What Do You Mean By "Eternal Security"?
What Do You Mean By "Eternal Security"?
As an ordained Southern Baptist minister, I believe in and support the Biblical concept of the Eternal Security of the believer. Yet, let me quickly hasten to say, I held this position before I ever entered the Southern Baptist denomination, and my belief if this truth of Scripture led me away from joining other denominations that taught otherwise. In other words, my denominational affiliations do not and did not change or influence what I believe about this - that, once you are saved by faith in Christ, you are eternally secure in that salvation.
Before you sit down and type out a pithy e-mail telling me that you do not hold with eternal security; that you believe that a person can lose their salvation; then let me save you the trouble. It is true, and I know that there has been debates between Christians, all good Christians, on whether Eternal Security is true, or whether the believer can be Saved-Lost-Saved (Pelagian/ Arminian viewpoint). These debates have been going on for centuries, and we certainly won't resolve the conflict in this forum. However, let's approach this study with the following caveat: You will not gain or lose your salvation based on the Theological position you take, as long as you have accepted Christ as your Savior. Once we have agreed on this one simple thing, that the very fact of our exploration of this doctrine will not cause loss of salvation, then we can proceed in this study without argument. For, has not our Lord said:
(Isaiah 1:18 KJV) "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
And again;
(Jeremiah 29:11-13 KJV) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. {12} Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. {13} And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
Our Lord does not despise our questioning, our searching so as to know Him and His ways better. He demands, in fact, that we strive toward a closer relationship with Him. He died to make this relationship possible, thus it is not evil nor damning to seek the truth of the Scriptures. We are expected to know the truth, so that it might set us free:
(John 8:32 KJV) "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
Let me also hasten to add that Eternal Security must not be confused with hedonism/ Gnosticism/ or Sovereign Grace theologies. We are not saved so that we can be freed to sin. Those who propose such a thing are heretics, cultic, diabolical. God despises sin so much that He sent His only Begotten Son to die for it. Will we be frivolous about sin? No, no, not in a million years! The Apostle Paul stated:
(Romans 6:15-17 KJV) "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. {16} Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? {17} But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."
The true doctrine of Eternal Security presupposes certain things:
We are new creatures after salvation in Christ
(2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
This does not mean that we are perfect, but rather that we are enabled to do the things of God. We become the workmanship of God after salvation:
(Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV) "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. {10} For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
If we are not changed after salvation, or apparent salvation, we are not saved:
2 Peter 2:20-22 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
1 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 not all of us."
If an alleged believer
continues to sin without correction from the Father,
he or she is not savedHebrews 12:7-8 "If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? [8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."
There are certain heretical groups within Christendom that only take their doctrine from the Pauline Epistles, from Romans to Philemon. If you support this hacking up of God's Word then you may not be aware that God chastens believers who fall out of fellowship. Once you are saved, you enter into the family of God:
(Ephesians 3:14-15 KJV) "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, {15} Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,"
When the believer falls out of fellowship he or she, if they do not quickly repent, begins to undergo a course of chastening, or, as the original language of the Scripture says, scourging with a whip. Father punishes each of us children who fall away and fail to repent. And, if need be, He punishes us unto the point of death, as He did with the Corinthian believers:
(1 Corinthians 11:30-32 KJV) "For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. {31} For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. {32} But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world."
We are saved, and enter a new state - a family relationship with God the Father. In this new state our behavior patterns are scrutinized by Father who, if we persist in disobedience, punishes us to bring us back in line with Him. These two truths run, as veins of gold through the Rock, throughout any true teaching of Eternal Security.
Inheritance/ Sovereignty of God Proofs
That Establish Eternal Security1 Peter 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] To an inheritance incorruptiblea, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reservedb in heaven for you, [5] Who are keptc by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
a. aphthartos {pronounced af'-thar-tos}, immortal, not liable to corruption or decay.
b. tereo {pronounced tay-reh'-o}, to watch over, guard, hold in reserve.
c. phroureo {froo-reh'-o}, to keep with a garrison, protect by a military guard.It is clear in this passage that Peter is speaking of Christians, not of people in general. He says that God has "begotten us again" (are born again). Further, we are "born again" to an inheritance that is incorruptible, that is, an inheritance that is not liable to decay or ruin. If we are born again to the end that we should inherit something with eternal and unchanging value, then it must also be true that we ourselves are in a secured state ... else, what purpose is served in such an inheritance. This inheritance is watched over by God, protected, held in reserve for all we who have accepted Christ as Savior. Further, we are kept, that is, protected as if a military reserve was watching over us. God Himself paid for our sins on the Cross, God Himself guards our saved souls from the point of salvation and into eternity. What better assurance could you have that you are secure in your salvation? I need not guard against any action that might cause me, like Judas, to fall to eternal damnation. No, God watches for me. Christ loves me, and guards that which He has so painfully procured.
