The Security of the Believer I John 5:10-12 I. Introduction. A. All who believe in Christ desire to have the assurance of salvation. B. The confidence of the Christian: I John 5:10-12. 1. Further: I John 5:13. 2. So long as one walks in the light, he is secure in Christ: I John 1:7. 3. With Bible faith and God's works, one is assured that God will save the Christian. C. One becomes a believer by obeying the gospel; one continues to obey the truth to go to heaven: Romans 6:17-18. II. Body. A. John Calvin originated, advocated, and promoted the doctrine of predestination as used in religious circles today. 1. Explain: Certain ones destined to eternal life; all others to eternal torment. a. One so destined could not change his fate. b. Some will go to heaven--cannot avoid it; some will go to Hell and nothing can change that. 2. Many denominations follow what is a form of Calvinism. 3. One major group that follows a form of Calvinism is the Baptist church. a. Advocate: Once saved; always saved. b. Pre-determined at the point of accepting Jesus Christ into one's heart, thus, one cannot be lost. B. Does the Bible teach the impossibility of apostasy? 1. A "very comforting" doctrine to its adherents. 2. Listen to how Sam Morris, a Baptist preacher, put it: "We take the position that a Christians sins do not damn his soul. The way a Christian lives, what he says, his character, his conduct, or his attitude toward other people has nothing whatever to do with the salvation of his soul. All the prayers a man may pray, all the Bibles he may ead, all the churches he may belong to, all the services he may attend, all the sermons he may practice, and all the debts he may pay, all the ordinances he may observe, all the laws he may keep, all the benevolent acts he may perform will not make his soul one bit safer. And all the sins he may commit from idolatry to murder, will not make his soul in any more danger."(. 102-103, Kelley-Garner Debate).[Baptists believe it--one fears that some brethren try to practice it.] (1 Even some Baptists would not agree with the statement--yet, it is a true reflection of the teaching. (2 As false a doctrine as ever passed human lips. C. There is one passage that forever destroys "once saved, always saved"(Galatians 5:4). 1. Could it be plainer? 2. A message to the Galatians: Galatians 5:21(Note: v. 19-20). 3. Why restore someone who is safe? Galatians 6:1. D. Numerous Bible examples teach the possibility of apostasy. 1. Judas Iscariot(Acts 1:25). a. You cannot fall away from what you have not been in. b. Many examples in O.T.(23,000 at one time--I Corinthians 10:8). 2. Several in Jesus' day "went back and walked no more with him." 3. Demas: II Timothy 4:10. 4. Even an apostle: Galatians 2:11. 5. One pleaded to Peter: Acts 8:24. 6. Those withdrawn from were to be delivered to Satan: I Corinthians 5:5. 7. And--what about the judgment? E. John's writings contradict "once saved, always saved." 1. Note: I John 1:6-10; 2:1. 2. Further: I John 2:3-6. 3. Warning: I John 3:15. 4. Those who go onward: II John 8-9. F. James also refutes the impossibility of apostasy. 1. Must endure, not yield, to temptation: James 1:12. 2. Writing to brethren: James 1:21. 3. The clincher: James 5:19-20. III. Conclusion. A. The idea of "once in grace, always in grace" takes away man's free moral agency and makes him a robot! b. The Lord has left us the gospel tess. 2. Christians are not meddlers--even though their desire is to assist others. 3. A warning: I Timothy 5:11-13. 4. Busybodies condemned: II Thessalonians 3:11. 5. Always easier to take care of the other fellow's business. 6