Romans 8 mms the eternal security of the believers in romans 8

THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVERS IN ROMANS 8
THE SEVENFOLD FOUNDATION OF ROMANS EIGHT
SUPPORTING
THE BELIEVERS SECURITY
Charles e Whisnant, October 31, 2011
Romans 8 Overview of the chapter

1A THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE IN CHRIST: 1-4

2A THE SPIRIT HAS REGENERATED, IS SANCTIFIYING AND WILL RESURRECT THEM:
5-11
3A THEY ARE NOW THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND FELLOW HEIRS WITH CHRIST: 12-17

4A THEY ARE SUSTAIANED THROUGH AFFLICTIONS BY HOPE AND THE HELP OF THE
SPIRIT: 18-28
5A THEY HAVE BEEN PREDESTINED TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF GOD’S SON:
29-30
6A GOD IS FOR THEM. HE GAVE HIS SON TO DIE FOR THEM. THEREFORE, WHO IS TO
CONDEMN THEM? 31-34
7A NOTHING CAN SEPARATE THEM FROM THE INFINITE AND UNCHANGEABLE LOVE
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OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS: 33-39

Regeneration is not a conscious experience. It is the action of God in which He puts a seed of spiritual
life in us, and the first indication of the presence of that life is that there is repentance. No man
can repent apart from that act of God. The natural man cannot repent, for these things are
“foolishness unto him” I Corinthians 2:14.

Chapter eight is going to show us how the Christian thinks about himself, what the Christian really does
know to be true about himself.

And what Paul is going to highlight is that the Christian is not a man who talks about nothing but the
Law of God.

When the Christian talks about his sin and failure he does not talk about it primarily in terms of the Law;
he talks about I in terms of love, about his failure to please the One who has died for him, and his
failure to live to His glory.

The Christian does not go on speaking in terms of the Law as the man in Romans 7 does. He is no
longer under the law but under grace.

Paul shows that the Christian is not to allow himself to feel the condemnation of the Law.

That is the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior, King, and Priest. There is no
condemnation to those who are IN CHRIST.

LET‟S TAKE A GENERAL SURVEY AT ROMANS EIGHT.

Everything that is in chapter eight has been already been hinted at. What we are going to see is the
outworking, the exposition, the amplification, of what Paul has already stated in germ and in
embryo.

The main theme of Romans eight is the security of the Christian, the absolute certainty of the “final
perseverance” of the saints, and the ultimate, complete and entire salvation of every one who believes in
the Lord Jesus Christ.

PAUL OPENS CHAPTER EIGHT WITH A GENERAL STATEMENT OF WHAT IS TRUE OF
THE CHRISTIAN BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST AS HIS LORD AND SAVIOR.

“THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM THAT ARE IN
CHRIST JESUS.”
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The next 38 verses will bring to bear that statement is true of the believer. Paul is going to prove
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it:

FIRST PROOF OF OUR ETERNAL SALVATION: 8:2-4

8:1 is true because we have been delivered from the Law in total and are joined to Christ by the
Holy Spirit. Here is what Paul says, “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me
free from the law of sin and death.”

SECOND PROOF OF OUR SECURITY OF SALVATION: 8:5-13

Our salvation is guaranteed. How? Because of the work of the Holy Spirit within us. He works
in us
1 First our sanctification, delivering us from sin and all its leftovers,
2 And even delivering the body when we get to heaven.

THIRD PROOF OF OUR SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER: 8:14-17

The presence of the Spirit within us is a proof that we are children of God. We need to practice
the presence of God in our daily life.
3

God does not just forgive us, and continue to treat us as if we were still under the law. Not at all.
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That is God does not wait and see if we will break a law and then forgive us.

Pau says, We are lifted out of that realm totally. There is an adoption. We become the sons and
the children of God, and become heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
Here is how we must look at our salvation:
o We are children of God, He has changed our relationship with Him. Therefore how can
our salvation fail.
o

FOURTH PROOF THAT WE WILL NEVER LOSE OUR STATUS WITH CHRIST: 8:18-25

As God‟s heirs, we are destined for an inheritance of glory, which God has not only promised us,
but is even now preparing for us (John 14) and not only for us, but for the whole creation.
The problem of most of us as humans, we are so subjective and we are always thinking of our
particular moods and states.
Look in the end God is going to remove all that sin has cause to happen. Sin has just polluted all
things. Look God is going to refurbish the entire world.

