Eternal security means achieving the place of eternal safety, where nothing can separate us from our standing in Lord Jesus Christ.
When speaking of securing something, we understand that whatever we want to secure needs to be fixed to something that is immovable by some means (rope, nail, screw, bolt, clamp, lock or some other form of fastener) which will prevent it from being dislodged and completely removed its intended place of existence.
Eternal security means that regardless of whatever happens we cannot, so to speak, be taken from the grip of God's hand. What we have secured for ourselves is a place in the Kingdom of God forever, through immovable faith.
Unfortunately, there is a lack of understanding of what eternal security means. The term "once saved, always saved" is invoked by many to assure themselves that they are saved. For some reason there is this uncertainty that people feel and it needs to be addressed. Much has to do with people having an academic understanding of what the Bible states.
Intellectual types with a spiritual orientation, who become imbued with theology, will resort to logic to develop arguments for purposes of debate to prove that they are winners, superior to others and their views are correct. These people believe what they read. Once they have read certain views and become convinced of them, often they will reinforce these views by seeking to debate others to find out who has the best argument.
In general terms "apologetics" is the systematic argumentation that has been developed to justify the beliefs to which a group of people adhere. Apologetics also happens to be a branch of Christian theology where arguments are studied, so students can learn how to give an account of their belief in the existence of God and how they view the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. Apologetics in reality gives people learned arguments by which they can defend their faith in their beliefs. These beliefs are actually learned and not, as they ought to be for a Christian, hammered on the anvil of experience and one's devotion to doing the will of God.
If you desire a better understanding of how people express a mere intellectual comprehension of what the Bible states about eternal security, what is readily available on the net on the subject suffices. The difference between what you will learn from those sites and what is stated in here should give you some indication to the degree of insight and the depth of personal experience possessed by the authors.
Unfortunately, those who take an intellectual approach, rather than experiential approach towards God, satisfy themselves with reading the Bible and studying theology as the means of securing their salvation. Many of this ilk will quote three portions of Scripture as the reason for them to know and understand the Bible. The first text of the three used is:
- Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 1:3 KJV)
By contending for the faith by putting forth arguments as to why they believe what they believe is seen as meritorious and a means by which they can keep their salvation.
Contending for the faith needs to be viewed in the context of what is found in Ephesians regarding whom we are contending. Jude was talking about the Devil and his wiles, not developing arguments for believing what is believed.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)
The second text of the three used is:
- Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV)
- For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 KJV)
Because Christians obtain their information about the plan and purpose of God from the Bible, it is only natural they read it. However, many believe that they are saved by reading the Bible, because they are imbibing the Living Word of God. They will quote Hebrews 4:12 to prove that the Bible states what they claim. Unfortunately, while these people have a zeal for wanting to be known and approved by God, they are misguided and deceived.
Surprisingly, to justify their belief about the necessity to read the Bible for Salvation, many sincere, devout Bible-believers will even go to the trouble of quoting the following Scripture:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. (John 5:39)
They interpret the above verse as "The scriptures: in them ye have eternal life." If they were to read that verse with the following verse, and providing that their deception is not complete, they would learn that only Jesus, the speaker, is able to impart eternal life, not a book.
And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. (John 5:40)
The Scriptures testify of the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh, being the sole source of salvation for all mankind.
As is the case with John 5:39-40, where part of one verse is misinterpreted, Hebrews 4:12-13 treated in similar manner. For the Word of God that is quick (alive) and powerful (active) and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart is actually a male person, as identified in the following verse:
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4:13)
When we read Hebrews 12-13 together we learn that before the WORD OF GOD no creature is hidden from His sight, but they are all naked before the eyes of Him. There is a massive difference between thinking one is saved by reading the Bible and having a relationship with our Savior, the Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ, whose name is the WORD OF GOD (Revelation 19:13).
More importantly when it comes to the text we are discussing in Hebrews 4:12-13, is the preceding verse. For when the text (Hebrews 4:12) is taken out of context to develop a doctrine that the Bible is the Living Word of God, which becomes a dogma that leads people away from the Savior and creates a work ethic for salvation, while they appeal to grace, people cannot know the truth and secure eternal life. The preceding verse reads:
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. (Hebrews 4:11)
The only time the Bible informs us we are advised to labor for anything in respect to salvation, it is to enter rest and cease from laboring. Unbelief is the reason people evidently do not enter that rest. Those that do enter have the intentions of their heart discerned by the WORD OF GOD as acceptable, for He nothing is hid from Him, for He is alive and active, quick and powerful, indeed.
