This is day 10 of a video series called 21 Days of Once Saved Always Saved Salvation Assurance. It’s January 2022 and, in honor of the new year, my church in Marietta GA has asked us to dedicate 21 days to the Lord to draw closer to Him.  Over these 21 days, I’m going through 1 passage of Scripture a day that proclaims our salvation assurance in Christ and shows how salvation can never be lost or forfeited but is held securely in place for us by our heavenly Father so we can have confidence that we are eternally saved.

Today’s passage is John 11:25-27:

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” (John 11:25-27 KJV)

This passage is a firm statement in support of Once Saved, Always Saved. In it, Jesus declares that everyone who believes in Him will be resurrected unto eternal life. Those who have believed in Him but are already physically dead will be raised to eternal life, while those who believe in Him but are still alive when He comes for them, will pass into eternal life without ever physically dying. Either way, Jesus testifies that eternal life will be given to everyone who believes in Him. No other conditions for eternal life are given, just believing in Him.  

This passage begins with the phrase,

“Jesus said unto her, I Am the resurrection, and the life:” (John 11:25 KJV)

This takes place in Bethany after Lazarus had died. Jesus is speaking to Martha, the brother of Lazarus. This is the fifth of seven passages in the book of John where Jesus uses the phrase, “I AM.” to describe Himself. As we looked in the last lesson, “I AM” is the name God gave to Moses in Exodus 3 to describe Himself. God Himself is the great “I AM.” It means that God is self-existant, with no beginning or end. He is always present. When Jesus used the term, “I AM the resurrection and the life,” every Jew who heard that would recognize that Jesus was claiming to be God. He was saying that He is God, the everlasting One, Who raises the dead and gives life. 

This word, “resurrection,” is the word, “anastasis,” in the Greek and it means, “raised from the dead.” So, the phrase “resurrection and the life” means, “someone Who can raise the dead and give them life.” 

To understand this, it’s important to look at what happens when we physically die. Paul addressed this in Philippians chapter 1:

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:” (Philippians 1:21-23 KJV)

According to Paul, the moment a believer dies, he or she is “with Christ.” We are either physically alive and in flesh, or we have departed and are with Christ.

Paul says this again in 2 Corinthians chapter 5:

“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: … We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8 KJV)

So, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 

But those believers who have already died and are with the Lord, and even those of us who believe and are still alive, are still waiting for one thing: their eternal bodies, spoken of in Romans chapter 8:

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:22-23 KJV)

This passage in John chapter 11 is speaking of that final resurrection, where all those who believe in Christ will be given their eternal bodies, bodies that will never die and are not subject to sickness or even the presence of sin.

Jesus says that He is the resurrection. He’s not just saying that He will perform the resurrection but that He Himself is the resurrection, that He is eternal life. There is no eternal life apart from Him. And that eternal life comes through faith, by believing in Him. In this chapter, Jesus is going to resurrect Lazarus back to physical life. But this phrase, “I Am the resurrection and the life,” is pointing to the final resurrection when we will inherit our eternal bodies.

 In this passage, Jesus describes two scenarios for getting our eternal bodies, depending on whether a believer in Christ has already physically died or is still alive.

The first scenario describes believers who have already died:

“he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:” (John 11:25 KJV)

Jesus said the one who believes in Him, even if he physically dies, yet shall he live. There’s only one condition Jesus said is required to live for eternity and that is to believe in Him. He didn’t say, “though he were dead, yet shall he live, provided that he obeyed all my commandments, got baptized and rid himself of sin to prove himself worthy.” No. He said believe. He who believes and physically dies, yet shall he live. If you believe in Christ, you have eternal life.

The second scenario is that a believer in Christ may be physically alive when Jesus comes. In this case, Jesus said:

“And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” (John 11:26 KJV)

When Jesus comes back to give us our eternal bodies, those who are still physically alive will be changed immediately into their eternal bodies and never experience physical death. They will move directly into eternity.

This will occur at the moment of the rapture, the great catching away, when Jesus comes back for His bride, the church, and gives us our eternal bodies, as described in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4:

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 KJV)

In this passage, just like in John chapter 11, we see two steps to believers getting their eternal bodies, two steps to the resurrection of saints. First, it says “the dead in Christ shall rise first.” Those believers who have already physically died will be raised first to get their eternal bodies.