FIFTH PROOF OF OUR ASSURANCE THAT SALVATION WILL BE FOREVER FOR THE
BELIEVER: 8:26-34

Why can I be so confidently, and with such assurance, that the final and complete salvation of
the Christian is guaranteed?
Here it is: Here is the answer. The very character of God is involved in it all; and that if this
fails, if it fails with respect to any believer, any believer, just one mine you, the character of God
has been destroyed.
Have we not said many times in our teaching, and Christ has said, God has said. Remember back
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in Genesis study on Wednesday Night, GOD HAS A PLAN and A SCHEME and PURPOSE
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OF SALVATION. GOD MADE SALVATION WITH A PURPOSE AND A PLAN
BEHIND IT.
God designed it, He planned it, when? Before the foundation of the world.
God has taken steps and stages in the process. The making of the world, the making of mankind,
the history of the coming of the Messiah, and much is yet to come.
Listen God has set His heart upon us in eternity, and predestinated us. Listen God had eternity in
mind before He created anything.
He calls us, one by one unto salvation, and He has separated us, and then He calls us to work His
work. He works within us by His Spirit from justification to sanctification to glorification.
God has said what He has planned and He cannot fail because GOD IS GOD, KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS. HE CANNOT FAIL.
He has put His plan and purpose into implementation. God has mention some things that he
has planned for eternity.
God put into action that would deliver us out of our sinful state. He became man in Jesus
Christ.
The total, and unconditional guarantee that what He put into motion from the beginning, was
the in the person and work of His Son Jesus Christ.
We not only have then God‟s character, and God‟s Word, and God‟s plan, but we have this
action of God sending His only begotten, beloved Son nto the world with the purpose to die, to
be the sin-bearer, to be the “Lamb of God.”
Listen if God planned the death of His Son in order to save us, is it not inconceivable that God
would then allow anything to cause His plan to save his elect before the foundation of the
World? Can I say, it does not bear thought or even an investigation for a second to believe it
would fail.
Here is how Paul put it: as we have read: 8:29-30.]

SIXTH: THE ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY OF OUR SECURE SALVATION 8:35-39

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Said it in 8:1 not Paul is going to prove it.

NOTHING CAN. Did you hear that, no sin, no man, not Satan, not a church can.
God is unchangeable so therefore nothing can ever make Him, or His Purpose give up.
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EIGHT VERSES ABOUT ETERNAL SALVATION

1. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. John 10:27-29.
2. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake
we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39
3. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
4. Who are kept by the power of God through faith . . . I Peter 1:5
5. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Romans 11:29
6. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in
no wise cast out. John 6:37
7. And this is the Father's will who hath sent me, that all of which he hath given me I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up again on the last day. John 6:39
8. In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased
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possession, unto the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14
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Salvation is By Faith Alone in Jesus; and Not Works

GENUINE BELIEVERS CANNOT LOSE GOD‟S SALVATION.

John 5:24 states: "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."
The eternal God is they refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy
33:27

There is nothing wrong with the term “Once Saved, Always Saved,” but I prefer the statement, “If
Saved, Always Saved” better. If a person is genuinely saved, then there is no possible way that
person could ever be unsaved. Christianity is not a philosophy that can be renounced. It is not an
organization that can be resigned. It is not a business that can be dissolved. Christianity is a new
birth, a supernatural act of God Almighty in response to one's faith in Jesus as the Christ. Once a
sinner has been born-again into the family of God, all the hordes of Hell cannot change that. God
NEVER disowns His children.

1. JOHN 10:28-29--Referring to those who believe in Him, Jesus said, "...they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, who gave them to Me, is greater than all,
and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." If you ever have doubts about your
salvation, then you will also have doubts about the power of Christ.

2. 2 TIMOTHY 4:18--"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto
His heavenly kingdom...." Now that's some preservation! The promise of God is that He will keep us.

3. 2 TIMOTHY 1:12--"...for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep
that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

BACKSLIDING IS NOT A NEW TESTAMENT MESSAGE:

Bob Wiliford

For many years I have studied what seems to be an obvious abuse of terminology within the Evangelical
Community. Backsliding is often used to describe the sin of Christians who have had an „experience„
with the Lord have returned to their old sinful ways. I was guilty of preaching from this platform until
observing those who were rededicating their lives to once again follow God. However, what I hear from
repentant sinners is, “I had an experience with God and……” This often repeated statement enabled me
to take a journey into God‟s Word that has demonstrated an error that has almost become a doctrine for
many. And what I discovered is quite revealing.

