The security of a believer's salvation rests not only on Christ's past work but also on His present ministry in heaven. The sermon highlights Philippians 1:6, emphasizing that Christ, who began the good work of salvation, will also complete it. It draws on John 10:28-29 and Romans 8:35-39 to assert that no power can separate believers from God's love or His hand once they are saved. The message further explains that Christ's ongoing intercession (Hebrews 7:25) and His role as a merciful and faithful High Priest (Hebrews 2:18) provide believers with the help needed to overcome temptations and trials, assuring them of complete salvation.
Restored with Diffio
Audio restored with Diffio. Diffio processed the original archive recording to reduce noise and produce a cleaner listening version; the original stays available.
Speech quality score (model-estimated, SCOREQ): before 2.25 → restored 3.71
Beloved radio, friends, we greet you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus. We welcome you again to the study and the meditation of the blessed and the precious Word of God, on our particular and very vital theme of the week, relative to salvation and security. Oh, my beloved friend, are you sure of your salvation? Are you securely resting upon the Word of God? with definite assurance, being able to sing in the words of the old hymn, Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine, air of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
Yes, we rejoice in the fact and we repeat it with gladness and with joy and with emphasis. The salvation and the security of my soul, the salvation and the security of your soul must rest alone upon the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have considered, first of all, it rests upon what Christ has done for me. We shall begin a second consideration today. It rests also upon what Christ is doing for me, and we shall later consider The third fact, my salvation and security also rests upon what Christ will yet do to me and for me in the future glory.
For the work of my salvation that my Savior has begun within my heart, he promises to finish. Now listen very carefully. My Savior has promised to finish what he began when upon this earth, He saved my soul. I'm still on the earth. The fullness and the completion of my salvation, I have not yet acquired. And here I would quote the words of Philippians chapter one and verse six. When Paul writing to the Philippian believers said, He that hath begun a good work in you will finish it, perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ.
or the joy of knowing. Let me quote the words again from an amplified translation. I am convinced and sure of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ right up to the time of his return, developing that good work and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. My beloved, let me state that God's word assures no heavenly, no earthly, no infernal power can ever change. My relationship before God ought to separate me from Himself when I have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
Now let me give you some quotation of Scripture. Let me quote the words of Jesus from John chapter ten. When the Lord Jesus said, I give unto my sheep eternal life, they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand, and my Father who gave them to me is greater than all, neither shall any pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Yes, from the words of Paul in Romans chapter eight, verses thirty-five through thirty-nine, which we do not quote in detail, But in the opening words of verse thirty-five, Paul raises the challenge, What shall separate me from the love of God, or from the love of Christ, my Lord?
And he enumerates every possible universal thing that could be named, declaring, None shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, my Lord. Oh, may I say, There is no separation from his love, from his salvation that he's given me. Never perish. Now may I raise the question. Some of you may think you can lose your salvation. Well, let me ask you, when you were saved, what did he give you? Did he not promise eternal life? Now, if you can lose it, then it's not eternal.
And you're accusing the Lord of not giving you eternal life. Praise God that is not true. Though I may be and I am still compassed about with trials, temptations, infirmities, which may manifest sometimes stumbling and even falling in my path on the earth, but I want to state these emergencies, Christ has now a living ministry in heaven whereby He maintains my salvation. and assures me of my security. Now let me raise the question. Where is Christ now? Is He not at the right hand of the Father in heaven?
We read from the Word of God. And Hebrews chapter one and verse three declares then. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty above. In Romans and in Hebrews chapter twelve and verse two also. We are told that our blessed Lord Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and is set down on the right hand of God. And there in heaven abound, he carries on an unceasing work for me. Now may I bring before my listeners a contrast. We have been resting our faith.
We have been resting with assurance for our soul's salvation. on what Christ did for me upon the cross, and what He has done for you. And I would remind you of His final words, when upon the cross, before He expired with triumph, He cried with a loud voice, It is finished. My beloved, as far as the work that saves my soul, it is done, never to be repeated again. He finished the work. But I would like you to note something. In heaven above, he has a work that is not yet finished. There he carries on an unceasing work, on your behalf and mine, who had trusted him as Savior before the throne of God.
Now let me quote the words. Now I want you to note what he's doing for me. First, he is my faithful intercessor before God's throne. and due to his priestly ministry of intercession in heaven for me, I am assured of being saved right through into eternity. Listen to the words. Hebrews seven, verse twenty-five. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, meaning completely, that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. My beloved, the substance of his intercession for me.
Tis revealed in the great prayer that you may read that he uttered to his Father, recorded in John chapter seventeen. Let me quote one particular verse. Nine, verse number nine in that chapter when he said, I pray, Father, for my disciples. I pray for them. I pray not for the world. I pray for them which thou hast given me. for they are thine. And let me state very firmly from the authority of these words which he prayed, I am the continual object of his prayerful intercession. Every believer in the Lord Jesus is the object of his prayerful intercession in heaven above.
You can read on in the same chapter of John the seventeen, verses seven through eleven. versus verse fifteen through seventeen verse twenty through twenty four and through twenty six and you will read words that can assure your heart that it is impossible for me to doubt and for you to doubt his great and faithful care for those who have trusted him could I ever entertain the suggestion that the prayers of the Lord Jesus on my behalf and your behalf my believing friend would ever be denied? My answer to this is an emphatic never. Yes, he is indeed my living intercessor.
And yet second, I think of another fact. He is my merciful and is my faithful high priest. Now why do I need him in heaven as my high priest? The great high priest performing a priestly work on the behalf of his people. It is in order to obtain help in overcoming the temptations and the trials of life that beset me here upon the earth. The Lord Jesus knows, my beloved Christian friend, you who are trusting the Lord Jesus are you that have not and will and should. If you will trust him, though you will find you still have enemies, you face them daily and so do I.
the world, the flesh, the devil, and yet nevertheless, I know where I can get help to overcome those enemies. For my Savior was not only made flesh, to be made like to his brethren, in order to be a propitiation for the sins of the people. But we read in Hebrews chapter two and verse eighteen, He himself suffered being tempted, so that he is able to help those who are being tempted. And the testings, the experiences during his life in the flesh, has perfected him to be a merciful, merciful for you, to you and for me, and a faithful high priest, merciful to us, faithful to God, in our temptations in order to deliver me.
Let me give an illustration. I think of an incident that took place down in the city of Charleston, South Carolina many years ago, when a beloved Christian man was challenged by some of his co-workers and said, as they said to him, what can you do to fight the devil when he comes around to tempt you? You are no match for him, as they really killed him. But that dear old brother answered with confidence, when the devil tempts me, comes around and tempts me, I get down on my knees, and I praise. Lord, help the devil in tampering with your property. My beloved, that was sound theology and practice indeed.
And oh, my beloved, what a joy to know. It is to my continual advantage to call upon the Lord in every trial, in every difficult and testing of life, whether from the world, whether from the flesh, and whether from the devil, and confidently and boldly, draw near to that throne of grace and find grace to help in good times for every need, appropriate help, well-timed help coming just when we need it. I must never fail to seek my Savior's help from above. Call upon him immediately in every time of need. He's there to give me his promised help. He will be faithful.
Has he not written in Psalm fifty and verse fifteen? Call upon me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Oh, beloved, let me emphasize, my salvation and security not only rests upon what Christ has done for me, but also upon what he is doing. Shall we pray? Father in heaven, bless and sanctify thy truth to the glory of our Savior, to saint and sinner alike, in Jesus' name. Amen.