Eternal Security Scriptures

An incomplete list of New Testament scriptures guaranteeing the believer’s eternal security:

  1. Matthew 7:11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! God’s gifts are good and he never takes them back (Rom 11:29).
  2. Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. End of discussion.
  3. Luke 11:13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! God’s “how much more” gifts are good. They don’t come with expiry dates.
  4. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. If Jesus is able to save lost sinners, he is surely able to save straying Christians.
  5. John 1:12-13 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. A born again child of God cannot be unborn. God does not unchild his children.
  6. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. His life is eternal, not sporadic. His future is your future (see 1 John 4:17).
  7. John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Eternal life is not a distant reward for those who pass the test, but a present reality for those who believe and know the Lord.
  8. John 4:14 Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit (see John 7:38-38). If you have the Spirit you have eternal life. And the Spirit abides with us forever (John 14:16-19).
  9. John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. And it’s a one-way trip!
  10. John 6:28-29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” There is no deed that qualifies or disqualifies you. You are qualified by Christ.
  11. John 6:37 All that which the Father giveth me shall come unto me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (ASV) Not now, not ever. God doesn’t make mistakes
  12. John 6:39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. The shepherd keeps his sheep.
  13. John 6:40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Eternal life is something to experience now. It’s not a carrot on the end of a religious stick.
  14. John 6:47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (ESV)
  15. John 6:53-54 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Again and again Jesus says the believer has eternal life now and here he repeats the promise of v.40: “I will raise him up.”
  16. John 7:37-39 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the chief sign that we know we are saved. The Holy Spirit abides with us forever (John 14:16).
  17. John 8:35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. For-ev-er!
  18. John 10:14 I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me. The responsibility for keeping the sheep lies with the shepherd (sheep aren’t smart enough to keep themselves), and Jesus knows his sheep.
  19. John 10:27-28 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. No one means no one.
  20. John 10:29-30 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. Jesus holds you (v.28) and so does the Father!
  21. John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
  22. John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. The Holy Spirit is your never-leaving, never-gonna-give-you-up, guarantee.
  23. John 14:23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” When God moves in it’s permanent.
  24. John 15:16 It was not you who chose me; it was I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain. You have been chosen by God. God doesn’t choose poorly.
  25. John 17:9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. You belong to God.
  26. John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. You are divinely protected.
  27. John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. God makes us eternally holy.
  28. John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Everything that needed to be done has been done. The work of saving and sanctifying you was finished at the cross.
  29. Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Righteousness is a gift from God. Even the faith with which we receive it is a gift (Eph 2:8). There was no righteous act that made us righteous; there is no unrighteous act that can make us unrighteous. We stand on Christ Jesus and his righteousness.
  30. Romans 4:6-7 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Your sins – all forgiven – cannot undo what Christ did.
  31. Romans 4:20-21 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. It’s easy to be fully persuaded when you know how powerful and reliable God is.
  32. Romans 5:9-10 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
  33. Romans 5:11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Reconciliation is a done deal. You are wedded to the Lord and he doesn’t believe in divorce.
  34. Romans 5:20-21 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we sin his grace superabounds. Nothing we do can undo what God has done.
  35. Romans 6:6-7 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Sin cannot affect the saint’s destiny.
  36. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Eternal life is a gift, not a wage, and in Christ you have it.
  37. Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. End of story. Those who seek to condemn the Christian run afoul of God’s glorious promise.
  38. Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. (ASV) The Holy Spirit is your eternal guarantee. See also 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5.
  39. Romans 8:15-16 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Your Father will never unadopt you or reject you.
  40. Romans 8:28-30 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. God did it all.
  41. Romans 8:31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? The greatest rhetorical question of all.
  42. Romans 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Yet another definitive promise you can bank on.
  43. Romans 8:34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. When you sin, the devil may condemn you, and sour-faced preachers may condemn you. You may even condemn yourself. But Jesus defends you (2 John 2:1)!
  44. Romans 8:35,37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Religion says you’re a failure, doomed to stumble, but God says you are more than a conquerer in Christ.
  45. Romans 8:38-9 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Truly nothing can separate me from the eternal grip of God’s love.
  46. Romans 9:16 It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
  47. Romans 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Salvation is now not later, and in Christ you have it.
  48. Romans 11:6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. You are saved and kept by grace.
  49. Romans 11:18 Consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You are rooted in Jesus and the root sustains you. Such good news!
  50. Romans 11:29 God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. This includes the gift of salvation. He’ll never take it back.
  51. 1 Corinthians 1:8 He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus saves and keeps you.
  52. 1 Corinthians 1:9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. You might not be a pillar of faithfulness, but he who called you can be trusted. He is always faithful.
  53. 2 Corinthians 1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. God’s promises are “Yes in Christ.” They do not hinge on you.
  54. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Boomfah! We can’t trust our own guarantees, but surely we can trust his. (See also Rom 8:9, 2 Cor 5:5).
  55. 2 Corinthians 3:9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
  56. 2 Corinthians 5:5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. More guarantees.
  57. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! And the new will never become the old again.
  58. 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. We are as righteous as God! How can we improve on that?
  59. 2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. Salvation is now, not tomorrow.
  60. 2 Corinthians 10:7 If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he. You are not your own. You cannot lose what belongs to Jesus.
  61. Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Paul is not saying we can undo the Spirit’s work, but trying to complete what he has promised to complete and will complete is a waste of time.
  62. Galatians 3:26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. God’s kids are secure.
  63. Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
  64. Galatians 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. What God has made (you, into an heir) no one can unmake.
  65. Galatians 6:14-15 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
  66. Ephesians 1:4-5 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.
  67. Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. There are no limits to his forgiveness.
