Lesson 26: God's Love is Eternal, part 6

The fourth reason why some people say God's love is not eternal is because they have forgotten the atonement of Christ.

John 19:28, 30 "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’…When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘it is finished’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

When Jesus said His atoning work on the cross for our sins was finished, do you think He meant finished? Of course He did! Therefore, that means His work is over. But here is the problem. You see, when a person says you can lose your salvation, they are in essence saying that Christ's atonement is not finished because they assume there are certain sins we can still commit and lose our salvation. One of the sins they bring up is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. And they say if a Christian does this, they will lose their salvation. Look at the text.

Matthew 12:30-31 "Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."

This passage does say clearly that one sin cannot be forgiven. But the point is this. Notice to whom this passage is addressed. It is to people who were claiming that the works of Jesus were being done by the devil. Therefore, of course it is not forgiven because these people are not Christians in the first place! A Christian would not do that! Even more importantly is the timing of this sin.

No one today can commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit even if they wanted to. Why? Because it was when Jesus was here during His earthly ministry that people accused Him of doing things under the devil's power instead of the Spirit's power, hence the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

But since Jesus is no longer here in His earthly ministry but is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, how can somebody commit this sin? Answer: they cannot! It could only be committed during His earthly ministry, not today! The Bible is clear. Once you accept Christ's atonement for your sins, He will take away all your sins, once and for all, forever. Why? Because it is finished! That is exactly what the writer of Hebrews says.

Hebrews 10:14 “He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."

If Jesus forever cleansed us from our sins even to the point of being considered "perfect" in the eyes of God, then there is no way in the world we can we do something else to make us "imperfect" again. It is finished! Therefore, since salvation is based on the atonement of Christ, it must also be secure in Christ.

Based on the atonement of Christ, there are no reasons to assume a person can be a child of God and somehow end up being a child of the devil again.

Thought Question: What reason could you still have to assume a person can be a child of God and somehow end up being a child of the devil again?