PowerPoint

Jack Graham: We were devoid of life. We were empty of God. That's what it means to be lost. But when Christ comes to live in us, we have passed from death to life. I am alive, alive, alive in Christ!

Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about the eternal security of a believer. Now here's Dr. Graham with his message, Saved, Certain, and Secure.

Jack Graham: It is essential that you live with confidence and certainty in your Christian life, the blessed assurance of knowing that your sins are forgiven, that you're on your way to heaven, that you have eternal life, and that you can never lose it. And because of what Christ has done for us, we live with this utter confidence, this deep assurance that we know, that we know, that we know, that we know that Jesus is Lord. And because Christ is Lord of our lives, we are with Him now and forever. So saved, certain, and secure, can you be sure?

Now, someone might think, well, it is presumptuous and maybe even prayerful to be so confident. Well, our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is not in what we have done, but in what Christ has done for us. And there are assurances throughout the Word of God that give us this confidence for living.

1 John 5:13 puts it this way: "These things are written to those of you who have eternal life, that you may have confidence, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." Then down in verse 19 of 1 John chapter 5, it says, "We know that we are of God. The whole world is in the hands of Satan, but we know that we are the children of God." These things are written that you may know that you have eternal life.

Our confidence, our assurance is not in what we feel. Our confidence is in the one in whom we believe, the one that we trust. Here's what we know. We know the Word of God, and the Word of God tells us who Jesus is and what He's done in our lives. So I'm going to give you five things that we know and ways, therefore, that we can be sure. You can be as certain for heaven as if you were already there.

Number one, God wants us to know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Paul expressed this in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 12. He said, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed unto Him against that day." Against what day? The day that Christ comes again. He said, "I know whom I have believed." He said, "I know Jesus." He's not someone I know about. He is real to me.

And my testimony to you today and the testimony of thousands like me is to say that Jesus is Lord and that because Christ is Savior and Lord, He is Master and friend. That Jesus is alive in me. He's not someone I just know about. He is someone I know and love. God wants you to know that you have not this experience of yesteryear, but a living, confident faith in Christ today.

Here's what we know. We know that we love Him because He first loved us. This is a love relationship and though we have not seen Him, Peter says, "We love Him." We love Jesus because we know Him. So this is written to us, God's Word is given to us that we may believe what is written and receive the Savior, the Son of God. Have you welcomed Him into your life?

Do you know Him? Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock," Revelation 3:20. "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in." Has there been a decisive moment in your life when you have invited, welcomed Christ into your life? Do you know that Jesus is living in you? Do you know Him as your Lord and personal Savior of your life? Our confidence is in this, that Jesus is our personal Savior and Lord.

Number two, God wants us to know that all of our sins are forgiven. God wants you to know this. Look at 1 John. You're still in 1 John. Go back a few pages to 1 John chapter 2 and look with me at verses 1 and 2. "My little children, these things I write to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins," and do we sin? Yes indeed, we do. "But we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He Himself is the propitiation," that is the redeemer of our sins, "for our sins and not only for ours only but also for the whole world."

God wants you to know that all your sins are forgiven. We have a sin problem and as a result of our sin problem, all of us, we live in guilt. Because of sin, there is shame and the regrets of our lives, and we live under this condemnation. Now, the world will tell you the opposite of this. The secular worldview is that you're a product of evolution. The biblical worldview is that God created you.

The secular worldview is that you're inherently good and if you're good enough, if there is a heaven, you'll go there. But that mankind, people, humankind are basically inwardly good. That's upside down to what the Bible says. The Bible says that we are instinctively, inherently bad. That we are born in our sin and our transgression, and therefore we need a Savior. Turns it right upside down.

And so we live under this condemnation. And so many people live with the uncertainty of not knowing if God has forgiven them. Even people who have been in the church or around the church or maybe even you're a baptized believer, but you don't have assurance in your life because you're wondering, how could God forgive me?

