I grew up as a member of the United Methodist Church and still remain a
member of that denomination today. However I also believe in the doctrine of
eternal and secure salvation. I believe that once one has saving faith, no
one nor nothing can take us from God's loving hands. On the other hand, I do
believe God's loving hands remain open allowing us the choice of walking
away from His saving grace if we so choose. But frankly, I believe that if
one truly has saving faith, they WON'T walk away. So with that in mind, I
believe in the secure salvation of the believe but I also believe that the
faith of the believer has to be sincere and ongoing. The doctrine of secure
salvation is one that is controversial within Christian denominations and
Christians have differing views on it. However it is a doctrine that
Christians can differ upon and not be divided. In other words, one Christian
may believe in absolute secure salvation while another Christian may believe
salvation may be lost yet they remain Christian brethren. The following
article is in support of the doctrine of secure salvation and I offer it "as
is" to you for edification and enlightenment. To be fair and balanced
(apologies to Fox News) I am also posting an article that is not in support
of the doctrine of secure salvation. Both make good points and have
information worthy of consideration.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOSE ?
by Richard W. De Haan
Can we lose our salvation? Can the belief of "once saved always
saved" be biblically supported? Or is it merely an easy out for
those who want the benefits of eternal life without having to
give up the temporary pleasures of sin? If salvation can't be
lost or forfeited once it has been freely given by God, is there
anything a disobedient Christian can lose?
These are important questions when we realize that the Bible
offers many serious warnings about the danger of taking salvation
for granted. We offer this booklet to you with the prayer that it
will do for you what the message of Scripture should always do --
provide comfort to those who are secure without giving false
assurance to those who are not.
A License To Sin ?
Ben glared at his wife in disbelief. His full beard couldn't hide
the quivering lip. "How could you be so gullible?" he said. "I
can't believe you'd fall for this. That friend of yours is
poison." Ben moved closer. "You're playing the fool, Lucy. What
you're talking about is nothing more than a license to sin. You
know I'm right. You know the truth as well as I do. If a man
turns away from the truth, he's worse off than if he had never
heard it in the first place. The idea of 'once saved always
saved' is a lie."
Lucy cringed under the weight of his convictions. She loved Ben,
but he scared her when he got like this. She had never learned to
handle his anger. It always made her feel so small and
inadequate.
Maybe she had fallen for a lie. She began to fear the worst.
Maybe she had fallen from the grace she wanted so much to believe
in. Maybe Ben's anger was nothing more than a mirror of God
Himself -- a God who no longer saw her as being worthy of eternal
life.
Yet, it had all sounded right. Ever since a friend at work
started talking to her about a salvation that could never be
lost, she had actually begun looking forward to going to work.
She enjoyed those lunch hours where she had first heard the idea
of eternal security. Then when she started attending the Thursday
night Bible study, things seemed to fall into place. She had
begun to think that the Bible really does promise a kind of
special protection that would allow a Christian to live without
fear of eternal punishment.
But now she was confused. She wondered what was happening to her.
Why did she feel so empty? She knew she was tired. All three
children had been sick. It had been a long week at work. She knew
she was physically and emotionally drained.
Fears and memories blurred together. She had heard so many
stories about people who had started well in the faith, only to
end up going back to their old ways when the going got rough. She
had heard sermons warning that salvation was only for those who
endured to the end. (Matt. 24:13).
Maybe Ben was right. She could see how the idea of 'once saved
always saved' might be an easy out for those who wanted the
advantages of Christ without having to give up the pleasures of
sin. She could see how it might let a person think he could play
games with God and win. She knew the Bible said that God could
not be mocked and that we would reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7).
But she also remembered those words of Jesus that her friend had
repeated over and over:
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither
shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given
them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch
them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one
(John 10:28-30).
Can You Lose Your Salvation ?
The issue Ben and his wife were arguing about may be described in
a number of ways. Some refer to it as the doctrine of eternal
security. Some call it the perseverance of the saints. Some just
refer to it as 'once saved always saved'.
It's a real issue. What if a Christian falls into serious sin?
