"A study of our Eternal Security through God’s Love, God’s Justice and God’s Power".
By: Jonathan Goley
Saved By Grace Ministry
The doctrine of eternal security is the belief that once you become saved you will always be saved
no matter what. Understanding and believing eternal security comes from a sound understanding of
how salvation is accomplished, who receives salvation, the promises that accompany salvation and
the power of God to sustain a saint’s standing despite their iniquities. In order to gain a greater
understanding of how we can be eternally secure in Christ Jesus we will in this study examine God’s
Love, God’s Justice and God’s Power. We will focus on one aspect for each of these headings. These
aspects are; the gospel of God for God’s Love, our human will for God’s Justice and the sealing of
the Holy Spirit for God’s Power. We will also look briefly at some popular arguments against
believing in eternal security and why those arguments are fallible. Let us first look at God’s Love
in the aspect of the gospel of God, which is His good news to humans. We will look at a few of the
many aspects of God’s good news, including the calling by the gospel, salvation by the gospel and
eternal life by the gospel. Let us first begin by taking a closer look at what the gospel of God is
and why it is good news to us today.
I. God’s Love Manifest by the Gospel of
God:
God’s love is manifest to us today by the gospel of God. The gospel of God is His good news to
mankind. His good news for us today is His Son, Jesus Christ, dying on the cross for our sins,
being buried, and risen again on the third day. This death, burial and resurrection is good news
because it is by this sacrifice of God that we have available to us today the opportunity to be
saved from eternal punishment for our sins. God set His Son forth to be the complete sacrifice
for our sins. God’s sacrifice of His Son is good news to us because it is by His sacrifice that we
have eternal life. When Christ rose and revived from the dead He was given a new glorified body
that would live eternal and glorified in Heaven. Through His life we too can have eternal life.
When we believe the truths of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection for our sins we are placed in
a status as children of God. As a child of God we are promised many wonderful blessings. God is
true to His word and His promises. As a child of God we are secure in those promises. As we look
into the truths about the gospel or good news of God please understand what is offered and
accomplished through His gospel; salvation, eternal life, and so much more. Understand that the
good news is just what it says it is – "GOOD NEWS"! Please understand how salvation comes to us as
a free gift of God and that we receive these blessings not because of anything we’ve done. We
believe and then we receive. Therefore, nothing anyone can do will separate us from the salvation
we have secured in Christ Jesus if we have believed in the gospel of God.
Many things are accomplished by the gospel of God, one of which is:
A.) By the gospel we are "called" unto salvation. What I mean by that is this; if not for
God calling us unto salvation, salvation would not be possible. In other words, if it were left up
to us we would never have any chance at escaping God’s wrath upon sin. In fact, if it were not for
the gospel of God we would never even call upon God to save us. Our natural state as humans is to
go apart from God. We do not seek Him. Actually, we do just the opposite of seeking God, we go away
from God. In Romans 3:11 and 12, God through Paul says regarding ALL HUMANS "There is none that
understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the
way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."
Therefore, we must realize that God through His Love reaches out an arm of long suffering to us and
offers to us salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. God calls us unto salvation. Not because of
anything good we do but because of His unabounding love. He manifests His glory to us by setting
forth His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, to be buried, and to be risen again on
the third day (I Corinthians 15:1-4). It is by Jesus Christ that God calls us unto salvation (I
Cor. 1:9) and He gives us that good news by His word. Romans 10:17 says "So then faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God’s word is His way of communicating His gospel to us
today. We must read the Bible or hear the gospel from someone who has read the Bible in order for
us to be called and in order for us to accept and believe it. One very important thing to know
about the calling of the gospel is that it is available to every human being on the face of the
earth. There is not a chosen few who will be saved while the rest are left to burn in eternal
wrath. Romans 3:22 says "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto
all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference". This verse is
clear that salvation is offered to all but is only given to those who believe in the gospel of
Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins, being buried and resurrected on the third day.
Once we believe the gospel of God we are saved. Despite our past sins and continual sins we are
justified in God’s eyes because Jesus paid our sin debt. Jesus was the complete and perfect
sacrifice for our sins. When He shed His blood on the cross our sins were no longer laid to our
account. When He arose from the dead life became possible to those who believe God’s good news.
Romans 1:16 says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Through
God’s gospel we are offered salvation.
As a result of believing the gospel and being saved we receive life and immortality.
B.) It is by the gospel of God that we are given eternal life. II Timothy 1:10 says "But is
now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel". After Christ died on the cross
for our sins He was buried in the tomb and arose from the dead on the third day following His
death. Forty days later He then ascended into Heaven to sit on the right hand of God the Father
where He lives and reigns eternally today. Acts 1:3 says "To whom also He (Jesus) shewed Himself
alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and
speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God". Acts 1:9 "And when He had spoken these
things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight." We must
give great attention to the fact that Christ LIVES today. Romans 14:9 says "For to this end Christ
both died, and arose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living".
There is a possibility for something to be risen and not be alive. Something can be physically
risen but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is alive. God wants us to have no doubt that Christ
is alive today. Thus His statement, "Christ both died, and rose, and revived". Not only was
He risen but He was REVIVED. He is alive never to experience death again. Romans 6:9 says, "Knowing
that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him."
He will live eternally! As Christ lives today those who have believed the gospel of God so too have
eternal life. Romans 6:5 says, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death,
we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection". Verse 8 "Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him". As Christ will never again experience
death so to we as believers will never experience spiritual death. We are dead unto sin and alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:11). Make no mistake about it, if we believe the
gospel of Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, we can count it to be so that as Christ
lives today eternally so do we live eternally. Colossians 3:3 says "For ye are dead, and your
life is hid with Christ in God". What a comforting verse that proves that a believer’s eternal
life is hidden or laid up in store in Christ. How much more secure and eternal can anything be than
to be hid in Christ?
II. God’s Justice is Reinforced through the
Institution of Human Volition:
As we continue our study on the doctrine of eternal security, we will next look at one aspect of
God’s justice. In order to more fully comprehend our responsibility to believe the gospel to
receive salvation we will examine the institution of man’s volition. Volition is basically the
power of choosing or determining.
A.) God created man in His own image. Genesis 1:2 says "And God said, ‘Let Us make man in
Our image, after Our likeness:’". There are many areas that we can discuss on this issue of man
being created after the image of God, but we will focus on the aspect of God giving to man the
ability to choose or what can also be called volition. Let us first establish the fact that God
Himself has volition.
B.) One of God’s many glorious characteristics is that He has a will. He has made
many choices and still makes choices today. He chose to create the heavens and the earth. He chose
to create mankind. He chose to reveal His will to us by His word. He chose to set forth His Son
Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins. He chose to make salvation available to all mankind
without distinctions and He chose to someday execute His wrath upon Satan and His followers, those
who reject Jesus Christ. Some scriptures that will support the fact that God has volition are
Romans 1:10 "Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by
the will of God to come unto you." Romans 2:18 "And knowest His will, and approvest the
things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law". (Other references: Romans 8:27;
Romans 9:19; Romans 12:2; Romans 15:32; I Corinthians 1:1; and many more!)
By establishing the fact that God created man in His own image and that God has a free will, we can
state with near certainty that
C.) God created man with volition. To come to an absolute conclusion of this statement we
can examine the scriptures. Genesis 2:19 says "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every
beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call
them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof." By looking at
this passage we can see that God appointed Adam to choose the names of the animals. God
didn’t tell Adam what to call them. He allowed Adam to choose. Notice the verse says, "to
see what he would call them." God didn’t "tell" Adam what to call the animals. The choice
was his. By looking at this one verse we can definitely say that man has volition.
The next point we would like to make regarding human volition is:
D.) Man’s will is not supreme over God’s will but God’s sense of justice will not allow Him to
force His will upon man. Doing this would violate man’s ability to choose thereby contradicting
God’s creation design of man that included the institution of volition. To support this statement
let us look at some examples from the scriptures. Our first example to show that God does not force
His will upon man without giving man the option of choosing: 1.) God’s will was for Adam and Eve
not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:17 God says, "But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." Now obviously from this verse we
see that God made a choice to command Adam and Eve to not eat of this tree. However, what
does Adam and Eve choose to do? Genesis 3:6 says, "And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and
he did eat." Here we see that Adam and Eve chose to break God’s commandment by eating of
the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In this situation man made a decision to act in
contradiction of God’s will. Another example to show that God does not force His will upon man is
this: 2.) God’s will is for all men to be saved. I Timothy 2:3, 4 says, "For this is good
and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to
come to the knowledge of the truth." God made a choice for all men to be saved. However, man has
to choose to accept salvation to actually receive it. We know that not all men choose to
believe the gospel. The scriptural records of the rich man and Lazarus will prove this. Luke 16:22,
23 say, "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment,
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom." Obviously from this scripture we see that
the rich man was not saved and Lazarus was saved. This was because of choices they had made in
their lives either to believe or not to believe the gospel of God. God’s will was for both of them,
Lazarus and the rich man, to be saved. However, the rich man chose not to receive salvation.
So we see from the above examples how that God does not force His will upon man. He allows man to
make decisions by his own volition.
E.) Man’s will isn’t supreme over God’s will. To see this we can look at the results of man
rejecting God’s will. In the case of Adam and Eve’s rejecting of God’s commandment to not eat of
the tree, God punishes them. Genesis 3:16, 17 say "Unto the woman He said ‘I will greatly
multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband and he shall rule over thee’. And unto Adam He said, ‘Because thou hast
hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee,
saying, ‘Thou shalt not eat of it:’ cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat
of it all the days of thy life.’" God punishes the rich man also; Luke 16:23, "And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom." Obviously we see from these scriptures that God punishes man when he chooses to disobey
God’s will. We see that man has the ability to choose and God has the ability to choose. We see
that when man’s decisions are in contradiction of God’s decision that there are consequences upon
the one that denies God’s will. God is not the one that suffers the consequences although He is
grieved, but man is the one that suffers the consequences that God administers.
We’ve come to the conclusion that man has the ability to make decisions and that when those
decisions are in conflict with God, man suffers consequences. This important lesson brings us to
our next point.
F.) Man must choose to accept salvation. As we mentioned earlier, God desires that all man
be saved. However, man must make a self-conscience decision to accept that salvation by believing
that Christ died on the cross for our sins was buried and risen again on the third day. Romans 3:22
says "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them
that believe: for there is no difference." Everyone has the opportunity to be saved. Notice again
from the verse the words "unto all" which indicates the proffering of righteousness to all or
everyone. The words "upon all them that believe" indicates that the righteousness of God is
actually imputed to all who "believe". By examining this verse we learn these two things:
1.) Since salvation is proffered to everyone but is only given to those that believe, it is only
logical to conclude that we have two choices: a.) To believe or b.) Not to believe. The choice
is ours to make. The second thing we learn from this verse is:
2.) All that is necessary for any individual to be saved is for them to believe. Nothing
else is required. We need not perform any ritual. We only need to believe that Christ died on the
cross for our sins was buried and risen again on the third day. Although no works are required for
salvation we must understand that each and every person has to personally choose to believe the
gospel of God in order to be saved.
Our final point regarding human volition is:
G.) Once a person makes a true decision to believe the gospel then they, at some point later in
their life, CAN NOT choose to not be saved. Once they’ve made the decision to believe they are
secure in their salvation. They cannot then choose to abandon their standing as a Christian. To
reinforce this statement let us look at II Timothy 2:11, 12, 13. Verse 11, "It is a faithful
saying: ‘For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him.’" When a person believes the
gospel they become identified with Christ’s death (Romans 6:3). Since we are identified with
Christ’s death we cannot become unidentified because we are sealed in our identification by the
Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Let’s continue with II Timothy 2:12, "If we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us". If we as believer suffer with Him we will
get to reign with Him. However, if we deny Him He will deny us reigning with Him (Romans 8:17, 18).
II Timothy 2:13, "If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself." Notice here
that Paul, the human writer of this verse says, "If we believe not". Paul is including
himself in this hypothetical situation. Paul is obviously saved and yet he says, "If we believe
not, yet He abideth faithful:". If Paul for some reason had stopped believing he would still be
saved because God would still be faithful and so Paul concludes the verse by telling why he would
still be saved. "He (God) cannot deny Himself." To better understand this let us be reminded that
once a person is saved they are placed and sealed by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ.
Ephesians 5:30, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones." Thus, Paul can
make the statement by the inspiration of God: "He (God) cannot deny Himself." God cannot deny the
Body of Christ, which are the believers in this age (dispensation) of grace. Therefore, we conclude
by the verses that once a person makes a self-conscience decision to believe the gospel of Jesus
Christ they become saved and they cannot choose to anytime thereafter to not be saved. God will
remain faithful to His children and will not deny Himself (the body of Christ). It is important to
point out the fact that the statement that God cannot deny Himself refers to not being able to deny
the Body of Christ, His children. He can and will deny those who have not been saved which are
those who have not believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
III. The Power of God is manifest to Believers through
the Sealing by the Holy Spirit:
Our next section of this study on eternal security will take a look at the power of God being
manifest to us, as believers, through the sealing of the Holy Spirit. When we hear the gospel of
our salvation and we believe that message then we are at that point sealed by the Holy Spirit into
the body of Christ. Ephesians 1:13 says – "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise,". What we want to notice in this verse is that upon believing the
gospel we are "sealed" into our salvation. This sealing takes place by the Holy Spirit, which is
the third member of the Godhead. God promises us that upon our belief in the gospel, He will seal
us into the Body of Christ.
In the Scriptures a seal signifies three things:
-
A Finished Transaction - In Jeremiah 32:9-10, the passage signifies the meaning of being sealed as
a finished transaction. Here Jeremiah buys the field of Hanameel with money as God has instructed
him to do. In verse ten the transaction is sealed, it is finished. (Other scripture references are
John 17:4 and 19:30)
-
Ownership – Jeremiah 32:11 and 12 explains of evidence of a completed purchase being taken to
Baruch. Later in verse 13, 14, and 15 Jeremiah tells Baruch to take the evidences of the purchase
and put then in an earthen vessel. Jeremiah has the right to do this because he has ownership of
the land.
II Timothy 2:19 says "the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth
them that are His." God has ownership of a believer. The Holy Spirit has sealed the
purchase.
-
Security – In Esther 8:8 King Ahasuerus says "Write ye also for the Jew, as it liketh you, in the
king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring: for the writing which is written in the king’s name,
and sealed with the king’s ring, may no man reverse." The verse teaches that the writing
that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s ring may no man reverse. The same
principle applies to the King of Kings. God has sealed believers of today into the Body of Christ
and now nothing can reverse that sealing. It is a secure seal. (Other references are Daniel 6:17
and Ephesians 4:30).
As we stated before, the sealing of the Holy Spirit takes place as a result of a person believing
the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit takes us and places us into one body the
Body of Christ. This is called the baptism by the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 12:13 says "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." Please notice hear that we are not baptized
into the Holy Spirit but rather the Holy Spirit is baptizing us into the Body of Christ (I Cor.
12:13, 27). Ephesians 4:4 says, "There is one body" which is the Body of Christ and which we are
placed into by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:5 says that there is "one baptism" and
the baptism by the Holy Spirit is this one baptism which is our seal of salvation. Please also
notice that this is not a water baptism since it is performed by the Holy Spirit. The word
"baptized" is often assumed to always be associated with water. However, we can conclude that this
is not a water baptism because it is the baptism of the Holy Spirit that seals our salvation. If we
are to believe that the baptism referred to in I Corinthians 12:13 is with water then we must also
believe that water baptism is necessary for salvation. However, we know that NO physical
works are required for salvation by reading Ephesians 2:8, and 9, "For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast."
So it is the baptism by the Holy Spirit that seals our salvation. We know this because it is
through our baptism into the Body of Christ that we receive identification with Christ’s death,
burial, and resurrection. Again, please remember that they Holy Spirit baptizes us upon our belief
in the gospel (Eph. 1:13). Romans 6:3 says, "so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were
baptized into His death?" (This is our identification with Christ’s death). Romans 6:4 says
"Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death" (identification with Christ’s
burial.). Verse 4 also says "that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the
Father even as we also should walk in newness of life." (Our identification with Christ’s
resurrection). Verse five says "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God". As a result of us being identified with Christ’s death, burial, and
resurrection then verse 22 says we are free from sin and we have "everlasting life". Verse 22 says
"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." Therefore, we can conclude that our sealing by
the Holy Spirit, which is a final, secure transaction, places us into the Body of Christ. As a
result of the baptism (identification) by the Holy Spirit we receive everlasting life. We can count
on that as being hidden in Christ and we will never be removed.
IV. Common Arguments Opposing Eternal Security:
Our final section on eternal security will look briefly at some common arguments that are used to
battle this doctrine. We will look at some scriptures that are used to support the opposition and
we’ll look at why those scriptures are used inappropriately when opposing eternal security.
Basically there are three arguments that are used against eternal security. There is the argument
based on the assumed effect of security teaching. There is also the argument based on observance of
others, and finally there is the scriptural argument.
A.) "Effect
Argument": The first argument
in opposition of eternal security that we are discussing is based on a belief that through teaching
a secure state of salvation there will be an effect upon the believer that results in a careless
manner of life. We will refer to this as the ‘Effect Argument’. It is feared by some that a
believer will become unafraid of the consequences of sin if they are taught that they will never
lose their salvation. Our first point of defense to this argument is:
1.) There are natural consequences to sin that are meant to deter believers from living a
careless life. However, the consequence is not a loss of their standing as a Christian. When a
believer sins they will suffer consequences here on earth and will also suffer loss at the
Judgement Seat of Christ. What better scriptures to illustrate this point than from Corinthians?
Paul writes to "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus" at Corinth (I Cor. 1:2). Which means that
the ones Paul is writing directly to are those who are saved. Paul’s purpose for writing to the
Corinthians was to rebuke them for their carnal behavior or their poor Christian conduct. In I
Corinthians 11 they were inappropriately observing the Lord’s Supper. Verse 21 says that they were
not waiting on one another, some eat out of hunger while others become drunk. In verse 30 we see
the natural consequences of their actions taking affect. After over eating to satisfy their bellies
and becoming drunk they become "weak and sickly". God has established a system of responses in our
bodies that reacts in a way that corresponds to our actions. For example if we were to get drunk or
overeat we may become sick or weak as the Corinthians did. Perhaps in our modern age when we become
intoxicated the consequences could be even worse than sickness. We may injure or kill ourselves or
someone else while driving intoxicated. Perhaps some of you may have experienced the results of
being intoxicated by alcohol or maybe you have been the victim. There are many other things that
can be done to our physical bodies that may trigger sufferings in our lives physically, mentally,
emotionally, or spiritually. I’m sure we can imagine the results such things as drug abuse,
fornication, drunkenness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, stealing, etc. These natural consequences
that we speak of can also be referred to as "sowing and reaping". Galatians 6:7, 8 say "Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that
soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of
the Spirit reap life everlasting."
God has established this system of response in order that we may be rebuked or chastened when we
sin. We must make ourselves perfectly clear here on one point before continuing. The chastisement
that we speak of here is not a super-natural response of God as judgement upon us but rather God
has pre-programmed in our lives a natural response or consequence for our actions, good or bad. It
is important that we understand that the sufferings that we experience today as members of the Body
of Christ are different than the sufferings of the world prior to the current dispensation of
Grace. In prior dispensations God placed super-natural judgements upon mankind as a result of their
iniquities. For example in 2 Kings 2:23, 24 as Elisha went up to Bethel little children mocked him
as they said "Go up, thou bald head". As punishment upon these children God sends two she bears out
of the woods to attack 42 children. This type of judgment or chastisement is considered to be
supernatural. However, today we suffer in our physical bodies as a natural (as opposed to
supernatural) result of our sins, as the Corinthians did.
The "Effect Argument" used against security teachings can also be opposed by the point that:
2.) Believers will also "suffer loss" at the Judgement seat of Christ for their sins. In I
Corinthians 3:12, 13 we are told that our works will be made manifest. Good works and bad works
will be rewarded accordingly. Verse 14 says "If any man’s" work abide which he hath built
thereupon, he shall receive a reward." 15 "If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer
loss." Notice now what Paul says "but he himself shall be saved". The fact is that as believers our
works will be rewarded accordingly. However, we will be saved. Other scriptures to support this
point are Romans 14:10 and II Corinthians 5:10.
These two points against the "Effect Argument" as we have reviewed; which were 1.) There are
natural consequences in our earthly bodies for the sins we commit. 2.) We will be rewarded
according to our works on earth at the Judgement seat of Christ. When we teach these true effects
of sin in a believer’s life then there is no need to teach a false doctrine that is designed to
place fear and insecurity in the hearts of the believers.
B.) "Experience Argument": The second argument opposing
eternal security doctrine is the one that proposes that one can observe a believer becoming unsaved
by the way they live their lives. We’ll refer to this as the "Experience Argument". This argument
states that there are those who once lived as Christians but are no longer living appropriately for
a believer. Some call this "backsliding", or "falling away". Therefore, they assume that they can
no longer be saved.
The first problem with this argument is:
1.) "How do we know who (other than ourselves) is actually saved and who is not?" We can
rest in our own salvation but we cannot know for sure who else is saved because it is only God who
knows who are His (II Timothy 2:19). Therefore, if we do not know who is saved, then how can we
judge who has lost their salvation? Viewing a person’s lifestyle is not an accurate and reliable
way of determining one’s spiritual condition. It would be quite judgmental and presumptuous of us
to come to a conclusion based merely on outward performance, especially since it is not our outward
performance that saves us.
The second problem with the "Experience Argument" is:
2.) It is possible for someone to be saved and to be living a sinful lifestyle. We have
already given attention to the fact that the Corinthians that Paul wrote to were saved but yet many
were living a sinful life. It is possible for someone who has "backslidden" to still be saved and
it is most definitely possible for that saved person to return to a life of serving God. If it were
not possible then God would not have given us the scriptures to be a tool of correction as Paul
tells us it is in II Timothy 3:16. A person of God does not become perfect the minute he or she is
saved. There is a constant struggle throughout a believer’s life between the flesh and the spirit
(Gal. 5:17). Why? Because we live in sinful flesh. However, we are to strive to become a faithful
servant of God. We are to battle the temptations of the flesh. We know that this is a battle we can
win because we know that God will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to
overcome (I Cor. 10:13).
One example that is often used from the scriptures to support the "Experience Argument" is the
records of Judas Iscariot. It may be stated that since Judas was chosen as an Apostle he must have
been saved and then when he betrayed Jesus he lost his salvation. However, we can review the
scriptures to see that Judas was never saved and Jesus knew that when He chose him. John 6:54 says
"but there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were
that believed not, and who should betray Him." Verse 70, 71 say "Jesus answered them, Have not
I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of
Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being on of the twelve." So we see here that Christ
knew from the beginning that Judas was not a believer and that he would betray Jesus. So why did
Jesus choose Judas anyway? Perhaps it was to fulfill God’s plan of crucifixion. There could be no
doubt that God did not force Judas to make the decisions he would make. However, God did know the
choices that Judas would make. Remember that God is omniscient and it is possible that He used His
foreknowledge to His advantage in order to defeat Satan at the cross. Our point is this; as the
scriptures record, Judas was never saved therefore he could not have lost his salvation.
C.) "Scriptural
Argument:
The final argument that opposes eternal Security that we will discuss is the one that uses
scriptures. We will of course call this the "Scriptural Argument". There are a number of scriptures
that are often used in this argument. We will classify them under six headings. We will list the
headings and some scripture that fall under each one. We will not take the time to discuss each one
in detail. However, this may be helpful for you to study the matter further.
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Scriptures that apply to Some Other Dispensation: Dispensations other than the one we are
currently living in have different guidelines that God has instructed for mankind. For example: in
the dispensation just prior to the current one, God’s instructions were for believers to forgive
so that they could be forgiven (Luke 6:37, Matthew 6:12, 14, 15). This conflicts with what God
teaches the believers of today, that we are to forgive because we have been forgiven
(Ephesians 4:32). There is obviously a difference in dispensations. Therefore one shouldn’t take
instructions of other dispensations and attempt to apply them to our lives today. Some scriptures
that are dispensationally misapplied to disprove eternal security are Ezekial 33:13, Matthew 24:13,
and Hebrews 6:4 – 6.
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Scriptures that apply to rewards and not to salvation are I Corinthians 3:11 – 15; 9:24 –
27; 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10; Colossians 3:24, 25.
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Scriptures that are a warning to believers of things they may lose are Colossians 2:4, 8,
18.
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Scriptures that warn unbelievers are Romans 11:21.
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Scriptures that prove Christian profession by fruit-bearing: Once a person becomes saved, if
they are true believers that have not a vain belief then there will surely be some positive result
of their conversion to Christianity. These scriptures describe this concept: John 8:31; 15:6, 7; I
Corinthians 15:1, 2; Colossians 1:23; James 2:14 – 26; II Peter 1:10.
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Another passage commonly used that merits some additional explanation is: Galatians 5:4;
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen
from grace." In this passage it is important to be aware that the Galatians were turning to
teaching the law for salvation as opposed to being saved by grace. Of course if you are living in
the dispensation of grace and are teaching salvation by the law then you are teaching a false
doctrine. You have fallen from grace or from "grace doctrine". These are two things that this verse
teaches: 1.) If you are unsaved and you are trying to rely on your own works rather than the grace
of God for your salvation, then you have no hope of being saved. You have fallen from grace. 2.) If
you are a saved person you were saved by the grace of God. If you then begin to teach the law for
salvation then you have fallen away from the grace doctrine. This does not mean that you’ve lost
your salvation. It does mean that you are teaching false doctrine that is contrary to the grace
doctrine that we should learn and teach today. Romans 11:6 teaches that grace and works cannot
coexist for salvation.
This concludes our study on Eternal Security. We have seen that we can be assured of our eternal
life being secured because God wants us to be secure in that. He wants us to be at peace with Him
during this Dispensation of Grace. To demonstrate the way in which God approaches mankind today,
Paul the Apostle to the Body of Christ opens each of his epistles by saying something similar to
this; "Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7). God
loved us enough to offer us salvation by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ lives today and
so do you if you have believed the gospel of your salvation. If you have then you are sealed
forever into the Body of Christ. Have no doubt about that, believe it, and count it to be so. As
you believe this truth and become more aware of your Heavenly position then you will begin to grow
into a throughly furnished believer prepared for all good works.
Questions?
Jon Goley: jgoley@net-power.net
