Matt Slick bible study on eternal security

Eternal Security and the Trinity as the Foundation of Salvation

All right. We're live. Okay, it is 731 we're gonna start we're gonna do Eternal security tonight for those of you online. We're watching get a few people here as well and I'm gonna go over some Theology not just it can you lose it but some theology that gives the basis for that position.

And before we do that, I'd like to pray and those of you who like my shirt can comment about it truth the new hate speech and We're gonna get some you gotta get it. I got to get a T-shirt company going a lot of sayings.

I've been saving up. To calm or not to calm that is the question, you know and stuff like that. All right. Let's pray Lord Jesus. Thank you for Thank you for your word and I asked Lord that you would bless it as we go through issues of scripture.

And we go through what you have done and accomplished for us Lord that we recognize that we are secure in your work not in our goodness and I asked Lord for your mercy on us and for those who would hear and those who would listen and May you be glorified in our words.

We ask this Jesus your precious name. Amen. All right. So All right eternal security so the issue is can we lose our salvation or not are we secure in Christ. Coincidentally today on the radio a guy came on the radio.

So you heard it. Did you hear today Nick? Didn't hear the show, but you did anybody else this guy calls up towards the end of the show and he started explaining how we can lose our salvation and it's not very often that I'll ask this kind of a question and get such a blatant answer of.

You know, well if you can lose your salvation, what do you got to do to keep it? And he said Keep the 11 Commandments that the first 10 and X is 20 and the commandment love your neighbors yourself. So there's 11 Commandments you got to keep and I said, well, okay.

You know you're doing that and he said well yes, and I said are you doing it on the level of Jesus and he was interrupting all the time, you know, and So he says well, yeah, he said I assume I think I wrote it down in my notes.

I assume He is that's what he says and I you know If it's essentially I called him a false convert and an arrogant and a fool. The reason I called him a fool is because of Galatians 3 1 through 3 you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you to think that that which is begun by the Spirit can be protected by the flesh and So this is what the Bible says to those who think that you can earn your hurt.

Basically keep your righteousness by your goodness and I said, I just sorry but this wife to tell you you're a fool for that. You're a false convert and then I quoted some other stuff and the guy was Not real coherent and a lot of things that he was saying, but nevertheless It's a real issue.

The Trinity, the Eternal Covenant, and God's Sovereign Decree

And I'm trying to set up a debate with some oneness people when it's Pentecostal who denied the Trinity, of course and It'll probably happen in a week or two and in that thread on Facebook, I Was told that I hold to the damnable teaching.

Damnable that okay, the damnable teaching of eternal security and So, you know, I asked him what in Scripture means it's damnable. If you think think that you're eternally secure in Jesus and what he's done and there's a lot of people out there.

This is the thing. There's a lot of people out there who who are incredibly ignorant Theologically and in their absolute foolishness. They pronounce judgment on others and they should have no business Talking theology and probably neither driving or voting because they don't have all their paws in the litter box nevertheless, having said that what we're going to do now is go through some scripture and Relay some stuff down Theologically more and more as I teach I want to get into the issue of using God as a standard of righteousness and truth and So God is a Trinity.

There's only one God in all existence all place all time. That is the true and living God and he is a Trinity one God in three distinct simultaneous persons. Now the reason this is important in this issue of eternal security is because in Hebrews 13 20 it talks about the blood of the eternal covenant the eternal covenant I believe is the inter Trinitarian relationship covenant where God Covenant it within the members of the of the Trinity to redeem mankind and Where the father would send the son the son would redeem and the Holy Spirit would apply it or in depth of work.

So those are the basic very basic aspects. But one of the things that's necessary for us to understand is that in the inter Trinitarian communion, which is by necessity eternal. And since God knows all things it must be the case that he knows who will be saved.

Now some people at this point will deviate and say the reason that God knows who will be saved is because he knows. That people have their free will and could just choose God or not. It's up to them and Of course the scriptures don't teach that but if I do tackle that issue with people I'll ask well, what is Bob believe and Frank does not well or free will.