  68. Ephesians 1:11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will. (NKJV)
  69. Ephesians 1:13 in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom, having also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (ASV). Sealed = securely saved. See also Eph 4:30.
  70. Ephesians 2:4-6 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. You are seated with Jesus.
  71. Ephesians 2:7-9 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Everything that saves us is from God and his gifts are good.
  72. Ephesians 2:18-19 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. We have already arrived. Not only are we new creatures, we are new citizens, with all the rights and privileges therein. See also Php 3:20.
  73. Ephesians 3:17-19 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Love without limit.
  74. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Sealed = securely saved. See also Eph 1:13.
  75. Ephesians 5:29-30 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. A wonderful affirmation of our secure position in Christ. Jesus doesn’t do amputations.
  76. Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Jesus will finish what he began.
  77. Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are heavenly citizens and will never be deported. See also Eph 2:19.
  78. Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. This promise includes your need for salvation, overcoming, conquering, continuing, etc.
  79. Colossians 1:12 Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. What God has qualified, you can’t unqualify.
  80. Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, (NKJV). And he will never convey you back to darkness. He will never cast you into darkness.
  81. Colossians 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
  82. Colossians 2:9-10 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
  83. Colossians 2:11-13 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ… When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins. Christ made you alive and nothing can undo that.
  84. Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Your life is hidden and secure.
  85. Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. That’s a promise!
  86. Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people… God chose you and he did not make a mistake.
  87. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. God keeps his appointments.
  88. 1 Thessalonians 5:10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
  89. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. He will do it.
  90. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. God chose you.
  91. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have been called by God.
  92. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. It’s not a temporary hope, but an eternal hope.
  93. 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus’ word is the only word that counts. See also Heb 8:6, 9:15, 12:24.
  94. 2 Timothy 1:9 God has saved us and called us to a holy life not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. “Has saved” means it’s a done deal and not the result of something you did.
  95. 2 Timothy 1:12 I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. We can trust in God’s awesome ability to guard our lives.
  96. 2 Timothy 4:18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
  97. Titus 1:2 A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. Our hope of eternal life rests on the promises of a God who never lies.
  98. Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. The believer is not saved by what he does, but by what Christ has done for him.
  99. Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. Jesus our representative will never let you down.
  100. Hebrews 5:2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. Unlike insecurity preachers who minister hellfire and condemnation to those who stray, our high priest is gentle and compassionate.
  101. Hebrews 5:9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, (NKJV) Jesus is authoring his salvation story in your life. His salvation is eternal, not temporary or probationary.
  102. Hebrews 6:19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It is an “unbreakable spiritual lifeline” to quote the Message Bible.
  103. Hebrews 7:21-22 God said to Jesus: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever.’” Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. (Heb 7:21-22). Not only is the Holy Spirit our guarantee (Rom 8:9), so is Jesus! And it’s his oath on which we stand.
  104. Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. (ASV) Jesus doesn’t do partial, temporary salvations.
  105. Hebrews 8:6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. See 1 Tim 2:5 above.
  106. Hebrews 8:10-12 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” When God says he will, he will. God the righteous judge looks on that perfect sacrifice and chooses not to remember our sins.
  107. Hebrews 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. Our redemption is eternal and secure. (If you could lose it, it wouldn’t be eternal.)
  108. Hebrews 9:14-15 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. An eternal inheritance to go with eternal redemption and eternal forgiveness. For other scriptures showing Christ is our mediator, see 1 Tim 2:5, Heb 8:6, 12:24.
  109. Hebrews 10:12,14 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (ASV) Our status before God is perfect forever, not perfect every time we confess, overcome, repent, do good deeds.
  110. Hebrews 10:17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” God is not keeping books. Your future sins have no bearing on his grace.
  111. Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. We are kept secure by his faithful promises, not ours.
  112. Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus completes what he starts.
  113. Hebrews 12:24 Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. For other scriptures showing Christ is our mediator, see 1 Tim 2:5, Heb 8:6, 9:15.
  114. Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” A golden promise!
  115. Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
  116. Hebrews 13:20-21 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. You cannot break the eternal covenant between God and Jesus, the great Shepherd.
  117. 1 Peter 1:3-5 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, and 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. We are kept by the power of God!
  118. 1 Peter 1:18-19 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Our deeds may prove perishable, but we are not saved by perishable deeds.
  119. 1 Peter 1:23 You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God. [AMP] There is no new birth without a new seed and this seed is imperishable. The seed is not something to possess and possibly lose – it is the basis of our new life.
  120. 1 Peter 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. What a wonderful affirmation of what God has done for us!
  121. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Having been united with the Lord through faith-based confession, we are eternally purified. As he is so are we in this world (1 John 4:17).
  122. 1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. What happens when we stumble? Our Righteous Advocate intercedes for us!
  123. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. The promised future for God’s kids.
  124. 1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. (ESV)
  125. 1 John 3:24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
  126. 1 John 4:17 We may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. (AMP) His future is your future.
  127. 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. Some poo-poo this idea that we are born again, saying it is barely mentioned in the Bible. Nevertheless, here is it. Jesus said it and so did John because being born again is everything. Once we were not his people, now we are. Everything has changed!
  128. 1 John 5:10-11 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. And this new life is eternal.
  129. 1 John 5:13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. This is not something to wonder or worry about. John writes so that you may know with certainty that you have eternal life.
  130. 1 John 5:18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. Jesus keeps us!
  131. 2 John 1:2 …because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever. John echoing Jesus in John 14:16
  132. Jude 1:24-25 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jesus keeps me. See also 1 Cor 1:8, Php 1:6, 1Th 5:23-24.
  133. Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. In Christ, you are an overcomer and Jesus promises to never blot out your name.

