If We’re Already Saved Forever, Why Bother Being Good?

According to many of your comments about Eternal Security, nothing can cause us to become ‘unsaved’. What then, is the point of a Christian offering himself as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12) and living a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Phil.1)? We all might as well accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour then carry on living exactly as we were before.

Q. According to many of your comments about Eternal Security, nothing can cause us to become ‘unsaved’.

What then, is the point of a Christian offering himself as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12) and living a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Phil.1)? We all might as well accept Jesus as Lord and Savior then carry on living exactly as we were before.

The entire New Testament is based on advice and instruction on how best to live out your ‘new life’. Why was it written if we don’t have to give it any sort of credibility?

Please don’t get me wrong, I believe totally in the gift of salvation and know there is nothing I could ever do that would be worthy enough to earn it. The gratitude I feel to the Lord for dying for me cannot be put into words. But what about those who don’t put their faith into action and continually live as the world would live, refusing to take responsibility for their actions and avoiding repentance. On a personal level I have sacrificed what my flesh has wanted in favor of what God would have me do. Are you saying I needn’t have bothered?

Forgiveness for example is something that can be very painful, yet Jesus tells us that we must forgive as we have been forgiven. Is this a pre-requisite?

(By the way, I have only just come across your site and I love it!! May God Bless you and all that work with you. I hope my question hasn’t come across as argumentative – I’m just seeking !)

A. There are two great reasons to follow the Bible’s instructions for living the Christian Life, and one of the most disappointing discoveries I’ve made as a Bible teacher is that very little effort is spent explaining them from the pulpit. Many Christian leaders seem much more willing to (incorrectly) threaten us with the loss of our salvation for not living a life pleasing to the Lord than they are to convey the Lord’s promises of blessing for doing so. In the process they’ve turned something that should bring us great joy into something that produces fear and resentment.

Here are the two reasons.

1) because it’s the only way given in Scripture for you to express your gratitude to the Lord for saving your life and granting you a place of honor in His Kingdom, and

2) because in living the victorious life you’re also promised great blessings here on Earth.

Paul said that the Christian who strives to please God is like the Olympic athlete who trains for the Games. We both sacrifice only the wasting of our time on frivolous and often destructive behavior in favor of devoting ourselves to a noble quest that brings great reward. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Salvation, he said, is like qualifying for the final event in the Games. No great athlete would settle for just qualifying. He’s there to achieve victory over his competitors.

So should it be with us. Being saved qualifies us to achieve victory over our former selves, and live up to what we’ve already attained. (Phil. 3:16) In other words, to express our gratitude for what we’ve already been given.

The difference is that the athlete has to do everything in his own strength. We have been given divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4)