Well. What about why is it Bob's free will enables him and Frank free? Well does not because that's his free will and they can't answer the question. Now, of course, we would say that God grants that he will believe Philippians 129 he grants a repentance.

2nd Timothy 225. So we're aware of the fact that God is the one who's a sovereign king over all areas. He's a Lord of all not just a Lord of some but nevertheless. Think about this if God is eternal and If God knows all things First John 3 20.

He knows all things then. Anything that comes into existence Exists because God has ordained that it come into existence. Now Bible says in Ephesians 1 11 that God works all things after the counsel of his will.

This means evil as well as good. That all of them are worked according to his will those have the decretive will the prescriptive will the permissive will. The decretive will of God is that God decrees certain things to exist.

Let there be light. There's light the prescriptive will don't lie and The permissive will he lets you lie. So the will of God is such that it encompasses all of creation in good and bad. Nothing can occur.

Let's just the will of God. I got to make sure that people who are my critics don't take this out of context. God does not desire that people sin in that he gives a prescriptive will but it is his desire to let them Sin, they will be allowed to sin by God because it's his will to allow them to sin because they do have freedom and so he chooses to allow them so it's in the will of God to allow them to sin in The what we call the permissive sense.

All right. When it comes down to people being saved. We know that nobody could be saved without the blood of Christ being shed. Because he bore sin in his body in the cross first Peter 2 24. He became sin on our behalf second Corinthians 5 21.

So we know that God from all eternity who's proclaimed and ordained what service will come to pass. Ephesians 1 11 has ordained that people will be saved. Now people cannot of their own free will and their sinful state come to Christ.

The reason they can't come to Christ is because the Bible says such things as the unbelievers a slave of sin Romans 6 14 through 20. He's a hater of God who does no good. Romans 3 10 11 and 12 doesn't even seek for God.

He is dead in his sins Ephesians 2 1. He's by nature child of wrath Ephesians 2 3. He cannot receive spiritual things first Corinthians 2 14. His hearts desperately wicked deceitful cannot be trusted.

Isaiah 6 64 6 what's one of the righteous deeds? That's it 179 thank you. Ooh, look at that. That's right. 64 6 is our righteous deeds are filthy rags. And there Jeremiah 17 9 the harsh desperately wicked deceitful.

No man can trust it. So if the Bible says that the unbelievers a hater of God doesn't seek for God can do no good cannot receive spiritual things Is Full of wickedness dead in his sins by nature child of wrath then He cannot of his own sinfully enslaved free will choose God now.

Why is this all important to eternal security and I'll explain later laying the foundation down. So because those sets of verses are true we have verses that say that for example in Acts 13 48 as Many as had been appointed to eternal life believed so they were appointed.

The word in Greek is tassel. Which means to put into place the way a general would put into place certain armies in certain locations. It's placed. So as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed now.

We believe because God grants that we believe flippans 129 and we're born again, not of our own will John 1 13. We're caused to be born again. First Peter 1 3. So Jesus also says you cannot come to me unless the father draws you John 6 44 and you cannot come to me unless it's been Granted to you from the father John 6 65 so The reason I'm bringing all this up is that if it's true and it is biblically I gave the references.

If it's true that an individual can a sinner enslaved to sin cannot of his own free will come to Christ. God must be the one who interacts with that person. Individually now some people say no. God never does that.

Yes. He does go to Acts 9 15. Paul the Apostle is called a chosen vessel by Jesus the individual chosen vessel to be an instrument for God's glory. And his purpose and I get his other verses don't have memorized but they're there.

So God chooses individuals. We can go to Romans 9. About that 9 to 23, but we won't right now. So in the inter Trinitarian communion all of this is known where the Trinity knows and acknowledges the fact and the truth.

That nobody will ever of their own free will come to Christ because they're enslaved to sin. Haters of God can do no good. Won't don't seek for God, etc, which means God has to elect them into salvation.