Old Testament scriptures

The  “what about” scriptures

Last updated: Jan 22, 2021

45 Comments on Eternal Security Scriptures

  1. It was awesome to Romans 11: 19-23. I have been studying Romans for the past couple weeks taking a chapter a day and the other day it was chapter 11. I read verse 22 and was a little unnerved about it. I asked the Holy Spirit to please explain what this verse means. Not long after I got the Escape to Reality e-mail about Once Shaved, Always Shaved and the Eternal Security List. Prayer was answered. Cannot wait to read it. – Thanks Paul for all that you do.

  2. I’ve been looking for something like this for about a year now. I know about the love of God, I know about grace and the new covenant. However, my desire to simply abide in these truth’s is often jolted by passages that on the surface seem to contradict my rock of security. Eventually, when I gain greater understanding about the issue/verse that confused me – it ends up as though things were not as they seemed – instead they are wonderful and make me leap for joy.

  3. what do you believe 2 Corinthians 13:5-6 means in light of eternal security

    • There are two ways to read 2 Cor 13:5-6: (1) You have to examine yourself periodically to ensure you’re still saved. (2) Examine yourself to see Jesus inside you – prove it to yourself. The Corinthians were testing Paul. He said they should test themselves. “Are you saved? Hopefully you are. Don’t you know Jesus is in you – unless you’re not saved.” This self-examination is about sowing security. It’s about reinforcing information they should already know. It’s a pattern Paul uses elsewhere: “Don’t you know” (Rom 6:3, 16, 7:1, 1 Cor 6:15,16,19).