To obtain eternal security of one's salvation, this is said to not be something one does oneself, rather it is God who secures one's eternal salvation. The irony being that unless one cooperates with God, salvation cannot be obtained. When Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary, salvation for all men was obtained, not just some.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
Appeasement has taken place. The Devil's charge against God has been appeased. His claim that man is not righteous and therefore has no right to enter the favor of God has been dealt with. For by taking the righteous Jesus of Nazareth, he himself clearly thinking he had the Son of God in his power, unwittingly swallowed the bait and traded the righteous Son of Man (Matthew 26:2) for the unrighteous Adam, from whom he had gained the right to reign over planet Earth.
The atonement that comes through the righteous blood of Jesus, gives God the just right to view all, who find the pearl of great price (the hatred of evil) and treasure it as sinless and upright. Once they are baptized into the Body of Christ, and have demonstrated this is the case, eternal security is secured.
Adherence to provisional or positional beliefs are insufficient for claiming membership of the Body of Christ, even though many are welcomed into the courts of praise and partake in physical rites and observances.
Being baptized into the Body of Christ goes beyond:
- saying a sinner's prayer of forgiveness,
- walking down an aisle to acknowledge acceptance of Christ
- being raised in a Christian family
- studying to become a preacher or pastor
- being a member of a Christian denomination
Dorothy Murdock claimed that she could read the Bible in its original languages and was raised a Christian. She rejected Christianity because she believed all the people in the Bible were fictitious. She spent the last year of her life fighting cancer and refusing to call upon Lord Jesus Christ to heal her. She died December 25,2015.
A twenty-two-year-old school teacher had a father who was a church deacon, who believed that reading the Bible was feeding on the Living Word of God. The school teacher rejected what was written in John 5:39-40 regarding the necessity to enter a personal relationship with Lord Jesus Christ, if a person is to have eternal life. He got baptized to wash away his sin, believing that by doing so all future sins will be covered by having a dip in the water.
While it is true that a Christian belongs to the Body of Christ, which is not a denomination, but a universal group of people found in every country on Earth, not everyone who is to be saved will necessarily experience baptism into the Body of Christ. Many are saved on their deathbed. Innocent children who die cannot be condemned to eternal punishment by a righteous God. Many more are saved according to their own word; the reason why confessing Christians depart from participating in the various activities that would lead them to the place where they truly obtain their salvation and have eternal security.
There is a perennial dispute about whether a Christian can lose salvation. The problem comes down to whether a person truly understands the salvation process or not. Those who do not understand the process of salvation, as outlined in this exposition of the factors that bring one to one's eternal state of being, will always be disputing over how it possible to lose salvation. Bear in mind, these factors in this exposition of the salvific process were hammered out once upon a time by some theologian(s); whom, I do not know.
Furthermore, when I was researching the soteriology component of a masters degree of theology under the auspices of Dr. Clifford Wilson, I was required to write 1500 words on each of the eighteen topics that were given to me in the following order: depravity, imputation, grace, propitiation, atonement, reconciliation, calling, regeneration, union with Christ, repentance, faith, justification, adoption, sanctification, eternal security, predestination, redemption, eternal state.
This exposition of the soteriological process follows that outline and proves accurate, even though it is difficult to pinpoint at what phase may applicable to a person. It is as if all the factors of the aphases are happening at the same time. However, experience tells us this is not the case. To this end, I have been shown by the Holy Spirit three other outlines of the salvific process, which are also true. God is not limited by our understanding and wants us to have greater insight. In this respect, instead of one, there are four Gospels to provide insight into the ministry of the Son of God when on Earth in human form. If nothing else, from reading the Gospels, we know that the Son of God came so that our eternal security of salvation could be assured.
This is the testimony of God that he has borne witness to his Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne to his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life. (1 John 5:9-12)
In a nutshell, obtaining salvation is easy. All one has to do, to quote the Apostle John, is understand that "Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God" (1 John 5:1). If one picks up one's cross and follows Jesus, that is all that is required.
If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it. (Luke 9:23-24)
The author of Can A Christian Lose Salvation at GotQuestions.org boils it down to either a Christian is one or not. There is no process of salvation involved. He makes his argument based on his observations:
Two common objections to the belief that a Christian cannot lose salvation concern these experiential issues:
1) What about Christians who live in a sinful, unrepentant lifestyle?
2) What about Christians who reject the faith and deny Christ?
The problem with these objections is the assumption that everyone who calls himself a “Christian” has actually been born again.
