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ETERNAL
SECURITY -
JUST HOW
SECURE ARE WE?
Introduction:
Within the context of eternal security as a born-again
believer there are two distinct camps; namely those who believe that once saved
we can never lose that salvation, whatever our actions, and another group who
would argue that indeed we could lose our salvation through the rejection of
our Saviour as Lord.
As a scientist my job is to look objectively at
all the facts and while my initial aim of this personal debate was to do just
that, by portraying the arguments of both sides of the spectrum, I frankly
found this to be an unbearable task.
Having commenced by looking at the possibility that we can lose our
salvation I had no joy while writing this argument as I saw inherent flaws in
it and could not faithfully defend it as I should, simply because I do not and
cannot believe it. While in a class
essay or debate where a discussion of both sides might be mandatory, this is
not a class situation, but is a topic that I consider extremely fundamental to
the whole doctrine of the Bible and therefore do not see the fruit of making
arguments for what I do not believe.
The aim therefore, is to explain the rationale of the 'Once Saved Always
Saved' (OSAS) approach to The Word of God using Scripture itself and thus also
highlight some of the flaws in the arguments provided by those who believe that
we can indeed lose our salvation. While
this is undeniably a bias piece of research I still trust that you will
consider the topic afresh. I appreciate
that some areas I have been unable to cover (salvation in the Old Testament for
example), but I have run out of time and therefore am unable to add to this at the
present.
"…Nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall
away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the
fires of damnation after having once believed in Jesus. Such a gospel I abhor. If one dear saint of God had perished, so
might all; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie,
and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance… If I did not believe in the
doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, I think I should be of all
men the most miserable, because I should lack any ground of comfort.
" Charles Spurgeon
In order to fully comprehend what God has done for us
through salvation and its permanence we must refer to the first book of the
Bible and more specifically the Abrahamic Covenant. (Genesis 12:1-3,
13:14-17) Now the term for covenant in
Hebrew is translated as ‘to cut a covenant’ and in this era that is exactly
what they did. An animal was cut into
two halves and both parties who were involved in the covenant passed between
the two pieces. However in the case of
the Abrahamic Covenant this did not occur, for while there were two pieces God
had put Abraham into a deep sleep so that only God Himself could pass through
the pieces signifying that the fulfilment of the covenant depended solely upon
God (Genesis 15:6-21).
Because of
this covenant Israel still exist today, even after becoming what many would
consider to be the most persecuted nation in history, thanks to the
faithfulness of God to do as He promises (Deut.7: 6-8). Now no one can claim that God has kept His
promises because of their Godly living and adoration of Him. Anyone reading the Bible will realise that
not only did they reject His prophets but His Son also (e.g. Matthew 21: 33-46, Acts 3:
11-16). The nation of Israel only
exists today because God made that covenant with Abraham so long ago. Paul outlines the future for Israel in
Romans 11:25-29, ‘For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is
happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is
written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take
away their sins. As concerning the
gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election they are
the beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.’
Therefore,
while God has promised his faithfulness to Israel and has proven this
throughout history what makes His promises for eternal salvation any
different? While the Israelites had
rejected God He still was with them and provided them with Godly leaders constantly
ensuring their survival (See Esther as an example). Subsequently, we can believe that God keeps His promises then,
even when we reject Christ He has never rejected us. In order to prove this suggestion let’s look at some Biblical
passages.
Now I’m not going to type out the whole passage but pick up
on a few of the verses in it. Verse 30
states that ‘Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called; and whom
He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also
glorified.’ Now this verse is worth
noting because it declares that our salvation is accomplished entirely by God,
and not by ourselves. Now I shan’t get
into predestination but our salvation begins before the foundation of the world
(predestination) and continues through to the Second Coming
(glorification). Note also that our
glorification and indeed the whole process is written in the past tense
signifying the assuredness of its completion.
Now where in a passage such as this can it be argued that a believer can
lose their salvation when it is God who completes each stage? It is to be noted, even from Genesis 1 in
creation, that God always finishes the task He has started. There is absolutely nothing He begins that
He does not complete.
Verses
33-34 says the following, ‘Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s
elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us.’ Okay let’s imagine for a
moment that we can lose our salvation.
If this were possible it can only be God who could allow such a decree
as He saved us though His Son in the first place and is Creator, Ruler, and
Judge of mankind. He is the one who
declared us righteous in His sight in the first place so only He can declare us
unrighteous and lost, but why would God do such a thing? God will not do this because He justified us
in the foreknowledge of all our sins knowing everything we would ever do. Would Jesus declare us lost? No because He died for us and now intercedes
on our behalf. Our salvation is secure
because it remains in the hands of the Faithful God and not our own.