  4. ericdrobertson // September 12, 2013 at 9:59 am // Reply

    Thank you for your insight!!

  5. Hi Paul,

    I am much blessed by your site.
    Just had a doubt though..In the book of Jude, sandwiched between assurances of being sanctified, preserved and being presented faultless; there seem to be warnings in between. (The Israelites saved out of Egypt didn’t make it to the promised land.)
    How do I understand this in the light of eternal security?

    Really appreciate all your help. May God continue to bless you richly!

    • Hi Sophia, I am literally minutes away from going on vacation with my family. If I remember, I’ll respond to this when we return. But if you can’t wait, you’ll find I talk about these harsh words of Jude on p.64 of my book The Gospel in Twenty Questions. Happy Christmas!

  6. Eternal security which is based on that premise “Once saved, always saved” is something that has been well established in the Baptist circle, but I always retain a level of suspicion concerning it. I do believe that it can potentially give someone a powerful excuse to continue to live in sin, although the proponent of it always reject that outright. But, when meticulously analyzing the word of God it’s quite obvious that a person can lose his salvation if that person backslide and does not come to the source of life which is Jesus.

  7. Thank GOD for you sir, but what about Romans 11:21-22 and 1 Cor. 10:6-12 don’t they clearly contradict the ‘eternal security’ doctrine?

    • Not at all. In Romans 11 Paul is not talking about individuals but two groups – Jews and Gentiles. As a group the nation of Israel was “broken off because of unbelief” (v20). They are not believers but unbelievers and God hasn’t rejected them totally (see v.2), they are still loved (v.28), and they will be grafted right back in “if they do not persist in unbelief” (v.23). What about his warning? It’s directed to the other group – Gentiles as a whole. Paul is not threatening the secure believer. He is saying, “don’t boast over the Jews – you Gentiles have a window of opportunity, like they did, and it won’t last forever.” So put your faith in Jesus.

      Regarding 1 Cor 10, those who preach insecurity must go the whole way and those who grumble will be killed by a destroying angel (v.10). Paul is not saying that at all. He’s the apostle of grace, not works. He is describing the symptoms of obstinate unbelief (eg: grumbling, testing the Lord). What relevance does this have for the Corinthians (and us) who were not unbelievers. Paul is basically saying, “You’re not an unbeliever/sinner, so don’t act like one. Having nothing to do with the old life that you came out of, lest you fall back into the old ways.”

      BTW, eternal security is not a doctrine, it’s a promise made again and again by Jesus.

      • God is totally Holy, God is totally loving,God grants us free will…Jesus accomplished the work of salvation for us..100%…All Jesus,none of us..we appropriate what He did by faith…we choose to trust in that finished work….But a person can later choose, for whatever reason, to no longer trust in what He did…That person has exercised his free choice and is no longer saved…pf

      • Can that which has been born again be unborn? Can man undo what God has done? It’s true that you may let go of his hand, but he will never let go of yours. He promised.

  8. Good morning Paul, Please help me understand “being saved”, I believe, accepted, received Jesus as my savior, with that in mind, I believe I am a saved Christian. I read the bible every day and especially like the NEW TESTAMENT. I come across 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, stating sinners (If a person actively, perpetually, and unrepentantly lives a homosexual lifestyle, the lifestyle of a thief, a greedy lifestyle, a drunken lifestyle, etc., it is not possible for such a person to be a Christian, and such a person will definitely not inherit the kingdom of God.) Additionally at judgment we will be separated (sheep from goats) then, though saved in this life we still face judgment and separation from God. Am to believe once saved not always saved? I fall into the homosexual category, no so much greedy or drunk, I am gay and of course not sinless, I don’t have a boyfriend, and have recently decided having relations is not working for me. I get asked a lot but don’t act on it anymore nor do I frequent bars for enjoyment, though I do perform at one as an entertainer. I wonders sometimes what its all about, being gay was not a choice for me and get confused as to why am I here, I feel my destiny is damnation because of being gay, confused. Thank you.

