The Life Principles Study Series

Understanding Eternal Security

Charles F. Stanley

• Publisher: HarperChristian Resources
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9781418536886
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

You can know with certainty!

Many Christians live without absolute assurance that they are saved—men and women who are believers in Jesus Christ, have accepted him as their Lord and Savior, still don't know with certainty that they are going to heaven when they die.

In Understanding Eternal Security, Dr. Charles Stanley invites readers to study the New Testament passages in Scripture that deal with eternal security, sin, and grace, so that you can see how God does indeed provide eternal security to those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Each study draws on Dr. Stanley's many years of teaching the guiding principles found in God's Word, showing how we can apply them in practical ways to every situation we face.

Each of the ten lessons includes:

• A brief look at what is covered in the lesson.
• A teaching from Dr. Stanley that unpacks the topic of the lesson.
• Application and Bible study questions based on the key points.
• Key takeaways to put into practice today and tomorrow.

LESSON 1

GETTING GOD’S
PERSPECTIVE ON
ETERNAL
SECURITY

Each of us has a unique perspective on life. We have a distinct way of looking at things, judging things, and holding things in our memories. Our perspective is something we have learned, and therefore, it is something that changes as we “relearn” or “learn more” about life.

In my years of ministry, I have found that a wrong perspective is very common when it comes to the matter of personal salvation. Many have misconceptions about how they became born again—they err in their understanding about the basis for their salvation. Consequently, it is very easy for them to misunderstand how they might “lose” their salvation. They do not understand why God forgives, what it means to be saved, or how to live within the fullness of their salvation.

To gain the right perspective on eternal security, we must go to God’s Word and stay there. The Bible is God’s foremost communication to us on this topic. It is the reference to which we must return continually if we are to truly understand what has happened to us spiritually in a born-again experience, and to understand fully what that experience means for all eternity.

Facing the truth, especially if it differs from the way we have been raised, can be difficult. It means a major shift in our understanding of the world and of the way life “works.” It means a shift in our understanding of God and His relationship with us. Yet we must be willing to face the truth if we are truly to live in the spiritual freedom that God desires for us. We must face squarely the fact that any time our perspective does not match up with God’s eternal truth, we err . . . and error, when clung to and used as a basis for decisions and relationships, can lead to sin or spiritual bondage.

As you work your way through this study, I strongly encourage you to keep your Bible at your side. As you study each passage noted in this booklet, make notes in the margins of your Bible. Read the passage from Scripture for yourself. It is far more important that you write God’s insights into your Bible than to write them in this booklet, although places are provided for you to make notes.

Keys to This Study

You will be asked at various points in this booklet to respond to the material presented by answering one or more of these questions:

• What new insights have you gained?

• Have you ever had a similar experience?

• How do you feel about this?

• In what way are you feeling challenged to change your thinking or to take action?

Insights

A spiritual insight occurs when you read a passage from the Bible and the meaning of that passage suddenly seems crystal clear to you—you have a new or clearer understanding of God’s Word that is undeniable. It is as if God suddenly draws back the curtain to reveal to you a new level or depth of meaning. You truly know what you know!

Insights happen to all who read the Word, even to those who may have read and studied a particular passage for countless years. I encourage you to ask God to give you insights every time you read His Word. I believe that is a prayer He delights in answering.

Insights are usually very personal, and they nearly always relate to your experiences in life, either current or past. Insights are related to how you might apply God’s Word in a way that is always timely, yet at the same time eternal.

Note your insights. You’ll find three great advantages in this: First, you will be able to review your insights later in the light of still other Scriptures that you study. Second, you will have your insights readily available should an opportunity arise to share or discuss them with others. And third, you will tend to experience even more insights if you are looking and listening for them in a focused, intentional way. As Jesus taught, when we seek, we find. (See Matt. 7:7.)

Periodically in this study, you will be asked to note what specific passages of the Bible are saying to you. This is your opportunity to record insights.

Experiences

Everything you read in God’s Word is, to a degree, filtered by your past experiences. You no doubt have said to yourself or others on a number of occasions, “I know that particular truth in the Bible is real because of what happened to me.”

The more we see the Bible as relating to our personal experiences, the more the Bible confirms, encourages, convicts, challenges, and transforms us. We come to the place where we see that God’s Word is universal—as well as personal and individual—and that there isn’t anything we experience as human beings that isn’t addressed by the Bible in one or more ways. The Bible is about people and God’s relationship to people. The Bible tells us how God works in and through experiences to communicate with people. Certainly as we look back on history, we can see that human nature has not changed. The details related to technology may differ, but the human heart remains the same. What people experienced in Bible times, people also experience today.

Now, I am not advocating a purely “experiential” basis for faith or believing in God’s Word. What I am saying is this: the Bible is filled with stories that tell the experiences of men and women who were just like you. The Bible teaches how to deal with life’s experiences. If you do not have a personal story that relates to a specific passage, in all likelihood you know somebody who has such a personal story, or you will have a personal story that is related to it in the future.

