Eternal Security

One of the most important doctrines of our Southern Baptist Convention is eternal security. Eternal security means that we believe the Bible teaches that once a person is truly saved, the person is always and forever saved. Our motto is: "Once saved, always saved, if saved." That word "if" is very important. If a person sincerely asks Jesus to forgive them forever and take control of their life, Jesus will come into their heart by His Spirit and will never leave the person (Romans 10:13, Galatians 4:6; Hebrews 13:5). The born again, saved Christian becomes a child of God and they will be connected with the Spirit of Jesus forever. Once a person chooses to become a child of God, that person will always be a child of God (Luke 15:11-32). Just as a Christian parent will love their child regardless of what the child may do, God loves His children with an unconditional love that will never change (Galatians 5:22-23; Exodus 34:6-7).  

We believe that a person cannot be good enough to earn salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) and cannot be bad enough to lose salvation (John 6:37). We are saved by the one work of Jesus: His atoning death on the cross. This is the meaning of grace: God's riches at Christ's expense. Salvation and eternal forgiveness of sin is a free gift of God (Romans 6:23). Jesus purchased our salvation and eternal forgiveness by His death on the cross. There is nothing we can do or pay to receive it. We receive this free gift of eternal forgiveness by simply asking Jesus to forgive us forever and to take control of our lives as our Master and God (see the icon on the left entitled "How to Become a Christian"). The great news is that we can never lose God's gift of salvation because we are kept by His powerful, loving Spirit (See John 10:27-30). Other scriptures that prove and promise eternal security are: John 5:24; John 6:37; Romans 8:33-39; Hebrews 10:14; 2 Timothy 1:12; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30; Jude 24; 1 John 5:18.

The Bible never contradicts itself because it is God's Word and God will never contradict Himself. The Bible only compliments itself. When reading the Bible, the scriptures must be interpreted within the context of the truths of the entire Bible. Therefore, when you find a verse in the Bible that appears to say that one can lose salvation, the verse is referring to a person who appeared  to be saved but in reality were never truly born again. Such a passage is Matthew 10:22: "He who endures to the end will be saved." The true born again Christian will endure (keep faith in the eternal forgiveness of Jesus) to the end (of his or her life). Those who were never truly born again will not be able to continue to fake it and cannot endure (keep the faith) to the end of their life. Jesus said that there is only one sin that will not be forgiven: "blashemy against the Spirit" which is interpreted by Jesus as rejecting the Spirit of Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior (Matthew 12:31; Luke 10:16; Matthew 23:15; Matthew 25:46). Persons choose to believe the words of Jesus and accept His free gift of unconditional, eternal forgiveness or they choose to reject the words of Jesus and reject His free gift of unconditional, eternal forgiveness.  

Only God and the Christian can be 100% certain of salvation. That's why we cannot judge if a person has salvation. We are commanded to share the gospel and allow persons to determine for themselves if they are saved.   

Our church believes that a person must believe in eternal security to be saved (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). This true salvation is unconditional salvation, it is a gift from God that will never be taken away. Unconditional salvation is the grace of God we see in the Bible from Genesis through Revelation.

If a person believes one can lose salvation, the person believes in "conditional salvation," a false belief held by many false churches that believe that we must do certain works to be able to keep our salvation. If salvation is conditional, the Bible would be very clear to instruct us what good works we must do to earn it and we would be warned what and how many bad works would cause us to lose salvation. The Bible is very clear that all people, in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, are saved by faith in God's grace alone, not by works so no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:6; Genesis 15:6).

Pass on this good news about God's promise of eternal security! If you ever have doubts about your salvation and/or your status as a child of God who is forgiven forever (as all Christians do from time to time because doubts arise in our minds), read this page, including every scripture, outloud and the Lord will use these truths to strengthen your faith. If your doubts continue, it is important to spend time with your pastor or a mature Christian who can help strengthen your faith. 

Please click on the icon to the left entitled "Most Important Page!" which will help you to continue to learn more and grow as a Christian.