Jesus our Model

Since Jesus was God why did he require the help of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles? Why did he require help after the devil tempted him? Was this just an example of what we should do?

It is true that Jesus was fully omnipotent being the second person in the Trinity. But when Jesus took on flesh he took on many limitations like time and space. Even when it came to miracles Jesus performed them with the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:18,19; Acts 10:38). Jesus did not use His power wildly to show off to the world that He is the Son of God. Instead, every miracle that He performed were in the will of the Father. Jesus used His power in consultation with God the Father and never did anything on earth of His own accord.

Jesus sets an ideal for humanity by his prayer life, and constant dependence on God for everything including the power to do miracles. He did not always operate in the realm of the super natural. He lived like a normal human being and thereby he sets an example for us. If the Son of God Himself expressed so much dependence on the Father to carry out His mission, how much more we need to depend on God to carry out the mission He has entrusted to us!

Bible and Constitution

I quote a paragraph from a book I just read:`Liberal democracies generally make a point of not interfering with freedom of belief, but their legal systems may still enshrine some religious values, for instance over abortion, or trading on holy days. Some Islamic states go further, applying sharia law which is based explicitly on religious doctrine. Out-and-out theocracy (rule by religious leaders, as in Iran) is rare in modern times, but religious radicals pose a potent threat to several governments, claiming as they do that they owe a higher allegiance to faith than state.`
This stimulates me to start thinking.
I believe USA is included as well. So I am thinking, if a country like USA wants freedom of belief, is it necessary to remove the religious values from their legal systems and rules and regulations? Would there be any contradiction if the religious values are not removed?
God set up government to look after the citizen. How does God really want the government system to be look? Can the `freedom of belief` motto be harmony with legal systems that include religious values?

You have raised some very interesting questions. I agree with the paragraph from the book you have quoted. I have to state before I answer the question that I am from the country of India which is also a democratic country like USA.

First of all, freedom of belief is a common constitutional right of all democratic countries. Even in India though majority are Hindus (85%of population) yet there is freedom of belief in our constituional statement. The fact that many times it is not practiced is another story.

Personally, I believe that freedom of belief can exist in harmony with the system of religious values embedded in the constitution. Of course we need to define what we mean by religious values. Sometimes in the Islamic context or even the Christian faith which considers itself to be exclusivistic, one cannot impose the religion through the constitution as it will be against the principle of freedom of belief. But I believe this is common in some Islamic countries where preaching of other religion is prohibited.

From the Christian perspective I believe biblical values have to be retained in our consitution. Any attempt to remove them will only result in more and more discord. The founding fathers of America were committed Christians and it is reflected in your legal system. While holding on to Christian values we can maintain freedom of belief. I believe this is true of the Bible itself. Our God Himelf gives us the choice to follow Jesus Christ and does not force the truths on anyones throat. The Bible presents the truth of God's way of salvation and places the responsibility on us to take that step of commitment. The Christian faith does not eliminate other beliefs from existence or try to annihilate people of other faiths. So a constituion that maintains Christian values and freedom of belief does not contradict itself. It does not mean that an individual can hold on to any set of beliefs in all matters and the line has to be drawn like in the case of Abortion or Homosexuality where the teachings of the Bible take precedence!

Resurrection

I have often wondered whether we as believers in Christ will also be on earth for 40 days as Jesus was after He rose from the dead?

There is no such teaching in the Scriptures that believers in Christ will have wait for some duration of time after their resurrection before going to heaven. In the case of Jesus Christ it is a unique event and it was necessary for Jesus to appear before the disciples and other witnesses to confirm the miraculous event of His resurrection. This is not necessary in the case of the resurrection of believers as the entire world will be consummated at the resurrection.

This is the clear teaching of Apostle Paul in 1 Thess 4:15-18 "According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words."

When we are resurrected our souls and bodies will unite and we will be with the Lord forever. We will not have to stay here on earth after this glorious event.

Government

Is government a sin because people are ruling over other? What does the Bible say about this?

