Stick with It

24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 1 John 2:24-25

Have you ever played the game “Telephone”? It starts with one person whispering a phrase into a friend’s ear. And then that friend tries to whisper the same phrase into the next person’s ear. People keep passing on the phrase until the final player announces out loud what he or she heard. Sounds easy, right? But it can be very difficult because if even one person whispers the wrong thing along the way, the message gets confused.
In the same way, John is trying to encourage his readers to let the message or gospel of Jesus that they heard when they became Christians abide in them without changing at all. When we receive the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, all we have to do is claim salvation through faith in Jesus. As John reminds us in v. 25, God promises eternal life to those who believe, and He always fulfils His promises. But John also reminds us to abide in the message of the gospel. "Abide" means "remain" or "continue steadfastly." So letting the gospel abide in us means remembering it and believing in it without changes or additions.
Letting the gospel abide in us isn’t just a one-time thing. As Christians, we have to remind ourselves of this gospel daily. We have to let it sink down and affect our entire life. This is the eternal life that Jesus promised us in verse 25. Not only does faith in the gospel save us from hell when we die, but it saves us from separation from God every single moment. Eternal life starts right now when we trust and hold tight to the same gospel that we have heard from the beginning.

Question for reflection and discussion
1. Once you’re saved, can you stop being saved?

Dear God, we know that the Bible says that nothing can take Your people out of Your hand. Help us cling to your gospel day by day. Amen.