Safety and security are major concerns for most of us. Unfortunately, we live in a time of uncertainty. Things like terrorism, crime, economic instability, or sickness cause us to question our safety and security. Most of these things are beyond our control. There are only so many things that we can do to “ensure” our security.
Spiritually speaking, many are going through life worried about their security. They live in constant fear of what will happen when their life is over. They say things like, “I sure hope I make it to heaven.” However, God does not want us to go through life “worrying” about our spiritual security. He wants us to go through life with confidence of where we will spending eternity. In 1 John 5:13, John writes: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” So, how do we go about obtaining this level of confidence in our spiritual security?
1) Be in Christ (1 John 5:11)
Salvation is in Christ and only in Christ. One may ask; “how do I get into Christ?” Paul tells us in Galatians 3:27 that “as many have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ”. To be in Christ is to be in His body, the Church (Colossians 1:2-14). Paul later tells us in Ephesians 1:3 that all spiritual blessings are found only in Christ. This would include redemption from sin and eternal. If one is not in Christ, one does not have any of the spiritual blessings.
2) Remain obedient to Christ (1 John 2:3-5)
Jesus expects us to do what HE has commanded. In John 14:15, Jesus informs us that to love Him is to obey Him. One cannot get into Christ if that person refuses to obey the commandments of Jesus. One cannot remain in Christ by refusing to continue to “walk in the light as He is in the light.” Obedience is not optional. We must remember the warning of Jesus in Matthew 7:21.
3) God’s word must dwell in the saint (1 John 2:14).
God’s word serves as protection against the threats of the world (Psalm 119:11). Paul said that the word of Christ must “dwell in us richly” (Colossians 3:16). If the word is going to dwell in us, then we must desire the word. We must study the word. And we must obey the word. Without this attitude towards God’s word, we will never be motivated to learn it or keep it.
4) Righteousness must be a way of life (1 John 3:8-10).
The acid test of discipleship is righteousness in life. William Barclay once said: “the profession of a man’s lips will always be proved or disproved by the practice of his life”. James put it this way: “show me thy faith without thy works, I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18). Christianity is not merely worshipping one day per week. It is a way of life. We must practice righteousness (right doing) in every aspect of life. Someone told me recently that they were accused of taking their “religion too seriously”. This is a sad statement to have been made. If we are not serious about living righteously every day, then we will miss out on heaven.
I pray that each and every one of us is striving towards spiritual security. There will be nothing greater than getting to spend eternity with God. However, there will be nothing more terrible than for one to lose their soul. God has made salvation and security attainable for all. May we take advantage of that great gift.
15257 BLANK PIKE ROAD
