DO YOU BELIEVE? Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the earth and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being. John 5:24–29 I can guarantee this truth: Those who listen to what I say and believe in the one who sent me will have eternal life. They won’t be judged because they have already passed from death to life. “I can guarantee this truth: A time is coming (and is now here) when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who respond to it will live. The Father is the source of life, and he has enabled the Son to be the source of life too. “He has also given the Son authority to pass judgment because he is the Son of Man. Don’t be surprised at what I’ve just said. A time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice, and they will come out of their tombs. Those who have done good will come back to life and live. But those who have done evil will come back to life and will be judged. John 11:25–26 Jesus said to her, “I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe that?” Psalm 121:7–8 The LORD guards you from every evil. He guards your life. The LORD guards you as you come and go, now and forever. Proverbs 21:21 Whoever pursues righteousness and mercy will find life, righteousness, and honor. John 6:35 Jesus told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. DO YOU BELIEVE THIS WORD FROM GOD? IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN RECEIVE. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
WE ARE NOW BEGINNING A LENGTHY STUDY ON SALVATION. PART ONE: The Permanence of Salvation When we trust Christ as Savior, that very moment, we are born again. We are born into the family of God and become children of God. This new birth is not the end, but rather the beginning. Just as human parents give birth to their children and those children are their children from that point on, once God gives birth to His children, they are His children forever. There are no verses in the Bible that talk about us becoming “unborn” once we are born. Nor does the Bible teach that we can be born again, and again, and again. The Scriptures are abundantly clear that once we are saved, we are saved forever. We have everlasting life. This speaks of Divine Preservation. The Bible clearly teaches Preservation. But it is the Lord Who keeps us saved after we have trusted Christ as our personal Savior, not ourselves. Jude states, “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:” (Jude 1:1). We are preserved IN Christ. This is also known as eternal security. And this is where many people become confused. Some believe that our preservation is in our hands and up to us. If it is up to us to keep ourselves preserved in going to Heaven, then we are in very feeble, even impossible hands! We cannot keep ourselves saved any more than we can save ourselves to begin with. It is just as impossible. The Apostle Paul said it so eloquently in Galatians, You stupid people of Galatia! Who put you under an evil spell? Wasn’t Christ Jesus’ crucifixion clearly described to you? 2I want to learn only one thing from you. Did you receive the Spirit by your own efforts to follow the laws in the Scriptures or by believing what you heard? 3Are you that stupid? Did you begin in a spiritual way only to end up doing things in a human way? (Galatians 3:1-3) If we could not save ourselves to begin with, what makes us think that we can live perfectly enough to keep ourselves saved? No, we are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5). Since it is God who keeps and preserves us, we can never be lost once we are saved. Salvation is permanent because Christ paid for all sin. “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38–39). The word “forgiveness” means “to cause to send away, to release one’s sins from the sinner.” All of our sins were in the future when Jesus died. If He has paid for any of them, He has paid for all of them. “All” in the Greek means 100% of all there is. “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost” (John 19:30). The required payment needed to pay for our sins has been paid in full. There are no sins left to pay for. It is through that perfect, one time payment that our Lord Jesus Christ provides for us eternal redemption! If it is eternal redemption, then once we have been redeemed, it will last forever. “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:12). THIS IS PART ONE OF A DEEP LENGTHY STUDY. I HOPE YOU FOUND IT TO BE INTERESTING. WOULD YOU LIKE US TO CONTINUE THIS STUDY? Everlastinngsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
The Permanence of Salvation PART 2 Salvation is permanent because believers have been declared righteous. God is the one who determines who goes to Heaven and who does not. He has ordained that all those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior are justified or declared righteous. The Judge of the universe has spoken! It is settled! His verdict is clear, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:31–34). Salvation is permanent because everlasting life is everlasting. Everlasting means eternal, perpetual, forever, endless, ageless, dateless, timeless, everlasting, infinite, permanent and ceaseless. The Complete Word Study Dictionary states, “When referring to eternal life, it means the life which is God’s and hence it is not affected by the limitations of time.” The Bible says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47). “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). If everlasting life would cease, then it would not be everlasting! Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THIS SERIES OF STUDIES ON SALVATION. PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
