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Part 1 of two......lengthy, but well worth it....
Step 1: Declare God's Grace as Insufficient
This first step involves the basis of your salvation. When you accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, you are saved totally by the grace of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Grace is defined as God's unmerited favor. It is God doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. Since you cannot save yourself, God offers His gift of grace as the basis of your salvation. This means you cannot save yourself by good works. Water baptism, church membership, church confirmation, loving your neighbor, and even the keeping of the ten commandments are all unable to give you or anyone else a place in heaven.
Romans 3:20 states: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Titus 3:5 declares: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Now, since good works can do nothing to earn salvation (see also Galatians 2:16 ; Philippians 3:9 ), then evil works can do nothing to remove salvation. You are saved in spite of your sins; you cannot become lost because of your sins. Since you are saved by grace, you can only become lost by declaring God's grace as insufficient for you. That is the first step.
Step 2: Find the Faith of Christ to be Faulty
Whereas the first step removed the basis of salvation—grace, the second step is necessary to reverse the method of salvation—faith. Contrary to popular belief, you are not saved by producing enough faith so that God will accept you. Oh yes, you must believe. But your belief is completed by the faith of Christ. Again, the Bible must be the authority.
Look once more at Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
You are saved by grace and through faith. But that faith is not of yourself; it is the gift of God. Does this mean that we are saved apart from our own decision to believe? Not at all!
Read carefully Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
You cannot be justified by the works of the law. But you can be justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. This is not faith in Christ, but the faith of Jesus Christ. But in order to be justified by the faith of Christ, you must believe in Him. Sound confusing?
Look at Romans 3:22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Notice the wording carefully. The righteousness of God is received on the basis of the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus Christ is given "unto all and upon all them that believe." (See also Philippians 3:9.)
Although you must believe to the best of your ability, the perfect faith which provides for you a perfect salvation is the faith of Christ. This means that there is no need to "pray through" or "hold on" in order to get saved. We come to God in simple belief, and He completes our faulty faith with the perfect faith of Christ. This also means that you cannot become lost by losing faith. Although your faith may waver at times, your salvation is based on the faith of Christ. Therefore, the only way to lose your salvation is to find the faith of Christ to be faulty. That completes the second step.
Step 3: Get Christ to Take Back His Righteousness
This third step has to do with one of the great products of your salvation—imputed righteousness. This imputed righteousness (that means righteousness placed on us from an outside source) involves the most uneven swap in the universe. When you get saved, you trade the rags of your sin for the robes of Christ's righteousness. Let's consider this trade one part at a time.
When Christ died on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself and paid for them in full.
Galatians 3:13 reads: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God the Father made God the Son (Jesus Christ—the One who knew no sin) to be sin for us. That is, Christ took your sins upon Himself when He died on the cross, so that you could take His righteousness upon yourself when you accept Him as Saviour. When you are saved, you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). When God the Father sees you, He sees you through the blood of His Son. Therefore, you will never have to stand before God in your own righteousness (Philippians 3:9). You are truly complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).
This also means that you cannot become lost by losing your own righteousness.Though your righteousness may fail from time to time, the righteousness of Christ can never fail. In order to lose your salvation, you must get Christ to take back His righteousness, and you must take back upon yourself the sin for which He died. And so the third step is completed.
Step 4: Have The Pardon Removed From Your Sin
You receive something very special when you accept Christ. You receive a pardon for your sin greater than the pardon any criminal ever received from any governor or president. This pardon is based on none other than the shed blood of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 declares: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
When you are quickened (made alive) together with Christ, you are forgiven all trespasses: not just some or most, but all! This is why the forgiveness which saved is a completed act of the past and not a repeated act of the present.
Ephesians 4:32 reads: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
We are to be "forgiving" (present tense) others as God "hath forgiven" (past tense) us, not as He "forgives" (present tense) us. God forgave all of your sins at salvation: past, present, and future. Therefore, there is no need for a continual forgiving of sins in order to go to heaven.
(NOTE: Of course, such complete forgiveness does not remove the need to repent from sins committed after salvation. But this daily cleansing of sins has no effect on salvation.)
