Eternal Security means that once we are born of God - that is - that God's Holy Nature  has been born within us giving us a second nature and that new nature will influence us to do good - that new nature will stay in us the rest of our life influencing us to live a better life style than we ever could other wise - not perfect as long as we are in the flesh - but better by far than if we did not have that second, holy nature living in us.

To get an understanding of what or why we must be eternally saved we must have an under standing of just where salvation comes from - our own good works or strictly through what our Lord did for us.

If our salvation did depend on our own works - our own stirring up ourselves to grasp onto God and confess Him of our own volition - then yes we would be in control of whether we accept Jesus or not - or whether we keep professing Him as Savior later on.

If our salvation depended on how good our works were - how closely we followed all the laws of God then of course if we failed  and made a mess of our lives and broke the laws time after time we would lose our salvation as a penalty for breaking those laws our salvation depended on by keeping them. Where all this theory fails is the fact that our salvation does NOT depend on our making our own decision about accepting Jesus as Savior - or how well we keep the law.

Our salvation then must depend of someone who has kept the law in its entirety and imputes His righteousness to us who will trust in that righteousness imputed to us - that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Understanding the doctrines of election, predestination, the sovereignty of God, the depravity of man all helps understand eternal security - they all fit in with each other. We will study all these doctrines in the future.

We have studied enough about this subject I think to have it clear in our mind that our salvation is strictly what God, Jesus and the Holy spirit has done and is doing in us so there is no need of going over that. Just in a very short review - remember James 2:10 tells us if we fail to keep one of God's laws - His standard of conduct - then as far as God is concerned we break them all - continuously. Therefore we must look to someone outside our mere human capabilities to some one who can and already has lived up to the standard God requires and is willing to impute His righteousness to those who believe - or trust that He kept it for them personally.

That person is Jesus Christ - he kept the law for us. So now we believers trust in what Jesus has done for us and we are under the righteousness of Jesus and we will be safe and secure under this protection as long as the Lord Jesus himself shall exist. Eternally.

Read: Romans 8:28-39: We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For there sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 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.

This gives us an insight of God's plan way back into eternity past.

God has known as long as He himself has existed - and that has been forever - what He was going to do. Then on the basis of this knowing "what He is going to do"  (called His foreknowledge) He goes ahead and makes up His blue print for life & time. This He did at His determinate counsel. It was here God put all the plans He had in His foreknowledge - The knowledge of what He was going to do all through His existence - into blue print form. The plans were all made out and determined exactly what would happen in time. Then He puts those plans into motion and today we are still living those plans out. This determinate counsel is mentioned in:

Acts 2:23 -- Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

We see from this that God knew from all eternity as long as He existed that He knew what He was going to do - who He would save - who He wouldn't save. Therefore it can be understood that our salvation has been secure as far back into eternity as God Himself existed and will be as secure as God is as far out into future eternity God exists.

This determinate counsel, as we can see by its very name, is where all things were determined. Nothing in this creation happens that were not determined to let happen at that counsel.

Since our salvation does not depend on what we say or do, but what God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost does for and in us - then our salvation is secure as long as the Godhead will exist. I am pretty sure we all will agree that will be forever.

Read:

1 Corinthians 2:5 -- That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

This we should understand - our salvation stands in the power of God - not of us or anything we can think or do.

Further evidence of our security being in God working in us is found in:

1 John 3:9  -- Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because his is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is NOT of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

What evidence is there that one has NOT been born of this new nature. The best evidence of course is that they don't continue on in a Christian walk (especially believing in Jesus Christ for salvation - not their own works) - or don't follow the laws and are not obedient to God and His instructions as found in the Holy Bible. Read:

1 John 2:19 -- They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Conversely - the evidence that one has been born of God is when they DO hear and follow God and trusts Jesus and are obedient to God's laws and instructions in righteousness - not for salvation - but because of a work in their heart by the Holy Spirit living in them.

Jesus in John 8:47 makes it clear those who will believe and follow Him - those who are of God (or taught by God) - those are the ones who have the Holy spirit dwelling in them, and will follow Him in a obedience. If they don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them - they can't live an obedient life to God.

John 8:47 - He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God

John 5:24 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hearth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath ever lasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Those who believe already has eternal life in them. They do NOT get eternal life by believing as taught by most religions.

Note closely the next two verses.

John 6:29 - Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom He hath sent.

Note here that believing is a work of God. Now let's look at the next scripture.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 - I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doth it, that men should fear before him.

We noted in John 6:39 that a person believing is the work of God.  In the second scripture we note that whatever God does it shall be for ever.  If this is true then when God causes us to believe by the work of the Holy Spirit working in us then it will be forever.  This is the difference between believing in our own works which can be very temporary and believing in God's work which is forever.

More on our security in Jesus  --

John 6:37 to 47 and 54  -- All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 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. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that every one which seeth the son, and believeth on him, hath have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of (by) God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of (by) the Father, cometh unto me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of (by) God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Verse 54: Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

And finally let's look at these scriptures:

John 6:65 to 69 -- And He said, therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the son of the living God.

This summarizes up all that has been said. No man can come unless God enables one by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. I wish every one that reads this can say the same as what Peter said here. "And we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ, the son of the living God."

If you can you also will spend eternity with God.

and:

Hebrews 12:2 - Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Salvation is of God: the author and finisher of our faith. (I like to paraphrase that to read - 'the author - and all the way to the finish of our faith.')    It has all to do with Him therefore our salvation will endure as long as God the father , God the son, and God the Holy Ghost will exist.    ETERNALLY!!

God bless.