We are firmly grounded and steadfast in Christ alone!
Paul told the Colossians – “…And although you were formerly alienated and enemies in mind and in evil deeds, but now He reconciled you in the body of His flesh through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach…” (Col. 1: 21-22) Paul continued – “…if indeed you continue in the faith firmly grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” (Col. 1: 23)
Dr. John MacArthur writes – “Those who have been reconciled will persevere in faith and obedience because, in addition to being declared righteous, they are actually made new creatures with a new disposition that loves God, hates sin, desires obedience, and is energized by the indwelling Holy Spirit.” (MacArthur, 1602)
Paul taught the Corinthians – “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5: 17) In Paul’s letter to Titus we learn – “For we ourselves also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus: 3: 3-7)
Once again from MacArthur – “Salvation brings divine cleansing from sin and the gift of a new, Spirit-generated, Spirit-empowered, and Spirit-protected life as God’s own children and heirs. This is the new birth.” (MacArthur, 1650) The Holy Spirit is the agent of the ‘washing of regeneration.’ “When believers are saved, Christ’s Spirit blesses them beyond measure. The central truth of salvation is justification by faith alone. When a sinner repents and places his faith in Jesus Christ, God declares him just, imputes the righteousness of Christ to him, and gives him eternal life by virtue of the substitutionary death of Christ as the penalty for that sinner’s iniquity.” (MacArthur, 1650)
Paul taught the Philippians – “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1: 6)
We are not automatically spiritual children of God when we are born to our mothers. In order to become a child of God we must repent and place our faith in Jesus Christ, trusting in what He did for us on the cross. Jesus told Nicodemus – “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3: 5-6)
We have a choice to believe or not. If we do not repent and turn to God and believe, we are agreeing to our eternal death or eternal separation from God (hell). If we are born of God’s Spirit through faith, God will transform us from the inside out. He will keep us through the ups and downs of our lives. He will do a work of sanctification within us. From our new spiritual birth on, we are eternally secure in Him.
RESOURCES:
The McArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition. 2020. Thomas Nelson.