The final
argument from this passage comes from Paul’s emphatic statement at the end of
the chapter, ‘For I am persuaded that neither death, not life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:38-39). What therefore can cause us to lose our
position with Christ? The answer has to
be nothing. Our current life cannot do
it, our death cannot, angels, and any other creature cannot. Nothing has the power to separate us from
God’s love.
Now I am
sure many of you who do not believe my stance may be rubbing your hands at this
verse because it quite clearly states that nothing can separate us from the
love of God, but that does not mean we cannot be separated from God. Observe, however, that Paul writes to
believers in this passage and tells us that the love that exists between God
and believers is through Jesus Christ and Jesus is the same, yesterday, today
and forever (Hebrews 13:8). In fact,
Paul again in Hebrew 13 states that Jesus ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee. So that we may boldly say, The
Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me’ (Hebrew
13:5-6). So in fact, if Jesus is
eternally the same and has promised believers that He will never leave us or
forsake us then there is truly nothing that can separate us from God and His
love.
What some might argue Isaiah 59:2- your sins
have separated you from your God, and indeed sin does separate us from Him -
but that is from fellowship with Him.
There has to be an understanding that we have a position in Christ
(Romans 5:1), which is firm, unmovable and unchangeable. We have peace with God (Through our
Lord Jesus Christ). However, we can and
do lose our peace when we are out of fellowship with Him (Contrast with Phil.
4:7 - The Peace of God). Sin
does come between us, just as it comes between man and woman, or friends… There does need to be restoration of
communion and fellowship with our Father, but it does not mean a loss of
salvation meanwhile. What happens to
those dear saints who follow the Lord closely all their lives and then somehow
get depressed or lose control and take their own lives? They are the prime example of a Christian
with one sin from which they may never repent.
So are they lost? This passage
is to believers and nothing can separate us from His love because it is founded
in Christ Jesus - His work on the cross, His death, burial, and
resurrection…. It all goes back to that
every time… This is the basis of our
salvation which none can take away. A
diagram helps here of a permanent vertical line between us and God and a
horizontal one, the vertical one always stays intact.
Peace With God
Which
cannot be broken
Our Sins
Man's
relationship with and towards God.
Sin breaks our fellowship
with God - lose our peace…
Peace of God
‘But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.’ (While we
were yet sinners in the original = "bitter enemies," = strong words!)
We have seen from above how much God loves us
and here in this passage we are shown the certainty of this love by contrasting
our past condition with our present condition.
If His love was deep enough for Him to die for His enemies, how much
more can we be assured that He loves us enough to not let us go. If He was willing to save us while we were
His bitter enemies, it’s unthinkable to think He would let us go now that we
are members of His family.
Philippians 1:6
‘Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.’
Paul
here gives another compelling argument for eternal security in this verse in
that he knows the God is always going to finish what He started.
There is absolutely nothing He promised that has not been
fulfilled (apart from prophecies in relation to the future - end times). Rationale says that if you cannot trust His
Word, then why would you trust Him for salvation in the first place?
John 6:37-40
‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and Him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
For I came down to heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. And this is the Father’s
will which hath sent me, that all of which He hath given me I should lose
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me,
that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
life: and I will raise Him up at the last day.’ These verses combine the responsibilities of God, the Son and our
own. The will of God is that Jesus
loses none of those the Father has given Him.
Jesus responsibility is to do the Father’s will and it is our
responsibility to come to Jesus.
Moreover, can Jesus ever fail to do the will of God? No, because is perfect and had to be in
order to die as the perfect sacrifice.
If, at any point in time, He had not followed the will of God He would
have sinned and subsequently become blemished.
Jesus can never fail to do the will of God or we would never be
saved. So by saying that a born-again
believer can lose their salvation is the equivalent of saying that Jesus has
lost one of those given to Him and therefore fails to complete the will of God. It cannot happen! A believer’s salvation remains secure because it is Jesus who
keeps that salvation safe and will never lose anyone.
Verse 37
is still something worthy of further study, as it’s the crux of this
issue. The promise of Christ here is
indeed wonderful as His promise to never cast us out from Him is all the more
powerful when translated from it’s written Greek for the double negative within
this phrase; ‘I will not, no, I will not’.
