I shared in the last devotional that the issue of enteral security is a subject that is often neglected in teaching and informing God’s people. Many people believe in eternal security and defend their position with various scriptures, which I shared some of them in the last devotional. In these next two devotionals, I am going to share a few scriptures that point to the fact that eternal security is not guaranteed, and there are conditions that might cause someone to lose eternal life.
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15
Our God has forgiven our sins, and the high price of that forgiveness was Jesus being sacrificed on the cross for us! Therefore, He has the right to expect us to forgive others. Sometimes we encourage people to forgive, so they don’t have to carry the load of hurt and resentment. However, we neglect to tell them that God requires us to forgive! If we want the mercies of the Lord in our lives, God expects us to be generous and merciful with our forgiveness toward others.
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Matthew 10:22
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33
The Lord expects us to withstand tribulation and to be courageous enough to confess His name even if costs us something.
And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:47-48
If you read the entire passage, Jesus is telling a parable about a master allowing his property to be stewarded by his servant. The servant took advantage of the fact that the master was gone, and neglected his responsibilities. As Christians, we are accountable to what we know our responsibilities to be. Some take pride in having various versions of the Bible and/or attending various Bible studies, but they can neglect obedience.
The above scripture tells us that the more we know, the more accountable we are in obeying His word and stewarding our knowledge. We need to shy away from being sloppy with our obedience or doing it only when someone is watching us. The Lord sees everything we do when no one is watching, and he knows if we have been faithful to what we know. I don’t think we can make the excuse for our lack of faithfulness by pointing at others around us who are lackadaisical with their obedience. If we claim to have a personal relationship with God, then we are also personally accountable to His convictions and unction to do right!
In the next devotional, I will share a few more more sobering scriptures that are critical concerning the issue of eternal security.