Government in itself is not a sin. The Bible is clear that God is the one who appoints governments. God who is the Sovereign One ordains or appoints all the rulers. Believers are called to subject ourselves to authorities (Rom 13:1-7) When Paul wrote this letter it was the evil Roman emperor Nero who was in power and yet Paul exhorted the Romans to submit themselves to his authority.Paul exhorts that as long as we are in the right path we do not need to fear authorities. God may judge people through the human authorities. So government is in the plan of God in ruling over the nations.

Just because people are ruling over others does not mean it is sin. But when rulers misuse the authority and fail to rule properly then it is sin. The rulers on their part need to acknowledge that they are accountable to God and therefore act as one who is representing God. The biblical model of leadership is servant leadership. Yet there are many countries in the world where the rulers do misuse authority but still as Christians in those countries we ought to subject to them. However there is still room for peaceful protests when those rulers are going against God but we cannot blatantly defy authorities because God is the one who placed them there.

Enoch

When Enoch died, where did he go?

Enoch seems to be one of the fascinating characters in the book of Genesis. The Bible has only brief words about him and his life (Gen 5:21-24). His life generates a lot of interest because of what is being said about him in these brief verses.

The Bible says Enoch walked with God which symbolizes his obedience to the Lord and intimacy in His walk with Him. He was constantly in fellowship with God and apparently lived a life pleasing in God's sight. Enoch like Elijah did not experience death. They are the only two characters of the Bible who went to heaven without facing death. God took Enoch into His presence directly. We can find mention of this incident in Heb 11:5 as well. Enoch went to heaven directly without having to experience death. We do not have answers as to why it happened this way. Neither is it Scriptural for any of us to expect such experiences like Enoch and Elijah in the world today. Although it happened in dramatic fashion in case of Enoch and Elijah the promise for all of us who have faith in Christ is the same. We will also be with the Lord in heaven forever after we finish this life on earth. We do not have to fear death as it is only a gateway to a better life.

The Temptations of Christ

It says in the Bible that God cannot be tempted, so why was Jesus tempted by Satan?


The Bible says that God cannot be tempted by sin because He is perfect. He is not vulnerable to sin as we are because He is a holy God. It has to do with his inner character that repels sin. Matt 4 and Luke 4 record the temptation of Christ. This makes us wonder whether Christ being divine was capable of sinning. The Bible says in Hebrews 2:18, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." Jesus Christ was indeed tempted in every way and therefore he is able to identify with us when we face temptations. The sufferings of Christ included his temptations. Even though he was lured by Satan to sin Jesus did not succumb to the temptations but overcame them victoriously.


While we may agree that Jesus overcame the temptations we may still ask whether his temptation was real. Was there a sinful pull inside of Jesus? The temptation of Jesus is a mystery and we may not fathom it fully. One cannot deny the reality of the temptations. Theologians use the term "Impeccabiity of Christ" which means Christ could not sin even though he could be tempted. Firstly, we have to be clear that Jesus Christ was tempted and the temptations were real. The temptations were directed at his human nature and not his divine. Jesus Christ in his humanity was tempted and in that sense He had the potential to sin. There were no external pressures to stop him from sinning.


Secondly, he was internally kept from sinning because of his character and being which will not disobey the Father. Jesus overcame the temptations and came out victorious. The purpose of the temptations was to demonstrate the fact that He was the Son of God.

Friendship between boys and girls

1 - What the bible says about a friendship beetween a boy and a girl in a church? All of them are chrstian. Talking about friendship i mean the boy can go out with the girl.
2 - What the bible saus about cheating at school or in exams?


The Bible does not place a total restriction on friendship between a boy and a girl. Friends provide us companionship and do help us in times of need. But we have to be careful in choosing friends as our friends do tend to influence us. As regards two Christians of the opposite sex becoming friends, we need to ensure that the friendship is for the right reasons. It is easier for us to be infatuated with the opposite sex especially when we are young. When our friendship is dictated by such wrong attractions they are sinful. We need to therefore be prayerful and allow the Lord to guide us in our decisions. There are different levels in friendship and it is best that we exercise caution at what level we have friendship with the member of the opposite sex. There is no hard and fast rule and the need is for individual discretion. The motto in all our relationships is whether it is honouring Christ. A boy and girl in church can go out together provided they have right intentions. In most cases it is better off for young people especially in teens to have fun as a group than to go out alone with the opposite sex.