Verse 27 states
that ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me’. I do not wish to enter into the details of
the differences between sheep and goats and delve into salvation in this area
so I write on the basis that I do not have to debate whether the saved are
God’s children or not. However, note
that Christ used the word ‘know’, which in the Greek is the present tense and
thus never ends.
Verse 28
says, ‘and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand.’
Therefore, Christ gives believers eternal life. What can be more certain than the promise
that we shall never perish? To say that
a believer has lost their salvation is the same as saying that one of Jesus’
flock has perished. The word perish is
actually in the Greek set in the subjunctive mood and is better translated as
‘destroy themselves’. This verse
therefore answers two of the main arguments for those believing we can lose our
salvation. Firstly, it tells us that
God will never take eternal life from us and secondly, that the Christian can
never destroy himself and no one can take eternal life from them.
I bring in
verse 29 in the knowledge that those who believe differently would not agree
with this verse supporting eternal salvation.
‘My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able
to pluck them out of my hand’. Let’s
study the word ‘man’ which appears in both verses 28 and 29. This word is translated in the NIV to ‘no
one’ and in fact, in the Greek it means anything along the derivatives of
‘none, nobody, or nothing’. Therefore,
before anybody tries to point out that objects or any such thing can snatch us
from His hand, this is not what is being said.
Now the
question remains that if nothing can remove us from Christ we surely can be
allowed to wander off on our own. I
mean, what’s stopping sheep from wandering off on their own? This cannot be, however, for we have already
seen Jesus state that nothing can cause us to lose that salvation. Remember as we have already seen that in
terms of our salvation our only responsibility in it is to come to Him. His responsibility is to never let us go.
Verse 28
and 29 - man is actually in italics = it is not there in
the original text, but placed there by translators, as it would not make any
sense without it. Therefore you could
actually in fact put any word in there, which also emphasises the argument.
There is
incredible truth here in that sheep like to wander. In fact, sheep are renown for it! Maybe that is why the Shepherd went looking for the one that had
gone astray. We too are prone to wander
away from our Shepherd, but it does not mean we are forever lost. We are of His sheepfold, the sheep of His
pasture…
‘For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake.’
Perhaps in
concluding this particular section it’s worth looking again at the fundamental
aspect of our salvation, which is that it is God who granted us to
believe. This can be seen in many other
verses (John 15:16, Acts 13:48, Acts 16:14, Ephesians 1:3-5 and 2:1-10).
And so
while we were enemies of God and dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1-3) and were
not seeking Him (Romans 3:10-18), He chose us, and God will finish what He
began (I Peter 1:3-5).
There
is another point here in these verses - what in the world is the point of
having incorruptible inheritance, reserved in heaven for us if we are never
going there?
Once Saved Always Saved (Implicit Arguments)
While
we have seen several passages from the Scriptures giving support for the OSAS
suggestion, there are also some implicit arguments that need to be
considered.
We
know that God is omniscient or all knowing which means that He knew of all our
sins including past, present, and future.
Does it seem logical to you that God would knowingly save us from some
of our sins in the knowledge that we would be later lost to Him for other sins? Why then would He bother to save us in the
first place when He knows exactly what choices we would make? Since God is immutable meaning that He never
changes, then His purposes, promises or His love for us never change. It did not for the Israelites, nor will it
for us.
Now
when Christ died for us was it a partial payment on the set requirements of
other transactions occurring? Not at
all! Christ’s cry on the cross ‘It is
finished’ is in the Greek a term of complete accountancy meaning that the debt
has been paid in full. So surely if one
can lose their salvation, it is only a partial transaction as the rest of the
transaction relies on the obedience of the individual to God’s Word and then
becomes based on what they do rather than what God has done completely.
While
those that believe we can fall from grace whether by rejection of Christ or any
other means are clear that works cannot earn their salvation, they imply that
salvation has to be kept by good works so that while we are saved by grace,
salvation can be lost by works. This
sort of teaching (as shown in Hebrews 6:4-9) does not glorify Christ as it
indicates that Christ would have to be crucified again to save us.
If
Christ hasn’t made provision to keep us saved then His death is in vain. If we cannot live a life worthy of
salvation, there’s no way that we’re going to live a life worthy of keeping
it.
We
know that we can only be saved through the grace of Christ and ‘not of works,
lest any man should boast’. So if
salvation cannot be gained through good works, then how can we lose it through
bad works? It makes no sense! Our works cannot play a role in salvation in
terms of it being kept or lost otherwise if it could, there would be those in
heaven who could claim that while admittedly it was Christ that saved them,
they, by their good lives, kept their salvation. No, this cannot be!!! If
this were to occur then God would be unable to claim all the glory.
