“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
2 Timothy 2:19
Introduction
There is a dangerous idea floating around today — and sadly, it is not just out in the world. It has crept right into our churches. The idea goes something like this: once a person is saved, it does not really matter how they live. They have punched their ticket to heaven. Grace covers everything, so why bother trying to live right?
Now I want to be clear this morning — I believe in eternal security with everything in me. Once you are saved, you are saved. I am not here to shake your assurance. But I will tell you this: the same Bible that guarantees your salvation also has something very important to say about how God’s children are supposed to live.
There are two sides to this verse, and you cannot take one and throw away the other. Paul is giving us a complete picture of what it means to truly belong to God — what it means to be His child.
I. God Holds His Children in His Hand
A. You Belong to a Father Who Knows You
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.”
2 Timothy 2:19a
I want you to stop right there on that word — knoweth. This is not God glancing down from heaven and saying, “I think that might be one of mine.” This is the deep, personal, intimate knowledge of a Father who knows His own child.
Think about what it means to truly know someone. I know Amanda. Not just her name. Not just her face. I know how she thinks. I know what makes her laugh. I know her fears. I know her heart. That is the kind of knowing that comes from relationship — from belonging to one another.
That is exactly how God knows His children. He knows you. Not just your name on a church roll. Not just your baptism date. He knows you — personally, completely, and eternally.
And here is something I want you to grab hold of this morning: you are not the owner of your salvation. God is. You did not produce it. You did not earn it. You cannot maintain it and you cannot lose it — because it was never yours to manage in the first place. It belongs to Him. He is the keeper of it.
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.”
John 10:14
Jesus does not just know about His sheep. He knows them. And they know Him. That is a relationship. That is a Father and His child. That is what salvation brings you into.
B. A Father Who Will Not Let Go
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
John 10:27–29
When my children were small, if we were somewhere in a crowd, I held their hand. And I want to tell you — they did not hold on to me. I held on to them. Because I knew if I let go, they could wander off and get hurt. That is a picture of what God does for His children.
He does not say, “Now hold tight and don’t let go.” He says no man can pluck them out of My hand. Nobody. Not the devil. Not your enemies. Not your worst days. Not even yourself. God the Father holds His children, and that grip does not slip.
A young child does not own their own birth certificate. They do not hold the deed to the house they live in. They do not manage the bank account that feeds them. Their father does all of that. The child simply belongs — and that belonging is secure because the father is in charge of it, not the child. That is exactly where you stand with God. He holds the record. He holds the seal. He holds you. Your salvation is in better hands than yours.
Think about it this way. If you put me on a boat with a glass of milk, I cannot guarantee that milk is not going to spill. The waves come, the boat rocks, my hand is not steady enough. But if God is holding that glass — not a chance. The sea obeys Him. His hand does not tremble. His grip does not slip. That is the difference between you holding your salvation and God holding it. You would spill it. He never will.
That is what the foundation being sure means. The word means firm — immovable — unable to be shaken. While everything around you shifts and changes, your standing as a child of God is settled. It does not depend on how you feel today or how you did last week. It rests on the unchanging character of the Father who knows you and holds you.
C. Children — Not Strangers
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”
Romans 8:15–16
I do not want you to miss what Paul is saying here. When you got saved, you did not just get a pardon — you got a family. You were adopted into the household of God. And the Spirit of God Himself testifies to your spirit that you belong there.
That word Abba is an intimate word. It is the word a small child uses for their daddy. God is not just your Creator. He is not just your Judge. He is your Father — and you are His child.
Now I want you to understand something about adoption that most people do not realize. In the Roman world — the very world Paul was writing into — adoption was actually more permanent than biological birth. Under Roman law, a biological son could be emancipated. He could be released from the family. He could be cast off. But an adopted son? An adopted son could never be disowned. Once a father went through the legal process of adoption, that bond was irrevocable under the law. It could not be undone.
That is not an accident. God did not choose the word adoption by mistake. Paul chose it deliberately because he wanted you to understand — your place in God’s family is not fragile. It is not on probation. The Father did not stumble into you. He chose you. He went through the legal transaction of the cross to bring you in, and that decision stands forever.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”
Ephesians 1:5
According to the good pleasure of His will. God brought you into His family because He wanted to. It pleased Him to do it. And what pleases God does not get undone.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
1 John 3:1
John says behold — stop and look at this. Take it in. The Father has bestowed upon us this incredible thing: that we are called the sons of God. Not servants. Not strangers. Sons. Children. Adopted — permanently, legally, irrevocably — into the family of God. That is our identity in Christ.