As regards cheating in school exams the Bible has no direct commandment. But as in many other cases there are implied principles. So cheating is certainly a sin and therefore the Bible condemns it. Proverbs 11:1 says, "The LORD hates cheating and delights in honesty" (Living Bible). God hates any form of cheating which includes cheating in school or in an exam. As Christians we have to strive to be honest in all areas of life. The proverb "Honesty is the best policy" is especially true for Christians.

Stress

How do we cope with stress when we face changes in life?

As people living in this modern world, we all have to face undue stress because of so many reasons. One of the main reasons for stress is change. Change calls us to step out of comfort zone and into unknown waters. Faith is an antidote to stress. As Christians we believe in the sovereignty of God. Because God is in absolute control over our life we have an assurance that God is the one who is leading our life. This enables us to face change because it is something permitted by God. If God leads us to a new place He will also give the strength and the resources to meet the new challenges. I want you to read the following Scripture portions that serve as a source of comfort for all who have stress: Matt 6:25-34 and Phillipians 4:6,7.

Satan

Is Satan omnipotent and omnipresent?

God created Satan to be an angel and he is therefore a created being. A created being cannot be omnipotent and omnipresent as these are attributes only God possesses. 1 John 4:4 says, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." This shows clearly that God is more powerful than Satan. It will be a great mistake to think of God and Satan as two equal powers waging a war. There is not a contest between the two because God is the unanimous winner.

There is no direct verse in the Bible as to whether Satan is omnipresent or not. But because Satan is an angelic being we can infer that he cannot be omnipresent. He cannot make himself available in more than one place at the same time.

Temple of the Holy Spirit

The Bible says your body is temple of the Holy Spirit. What does that mean?

In the Old Testament we see that God's presence dwelt in the temple. The glory of God rested in the Holy of holies which was a special place within the temple. But in the new covenant all of us are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. God seals us with His Holy Spirit when we become believers in Christ (Eph 1:13). Because the very presence of God through the Holy Spirit dwells within us our bodies are called the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is one of the greatest privilege we receive from the new covenant – the Holy God chooses to live within imperfect people .

This solemn truth in the Scripture calls for every Christian to live a holy life. Because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit we have to be careful not to use our body for immorality. We ought to strive to live a life that honours God.

Humility

What is arrogance ? Why does God hate it? Who were humble people in biblical times and modern times ?

The Lord says in Prov 8:13, "To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech." Arrogance is very clearly an expression of pride. Proud people are arrogant in their behaviour and actions and God hates it.

C.S. Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity that Pride is the greatest of all sins. Pride sets itself against God and His authority. Proud people think highly of themselves and assume they have authority in their hands. God detests pride because it is the root of all sin - it makes human beings turn away from God. Pride keeps people from receiving.

The Bible does record in Num 12:3, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." The difficulty in answering that question today is obvious. There are many people who are proud of their humility which is ironic. The humble person is not some one with a low self esteem. He is able to see himself the way God sees him. Humble people realize they are unworthy and magnify God's grace. They don't boast in their accomplishments as though they have done it by their strength but show utmost reliance on God.

Bible Application

Hi. I`d like to know what the verse in Micah means that says `Your enemies are the men of your own household`. My husband seems to think it is for us today and that the people in your own family are your enemies. How can I explain this to him so he`ll understand?

We need to follow certain principles while interpreting the Bible. The art of Bible interpretation is called as Hermeneutics which gives us important guidelines in applying Scripture for today. We cannot blindly take every verse in the Bible and apply it to the current context. Not all the verses in the Bible have a direct application today. For instance, the promise given by God to Abraham in Genesis that his seed will be like the stars in the sky cannot be applied to any of us today. It was given to a specific individual during a particular period of time.

Regarding this verse in Micah, we see that Prophet Micah was addressing to the nation of Israel as they were guilty of apostasy. In Micah 7:6 he is talking about how the family unit of the people of Israel were disintegrating. The sons were going against fathers, the daughters against mothers and daughter in laws against mother in laws. In this sense Micah says that a man's enemies are from his household. It doesn't have a direct application to people living in the world today.

