Outline for Teaching Eternal Security

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to teach Sunday school at Kosmosdale Baptist Church, focusing on the doctrine of "eternal security". Below is the outline for that lesson.

I. Scriptural Proof

A. The Teachings of Christ

1. John 3:16

a. That the life we possess when we come to Jesus in faith is everlasting–or eternal–should indicate to us that we cannot lose it.

b. If we could lose eternal life, then it would not really be eternal.

2. John 6:44-47

a. Jesus teaches that He will raise up (resurrect) all who come to faith in Him.

b. The certain connection of a person’s coming to faith to their eventual resurrection–based upon the drawing of the Father–ensures that a person who comes to true faith in Christ will never lose their salvation.

c. Jesus teaches that those who believe are given eternal life at the time of their belief.

3. John 10:28 

4.John 11:25

B. The Teachings of the Apostles

1. Romans 8:29-39

2. Philippians 1:6

3. 1 John 5:13

II. Theological Connections (https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/first-person-if-christians-can-lose-their-salvation-we-all-lose-the-gospel/)

A. Election

B. Atonement

C. Justification by Faith

D. Indwelling/Sealing of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14)

E. Intercessory Work of Christ

III. Possible Objections

A. "Warning" Passages

1. Hebrews 6:4-8

a. Notice the phrase "speak to you in this way" in the next verse (Heb 6:9).

b. This is a contrary-to-fact hypothetical situation.

2. Hebrews 10:26-31

a. Notice the "if" at the beginning of this passage.

b. This is, again, a hypothetical situation, making a teaching point.

B. Personal Experiences

IV. Practical Results

Utter Confusion

This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. (John 10:6 ESV) 

In Jesus' figure of speech–or parable–concerning the shepherd vs. the stranger, there are certain aspects that may be somewhat difficult to ponder. Since Jesus is both the true shepherd and the door, what does it mean that the shepherd enters by the door? What is the significance of the shepherd leading the sheep out of the sheepfold, rather than into the sheepfold? Whatever these details are meant to signify, the overall contrast between a true spiritual leader and a false leader is clear. The hypocritical Pharisees were completely mystified. In their pride, the Pharisees could not imagine themselves in the role of "the stranger".

The Voice of a Stranger

"A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10:5 ESV) 

During Jesus' earthly ministry, the majority of the Pharisees had made clear their opposition to Him. They even cast out the formerly blind man–subjecting him to serious social stigma–simply because he would not deny the truth concerning what Jesus had done for him. Yet before Jesus' crucifixion and after Pentecost, despite the disapproval of the influential religious leaders, great crowds followed Jesus. Why? Many in the crowd were sheep of the true shepherd, and His teachings resonated with them in a way the Pharisees' never had.

Leader and Followers

"When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." (John 10:4 ESV) 

A true spiritual leader goes before the people to whom he ministers. He goes before them to provide for them: leading them to where they will be nourished, and he goes before them to protect them from enemies. The ultimate spiritual leader is Christ. Do we follow Jesus? Do we know His voice? Have we trained ourselves to discern Jesus' voice through diligent, prayerful study of the Bible?

The Shepherd of the Sheep

2 "But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:2-3 ESV)

Notice the direct contrast between the man in John 10:1 and John 10:2–

John 10:1                                                                John 10:2

- he who does not enter by the door                 - he who enters by the door

- thief and robber                                                 - shepherd

The contrast set up in the context of these verses is a contrast between a true spiritual leader and a false spiritual leader. Pharisees were seen to be spiritual leaders, but they were thieves and robbers, using the people for their own material and social advantage. A true spiritual leader cares about the spiritual needs of the people, seeking to spiritually protect and nourish the people, doing pastoral work in a self-sacrificial way.

Who allows a true spiritual leader an effective audience with God's people? It is the "gatekeeper," who must symbolize the Holy Spirit. The "sheep"–those who are elect–hear the voice of a true spiritual leader, and they follow him.

Blind Hypocrites, Thieves and Robbers

40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains. 1 Truly, truly, I say to you: he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber." (John 9:40-10:1 ESV)

Jesus implies that the Pharisees are spiritually blind, that they are hard-hearted hypocrites, who deny their own blindness and will not seek the help they desperately need, and that they are thieves and robbers. In contrast, Jesus is the one who has shown Himself able to restore sight to the blind. in following verses, He will reveal Himself as the door and as the Good Shepherd.