I will address this in another blog, but repeating the so-called „ sinner‟s prayer‟ somehow allows
eternal salvation to be claimed but without an understanding what Jesus meant when he said to
His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and
follow Me.” Matthew 16:24.

There are at least two problems with utilizing „backsliding‟ as a reference to Believers in Jesus
Christ:
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1. Backsliding as seen in the OT speaks of national sins of Israel against Yaweh

2. Backsliding ascribed to Christians is not found in the New Testament.

KJV uses the word „backsliding‟ on 15 occasions in the Old Testament. Jeremiah utilizes the term 12
times and Hosea applies the term on 3 occasions. I will cite but 2 verses from Jeremiah and Hosea using
the KJV and NASB.

Jeremiah 2:19. “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove
thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the
LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.” KJV
“Your own wickedness will correct you, And your apostasies will reprove you; Know therefore
and see that it is evil and bitter For you to forsake the LORD your God, And the dread of Me
is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of hosts.” NASB
Hosea 11:7. “And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the
most High, none at all would exalt him. KJV
“So My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None
at all exalts Him.” NASB

The Bible is not kind when speaking about those who backslide and demonstrates that repentance
must be serious response of faith from the guilty before God will forgive. The prophet Ezekiel records
the heart of God as He responds to sinful Israel. Take note of the gravity of God‟s declarations,

“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father‟s iniquity,
nor will the father bear the punishment for the son‟s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous
will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. “But if the wicked
man turns from all his sins which he has committed and observes all My statutes and practices
justice and righteousness, he shall surely live; he shall not die. All his transgressions which he
has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has
practiced, he will live. Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord
GOD, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? But when a righteous man turns
away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and does according to all the abominations that a
wicked man does, will he live? All his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered
for his treachery which he has committed and his sin which he has committed; for them he will
die. Yet you say, „The way of the Lord is not right.‟ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not
right? Is it not your ways that are not right? When a righteous man turns away from his
righteousness, commits iniquity and dies because of it, for his iniquity which he has committed
he will die. Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has
committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life.” Ezekiel 18:19-27.

“These scriptures demonstrate two important concepts.

1. A wicked man will not be forgiven unless he turns away from all of his sins and does what
is right instead. It is not good enough to just be “working on some things,” like it is commonly
believed. The man must stop sinning and do what is right if he wants to be forgiven.
2. If a righteous man starts to live sinfully again, he will not be forgiven. “None of the righteous
things he has done will be remembered.“ When this happens, it is called “being unfaithful” to
God.

Jesus spoke a lot about faithfulness. There are a number of scriptures that show that only those who
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are found faithful will inherit the kingdom of God (Mat. 25:21-23, Rev. 14:12, and Rev. 17:14. )
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Does the term “backsliding” apply to the New Testament? Can we use this word to describe a
Christian? The truth is that there is a very similar term used in the New Testament to describe
those who have turned away from the Lord. It is called “falling away.” Jesus talks about this in the
“Parable of the Sower” (Mat. 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:1-15). There are many other places in the
New Testament that also mention this concept, but there are two passages that are very important: Heb.
6:4-6, and Heb. 10:26-31. “

“Is a Backsliding Christian Still Saved?” http://www.gotquestions.org/backsliding-Christian.html

Question: "Is a backsliding Christian still saved?"
Answer: This is a question that has been debated endlessly over the years. The word “backslider” or
“backsliding” does not appear in the New Testament and is used in the Old Testament primarily of
Israel. The Jews, though they were God’s chosen people, continually turned their backs on Him and
rebelled against His Word (Jeremiah 8:9). That is why they were forced to make sacrifices for sin over
and over in order to restore their relationship with the God they had offended. The Christian, however,
has availed himself of the perfect, once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ and needs no further sacrifice for
his sin. God himself has obtained our salvation for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and because we are saved by
Him, a true Christian cannot fall away so as not to return.]

Christians do sin (1 John 1:8), but the Christian life is not to be identified by a life of sin. Believers are a
new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have the Holy Spirit in us producing good fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
A Christian life should be a changed life. Christians are forgiven no matter how many times they sin, but
at the same time Christians should live a progressively more holy life as they grow closer to Christ. We
should have serious doubts about a person who claims to be a believer yet lives a life that says
otherwise. Yes, a true Christian who falls back into sin is still saved, but at the same time a person who
lives a life controlled by sin is not truly a Christian.

