Jesus 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”
(John 10:27-28).
A boy at the age
of 9 years old accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. When the boy turns
18, he walks away from the faith that he has held for the last 9 years to a
life of sin. Five years later he is found dead from a drug overdose. Will this
man who loved Jesus Christ and served Him all the days of his youth go to
heaven or hell? Ultimately this is God’s decision, but, what does the Bible
say?
This brings us to
the fifth point of dispute between Calvinism and Arminianism. As we have seen
over the past several months, “Calvinism and Arminianism are two systems of
theology that attempt to explain the relationship between God’s sovereignty and
man’s responsibility in the matter of salvation. Both systems can be summarized
with five points” known as TULIP (for an overview of this topic please
see http://eugenechristianchurch.blogspot.com/2018/05/theology-201-3-pick-brighter-tulip-part.html).
This month we will examine the last point of disagreement: Perseverance of
the Saints (Calvinism) vs. Promises to Saints (Arminianism). Often
the Calvinistic side is referred to as “Once saved, always saved.” On the other
hand, the Arminian side is thought to be teaching that a person can lose their
salvation (although that terminology is very misleading). Really, at the heart
of this debated point is simply this: does God promise eternal life to people
who recant their decision to follow Christ?
There tends to be
four arguments given that a person can never forfeit their salvation. However,
the more that one studies these arguments and the Calvinist’s doctrine of
perseverance of the saints in comparison with what Scripture has to say, more
they realize it actually contradicts. It promises assurance, yet in reality, it
actually delivers insecurity in one’s salvation.
The first
argument given is “once in grace, always in grace.” The thought here is that if
God has blessed you with saving grace then it is impossible to forfeit that. However,
Paul’s response to this concept is to point to some members of the Galatian
congregation that he knows “have fallen away from grace” (Gal. 5:4). Others
explain it: I can only fall
from a chair, if I am on a chair and I could only fall from grace, if I was in
grace. Peter thinks of the conditionality of the covenants and cautions God’s
people, “If you do these things, you will never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). If
falling from grace is impossible, then why would Scripture give this warning?
Therefore, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God” (Heb. 12:15).
The second
argument given is “once a child, always a child.” The thought here is that if a
person is a child of God, yes, they might have rebellious moments and seasons,
yet they are still in the family. However, in the account of the prodigal son
(Luke 15:11-32), we see a clear picture of our relationship as Christians with
our Heavenly Father. In this account, the loving father considered his son
“dead,” meaning, the son was spiritually lost when he was away from home (Luke
15:24). The son had to return to the father (Luke 15:17-20), and the father had
to restore him into the family (Luke 15:20-24). Therefore, the son, while away
from the family was no longer considered to be a part of the family, as he was
“dead,” aka, spiritually separated from the father.
The third
argument given is “once in the book, always in the book.” The thought here is
that if person’s name is recorded in the Book of Life, it can never be removed
(Rev. 20:15; 21:27). However, the LORD told Moses, “Whoever has sinned against
Me I will blot out of My book” (Ex. 32:33). Jesus also stated that the promise
of having one’s name written in the book of life is conditional. “He who
overcomes…I will never blot out His name from the book of life (Rev. 3:5).
And the fourth
argument given is “once in Christ, always in Christ.” However, John 15 speaks
of Christians as branches in the vine and of God as the gardener, who, “cuts
off every branch in Me (Jesus) that bears no fruit” (John 15:2). Jesus plainly
states, “If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown
away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned”
(John 15:6). This is the same vocabulary that is used of one who is sentenced
to Hell (Matt. 13:30, 41-42; 25:46; Mark 9:43; John 6:37; Rev. 14:18).
At this point
many Calvinists will say that those who lost or forfeited their salvation were
never truly saved in the first place. But let’s consider what Scripture says.
In Hebrews 6:4-8, certain people are listed who possessed five characteristics
of someone who has been saved, yet they have fallen away:
First, they were
“Enlightened” (Heb. 6:4). According to Scripture, only genuine believers
can see the light for “the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of
the unbelieving.” Thus, only believers are able to possess the knowledge and
understanding of the Gospel (2 Cor. 4:4, 6; Matt. 13:19-21; Acts 26:18; Heb.
10:32).
Second, they “have
tasted of the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4). The gift of salvation is only for
genuine believers (Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus gives this “heavenly gift”
only to those who come and ask Him for it (John 4:10).
Third, they “have
been made partakers of the Holy Spirit” (Heb. 6:4). Only believers receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 2:38; 1 Cor. 12:13; Titus 3:5).
Fourth, they “have
tasted the good word of God” (Heb. 6:5). The Word of God is tasted only by
genuine believers (Psalm 34:8; 119:101-103; Jer. 15:16; Eph. 6:17; 1 Pet.
2:2-3).
Fifth, they “have
tasted the powers of the age to come” (Heb. 6:5). Only genuine believers
experience this power which raises a person from spiritual death (Eph. 2:5;
Col, 2:12-13), in anticipation of the future redemptive resurrection of the
body.
Additionally,
Jesus, in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23), gives a picture of
people who have experienced genuine life receiving the Word of God. Yet in
spite of this, Jesus tells us of some who did fall away (Matt. 13:20-22).
Furthermore as Alger Fitch said, “It is difficult to understand why the Holy
Spirit would give us 21 New Testament books to tell us how to abide faithfully
in Christ and only the one book of Acts to tell us how to become Christians, if
there were no possibility of falling. Why is there such a disproportionate
ratio, if falling away is impossible?” (Pick The Brighter Tulip, p. 65.)
Therefore, at the
outset, the once saved, always saved doctrine sounds very comforting. However,
if we hold to it, even displaying characteristics of being a true believer (as
listed above in Hebrews 6:4-8), we can never know for sure that we are indeed
saved. Thus, the doctrine that was invented to give a person the sense of
security actually offers none!
Next month we
will consider three ways that a person can forfeit their salvation, and how a
person can know for a fact that they are saved according to the Bible. But for
now, let’s briefly consider some of the promises that the Bible gives to those
who are saved providing assurance of their salvation. Yet all of these promises
are conditional based upon our freewill choice to remain in Christ.
·
“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I
preached to you…” (1 Cor. 15:2).
·
“But now He (God) has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through
death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from
accusation if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not
moved from the hope held out in the gospel” (Col. 1:22-23).
·
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from
all sin” (1 John 1:7).
·
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of
God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
·
In John 10:27-28, Jesus talks about the people that God the Father has
given to Him, and how “they will never perish; and no one will be able to
snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Yet who are these people? They are people
who hear His voice and follow Him.
There are several
other passages that speak of the promise of assurance of one’s salvation, yet
they are conditional upon the person’s choice to be “in Christ” and to remain
“in Him” (See John 15:2-7; Eph. 1:1-14). Thus, are you in Christ? Is He your
Lord and Savior? Are you remaining in Him? If you are, God’s promises of
eternal life will persevere you!
In His service,
Matt