He's got a predestined them as I already said Acts 13 48 as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed now. Before we get it a little bit further. I'm gonna say God is not a respecter of persons.

That's a Romans 2 11 and also James 2 2 through 4. But there but the way the Bible says that is God is not a respecter of persons in that he does not look. To see into a person to see if there's a good quality in a person and then he chooses that person for salvation.

Because under a certain circumstance they'll believe that's not it. God does not look into the future. He does not acknowledge that there's anything good in us by which we then deserve election or predestination.

As I like to say and sometimes frequently will repeat I'm glad that God predestined me from the foundation of the world because if he'd look at me now, he wouldn't pick me. Because we know what we are by even as sinners even as saved and God is the one who elected us and chose us.

We'll go to Ephesians here in a little bit and talk about that. But here's the thing God is the Supreme King in the inter trinitarian communion where God knows all things. He ordains all things. Either by decree by permission by prescription or permission in his will and morality and things like that.

Even the salvation of individuals is also prescribed by God and ordained by God. It cannot be any other way and it certainly cannot be the case. That God looks into the future to see who'll pick him because that mean God learns and that's heresy.

It does not mean that God Says that under certain conditions certain people will pick me. So I'll pick those people who will pick me that's showing favoritism. That's not how it works biblically and a lot of people have humanistic theological Perspectives thinking that they are themselves good enough that they in their wisdom have chosen God.

God reacts that they're choosing and then regenerates them upon their belief. So that God is necessarily reactionary based upon the free will choices of the individual who's a slave of sin. Hater of God does no good doesn't seek for God.

So the unbeliever or and sometimes believers who would say that that God looks into the future or that God will see what condition they Will have they are speaking false doctrine. Doesn't mean they're not saved.

They just don't know their biblical theology now. If the Trinity is true, and it is sorry one is Pentecostal heretics. But if the Trinity is true, the inter Trinitarian communion is that God the Father sends the Son to do what?

To redeem. Now if you go to Ephesians 1 4, it says just as he chose us in him. Before the foundation of the world in Him is a term of federal headship. Federal headship is the teaching that the male represents the descendants not the female.

Adam and Eve were in the garden. She sinned first, but sin entered the world through Adam. Romans 5 12. You can go to Hebrews 7 7 through 10 where Levi in the loins of his great-grand great-great-great-great-grandfather.

Abraham Paid tithes to Melchizedek because Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. So Abraham represented his descendants. Adam represented his descendants just as it says in Romans 5 19 That through the one trespass the many were made sinners.

They were made sinners and when it says they were made sinners. It's an aorist. It's an aorist indicative. Which means that There's an aorist. Excuse me aorist passive. Indicative which means that the action of being made sinners occurred upon them and to them by the action of somebody else.

That's what it means. Aorist means past tense. Passive means they receive the action indicative. It's a fact and so they there many were made sinners by the fall of Adam it's an aorist active aorist passive indicative or was it?

Worm-made. Yeah, that's right. Now what's interesting is if you go to Philippians 1 29, it says that we were For you it has been granted to believe has been granted is also the aorist. Passive indicative.

It's the same construction which means that just as Adam Made us sinners God makes us believers. Now if people want to argue with me theologically on that go tackle the Greek come back to me later. But that what the Bible is saying is that in him Jesus We were chosen because the Bible says just as he the father chose us in him.

So he the father chose us chose it collect us the elect in Christ. Now here's what's interesting the choosing and in him are necessarily logically simultaneous. You Cannot have any choosing for salvation apart from federal headship and the guarantee of the atoning sacrifice.

There is no condition in which the atoning sacrifice could not occur. It's impossible. God ordained that it will occur by his direct invaluable inviolate decree. Ephesians 1 4 it's a great verse. He the father chose us in Him he chose us the father chose us the elect in Christ that means we were in Christ to be chosen.

