The Believer's Security in Christ

The Believer's Security in Christ
"How Tedious and Tasteless the Hours" Speaking of believers, John Newton said, "They are no longer their own; they would not be their own; it is their desire, their joy, their glory, to live to Him who died for them. He has won their hearts by His love, and made them a willing people in the day of his power. How tedious and tasteless the hours, When Jesus no longer I see; Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers, Have all lost their sweetness to me; The mid-summer sun shines but dim, The fields strive in vain to look gay, But when I am happy in Him, December's as pleasant as May. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I may be the weakest of the sheep, but I shall not want. I may be the dumbest, I may wander and stray, I may grow old and feeble; but I shall not want. I may not have all that I desire or wish, but I shall not want. I will endure trial, sickness and sorrow, I will walk through this valley of death, and I will one day stand before God's throne, but I shall not want. My Shepherd is able to save to the uttermost, to do all that He promised, to keep that which I have committed to Him, and to present me faultless before His throne, I shall not want. I shall not want for rest, for He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leads me by the still waters. I shall not want for redemption, for He restoreth my soul. I shall not want for holiness, for He leads me in paths of righteousness. I shall not want for comfort, for He is with me. I shall not want for provisions, for He prepares my table. I shall not want for anything in this life nor in the life to come; for His goodness and mercy follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever! Pastor Henry Mahan THE UNCHANGING OBJECTS OF GOD'S LOVE God is unchanging in the objects of His love - not only in His love, but in the objects of it. "If ever it should come to pass, That sheep of Christ might fall away, My fickle, feeble soul, alas, Would fall a thousand times a day." If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be, and then there is no gospel promise true; but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once, when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then he will love me for ever. "Did Jesus once upon me shine, Then Jesus is for ever mine." The objects of everlasting love never change. Those whom God hath called, he will justify; whom he has justified, he will sanctify; and whom he sanctifies, he will glorify. Charles H. Spurgeon Our Great Shepherd The sinner who is enlightened to know himself, his wants, enemies, and dangers, will not dare to confide in anything short of an Almighty arm; he needs a Shepherd who is full of wisdom, full of care, full of power; able, like the sun to shine upon millions at once, and possessed of those incommunicable attributes of Deity, omniscience and omnipresence. Such is our great Shepherd. Content with beholding His face, My all to His pleasure resigned; No changes of season or place Would make any change in my mind. While blest with a sense of His love, A palace a toy would appear; And prisons would palaces prove If Jesus would dwell with me there. John Newton CASTING YOUR CARE UPON HIM In casting our cares on God there are plainly required three things: A persuasion that God has complete control in reference to those things which excite our anxiety. A persuasion that He will use this control in the best way, abstractly considered. A persuasion that He will use this control in the best possible way, as far as we are concerned. I could not get rid of painful anxiety by casting it on God, if I did not believe He could sustain it. What lies at the very basis here is the conviction that God is the sovereign of the universe, uncontrolled and uncontrollable. He is one "whose kingdom ruleth over all;" "who can do everything;" "whose arm none can stay;" to whom none dare say, "What doest Thou?" I cannot cast my care, all my care, on Him unless I believe that His power is guided by wisdom and righteousness. If I were not convinced that God is possessed of infinite wisdom and righteousness, it would increase my anxieties, not diminish them; but, the clear understanding that He who has all things under His control is perfect in knowledge, infinite in wisdom, glorious in holiness, plentiful in justice and full of kindness, persuades me that His management of everything must be the best possible. Pastor Scott Richardson PERSEVERANCE All for whom Christ died will persevere: they, as the saints of old, will "die in faith." God does not deal with us as robots, we are required to continue in well doing. Yet our enduring to the end cannot be attributed to our faithfulness or even the strength of our new nature we received when regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We are enabled to persevere because "It is God which worketh in us both to will and do of His pleasure" (Phil. 2:13, Heb. 13:21). God is the one who works in us and keeps us from totally falling away. It is not by any power or sufficiency in ourselves. A believer's perseverance depends wholly and entirely on the will and faithfulness, the energy and influence of God (Phil. 1:6)! If the Holy Spirit were taken from us, if we were left to stand or fall by ourselves, we would immediately cease to be a believer and fall totally from a state grace. Pastor Donnie Bell To Whom Shall We Go? "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God" (John 6:69). From the standpoint of God's eternal decrees it may truly be said that believing sinners will not turn