The advantage to noting your experiences is that you gain a new understanding about how God has dealt with you throughout your life to bring you to the place where you are today, and your faith is strengthened to trust God to be with you in the future.

The advantage to sharing your experiences as they relate to the Bible is that you will grow spiritually as you share your faith with others. Your personal witness will become stronger and you will be more at ease in sharing what Christ has done for you, in you, and through you. Even if you are doing this study on your own, I encourage you to talk to others about your faith experiences.

Emotional Responses

Just as we each have a unique set of experiences, so we also have a unique emotional response to God’s Word. No one emotional response is more valid or “right” than another. You may be frightened or puzzled by something you read, and the person next to you in your study group may feel joy or relief after reading the same passage.

Face your emotional responses honestly. Learn to share your emotions with others.

Keep in mind, however, that neither your experiences nor your emotional responses make the Bible true. The Bible is truth, period. The value in looking at our experiences and our emotional responses lies in our gaining greater understanding of how the Bible might be applied to our lives.

Why are emotions worthy of exploration? Because the Bible always has an emotional impact on us. We simply cannot read it without having some kind of emotional response to it. Sometimes we are moved to tears by what we read. At other times we may feel great elation, sorrow, conviction, hope, longing, surprise, love . . . and yes, even anger and indignation. When we take a look at our own feelings, we often see more clearly what the Lord is desiring to do in us and how He may desire for us to pursue an additional avenue of study. For example, if you are puzzled by what you read, and you recognize that you are puzzled, you will likely want to know why you feel that way. Your emotional response can lead you to seek out answers that you may not originally have intended to pursue.

Allow the Scriptures to touch your heart. God created you with emotions. He knows that you feel certain ways toward Him, toward others, and toward His Word. What He desires is that you are in touch with your feelings. He knows how you feel. He wants you to know how you feel.

As you meet with others, you will find that it is far more advantageous to a group study to share emotional responses than to share “opinions” or “ideas.” Don’t allow yourselves to become sidetracked by opinions. Commentaries and scholarly facts have their place, but ultimately, the Bible is a spiritual book that reflects the unfathomable riches of God’s own Spirit. Emotions are often very close to reflecting a genuine spiritual response.

The topic of eternal security is certainly one that is laden with emotions for most people. Some are afraid of their eternal fate, others are joyous about the destiny they believe God has for them. Some are puzzled about God’s truth on this subject; others may feel conviction or even sorrow related to what they read about eternal life. Allow all of these emotional responses to exist freely in your group. You will have a far richer study experience. You very likely will find yourself “bonding” in a way that a sharing of opinions simply does not generate.

Be aware, at the same time, that this topic might easily cause a Bible study group to turn into a feel-good, group-therapy type of session. Don’t allow that to happen. Stay in the Word.

The tendency of some regarding eternity and those who are doubting or feeling conviction about their own spiritual state is to say, “Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be all right.” That is a wonderful response to give to a person who truly is born again . . . but it is a disastrous response to give to a person who has not truly been saved. Be aware that there may be those in your midst who are not saved or who do not know with certainty that they have been saved. Give them an opportunity to come to Christ as they read and study the Word and the Holy Spirit deals with their hearts. Don’t press them to this decision; at the same time, do not deny them the opportunity to experience Christ’s salvation of their souls.

Challenges

God always intends for us to be challenged in some way by His Word. He has a purpose in communicating with us—our spiritual growth and transformation in the likeness of Jesus Christ. Since none of us have been fully transformed, we all have room to grow, and therefore, God will continue to challenge us even though we may have been a born-again believer for many years.

Real growth does not come simply by knowing or understanding God’s Word, but rather by applying it to our daily lives. As you read and study God’s Word, identify as best you can those areas in which you believe God is challenging you, stretching you, or causing you to trust Him in new ways. A topic such as eternal security may seem to relate only to your heavenly future. In fact, it is a topic that has direct relevance and application to your life today—in the here and now. What you believe about your future will have a direct bearing on how you live your life, and especially on how you share the gospel with others.

God desires to get you into His Word for one main purpose— so He can get His Word into you. The Word will change your life, your thinking, your decisions, your outlook. It will also compel you to share God’s Word with others. Always be alert for opportunities to discuss the things you are learning in this study. Some of those opportuni...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction: You Can Know with Certainty!
• 1. Getting God’s Perspective on Eternal Security
• 2. The Nature of Your Salvation
• 3. Why It Is Important for You to Believe in Eternal Security
• 4. Seven Reasons for Believing in Eternal Security: Part 1
• 5. Seven Reasons for Believing in Eternal Security: Part 2
• 6. Solemn Warnings: Part 1
• 7. Solemn Warnings: Part 2
• 8. A License to Sin?
• 9. Eternal Rewards
• 10. Living in the Assurance of Eternal Security
• Conclusion: Eternally Secure and Free!