Since you receive a full pardon at salvation, you cannot become lost by committing unpardoned sins. There can be no such thing for the saved person. Although you may sin and displease God after your salvation, God knew when He saved you what you would do and forgave you of those sins also. The only way out is to have the pardon which you received at salvation removed from your sin. And so ends step four.
Step 5: Convince The Father To Fail In His Commitment
The fifth step has to do with the safekeeping of your soul. Before you are saved, you are the keeper of your own soul, and you cannot do anything but fail in its keeping. But when you get saved, you turn your soul over to the protection of another—God.
In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul says: For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
In salvation, you gave up control of your own soul, and turned its safe keeping over to God the Father. God is now committed to the keeping of your soul to the end.
1 Corinthians 1:8 declares: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Also read Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Your confirmation unto the end and the performance of the work in you until the day of Jesus Christ is in the hand of the Lord.
Therefore, you cannot become lost by failing in your commitment to Christ. Since your salvation is based on the commitment of God, the loss of personal commitment would not affect your eternal destiny. No, the only way to lose your salvation is to somehow get God to fail in His commitment. This completes step five.
Step 6: Break The Father's Seal of The Spirit
Step six has to do with one of the guarantees of your salvation. When you are saved, the Bible teaches that you are sealed by the Spirit of God.
Ephesians 1:13 teaches: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 reads: Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
These verses teach that you are sealed with the Holy Ghost by the Father at the time of salvation. The Holy Spirit is not your sealer; He is your seal. A seal is something that fastens securely and which must be broken in order to be opened. Your salvation is secured by the Spirit of God. And not only are you presently sealed, but you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 states: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
The seal of the Spirit is guaranteed good unto the day of redemption, that is, the day when Christ takes us up to be with Him.
This means that you cannot become lost by breaking your promise to God. Since your security is based on the seal of the Spirit, no promise or commitment broken by you can void your salvation. The only way to lose your salvation is to break the Father's seal of the Spirit. That is step six.
Part 2 to follow....
Step 1: Declare God's Grace as Insufficient
This first step involves the basis of your salvation. When you accept Jesus Christ as Saviour, you are saved totally by the grace of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Grace is defined as God's unmerited favor. It is God doing for you what you cannot do for yourself. Since you cannot save yourself, God offers His gift of grace as the basis of your salvation. This means you cannot save yourself by good works. Water baptism, church membership, church confirmation, loving your neighbor, and even the keeping of the ten commandments are all unable to give you or anyone else a place in heaven.
Romans 3:20 states: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Titus 3:5 declares: Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Now, since good works can do nothing to earn salvation (see also Galatians 2:16 ; Philippians 3:9 ), then evil works can do nothing to remove salvation. You are saved in spite of your sins; you cannot become lost because of your sins. Since you are saved by grace, you can only become lost by declaring God's grace as insufficient for you. That is the first step.
Step 2: Find the Faith of Christ to be Faulty
Whereas the first step removed the basis of salvation—grace, the second step is necessary to reverse the method of salvation—faith. Contrary to popular belief, you are not saved by producing enough faith so that God will accept you. Oh yes, you must believe. But your belief is completed by the faith of Christ. Again, the Bible must be the authority.
Look once more at Ephesians 2:8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
You are saved by grace and through faith. But that faith is not of yourself; it is the gift of God. Does this mean that we are saved apart from our own decision to believe? Not at all!
Read carefully Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
You cannot be justified by the works of the law. But you can be justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. This is not faith in Christ, but the faith of Jesus Christ. But in order to be justified by the faith of Christ, you must believe in Him. Sound confusing?
Look at Romans 3:22: Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Notice the wording carefully. The righteousness of God is received on the basis of the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus Christ is given "unto all and upon all them that believe." (See also Philippians 3:9.)
Although you must believe to the best of your ability, the perfect faith which provides for you a perfect salvation is the faith of Christ. This means that there is no need to "pray through" or "hold on" in order to get saved. We come to God in simple belief, and He completes our faulty faith with the perfect faith of Christ. This also means that you cannot become lost by losing faith. Although your faith may waver at times, your salvation is based on the faith of Christ. Therefore, the only way to lose your salvation is to find the faith of Christ to be faulty. That completes the second step.