    • Marion Carter // June 4, 2017 at 7:21 pm // Reply

      Glenn, nothing can separate us from the love of God, bless you heaps man, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. If we believe in Jesus then we are in Christ Jesus

    • Being saved is a life time process, at least that’s what some say. But question is, in a life of 80 years, how long does it take to see this “effect of being saved”? Paul said, “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature…” 2 Corinthians 5:17. So, if this be the case, then there must be some evidence of this new creature, and here in 1 Corinthians 6:11, that is just what Paul reveals, as he say’s; “And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” Notice the past tense, “were”. They once were “unrighteous” fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, but no longer. And John adds to the fray, when he said; “Do not be deceived, he that does righteousness is righteous, even as he (Jesus) is righteous” 1 John 3:7. This goes right along with the old 70’s song; “If you’re saved and you know it then your life will surly show it”. You mentioned; “I don’t have a boyfriend, and have recently decided having relations is not working for me. I get asked a lot but don’t act on it anymore nor do I frequent bars for enjoyment,…”. This is how a new creation starts out, and it is God working a washing and regeneration in you, by faith!

  9. I agree with what you say but ..please…im stuck on 1 corinthians 3:15

  10. Dear Paul, thank you for your inspirational messages, can you please throw more light on James 5 vs19 –20 because to me as a reader it suggests that salvation can be lost, thank you.

    • “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)

      Depending on how you read it, this pair of verses has good news for brothers (if you wander, you can be brought back) and sinners (if you turn, you can be saved from death). But confuse brothers with sinners and you’ll end up with no good news for anyone. You’ll think God treats believers like unbelievers, and that those who have received grace must work to maintain it. Not only is this contrary to the many promises of God regarding the believer’s security (see above), but it’s a recipe for anxiety and performance-based religion.

      Can a Christian stray? Sure. Are there bad consequences to straying? There are many. But having your Father unchild you and toss you into hell is not one of them.

      Who needs to turn? Anyone who wanders from the truth. Who is in danger of death in this passage? The sinner, not the saint. James is very clear about this.

      James is not preaching a perverted form of church discipline that involves threatening God’s children with death. He’s encouraging his brothers (and us) to preach the gospel. What covers sins? The love of God (1 Pet 4:8). This is the good news that everyone needs to hear. This is the good news that inspires people to turn to God.

      • Thank you Paul.

      • “Depending on how you read it,…” That’s for sure!
        Thing is, James is speaking to one audience (believer turned sinner), not two different audiences (believer verse’s sinner). Otherwise then the believer part is left hanging in the air, so to speak, and there is confusion. Look; “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth (from believer to sinner) and one turns him back (from sinner to believer)
        To make sense of “My brethren, if any among you”, in the “first part”, James must be speaking about believers turning to sinners and thus needing to be “turned back” from the error of his (believer turned sinner) way, in the “second part”. As James is not being vague, but very explicit. Our mission, if excepted (sounds like Mission Impossible), is to lead such a one back. James’s reference to “soul salvation” refers to deliverance of erring Christians from premature physical death.
        We can not only be soul winners by leading unbelievers to Christ. We can also be soul winners, so to speak, if we lead fellow Christians back to the Lord.
        The very Grace of God by which we are saved eternally opens the door for the possibility that we might abuse the wonderful gift given to us, thus the wandering saint will be disciplined by the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5). That is why it is vital that if any of us spots a fellow believer who is AWOL we should endeavor to turn them back to the Lord. A life is at stake.

      • James’ letter is addressed to the Jews generally (see James 1:1). Not all Jews are saved; some are believers, some are not. Like his half-brother Jesus, James had the knack of speaking to crowds and meeting everyone at their point of need. Believers hear what they need to hear, and so do unbelievers. Good news only becomes bad news when you take on board someone else’s medicine.

      • Roshan J Easo // July 7, 2017 at 4:19 pm //

        JUST saw this. Great and good news. Thanks Jesus.

      • What about Hebrews 3 : 12-14

      • Please see the Archives > Scripture Index.

      • Paul this is good news but we are threatened with death many a time. Usually they say soemthing afterward that diffuses it, but it seems like while we receive benefits from your ministry other ministries fight against many of the core principles or promises you put forth. But i believe you are calling them to the truth. And they are calling us to the stark realities as well. Thank you all.

