Salvation gained and maintained by grace

The most frequent objection to the doctrine of eternal security is that it supposedly allows people to live any way that they want and still be saved. While this may be "technically" true, it is not true in reality. A person who has truly been redeemed by Jesus Christ will not live a life characterized by continuous, willful sin. We must draw a distinction between how a Christian should live and what a person must do in order to receive salvation. The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, 

so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

"For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. 

It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, 

so that no one can boast about it." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

"Jesus answered him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; 

no one goes to the Father except by me." (John 14:6)

The moment a person truly believes in Jesus Christ, he or she is saved and secure in that salvation. Salvation is not gained by faith, but then maintained by works. The apostle Paul addresses this issue when he asks, "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3:3)

If we are saved by faith, our salvation is also maintained and secured by faith. We cannot earn our own salvation. Therefore, neither can we earn the maintenance of our salvation. It is God who maintains our salvation. "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence." (Jude 24)

It is God's hand that holds us firmly in His grasp: "I give them eternal life, and they shall never die. No one can snatch them away from me. What my Father has given me is greater than everything, and no one can snatch them away from the Father's care." (John 10:28-29)

Nothing can separate us from the love of God: "For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below — there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord."(Romans 8:38-39)

A belief that we must maintain our own salvation by our own good works and efforts is completely antithetical to salvation by grace. We are saved because of Christ's merits, not our own (Romans 4:3-8). To claim that we must obey God's Word or live a godly life to maintain our salvation is saying that Jesus' death was not sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus' death was absolutely sufficient to pay for all of our sins — past, present, and future, pre-salvation and post-salvation (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3)

"Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that 

in union with him we might share the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Does this mean that a Christian can live any way he wants to and still be saved? This is essentially a hypothetical question, because the Bible makes it clear that a true Christian will not live "any way he wants to." Christians are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). First John 3:6-9 clearly states that a true Christian will not live in continual sin. In response to the accusation that grace promotes sin, the apostle Paul declared, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1-2)

Eternal security is not a license to sin. Rather, it is the security of knowing that God's love is guaranteed for those who trust in Christ. Knowing and understanding God's tremendous gift of salvation accomplishes the opposite of giving a license to sin. How could anyone, knowing the price Jesus Christ paid for us, go on to live a life of sin (Romans 6:15-23)? How could anyone who understands God's unconditional and guaranteed love for those who believe, take that love and throw it back in God's face? Such a person is demonstrating not that eternal security has given him a license to sin, but rather that he or she has not truly experienced salvation through Jesus Christ. "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him" (1 John 3:6)