Once and awhile you read over something you have read before, and you
see something new. That was the case with 1st Thessalonians today. Many of my fellow Christian friends know that I am a strong proponent of "eternal security". I go so far as to say that eternal security in Christ is an essential part of the Gospel. I accept the Gospel as a whole and without this part, we'd really be missing it.
1 Thessalonians 5:9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Think about this verse and consider its meaning with its implications for us. Consider what we should all believe: God is
all knowing and all powerful. He knows all things and sees all things--from the beginning to the end. We have been appointed. Not only are we appointed to salvation we are not appointed to suffer wrath. Is God not faithful? Yes He is. Is He not punctual? Yes He is. We can all agree He is both those things. God does not forget what He has appointed. He sees all things. He sees your end, even when He appointed you.
When you were appointed, God was not blind to how your life would unfold or how your life would someday expire. He is not oblivious to your sins--past, present, or future. He didn't forget to look ahead and realize, "Oh, Peter would sin in the future. Peter would even deny me in the future. Oops!". God knows. Peter denied Jesus three times, even when he was forewarned by Jesus that he would do so. And, did you ever wonder what would have happened to Peter (eternally) if he had died at the very moment he denied Jesus? I suggest Peter would have met the same fate that he eventually met after living to see another day where he did not deny Jesus--he went to heaven to be with Jesus who saves us from our sins, and appoints us to salvation.
When I was appointed, God knew me from the beginning to the end. He knows all of us, from the beginning to the end. He appointed me not to wrath. If you have been saved, you have been appointed the same. If He has appointed us, not to wrath--and yet we find wrath--what does that mean? It would mean God lied, forgot, or somehow failed. It's simple. If God has appointed us to salvation, and not to wrath, that's it. He knows all things, He sees all things, and that is what He has appointed. Not you, not me, but God. Who are we to argue with Him?
When you were appointed, God was not blind to how your life would unfold or how your life would someday expire. He is not oblivious to your sins--past, present, or future. He didn't forget to look ahead and realize, "Oh, Peter would sin in the future. Peter would even deny me in the future. Oops!". God knows. Peter denied Jesus three times, even when he was forewarned by Jesus that he would do so. And, did you ever wonder what would have happened to Peter (eternally) if he had died at the very moment he denied Jesus? I suggest Peter would have met the same fate that he eventually met after living to see another day where he did not deny Jesus--he went to heaven to be with Jesus who saves us from our sins, and appoints us to salvation.
When I was appointed, God knew me from the beginning to the end. He knows all of us, from the beginning to the end. He appointed me not to wrath. If you have been saved, you have been appointed the same. If He has appointed us, not to wrath--and yet we find wrath--what does that mean? It would mean God lied, forgot, or somehow failed. It's simple. If God has appointed us to salvation, and not to wrath, that's it. He knows all things, He sees all things, and that is what He has appointed. Not you, not me, but God. Who are we to argue with Him?
According to
God's Word, we see and know our salvation is appointed. This loss of salvation some talk about is not possible. Of course in their argument they always explain how our salvation is somehow lost by works, which do not save in the first place. Rest assured that if you've been saved, you will meet that appointment because it is not you who made the appointment. God made the appointment! Eternal security in Jesus is an essential part of the Gospel, and without it... you don't have the whole thing.