The moment
we are saved God gives the Holy Spirit to us.
Reference to this can be found in one 1 Corinthians 6:19, John 7:37-39
and Romans 8:9. The Holy Spirit puts us
into the body of Christ (Baptised = put in to) 1 Corinthians 12:13.
However, if it were possible for the Holy
Spirit to leave us, surely there would be scripture to support that claim. In fact, the opposite occurs as John
14:16-18 tells us when speaking to His disciples, ‘ and I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever;
even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him
not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and I
shall be in you. I will not leave you
comfort less: I will come to you.’ The
word forever is translated from the Greek meaning to never end. What more can be said?
Now
Ephesians 4:30 says, ‘and grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed unto the day of redemption.’ Now
a seal in ancient times was proof and a sign of three things; a completed
transaction, which in this case is that salvation; ownership whereby we belong
to God; and of security as only an authorized person could break the seal. (Cf. I Corinthians 6:19-20 and II
Corinthians 1:22).
Now the
Holy Spirit is also described as a pledge in the Bible. Confirmation of this can be found in Ephesians
1:13-14 and II Corinthians 1:22 where the term pledge refers to an earnest
agreement-like pledge. This pledge or
seal means a ‘finished transaction’. As
already shown above in Philippians 1:6 Paul states that when we were sinners,
the Holy Spirit was powerful enough to break down our stubbornness and
unbelief. How can we think that He
hasn’t the power to complete the work He started in the first place? These verses indicate that the seal of the
Holy Spirit is but a foretaste of what is yet to come!
Within the Bible there are examples of those who have
turned away from the Christ and abandoned their faith. So were these indeed believers who rejected
the teaching and salvation that only Christ can give and thus lose their
salvation? Let’s have a look at three
separate examples from the New Testament starting with the teaching of Jesus in
John 6.
Jesus
I’m
certainly not going to type out the whole chapter but note firstly verses 41-43
where the Jews murmured among themselves which Jesus knew, secondly verse 60
where some of his disciples also began to murmur at His words, thirdly verse 63
where Jesus says that the Spirit gives life, and fourthly verses 65-66 where
Jesus says that only those can come to Him that are granted by the Father and
as a result many of His disciples left Him and walked with Him no more.
Jesus
reacted to those who left Him by stating that the Spirit is the one who impart
spiritual life, that people may follow Christ for many different reasons but in
the end they will fall away because ‘there are some of you that believe not’
(verse 64).
John
Our next example was written by John in I John 2:18-19,
‘Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist
shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the
last time. They went out from us, but
they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that
they were all of us’. Here we have the
reaction of John to those that chose to leave the faith. Does he at all suggest that their salvation
has been lost? Not at all and in fact
what he does say is that these people were not saved in the first place
otherwise they would never have left the faith.
Paul says
this in II Timothy 2:17-19, ‘And their word will eat us like a canker: of whom
is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the
resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some. 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’. Paul’s
statement regarding the sins of these two is simple and yet profound; the Lord
knows who are His.
Yet this passage continues on to what is
possibly an even more important verse, ‘But in a great house there are not only
vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to
honour and some to dishonour’. We as
Christians are not perfect, and therefore thanks to the blood of Christ, while
we still may dishonour Him, He nonetheless never lets us go from Him. Verse 22 states that, ‘If a man therefore
purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and
meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work’. Does it say that if a man does this he
becomes saved once more? No, rather it
says that he becomes sanctified and this should be the goal of all who truly
believe in Christ as Saviour. Paul here
informs us that while we may be ignoble in the great house it is our duty as
Christians to develop into something of gold and silver so that our Master can use
us.
This ties in here with
the teaching in 1 Corinthians 3: 11-15.
We are all building on the foundation of Jesus Christ, which may be
wood, hay, stubble, or to the contrary with gold, silver and precious
gems. We may suffer loss, but are still
saved.
There may be some who would suggest that if we receive
eternal salvation we are then at liberty to do whatever we like. This is not the case as we are disciplined
and it says so in the Bible.
‘And ye have forgotten
the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the
Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of
him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son
whom he receiveth. 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. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we
not much rather be in subjection unto
the Father of spirits, and live? For
they verily for a few days chastened us
after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be
partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to
be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit
of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.’ (Hebrews 12:5-11)
‘It
is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such
fornication as is not so much as named
among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather
mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among
you. For I verily, as absent in body,
but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning
him that hath so done this deed, In the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit,
with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that
the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.’ (I Corinthians 5:1-5)
‘For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should
not be judged. But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.’