What about a person who denies Christ? The Bible tells us that if a person denies Christ, he never truly
knew Christ to begin with. 1 John 2:19 declares, “They went out from us, but they did not really belong
to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that
none of them belonged to us.” A person who rejects Christ and turns his back on faith is demonstrating
that he never belonged to Christ. Those who belong to Christ remain with Christ. Those who renounce
their faith never had it to begin with. 2 Timothy 2:11-13, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with
him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also
disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

I will kindly disagree with the statement that I copied from this website, “there is a very similar
term used in the New Testament to describe those who have turned away from the Lord. It is
called “falling away.”

The author of the statement is making reference to the use of “Backslide” as seen in the OT and
compares another reference in the NT. However this can be misleading if comparisons are
utilized in the wrong way to make a point in Scripture. What should trouble the student of God‟s
Word is to imply intent when none is suggested. God‟s Word never implies anything…..God‟s
Word simply says what is meant.

The question may then be asked, “What do we call „backsliding‟? My answer would be,
“Why not call it living in sin and be done with it?”
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Understanding that many will disagree with me because of their „personal experience‟ of being saved
and slipping once again into a life of sin does not alter the facts of Holy Writ. What we must understand
is that our experiences must not be allowed to interpret God‟s Word, but rather that God‟s Word
must be allowed to interpret our experiences.

Hebrews 6:4-6 is one of the best examples that we can use to defuse the teaching of backsliding as being
a viable option for those who claim to be saved and return to their former way of living. Let us take a
close look.

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift
and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to
repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

There are 6 important phrases that we must observe:

1. have once been enlightened
2. have tasted of the heavenly gift
3. have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit
4. have tasted the good word of God
5. and then have fallen away
6. it is impossible to renew them again to repentance

Two problems are presented here.

1. Backsliding and rededication are not addressed.
2. Teaching the possibility of losing salvation and being born again a second time are teaching
falsely.

Fact: It is impossible to backslide and return and the same holds true for those who fall away.

The writer of Hebrews plainly states that if someone “falls away,” it is impossible for that person to be
brought back to repentance. There is another part of the New Testament that mentions a sin someone
can commit that will never be forgiven. This sin is known as “blaspheming the Holy Spirit” (Mark
3:29, Luke 12:10). It appears that both of these are one and the same, because they are both
described in the same way—that anyone who does this will never be forgiven. Jesus makes a
statement in the Bible that sounds very similar to Heb. 6:4-6. In Mat. 5:13 (also in Mark 9:50 and Luke
14:34-35), He says to His disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how
can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by
men.“ Jesus tells the disciples that they cannot be made salty again if they lose their saltiness. This
sounds like it is referring to “falling away.”

“Is a Backsliding Christian Still Saved?” http://www.gotquestions.org/backsliding Christian.html

Again, I would disagree with the author‟s statements because there seems to be some doubt about what
the NT may or may not be teaching. “This sounds like it is referring to „falling away.‟”

Further, I would look to Hebrews 10:26-31 to defuse the teaching that backsliding is not an
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faithful application of God‟s Word,
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“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire
which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he
will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood
of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know
Him who said, „Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.‟ And again, „The Lord will judge His people.‟ It
is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” NASB

Some hold that a Christian who has lost salvation can be saved, lost and be saved again. Or on the part
of the backslider there is the avenue of rededication. Neither option is taught in the NT. Where is
rededication mentioned or loss of salvation addressed? These are not available options in the New
Testament and are non-negotiable.

Jesus answered them,

“I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of
Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I
know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and
no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater
than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are
one.” John 10:25-30. NASB

John writes from the Isle of Patmos,

“Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have
appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if
they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all
are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because
you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but the
one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you,
let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you,
you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” 1 John 2:18-24. NASB

“I left the church and was saved in but I did not deny that Jesus is the Christ.” God‟s Word responds
like this, “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they
would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of
us.”

A person who turns his back on a professed faith demonstrates that he never had a relationship
with the Christ.

“Those who are of Christ remain in Him and those who walk away never knew Him.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also
reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for
he cannot disown himself” 2 Timothy 2:11-13. NASB
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Either a person is saved or lost…there is no middle ground for the sake of convenience
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http://sermons.crosscreekcommunitychurch.net/2008/08/10/welcome.aspx

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Romans 8:8

Romans 10:4 and 8:10
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Romans 8 mms the eternal security of the believers in romans 8

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