Can we lose our salvation? If salvation is entirely in the hands of God and we can add nothing to it, if salvation is based on Christ and him crucified plus nothing, if salvation is offered to us whole and complete on the basis of the work of Christ on the cross, then our salvation is not in our hands. We cannot lose it.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)

Who are the sheep that have eternal life, that shall never perish, and that cannot be snatched out of the Father’s hand? They are the people of God, those whom God has chosen to save with an everlasting salvation. Christ knows them and they follow him. Those who by a true and saving faith trust in Jesus Christ as he is offered in the gospel will follow him and show their love by keeping his commandments. That is the obedience of faith.

Many things that we trust in this life can disappoint us. We place trust in the schools to educate our children, but they can fail to teach even the basics. We trust in the stock market to multiply our retirement nest egg, but stocks can lose value. We trust in our cars to bring us to work each day, but batteries can run out of juice. But Jesus Christ and the salvation offered in his name is one thing we can trust and never be disappointed. Our salvation is safe in the hands of the Father and the Son. When we believe we receive eternal life.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 13-14)

Jesus has prayed for you as a believer in Christ. What has he prayed? “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (John 17:24)

What about those who appear to be believers but fall away from and reject the faith? There are many that profess faith in Christ but do not follow Christ unto the end.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)

“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:19)

Those who walk away from Christ never really belonged to or trusted in Christ.

What a great comfort it is to know that our salvation is eternally safe in the hands of the God of our salvation. Here is a word o fadvice. Don’t try to take your salvation out of God’s hands and into your own. You remember the boldest of the disciples, Peter. He had such a zeal for Jesus. At times he was commended for his bold faith. When Jesus asked His disciples the question, ‘Who am I?’ Peter boldly proclaimed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” (Matthew 16:16) Jesus commended Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)

On the night that Jesus was betrayed Jesus told his disciples that they would all fall away on account of him. Peter replied in great pride and confidence, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” (Matthew 26:33) He was taking salvation into his own hands, he had faith in his faith and not in his Lord. In fact he was contradicting the Lord Jesus by his very words. And that night Peter did deny that he even knew Jesus three times.

As Peter matured in the faith, he put less and less trust in himself, and more and more in the power of God. We read of this in 1 Peter 1:3-6:“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-6)

Your great salvation is safe and secure in the hands of your God.