John 6:38-40 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. [39] And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. [40] 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."
John 10:27-30 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall nevera perish, neither shall any manb pluck them out of my hand. [29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no manb is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. [30] I and my Father are one."
a .tis, indefinite pronoun = anyone
b. oudeis {pronounced oo-dice'} , no man, no oneHere then is two of the strongest promises of Eternal Security given to us as believers by our Savior. In John 6, Jesus makes Eternal Security an issue of God's strength and sovereign nature. Jesus specifically states that those which were given Him (we who believe) are held in His wonderful grasp. Our eternity is secure, for we shall be resurrected, we shall enter eternal life. We have Jesus' promise that " I will raise him up at the last day". Nothing can stop our Savior when He says, "I will". We are Secure.
In John 10 Jesus calls us who believe His sheep, and declares that we who are His sheep know His voice. If you are born again you do know the voice of Jesus. We may not always agree doctrinally on every point, but believers everywhere can identify with believers anywhere by this test: we all know His voice. Jesus says of us, the Sheep for whom He died, that "they shall nevera perish, neither shall any manb pluck them out of my hand". This is stronger in the Greek text, which states "neither shall anyone pluck them out of my hand". This covers everyone: I cannot pluck you out, Satan cannot pluck you out, even you cannot pluck you out of Christ's hand. Yet, as if this were not enough, the hand of Christ which holds you has yet another hand covering it, the hand of Father. With Christ's hand grasping your salvation, and Father's hand grasping your salvation - here then are Two Mighty Persons who cannot be defeated! You are secure, not because of who and what you are, but because of who and what God is.
2 Timothy 1:8-9 "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the powera of God; [9] Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according tob our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began"
a. dunamis {pronounced doo'-nam-is}, inherent, dynamic power.
b. kata {pronounced kat-ah'} , according to the norm or standard of.Finally, consider this point: When God called us to salvation, He did not call us based on our own works, but called us in spite of our works. We were saved because of Who and What God is, not because of who and what we were. If works did not save us, how can we believe that works could retain that which it did not secure? If the beginning was faith alone, then will not the continuance be faith alone? It is the height of arrogance to say to Christ, "Sure, you saved me, and I contributed nothing toward that salvation. You alone died on the Cross. However, now that I'm saved, I must add to what you did or else I cannot remain saved. If I want to stay saved, then I must do certain things - else all that you did on the Cross for me was a farce".
No, this would be blasphemy! Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our salvation:
(Hebrews 5:8-9 KJV) "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; {9} And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
(Hebrews 12:2-3 KJV) "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. {3} For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
We look toward Jesus, not toward our own feeble efforts. Christ alone, Christ alone, Christ alone is our Savior!
Gift Proofs
Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gifta of God: [9] Not of works, lest any man should boastc. [10] For we are his workmanshipb, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
a. doron {pronounced do'-ron}, a present, gift, something given as a result of grace.
b. poiema {pronounced poy'-ay-mah}, thing which has been made.
c. kauchaomai {pronounced kow-khah'-om-ahee}, to boast or glory on account of.Though we have looked at this verse before, our study demands we look at it again. Salvation is a free gift from God our Father. This free gift is neither earned nor deserved by any of us. In the latter days when we stand in the Throneroom of God, we will not be able to look at one another and boast - as an Olympic marathon runner might boast - "Well, look at me. I made it! It was tough, but I overcame, and now I'm ready to receive my Heavenly reward". No, there will be no such nonsense. We will all enter Heaven, and gain our eternal inheritance of life, by and through the Grace of God alone. We enter the Family of God by Grace. We grow by Grace. And, our final destination, is secured by Grace.
