Salvation
What
is it?
Salvation is when a person is removed from the kingdom of Satan and placed into
the kingdom of God by means of receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as personal
savior.
Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians
1:13, KJV) When the Lord Jesus
Christ went to the cross, he became the substitute atonement for the people he
came to save.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou
shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
(Matthew 1:21, KJV) When a
person became saved they are saved from the final penalty for sins.
They no longer are under condemnation for sins but have eternal life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He
that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
(John 5:24, KJV) They
shall never be judged for their sins.
Where
did my sins go upon salvation?
Here are some of the great promises from the Scriptures concerning the fate of
our sins because of Calvary.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12, KJV)
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17, KJV)
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and
will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah
43:25, KJV)
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto
the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more.
(Jeremiah 31:34, KJV)
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:13-14, KJV)
As
far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from
us. (Psalm 103:12, KJV)
As
you can see in these seven verses, the great promises that God gives us
concerning the fate of our sins upon salvation in Christ.
He will blot out our sins, He will never remember our sins and
iniquities, our sins were nailed to the cross of Christ, and he not only blotted
them out but he removed them from us.
In other words, because of these promises of God, we will never have to
worry that our sins will keep us out of Heaven.
Since he removed our sins, there is nothing for him to judge us for
because all our sins were paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is why God can say the following found in Isaiah 55:1.
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come
ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come,
buy wine and milk without money and without price.
(Isaiah 55:1, KJV) The
reason they can buy without money is because the price was already paid by
Christ.
Why
is Salvation necessary?
Salvation is necessary because no one can get to Heaven without becoming saved
in Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is
the only way to Heaven and although there are hundreds of religions out there
none can get you to Heaven.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
(John 14:6, KJV) Many
religions believe they can bypass Jesus and go directly to the Father but that
cannot and will never happen.
Is
Salvation a Process?
There
are many world religions that claim you must go through certain rituals or you
must adhere to their set of rules and regulations to get to Heaven.
Salvation is not a process because a person becomes saved instantly.
When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior,
they are saved at that moment for eternity.
There is no process or procedures to follow since salvation is in God’s
hands and not ours.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the
voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the
LORD. (Jonah 2:9, KJV)
Back in the Old Testament in the book of Jonah, the prophet Jonah writes
that salvation is of the Lord. It
is verses like this which show how the Bible is one cohesive whole.
Does
Salvation Require any Good Works?
If
salvation required a person to do any good works then salvation would be by
works and not by grace.
8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)
The
next question would be how many good works and what types of good works?
No one can work for salvation because Christ paid the entire penalty for
our sins. If a person believes they
have to do good works for salvation, then they are basically stating that the
sacrifice of Christ was not sufficient enough for our salvation and that man has
to add to it. That would be
tantamount to blasphemy because it was God the Son who removed our sins from us
and to say that we could do a better job than he did is total wickedness.
Now do good works play a part in the life of a Christian?
For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them. (Ephesians
2:10, KJV) Once we become
saved, then we partake in doing good works which could be giving to ministries
or passing out tracts or some other type of ministry.
This is why I included a chapter on spiritual gifts because it is these
that the Lord gave to empower us and to engage in the right ministry which the
Lord will guide us into according to the way He has gifted us.
Must
one Repent as a Requirement for Salvation?
Repentance means a “change of mind” toward something.
When we repent of sins it means we have
changed our minds about it. At one
time we thought a particular sin was fine but when we became saved, we now
realize that the sin was against the teachings of Scripture and we decide to
never partake in that sin again.
Now repentance for salvation would also constitute a work which means before I
can become saved I must repent of my sins.
This is also an error because a person before salvation is still dead in
their sins and therefore a dead person cannot do anything but be dead.
And you, being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses; (Colossians 2:13, KJV)
As we read in Colossians 2:13, a person before salvation is dead in their
sins. Biblical repentance is also a
gift from God and is another way of saying salvation.