away from Christ because they cannot, but from the standpoint of the believing sinner's experience it may just as truly be said that he can not turn away from Christ because he will not. And this is not presumption. It is simple, saving, childlike faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Should all the works that hell devise, Assail my soul with treacherous art; I'll call them vanity and lies, And bind His Gospel to my heart." Jim Byrd Blessed Assurance John 6:37 There is something very comforting to the believer when he sees the "wills", "shalls", and "musts" within the scripture. Those words speak of certainty. When it comes to the God of the Bible, we behold there One who is sovereign -- One Who does as He wills and One who owes no explanation of His actions to anyone. The God of scripture is not one that can be bargained with, but is One to be bowed to. His Word always goes forth and accomplishes the purpose for which it has been sent (Isaiah 55:11). One such scripture plainly sets forth the certainty of salvation for God's people is John 6:37. Listen to the unwavering words of our Lord: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Within this one scripture three undeniable and unchangeable facts are established by the Holy Spirit, and in these facts the eye of faith most assuredly beholds God's glory: 1) God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son, 2) the Lord Jesus Christ will most assuredly possess that gift, and 3) that gift is eternally secure. God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son. "All that the Father giveth me" -- Here the Lord Jesus speaks of a definite number and group of people that has been given by eternal election unto the Son. Those given by the Father were chosen in Christ from the foundation of the world unto eternal life. It was for these elect sinners that our Lord prayed in John 17. Hear the words of the interceding Master as His heart is revealed in prayer to His Father: "I have manifested thy name to the men which thou gavest me out of the world" (vs. 6). "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine" (vs. 9). The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica: "But we are bound to give thanks unto God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13). Men may talk of their desires or their intentions, but how marvelous it is that the Holy Ghost would reveal God's choice. Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus clearly states that God has "chosen us in Him (that is, Christ Jesus) that we should be holy and without blame before Him (the Father) in love (Eph. 1:4). That the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son is to the praise of the glory of His grace. With this truth established, let us now consider the next unchangeable fact of John 6:3: The Lord Jesus Christ will possess that gift. One may ask, "what is the sign that a man has been chosen of God unto salvation?" Again, the scripture is plain and emphatic when it comes to the salvation of God's elect. "All that the Father giveth me shall come (by faith) to me." Can there be anything more certain than these words? Does the Lord leave anything to chance? NO! Based on the authority of the word of God, those that the Father has given to the Son shall come to the Son for salvation. These elect behold by faith that God is pleased with them only on the merit of being found in Christ. The blood that Christ shed at Calvary to cover the guilt of all the elect is the only atonement that will be accepted by a Holy God. God's elect shall in time perceive the beauty of Christ as their Substitute, their Redeemer, their Representative, and their Savior. They shall come to Him for life and mercy as needy spiritual beggars. They come because they are made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3). They long to drink of Christ because they are thirsty for the Water of Life (John 7:37). They come to eat of His flesh (John 6:53) because they see Him to be the Bread from heaven. The eternal purpose of the Almighty God cannot be frustrated. The sovereign will of the Most High God shall be accomplished. This then brings us to the last great truth of John 6:37: That gift is eternally secure. The Lord Jesus said "him that cometh to me" shall not be cast out! Here is eternal security for everyone that truly comes to Christ. This is the foundation that stands secure. This is blessed assurance for those spiritual beggars that come by faith to the Savior. Never cast out -- O how wonderful that sounds to one who recognizes his tendency to wander from God. Every time a saint sees something of his inability to keep himself faithful (which is constantly), he is reminded of the faithfulness of God Who never leaves nor forsakes His own. The words "I will in no wise cast out" are an anthem of hope to every one that truly needs the Savior. God's word stands sure. When it comes to the salvation of God's people, one can rest on these truths: God has given (and chosen) to His Son a people that He has eternally loved. Those that the Father has given to Christ shall by Spirit-given faith surely come unto salvation. All that come to Christ by faith unto salvation shall surely be preserved by Christ, for He will in no wise cast them out. For these blessed truths, we praise and give thanks to our matchless Lord. Marvin Stalnaker

Speaking of believers, John Newton said, "They are no longer their own; they would not be their own; it is their desire, their joy, their glory, to live to Him who died for them. He has won their hearts by His love, and made them a willing people in the day of his power.