  11. Roshan J Easo // July 7, 2017 at 1:43 pm // Reply

    Does this mean that because reading other OT scriptures and the gospels where we feel condemned we shouldn’t read them? They have no bearing in light of the new covenant? I still feel insecure without them.

  12. Thank you for making the promises avaiable. I have been asking God to give me a revelation of how i am just as righteous as jesus by God’s grace as shared in a testimony and all my familiar urges are being controlled. Anx so no more self destructive guilt and shame.

  13. Mike Reid // May 1, 2019 at 3:33 am // Reply

    James was not at anytime speaking to Jews with his message as a matter of fact in James 2:1 he says, “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons” are we then to really believe he’s speaking to non-believing Jews or members of the Church? The only Eternal Security I believe in is stated in Hebrews 5:8-9 which reads, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;” – Anything else is just man’s opinion. We must obey him for this eternal security, the Holy Spirit didn’t inspire the writer to write “believe” but “obey” …

    • Actually, James was speaking “only” to Jews, as no mention of Gentile Christians at all, making an early date for this writing, and maybe the first New Testament book written. But, remember, “To the Jews first”, as they took preeminence, and was what James was doing, speaking to the whole nation, saved or not. It’s a Jewish church at that time, as the Jerusalem Council, recorded in Acts 15, affirming the decision to take the gospel message to the Gentiles, had not yet convened. I used to think as you, but now appreciate Paul E. helping me to see, and now understand. As the term “brethren” for the Jew, runs deep in the soul of Israel, as Paul said; “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:” Romans 9:3. Heavy stuff!
      But James say’s faith must measure up, have evidence, otherwise it’s just a faith that never lived. Why bother to believe, if your not going to obey, as repent and believe is obedience, otherwise only deception, James 1:22. Paul made it clear: “In whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that you ‘believed’, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,” Ephesians 1:13. Holy Spirit didn’t inspire Paul to write “obey” but “believe”. No, a “true repented believer” will walk in obedience of good works prepared (ordained) for them, Ephesians 2:10.
      I believe James had Daniel 12:3 in mind when he wrote the last words of his letter and very much words to the wise!

  14. I wonder if the Mark 16 verse should be extended to include, ” …and he that doesn’t believe is condemned”…so as to not make “baptism” a necessary prerequisite FOR salvation and give a works oriented air to the isolated portion of that verse…certainly one who believes should be baptized, as symbolic of ones new faith and in accordance with the 2 ordinances which should follow a believers confession of faith, but salvation comes from believing Alone, hence to Not believe and to just Not believe would bring condemnation.

    • Tom Howard // March 6, 2021 at 10:40 am // Reply

      forperezident, you say; “to just Not believe would bring condemnation”, yet actually it does not bring it, as it already was there! For the scripture reveals, ”… he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18.
      One does not have to do anything to be condemned, as it is there through/by default. That is why Paul said; “…behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2,

  15. Can’t believe you never included Galatians 2:20, or maybe I missed it.

  16. Wow wow wow!!! This is it!!!!!!!!
    God’s blessings on you brother Paul and your ministry.

  17. Doesn’t 1 Corinthians 5:5 teach loss of salvation? It said, “so that his spirit may be saved” wouldn’t this mean that some kind of action had to be taken in order for this church member to not lose salvation?

    • It must be understood, that this man was a carnal Christian, who obviously did not care for the sanctification process, as he continued feeding his flesh, and it had to be destroyed. As, he allowed the devil in, disregarding Gods repeated chastening. For the lord loves those he relieves, and will bring them into glory, no matter how much they resist, as they enter squirming.. “For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not?” Hebrews 12:6,7. So, thus shows the degrees of it, the degree the Lord will go. For scripture say’s that we are the temple that the Spirit of God dwells in, “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are”, 1 Corinthians 3:16,17.