(I
Corinthians 11: 30-32)
Now from these three passages of
Scripture we can have no doubt whatsoever that as Christians, we are
disciplined, but nowhere does it indicate ever losing our salvation. However, hold on, you might say, what about
I Corinthians 5:5 where it says Paul is handing him over to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh. Surely there
he has lost his salvation? Well, let’s
take a closer look.
This is not the only passage where someone has been
handed over to Satan. I Timothy 1:20
records Paul hading over Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan to be taught not to
blaspheme. It says in the verse prior
that they have ‘shipwrecked their faith’.
Now it would be very easy to begin a rather deep and unanswerable
discussion as to what this particular passage means but I want to point out a
couple of things which would suggest that salvation is not removed. The first man in question is excommunicated
from the church as a church.
Excommunication does not mean the removal of their salvation because as
previously shown we do not have the right to have that removed; only God
can. Rather, its purpose is to bring
about the individual’s repentance for whatever they may have done. Now, these people when they repent are to be
welcomed back into the church without mention of the aforementioned sin (II Corinthians
2:7). The object of all true discipline
is to save the spirit and this does indeed occur evidenced in II Corinthians
2:6.
Notice also that it was Paul and the church that handed
him over to Satan. Surely, if anyone
were to deny salvation to someone, it would be Jesus.
In respect to this passage let’s not forget Job who was
handed over to Satan and yet never lost his salvation. In fact, it is quite the opposite and God
later called him righteous (Ezekiel 14:20).
While it may be argued that Job was not being handed over to Satan for
his sin, this still occurred under God's Sovereign direction.
So
what are the main consequences of knowingly living a sinful life?
Firstly, we lose our fellowship
with the Lord as well as the loss of control of the Holy Spirit and the fruit
He bears (I John 1:5-7). Our sin
grieves (Ephesians 4:30) and quenches I (Thessalonians 5:19) the Holy Spirit
and His work in our lives, and sin also affects our prayer life (Psalms 66:18)
and our study of the Word of God (I Corinthians 2:10-16; Ephesians 3:16; John
14:26).
Secondly, we become miserable and
lose our joy because we are controlled by the sinful nature (Psalms 32:3-4;
51:8).
Thirdly, we see the fruit of our
flesh rather than the work of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-26).
Fourthly, we see God disciplining
us in an attempt to turn us from our sin (Psalms 32:4, Hebrews 12:5-10, I
Corinthians 11:29-32
Fifthly, we lose our testimony to
others and bring dishonour to Christ (I Peter 2:12-15, 3:15-17, 4:15-16).
Sixthly and finally we see the loss
of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (I Corinthians 3:12-15, II
Corinthians 5:10).
The
main point of this section is to show that God does indeed discipline His
children. While Christ wants us to
glorify Him, we will always fall short of the glory of God, and yet God accepts
us through the blood of Jesus. I Corinthians 3:12-15 says this, ‘ now if any
man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay,
stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work
of what sort it is. If any man's work
abide which he hath build thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.’
So
what then can we say when we are presented with passages that, at first glance,
do suggest a believer can lose their salvation? Often the problem with these is in a failure to consider both the
immediate context of the passage and the context of the New Testament as a
whole. Sadly we all do this too often
regardless of the topic and it’s hoped that this brief overview does not do the
same.
When we analyse the Bible we are required to do so in a
hermeneutical principle, which states that unclear passages should be
understood in respect to the clear ones instead of vice versa. In my opinion, bearing in mind it’s only an
opinion of course; those who believe that our salvation can be lost break this
principle in two separate ways.
Firstly, the basis of their understanding of this topic is based
primarily on the unclear passages rather than the more frequent clear ones. Secondly, the interpretations of the clearer
passages are overshadowed by the conclusions made using the unclear or
difficult passages of Scripture.
These problematic passages which some argue teach us that
we can lose our salvation or that if we were really saved we wouldn’t commit
certain sins in general fall into three different categories.
1. Passages referring to the Judgment
Seat of Christ - these are to warn believers against not reaping the rewards
that they might gain, the emphasis on suffering loss of rewards rather than
losing or lacking salvation (I Corinthians 3:12-15, I Corinthians 9:25-27).
