What can an eternally secure believer lose due to sin?

Jesus once told the Parable of the Minas, in which a nobleman went to a far country to receive a kingdom (guess Who that is?). And before he went, he left his servants (guess whom they represent?) with some money to invest, charging them to “Do business till I come” (Luke 19:13). When the nobleman came back, he evaluated how the servants did and rewarded them on that basis. However, he discovered they did not do equally well. The first servant earned ten minas and in return was rewarded by having authority over ten cities. The second earned five minas and was given five cities. But the third did nothing with his money. He didn’t even put it in the bank to collect interest. As a result, he did not earn any city at all. In fact, he lost what little he had:

“‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” (Luke 19:24-26).

That servant lost the reward of ruling over cities in his Master’s kingdom, but that does not mean he lost his eternal life. The distinction between eternal life and eternal rewards is so basic to Biblical discipleship and so necessary to a well-rounded view of eternal security, that I can hardly emphasize it enough. Understanding the distinction between eternal life and eternal rewards sheds light on so many of the warning passages of Scripture that it is difficult to list them all.

But let me give you one example.

I cannot tell you how many times 2 Tim 2:11-13 has been raised as an objection to eternal security, that is, as proof that you can lose your eternal life. But in light of the Biblical evidence of eternal rewards, and specifically, in light of the reward of ruling with Christ, I ask you, what exactly is Paul warning about here?

This is a faithful saying:
For if we died with Him,
We shall also live with Him.
If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim 2:11-13).

“See!” the objector says. “He will deny those who deny Him. What could be clearer? They lost their salvation!”

But is that what Paul says?

Now that you have the concept of ruling with Christ on your radar, re-read what Paul is warning Timothy about. What does the believer stand to win or to lose?

If we endure,
We shall also reign with Him.

What does it mean to reign with Him? That is ruling with Christ in His kingdom, just as in the Parable of the Minas. And what does it take to rule with Christ? Will faith alone do? No. You must endure. That is, in this life of trials and troubles and tribulations you must endure in faith and good works, serving Christ. And if you endure in that service, then you will be rewarded by reigning with Christ.

And what happens if you fail to endure? What happens if you get distracted by life, fall in love with the world, and make carnal pleasure the priority of your life?

If we deny Him,
He also will deny us.

If you deny Christ, what do you stand to lose? Paul does not explicitly say, but it’s implied in the prior verse: He will deny you the right to reign with Him. You’ll be like the wicked servant in the parable of the minas, i.e., you won’t get any cities to rule over and what little you did have will be taken from you and given to the servants who endured and made the most of their investment.

To be clear—believers who lose the right to rule are still eternally secure. Eternal life is eternal. This is a rewards issue, not a salvation issue. Being denied the right to rule with Christ means your ability to serve Jesus will be restricted. Isn’t that a serious negative consequence? Wouldn’t you want to serve the Lord in the way that is most pleasing to Him? If so, then live your life to gain His approval—gain and reign.