One of the most familiar and immature arguments against eternal security is stated as follows: “To teach that a saved person is secure forever and can never be lost causes worldliness in the body of Christ and a serious loss of effective service.” Some are persuaded that the manner of life of a believer can become so excessive that the unsavory behavior not only negates eternal security but means the believer was never saved in the first place. I am pleased to state categorically and unapologetically that denial of the security of a believer negates the force and effect of God’s admonitions for a holy and obedient life. In fact, it is those who oppose the doctrine of eternal security who are responsible for the erroneous belief that good behavior is the means of a sure salvation. If this false statement were true, it would indicate that a sure salvation is no surer than the manifestation and production of good human behavior. What, where, and to whom is the direction of this look? The what is to good behavior. The where is from the behavior pattern of an earthly human being. The to whom is to the onlooking world. What is the measure and value of good human behavior? It is the best that can emanate from an individual. How much may be measured? Let’s assume this very good (so called) person contributes, during their lifetime, two million six hundred thousand and twenty noble and admiral good works. After death those good works are evaluated by a Holy and righteous God. The good works are placed on His scale to determine their value. The perfect scale measures each of the works and then they are presented to God for acceptance or rejection. It is not in or from God to do wrong, He can only do right. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do, right?” God is fair and only accepts the perfect righteousness that has been imputed from the perfect Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Genesis 18:25). The best efforts of each person who stands before the Great White Throne are all that can be offered since the perfect righteousness of Christ has been rejected and is not available after death. Please consider this vital information: When Jesus died on the cross, He was judged and fully paid the penalty for the sins of the entire world. This finished work perfectly addressed the penalty for sin. Once the sin problem was solved, sin ceased to be an issue in salvation. Simultaneously, Christ rejected human good, that is man’s efforts to gain God’s approval by human works. The conclusion then terminates in one important issue. The work of Christ versus the best efforts of humanity. All who rely on their own good deeds to appropriate eternal life will be in for a bitter disappointment, as there is no place in the plan of God for man’s efforts to be good enough to merit or acquire the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.
“Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).
Notice the strict and absolute requirements of perfection that must be possessed by everyone who enters heaven and the corresponding total rejection of every element of human righteousness. “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that is defiled, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie, but they which are written in the Lambs book of life” (Revelation 21:27). Therein, the doctrine of sinless perfection fails. No one can enter into the portals of heaven without possessing the imputed, perfect, and absolute righteousness of Jesus Christ. No human being will ever generate absolute righteousness because the righteousness God requires is the kind of righteousness that His righteousness requires Him to require. This is perfection. No human being can ever achieve a standard that is this high, absolute, and perfect. It is in Christ and must be appropriated by faith in Him. Many have questions about facing God at the last judgment. Are you prepared to answer them? Please notice the overwhelming and captivating view of the setting that will be a reality in eternity.
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them” (Revelation 20:11). Please pause to visualize our Lord seated on His throne (John 5:22). Before Him all unbelievers of the human race will be gathered. There will be no believers at this Last Judgment, because they have been made righteous and are not, and never will be condemned. “There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If you have received Christ as your personal and only Savior, you will be spared from the Last Judgment. Please notice the all-inclusive and descriptive language at this Great White Throne. This language will arrest and sober any unprepared soul who will be required to stand before THE JUDGE of all the earth. Standing helplessly before this RIGHTEOUS JUDGE are those who are without hope, without God, and without life.
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).
There are two sets of books that will be opened at the Last Judgment. The first book is the Book of Life which records the names of all who have personally received Christ as Savior… they are not here! These individuals are notably absent. The astonishing thing to learn about the book of life is that originally all members of the human race were inscribed in it. The bad news is, when a person dies without receiving Christ as Savior, their name is BLOTTED OUT of the Book of life (Revelation 3:5; 1 John 5:5). It is indeed too late. Secondly, the books of works are opened. These books contain the names of all unbelievers, as well as every good deed they have performed. Why is this occurring in this manner? It is because when a person rejects Christ as Savior they are declaring, in effect, “I will stand on my own good efforts. I think I will be OK. I don’t believe I need Christ at this time, maybe later!” It’s too late, this person has died and the remedy has passed with him. The only thing that remains is his futile works versus the finished work of Christ. Salvation by good deeds versus salvation by grace! What a damning comparison. Every person who stands at this last judgment throne is there because of unbelief. It is impossible to unbelieve unbelief. To believe in Christ can only come from a living and believing human while on planet earth. There will be no unbelievers in eternity, all will believe. Those who are not at this judgment throne are conspicuously absent because they believed in Christ while living. Remember… without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith cannot be exercised when there is only reality. The reality at this judgment is that the time to exercise faith has passed, and each one must give account that they could have received Christ while on the earth, but sadly they did not. It indeed is TOO LATE.
