, I want you and your wife and your daughters-in-law and your sons to get on ladders and climb up and grab on. Each one of you has your own broomstick to hold on. That's like your peg. And you hold on to the ark. And if you can make it until the rain subsides, it's gonna rain for 40 days and 40 nights. If you can make it until all the rain subsides, you will be saved."

But that's not how it works. God didn't make him hold onto a slimy peg. He put him in the ark. And he might have fallen down many times in the ark, but he never fell out. God has placed us in Christ when we believe.

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The gospel of Christ is not dependent upon your effort, but on the effort of Christ. His finished work on the cross. Pastor Jeff Shreve will return on from his heart in just a moment with the fifth foundational stone in understanding the eternal security of the believer.

Now, today's message is called "Can I Lose My Salvation?" It's from Pastor Jeff's revealing series. Now that's a tough one. Answering the difficult questions of life. These seven messages provide solid biblical insight and answers to questions like, how can I know the will of God? Why do bad things happen to good people? What about those who have never heard? Why doesn't God answer my prayer? What does the future really hold? Plus more—just go to fromhisheart.org for information on any single message or to get the entire series.

We started off the month on this theme with the series "Life's Big Questions." Six messages that will help you understand the difficult questions of life. This series, along with a booklet, are our gifts of thanks to you for your support of any amount to the ministry given this month. The series "Life's Big Questions" and the booklet "The ABCs of the Christian Life" include lessons like: Does God really exist? Why am I here? How could a good God allow so much suffering? And more.

All this for your gift of support this month to help from his heart. You can go to fromhisheart.org to receive yours and make a secure donation or call 866-40-BIBLE (866-402-4253). We appreciate you standing with us to tell the world about Christ.

Now let's conclude today's powerful and encouraging message from Pastor Jeff called "Can I Lose My Salvation? Foundation Stone Number Five."

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God has predestined us to glory, knowing we would believe. Look at Romans 8:29-30: "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren; and whom he predestined, these he also called; and whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified."

Romans 8:28 is the scripture that so many of us quote: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose." This precedes the next verse that says, "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined."

Now, I don't understand everything, obviously, about foreknowledge and predestination, but I do know that when God talks about predestination, he couples it with foreknowledge. This is the way I understand it, and this is the way I believe it: I think that God, way back somewhere in eternity past, was looking through the telescope of time.

He saw through his telescope a teenage guy named Jeff Shreve. "What a mean kid," God said. Then God saw that kid hearing the gospel, and God saw that kid get down on his knees and give his life to Christ. God saw it in eternity past. And God made a decision and said, "That settles it. I am making that kid like."

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Now.

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God didn't make me choose him. He just saw in his foreknowledge that I would choose him. And way back before I was ever created, I was just in the mind of God. God saw through his foreknowledge that I would trust him. God predestined me to become like Jesus. Now you think about that. If I'm predestined before I was ever created to be like Jesus, well, then I'm going to be like Jesus. There is nothing that can change that. What happened in eternity cannot be changed. What was determined in eternity can't be undone in time. And so what God determined before I was ever born was that I was going to be like Jesus. Because God knew in his foreknowledge, he knew that I would trust Jesus.

And so we who know Christ, you've been predestined to be like Christ. Well, where are you going to end up if you're predestined to be like Jesus? You gonna be in hell? Of course not. Those who are predestined to be like Jesus are gonna be with Jesus in glory. See, nothing can change that. Adrian Rogers calls Romans 8:29 and 30 the chain of five golden links: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. He said you cannot break those. Those are all together. It's a chain of five links, and they fit together.

When God saw you way before you were ever created, way before he ever created anything, God saw you and he saw if you were going to believe or not. He predestined you, he called you, he justified you, and he already glorified you in his mind. See, God knows everybody that's going to be in heaven. In God's mind, they are already glorified because he sees the end from the beginning. So there's no way that can be changed. God has predestined us to glory, knowing we would believe.

Foundation stone number six: God has promised to protect us when we believe. Some people think, "Well, Jeff, here's the deal. The devil could take you from the hand of God. The devil could somehow snatch you away from God." Well, if that were true, why wouldn't the devil do that? If the devil could take anyone from the hand of God, he would do that. He would take all of us. The devil can't do that. The devil doesn't have the power to do that because you and I, the Bible says, are kept by the power of God.