It's all Simultaneous him the choosing in Jesus all of it comes together. Ephesians 1 4. So God, you know some people say well now he looked in the future he chose us by looking in the future to see what will happen or Knowing which people will pick him under certain conditions and that's how it works.

That's called temporal priority. Well, we don't affirm that we've affirmed logical priority and it cannot be Temporally prior with God because all knowledge with God is simultaneous and eternal. So it's logically must be the case that all of it is known simultaneously and God chose us in him.

In the election and the eternal knowledge in Christ and federal headship all simultaneously from eternity ago. This is how it works when you understand the doctrine of the Trinity. I understand the the Presence the power the vastness of his essence.

There's against him. Nothing can be compared. There's nothing external to him by which he can compare it. He's self-revealed and in his self-revelation of the scriptures. We find out that he is the one who has ordained what service will come to pass Ephesians 1 11.

Now all this is background for eternal security. Will God the father who gives us to the Son? For redemptive work, is he going to know that Bob at the age of 30? He's going to become a believer and fall away at the age of 15 goes to hell.

You can lose a salvation. So how then is it from eternity. God chose us in him. God chose Bob in Christ and Then predestined them because it says just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless Before him in love.

He predestined us to adoption his sons through Jesus Christ himself according the kind intention of his will. So they'd be saying well what happened was God Chose us the elect in Jesus. But they can't say by his foreknowledge because they would know ago.

They want to go to Romans 8 29 that we can go to that later. Those of you for knew we also predestined. They don't know they're talking about there when they say that's foreknowledge in a sense of looking the future.

But nevertheless if they're gonna say that that God what he has done is he has known people that he knows are going to choose him that he chooses them in Christ and Yet they're gonna be fallen. How then can he choose them in Christ?

From eternity ago. Knowing that they're going to hell. Furthermore, how can he atone for them? We're gonna get into the nature of the extent of the atonement now. So there's some problems here and When we get to the nature of are we secure in Christ.

We have to understand the Trinitarian foundation and the eternal covenant of God is the foundation by which God the Father has chosen Whom he will for salvation. Now if any of you are listening to me and don't like that, well, that's your problem.

Not mine. You can go to Ephesians chapter 1 verses 1 through 11. You can go to Let's see what other verses for choosing they go to Acts 13 48. He chose us as many as had been appointed eternal life now.

Generally, what I'll do at this point is go to John 6 37 through 40 and that's what we're gonna do now. But before we do that, I want to ask a question and the answer is found in John 8 29 does Jesus always do the will of the Father.

And Jesus says in John 8 29. He always does the will of the Father. Jesus cannot fail to do the will of the Father. Jesus always does the will of the Father. This is important. If Jesus always does the will of the Father then we have to understand something when we go to John 6 37 40.

Jesus says all that the Father gives me will come to me and notice Ephesians 1 4 he chose us in him. He the Father chose us the elect in Christ. And this is what Jesus says all that the Father gives me will come to me.

It does not say all who come to me. The Father will give to me. All who of their own free will just decide to come to God in their sinfully enslaved situation. They're gonna come to me and then the father's gonna grant that they come to me and he'd give him to the son.

That's humanistic philosophy. It has no place in the Christian Church. All that the Father gives me will come to me. So there's a group called the all given by the Father to the Son and The one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out.

Now I know that some people might be listening to this and say something to the effect of all but they can cast themselves out. We're gonna get through that. Okay, you can lose yourself. The thing people will do to rest of scriptures.

All that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me. I sir, I will certainly not cast out for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will. But the will of him who sent me. So he's come down to do the will of the Father.

This is the will of him who sent me that all he's given me. I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day. What's the will of the Father that Jesus lose none? Does Jesus ever fail to do the will of the Father?

No. Can Jesus lose any? No, if anybody wants to say and hear me out. If any of you out there want to say that Jesus failed To read to elect or failed to redeem the ones given him by the Father. You are in sin and rebellion against the very words of Christ you to repent because the Bible clearly says that Jesus says this is Will of him who sent me that all that he's given me I lose nothing.