How is it possible for God to forgive? I can barely forgive myself, which doesn't do any good anyway. You know, the world says, forgive yourself. Well, good luck with that because that's not going to do any good to forgive yourself. You need the forgiveness of God.

And yet people think, well, God could never forgive me. God could never overlook my sin. Well, the fact is that God doesn't overlook our sin. He sees our sin. But He sent Jesus to die on the cross and to pay the sin debt so that we could be forgiven. And His blood, the blood of Jesus Christ, cleanses us from every sin. And therefore, because we have been fully and forever forgiven, we can live life without regrets, and we can live life with confidence looking at our future.

Knowing that Jesus has said, as He said to the lame man in Mark's gospel, "Your sins are forgiven. Rise up and walk." He said to the woman taken in adultery, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." You are forgiven in Christ. This means your past is blotted out, it is deleted. It means the sins of your present can be covered, is covered by and cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

So many people think, well, what happens when I sin? What happens when I commit sins as a Christian? Do I have to go back to go? I mean, it's like being in one of those board games and you have to go back to start and get saved all over again? No, because every sin that you've committed was in the future when Christ died for you, right? All your sins were in the future.

So whether your sins are past or present or future, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin and all of our sins are therefore cleansed. Look at Isaiah chapter 53, verses 5 and 6, key verses in the Bible. "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have all turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all."

1 Peter 2:24: "Who Himself," that is Jesus, "bore our sins in His own body on the tree that we having died to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you are healed." Psalm 103, verse 12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 32, verse 1: "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." God is saying, I've got you covered completely and totally.

So when people say something like, well, you can be saved but then you could sin to the degree that you could lose your salvation. You know, there are people who teach that you can somehow lose your salvation, that you could forfeit your eternal life, that you could turn away and be lost again. The Bible teaches us that once you are saved, you are always saved. You say, I know, that's that old Baptist thing. No, it's the Bible thing.

And here's why it's the Bible thing: because every sin that we have committed is covered by the blood of Christ as we have trusted Him. Listen to me, I always want to ask people, okay, if you can sin away your salvation, how much sin does it take to sin away your salvation? And how bad does it have to be, right?

I mean, is it one sin? Is it 10 sins, 100 sins, 500 sins? How many sins do you have to sin to lose your salvation? Or what kind of sin? Is it the real biggies, the big ones? You have to do one of the big sins and you could lose your salvation. And you know, the little ones like gossiping and those kind of things, you know, God will overlook that.

No, if there was one hint of a scintilla of sin held to my account or your account, we would be on a slide to hell, a water slide to hell. Because if there is any sin that we have committed that is not covered—you see, you've got to understand the holiness of God. God is of pure eyes than to behold iniquity. If there's any sin against me, then I'm lost forever.

But Christ took my sin. When Jesus went to the cross, He carried your sin and my sin with Him. And therefore, we are saved and secure because of what Christ has done. You know, the way you stay saved is the way you were saved. If you think that you are saved in any way by doing good works or doing good deeds or being religiously involved in some way, then you'll always wonder: Have I done enough? Have I done enough? Have I done enough?

Am I being good enough? Am I righteous enough? If you think it's by good deeds in any way that you are saved, you will never live in the confidence and assurance because you'll never know. But what we do is we live in the confidence of what Jesus has done for us, and therefore it is grace. So the same grace that saves us and forgives us takes away our sin and we live in this grace every day. And that's why we know and can say I know that we are saved because we're trusting in Christ alone. We have His pardon and His promise that He would take our sins and remember them no more.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Saved, Certain, and Secure. July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. 250 years of celebrating the freedoms, liberties, and rights we enjoy as Americans. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land.

That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789. Remember that your support of PowerPoint Ministries helps people encounter Jesus through clear biblical teaching. Through the support of friends like you, lives are being strengthened, faith is being renewed, and seekers are discovering the hope only found in Christ.

Your partnership is so vital that when you give this month, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus, as our thanks. It's a powerful journey through the Gospel of John that shares wisdom from the life of Christ to help you respond to real-world struggles. To give your gift, text APRIL to 59789. Again, text APRIL to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, Saved, Certain, and Secure.