In meekness instructing those that
oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the
acknowledging of the truth; (2 Timothy 2:25, KJV)
In 2 Timothy 2:25, we read that it is God who gives repentance just as it
is God who gives salvation. After a
person becomes saved, then they are able to repent of their sins because they
will have the ability to see that sinning in any form is wrong.
How
does a Person become Saved?
We
have seen that a person cannot do any kind of good works to obtain salvation nor
even repenting of their sins does not lead to salvation.
The way a person becomes saved is through the grace of God.
Now I mentioned grace in a previous section, so what is it?
The technical meaning of grace is “the unmerited favor of God.”
In other words, you were chosen by God not because you did something to
deserve it but you were chosen because God has a plan for your life both here
and in the next life. Why God
chooses one and not another is a great mystery.
All those who believe today and will believe in Christ in the future were
chosen from before the foundation of the world.
According as he hath chosen us in
him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4,
KJV) Therefore since God chose
us before the foundation of the world, there is no such thing as us accepting
Him. As you continue in your
Christian walk you will hear phrases like “accept the Lord” or “ask him into
your life, etc.” These are
unbiblical and cannot be found anywhere in Scripture.
Since God has named you for salvation before the foundation of the world,
He has also named a certain time when you will become saved.
For me I became saved when I was 27 years old.
For everyone the timing may be different and the circumstances may be
different. Some are saved within
tragic circumstances and some are saved without any special or tragic
circumstances. Salvation is in the hands
of God and not ours.
Since
Adam and Eve sinned the whole human race was plunged into sin and with that sin
came spiritual death. The way God
saves us is that those who are named for salvation at their appointed time God
takes from the point of spiritual death and gives them their resurrected soul.
The reason it is called a resurrected soul is because just like when
someone is physically dead such as Lazarus in John 11 and Jesus raised him from
the dead, that was called a “resurrection.”
In like manner God takes our dead souls and raises them from the dead and
indwells us with the Holy Spirit who gives us life eternal.
Who also hath made us able
ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the
letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
(2 Corinthians 3:6, KJV)
Once we are saved and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, then we have faith to
believe in Christ because faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (Galatians 5:22,
KJV) Those who are not saved cannot believe in Christ and that is why when
you speak with those who are unsaved they will look at you strange and not
understand the things you are saying because those who are saved speak on a
different level than those who are unsaved.
So just to recap you become saved and then you receive your resurrected
souls and you are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and you now have the ability to
believe on Christ and the things of God.
This all takes place in an instant, at the moment of salvation.
There is a group called charismatics who teach that a person does not
receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit at salvation but it comes at a later
time. This is false and unbiblical.
Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places in Christ:
(Ephesians 1:3, KJV) As you can
read in Ephesians 1:3 that we have been blessed with “all” spiritual blessings,
in other words, God did not withhold anything from us until a later time.
He gave it all to us at the moment of salvation. We just learn to develop
those blessings and use them as we go along in our Christian walk.
Can
we know we are saved?
There
are many religions even churches who cannot guarantee you that you can know you
are saved and some even claim you are arrogant if you claim you can know.
These people who claim this walk in darkness because the Bible is very
clear that we can know if we are saved.
These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have
eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
(1 John 5:13, KJV) 1
John 5:13 states in no uncertain terms that we can know we are saved and the
reason God wants us to know we are saved so we can be encouraged all the time we
have on earth and not continue wondering if we are saved.
The Bible is very supportive of those who are saved and continues to
encourage us in our walk. So never
let anyone tell you that you cannot know if you are saved because the Bible
tells us that we can know and that strengthens the believer every single day.
Another reason God wants us to know we are saved is because that
knowledge propels us into continuing on in ministry without any apprehension.
Can
we lose our salvation?
One
of the most evil beliefs which is courted by many Christians is the belief that
one can lose their salvation. First
of all a Christian did not work for their salvation and therefore cannot work to
lose it. Secondly, the person who
died on the cross was not just a mere man but the Son of God who took upon
himself the sins of all those he came to save and we previously saw that all our
sins were removed from us and that God has blotted out our sins for his sake.