But raise it up on the last day and then he says in verse 44 This is the will of my father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes on him will have eternal life and I myself will raise Him up on the last day now.

What you notice something because we're gonna go with some other verses here in a bit. Notice what it says in verse 40. It says eternal life, right. Now notice what it says in verse 39 lose nothing it's gonna take off.

Okay, go outside for a minute, okay, that's all right, okay. Okay good help them out, okay and so it says here what I want you to notice is a pattern in verse 39 to lose nothing is equivalent to never perish.

An eternal life in verse 40. Now. The reason I'm bringing this up is what does it say in John 3 16? It says God so loved the world that it gave his only begotten Son that whoever would believe in him would never perish.

But have everlasting life. Jesus equates never perishing an eternal life. He does it in John 3 16. He does it in John 6 39 and 40. It will lose none, but have eternal life. It's never perishing. Also, if you go to John 10 27 28 he says My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me.

I give eternal life to them and they will never perish. So notice how Jesus is saying eternal life never perishing. This is how Jesus says I will give eternal life to the sheep. They'll never perish. But what people are gonna say?

No. What's what's saved always saved is it's a license to sin and you can go to hell for that. They have no clue what they're talking about and we'll get to some of these Counterverses later in Hebrews and all this stuff and second Peter 2 and all that we'll get to that.

So No, I want you just notice that Jesus often equates never perishing with eternal life. This is the words of Jesus and that yet people will say yeah, they can perish they can perish, right? But why because what they will do is they'll reject Jesus so and they go back to John 6 37 to 40 what's happening is they are the ones who are losing themselves because Jesus says this is the will of my father John 6 37.

John 6 40. This is the will of my father that everyone who beholds his son and believes in him will have eternal life. I myself will raise him up on the last day. Sorry I wouldn't meant to go 39. This is the will of my of him who sent me that all that he's given me I lose nothing but raise it up on the Last day, so they'll say the will the father that Jesus lose none, but you can lose yourself.

Now what I want people. Oh, I say that. Yeah, they do. It's like what? What I want them to those kind of critics. I want you to understand something. Notice who this is about. It's not about the elect.

It's about the father and the son. All that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I certainly will not cast out now. The elect are certainly talked about there right for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me this is the issue.

The will is that the father will the father is that Jesus lose none. The will the father is that Jesus lose none. This is the will of him who sent me that all he's given me. I lose nothing. But raise him up the last day.

But this is the will of my father that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him will have eternal life. But I myself will raise him up on the last day. So If they're gonna say that you can lose yourself.

This is not what this is about. It's about the condition between the father and the son. The will the father that Jesus lose none period and also notice this. Because it says the will of him who sent me in verse 39.

This is the will of my father in verse 40 the will of him who sent me verse 39 the will of my father. Okay, so think of a sandwich ABC ABC so a in 39 and 40. This is the will of him who sent me first 40.

This is the will of my father. Okay, 39 B. All right that all he's given me. I lose nothing. Mm-hmm. And 40 B that everyone who beholds his son and believes in him will have eternal life. Right and so back to 39 that I'll lose nothing, okay, and then 39 C but raise it up on the last day and 30 and 40 see I myself will raise him up on the last day.

So what's interesting is that 39 and 40 are similar? Very similar that it says this is the will of God verse 39 and 40 in verse in part a. Skip part B for a second go to part C and you'll see that what happens in part C.

Is that they'll raise him up in the last day? The the will of the Father is this. That him who sent me that all is given me I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day the will of the Father Jesus raised him up.

That's the glorified resurrected body. That's what's going on and Whoever beholds and believes in the Son will have eternal life and I'll raise him up on the last day. If you can lose your salvation that means then that you were saved.

That means you looked on the Son you beheld the Son and you believed. The will of the Father's that those who do that will be raised up by Jesus. It's not an issue of the individual saying I'm gonna lose myself.