The Bible declares that a true Christian will not live a state of continual, unrepentant sin (1 John 3:6). The Bible also says that anyone who departs the faith is demonstrating that he was never truly a Christian (1 John 2:19). He may have been religious, he may have put on a good show, but he was never born again by the power of God.
For the Got Questions author, it is impossible for a person. who picks up his cross to follow Jesus. to throw it down and walk away. He says:
For a Christian to lose salvation, God would have to erase the mark, withdraw the Spirit, cancel the deposit, break His promise, revoke the guarantee, keep the inheritance, forego the praise, and lessen His glory.
Unfortunately, the above author does not understand Scripture as much as he may contend. The concept of being "born again" is misconstrued because people do not recognize the difference between "seeing the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3) from afar and "entering the Kingdom of God" (John 3:5). They interpret this as the same thing.
Abraham is said to be the father of faithful. All who share the same kind of faith expressed by Abraham are to receive the promise of God (Romans 4:20), that is, eternal security of their salvation. Not understanding what happened to Abraham is one of the reasons so many people have distorted theology. Abraham responded to the call of God (Genesis 12:1-3) but was not declared righteous until some years later (Genesis 15:6). Effectively, Abraham saw the Kingdom of God, a city that was built by God (Hebrews 11:10), except he did not get to enter it. However, instead of entering the Kingdom, Abraham was declared righteous (Romans 4:3, 22; Galatians 3:6 ), from which time his eternal security was assured.
When talking about being born from above and entering the Kingdom of God, Jesus upbraided Nicodemus, saying, "Are you a teacher of Israel, but you do not understand this" (John 3:10). If Nicodemus meditated (cf. Psalm 1:2) the account of Abraham life, he should have understood what happened when God first spoke to Abraham and noted that it was not until some time later that Abraham was declared righteous.
At any time prior to Abraham coming to the place where "he believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness", he could have turned away from believing that God had his back.
Balaam (Numbers 22-24) is someone who held an audience with God often. He also knew that he could not go beyond what God stated (Numbers 24:12-13). Yet from what the Scriptures clearly indicate, whatever salvation he may have had, he lost (Jude 1:11; 2 Pet 2:15-17). The book of Hebrews (4:6-8) speaks about people losing whatever salvation they may have had, after expressing faith toward God, being baptized, being enlightened and receiving the Heavenly Gift and being partakers of the Holy Spirit.
Not having eternal security is the reason this can occur. Yet at the same time these individuals were Christian, if they received the Heavenly Gift of salvation and were partakers of the Holy Spirit. The argument that they weren't Christian is made by those who claim that they were elected to be saved before the foundation of the world. This doctrine of unconditional election provides the basis for many to think they can sin as much as they like, they have nothing to lose, for they will be forgiven. Ezekiel chapter 18 is very clear about people coming to God and walking away from Him actually being lost eternally, if they don't turn to walk with Him before they die. This would happen if they had obtained eternal security, as Abraham did.
When those who claim "once saved always saved" means one cannot lose one's salvation, they don't appreciate there is Scripture which says people can lose their salvation. Not only this, but salvation is made available to everyone and the loving Lord God Creator of Heaven and Earth desires all to be saved. This being the case, obstacles are not going to be put in one's way. However, when speaking of being called and being chosen, this is another matter.
Those who are chosen to bear fruit for eternal life are in a different category to those who produce the fruit of lips that acknowledge the Son of God died and rose from the dead, therefore He is Lord of life and death. In the Old Testament and in the New Testament we read:
Take with you words and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good and we will render the fruit of our lips. (Hosea 14:2)
But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach);9 because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. (Romans 10:8-10)
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Hebrews 13:5)
The recognition that Jesus Christ died for our sins and took away all iniquity is the critical element in all of this. Once a person acknowledges that Jesus died and rose again, the acknowledgement of this before others is sufficient for salvation. Continuing in this acknowledgement is essential for remaining in the covering of the God's grace that enables anyone to lay a hold of the promise of eternal life. Being chosen for eternal life is another matter. Regardless of which way one reads it, there are those who are saved and those who are in the process of being saved. We can call this the distinction between the called and the chosen.
When Jesus speaks of those who call Him, "Lord!" of whom He says that they were workers of iniquity and He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23), this does not mean that He never actually knew of their existence, just that He had not choose them. Those whom Jesus chooses, He knows. Hence the talk about the sheep and the shepherd and those who hear His voice (John 10:4). The chosen have eternal security.
