Sealed a Christian

Seals have been used since ancient times. Seals are for making a personal imprint in wax or on paper. When we think of a seal it bears the mark of the sender and it's normally used on the document such that it can't be read nor changed until the seal is removed. In effect the document is sealed from being altered by another person. The original authentic document then remains reliable and authentic.

Seals have been around a long time. The Arabic people in what's now Yemini used seals as early as 110 BC.  Early usage of the seal was by government authorities. The king or his representatives would write a decree or other legal document, seal it in wax, imprint the seal with the official hand stamp, present it to the courier who would deliver the document to the intended recipient. Once the authority affixed the seal it was to remain intact until either the authority removed it himself or the rightful recipient removed it. 

At other times articles of value to the deceased would be put within a tomb with his remains and the tomb sealed so that the contents would never be disturbed. This was the case of Tutankhamun's tomb which was sealed in clay. The seal was to be broken only in the afterlife.

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

John 6:27 "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed."

2 Corinthians 1:21 "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."

Here are three verses where the believer is "sealed". In all the passages it's God that seals us. However, the Holy Spirit is not to be grieved and we're sealed because God "stablisheth" (establishes) us with God in Christ. Each person of the trinity has a part in our sealing, but God the Father does the sealing. He's the King, the heavens are his throne and the earth is his footstool!

There are then two types of seals: one in which only the authorities or the recipient can remove or one that can be removed by the authorities only and it's for eternity. Which type of seal is referenced in the verses above? Clearly the former. It's the standard seal!

Seals sometimes don't physically lock any object. It's a seal in that the document is legal. Seals were at one time as legal as a signature itself and the signer of a document added a wax seal near the signature. The general nature of a seal, then, is legal authorization.  In the subject verses only God is authorized to "seal" the Christian. The seal would imply that by the grace (mercy) of God you are authorized as a legitimate born-again Christian until the day of redemption. When is that?

Romans 8:23 "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."

Here we go again! Adoption is the redemption of our body, so we're back to square one. What is adoption?

Ephesians 1:5 "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will..."

We're adopted when we become children of Christ. 

Galatians 4:5 "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

Jesus redeemed mankind when he bore our burden on the cross and gave his life. If we believe that and accept his sacrifice we have been redeemed. This passage makes that clear:

Ephesians 1:7 "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace..."

As I see it "the day of redemption" is the time that the believer's heart accepts the death of Jesus as payment for his sins and receives the reward for that faith. He is fully redeemed when rewarded; when his soul meets Jesus. Hence, God has authorized the believer to be adopted as a child of Christ when the believer meets Jesus after physical death. Therefore, God doesn't seal the document closed, but is a witness that the believer believes. Adoption is not at the moment one believes, but after one perseveres.

And if the seal is the traditional seal what would that mean? The one with authority can removed a seal as can the recipient of the legal document.  God promises not to do that! He puts a hedge around the believer to keep evil from breaking the seal.

Hebrews 13:5b "...for he (God) hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

This promise eliminates God! He will never break the seal. With that said the believer is free to break the seal at any time!

2 Peter 2:20 "For if after they (believers) have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."

That's apostasy! That's the believer breaking the seal! After that the believer is worse off than if he had never been a believer.

Hebrews 6:6 "If they (believers) shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

If a person were to expect to be "born again" again, it would be crucifying Jesus all over and it's to be remembered that Jesus died once for all!

That God "seals" a person is an argument used by those who favor "preservation of the saints", or "eternal security" or "once saved, always saved".

No one can say for sure when the "day of redemption is", but the Christian is sealed until then! God will never abandon the believer. His word testifies that the believer believed and is authorized to be there at the day of redemption. However, the believer can break that seal himself by falling away (apostasy).

There are always two roads to travel. The safe road or one full of pot-holes. If we live sanctified lives, we please God. Desiring to please God is a demonstration of love. Those who fail to please God by exercising their Christian liberty may fall away. Pleasure may become more important than Christ. That's a deep pot-hole. It goes to the center of the earth!