      • Thomas Howard // March 20, 2021 at 4:02 am //

        I must add, to be sure of clarity, that this is speaking only of the body, not the soul or spirit, as they are saved. Yet there are those who willfully neglect the walk in the Spirit, as Paul teaches Galatians 5:25 that we should, for if we do, we shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh, verse 16 of same chapter. For the gifts and callings of God are without change of mind, (Romans 11:29, Ephesians 2:8) thank the Lord for his steadfast love! (psalm 136: the whole chapter)

  18. I know this isn’t the bit we are supposed to focus on, but for the past six years I have been obsessed with the way that Jesus says we are evil (Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13). We’re not just imperfect or in need of salvation, but totally evil (the word used, ‘poneros’, is the same one that Jesus uses to describe the Devil). Jesus describes the world (Matthew 7:15-20) as being divided into good people who never do anything wrong, and evil people who never do anything except evil. If he had this worldview, I don’t see how he could be interested in saving anyone, since good people (Jesus himself) don’t need saving, and evil people (all the rest of us) have nothing non-evil in us that can be salvaged. In Genesis 8:21, God says that every inclination of our hearts from childhood onwards is evil – which proves that wanting to be saved must be evil, because it is an inclination that is in our hearts.

    When I think about Jesus defining me as evil, I rage and want to hurt myself, and I feel like killing myself. I can’t sleep at night for worrying about it. I know I ought to love Jesus as my saviour, but he says that he is going to separate the righteous (himself) from the wicked (all the rest of us, since no-one is good except God) and send us wicked people to hell. So how can he be our saviour?

    • Elizabeth, Jesus loves you deeply, more than he loves his own life. The cross is the proof. He values you so highly that he turned his back on the comforts of heaven to come and rescue you. Even if you had been the only person in the world, he would’ve come for you – that’s how much he loves you. In his eyes, you are the pearl of great price.

    • Yes, Jesus is going to separate the righteous (himself) from the wicked , but it is not (all the rest of us) since he made us (those that believe) the same righteousness he has, ‘For he has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” as that is the amazing grace of God. As far as, (since no-one is good except God) true, The word say’s; “…there is none that does good, no, not one” Romans 3:12. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”,verse 23. But the amazing grace part is verse’s 24, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation (idea of appeasement or satisfaction) through faith in his blood, ”. So how can he be our savior? He is our savior through faith believing. We come to him for mercy, for God has made a provision for us to be forgiven by faith in the blood of Jesus. So now, because we stand on the faithfulness of Jesus, God declares us righteous in his eyes!
      Here is Romans 3:24 put in another way, I think just for; “Yet through his powerful declaration of acquittal, God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us, all because Jesus, the Anointed One, has liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin!” Bottom line, you can have this gift now, giving you a new out look on life, just believe and receive, “Therefore if any man (woman) be in Christ, he (she) is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

    • Elizabeth Belben, I hope this does not come off wrong, but have you been diagnosed with OCD?? I had/have a pretty severe case of it (it’s much better now, but still very very rough) and my obsessions are often religion-related. It’s not what media makes it seem. It’s called the guilt and doubt disorder. It’s basically a scary thought (usually a “what if?” question) comes into your mind and it triggers your adrenaline and you HAVE to do something about it. Mine is usually research… hence me being on this website right now. I feel like I can’t be in God’s good graces, can’t be saved, can’t be forgiven until I either… find an answer on the web, confess my sins a billion times (not a Catholic) or do whatever my OCD forces me to do. These thoughts can CONSUME me. But other times I obsess about a flaw I have and I feel so so worthless. It sends me on a self loathing spiral.

      Also, I read Matthew 7:15-20. I believe that is talking about false teachers versus true believers of the true gospel. Yes, the Bible says that there is none righteous, no not one, but Jesus becomes our righteousness. Getting back to Matthew, we ONLY bare good fruit when we abide in Jesus. So, unless I am misunderstanding you (which is possible, I’m ditzy sometimes) then you have nothing to fear. Yes, you by nature ARE evil. So am I, so is everyone. But Christ so loved us that He died to be the ONCE FOR ALL sacrifice for sin. Covers every sin and guess what?? 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “ He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

      If you want to talk, look up Jocelyn Yelvington on Facebook. You’ll see a girl in a green dress, shoulder-length hair with her husband on a giant chair at a pumpkin patch. Especially if you are concerned about OCD, it can be a lonely worried.

      With love,
      Jocelyn

  19. There is nothing that man can do that can change what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God bless.

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