My personal experience is that after presenting the gospel again and again to a very close friend the answer from him was the same. “Oh, Bob. I think I’ll be OK.” No, you won’t be OK!” You cannot enter heaven unless you have received Christ as your personal Savior. If you receive Him you will have the righteousness that God requires and accepts because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. “He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18). “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). To the shock of many misdirected Christians, sin is not the basis of condemnation at the last judgment—there is no need for sin to be mentioned as all sins have been judged on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is finished. The helpless souls who stand before this dreadful white throne have rejected Christ as Savior. The basis for their indictment will be their inadequate and imperfect human works. No matter how great or how many good works have been produced by these unbelievers they can total no more than imperfect righteousness. Man’s minus righteousness (imperfect) cannot have fellowship with God’s absolute and perfect righteousness. The only way to possess absolute righteousness is for imperfect man to receive Him who is perfect and absolute righteousness by imputation. Man must receive that which he does not have and must accept what can never be earned or deserved.
Man needs and must possess perfect righteousness which only resides in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. This perfection can only be received by means of a deliberate act of trusting faith in Him. The mathematical formula for eternal salvation is … Jesus Christ plus anything equals minus salvation. Jesus Christ plus nothing equals plus salvation. Man cannot add to or subtract from the very gift that must be received in order to appropriate eternal life. Eternal life is in the hands of the one who purchased it with his own blood. He extends this amazing and free gift to those who believe in Him as the exclusive source and giver of His so great salvation. A gift cannot be earned or deserved as the purchase price has already been paid in full. To be required to do anything for it would be a payment for something that is already and forever paid in full. This so great salvation is so great and impeccable that if God allowed man to do anything for it, man would go afoul soon after receiving this perfect and gracious gift. God’s gift is the gift of eternal life, and it can only be received or rejected. It can never be earned by the futile efforts of man. Man has complicated the issue of salvation and attempts to compensate and feel guilty by not being able to do something for it. Impossible! Man is reconciled to God by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, and he cannot reconcile himself to God by his good works. Man can only come to God by looking to Christ who by His magnificent cross work, has satisfied the righteous demands of a Holy and Righteous God. Therefore, Christ has done what man could never do. He has satisfied the righteous demands of a Holy and Just God. Man needs to be reconciled to God. God does not need to be reconciled to man. God only needs to be propitiated, and He has been completely satisfied through the finished work of His beloved Son on the Cross.
Yes, indeed. God is propitiated and totally satisfied with the perfect work of His Son, but at the same time He determined all of the best works of humanity to be repugnant and rejected them in toto. Man’s best efforts are only relative, certainly not perfect and righteous. Therefore, man needs to look away from self to the only Mediator between God and man, even the Lord Jesus Christ. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 2:5). At a point in time every member of the human race stands at a crossroad to either accept the work of Jesus Christ on his behalf or to reject it. It may be surprising that many do not believe Christ died for the sins of the world and that SIN IS NOT THE ISSUE! The real issue is very personal, and it is “What will you do with Jesus Christ who died once for all sin?” If you reject Him, you will of necessity stand on your own good works. This is exactly what the Jews of the Old Testament did. They chose their own good deeds rather than the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please read again the plight of those who did not believe and will be forever cast into a burning lake of fire and brimstone. “And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20: 14,15). In view of the fact that Jesus Christ died for every sin of the entire world, God will not hold the personal sins of the human race against them! Therefore, the only basis for indicting any member of the human race is a personal rejection of Jesus Christ.This is God’s solution; man either rejects it or accepts it. If this point is clear then, you have the opportunity to believe in Christ and can look forward to an eternal future. You will then be wise to realize that you are in a unique position to tell others about this magnificent liberation and to make understandable the Good News of a clear Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel message is simple and can be understood. Satan has blinded the minds of those who are so foolish to disbelieve the Gospel message that eternal life only resides in The Perfect Person of Christ who MUST be received. Mankind finds it difficult to believe this message of eternal life because no strings are attached. He finds it difficult to believe he can do nothing to earn or deserve it as a gift. God’s truth is that it is a gift!! “For the wages of sin is death; but THE GIFT OF GOD is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The gift of eternal life is not contingent on the good behavior of a depreciating and imperfect human being. If this were true eternal life would quickly and rightly be termed temporary life, and mankind would be without a confident expectation of entering heaven.
“For the word of the cross is to them who are perishing foolishness; but to us who are saved, it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Do not be foolish, empty and blind. Do not depart this earth without Jesus Christ as your only hope of Heaven and be cast into the lake of fire where there is no escape and the smoke of your torment will ascend forever and ever.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