Lying

In Joshua chapter 2 Rahab lies to the king of Jericho in order to hide the two Israelite spies. My question is, why is this not considered a sin, even if she was doing it for a noble reason? I believe in Hebrews it even mentions this incident in relation to the faith Rahab had. Would this give Christians some sort of leeway to tell a lie if they have good reasons for it as in this case?

Lying is clearly condemned in the Bible. The modern day people have come up with various arguments to justify some forms of lying. This falls under the banner of situational Ethics. So they use the example of Rahab in the Bible to prove that lying in certain situations is permitted if our intention is good.

One of the things to note is Rahab lying to the soldiers to save the Israelite spies is not intended to be model for us to follow. Rahab is praised for her faith in the book of Hebrews 11:31 and for receiving the spies in peace and not for the sake of her lying. The Bible also says Rahab is a prostitute and that doesn't mean that prostitution is permitted in the Bible. On the basis of this story we cannot conclude that Bible permits some forms of lying.
Rahab's lying is a sin. But we have to understand she didn't have the knowledge of the living God. She did all she could in her abilities in order to save the Israelite spies. She could have chosen a different way of protecting the Israelite spies which would have been commendable. God honors her not for her lying but for her act of faith. Rahab had her weaknesses like all of us but she trusted in God and acted on behalf of God's people. This needs to be the highlighted instead of her lying.

The story of Rahab doesn't give a leeway for Christians to lie even if it is intended with good motives. The Bible does not endorse situational ethics.

Resurrection Appearance

Jesus said `Blessed are those who have not seen Me and have yet still believed`. Does this mean that we who are believers today will be blessed even more blessed than God`s prophets, disciples and even His servant Abraham and more than other people who have witnessed God`s amazing and undeniable miracles?
Will we be more blessed than them when we go to Heaven since we have not seen Jesus but have yet believed?

I don't think there are any implications in this verse with regard to who is more blessed between OT and NT saints. The verse is often quoted as a rebuke given by Jesus to Thomas but may not necessarily be so. It is not only Thomas who failed to believe in the resurrection until he saw the resurrected Jesus but even the other disciples failed to believe in the words of Mary until they saw Jesus with their own eyes.

People who come to faith in Christ after His ascension will do so without seeing Him with their eyes. They believe the gospel message preached to them by faith. In this sense they are blessed. At the same time there are others who have seen the resurrected Jesus prior to His ascension and came to faith in him. Neither of these groups of people are superior. Rather than seeing who is better among the two, the Lord is placing them in equal standing. There is no indication here of the Lord using any comparison.

It also has to be noted that the Bible does affirm a faith that is less dependent on signs. People cannot ask for signs in order to believe. True faith has to be in the written word of God and not on experiences. A person cannot demand Jesus to appear before Him in order to believe the gospel message. While there are instances today also of Jesus appearing before people in visions resulting in their conversion, it cannot be taken as the norm or should even be encouraged.

Divinity of Jesus

Question:
If Jesus is God, why did Jesus respond the way he did in Mark 10:18?
Answer:
The affirmation of Jesus’ deity is very clear in the Bible. Jesus did claim Himself to be divine and the New Testament writers rightly called Him God. The statement Jesus is making in Mark 10:18, "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone",
are not contradicting His divine claims.

The man (called as rich young ruler) addresses Jesus in Mark 10:17 as Good Teacher. He bends his knees before Jesus and enquires what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. While on the outset it appears he is on the right track we see from studying the passage that his intentions were not right and his priorities were misplaced. Both his assumptions were wrong – firstly he considered Jesus as a mere moral teacher, and secondly he thought salvation can be earned through good works. Jesus wanted to correct his two wrong assumptions. Jesus wanted the young man to realize His full identity. Jesus didn’t want him to merely see Him as a good teacher.

This statement of Jesus in Mark 10:18 actually is an affirmation that He is God. Jesus was making the person understand that God alone is good, and if he is calling Jesus as good then he also has to acknowledge Jesus as God. The young man however did not grasp this truth.

