JEFF TURNER

Romans 8 says that nothing in all creation can separate a believer from the love of God, which settles the question of whether salvation can be lost. But Jude 21 seems to place some responsibility on the believer, saying “keep yourselves in the love of God.” Read quickly, these two verses can seem like they are pulling in opposite directions, but they are actually speaking to two entirely different things.

Romans 8 is addressing the permanence of salvation itself. God’s love holds the believer securely and nothing can undo that. Jude, on the other hand, is writing to people who are already saved and encouraging them to live in such a way that they experience the full blessing that comes with that love. Building up faith through scripture, living in obedience to God’s word, these are the things that keep a person walking in the place where God’s love flows into everyday life in a meaningful and noticeable way.

Security in salvation and a call to pursue godliness are not contradictions; they are two sides of the same life of faith.

and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

John 10:28