Jack Graham: So what we know is that Jesus is our Lord and Savior because we have trusted in Him and Him only. What we know is that all of our sins are forgiven. And therefore, what we know is that we have passed from death unto life. That's the third thing I want you to see. He wants you to know that you've passed from death unto life.

That's 1 John 5:11 and 12. In fact, all of 1 John is an incredible manual for Christians of all stripes, whether you're a new Christian or a longtime follower of Jesus. But we often say to new Christians for assurance to read 1 John. Because 27 times he mentions the word "know" or a derivative of the word know: is to know, to know, to know, to know. Here's how you know, here's how you know that you're saved. That's the book of 1 John.

So 1 John 5:11 and 12 says this, "And this is the testimony that He has given us eternal life and that life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." And that's when he says, "These things are written to you that believe in the name of the Son of God."

So we know that we have passed from death to life, from temporal life to eternal life. Now heads up on this one: Eternal life and heaven are not the same, they're not synonymous. Heaven is the byproduct of eternal life. Heaven is the byproduct, the future that we have because we have been given eternal life.

Eternal life is in Christ. We have the Son, Jesus. We were born dead in our trespasses or sin. We were the walking dead. But because Christ said, "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly," we now having received Christ have received His life in us. Christ is alive in us and we have eternal life.

Listen to John chapter 10, verses 27 and 29. "My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone 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 my Father's hand." The devil can't snatch you out of the Father's hand. Don't you know if he could, he would?

Jesus said, "I give you eternal life." I've said it many times here, how long is eternal life? Well, it's eternal, it's forever. But it's more than just living a long time. It's the life of God in you, it's the life of Christ. You see, we were devoid of life, we were empty of God. That's what it means to be lost. But when Christ comes to live in us, we have passed from death to life. I am alive, alive, alive in Christ! I've passed from the old life and I'm living a brand new life because of Jesus Himself.

And so eternal life is what He gives us right now. In John 17 and verse 3, this is what Jesus said, "And this is eternal life." Okay, you want to know what eternal life is based on what Jesus said? "That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." All right, eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ. You receive eternal life the moment the miracle takes place when you pass from death to life. Eternal life means here and now.

You say, well, I'm going to wait to heaven to find out if I have eternal life. That's too late. It's too late. Here and now is when you put your faith and trust in Christ and you're given this eternal life in Christ. And it's not 10 years and live it and then lose it, 50 years and live it and lose it. I mean, that would be 10-year life, 50-year life, not eternal life. We have eternal life.

Next, what does God want us to know? Here's what we know: God wants us to know His perfect plan for our lives. God does have a plan and God has a purpose for us. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things are working together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He called, whom He called, He justified, whom He justified, these He glorified."

It is a done deal, accomplished. Tetelestai, finished. What Christ has done for us means that He has a plan and His plan is working progressively, perfectly in our lives. That He's constructing us and we're just getting started when we come to Christ and He's building us up and making us more and more like Christ.

And therefore, what we know is that everything that's happening in our lives, both good and bad, God is good and God does good. And God is working all things together for the good to those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Listen to me, God has a perfect plan, a plan and a purpose for your life. You're not an accident. You're not here by chance or circumstance. God formed you in your mother's womb and with that plan comes God's progressive work, His will in your life.

And so the only thing we need to do is to make sure we're getting ourselves aligned in God's will. We're going to be talking about discovering God's will as we go through this series and how to do that. But basically, you just get yourself aligned in obedience to God's Word and do God's will in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And when you are aligned in this way, life works because God works in response to our obedience to Him. And God works even when we are disobedient to Him. He turns things around and enables us to get back on track. So I'm saying all this to tell you that the world is going nowhere.

When Simon Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and he said, "Save yourselves from this crooked and untoward generation." The word "untoward" means a generation that's going nowhere. If you don't know Christ, you don't have a clue about where your life is going. I mean, you're just left to good luck and good luck with good luck.