How tedious and tasteless the hours,
When Jesus no longer I see;
Sweet prospects, sweet birds, and sweet flowers,
Have all lost their sweetness to me;
The mid-summer sun shines but dim,
The fields strive in vain to look gay,
But when I am happy in Him,
December's as pleasant as May.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." I may be the weakest of the sheep, but I shall not want. I may be the dumbest, I may wander and stray, I may grow old and feeble; but I shall not want. I may not have all that I desire or wish, but I shall not want. I will endure trial, sickness and sorrow, I will walk through this valley of death, and I will one day stand before God's throne, but I shall not want. My Shepherd is able to save to the uttermost, to do all that He promised, to keep that which I have committed to Him, and to present me faultless before His throne, I shall not want.
I shall not want for rest, for He maketh me to lie down in green pastures and leads me by the still waters. I shall not want for redemption, for He restoreth my soul. I shall not want for holiness, for He leads me in paths of righteousness. I shall not want for comfort, for He is with me. I shall not want for provisions, for He prepares my table. I shall not want for anything in this life nor in the life to come; for His goodness and mercy follow me, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

THE UNCHANGING OBJECTS OF GOD'S LOVE

God is unchanging in the objects of His love - not only in His love, but in the objects of it.

"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away,
My fickle, feeble soul, alas,
Would fall a thousand times a day."

If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be, and then there is no gospel promise true; but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once, when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then he will love me for ever.

The objects of everlasting love never change. Those whom God hath called, he will justify; whom he has justified, he will sanctify; and whom he sanctifies, he will glorify.

Our Great Shepherd

The sinner who is enlightened to know himself, his wants, enemies, and dangers, will not dare to confide in anything short of an Almighty arm; he needs a Shepherd who is full of wisdom, full of care, full of power; able, like the sun to shine upon millions at once, and possessed of those incommunicable attributes of Deity, omniscience and omnipresence. Such is our great Shepherd.

Content with beholding His face,
My all to His pleasure resigned;
No changes of season or place
Would make any change in my mind.
While blest with a sense of His love,
A palace a toy would appear;
And prisons would palaces prove
If Jesus would dwell with me there.

CASTING YOUR CARE UPON HIM

I could not get rid of painful anxiety by casting it on God, if I did not believe He could sustain it. What lies at the very basis here is the conviction that God is the sovereign of the universe, uncontrolled and uncontrollable. He is one "whose kingdom ruleth over all;" "who can do everything;" "whose arm none can stay;" to whom none dare say, "What doest Thou?" I cannot cast my care, all my care, on Him unless I believe that His power is guided by wisdom and righteousness. If I were not convinced that God is possessed of infinite wisdom and righteousness, it would increase my anxieties, not diminish them; but, the clear understanding that He who has all things under His control is perfect in knowledge, infinite in wisdom, glorious in holiness, plentiful in justice and full of kindness, persuades me that His management of everything must be the best possible.

PERSEVERANCE

All for whom Christ died will persevere: they, as the saints of old, will "die in faith." God does not deal with us as robots, we are required to continue in well doing. Yet our enduring to the end cannot be attributed to our faithfulness or even the strength of our new nature we received when regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We are enabled to persevere because "It is God which worketh in us both to will and do of His pleasure" (Phil. 2:13, Heb. 13:21). God is the one who works in us and keeps us from totally falling away. It is not by any power or sufficiency in ourselves.
A believer's perseverance depends wholly and entirely on the will and faithfulness, the energy and influence of God (Phil. 1:6)! If the Holy Spirit were taken from us, if we were left to stand or fall by ourselves, we would immediately cease to be a believer and fall totally from a state grace.

To Whom Shall We Go?

"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God" (John 6:69).