2. Passages which show us as being
God’s children. This includes passages
that show the state and nature of unbelievers as an attempt to motivate Godly
and Christ-like living. Passages like these
do not suggest that we lose our salvation or question our salvation but rather
challenge all Christians to live lives separate to the world (Ephesians
5:1-12).
3. Passages warning believers of the
discipline that God may meter out when they refuse to obey and worship Him. (I
Corinthians 3:16-17; Hebrews 6:1-6; Hebrews 10:23-31).
Let’s
take a closer look at Hebrews 6:1-6 which says, ‘Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying
again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of
the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the
dead, and of eternal judgment. And this
will we do, if God permit. For it is
impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word
of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they 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.’
Here
we have those who admittedly have left the darkness and have been enlightened
with a heavenly gift, implying salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit who
indwells every believer upon conversion to Christ. Now these individuals have tasted the Word of God and thereby
have experienced the goodness of God (I Peter 2:3). When considering this passage again we must consider the
context. The author is talking to those
who are turning from Christianity back to their ritualistic Judaism (Galatians
3:1-3; 5:4). While this may have
occurred then, it also occurs today when people have walked with the Lord and
later turned away from Him by doing their "own thing." What the author is trying to say here is
that there becomes a danger in remaining in that state. It isn’t referring to backsliding or normal
everyday trials and tribulations, but rather those who deliberately turn away
from following the Lord and known truth.
This can be either a deliberate act, or by simply letting things slip
away (Hebrews 2:1). It is someone who
does not open themselves up to the working of the Spirit in their life, as
discussed previously in the knowledge we may grieve or quench Him in our lives. Note also the word ‘if’ signifying that this
is not always the case.
We
find this situation therefore to be on the verge of apostasy, a falling away
from their faith and walk with Christ.
By not living for Christ we deny Him and His saving work in our lives.
But, and I do stress but, the Holy Spirit remains in us as previously shown,
striving to bring us back, and yet with our free choice we sometimes find God
will simply allow us to do as we choose.
The passage here is referring to a continual progress of moving away
from God until we live back in the world, in the realm of our old life, and God
can therefore seal us in this.
The point of this passage
of Hebrews is to warn us of this danger.
We can turn away from God, as we all have done at some point in time,
and He is faithful to continue His work in us helping us back to repentance and
restoration of our faith and fellowship with Him, and other believers. An example of this, which I have already
referred to, is the man in I Corinthians 5 who, after his repentance, the
author commands the church to forgive and love. God will even discipline to the point of taking our lives if we
do not repent and turn back to Christ, we will be better off with Him rather
than not being a testimony or glorifying to Him here on earth. This does not mean that we will be destined
for the eternal fire of hell for the Holy Spirit is with us forever. We may grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians
4:30) or even quench His work in our lives (I Thessalonians 5:19), but He nevertheless
remains (Ephesians 4:30).
Hebrews 10: 23-31
Now
this passage runs along the same lines as the previous so I shall not be typing
it out except to say that the sin mentioned here is apostasy and it was due to
the abandonment of Christianity for Judaism and a turning from Christ to
something else. Again it’s also worthy
of noting the word ‘if’ in verse 4 so it is possible for this to occur. If people knowingly and willingly reject
salvation after they have experienced it they can be faced with serious
judgment, but I stress that this is physical judgment not eternal
judgment. We know that there are those
who commit sins that cause death from I John 5:16 and that there are those who
have died prematurely (I Corinthians 11:30).
The author uses this as a warning to those in the church rather than
something that has already occurred.
In
summation of this section, therefore, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who
indwells within our lives. This does
not mean to say that sometimes we do grieve the Spirit and even quench Him. In
fact, we all have the potential to revert to the old self (Romans 7). We all have the potential to murder and
commit adultery (as did David) and even live in a state of apostasy. However, God in His grace works in our lives
to bring us to repentance and back to Him, and yet we can still choose to
resist this and for this He will punish severely to the point of sickness and
death (I Corinthians 11:30). The
difference between those who have not fallen into apostasy occurs in I
Corinthians 3:10-15 and II Corinthians 5:10 where when we appear before the
Judgment Seat of Christ there will be those whose lives merely reflect the
wood, hay and stubble, they will suffer loss as their works are tried by fire,
but their souls will be saved.
Fallacies in the OSAS Argument?
The Prodigal Son:
The
prodigal son is a story that I shall not tell in its entirety simply because it
can be found in Luke 15:11-32, suffice to say that the younger son of two took
his father’s inheritance and squandered it in frivolous living. After he spent everything and was forced to
eat the slop from the pig’s trough where he worked. He realised his foolishness and returned home repentant where his
father gladly forgave him and completely restored him to his former position in
the family.
