If you are worried about losing your salvation, here’s a question: When you were born again, did you do it? Did you remake or re-create yourself? Did you somehow join yourself in spiritual union with the Lord?

You did none of those things.

You were born again, saved, sanctified, and put in Christ by the Holy Spirit (see John 3:5–6, Gal. 3:3, 2 Th. 2:13). God did it all.

Once upon a time, you were dead in your transgressions…

…but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us … made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4–6)

Do you see? Since you cannot save yourself, you cannot un-save yourself.

Yet some still worry.

“God would not have saved me without my permission. If I change my mind, I could lose my salvation.”

Not a chance. Just as a little baby cannot be unborn, no one can undo what God has wrought.

“But if I break the commands, fail the test, become reprobate…”

Wrong covenant. The old covenant hinged on you and your performance, but the new covenant rests on Christ. You are not standing on your brittle promises to him but on his solid promises to you.

The unbreakable promises of God

Many Christians are worried that they might stumble and fall out of the kingdom. Perhaps this is something that concerns you. If so, let me put your mind at rest.

If I could show you one promise from the Lord that guaranteed your eternal security, would you quit fretting? Here we go:

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. (1 Corinthians 1:8-9)

If you are worried about losing your salvation, frame this verse. Let it remind you that your salvation is not about your faithfulness but his.

Who called you into fellowship with Christ? God!

Who will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on that Day? God!

Who is faithful? God!

And don’t forget that these good promises were addressed to those Corinthians “reprobates”!

In the New Testament there 130+ promises guaranteeing your eternal security. Each one is a comfort. I encourage you to write them on your heart and take them to the bank because they are gold. But I will give you just seven.

7 promises about your eternal security

For a Christian to lose their salvation and be expelled from the kingdom…

1. God would have to forsake us, when he said he wouldn’t (Heb. 13:5)
2. God would have to cast us out, when he said he wouldn’t (John 6:37)
3. God would have to condemn us, when he said he wouldn’t (Rom. 8:1, 34)
4. God would have to withdraw his Spirit, when he said he wouldn’t (John 14:16-17)
5. God would have to remember our sins, when he said he wouldn’t (Jer. 31:34, Heb. 10:17)
6. God would have to forget that we are his children, when he said he wouldn’t (Is. 49:15)
7. God would have to blot our names out of the book of life, when he said he wouldn’t (Rev. 3:5)

Good news, no?

“But what about those scriptures that say we have to hold fast, continue, and endure to the end?”

Read those scriptures through the lens of the new covenant and you will find they all say the same thing – we are saved and kept by grace.

“But I need to overcome, obey, avoid sin, be holy, and persevere.”

Whatever need you may have, God will supply according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Php. 4:19).

Can you imagine a three-year-old child who lies awake at night worrying about buying groceries or paying the bills or getting a mortgage? These are legitimate concerns, but they are not the concerns of a child.

It’s the same with you. Your heavenly Father does not want you to lose one minute’s sleep over your salvation. “Do not worry.” You can be confident that he who “began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Php 1:6).

Saint, you are one with the Lord. His future is your future. Since Jesus isn’t going to lose his place at the right hand of God, it can’t happen to you. You may fall asleep on the job, but the one who watches over you never slumbers (Ps. 121:3–4).

God’s got you and he will keep you safe and secure.

Be confident. Be secure. Be at peace.

—

List all the verses that scare people and this one would be near the top: “If we deny him, he will deny us” (2 Tim. 2:12).

Having been raised on a diet of Chick Tracts, I used to worry that I might lack the courage to maintain my faith in the face of persecution. As an occasional Bible smuggler, I sometimes wondered what I might do to avoid a Chinese prison sentence.

If someone held a gun to my head would I deny the Lord? And if I did, would he deny me? Would he kick me out of the kingdom?

It’s a ridiculous question, when you think about it. No one thinks we can use guns to force people into the kingdom, so why do we think guns can force them out?

Life would’ve been simpler if I’d just read the whole verse in context.

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him; If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11–13)

This trustworthy saying comes in two parts and both parts are trustworthy.

Destined to reign

The first part of the trustworthy saying begins like this: “If we died with him.” In other words, if we are believers.

The Christian life begins at death. This is what makes the gospel unique. Every manmade religion preaches self-denial and dying to self, but the gospel simply declares, “You died.”