II. God’s Children Are Called to Live Like They Belong to Him
A. Children Bear Their Father’s Name
“And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”
2 Timothy 2:19b
Now here is where this gets very personal. Paul says let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. When you got saved, you took on a new name. You became a Christ-ian. You bear the name of your Father’s Son. And that name carries weight.
I think about Nehemiah. He bears my name. And because he does, how he acts in public reflects on his father. When people see him, they do not just see him — they see the Desent family. They see his dad. And if he were to go out and act a fool, people would not just say that boy has a problem — they would say something is wrong at that pastor’s house.
That is exactly how it works with us and God. We bear the name of Christ. How we live either honors that name or drags it through the mud.
“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:15–16
God says be holy because I am holy. He is not just commanding behavior — He is calling us to reflect our Father’s character. Children are supposed to look like their dad.
B. A Father’s Child Does Not Live Like a Stranger to Him
Some people use eternal security as an excuse to live any way they please. “I’m saved — so I can do what I want.” But I want to ask those folks a question: if you really belong to God, if He is truly your Father and you are truly His child — why would you want to live like someone who does not know Him?
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Romans 6:1–2
Paul’s answer to that question is plain: God forbid. Of course not. A child who loves their father wants to please them — not because they are afraid of being kicked out of the family, but because of the relationship. Because of love.
My kids do not obey me out of fear that I will stop being their dad. They obey because they love me and they want to make me proud. That is the relationship God is describing here. We do not depart from iniquity to earn our place in the family. We depart from iniquity because we are already in it.
C. Departing from Iniquity Is a Decision You Have to Make
The word depart is not passive. It does not happen automatically. It is an active command. God is saying — get up and walk away. Make a choice.
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
Romans 13:14
Make not provision for the flesh. Do not set yourself up. Do not put yourself right next to temptation and act surprised when you fall into it. If you know certain places get you in trouble — stay out of them. If you know certain people pull you down — limit that time. If you know certain habits feed your old man — starve them out.
Some of us are genuinely saved. God knows us. We are His children. But we have never made the decision to truly walk away from certain things. We have been saved for years, and we are still living like the world because we have never made the choice to depart.
Your Father is not going to kick you out of the family over it. But He will be grieved. And you will miss the joy, the peace, and the closeness that comes from walking with Him.
“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
Ephesians 4:30
Notice — you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Your salvation is secure. But God still says do not grieve the Spirit. Children can grieve their father without losing their place in the family. But a good child does not want to grieve the one who loves them most.
D. A Father Disciplines the Child He Loves
A good father does not ignore his child’s sin — he corrects it. When my child does wrong, I do not stop being their father, and I do not put them out of the house. I discipline them, because I love them and I want better for them. That correction is proof that they are mine — not proof that they are not.
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.”
Hebrews 12:6
God deals with His children the very same way. When you wander, He does not disown you — He disciplines you. He lets the consequences sting. He makes you uncomfortable in your sin. Not to drive you away, but to draw you back home.
“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”
Hebrews 12:7–8
Did you catch that? If a person can run headlong into sin and never once feel the correcting hand of God, the Bible says they ought to question whether they are really His. But if you sin and you simply cannot get away with it — if conviction follows you, if the Spirit will not leave you alone, if God keeps tugging at your heart — that is not God rejecting you. That is the discipline of a Father who loves His child too much to leave him there.
And here is the comfort in it: discipline is a family matter. You do not discipline another man’s child. God chastens you because you belong to Him. So even His correction is proof of His love — and proof of your place in the family.
Conclusion
This verse has two sides, and both of them matter.
On one side: the Lord knoweth them that are His. The foundation is sure. God holds His children. You are not kept by your own grip — you are kept by His. You are not the owner of your salvation — He is. You brought nothing to the table to earn it, and there is nothing you can do to forfeit it, because it was sealed by God Himself and is kept in His hand. If you have trusted Jesus Christ, you are His child, and nothing and no one can change that.
On the other side: let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Because you are His child, live like it. Bear your Father’s name with honor. Walk in a way that reflects the family you belong to.
The person who says, “I’m saved so it doesn’t matter how I live” — they are missing the whole point of what it means to be a child of God. The point is not just to get into heaven. The point is to know the Father. And the closer you walk with Him, the less appealing the world becomes.
If you are saved this morning — walk with your Father. You have His name. You have His Spirit. You have His hand around you. Live like you know it.
And if you are here this morning and you have never trusted Christ — I want you to know that God wants to be your Father. Not just your Creator. Not just your Judge. Your Father. And it starts with believing on His Son.
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
John 1:12
He gives you the right — the power — to become a son of God. Not by working for it. Not by cleaning up your life first. By receiving Him. By believing on His name.
Would you become His child today?