SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

[You] Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. I Peter 1:5.

In order to be kept by the power of God, you must be continually submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Remember, you are not a robot, because God did not remove your free choice. Now, none of us are perfect yet, and we make mistakes. God does protect us, but intends for us to get back into the “holy highway,” as soon as we realize our mistake. Even if we are deceived and get on a path away from God, He will protect us for awhile. But if we do not allow the Lord to correct us and we continue on that path willfully, we will have rejected his protection, and He is not obligated then to protect us. We may not lose our salvation, but we may shorten or lose our lives.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in the my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32.

Free from what? Bondage to sin! The key to having the truth make you free is to continue in God’s Word (verse 31). Then you shall know the truth. What is truth? A better question is, WHO is truth? Many people know truth, but it does not help them. For example, people who smoke cigarettes know that smoking is harmful. They know that truth, but that knowledge does not set them free. They must have knowledge of God’s Word. They must know THE WORD (Jesus). Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So, when we continue in Jesus and we KNOW Him, we will have the truth revealed to us.

I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:9-10.

A door is a passageWAY to something. This scripture states that it is the WAY to salvation and blessing. Jesus is the WAY and the DOOR to truth.

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.

The Lord likens us to sheep who need a Shepherd. Sheep are followers by nature, and they follow a good shepherd, because they trust him. The shepherd leads them to green pastures, applies ointment on their wounds, and leads them to the fold in safety. If we have made Jesus Lord of our lives, we are His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd who will watch over us, give us eternal life, and guard us from anyone who would try to steal us from Him.

But Christ [is faithful] as a son over his own house: whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. Hebrews 3:6.

We are also likened to a structure that God is building. Read the parable of the foolish man who built his house on sand and the wise man who built his house on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27). Jesus is the Rock, the foundation (I Corinthians 3:9-11). He is able to build our buildings (our lives) correctly so that they will not crumble nor be destroyed in a storm or earthquake (troubles in life). But we do not want an unfinished building, so construction must continue on a daily basis until “the end.”

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. II Timothy 2:3-4.

Storms will come to every believer. Scripture states that it rains on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45). Storms are not produced by God. We serve a good God (Matthew 19:17) There is no darkness in Him - only light and good (James 1:17). Some storms are produced by Satan, who is the prince of the power of the air. His intent is for storms to destroy us. He will try to deceive us into worrying that we are not going to make it, and then corrupt our communication by speaking doubt and unbelief. Many times we bring trouble upon ourselves because we make bad choices. No matter what the source, the Lord has promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and to see us through every storm. He also said that He would work everything together for our good (Romans 8:28) when we give Him permission to work in our lives. We can certainly learn about ourselves and more about the Lord when we trust Him through a storm. We would be foolish to not learn something from every bit of trouble we experience in life. Coming through a storm victoriously with God definitely builds our faith in Him ---the assurance that He loves us.

...Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12.

This scripture does not mean that we earn our way to heaven. Paul was leaving the believers in Philippi. He commended them for their obedience to the Word of God while he was with them. He exhorted them to continue in that obedience since he would not be there in person to instruct and exhort them. They were “on their own” to follow the Lord according to the Word of God that they had received. This scripture means that, after the born again experience, we continue renewing our minds in God’s Word, fellowshipping with the Lord and with other believers, obeying the leading of the Holy Spirit (doing our part by obedience). This is the sanctification process.

FAITH

Everything we receive from God is by faith. The born again experience is by faith. Healing is by faith. Prosperity is by faith. Faith in what? Faith in what God said in His Word.

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:11-12

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Hebrews 10:22-23

For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; Hebrews 3:14

Notice that our assurance of salvation is by faith, and that we must continue in that faith.

...Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark 9:24.

If you feel you do not have the faith to continue, seek God for it. He gives us faith. He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). That is our assurance.

And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

I John 3:19-21

Why would our hearts condemn us? Because of sin, either conscious or unconscious, either of commission or omission. Sin will prevent us from having confidence (faith) toward God. Remember that “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23) and “to him that knows to do good and does not do it to him it is sin” (James 4:17). So we must seek the Lord for forgiveness to restore us to faith. Then we have the continual assurance that we are in God’s will and have the hope of eternal life.

For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; ... Acts 17:28 a

If we are not continually in Him, we do not have the faith to continue in hope.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Faith is actually a substance in the spirit. The word “now” in the above scripture is not just an introductory word for the sentence. Its presence is vital to the meaning. The word “now” means present tense. The word “hope” implies something desired in the future. So faith that we have now is the substance and evidence that the desired thing will be manifest in the future.

Be prepared to answer the following questions:

1. What must we do to be kept by the power of God?

2. How does one reject God’s protection?

3. What is the key to knowing truth?

4. Why does the Lord say we are like sheep?

5. Why does the Lord say we are like a house?

6. Does Satan cause all the trouble we experience?

7. What should we learn through troubles?

8. What should we do if we lack faith?

9. What causes us to lose confidence in God?

10. Faith is a __________ and ________.