Repentance

What is the true meaning of "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." 2 Cor 7:10.? Is Godly sorrow for sin a requirement for salvation?

Repentance signifies that we are sorry for our sinful actions that we have done against God. We recognize that we have grieved Him by our wicked ways. When the Holy Spirit convicts us we realize the depth of our sin and see its ugliness in light of God’s holiness. This true sorrow for sin leads to a change of mind which is called repentance. Repentance in turn leads to salvation.

It is therefore appropriate to say that repentance is required for salvation. Godly sorrow results in repentance which opens the door for salvation. The godly sorrow which leads to repentance is a convicting work of the Spirit. In contrast to this is the sorrow of the world which produces death. This type of sorrow is a mere feeling of guilt that the devil can use to get us into a trap. This is what we see in the case of Judas Iscariot who ended up committing suicide because he betrayed the Lord (Acts 1:18). Whereas Peter wept bitterly after his denial (Mark 14:72) and this is an evidence of godly sorrow that leads to repentance.

Narrow way of Salvation

A Jehovah witness said this:
`Jesus did not give any indication that his followers would be of the highest numbers, such as is found in Christendom. If that were fact...the road to life would not have been referred to by Jesus as `narrow`. Although a large crowd.....it is not the mass majority of people who will be considered as followers of Jesus, and survive the end of this `system`.....they will still be a minority religiously speaking. AND yes, JW`s have made an impact.`
Can you help me with an response to them?

Answer:
Jesus said in Matt 7:14, "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who will find it." The statement here is referring to the narrow way of salvation - the only way which is through Jesus Christ. People seeking it through any other way will not find life. The emphasis here is on the narrowness of the way that God has ordained for salvation rather than the number of people getting saved.


Metaphors in the Bible have to be interpreted carefully. There are verses in the Bible which talk about multitudes of people who will be heaven. For instance Rev 7:9 says, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands." This gives us an assurance that there will be so many people who will walk in the narrow way that God has ordained!


Having said that, it is true that a number of people are not going to make it to heaven. I don't know whether we need to speculate who will make it to heaven and who will not. Our duty is to proclaim the gospel message faithfully and leave the results to God.


Even if it means only few people make it to heaven according to Jesus that is not going to justify the claims of Jehovahs Witness that they are on the right track. The argument has its fallacy because any group or cult or denomination can justify themselves saying they are minority and therefore they are right. Smallness in number is not a criterion to be used to measure truth.

Does God need man?

How Come God create people if he was experiencing perfect love in the trinity.
- Scott Davidson

God did not create human beings because He needed them. God is the only independent being; His existence is not contingent upon anything else outside of Him. In that sense, God did not create man because He had no other option or He needed fellowship desperately because He felt lonely. There is perfect love within the Trinity and God is satisfied in the fellowship that exists in the Trinity. That is why the Christian understanding of a Triune God is so critical. Religions like Islam and Judaism believe in Theism (belief in one personal God) but don’t have the concept of Trinity. The problem will be if God is personal then He needs fellowship. The question they cannot answer will be “With who was God fellowshipping with before He created man?” As Christians we who believe in Trinity can affirm that fellowship always existed within the Triune God and thereby we can maintain the fact that God is also a person. Belief in Trinity is an imperative in order to defend the existence of one personal God.

So God did not create man because He needed him. Revelation 4:11 says, “Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” God created all things for Himself, for His pleasure, and for His glory. God loves us but it is not the same as He desperately needs someone to love. God will be God even if He didn’t create us!

Does God Smell?

When it says God smelled the sweet savor of a burnt sacrafice is that literal? Is he really smelling it and enjoying it or is he enjoying the symbolism that one day Jesus would die for us to be saved. Thank YOu, Charles Castillo

The Bible uses number of human characteristics to describe God. When the Bible talks of God`s eyes or hands it does not mean God has literal eyes or hands like we do. The theological term for this usage of language is Anthropomorphism. Such lanaguage is used in the Bible for our benefit and understanding. God is beyond our full comprehension but He has chosen to reveal Himself in terms we can comprehend. This necessitates the use of human language in order to describe attributes of God. So human actions, emotions, and physique is used to describe God. When it says God smelled the burnt sacrifice it doesn`t mean he smelled it like we do. It is a literary way of saying He was pleased. The fact that the sacrifice was offered in obedience to His word pleased God.

