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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETERNAL SECURITY

AND ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Bob Bryant

Eternal security is not the same as assurance of salvation. Eternal security has to do with how God sees you. Assurance has to do with how you see yourself. God sees you as either eternally secure or not eternally secure. You see yourself as either sure of your salvation or not sure of your salvation. In some cases, God sees people the same way they see themselves. In other cases, God sees people differently than they see themselves. Eternal security has to do with how God sees you. Assurance has to do with how you see yourself.

With that in mind I want us to think about four groups of people. The first group is made up of those who are eternally secure, all of whom had assurance of salvation the moment they believed. The second group is made up of those who are eternally secure and still have assurance of salvation. The third group is made up of those who are eternally secure but no longer have assurance of salvation. The fourth group is made up of those who have assurance of salvation but are not eternally secure. God desires for you to be in the second group, to be eternally secure and still have assurance of salvation.

Let’s consider the first group: the secure and once sure group. The Bible teaches that all who are eternally secure at one time had assurance of salvation. The woman at the well is an example of this group. Jesus says to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water”(John 4:10). Jesus says that she must know two things: the gift and the giver. He tells her what the gift of God is as He says, “…Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14).

From His words we learn that the gift of God is everlasting life. This life is not like water from a well because once someone has it, he will never thirst for it again. The gift is “everlasting life” which cannot last 10, 20, or 30 years, and then be lost. If “everlasting life” could be lost, it has the wrong name. Since “everlasting life” is the only kind of life God gives, then the one who possesses this life is eternally secure. Jesus tells her that she must know what this gift is so that she can believe in him for it. Jesus is saying a person must believe in the giver (Jesus), for the gift (everlasting life for which he or she will never thirst again).

Notice her response. She says to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw” (John 4:15). She doesn’t yet understand that the gift is everlasting life. But there is one thing about the gift that she does understand. The gift is permanent. She believes that once she possesses the gift, she will never thirst for it again.

As the story unfolds it becomes evident that the woman learns that the gift of God is everlasting life and she believes in Jesus for it. In that moment, she has certain assurance of salvation for which she will never thirst again. This woman is a model for all who believe in Jesus for eternal life. In the moment they believe, they are eternally secure. In that moment they have assurance of eternally secure salvation because they know this is the gift Jesus offers which they have received.

God sees all believers as eternally secure, which is the same way they see themselves at the moment they believe.

Now let’s consider the second group: the secure and still sure group. They are eternally secure and still have assurance of salvation. In I John 5:13, John reassures believers who might be tempted to doubt their salvation after a period of time. He says, These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life…(I John 5:13) John doesn't say “hope” that you have eternal life, or “guess” that you have eternal life, or “think” that you have eternal life. John says “that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Who is it who can know for sure? The middle of the verse tells us, “you who believe in the name of the Son of God.” If you believe in Jesus for the gift of eternal life that you cannot lose, then you can know for sure that you have it.

How can we have assurance that we have eternal life? The first part of the verse tells us: “These things I have written to you.” God gave us written promises, like the one in I John 5:13, so that we can know for sure that we have eternal life.

So what should you do when you doubt your salvation? Where do you look to try to determine whether or not you're saved? Some say: “Look at your life. If you’re living the life you might be saved. If you’re not living the life, you’re probably not.” But if certain assurance was based on the life we live, none of us would have it. The Bible never says to look at your life to determine whether or not you're saved. The Bible only tells us to look at the written word of God. God made us a promise in writing so we can know for sure that we have eternal life.

God sees all believers as eternally secure, which is the same way they see themselves if they still believe His promise.

Now, let’s consider the third group: the secure but no longer sure group. These people are eternally secure, but they have lost assurance of salvation. The church in Galatia is an example of this group. We know God sees them as secure because of a word that is repeated eight times in the book of Galatians. The word is “brethren”. Galatians 1:11 …brethren… 3:15 brethren… 4:12 brethren… 4:28 …brethren… 4:31 brethren… 5:11 brethren… 6:1 brethren… 6:18 brethren. The Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, reminds them eight times through one word, that they are still brothers in Christ, still part of the family of God, secure in the eyes of God.

But they have a problem as described in verse 6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, The Galatians had moved away from what they once believed. They once believed in the grace of Christ. The Galatians used to believe that salvation was by grace. Grace is receiving something you don't deserve. Grace is totally apart from works. The Bible says, if it's of grace it's no longer of works otherwise grace is no longer grace (Romans 11:6). The Galatians at one time believed that they were saved by the grace of Christ, totally apart from works. But now they believe it's not of grace, that salvation involves works. That's why he calls it a different gospel. That's why he says in 5:4. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Paul says that the Galatians were attempting to be justified by law. They used to believe that justification was by faith, but not any more. They now believed that to be declared right (justified) in the eyes of God they had to do works in order to maintain or ensure their salvation. So what problem did the Galatians have? Were they getting involved with sexual immorality? Getting drunk? Skipping church? No, just the opposite. They were working at keeping the law. Living right. Doing right. Being more religious. Keeping more rules.

Paul says, you have fallen from grace. Does that mean they've lost their salvation? Absolutely not. As I pointed out earlier, he calls them brethren… brethren… brethren… brethren… brethren… brethren… brethren… brethren. These are born again, secure Christians, who were saved by grace but now they've fallen from grace. This means they are no longer believing in grace. They are no longer living by grace. They are depending on their works to be justified. They have embraced a different gospel. In other words, they have fallen from the truth of grace and embraced the lie of salvation by works.

Paul says in the first part of the verse, you have become estranged from Christ. Does that mean they've lost their salvation? No, because eight times in the book he calls them brethren to reaffirm to them that they are still part of the family of God. So what does it mean to say, you have become estranged from Christ? It means that even though they are secure in Christ’s hand and He will never let them go, they are not having fellowship with Christ. Things are not good between them and Christ because they no longer take Him at His word. They are believing a lie. They no longer believe that they are justified by faith apart from works, and they no longer believe that they are eternally secure. Jesus is very disappointed and displeased with these believers who have stopped living and believing in grace and in the security that they have in Him. So they're estranged from Christ. They're secure in the eyes of God, but they've lost their assurance thinking that they have to do something in order to maintain their salvation.

God sees some believers as eternally secure even though they now see themselves as not sure of their salvation.

Now lets consider a fourth group, the sure but not secure group. These people are not eternally secure even though they have assurance of salvation. Jesus speaks of these people in Matthew 7:22, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' These are people who stand before Christ on a future day, sure that they are going to heaven. They believe that Jesus is Lord and they recount to Him the good things they've done in His name. But in verse 23 we learn that in the eyes of God, they are not secure. Jesus says, And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me…'" These people did not lose their salvation. They never had it. He said, "I never knew you”. “You were never saved”. “You've never had eternal life." Why does He say that to them? Where did they miss it? What had they done wrong? They answer that question in their own words when they appeal to their good works. They reveal that they were depending on those works to get to heaven. But eternal life is only given to the one who comes by faith alone in Christ alone totally apart from trusting in any good work.

God sees some people as not eternally secure even though they have assurance of salvation.

We have considered four groups of people. The first group is made up of those who are eternally secure, all of whom had assurance of salvation the moment they believed. The second group is made up of those who are eternally secure and still have assurance of salvation. The third group is made up of those who are eternally secure but no longer have assurance of salvation. The fourth group is made up of those who have assurance of salvation but are not eternally secure. These four groups of people demonstrate the difference between eternal security and assurance of salvation.

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