More than that, we died, so that Christ might live through us. It’s an if-then statement. If A, then B. “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

“But wait,” says Paul. “There’s more. This trustworthy saying comes with bonus features. We don’t merely get to live, we also endure and reign.”

This new life we have in Christ is a new kind of life characterized by supernatural endurance and reigning in all things.

If Paul had said, “Work hard and endure and maybe you will get to reign,” that would be nothing special or trustworthy.

Work hard is how the world works. But it’s not how the kingdom works.

Verse 12 follows right after verse 11. Paul is describing the life we have in union with the One who already overcame, already endured, and who now reigns.

“This life we have in Christ is an enduring and reigning life,” says Paul. “It’s like nothing on earth.”

Do you see? In the first part of the trustworthy saying, Paul is giving us a three-part punchline.

“You know you died with Christ, right?” Yes, Paul, I know.

“Well do you also know that you will live with Christ?” Sure, Paul, one day in heaven.

“No, not just in heaven, but here and now. You will endure here. You will reign in life here. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves your full acceptance.” Oh, I didn’t know that Paul. That’s really good news!

Many Christians are looking forward to a future life with Christ but they are not ruling and reigning with him here and now. They don’t know they can. They’ve been told life is one big test and maybe, if they are careful, they’ll get a crown at the end. But the abundant life Christ promised is experienced by those who know and trust him now.

What if I deny God?

This brings us to the second part of the passage: “If we deny him, he will also deny us.”

An insecure believer worries, What if I deny Jesus in a moment of weakness? But Paul is not talking about Christians but those who reject Christ.

There’s no grace for the faithless because the faithless will not receive it. If you don’t believe God is good to you, you will have difficulty experiencing his goodness.

Do you see? There are two types of people; those who confess Christ and those who deny him. If you have denied him, you may yet confess him, but if you have confessed him, you cannot deny him – at least not to the point where he would deny you. How do we know? Because of the next verse:

If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

This verse has been used to sow fear into the hearts of the saints. “If you are not constant in your faith every single day, if you disown Jesus just one time, God will punish you!”

It’s as if the preceding verses weren’t there. It’s as if your unfaithfulness (or sin) was greater than his faithfulness (or grace). Hear that slap? That’s the Apostle Paul doing a face-palm.

To recap, Paul says if we die with Christ, we will live, endure, and reign with him. Each follows the other and this is a trustworthy saying.

Will Jesus deny me?

Why does Paul start talking about disowning and denying in the second part of the passage? He does it to emphasize that Christ is trustworthy. Here’s the punchline: since Christ cannot disown himself, Christ cannot disown you! Not ever.

You are one with the Lord. His future is your future and his future is very good!

Keep reminding them of these things… (2 Timothy 2:14)

Dead religion says you have to perform and endure to be saved, but the gospel of grace says we stand on Christ alone. He is our rock, and our sure foundation. We stand on his promises, not ours.

One more time: The unbeliever falls on account of his faithlessness, but we stand on account of Christ’s faithfulness.

Even if you have a bad day, or a moment of faithlessness, he remains utterly faithful, for he cannot disown himself. This is a trustworthy saying.

We who have acknowledged Christ before others cannot unacknowledge him. We who have died with Christ cannot un-die. We who have been born again cannot be unborn.

If you were to deny him, as Peter did three times, Jesus won’t disown you, for he cannot disown himself.

—

List all the verses that scare people and this one would be near the top: “If we deny him, he will deny us” (2 Tim. 2:12).

Having been raised on a diet of Chick Tracts, I used to worry that I might lack the courage to maintain my faith in the face of persecution. As an occasional Bible smuggler, I sometimes wondered what I might do to avoid a Chinese prison sentence.

If someone held a gun to my head would I deny the Lord? And if I did, would he deny me? Would he kick me out of the kingdom?

It’s a ridiculous question, when you think about it. No one thinks we can use guns to force people into the kingdom, so why do we think guns can force them out?

Life would’ve been simpler if I’d just read the whole verse in context.

It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; If we endure, we will also reign with him; If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:11–13)

This trustworthy saying comes in two parts and both parts are trustworthy.

Destined to reign

The first part of the trustworthy saying begins like this: “If we died with him.” In other words, if we are believers.