If all our sins are removed and blotted out, then how could we lose our
salvation since sin is the only thing that can send a person to hell?
The reality is the loss of salvation is nowhere found in the scriptures
because it is a manmade teaching.
Once God has saved us, we are saved for eternity.
The
phrase “everlasting life” is used eleven times in the Scriptures: Daniel 12:2,
Matthew 19:29; John 3:16; John 3:36; John 4:14; John 5:24; John 6:27; John 6:40;
John 6:47; Acts 13:46; Romans 6:22.
Look up each of these verses and familiarize yourself with them.
The
phrase “eternal life” is used twenty six times in the Scriptures: Matthew 19:16;
Mark 10:17; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 18:18; John 3:15; John 5:39; John 6:54;
John 6:68; John 10:28; John 17:2; Acts 13:48; Romans 2:7; Romans 5:21; Romans
6:23; 1 Timothy 6:12; 1 Timothy 6:19; Titus 1:2; Titus 3:7; 1 John 1:2; 1 John
2:25; 1 John 3:15; 1 John 5:11; 1 John 5:13; 1 John 5:20; Jude 21.
Look up these verses and familiarize yourself with them.
It is
important to understand that we just listed eleven verses where the term
“everlasting life” is found and twenty six verses where “eternal life” is found.
This means that 37 verses mention eternal and everlasting life.
If a person could lose their salvation, then these 37 verses would be a
false teaching. If a person could
lose their salvation, then these 37 verses should read “temporary” life.
The great truth of scripture concerning eternal life for the Christian is
that eternal life begins at the moment of salvation and not at the moment of
physical death. What happens at
physical death is that the soul returns to the Lord and our physical bodies get
buried. When this happens, we will
be more alive than we are right now because we will not have a body attached to
us which lusts after sin. At this
point let us look at some scripture verses which show plainly that a true
Christian cannot lose their salvation.
All
that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in
no wise cast out. {38} For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but
the will of him that sent me. {39} And this is the Father's will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day. (John 6:37-39, KJV)
Here
are some verses which plainly teach that the Lord Jesus will not lose one person
plus He will not cast any out. Notice that in verse 37, there is no exception
clause. Jesus states that He will cast none of His true children out because He
is the one who bought them with his own blood.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and
to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed
the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28, KJV)
He doesn’t say that if you do a certain sin or a number of sins, then you get
thrown out. He will not cast out nor will He lose one soul.
The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, KJV)
This
verse has been misused by all in the free will camp that it is God’s will that
no one should perish. It is used with the understanding that God doesn’t want
anyone going to hell and that is why a person needs to accept Christ. This verse
is not speaking about a general call to mankind but is speaking about the elect
of God. It is God’s will that none of those He has chosen before the foundation
of the world will perish. If God names a person to salvation, during their
lifetime, God will intervene and save them. This is God’s will, that none of His
chosen will ever perish. This is why those who are truly saved will never be
cast out or lost, because God’s will for their lives is eternal salvation.
And I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28, KJV)
This
verse tells us that we have eternal life. The term “eternal life” as we
previously saw is found 26 times in the New Testament. If the believer has
eternal life, and we shall never perish, then how can some teach that we have
temporary life in Christ? It is a wrong assumption on the part of many who feel
they must work for their salvation. Eternal life begins at the moment a person
becomes truly saved and not at the moment of death. What looks like a person
losing their salvation is when a person makes some kind of verbal profession and
then they quickly go back into their former lifestyle, having never been truly
regenerated. So those who believe that a person can lose their salvation looks
at this person and thinks they have living proof of that teaching. The truth is,
if a person never becomes saved, they cannot live the regenerated life. This
verse also tells us that Jesus gives eternal life, that it is not something that
we work for. No one shall pluck or take us out of the hand of the Lord Jesus
either. This also means we cannot pluck ourselves out of His hand. Once we are
given eternal life, there are no breaches in it nor any way to lose it.