What if a good start in Christ ends badly? What would it take for
God to disassociate Himself from a believer? The Scriptures do
warn about the dangers of falling away from Christ.
It's an emotional issue. Because of changing emotions, few
Christians feel saved all of the time. Feelings change like the
weather -- only more often. Therefore, those who depend on how
they feel about their eternal destiny will find themselves
hounded by recurring feelings that say, "I had it. I lost it. How
can I find it again?"
It's a specific issue. We're not talking about the assurance of
salvation. Certainly anyone who is wrestling with security may
also be wrestling with assurance. But in these pages we will be
dealing specifically with the question of whether or not a person
who has received salvation can forfeit that wonderful treasure.
It's a strategic issue. Those who say you can lose your salvation
believe that a holy uncertainty is an important incentive to
right living. Others believe that only when we are secure in our
relationship with God can we live the kind of grateful existence
the Scriptures call for.
The Case for a Permanent Security
This booklet will present the case for a salvation that cannot be
lost. We will see that when God saves a person, He permanently
breaks the grip of sin and death. Once and for all He gives us an
irrevocable relationship with a Savior who promises to protect us
by His own power, all the way home. On the human side, this gift
is marked at the very least by:
* Conviction of sin (Luke 18:9-14).
* Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 John 5:1).
* A sense of correction for sin (Heb. 12:3-8).
When salvation is real, it should also result in overflowing
gratitude and enthusiastic obedience. It should be marked by:
* Radical commitment to Christ (Luke 14:25-33).
* Loving relationships (John 15:9-17).
However, the New Testament shows that Christians may slip into
behavior that seems to deny their claim of knowing Christ.
Because of this, the Scriptures contain many severe warnings.
Some caution professing believers to make sure that their faith
is. Others sound the alarm that, although disobedient Christians
cannot lose their salvation, there is still much to lose:
* Conscious fellowship with God.
* The approval of God.
* Influence for God.
* Love, joy, peace, patience, self-control
* Reward
* Everything else that makes life meaningful.
Yet, in spite of the possibility of major losses for the sinning
Christian, the Bible makes it clear that God will, by His own
power, preserve their faith and security. True Christians have a
personal, God- given faith in Christ that will endure to the end
(Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 1:12). They may not be acting on that faith
the way they should, but it is still there.
When that is not the case -- when a person repeatedly renounces
Christ and appeals to some other basis for salvation -- we must
assume that such an individual was never saved in the first
place. Of those who ultimately turn against Christ, the apostle
John wrote:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had
been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out
that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us
.... Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? (1
John 2:19,22).
In His Sermon on the Mount, our Lord issued a solemn warning to
people who mistakenly presumed upon their eternal security. He
said:
Many will say to Me that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders
in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matt.
7:22,23).
Notice that the Lord said, "I never knew you." These were not
people who lost something they earlier possessed. They never had
it. Time merely proved their insincerity of heart.
The Basis for Security.
According to the New Testament, there is only one basis upon
which anyone can qualify for external refuge from the judgment of
God's law. That one hope is summed up in two very simple words:
in Christ. As long as I believe and trust in Christ, God sees me
as being "in Him." And as long as I am hiding "in Christ", I have
a protection that begins and ends with God. Of this wonderful
plan the apostle Paul wrote:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has
blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of
the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in
love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ
to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us
accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His
grace (Eph. 1:3-7).
In light of this passage, could I be "in Christ" today but lose
that protection at some point in the future? Could my faith or
lack of faith determine whether I am presently "in" or "out" of
Christ?
The way we answer those questions may tell a lot about whether we
have understood the wonderful salvation promises to those in
Christ. Unfortunately, many who consider themselves Christians
have no clear idea of what it means to be in Christ, once and for
all, now and forever.
The New Testament doesn't call us to uncertainty. It calls us to
believe in Christ, and on that basis to assume a new identity, a
new nature, a new power, a new Lord, a new Father, a new family,
a new destiny. It calls us to experience the truth that Paul
wrote about in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new".
The Past In Christ: Salvation Accomplished. What if I told you
that I knew my future was secure because I have already paid for
all of my sins by being executed on a Roman cross? What if I told
you I was buried and then raised from the dead to enjoy immunity
from the eternal punishment of God? According to
Romans 6, I have been:
* co-crucified in Christ (v. 3)
* co-buried in Christ (v. 4)
* co-resurrected in Christ (vv. 4,5)
* freed from sin in Christ (vv. 6,7)
This is the Christian's basis for security. In Christ, I have
already paid for my crimes against God. That's history. It's
past. It's done. Paul said it so clearly. In Christ, I died to
sin. In Christ, I am alive forever. My past in Him frees me from
the terrible, eternal death penalty of sin!
But how do we know we're not just reading into Paul's words the
kind of safety and security we want to believe in? We know
because in Romans 6 Paul dealt with an objection that wouldn't
make sense if he hadn't been teaching something that some would
interpret as a license to sin:
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any
longer in it? ...Therefore we were buried with Him...that Just as
Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:1,2,4).
Knowing this objection would be slow to die, Paul went on to
write:
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you
obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?
But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you
obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were
delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves
of righteousness (Rom. 6:15-18).
It is only when we realize that our salvation depends on our
confidence in what Christ has done rather than on what we will
do, that we truly have reason to live a life of grateful praise.
The Present in Christ: Salvation Protected. This is the current
dimension of a security that doesn't depend on what we do, but on
what Christ has done for us.
It reminds us that our Savior has not only paid the price for our
salvation, but He has also promised to intercede for us in the
present on the basis of what He did for us in the past. That's
important because no matter how much we despise the idea of
looking at security as a license to sin, we don't live up to our
new potential and privilege in Christ.
When we are so overcome by our guilt that we seriously wonder if
we have lost our position in Christ, then we need to take comfort
in the fact that in Christ we have the ultimate Advocate and
Intercessor. We need to read over and over the reassuring words
of the apostle John, who wrote:
My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not
sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world
(1 John 2:1,2).
This deals with Christ's protection of our salvation in the
present. It says that when we find ourselves slugging it out with
the consequences and emotions of our foolishness, then we need to
realize that being in Christ we have the ultimate defense.
You may not even know that you have a Lawyer. But you do if you
are in Christ.
He's been retained by God for the very purpose of handling your
daily sins. Trust Him. There is no better. He's never lost a case
-- and He never will.
Some have speculated that his Public Defender has never actually
had to argue a case. They believe He merely holds up His hands
whenever an accuser mentions the names of anyone He's agreed to
defend. There's something about those hands that always wins.
How could you possible lose your salvation when you are in Jesus
Christ. He Himself is your:
* Advocate
* Intercessor
* Payment for sin
* Righteousness before God and man
We can agree with Paul, who wrote, "If God is for us, who can be
against us?" (Rom. 8:31).
The Future in Christ: Salvation Completed. This raises another
issue. What about that day in the future when we all stand before
the Judge in the final day of accountability? Is it possible that
at that critical point we might lose everything?
We've all heard it said that when it comes to our day in court,
so much depends on the judge we get. Many criminals have trembled
at the thought of getting a tough judge. Some magistrates have a
heart. Some are even known for being lenient. Others are known
for throwing the book at those they don't like. Some have a
reputation for always giving the maximum sentence allowed.
Is it possible that we could get a judge who shows no mercy? Is
it possible that we could get a judge who would not recognize the
spiritual argument that had kept us alive up to that point? What
if the judge says, "No way. You're not getting off the hook just
because someone loves you. You are a sinner. You are going to pay
for your crimes, every one of them, until you have completely
fulfilled your obligation to the righteous law of God. Away with
you. Depart into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his
angels."
It's an awful thought. But it will never be a reality for those
who are in Christ. We already know who is going to be hearing our
case. Our Judge will be the same one who has been defending us
all of these years on the basis of His death on our behalf.
God has already announced that He has given authority to His Son
to judge the earth (John 5:24-30). It is at the judgment seat of
Christ where we who are in Christ must one day appear (Rom.
14:1-12; 2 Cor. 5:10). And it is that same announced Judge who
has already assured all who are in Him, "Most assuredly, I say to
you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has
everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has
passed from death into life" (John 5:24).
If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal
Savior, count on those words. They are God's promise to you. You
don't ever have to worry about losing your salvation, because in
Him you have:
* A Savior who died for all your sins
* The best defense possible
* A Judge who loves you
* A preannounced verdict
In that light, then, can you see that those who are in Christ
really do have a security based not on their own record but on
His? They are accepted not on the merits of their own name, but
on His. Can you see how those who are in Him have a permanent
file that has been purged? They have an Attorney who has never
lost a case, a Judge who loves them, and a preannounced verdict
on all charges that might put their eternal salvation in jeopardy
-- all because they are in Christ!
THE PLAN FOR SECURITY
From time to time you may run into someone who teaches that
Christians do have absolute security in Christ -- but only as
long as they live and walk in Him. Such a person might suggest
that the promises of eternal security are always conditional --
they always depend on whether or not we remain faithful to
Christ. For instance, once-saved-always-saved people like to
point out that Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus". But the
conditional security people are quick to respond that the entire
verse actually says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to
those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit".
Paul was not implying, however, that a Christian is secure only
as long as he behaves in a manner consistent with the Spirit. His
statements that follow show that when he referred to those who
"walk in the Spirit", he was talking about those who, because
they are in Christ, live in the realm of the Spirit (8:9). Even
more significantly, he went on in the same chapter to describe a
plan that clearly shows that Christian security is not something
that depends on human performance.
Paul wrote about this comprehensive plan in the following
passage:
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the
image of His Son, that He might be firstborn among many brethren.
Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He
called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He
also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is
for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:29-31).
The Past Roots of God's Plan. Paul made it clear that being in
Christ isn't an "on again, off again", "maybe I'll make it, maybe
I won't" kind of faith. It's important to realize that in
eternity past everyone in Christ has been:
* Foreknown (Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2).
* Predestined (Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:5).
* Chose (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:2).
God selected us in eternity past to be the objects of His love
and grace. Even though He could see all of our sin and rebellion,
He still chose us in Christ. His sovereign decision was
completely apart from any human merit.
This foreknowledge of God is important to us. Because of sin, you
and I are damaged merchandise. But the One who bought us knew all
about that. He knew exactly what He was getting. No surprises for
Him. He wants us to know that He chose us long before we ever
thought of Him.
Furthermore, He predecided the outcome. While working with our
will in a way that is beyond our ability to understand, He
predetermined that we would ultimately be conformed to the image
and character of His Son.
We may have questions and doubts about whether we are going to
make it all the way to the kingdom of God. But the Lord has
already worked that out for our wonderful and eternal benefit. If
we trust Christ who died for our sins and rose from the dead on
our behalf, and if we accept His gracious gift of eternal life,
then we can be sure that He first chose us.
The Present Outworking of God's Plan. The Lord has done more than
just think about us in the corridors of eternity past. At the
right time, and in our 20th-century lifetime, He came calling for
us.
This is important. He wants us to know that we have to go up on
mountaintops and bang on pans to get His attention. We don't have
to write long applications and submit resumes to His office of
admissions. He knew us. He chose us in Christ. He predetermined
the outcome in eternity past, and then just a few days or months
or years ago He called us -- His 20th century children -- to
Himself.
At this point I would encourage you to read and reread Romans
8:28-32 and as much of the surrounding context as you can. Even
though other Scriptures make it clear that our part is to respond
in faith to His call, this description of God's plan doesn't
mention the human side. It doesn't say anything about His waiting
to see whether we would receive Christ and then hang on by faith
until the end. On the contrary, this portion of God's Word shows
the Lord taking divine initiatives to assure His mission's
success. It shows us that salvation is of the Lord.
Paul didn't say that the Lord called and then waited to see who
would respond. He said, "Moreover whom He predestined, these He
also called; whom He called, these He also justified" (8:30).
It's hard to overemphasize the point of Paul's teaching here.
While in other parts of this same letter he emphasized the human
responsibility of personal choices and faith in Christ, here he
showed what God has done to assure the final outcome.
God justifies those He calls to Christ. In legal terms, that
means He declares righteous those who believe in His Son. On the
basis of His Son's death, God acquits those who come to Him for
mercy. Exercising His prerogative as the presiding Judge of the
universe, God says that we are not to be charged with eternal
punishment for our sin.
If you wonder whether that's what Paul really had in mind in
Romans 8, read verses 33 and 34: "Who shall bring a charge
against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who
condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession
for us".
The point here is that, from the world's perspective, there might
be many things that could be said against us. Because of our
spiritual immaturity, we often sin. There is much dirt that could
be thrown at us, but God responds in our defense. To our accusers
He declares something like, "Who do you think you are to accuse
someone whom I have declared righteous. I'm the One who is
passing the judgment around here. And My Son is the One who had
paid the price that enables Me to do so. The one you have accused
of sin is one that I have prechosen and justified for Myself".
The Future Assurance of God's Plan. Romans 8 doesn't leave us
wondering if we need to be justified following each new scrape
with God's law. This passage, along with the previous chapters,
shows that God has designed a rescue that changes our
relationship to the law once and for all. We are given a new
status that covers our future as well as our past. In this light,
Paul said, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are
not under law but under grace" (6:14).
What words! Not under law, but under grace. This is the ultimate
kind of immunity and perpetual pardon. It is a kind of protection
that allows God to announce the final outcome of our salvation as
if it were already accomplished.
So Paul could write, "Whom He justified, these He also glorified"
(8:30). We usually thing of glorification as something that will
occur at some point in eternity future. In the mind of God,
however, it has already occurred.
But someone may reply, "How do we know that God has not merely
predetermined the eternal outcome of those He knows will remain
true to the end? How do we know that He is not merely exercising
His ability to see what we have not yet seen?"
We know that such a view would violate everything we have seen up
to this point. God has arranged a salvation that rests on the
death of Christ for us, on His life in us, on His defense of us,
and on His ongoing intervention and intercession on our behalf.
Read verses 31 to 34 over and over. See and feel deep in your
heart how fully and finally the issue of sin has been settled by
the death of Christ once and for all. The read verses 35 to 39
again and again. See if you still have questions about whether or
not the plan of God assures the safety of the Christian into the
future.
How could Paul be any clearer about the future outcome? After
reflecting on the very real life-threatening possibilities that
all of us must live with, he declared:
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him
who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor
angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor
things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:37-39).
That's the future of everyone in Christ. Because He has
unilaterally resolved the sin question once and for all, there is
nothing in the future that can keep the foreknown, predestined,
called, justified, and glorified child of God from getting to the
place God has prepared for him. That's why our Lord could say to
the woman at the well:
Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever
drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But
the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of
water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:13,14).
THE PROCESS OF SECURITY
It's one thing to talk about God's part in our salvation; it's
another to talk about man's part. What about the human realities
of moral and spiritual failure, fallout, and even defection? More
than one person has started well and ended up badly. From a human
point of view, it often looks as though such a person has lost
his salvation. Even the apostle Paul seemed at a loss to explain
what it meant when someone strayed from the faith. Yet his
response is a model for our own. He wrote, "Nevertheless the
solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows
those who are His', and, 'Let everyone who names the name of
Christ depart from iniquity'" (2 Tim. 2:19). The apostle had to
admit that there are many things about who is saved and who
is not saved that only God knows.
This reminds us that we cannot always tell who is and who is not
a child of God. This might be hard for us to accept. It is easier
if we are able to assume that Christians are those who live like
Christians, and non- Christians are those who don't. But
appearances can be deceiving. This is because in many ways
salvation is a process that was made sure in the past, is
changing us in the present, and will be completed in the future.
The Past Tense of the Salvation Process. In Romans 5, Paul
declared:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access
by faith into this grace in which we stand... having now been
justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him
(vv. 1,2,9).
Here we are reminded that someone in Christ should think of
himself not as one trying to be saved or hoping to be saved, but
as one who has already been saved. This is exactly what the
apostle said in his letter to the Ephesian:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in
which you once walked according to the course of this world...But
God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).... For by
grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast (2:1,2,4,5,8,9).
Many people in the church don't have such assurance of having
been saved from the eternal penalty of their sins. But such a
view is foundational to the New Testament.
The Present Tense of the Salvation Process. This is where the
great drama of salvation is so often stalled. Without losing
their security and their immunity from prosecution, Christians
can easily lose their battles over sin. Although in Christ they
have already won the war, there are many battles that can still
be lost. Sin can get us down and rob us of our faith, hope, joy,
and love in Christ. Poor choices can temporarily enslave us to
the very sins from which we have already been delivered. Such
failures can sometimes cause a child of God, for a while at
least, to be indistinguishable from a child of Satan.
For this reason Paul pleaded:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set
your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you
died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who
is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in
glory. Therefore put to death your members which are on the
earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and
covetousness, which is idolatry. ...But now you must also put off
all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out
of your mouth (Col. 3:1-5,8).
Paul's appeal is for Christians to live in a manner that is
consistent with who they are in Christ. In other words, have you
been saved from the eternal consequences of your sin? Then live
like it! Live like someone who is headed for heaven. Don't be
overcome by the power of sin!
Obviously, Paul was at the same time admitting that someone who
was in Christ could still fall into all of the sins he listed.
Otherwise his words would make no sense. He was saying that
someone who has been saved and whose life is hidden with Christ
in God may still have to be urged to turn away from his sin.
But what if he doesn't respond? What if he dies without returning
to the Lord?
Does he lose his salvation? Not if he was truly saved. Not if
what we have seen up to this point is correct. What can happen,
however, is that the Christian can lose many temporary and even
future benefits. A disobedient child of God can lose:
* Irreplaceable time
* Opportunities for doing good
* Peace of mind
* Joy of heart
* Self-control
* Confidence
* Usefulness to God
* Reputation
* Health
* Relationships
* Physical life
* The approval of God
* Eternal rewards
Even though these might be called peripherals, in that they do
not jeopardize the eternal well-being of our soul, it is obvious
that they are not incidentals. The Lord loves us too much to let
us live without fatherly correction even when we allow ourselves
to be overcome by the power of sin (Heb. 12:1-11). He might even
take us home prematurely as He did some of the disobedient
Christians in Corinth (1 Cor. 11:29-32). Even though our eternal
destiny is not as risk, it can be "a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31).
The Future Tense of the Salvation Process. The day is coming when
the process will be complete. We won't always be struggling with
sin.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we
should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not
know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are
children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall
be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him,
for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in
Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:1-3).
Throughout John's first letter, he emphatically stated that
unless there is a basic change of direction and life, there will
be no evidence or assurance that we really have been saved. But
we must not expect to be saved from the presence of sin and its
struggle until the day we see Christ face to face. That's when
our salvation will be complete.
SOME SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Should we just assume that all those who claim to be Christians
are saved, no matter how they are living? No, the burden of proof
is on the person who claims to be a new creation in Christ.
Anyone who says he knows Christ as Savior should prove it by
living a life that supports his claim. Paul said of such persons,
"The Lord knows those who are His," and "Let everyone who names
the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Tim. 2:19).
The apostle John indicated that some who depart from the faith
reveal that they were never really saved in the first place. He
wrote, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if
they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they
went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were
of us" (1 John 2:19). Given such possibilities, all we can do is
conclude that a person either is or is not giving evidence of
having eternal life. God alone is his Judge.
If salvation cannot be lost, then why do so many of the promise
passages have conditions attached to them? The Word of God
attaches human conditions such as faith, love, or doing the will
of God, not to imply that salvation is dependent on human
performance but to distinguish those who are saved from those who
are not. If the Bible did not attach conditions to salvation and
security, it would seem to teach that all men everywhere are
saved. Faith, love, and obedience to God give evidence of the
saving life and presence of Christ. "By this we know that we are
in Him" (1 John 2:5).
If salvation cannot be lost, why does the Bible warn about the
possibility of falling away? Some of these warnings are directed
to people who do not really possess what they profess. For
instance, Hebrews 10:26- 31 warns that if someone deliberately
abandons the faith in Christ he once professed, he will find
nothing else, no other sacrifice that is able to save him. While
such a person had been associated with the "set-apart community",
he was never a true believer. The writer of Hebrews affirmed this
when he went on to write of true believers who had shown real
evidence of faith, "But we are not of those who draw back to
perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul"
(Heb 10:39).
Hebrews 6:1-9 is another warning passage often referred to by
those who believe you can lose your salvation. It too speaks of
those who fall away after they "have tasted the heavenly gift".
It too speaks of the dangers of falling under the fiery judgment
of God. But what does it mean? It has been explained in a number
of ways. Some think the passage is again referring to people who
finally reject a salvation they professed but never possessed.
Others interpret it as a warning to believers who might be
inclined to think that a person who falls into sin needs to be
saved again. Still others believe it refers to the kind of severe
loss that a sinning Christian can incur. Whatever the right
interpretation, the inspired author made it clear that he was
warning about things he didn't expect to happen to the believers
he was writing to. In verse 9 he said, "But, beloved, we are
confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that
accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner" (Heb. 6:9).
What does the Bible mean when it says that only those who endure
to the end will be saved? Those who are fully saved are those who
will endure. Others may stick around for a while, but endurance
is a sign that God's presence and power is at work in a person's
life. For this reason, Paul could say to the Philippians that he
was "confident...that He who has begun a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (1:6).
In Matthew 24:13 there is a specific reference to the problem of
enduring spiritual decadence and persecution in the tribulation
period. But the principle still stands that those who endure give
proof of the Lord's saving work in them.
Why does the Bible say that we are to work hard to get into
heaven? Such a question may reflect a number of passages, each of
which has a slightly different slant. For instance, 2 Peter
1:10,11 says, "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make
your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you
will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ."
This passage indicates that as we work hard in our Christian walk
our salvation becomes more sure, certain, and beyond all doubt.
The whole chapter is speaking of the need to have a fruitful and
productive knowledge of Christ, not of the possibility of losing
one's salvation. This will lead to an abundant, rewarded entrance
into the kingdom of God. Peter was speaking to people who are
inclined to lose sight of the forgiveness they have already
received (1:9). What did Paul mean when he referred to falling
from grace? Paul wrote, "You have become estranged from Christ,
you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from
grace" (Gal. 5:4). This is threatening, but it doesn't refer to a
loss of salvation already received. There are at least two
possibilities. It could refer to the Judaizers, who believed that
salvation came ultimately through keeping the law. If such
persons turned away from Christ, whom they had never really
learned to depend on, they would be turning away from their only
hope of salvation.
Another possibility takes into account what Paul described in
Galatians 3. There the apostle talked about Jewish Christians who
accepted the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved, but made the
mistake of thinking they could go on to maturity by keeping the
law. Paul made it clear that they needed to trust the same Spirit
of Christ for perfection and maturity as they did for salvation .
If they didn't, they would fall from the principle of grace. They
would not lose their salvation, but they would lose the
undeserved power and enablement of God, which first leads to
salvation, then to true Christian experience.
Doesn't 1 Peter 1:4,5 say that we are kept by our faith? That is
only partially true. This passage is actually saying that we are
kept by a faith that is in turn kept by the power of God.
Specifically, Peter wrote of a salvation "that does not fade
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of
God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time". Peter knew this faith-preserving power firsthand. Prior to
his denial of Christ, the Lord told Peter that Satan had asked to
test him. But He had interceded for Peter and prayed that his
faith would not fall (Luke 22:31-34). This is a beautiful picture
of the human and divine sides of salvation. Peter's faith was the
means of trust and relationship, and it was protected by God's
sovereign grace and Christ's intercession.
Didn't the apostle Paul himself show signs of uncertainty in 1
Corinthians 9:27 and Philippians 3:12-14? No. In the first
passage, Paul was not concerned about losing his salvation, but
about losing his usefulness as a servant of Christ. In
Philippians 3:12-14, Paul expressed his deep desire to experience
more and more of Jesus Christ. He was not longing to be saved but
to grow in the righteousness and maturity of Christ.
Didn't Peter imply that some who fall away from the faith would
have been better off if they had never been saved in the first
place? Peter was speaking of false teachers when he wrote the
following:
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 in them and overcome, the latter end is worse
for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having
known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: 'A dog
returns to his own vomit', and 'a sow, having washed, to her
wallowing in the mire'" (2 Pet. 2:20-22).
The illustration at the end of this passage shows us that Peter
was not implying a loss of salvation. Since the dog was still a
dog, and the pig was still a pig, they both went back to their
own natural ways. Both returned because neight had experienced an
essential change of nature. At best, both had merely been
cleaned, combed, pampered, and flattered.
This is the best explanation for those who appear to have
completely lost any faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But if the
truth were known, they never had it. They may have enjoyed many
of the benefits of the truth and people of God for a while, but
it had never resulted in a real change of heart. They had grown
up among the wheat as hard-to-tell-the-difference weeds (tares).
But in time they showed their true colors. John explained that,
in leaving, they made it clear that their salvation was not the
real thing (1 John 2:19).
CHECKLIST FOR ASSURANCE AND SECURITY
In light of what we have covered, let's see now how you check
out. For evidence and assurance that you have been saved, ask
yourself the following questions.
Do you:
* recognize your need of a Savior? (Rom. 3:23)
* believe that Jesus is the Christ? (1 John 5:1)
* believe that He died for your sins? (1 John 2:2)
* desire to obey the Lord? (1 John 2:3-6)
* love the people of God? (1 John 3:14)
* sense God's Spirit in you? (Rom. 8:16)
* sense correction for you sin? (Heb. 12:5-9)
For evidence of your eternal security, remember that when you
accepted Christ as Savior, you were:
* reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18)
* purchased by God at great price (1 Pet. 1:18,19)
* freed from the law (Rom. 8:1,2; Gal. 5:1-4)
* declared righteous (Rom. 5:1)
* set apart for God (John 17:17)
* glorified (Rom. 8:17,30)
* forgiven (Eph. 4:32)
* indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9)
* indwelt by Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:20)
* indwelt by the Father (Eph. 4:6)
* spiritually gifted (1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7)
* made part of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13)
* placed in God and in Christ (Eph. 1:3,4; 2:5,6)
* made an heir of God (Rom. 8:17)
* adopted into the family of God (Eph. 1:5)
* made complete in Christ (Col. 2:9,10)
* made secure (John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:38,39)
THREE KINDS OF SECURITY
Sure but not secure. These people believe that they have
confirmed reservations in heaven. But they're self-deceived. They
are like the legalists of Christ's day who mistakenly thought
that God would accept them on the basis of their own
good efforts (Luke 18:9-14).
Secure but not sure. Such a person has trusted Christ as Savior
and is held firmly in the protective hand of God (John 10:27-29).
But when failure occurs and guilt comes in like a flood, or when
mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion set in, such a person
becomes confused by feelings.
Sure and secure. This person has accepted Christ as his personal
Savior, has continued to walk in this new relationship, and
enjoys the confirming evidence that signals the reality of new
birth. This evidence is described in 1 John.
* Belief in Christ's saving work (4:9, 10; 5:1)
* Confidence in the Word of God (2:4; 5:13)
* A new way of life (2:3-6)
* The awareness of the Spirit (4:13; 5:10)
* A love for other Christians (3:14)
We sincerely hope that you are both sure and secure. If not, we
urge you to make sure you have taken the first step. Recognize
that there is nothing you can do to escape the penalty of your
own sin -- except to throw yourself on the mercy of the Lord
Jesus Christ, His death for your sins, and His saving life. Trust
Him today for what you could never do for yourself and then rely
totally on God's promises (see John 3:16; 6:37; 10:27-30; Rom.
6:23; 8:28-39).
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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version, (c)
1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
"What do we have to lose?" by Richard W. De Haan.
Copyright 1990 Radio Bible Class, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Used by Permission.
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