No, it's the issue of the Father saying to the Son you're gonna raise him up because he's given to the Son. The group called the all all that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who Comes to me.

I certainly will not cast out for I've come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him Who sent me this is the will of him who sent me that all that he's given me I lose nothing but raise it up on the last day.

But this is the will of my father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him will have eternal life. And I myself will raise him up on the last day. So the will the father is that everyone who has believed to be resurrected by Christ on that last day.

They're gonna say that Jesus has failed to do the will of the Father and they won't be resurrected on that day. They're accusing Jesus of sin when they say we can lose our salvation. Wait, it's right there.

Now We haven't even gotten to the nature and extent of the atonement to discuss this issue. More and we will a little bit. All right so Jesus or God says in Hebrews 13 5 through 6 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money being content With what you have for he himself has said I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you so that we?

Comp it's gonna be confidently say the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What will men do to me now? God says he will never forsake us. He'll never leave us. Now I think about this if an unbeliever becomes born again, then he's regenerated by God, correct.

If he becomes an unbeliever does God actively unregenerate him. God's the one who causes us to be born again first Peter 1 3. But they would have to say that God would have to cause us to become unborn again.

That's what they'd have to say. Nothing in Scripture says that but it does say that he will never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13 5 through 6 or 2 5 actually he will never leave us forsake us. That's what it says now.

I Know that might be critics out there bear with me. We're gonna get the other verses, but after we go to the atoning work. In 1st John 2 19, it says they went out from us. But they were not really of us for if they had been of us they would have remained.

But they went out in order that it might be shown that they're not all of us. Some people say well, wait a minute. That's about the Antichrists. Talking about the end it is the context is about Antichrist of false teachers.

Well, they went out from us the false teachers. But they were not really of us were they for if they had been of us they would have remained. They were shown to be false teachers. That's what they left if they were true and true.

They weren't at his Antichrist, but true people they would have remained. It's simple. This is what is being taught so Water we're gonna go into the nature and extent of the atonement. I want people to know from the beginning.

Limited Atonement, the Sin Debt, and the Efficacy of the Cross

I Hold to limited atonement. And I'm going to use it in order to demonstrate the truth of eternal security. Because of the nature of sin and the nature of the atoning work of Christ and the extent of the toning work is Not possible to lose one salvation so Sin is breaking the law of God 1st.

John 3 for sin is lawlessness. Jesus says our Father who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name the kingdom come in Matthew 6 12. He says forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are indebted to against us and in Hebrew, excuse me in Luke 11 for the parallel.

He says forgive us our sins. Our father who art in heaven forgive us our sins. Jesus is equating sin with legal debt. Why is this important. Because that's how Jesus was able to bear our sin in his body in the cross first Peter 2 24.

Because our sin was imputed to him. He became sin in our behalf 2nd Corinthians 5 21. Okay now If you go to Colossians 2 13, it says that he has forgiven us all our transgressions. Verse 14 says Having canceled out the certificate of debt.

Consisting of decrees which was hostile to us. He took it out of the way having nailed it to the cross now. Sin is breaking of the law. So sin is a legal debt. Colossians 2 14 says the certificate of debt in the NASB some versions will say blotting out the handwriting of ordinances.

But the Greek word is care. Agra fun care hand graph a writing. It's a hoppix legomena, which means it's a word that use is used only once in a whole body of text. That word occurs only once right there in the entire Bible Colossians 2 14.

It's used in other Greek writings at the time and it means a handwritten IOU of legal indebtedness an IOU legal debt so tax bills were legal debts and They've discovered some ancient tax bills written handwritten with different handwriting style with the word in Greek to tell us die.

Which is it is finished. It's legally paid in full. Jesus said on the cross John 19 30 it is finished if he's God in flesh John 1 1 verse 14 Colossians 2 9 Philippians 2 5 through 8. He's God in flesh and If he bore our sin in his body in the cross first Peter 2 24 is because he had to be a kinsman redeemer.