Then, it says “we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” So second, those believers who are still living will pass immediately to be with the Lord in their eternal bodies without ever physically dying.

We can picture this event on our prophetic timeline. From the time of the crucifixion until now, believers who have died will be resurrected first at the moment of the Rapture. Then, after that but still part of the Rapture, when Jesus returns for His bride, those who are still alive will be caught up together with Him as well.

We see these same two steps to the resurrection in John chapter 11:

“he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26 KJV)

Those who believed in Jesus but are now dead shall live. And those who are still physically alive and believe in Jesus will never die.

There is only one requirement for eternal life. Jesus said:

“Believest thou this?” (John 11:26 KJV)

Believing means trusting in Christ for your salvation, that this is the only requirement for inheriting eternal life.

It means believing

• That you stand as a sinner before a perfectly holy God,
• That you need to be saved because God said, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23)
• That Jesus, God’s Son, died on the cross in your place to pay for your sins
• That He was buried
• That He rose from the dead and so, because He is alive, you too can have eternal life

Or, as Martha responded:

She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” (John 11:27 KJV)

Jesus didn’t correct her, saying, “Well Marth, that’s not enough. You also have to bear fruit and obey commandments.” Bearing fruit and obeying commandments are very important. But they are part of discipleship, learning to become like Christ and walking a holy life, as He walked. That’s discipleship, not salvation. For discipleship, yes, we need to obey Christ’s commandments, do good works and bear fruit. But discipleship follows salvation. It’s not a part of salvation. Salvation and discipleship are different. 

Salvation is a gift of God through faith in Christ. It cannot be earned. It is not of works lest any man should boast. And it requires only believing in Jesus to save you. Salvation is based on faith alone. It can never be lost for forfeited.

Discipleship follows salvation, after we are saved, and it is about becoming like Jesus, taking up your cross daily, obeying Him and doing good works, walking in holiness. Discipleship is based on works for which we can earn eternal rewards. But those rewards can be lost if we don’t live faithfully and serve Christ in this life. However, salvation is not a reward, and it can never be lost of forfeited. It is a gift from the Father. And He promises to never take it back.

People who say you must obey commandments to be saved or to keep your salvation are not believing the Gospel. They are mixing up verses that have to do with salvation with verses that have to do with discipleship, thinking that every verse in the Bible is all part of salvation. But only some are about salvation. Others are about discipleship that follows salvation. When you mix the two, you end up with a works-based Gospel, which isn’t the Gospel at all. And instead of trusting solely in Christ to save them, they end up falsely believing that being saved requires obedience and proving their own worthiness. That’s not salvation by faith. That’s not the Gospel. They are believing another gospel, which isn’t the Gospel at all.

No. That’s discipleship, not salvation.

Salvation requires only faith, believing in Christ, to inherit eternal life. Or as Jesus said here:

“he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26 KJV)

By Jesus’ own Words, this means Once Saved, Always Saved.

But the real question to you is the same one Jesus asked Martha:

“Believest thou this?” (John 11:26 KJV)

Do you believe in Jesus for your salvation? Do you believe that:

Salvation = God’s Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Nothing more. Nothing less. There are no other requirements to be saved than to believe in Jesus.

Once you believe, you are born again, and you are forever a child of God. He is a good Father Who will never abandon you but will preserve you in the faith. 

If you are not certain about this, time is getting very late. Don’t take the chance of missing out on God. Prophetically, the current “Age of Grace” where God is giving people time to turn to Him for forgiveness is almost over. When it ends, it will be too late. God’s judgment is coming. Those who are not saved will be separated from God for all eternity. Don’t take chances with God. Don’t play with Him. Take Him seriously.

If you are not 100% sure you are saved, don’t put it off any longer. You can know with certainty that you have eternal life today. Do it now before it’s too late.

Making Sure You Are Saved Is As Easy As ABC

Admit to God that you have sinned.

Believe that Jesus, God’s Son, died to pay for
your sins 100%, was buried and rose from the dead.

Call upon Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you.

If you make that decision to call upon Him, God gives you this assurance:

“For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13 KJV)

If you are still not sure, I’ll include a link to a video I did called, “What is the Gospel (in 6 Words)?”

Thank you for watching.