A Living Hope: I am secure

Life is unpredictable. In the span of three decades, I’ve already lost more than I care to lose: family, friends, a job, dreams and health.

When you’ve experienced recurring loss and grief, it can create a cycle of anxiety and fear over what else you could lose.

Salvation, for one.

Many times I have been gripped by the panic that I could lose my relationship with God. Or that Jesus will forget me when death darkens my door. Could I do something to jeopardize my eternity? Will my faith be enough?

The resurrection proves my salvation is secure.

Jesus was beaten, mocked, abused, accused of being a blasphemer and died a criminal’s death. But God raised him from the dead, vindicating him and thereby proving his innocence.

The resurrection proved that Jesus was telling the truth. God would not have accepted or resurrected a phony, a liar, or a sinner. Jesus was who he said he was. He is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Way, the Truth, the Life (Matt 17:5, Rom 1:4, John 14:6). The resurrection proves that my belief in Jesus is grounded in truth, not foolishness.

The Gospel was not fabricated by man or even taught by a man (Gal 1:11-12). It was taught to us by Jesus; God Himself (Col 2:9). For “by being raised from the dead [Jesus] was proved to be the mighty Son of God, with the holy nature of God Himself” (Romans 1:4).

Jesus not only confirmed the resurrection of the dead in word, but also in deed. He put His miracles where His mouth was. Contrary to popular belief today, Jesus did not merely claim to be a prophet of great insight and compassion; rather, He claimed to be the Messiah, the unique Son of the living God, and He proved it (Friedman).

If I deny Jesus and the resurrection, I am calling God a liar.

What does this mean for me today?

I can trust Jesus completely. Because of the resurrection, I can trust that what Jesus tells me is true. If he says I am forgiven, I am. If he says my salvation is by faith in him alone, it is. If he says one day I will be with him in paradise, I will. If he says he has a plan for my life, he does. I can take Jesus at his word for he said, “if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:2).

The real question is, do I believe him? Do I trust him? Am I willing to bet everything I have on him? The resurrection is proof that I can.

I can be confident that God will keep His Word. Both my salvation and eternity are completely dependent upon the promises of a God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2). “For if the inheritance is based on [works], it is no longer based on a promise; but God granted it to [us] by means of a promise…so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Gal 3:18, 22). It is by faith in the promises of God and work of Christ that we are saved (Eph 2:8-9).

The resurrection bore witness to God’s promises fulfilled. Whatever God says, He does. I can have confidence that He will always keep His Word and His promises.

I cannot lose my salvation. How do I know I am saved? The Bible says if I believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and confess publicly that he is Lord of my life, I am saved (Rom 10:9-10); and the Holy Spirit’s presence and fruit in my life serves as proof of that salvation.

My salvation is 100% based on Jesus, not me. “Jesus is our Savior; we do not save ourselves. And just as we didn’t get saved by accident, we can’t lose our salvation by accident” (Brown). God promises to guard and protect what is most important: my soul. He gives the Holy Spirit as a seal, a sign that I belong to Him, and as a promise of the eternal inheritance still to come (Eph 1:13).

If I believe in Jesus, love God and desire to live for Him then I don’t need to fear losing Him. “Our salvation is not some flimsy thing that can be found one day and lost the next, nor is [it] dependent on our ability to ‘stay saved'” (Brown).

God saved me. He lives in me, works in me, transforms me and will one day resurrect me. It is God who is the main character of our story from beginning, middle to end.

On this solid Rock, I stand secure.

Did you miss the other posts in this series? Check them out below!

A Living Hope: rediscover the power of Easter

Day 2: I am secure