From the standpoint of God's eternal decrees it may truly be said that believing sinners will not turn away from Christ because they cannot, but from the standpoint of the believing sinner's experience it may just as truly be said that he can not turn away from Christ because he will not. And this is not presumption. It is simple, saving, childlike faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Should all the works that hell devise,
Assail my soul with treacherous art;
I'll call them vanity and lies,
And bind His Gospel to my heart."

Blessed Assurance

There is something very comforting to the believer when he sees the "wills", "shalls", and "musts" within the scripture. Those words speak of certainty. When it comes to the God of the Bible, we behold there One who is sovereign -- One Who does as He wills and One who owes no explanation of His actions to anyone. The God of scripture is not one that can be bargained with, but is One to be bowed to. His Word always goes forth and accomplishes the purpose for which it has been sent (Isaiah 55:11). One such scripture plainly sets forth the certainty of salvation for God's people is John 6:37. Listen to the unwavering words of our Lord: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Within this one scripture three undeniable and unchangeable facts are established by the Holy Spirit, and in these facts the eye of faith most assuredly beholds God's glory: 1) God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son, 2) the Lord Jesus Christ will most assuredly possess that gift, and 3) that gift is eternally secure.

God the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son. "All that the Father giveth me" -- Here the Lord Jesus speaks of a definite number and group of people that has been given by eternal election unto the Son. Those given by the Father were chosen in Christ from the foundation of the world unto eternal life. It was for these elect sinners that our Lord prayed in John 17. Hear the words of the interceding Master as His heart is revealed in prayer to His Father: "I have manifested thy name to the men which thou gavest me out of the world" (vs. 6). "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine" (vs. 9). The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica: "But we are bound to give thanks unto God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2:13). Men may talk of their desires or their intentions, but how marvelous it is that the Holy Ghost would reveal God's choice. Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus clearly states that God has "chosen us in Him (that is, Christ Jesus) that we should be holy and without blame before Him (the Father) in love (Eph. 1:4). That the Father has given a blessed gift to the Son is to the praise of the glory of His grace. With this truth established, let us now consider the next unchangeable fact of John 6:3:
The Lord Jesus Christ will possess that gift. One may ask, "what is the sign that a man has been chosen of God unto salvation?" Again, the scripture is plain and emphatic when it comes to the salvation of God's elect. "All that the Father giveth me shall come (by faith) to me." Can there be anything more certain than these words? Does the Lord leave anything to chance? NO! Based on the authority of the word of God, those that the Father has given to the Son shall come to the Son for salvation. These elect behold by faith that God is pleased with them only on the merit of being found in Christ. The blood that Christ shed at Calvary to cover the guilt of all the elect is the only atonement that will be accepted by a Holy God. God's elect shall in time perceive the beauty of Christ as their Substitute, their Redeemer, their Representative, and their Savior. They shall come to Him for life and mercy as needy spiritual beggars. They come because they are made willing in the day of His power (Psalm 110:3). They long to drink of Christ because they are thirsty for the Water of Life (John 7:37). They come to eat of His flesh (John 6:53) because they see Him to be the Bread from heaven. The eternal purpose of the Almighty God cannot be frustrated. The sovereign will of the Most High God shall be accomplished. This then brings us to the last great truth of John 6:37:
That gift is eternally secure. The Lord Jesus said "him that cometh to me" shall not be cast out! Here is eternal security for everyone that truly comes to Christ. This is the foundation that stands secure. This is blessed assurance for those spiritual beggars that come by faith to the Savior. Never cast out -- O how wonderful that sounds to one who recognizes his tendency to wander from God. Every time a saint sees something of his inability to keep himself faithful (which is constantly), he is reminded of the faithfulness of God Who never leaves nor forsakes His own. The words "I will in no wise cast out" are an anthem of hope to every one that truly needs the Savior.

God's word stands sure. When it comes to the salvation of God's people, one can rest on these truths: God has given (and chosen) to His Son a people that He has eternally loved. Those that the Father has given to Christ shall by Spirit-given faith surely come unto salvation. All that come to Christ by faith unto salvation shall surely be preserved by Christ, for He will in no wise cast them out. For these blessed truths, we praise and give thanks to our matchless Lord.