If you don't know Christ in your life, you don't really have a purpose. You may have your plans and ideas, but what happens when life falls apart? And it inevitably does. Then what? When your plans fail or luck turns the wrong way? No, we don't live by luck. The Lord directs our steps. The Lord has a plan, the Lord has a purpose for our lives.

And so we live in confidence of this. Now do you see what a difference this makes in the way you live if you get up every single day knowing I am saved, I know that my sins are forgiven, I have passed from death unto life, and I am fulfilling God's plan and God's purpose for my life every single day? Do you see what incredible confidence and certainty that brings to your life? That you are saved, certain, and secure.

And I just want to urge you by all means to remember Philippians 1:6: "Being confident of this very thing, that He who began the good work in you will perfect it, perform it, complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." God began the work in you and what God starts, He finishes. He's not finished with you, He's finishing you, and what He starts, He finishes in your life.

So don't live wondering what to do next. Live with the confidence that in God's Word, He's given you a playbook, He's given you a manual for life, a guidebook for life, and you can live your life according to God's Word. Here's what we know. We know that we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We know that all of our sins are forgiven, therefore we are saved forever, eternally secure in Christ.

Here's what we know: We know that we have passed from death to life. We were lost and headed for judgment in hell. We repented, we received Christ, now we're on our way to heaven. And we know that God has a plan and God has a purpose in our lives.

And one more thing. We know that because Jesus is Lord, that everything that is happening in our world is under His control. And so we don't live in fear and uncertainty about the future. We don't live with angst and anxiety about what's going to happen next. Our eyes are on the Lord, the one who has come and who's coming again in great power and great glory and in great victory. Here's what we know.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message Saved, Certain, and Secure. Let me remind you that your support helps bring the life-changing truth of Jesus Christ to people across the world through PowerPoint Ministries. And this month, we'd love to send you a powerful resource as our way of saying thank you for your gift. It's Dr. Jack Graham's book, Life According to Jesus.

In this transformative journey through the Gospel of John, you'll discover not just what Jesus might do, but what He actually did when facing life's hardest questions. And we'll be excited to send you this resource because your generosity helps place this kind of biblical teaching into the hands of seekers and believers alike, equipping them to live according to Jesus' example every day. To give your gift, just text APRIL to 59789. Again, that's APRIL to 59789.

July 4th, 2026, will be a day of great celebration for the 250th birthday of our great country. However, there has never been a more important time in our 250 years as a nation where we need God to move in power and heal our land. That's why I'm inviting you to join Dr. Graham in a prayer challenge for our nation. To join, simply text the word CRY to 59789. Again, text CRY to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: You know, as hard as it may be to believe when you come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, His finished work on the cross takes care of all your sins. The sins you committed yesterday, the sins you committed today, and the sins you'll commit tomorrow. Because of the cross, all of your sins are forgiven. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.

So, it's really not too good to be true. Now for the true believer, a habitually sinful way of life won't be possible. If Jesus hasn't changed your life and your lifestyle, you are not saved. But if you are saved, if Jesus has changed your life, there's no sin dark enough to blot out your salvation. As Jesus told us in John 5:24, "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

I wish more believers would memorize these words and believe, truly believe them in their own heart and life. Of course, maybe you're listening today and you've never asked Christ to come into your life and forgive you and change your life. Maybe you haven't placed your faith and trust in Him. You may have joined a church or been baptized or accepted a creed or a religion, but have you committed your life? Have you trusted Christ to be your Lord and Savior?

If not, do that right now. Begin by inviting Christ into your life. The Bible says, "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved." So, pray a simple prayer. Invite Christ into your life. Turn from your sin, trust in Him and Him only for your salvation, and you will be saved and saved forever. And that is today's PowerPoint.

Guest (Male): Remember, when you give a gift to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Life According to Jesus. Just text APRIL to 59789. And join us again next time when Dr. Graham brings a message about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does in your life. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.