Now
before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he
should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1, KJV)
In
this verse we are reminded that Jesus loves His own. He is not saying that He
loves everyone in the world but that He loves His own and He loves them unto the
end. Whenever we see God or Jesus loving someone, it is always a synonym for
salvation. The love of Christ for the believer continues into the new Heaven and
the new Earth. There is not one passage in Scripture where it teaches that God
loves the unbeliever. On the contrary, He hates the workers of iniquity.
(Psalm 5:5 KJV) The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all
workers of iniquity. This verse is avoided by those who teach the universal
love of God for all mankind. So when we compare the two Scriptures, we see that
there is love for the believer but an abhorrence of the unbeliever. If a person
could lose their salvation by sinning, then Jesus would not be able to love them
to the end, then He would only be able to love them till their next sin. This is
not taught anywhere in Scripture.
I
have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world:
thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. (John
17:6, KJV)
I
pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me;
for they are thine. {10} And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am
glorified in them. (John 17:9-10, KJV)
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word; John 17:20, KJV)
These
particular verses confirm what was taught in John 6:37-39. God the Father draws
people to the Lord Jesus Christ and then they become saved. We also see that
Jesus is praying for those who are His and He is not praying for the
unbelievers. The Lord Jesus Christ is not glorified in the unbeliever but only
in the believer. Jesus prays for the disciples plus He also includes those
that will be saved through their word which points to future generations.
For I
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, {39} Nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39, KJV)
These
are some of the most powerful verses in Scripture which teach that a believer
can never be separated from God. This means that no matter what happens to the
believer, they can never be separated nor lose their salvation. The love of God
is a synonym for salvation as we have previously seen.
For
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29, KJV)
The
term “without repentance” means “irrevocable.” When God saves someone, that
calling and gift of salvation to that believer is not revocable. That is because
God is only saving those whom He named before the foundation of the world. This
is why salvation cannot be revoked. As stated previously, salvation is applied
only to those whom God has chosen and salvation is not an “offer” to the world.
The following three verses teach this truth very plainly.
And
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in
the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation
13:8, KJV)
The
beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless
pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose
names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world,
when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8,
KJV)
For
we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my
wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from
the foundation of the world. (Hebrews 4:3, KJV)
Here
are two verses from Isaiah which plainly teach that whatever God sets out to do,
He will accomplish it and no one can thwart His plans.
For
the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is
stretched out, and who shall turn it back? (Isaiah 14:27, KJV)
Yea,
before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I
will work, and who shall let it? (Isaiah 43:13, KJV)
When
He speaks of being delivered out of His hands, it means that nothing can be
taken from Him. We saw this principle taught in John 6:37-39 that the Lord Jesus
will lose no one. In Isaiah 43:13, “who shall let it” may be understood as “who
can turn it back.” If God saves a person, then who, including that person that
God saved, has the power to reverse God’s work? I don’t know anyone powerful
enough to do that, do you? Certainly sin cannot hold more power than God.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound: (Romans 5:20, KJV) So here we see that
not even sin has the power to fracture grace. Knowing this, how can a person
believe that they can lose their salvation if they sin? They can believe it only
through biblical ignorance or willful evasion of the truth.
For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)
Here
are probably two of the most used, yet misunderstood verses. Those who teach
that you must accept Christ as Savior misuse the verse, although maybe not
intentionally. There are many Pastors and Theologians who know that salvation is
by grace alone yet attach a work to it. That work being a person having to take
an action by “accepting Christ.” Even though it does not look like a work, yet
in God’s sight, it is adding to the salvation plan. Any addition of even a
minute’s work, makes it an adulterated grace. As we have previously seen that
God applies the Grace of Salvation to those He has predestined and there is no
work on the part of the individual receiving salvation. This means that if a
person received salvation without the addition of any work, then there is no
work that anyone can do to lose it. Sin is a work of evil, but nevertheless it
is a work. Therefore since it is impossible to work for salvation, it is also
impossible to lose salvation by any sinful work.