The Permanence of Salvation PART 3 Salvation is permanent because God promises to never lose the one who trusts in Christ. God promises that if you come to Him by faith, He will never lose you or cast you out. What could be more assuring than this? It should settle the issue of eternal security once and for all. Jesus said, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day” (John 6:37–39). Verse 39 states the will of the Father. We are secure because Jesus promises to never lose us! If we can be lost after having been saved, then Jesus Christ is a failure and is disobedient to His Father. That, of course, is impossible. He was perfectly obedient in fulfilling the Father’s will. SALVATION IS PERMANENT. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
The Permanence of Salvation Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PART 4 Salvation is permanent because the Eternal God does not give birth to temporary children. On the human level, when you were born you became the child of your birth parents. There is nothing that can undo that relationship, and no document nor statement can ever change the reality of that physical relationship. If it is true in the physical world, why would it be any different in the spiritual realm? The idea of becoming unborn is nowhere, I repeat, nowhere, in Scripture! “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13). Salvation is a one-time occurrence. This could not be made any clearer than in the Gospel of John, chapter 3. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.” He did not say “Ye must be born again, and again, and again.” Once you become a child of God, you are always a child of God! SALVATION IS PERMANENT. PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
The Permanence of Salvation. PayPal.me/donatetochurch PART 5 Salvation is permanent because eternal salvation is a gift, not a reward. Our salvation does not depend on our performance, unlike all the other religions of the world. Every single other religion in the world is based on good works of some sort, and thus on the performance of the individual. We see this in Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and many so-called “Christian” religions, such as Catholicism, Church of Christ, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, etc. The Bible is clear. Salvation is a gift. Let me again state the obvious; a gift is not a gift if it has to be earned. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Thus, we can see, if we are not saved by performance (and the Bible could not be clearer), then whether we live faithfully or not has no bearing on whether we will go to Heaven or not. Yes, of course, we ought to be faithful, but that is not the issue in salvation. Salvation is an issue of GOD’S faithfulness, not ours. If you are depending on being faithful to go to Heaven, then you are trusting in your faithfulness for your salvation. If you are struggling to hang on then you do not understand that salvation is a gift. Salvation is not something we achieve, it is something we receive, by faith. The Bible says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). SURELY IF WE ARE SAVED WE STRIVE TO LIVE FAITHFULLY, BUT GOD CREATED US AND KNOWS THAT WE ARE NOT PERFECT AND AT TIMES WE ARE GOING TO FALL SHORT. BUT WE WILL NOT AND CANNOT LOSE OUR SALVATION, AND NO ONE CAN TAKE IT FROM US. SALVATION IS A GIFT, WE CANNOT EARN IT. SALVATION IS PREMANENT. THIS CONCLUDES OUR MINI SERIES ON THE PERMANENCE OF SALVATION, DID YOU FIND THE SERIES TO BE HELPFUL? Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Conduct Rooted in Character Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com 1 Peter 2:11–12 Dear friends, since you are foreigners and temporary residents ⸤in the world⸥, I’m encouraging you to keep away from the desires of your corrupt nature. These desires constantly attack you. Live decent lives among unbelievers. Then, although they ridicule you as if you were doing wrong while they are watching you do good things, they will praise God on the day he comes to help you. Colossians 3:12–17 As holy people whom God has chosen and loved, be sympathetic, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive each other if anyone has a complaint. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Above all, be loving.This ties everything together perfectly. Also, let Christ’s peace control you. God has called you into this peace by bringing you into one body. Be thankful. Let Christ’s word with all its wisdom and richness live in you. Use psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to teach and instruct yourselves about ⸤God’s⸥ kindness. Sing to God in your hearts. Everything you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Conduct is what we do; character is what we are. Conduct is the outward life. Character is the life unseen, hidden within, yet evidenced by that which is seen. Conduct is external, seen from without; character is internal—operating within. In the economy of grace, conduct is the offspring of character. Character is the state of the heart, conduct its outward expression. Character is the root of the tree, conduct, the fruit it bears. I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS QUICK REFRESHER TO BE HELPFUL. PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
WE NEED JESUS Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus. Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 John 4:9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen. THANK GOD FOR JESUS, WE NEED JESUS. PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
Security in God’s Faithfulness Deuteronomy 7:9 Keep in mind that the LORD your God is ⸤the only⸥ God. He is a faithful God, who keeps his promise and is merciful to thousands of generations of those who love him and obey his commands. Psalm 4:8 I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because you alone, O LORD, enable me to live securely. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, his arm over us, his ear open to our prayer; his grace sufficient, his promise unchangeable. Under his protection, though the path of duty should lie through fire and water, we may cheerfully and confidently pursue it. WE ARE SECURE IN GOD. Everlastingsalvationchurchofgod.com PayPal.me/donatetochurch PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM
