STE:Eternal security  by Tony Capoccia

   I. Introduction

   In 1978 as I struggled with the content of the gospel and how it
would affect my life as a Roman Catholic, I found that the one facet of
it that "boggled" my mind was Eternal Security. I could not believe
that once a person was "saved" that there was no way to ever "lose"
that salvation. It seemed "crazy" to believe that I could become a
Christian today and then commit all kinds of "gross" sins tomorrow and
still have a secure future in the eternal home! I remember asking Bob
Hey, the Christian who shared the gospel with me, "Bob, do you mean
that if I accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord, and later in my life
commit murder, adultery, theft, or even commit suicide, that I would
still go to heaven?" His answer was a resounding yes.

   Today I understand about the security of the believer and realize
that it is God who "elects" us and "calls" us and then "holds" us until
the day we join Him in the Heavenly Paradise. I have no more affect
over my security of salvation then I had over God's decision to elect
me to salvation.

   II. Importance

   Is the study of eternal security an important issue in the Christian
faith. Yes, for if there is a chance of "losing" our salvation then it
would make all the difference in the world and in eternity. Knowing
that our destiny may change tomorrow would certainly affect both the
inner peace we now experience and our behavior on this earth. How
anxious we would be.

   Eternal Security has often been labeled one of those doctrines that
we shouldn't break Christian fellowship over. In other words, we do not
try to convince those who believe that they can lose their salvation;
we just let them go and believe what they do, because they believe in
Jesus. If they are wrong and are secure and cannot lose their salvation
then it really will be ok in the end because they have it and just
don't know it. I used to agree with that logic and "kid" my Nazarene
Brothers about the fact that they don't believe in eternal security.
But then I came to realize the real danger of such a doctrine.

   There are many false gospels in the world today, but they all have
one aspect that they unite on--a works salvation. In other words, The
false teachers agree that in order to get to heaven you must do your
"works" and if they are "good enough" then God will "let you in." Each
has their own "twist" but essentially they are the same. Let's look at
two of the most popular false gospels in our country for examples of
this:

   A. Roman Catholic's Gospel - You are saved by Grace that was
acquired by the death of Jesus on the Cross. But you receive the grace
as you "do your works" (i.e., sacraments, rosaries, prayers, etc). The
more works you do then the more grace you receive. If you die in the
"state of grace" then you won't go to hell. In time you will go to
heaven, after a pause in Purgatory to "pay for your sins!"

   B. Morman's Gospel - You are saved if (1) You believe in Jesus. (2)
You are baptized by an Apostle (Morman of course). (3) You do good
works. If you do all these things first then you will be saved.

   Notice that the overriding ingredient is man's "works" to obtain or
secure salvation. False teachers seek to convince people that "works"
done before salvation gain some credit with God. A "new twist" to that
gospel is the one that says, "You are saved by faith and faith alone
(initially), but you are secure in that salvation only as you do your
good works." In other words, God saves you initially by Grace, but then
you are responsible to "stay saved" by your works. That gospel is just
as false as the ones that claim "works" are necessary for initial
salvation. When Jesus said, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life,
no one comes to the Father except through Me," He meant not only does
He save us initially but also "brings us" through our Christian Life to
the Father, by His Power and Grace alone--not by our works. A person
believing that they "maintain" their salvation is believing a false
gospel that will condemn them to the eternal fires.

   Let us look at the various Biblical Passages that teach eternal
security, later we will deal with the various objections that critics
of eternal security have raised.

   III. What the Bible Says.

   A. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith. . ."

   That quote comes from the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verse 8. It
reminds us how we "got saved"--by grace. The faith we had did not save
us; rather, it merely brought the grace which had the power of
salvation. What is grace? Grace is God's unmerited favor by which He
saves us and makes us righteous. It is based solely on His love as
displayed through the death of Jesus on the cross. Our works had
nothing to do with it; in fact, we were nothing but sinners when God
saved us for, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8).

   When we first received salvation we were "wicked sinners" who had
nothing to offer God. Yet God saved us. Why would a God who saved
"worthless sinners" decide to take away that salvation because of a
sin? Before, when we were God's enemies He saved us. Now we are
children of God. Would He treat us less graciously than He does His
enemies? No, in fact, He realizes that even though He saved us we are
still subject to sins, and reminds us that the grace that saved us will
continue to "save" us unto eternal life, because, ". . .where sin
increased, grace increased all the more. . ." (Romans 5:20). God's
grace continues to "cover" whatever sins we commit. It does not matter
how great a sin we commit--His grace is sufficient to cover it. The
unbeliever has never humbled himself before God by asking for that
saving grace. But, as Christians, we have received the living and
saving grace of God.

   B. God "keeps" us from falling out of salvation.

   Jude writes, "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to
present you before His glorious presence without fault. . ." (Jude 24),
which affirms that we do not keep ourselves in salvation by our works.
Rather, it is God who "keeps us from falling." We cannot fall out of
grace. God continually gives us His gracious, undeserved, unmerited
forgiveness to cover our sins.

   Think of illustrations in the Bible of Christians who fell into
serious sin. Moses, who was called by God to lead the God's Chosen
people to the Promised land, fell into immediate sin by the killing of
an Egyptian. Did God throw him out of the Kingdom? No, he was
immediately covered with more grace. David, God's anointed King over
Israel, was the spiritual leader of the people of Israel, yet committed
adultery with Bathsheba, and then murdered her husband. God not only
forgave him, but allowed him to continue to rule Israel and to write
many of the Psalms found in the Old Testament. Lastly, look at Peter,
who publicly denied any association with Christ, by saying that he was
not a disciple of Jesus. Yet he also was "kept" in the kingdom and
given great responsibility over the new Church. God will keep us from
falling away despite our sins.

   C. "I give them eternal life."

   Jesus, when referring to those who would believe on Him said, "My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them
eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand. My Father who has given them to me, is greater than all; no
one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:27-29). There is
no more security than the security of being in God's grip! Who are
those who would try to take believers out of God's hand? The one who is
a thief and a destroyer, known as Satan and his followers. But even
they cannot "yank" a Christian away from God. The evil ones can tempt
and sometimes cause us to fall into grievous sins, but never can they
remove us from the hand of God.

   Jesus said He gives His sheep eternal life. What makes eternal life
eternal? The simple fact that it will never end. If he gives us eternal
life today and then takes it away tomorrow because of sin, then it was
not eternal but only "temporary eternal life," which is no eternal life
at all.

   D. "You were marked in Him with a seal."

   When we first believed something happened that we could not see or
feel--we were marked as a Child of God. ". . .you also were included in
Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy
Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of His
glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14). Christians are marked with the Holy
Spirit, who is the "down payment" God made when He bought us with His
Blood. A deposit is the "earnest money" that guarantees that the
purchase will be completed at a time yet future. God guarantees us that
we are His possession, and the indwelling Spirit is His proof.

   E. "He who began a good work. . ."

   When we were saved it was not a chance happening. God had planned
from eternity past to save us and our salvation was a partial
fulfillment of His overall plan. The Apostle Paul assures us that what
God begins--God finishes, ". . .He who began a good work in you will
carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians
1:6). Note it is God who "carries on the good work." He is the one
sanctifying us and we merely try to co-operate with Him. We continually
will fall short of the glory of God, but will keep confessing our sins
and receiving His precious grace.

   IV. Answering the Critics.

   Those who argue against eternal security raise these arguments to
prove their case against an eternal salvation. They are:

   A. Eternal Security - Gives a license to sin.

   Answer - Neither the grace of God nor the security of salvation
gives the believer divine permission to sin (Rom 6:1-2; 1John 2:1). If
a person has the idea that eternal security gives him a license to sin,
then he probably is not saved, since a truly saved person will not make
a practice of sinning. (1John 3:9). Even if a person is a genuine
Christian and tries living in sin because he cannot lose his salvation,
God will chasten the sinning Christian even to the point of physical
death in order to restore him to proper fellowship. (1Cor 11:31-32; Heb
12:5-11; 1John 5:16-17 with examples in Acts 5:1-11; 1Cor 5:1-5;
11:27-32; 1John 5:16-17).

   B. Eternal Security - Destroys motivation for Christian living and
service.

   Answer - The Bible appeals to the Christian to live for Christ and
to serve Him, not to gain or to keep salvation, but because salvation
is an assured possession and secured for eternity. (Psalm 37:28; John
10:27-29; 1John 5:13). It is a hindrance to Christian service if the
Christian is continually worried about keeping or losing salvation.

   C. Eternal Security - Contradicts the experience of certain
individuals in the Bible.

   Answer 1) King Saul--Scripture infers that Saul was a saved man.
(1Sam 10:7, 9-10). However, rather than losing his salvation, it
appears that Saul was chasten of God in the severest form, that is, by
physical death because of his continual disobedience to God. (1Sam
28:18-19; 31:3-4).

   2) Judas--He is an example of a person who was lost and never had
experienced salvation in the first place. (John 6:64; 70- 71; 13:10-11;
17:11-12; Psalm 41:9; Matt 11:19; 26:50).

   D. Eternal Security - Contradicts certain Biblical passages.

   Answer 1) 1Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 22:15--These verses refer to
lost persons who are habitually characterized by the attitudes and/or
actions expressed by these sins rather than referring to saved people
who supposedly lost their salvation by committing one or more of these
sins as an incident uncharacteristic of their general tenor of life.
Otherwise, Abraham (lying), Moses (murder), and David (adultery and
murder) would not inherit the kingdom of God. (1Cor 6:9-10).

   2) Hebrews 6:4-6--The persons referred to in this passage are
unbelievers, notice especially Hebrews 6:7-9; 10:26-39.

   3) Matthew 24:13--Endurance or salvation is evidence of a genuine
salvation. (Phil 1:6; 1John 2:19).

   4) Ezekiel 3:20; 18:24, 26; 33:12-13, 18--The righteous being
referred to in this context may only be self-righteousness. In the
context of this passage, it is also possible that the death referred to
is physical rather than spiritual.

   5) John 15:2, 6--These verse refer to persons who may profess to be
saved but actually are not genuine believers. Every true believer bears
some fruit (Matt 7:20; 13:23) as a result of at least some abiding in
Christ, although admittedly the degree of abiding and fruit-bearing may
vary from individual believer to individual believer. The "branch in
Me" (verse 2) is used in a figurative illustration. Judas would be an
example of such a branch who was in the circle of Christ's chosen
disciples and yet was not a true believer. Others interpret John 15:2,
6 as believers who experience severe chastisement.

   6) 2Peter 2:20-22--The context indicates that false teachers and not
true believers are in view here.

   V. Conclusion

   Eternal security is a reality for everyone who believes. When Jesus
died on the cross He "paid" for all of our sins. When we received His
saving grace as a free gift we received total forgiveness of all our
past, present and future sins. As we go through our Christian life we
will sin, but not as much as we mature. When we do sin it will affect
the "joy of our communion with God" and will require a confession to
restore the sweetness of the relationship. But God has, by His
sovereign will, declared some to be His forever. He chose those of us
who are saved because He wanted to without any goodness being found in
us. The keeping of that salvation is also entirely up to Him and
neither our sins nor our good works have any affect on that security.
However, to purposely sin after receiving such a great salvation is
"stepping on the Blood of Christ" and can bring swift discipline from
our Good and Loving Father, but never a loss of salvation.

   (Note: Many of the arguments and answers listed above in Section IV.
were extracted from class notes taken from Dr. H. W. Holloman's class
on Theology at Talbot Theological Seminary.)

   Tony Capoccia Bible Bulletin Board