Step 3: Get Christ to Take Back His Righteousness
This third step has to do with one of the great products of your salvation—imputed righteousness. This imputed righteousness (that means righteousness placed on us from an outside source) involves the most uneven swap in the universe. When you get saved, you trade the rags of your sin for the robes of Christ's righteousness. Let's consider this trade one part at a time.
When Christ died on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself and paid for them in full.
Galatians 3:13 reads: Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
God the Father made God the Son (Jesus Christ—the One who knew no sin) to be sin for us. That is, Christ took your sins upon Himself when He died on the cross, so that you could take His righteousness upon yourself when you accept Him as Saviour. When you are saved, you are clothed in the righteousness of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). When God the Father sees you, He sees you through the blood of His Son. Therefore, you will never have to stand before God in your own righteousness (Philippians 3:9). You are truly complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).
This also means that you cannot become lost by losing your own righteousness.Though your righteousness may fail from time to time, the righteousness of Christ can never fail. In order to lose your salvation, you must get Christ to take back His righteousness, and you must take back upon yourself the sin for which He died. And so the third step is completed.
Step 4: Have The Pardon Removed From Your Sin
You receive something very special when you accept Christ. You receive a pardon for your sin greater than the pardon any criminal ever received from any governor or president. This pardon is based on none other than the shed blood of Christ.
Ephesians 1:7 declares: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
When you are quickened (made alive) together with Christ, you are forgiven all trespasses: not just some or most, but all! This is why the forgiveness which saved is a completed act of the past and not a repeated act of the present.
Ephesians 4:32 reads: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
We are to be "forgiving" (present tense) others as God "hath forgiven" (past tense) us, not as He "forgives" (present tense) us. God forgave all of your sins at salvation: past, present, and future. Therefore, there is no need for a continual forgiving of sins in order to go to heaven.
(NOTE: Of course, such complete forgiveness does not remove the need to repent from sins committed after salvation. But this daily cleansing of sins has no effect on salvation.)
Since you receive a full pardon at salvation, you cannot become lost by committing unpardoned sins. There can be no such thing for the saved person. Although you may sin and displease God after your salvation, God knew when He saved you what you would do and forgave you of those sins also. The only way out is to have the pardon which you received at salvation removed from your sin. And so ends step four.
Step 5: Convince The Father To Fail In His Commitment
The fifth step has to do with the safekeeping of your soul. Before you are saved, you are the keeper of your own soul, and you cannot do anything but fail in its keeping. But when you get saved, you turn your soul over to the protection of another—God.
In 2 Timothy 1:12, Paul says: For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
In salvation, you gave up control of your own soul, and turned its safe keeping over to God the Father. God is now committed to the keeping of your soul to the end.
1 Corinthians 1:8 declares: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Also read Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Your confirmation unto the end and the performance of the work in you until the day of Jesus Christ is in the hand of the Lord.
Therefore, you cannot become lost by failing in your commitment to Christ. Since your salvation is based on the commitment of God, the loss of personal commitment would not affect your eternal destiny. No, the only way to lose your salvation is to somehow get God to fail in His commitment. This completes step five.
Step 6: Break The Father's Seal of The Spirit
Step six has to do with one of the guarantees of your salvation. When you are saved, the Bible teaches that you are sealed by the Spirit of God.
Ephesians 1:13 teaches: In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 reads: Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
These verses teach that you are sealed with the Holy Ghost by the Father at the time of salvation. The Holy Spirit is not your sealer; He is your seal. A seal is something that fastens securely and which must be broken in order to be opened. Your salvation is secured by the Spirit of God. And not only are you presently sealed, but you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 states: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
The seal of the Spirit is guaranteed good unto the day of redemption, that is, the day when Christ takes us up to be with Him.
This means that you cannot become lost by breaking your promise to God. Since your security is based on the seal of the Spirit, no promise or commitment broken by you can void your salvation. The only way to lose your salvation is to break the Father's seal of the Spirit. That is step six.
Part 2 to follow....