Abraham was called to obey God's voice. Abraham was chosen the day his faith was reckoned as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). This came about after he had been instructed about the bread and the wine, his willingness to tithe, and his refusal to take anything of the spoils he had gotten when rescuing Lot with the king of Sodom. Abraham wanted everyone to know that God had made him rich, not the king of Sodom. When reading the account of Abraham, we find that after he left Egypt he was rich (Genesis 13:1-2), in contradistinction to Balaam, who decided to make himself rich by accepting the invitation of Balak (2 Peter 2:15; Numbers 22:18) to be a stumbling block of the Hebrews (Revelation 2:14).
On Sunday evening, August 3, 1972, I was invited to a gospel meeting held at the Church of Christ, Melbourne. The pastor of the congregation was speaking that evening. Even though I listened to what he said, I don't recall anything except, "When we sing this last hymn, sing it with all your heart to the Lord!"
The two previous hymns were sung as if the people in attendance were singing a dirge at a funeral. I looked around and then up towards the ceiling and addressed our Heavenly Father, "I am not going to sing this like those hypocrites. I am going to sing this to you, God." And I did.
As I was singing the hymn with all my heart, I saw what looked like a glowing whitish-golden coin about 1.5 inches in diameter fall past my eyes at around an 80 degree angle and drop into my solar plexus. I felt a tug and saw what appeared to be something similar to a displacement of liquid. I told my friends about what occurred the following day, when sitting on the balcony having a drink. Two of whom attended the church service with me. One was disturbed that nothing happened to him. The other, along with the rest who were present, claimed I was fabricating the whole thing.
The next two years I went through many tormenting experiences. I became a gambler. I became bi-sexual. I was planning the murder of three people. A forth person I intended to turn into a vegetable. I was contemplating becoming involved in organized crime. I became suicidal at times. I felt as if my life was built on quicksand. Everyone else thought I was doing very well for myself. I was self-employed. I employed three workers.
Nearly two years later, I visited my grandparents. Both my grandfather and grandmother had had an encounter with Lord Jesus Christ and they had changed. I had lived with my grandparents from August, 1965 to December, 1966. They were a very upright nothing special couple. My grandmother snapped and my grandfather grumbled. In July, 1974, the feeling of love in their home was something I had not felt anywhere before. I visited my parents and on the way home, dropped into see my grandparents again. My grandmother gave me a Bible entitled The Living Bible.
In 1966, I had tried to read the King James Version of the Bible. Unfortunately, it turned me away from looking to God. Out of respect to my grandmother, I decided to read The Living Bible. Over the next two weeks I read some of it every night beginning from the book of Genesis. By the time I had got to the book of Job, I had read anything about Jesus, whom my grandparents claimed the Bible was about.
There was a feeling of an expanding hole within the middle of my stomach between my solar plexus and belly button. I felt that there was a rat or some creature gnawing around the edges making the hole larger. By the time I had read the last chapter of book of Job, the hole felt like it was about twenty inches in circumference. Besides the painful feeling of the gnawing feeling at the perimeters, the inside of the hole started to feel like a bottomless empty pit. I was gripped by fear. I went into the lounge, kneeled down before the fireplace and placed my open hands together and earnestly began crying out to God to show me Jesus. For Jesus was whom my grandparents told me appeared to them in their loungeroom. He was the One who had changed their lives.
Two hours later nothing had happened. Although I am not going to describe what took place in the next ten minutes, but Jesus appeared and I went to bed. When I woke the next morning, I had the feeling of joy as if encased inside an elongated balloon, extending from my belly button up to the top of my sternum. That was August 3, 1974.
One week later, I was praying at the time because I had been tormented every night and I wanted it to stop. Something came over me and attempted to get me to curse God. I was in a terrible state in my head battling this voice. I cried out to God, "I love you, I don't want to curse you." Immediately, I found myself on a canoe, heading upstream, then up a waterfall. Another river was flowing into the river I was on. At the intersection of the rivers was a beach with a cave in the cliff next to the waterfall. A red man standing on the beach in front of the cave was looking at me. He had a red trident in his hand, with the handle dug into the sand. When I got to the top of the waterfall, a voice said to me, "You have gone from death into life." I travelled some distance along the tree lined river, saw a low white fence with two rails and meadows with flowers. Some seconds later, I was just kneeling on the floor praying.
The joy I received on August 3, 1974, is still within me in 2024, some fifty years later. Although, what I have written is but a very brief account, there is much more that could be told, but would take a book, the truth is I could have lost my salvation anytime before the time I received the joy.
The Psalmist desired to have the joy of salvation restored (Psalm 51:12). He lost it. In my case, the joy has never left me, irrespective of my situation and circumstances since August 3,1974. I have the guarantee of eternal security. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
*****
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