Is God Harsh?

Question:
Hey! I have a question about something in the Scripture as to what God said. Why would want something so harsh to happen? Since God`s a God of love and doesn`t want to force himself upon people, why did He say this?: The LORD then gave these further instructions to Moses: `Tell the people of Israel to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you forever. It helps you to remember that I am the LORD, who makes you holy. Yes, keep the Sabbath day, for it is holy. Anyone who desecrates it must die; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. Work six days only, but the seventh day must be a day of total rest. I repeat: Because the LORD considers it a holy day, anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death.` (Exodus 31:12-15 NLT)

Answer:
It is very important we have a right conception of God. The danger of over emphasizing some attributes of God more than other would mean we have a distorted picture.

The Bible clearly affirms the love of God when it says in 1 John 4: 8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”. Love is an attribute of God that we widely talk about and rightly so. But Love is one attribute of God. The other important attribute of God is His justice. God is holy in the very essence of His person. The idea of God’s Holiness is a central teaching of the Bible. Professor R.C. Sproul says the word ‘holy’ calls attention to all that God is.

God’s holiness and justice demands that He cannot take sin lightly. God’s Law requires that death is the punishment for our sin. A rebellion against His commands cannot be taken as a joke because it is a violation of God’s character. In light of the seriousness of sin and the punishment it requires, God’s mercy, love, and grace appear all the more sweet to us.

In the passage in Exo 31:12-15 we must understand Sabbath in order to know why God demanded death sentence for the defaulters. Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel. When some one takes the command casually, it showed his lack of regard for the covenant God made with them. (Sabbath is applicable to the Israelites and not for the church.) So God demanded death sentence because of the seriousness of the offence. This shows the justice side of God. It is this justice side of God that demanded a sacrifice of atonement for our sins and necessitated the coming of Christ into this world. The love of God and His justice are two sides of God’s character and they need to be seen in balance.

Is it possible for a Christian to lose salvation?

The distinction between our Christian faith and other world religions is seen in the area of salvation. None of the major world religions give an assurance of salvation. Instead it is seen as something that will be decided in the end on the Day of Judgment based on our performance in this life. In sheer contrast the Bible gives every Christian believer the assurance of salvation from the day we put our faith in Christ. While the full effect of salvation will be realized in the future, the assurance we have is that we will all have a share of it.

Even some genuine believers have misunderstood the biblical teaching on whether a true Christian can lose their salvation. The end result is a life of needless insecurity which arises out of our lack of willingness to believe in the keeping power of God.

Salvation is given to us at the time we put our faith in Christ and it cannot be lost. We call this doctrine in theology as Perseverance of saints. Once we are justified by God of our sins we can be sure that God will not go back on His promise. Jesus dispelled all doubts on whether we can lose our salvation in John 6:37-40 and John 10:27-30. In the former passage the Greek uses a double negative – “and him who comes to me I will never, never cast out”. Once we have been received by Him the promise is that we will never be cast out. Will the Lord not be true to His promise? In the second passage again Jesus so affirmatively says in John 10:28,29 that no one can snatch them out of His hands or His Father’s hands. What an awesome promise! We don’t have to worry every time whether the Lord who has so graciously given us His salvation is going to strip it from us. Rather we can be secure in the hands of our Lord knowing that He is able to keep us safe. All our anxieties will be stripped away when we receive the blessed assurance that we are safe in His keeping power.

Apostle Paul also confirms that our salvation is secure in the majestic passage in Romans 8:33-39. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. No one will be able to change the relationship we share with God as our Father. It doesn’t mean we have a license to sin as often people misconstrue. It gives us all the more responsibility to live as God’s children and express our gratitude to the One who not just saved us but promises to keep us to the end until the work He begun in us is completed (Philippians 1:6)

If I have to persevere in salvation by my own efforts then I lost it. But thank God we persevere not because of our effort but because of His promise to keep us safe!