Now in order to arrive at some sort of conclusion verses 24
and 32 needed to be closely studied. In
both instances it states that the son was ‘dead and is alive again, was lost
and is found’. The key here, according
to those who believe in the loss of salvation, is what the father states in
that his spiritual condition has gone from being that of someone lost to that
of someone found, from that of someone dead to someone alive.
The Lord
here therefore indicates that the son was spiritually dead, as we all are
before salvation (Ephesians 2:1). The
son chose to live according to the ways of his sinful nature and died
spiritually as dictated in Romans 8:13 which states that ‘For if ye live after
the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of
the body, ye shall live.’
Let’s also
note the phrase in Luke 15:13 ‘riotous living’ which can be translated from the
Greek as ‘excess’ as in Ephesians 5:18 which states ‘And be not drink with
wine, wherein is excess.’ It can be
ascertained from this passage therefore that the son must have partook in such
things as drunkenness. Paul warns us in
Galatians 5:19-21 and I Corinthians 6:9-10 that those living in the sinful
nature which include drunkenness ‘shall not inherit the kingdom of God’.
Now how
can I argue this? Very simply actually,
you see there is no part of this story that indicates that Jesus was referring
to the son’s spiritual life. This is
something that people mainly assume and this is a dangerous avenue for us to
take. For example, couldn’t I just as
easily claim that Jesus was referring to the son’s spiritual growth in that
while he was away it was for all intents and purposes dead? How do I know that the father was not
referring to the position the son held in the family as the father could have
well presumed the son to be dead and therefore exclaims that the boy, which he
thought dead, is alive! The point is,
we don’t know and therefore we can’t just claim to know what it refers to.
What we do
know is the relationship of the son to the Father and the Father to the
son. All the while the son was away he
never ceased to be a son. We all know
how the Father was watching out for him in eager anticipation of his
return. Thus it is also with us, we may
go astray, but He is ever there watching and waiting for us to return to His
loving care and restoration of our position of sonship as His blood bought
children.
Judas Iscariot:
I am amazed
that people would use Judas Iscariot as an example of one who lost his
salvation, that frankly there is absolutely no indication he ever was saved in
the first place. To the contrary Judas
is a prime example of those who come into contact with the work and person of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, they hear His teaching, listen to His voice, but
"there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end are the ways of
death." (Spiritual Death being
separation from God, both in this life and for eternity.)
Now Judas
was born a sinner just as all the disciples, but whereas others longed to learn
from Christ it would appear all he was interested in was the moneybag (John
12:5-6). Jesus Himself spent a whole
night in prayer before His selection of the twelve (Luke 6:12 - 16) and knew
the fulfilment of scripture would be accomplished through the close friend who
would betray Him (Psalms 41:9; John 13:18).
To
continue the story of Judas we cannot ever say that he was made to betray Jesus
who in His foreknowledge knew what was about to happen. Nevertheless Jesus washed his feet, offered
the sop to him, and gave him ample opportunity for a change of heart and
mind. However we know that Judas gave
himself over to the control of Satan (John 13:27) and when he left the group it
was not a physical condition that causes John makes the deliberate comment
that, "it was night" (verse 30).
It truly was darkness in his life and soul as he turned away from
following Christ whom he never had trusted for salvation.
We cannot
and dare not assume that any of the disciples were converted before the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ. All
scripture points to the fact they did not understand or believe until after
these events (Luke 22:31-32; John 20:1-10; Mark 16:9-11, 14).
Therefore
we conclude that Judas as one of the twelve, despite having the privilege of
walking, talking and being in the presence of Christ for a very considerable
time never did come to the point of belief and trust in Him for salvation, and
subsequently could therefore never lose what he never did find or receive.
Paul’s letter to the Romans, ‘Thou wilt say
then, the branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken
off, and thou standest by faith. Be no
high minded but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed
lest he also spare not thee. Behold,
therefore, the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but
toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou shalt
be cut off. And they also, if they
abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them
in again
These verses cause so many problems for the
OSAS believers, but fall into place when we realise the context of chapters 9 -
11 being that of Israel who, failed to recognise their Messiah. Subsequently those who have believed have
been grafted in during this period of partial blindness to the Jews (verse 25).