The Christian life begins at death. This is what makes the gospel unique. Every manmade religion preaches self-denial and dying to self, but the gospel simply declares, “You died.”

More than that, we died, so that Christ might live through us. It’s an if-then statement. If A, then B. “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

“But wait,” says Paul. “There’s more. This trustworthy saying comes with bonus features. We don’t merely get to live, we also endure and reign.”

This new life we have in Christ is a new kind of life characterized by supernatural endurance and reigning in all things.

If Paul had said, “Work hard and endure and maybe you will get to reign,” that would be nothing special or trustworthy.

Work hard is how the world works. But it’s not how the kingdom works.

Verse 12 follows right after verse 11. Paul is describing the life we have in union with the One who already overcame, already endured, and who now reigns.

“This life we have in Christ is an enduring and reigning life,” says Paul. “It’s like nothing on earth.”

Do you see? In the first part of the trustworthy saying, Paul is giving us a three-part punchline.

“You know you died with Christ, right?” Yes, Paul, I know.

“Well do you also know that you will live with Christ?” Sure, Paul, one day in heaven.

“No, not just in heaven, but here and now. You will endure here. You will reign in life here. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves your full acceptance.” Oh, I didn’t know that Paul. That’s really good news!

Many Christians are looking forward to a future life with Christ but they are not ruling and reigning with him here and now. They don’t know they can. They’ve been told life is one big test and maybe, if they are careful, they’ll get a crown at the end. But the abundant life Christ promised is experienced by those who know and trust him now.

What if I deny God?

This brings us to the second part of the passage: “If we deny him, he will also deny us.”

An insecure believer worries, What if I deny Jesus in a moment of weakness? But Paul is not talking about Christians but those who reject Christ.

There’s no grace for the faithless because the faithless will not receive it. If you don’t believe God is good to you, you will have difficulty experiencing his goodness.

Do you see? There are two types of people; those who confess Christ and those who deny him. If you have denied him, you may yet confess him, but if you have confessed him, you cannot deny him – at least not to the point where he would deny you. How do we know? Because of the next verse:

If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

This verse has been used to sow fear into the hearts of the saints. “If you are not constant in your faith every single day, if you disown Jesus just one time, God will punish you!”

It’s as if the preceding verses weren’t there. It’s as if your unfaithfulness (or sin) was greater than his faithfulness (or grace). Hear that slap? That’s the Apostle Paul doing a face-palm.

To recap, Paul says if we die with Christ, we will live, endure, and reign with him. Each follows the other and this is a trustworthy saying.

Will Jesus deny me?

Why does Paul start talking about disowning and denying in the second part of the passage? He does it to emphasize that Christ is trustworthy. Here’s the punchline: since Christ cannot disown himself, Christ cannot disown you! Not ever.

You are one with the Lord. His future is your future and his future is very good!

Keep reminding them of these things… (2 Timothy 2:14)

Dead religion says you have to perform and endure to be saved, but the gospel of grace says we stand on Christ alone. He is our rock, and our sure foundation. We stand on his promises, not ours.

One more time: The unbeliever falls on account of his faithlessness, but we stand on account of Christ’s faithfulness.

Even if you have a bad day, or a moment of faithlessness, he remains utterly faithful, for he cannot disown himself. This is a trustworthy saying.

We who have acknowledged Christ before others cannot unacknowledge him. We who have died with Christ cannot un-die. We who have been born again cannot be unborn.

If you were to deny him, as Peter did three times, Jesus won’t disown you, for he cannot disown himself.

—

“Paul, I’m a Christian. I’m worried about that Jesus might reject me even though I call him Lord. Am I doing enough to be saved?” Are you referring to this scripture: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). “That’s the one. It terrifies me.” Let me ask you: who is Jesus talking about? Who are the people who call him ‘Lord, Lord’ but don’t do what he says? “It’s those who don’t obey him.” What do you mean by obey? “We’ve got to keep the commands of God.” Which ones? The Bible is full of commands. “All of them.” Well, you’re going to have a problem because nobody ever kept all the commands except Jesus. The bad news is you can’t keep the commands. The good news is Jesus died to free us from the unbearable yoke of the law. We are no longer under law, but grace. “But Jesus says the one who hears but does not do is like a man building with no foundation (Luke 6:49). Of course, there is something we must do.” And what is it? “We must do everything Jesus said.” And have you? When [...]