Eternal Security of the Believer
It is God's divine decision to save a person and it is God's kindness,
forbearance and patience that lead that person to repentance -- Romans
2:4. All glory for the salvation and security of every believer belongs
to God alone -- Romans 3:21-31; Ephesians 1:7-9; Ephesians 2:8-9, Jude
1:24-25. We believe that everyone who is born again by the Spirit
through Jesus Christ is eternally assured of salvation from the moment
of conversion. This assurance relies on God's decisive grace rather
than on the works of the Christian. Obedience, good works and
fruit-bearing do not earn or retain the believer's salvation, but
indicate the reality of the person's love of Christ and profession of
faith -- Luke 6:46; John 14:21; James 2:17-18.
Eternal security in salvation relies on the Lord's guarantee of each
believer's adoption as His son or daughter -- Galatians 4:4-7, and His
seal of the believer by the Holy Spirit -- 2 Corinthians 1:21-22;
Ephesians 1:13-14, and the conviction that God gives the Holy Spirit to
each believer as a down payment toward future bliss in heaven -- 2
Corinthians 1:21-22. A person who professes genuine faith in Christ
immediately becomes His possession -- Luke 23:42-43; Acts 2:40-41; Acts
16: 30-34, and nothing can snatch that person out of His hands -- John
10:27-29. Having been bought with the price of Jesus Christ's
crucifixion as complete payment for sin, Christians are not their own.
They are Christ's possession -- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. This assurance
is absolutely certain, reserved in heaven, protected by God's unlimited
power -- 1 Peter 1:4-5.