Speaking
to Christians we find in verse 12 it is possible to deny Him, and of course the
classic example is not just Peter, but all the disciples who fled (Matthew 26: 35, 56). Again many of us have denied our Lord, if
not by spoken word most probably by the unspoken when we had opportunity so to
do. However the verb as many others in
the New Testament is in the aorist tense, indicative of a continual denial and
a lifestyle that goes hand in hand with apostasy. The most beautiful thing of all, however, is in the following
verse proving our God to be Faithful for He cannot deny Himself, or of course
His promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him.
Most
of those who believe that we can lose our salvation use Galatians 5:19-21 as
examples of acts which cause this falling away. The verse, however, raise both logistical problems as well as
errancy complications.
First, let’s look at the logistical problems. What constitutes the sins mentioned in this
passage? Let’s take idolatry as an
example. Because I spend more time
training for the sport that I compete in than in the study of God’s Word and in
prayer does this mean I have made sport an idol? Who can say? What about
selfish ambition, jealousy, and envy?
Surely these are all areas that most of us would agree are temptations
we all yield to at one time or another no matter where we are in our walk with
the Lord. It begs the question that if
indeed these were the sins that could send us from the gates of heaven to the
gates of hell then He would have given us clearer instructions so that we might
judge more adroitly than sheer guesswork where we actually stand in our eternal
security?
Secondly,
it is claimed that those who believe in eternal security tend to avoid this
particular passage but in actual fact this is not the case but rather than
misinterpreting the passage taking chunks where helpful, I suggest that those
reading this commence from verse 16 to the end of the chapter. Verse 24 begins to put the passage into
context. ‘And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.’ All the details before describe the sinful
nature as we are without the salvation of Christ, but He has crucified or
‘extinguished’ in the Greek the sinful nature.
Now there would be those who argue that this means that if Christ has
indeed crucified our sinful nature then surely if we manifest this sinful
nature in any way we are not saved.
However, Paul seems to see this coming because he shows in verse 25 that
while we are in the Spirit we still have the capabilities to live outside of
the Spirit's control. While this may
all deal with semantics, sadly many people can cause great damage with the
removal of certain parts of Scriptures to read what they want it to say.
There are those that would argue that if
Christians were eternally saved then it would give them the freedom to act and
do whatever they want in the knowledge that they are heaven bound. The question I would put to this would be to
ask why anyone who fully accepts the magnitude of the mercy and love of Christ
on that cross would really desire to do such a thing (Romans 5:18 - 6:2). In fact, I would have to question whether
they were saved in the first place.
Now there is danger in those words and I want
to stress that we, as Christians, do succumb to the wiles and temptations of
the world, the devil, and our own sinful nature, but throughout this time I do
not believe that the Holy Spirit ever leaves us and I believe this for several
reasons.
Firstly,
I find nowhere in Scripture where this is recorded. Secondly, I have personal friends who at some point in
their lives completely rejected the Lord Jesus, and yet, when restored can tell
me with complete assurance that while they may have suppressed the workings of
the Holy Spirit within their life, the Holy Spirit never left them. Thirdly, there are examples of those
in the Bible who committed heinous crimes and yet God never left them. David, for example, committed adultery and
murder while he ruled as king and while his relationship with God became
distant, God never left him and in actual fact it was God who came to David and
pointed out his sin.
For those who cannot see how God can give us an
eternal salvation giving us the opportunity to sin without either breaking that
bond or being disciplined in any way note that as a consequence of David’s sin
he lost his son. There are always
consequences to our sin.
It is absolutely frightening beyond description
for me to begin contemplating the mere possibility that we could lose our
salvation; that each day I might have in some way rejected God and thereby in
one instant be heaven bound and the next destined for hell. So in that one instant when Christ does
return I may not have repented and sought forgiveness of my sin(s) from a short
time prior and therefore find myself at the gates of hell. Take a look at the whole of the Bible and
observe and consider the personality of our God. Throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament we see
God as a God of grace and mercy not a God who takes sadistic pleasure in seeing
His people suffer and fail. That is the
Devil’s role.
In conclusion, therefore, I have come to the
decision that we, as Christians, were saved once and once only and while we do
fall short of the glory of God, God, in His mercy, never leaves us. While some of you reading this may not
believe this I urge you to reconsider what you believe not only in light of
what is written here, for I am certainly no expert nor a Biblical scholar, but
ensure in you own heart that what you believe is according to what the Word of
God teaches and what the Holy Spirit directs.
I came upon this subject with an open mind willing to be taught and I go
away fully convinced that our salvation cannot and will never be taken away
from us.