First Peter, chapter one, verses three through five states, "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 salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." Protected by the power of God.

And God takes his children and says, "Once you trust me, I protect you with my power." Jesus put it this way in John, chapter 10, verse 27: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and they shall never perish. And I give eternal life to them," he said, "and they shall never perish." He said, "I put them in my hand, and no one is able to snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me. And no one's able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

That's the picture that he gives us. When you come to Christ, he puts you in his hand and says, "No one's able to snatch them out of my hand." The devil can't snatch you out of God's hand. Nothing can snatch you out of God's hand. And if that's not enough security for you, he says, "My Father, who is greater than all, has given them to me. And no one's able to snatch them out of my Father's hand." The Lord puts you in his hand, and the Father puts his hand over the Son's hand, and there you are in the hands of God. How you gonna come out of there? How's somebody gonna get you out of there? It's never gonna happen. The Lord won't let you go, and that's security. That's what the Bible teaches.

Oh, but you say, "Jeff, here's the problem I have: believing once saved, always saved. If I believed that, well, that would be like a license to sin. If I believed that, then I would sin all I want to because I wouldn't have any fear of falling, any fear that I would get kicked out of God's family." You'd sin all you want to.

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Hmm.

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Well, can I tell you a little secret? I sin all I want to because I don't want to. That's how you know you're a Christian. It's not that you never sin anymore, but it's that your wanter gets changed. I'm not saying those things don't have a pull. They do have a pull. But if that is your heart's desire to sin and sin and sin and sin, you gotta wonder, has anything really happened in here?

See, it's happened to them. As the Bible says, according to the true proverb, a dog returns to its own vomit, and a sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire. Some people use that passage in Peter to say, hey, that means you can lose your salvation. And as we close out, let's look at that. In 2 Peter 2:20 it says, "For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them."

It has happened to them. According to the true proverb, a dog returns to its own vomit and a sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire. And people say, you see that? That's talking about someone who loses his salvation. No, it doesn't. It talks about someone who never had. It talks about someone who got really, really close, but never. You know how I know that is because of the proverb about a sow and a dog.

When you become a child of God, God never calls you a dog and he never calls you a sow. And the thing about a dog and the thing about a sow, their nature has never changed. Why does a dog return to his vomit? Have you ever seen a dog do that? One of the reasons I'm not real crazy about dogs is they'll eat something that doesn't agree with them, they'll throw up, they'll walk away and the thought will occur to them, "Hey, I just left a hot meal." And they go back to their own vomit. They'll do that. You watch them.

Why do they do that? Cause they're a dog. They're a dog and a sow. You know what you can do with a sow? You can take a sow home and you can clean up a sow and you can paint their nails and you can put on a ribbon and you can make them all spit shined and polished, and as soon as you let that sow out of the house, that sow will run for the mud.

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Why?

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Because they're a sow and that's what sows do. And their nature has never been changed.

When you become a child of God, you're not a dog anymore returning to his vomit. You're not a sow anymore wanting to roll around in the mud. Your nature has changed. Your wanter has changed. Your life is different. You're a new creation in Jesus Christ.

And I never have to be afraid that God is going to wash his hands of me. He commits to me forever.

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Would you like for God to take your sinful nature and work a miraculous change through Jesus' sacrifice? If you want God's forgiveness, you can have it. It only requires that you turn from your sin and place your faith in Christ alone for forgiveness. You can't earn salvation or even keep it. You just surrender your heart to Christ, and he'll come in, and you'll be changed.

To find out more about what that means for you, we invite you to go to promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" icon on the homepage. It'll give you more insights, encouragement, and some free materials to help you in your Christian walk. Go to promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link.

Well, time's gone for today. I'm Larry Nobles, hoping that you'll be right back here next time when Pastor Jeff continues in the series "That's a Tough One," answering the difficult questions of life. He'll have part one of the message, "Is the Bible Really True?" That's next time here on From His Heart.

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There is tremendous truth There is love There is hope that you always dream love he can heal every scars.

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From his heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember that no matter what, God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more at from his heart dot org.