Where is boasting then? There is none, but only glory to our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Indwelling Proofs
John 14:16-17 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forevera; [17] 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 shall be in you."
a. aion {pronounced ahee-ohn'} , forevermore, without end, ceaselessly
Would God cast His Holy Spirit into Hell? Would the Spirit of God willingly go into damnation with us? No, such a thing is unthinkable. And yet, Jesus says that the Spirit of God - who came from the Father at the Son's beckoning - abides with us who believe forever, ceaselessly, eternally. If the Spirit indwells us forever, then how can we lose our eternal state? We cannot.
2 Corinthians 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnestb of the Spirit in our hearts.
2 Corinthians 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnestb of the Spirit.
b. arrhabon {pronounced ar-hrab-ohn'} , down payment of what will one day be given, earnest money
In fact, the Holy Spirit is said to be the "down payment" for what will one day be our eternal inheritance - eternal life with God our Creator. When a downpayment is made on something, this is, in effect, a contractual agreement that you will make good on the rest of what is owed. God our Creator owes us Heaven because He has determined to owe us Heaven. As a downpayment on that inheritance, He gave each one of us who believe the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. This brings us into union with Him, and with one another:
1 Corinthians 12:13-14 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. [14] For the body is not one member, but many."
Just as would be true with any downpayment, if God were to renege on our inheritance, He would forfeit His downpayment. Look in the mirror and see if you can say that without laughing! How could God forfeit God? He cannot, thus the Spirit stands as proof positive that we shall be in Heaven with our Father one day.
Birth Proofs
John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
1 Peter 1:22-23 "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: [23] Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."
Titus 3:5-7 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regenerationa, and renewingb of the Holy Ghost; [6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; [7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
a. paliggenesia {pronounced pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah}, new birth, recreation, regeneration, being born again.
b. anakainosis {pronounced an-ak-ah'-ee-no-sis}, renewing, renovation of (the Spirit) in our lives.We who believe are born again into the Family of God. This new Birth is not accomplished by corruptible or sin laden seed, but by incorruptible or Divine means. Our efforts did not cause this precious State of Being, for our efforts fall far short of righteousness. The only thing we did was believe on Jesus - God did the rest, and continues to do the rest, for us.
Corinthian Proofs
If the Doctrine of Eternal Security is not true, and it is possible that a man may be saved - lost - and saved again, then this saved - lost - saved concept will certainly be reflected in the Word of God. Yet throughout the entire witness of the New Testament there is no record of any man who was ever saved - lost - and saved again. A good example is found in the Church of Corinth. The Apostle Paul recognized the Corinthians as carnal people:
1 Corinthians 3:1 "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."
How carnal were these Corinthians? Paul recognized these believers as puffed up with pride:
1 Corinthians 4:18 "Now some are puffed up, as though I would not come to you."
1 Corinthians 5:2 "And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you."
They were fornicators:
1 Corinthians 5:1 "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."
They were covetous, idolaters, revilers, drunkards, and extortioners:
1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."
If the saved - lost - saved concept ever applied to a group of believers, it certainly ought to apply to the Corinthians. Yet Paul called these nonfunctioning Christians brethren:
1 Corinthians 3:1 "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ."
And Sanctified by the Holy Spirit:
1 Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:"
As those who were baptized by the Holy Spirit:
1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."
And as believers indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."
1 Corinthians 6:16 "What? Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
Paul never recognized these believers as non-Christians, though their actions were a shame to the Family of God. In fact, nearly every New Testament epistle is written to believers who have fallen from fellowship and into sin ... yet, in every epistle, no suggestion is made that these believers have lost their salvation.
In conclusion, I must reiterate that I do not see this "saved - lost - saved" principle reflected in the Scripture. There are those who have, by faith, accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, and those who have not. Those who have accepted Christ as Savior are freed from the law of sin and death so they can serve Jesus, growing as they study God's precious Word daily. If we get out of line, we have a loving Father who will chasten us and bring us back into fellowship with Him.
So relax, believer. Relax in what Christ has bought for you. Relax, study, pray, be happy - you are in Holy Hands, and will remain there unto eternity. God Bless!
Pastor David
http://www.bibleteacher.org
Didaskalos Ministries