And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption. (Ephesians 4:30, KJV)
This
verse teaches us that the believer is sealed unto the day of redemption which
will either be the return of the Lord or the believer’s home going. The term
“grieve” carries with it the meaning of “sorrow.” We are being admonished to
refrain from sin because sin grieves the Holy Spirit. If you notice, the Holy
Spirit is grieved when we sin but the Scripture does not say that He will leave
us if we sin. This is because we are eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit. If the
Holy Spirit stays with us during a time of sin and does not leave us, that means
we cannot lose our salvation, since He is still dwelling in us. Only those
without the Holy Spirit are unsaved. (Romans 8:9 KJV) But ye are not in the
flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
For
ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3, KJV)
This
verse teaches us that the believer has died and their life is now hidden in
Christ. The believer’s identity is with the Lord Jesus Christ. The words “is
hid” is the Greek word “krupto” which carries with it the meaning of “kept
secret and kept safe.” So this verse is telling us that we are kept safe and
secret in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the passages of John 6:37-39 where
Jesus stated that He will lose none? Now we know why, because our eternal lives
are kept safe and secret with the Lord Jesus Christ. How is it possible for sin
to be able to break that safekeeping by eternal God Himself? It is impossible.
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12, KJV)
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17, KJV)
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and
will not remember thy sins. (Isaiah
43:25, KJV)
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto
the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I
will remember their sin no more.
(Jeremiah 31:34, KJV)
I
wish to repost four verses from a previous section which carry the theme of the
impossibility of loss of salvation.
These four verses all carry with them the same theme. When God forgives a person
of their sins, He has elected to forget those sins. Nowhere in Scripture is it
written that God chooses to remember our sins thus causing a loss of salvation.
When God removes our sins, He annihilates them. In other words, they can never
be held against us.
And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; {14} Blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us,
and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; (Colossians 2:13-14, KJV)
Notice in these verses we read that ALL trespasses have been forgiven, God’s
perfect and holy law was satisfied (handwriting of ordinances) which means there
will be no more penalty for sins committed by a believer. Some will object by
asking, “what about sins committed in the future?” When Colossians 2:13-14 was
written, which was about 60-64 AD, where were you? You were not scheduled to be
born for another 19 centuries. This would mean that all the sins you were
forgiven for, were not even committed yet. Those sins that you are yet to commit
in the future, have all been blotted out by Christ. When God applied grace to
you, it carried the full effect of the atonement of Christ, which means every
sin you have committed or will commit has been blotted out. You don’t have a sin
to your name before God. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are
without fault before the throne of God. (Revelation 14:5, KJV) If you still
cling to the belief that you can lose your salvation, then you are also under
the belief that the atonement of Christ was insufficient, thereby, forcing you
to save yourself. The idea of insufficient atonement is a blasphemy against
Christ and God’s salvation plan. To say that the sinless Christ can’t save you
but your sinful works can, is the height of evil arrogance.
But
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the
right hand of God; {13} From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. {14} For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14, KJV)
In
these verses we read that the atonement of Christ perfected those who are
sanctified. The term sanctified is another synonym for salvation. In Scripture,
we only read of God sanctifying the believer. The Greek word which underlies
“sanctified” is the same word for “holy.” Never does God refer to an unbeliever
as holy. The word “perfected” means to “make perfect, complete.” This is what
the Lord Jesus Christ did for the believer. We are now complete in Christ. The
one sacrifice has perfected the believer forever. That eternal sanctification
and completeness begins at the moment a person becomes saved and continues right
into eternity. If a person could lose their salvation, that would mean they
would lose their holiness but this verse teaches that the perfecting is forever
and not a temporary, intermittent time period.
To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4, KJV)
In
this verse we read that a place is reserved for the believer in Heaven. The word
“reserved” carries with it the meaning of “preserved.” Now if a believer could
lose their salvation, why would God promise His children that there is a place
reserved for them in Heaven? If salvation was in the hands of man, then God
would be in Heaven waiting to see if a person makes it. He would not be able to
promise that a place is reserved for anyone if they can lose their salvation for
any reason. This verse is an assurance that since the Lord Jesus Christ atoned
for the sins of His people, they are assured a place in Heaven.
Who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time. (1 Peter 1:5, KJV)