By Steve Cornell
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).
Can a person be sure that he or she is going to heaven? Is it possible to lose your salvation? Do true believers persevere in faith to the end? Perhaps you grew up under the teaching: “Once saved, always saved.” Or, maybe your Church taught that believers can lose their salvation if they exercise their free will and walk away from Christ. But what does the Bible teach about this?
The Bible clearly teaches that salvation is a free gift from God (see: Ephesians 2:8-10). It is not based on “works of righteousness which we have done” (Titus 3:5). The eternal security of salvation is the logical conclusion of a works-free salvation. Simply stated, “Salvation by works is insecure; salvation by grace is secure!” Although everyone saved by grace possesses a secure salvation, many lack assurance of their security. Assurance is the practical response to the biblical teaching on security. The following points clearly teach that salvation is secure. Reflect on them to strengthen your faith in the security of God’s salvation.
A. The keeping power of God (Jn. 6:39-40; 10:27-29; Jude 24; Phil. 1:6; I Cor. 10:13; II Thess. 3:3; II Tim. 1:12; I Pet. 5:10).
B. The promise of Christ (Jn. 6:37; 10:27-29 - cf. statement in Heb. 7:25). Concerning John 10:27-29, Millard J. Erickson makes a good point, “In the clause ‘and they shall never perish’ John uses the double negative… with the aorist subjunctive, which is a very emphatic way of declaring that something will not happen in the future. Jesus is categorically excluding the slightest chance of an apostasy by his sheep” (p. 996, Christian Theology).
Note: To teach an insecure salvation is to offend the work of the Good Shepherd—He does not lose any of his sheep!
C. The love of God (Rom. 8:38-39; I Jn. 4:10,19). Nothing shall separate us from God’s love!
D. The gift of eternal life (Jn. 3:15, 16, 36; 4:14, 36; 5:24,39; 6:27, 40, 47, 68)
E. The discipline of God (Heb. 12:5-13) Belief in an insecure salvation is an affront to the Fatherhood of God.
F. The perseverance of the saved: The teaching of the perseverance of the saved is a companion truth to the eternal security of the believer.
The Westminster Confession of Faith frames this point as follows: ”They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
Theologian Louis Berkhof states it in the following manner: “Perseverance may be defined as that continuous operation of the Holy Spirit in the believer, by which the work of divine grace that is begun in the heart, is continued and brought to completion” (p. 546, Systematic Theology). (Mt. 10:22; Jn. 8:31; Heb. 6:9; 10:39; I Jn. 2:19)
The two primary marks of identification for a true believer are continuance in Christ’s word (Jn. 8:31) and chastening by the Lord (Heb. 12:5-12 - cf. also Mt. 7:20; I Jn. 3:9).
The problem many people have with eternal security results from confusing profession of salvation with possession of salvation. Jesus clearly taught that not everyone who said to Him “Lord, Lord” shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Many people claim to be Christians who have not truly appropriated the gospel to their lives. The issue is not the losing of salvation, but whether or not it was ever truly possessed.
1. Points of clarification - In considering the teaching of perseverance, the following points of clarification are important:
a) All faith is not saving faith - (James 2:14 - see p. 67 on faith)
b) There will be superficial and temporary responses to the Word of God (Mt. 13:1-9, 18:23).
c) Profession of salvation does not always equal possession of salvation (Mt. 7:15, 21-23)
Note: The Bible does not justify identifying every person who makes a verbal profession of faith as a genuine believer. Please note that Jesus said “Many will say . . .” “But I will say to them, depart from me….”
d) True faith produces fruit or good works (Mt. 7:15-20; 13:23; Ja. 2:17; Eph. 2:10).
Millard J. Erickson wrote, “. . . our understanding of the doctrine of perseverance allows no room for indolence or laxity. It is questionable whether anyone who reasons, `Now that I am a Christian, I can live as I please’, has really been converted and regenerated. Genuine faith issues, instead, in the fruit of the Spirit” (p. 996, Christian Theology).
“The Lord will not save those whom He cannot command. He will not divide His offices. You cannot believe on a half-Christ. We take Him for what He is Christ the anointed Saviour and Lord who is King of kings and Lord of all lords! He would not be who He is if He saved us and called us and chose us without the understanding that He can also guide and control our lives” (A.W. Tozer, pp. 18-19, I Call It Heresy!).
e) The Scripture recognizes a distinction between temporary backsliding and real abandonment of the faith. Peter’s denial of the Lord is the best example of this in the NT. (Lk. 22:31-32 NASB or NIV). Thomas, as well as the other disciples, serves as an example of this after the crucifixion.
f) Although we cannot know a person’s heart, we are not left without any ability to evaluate the condition of another.
Ultimately the words of II Timothy 2:19 should be our position as we apply the scriptural measures:
The following objective measures are provided for examination:
1) The primary direction and characteristics of the person’s life: I Jn. 3:9 – “No one who is born of God practices sin . . .” Mt. 7:20 – “You will recognize them by their fruits”.
2) Works of the flesh vs. the Fruit of the Spirit - Gal. 5:19-24.
3) The wisdom from below vs. the wisdom from above Ja. 3:12-18.
4) The works of darkness vs. the fruit of the Light - Eph. 5:5-11.
5) The unrighteous lifestyle - I Cor. 6:9-11.
6) Love for the word vs. love of the Father - I Jn. 2:15-17.
7) Love for the brethren - I Jn. 3:14.
8 ) Keeping God’s commandments - I Jn. 2:4, Titus 1:16.
Summary:
If the overall direction and characteristics of a person’s life is described by the negative categories above, the person does not have any firm reason to believe that he or she is saved. He may hold to a prayer that he prayed, but if his life testifies against his profession—the apostle Paul’s word apply: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves.” (II Cor. 13:5). “What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” (James 2:14).
While it is distinctly possible for a true believer to have serious movements of disobedience and unfruitfulness, the focus of the lists above is on the primary emphasis of his life (Rom. 7:19; I Jn. 2:1; II Pet. 1:5-10).
Subjective Measures:
According to Hebrews 3:12-14, an apostate will have an attitude of defiance and rebellion. This is true except in the case of those whom Satan disguises (Mt. 7:15; II Cor. 11:13-15). If an individual in question displays very little shame or sorrow regard to sin, and very little desire for God and His Word, we should be concerned (II Cor. 7:10-11; I Pet. 2:1-3).When we are trying to reach someone in question, it may be helpful to point him to these passages to prompt him toward healthy self-examination. The person who openly practices sin without repentance in the areas stated above should be warned not to profess to others any identification with Christ.
II Tim. 2:19b, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.”
2. A closing question:
“If it is impossible for a true believer to ultimately fall away, as has been demonstrated, why are serious warnings addressed to believers?
Sometimes in our effort to preserve a non-works, eternally secure salvation, we fail to realize how close someone can come to salvation without ever really obtaining it. People can come into the Christian community and culturally adjust by learning acceptable practices and words, and yet deceive both themselves and the community as to the reality of their salvation.The most sobering illustration of this is Judas. In John 13:21, Jesus revealed to the twelve that one of them would betray Him. Verse 22 informs us that they were unsure about which one He was referring to. Judas had so cunningly hidden his true identity that none of the others immediately thought of him. In fact, a parallel gospel informs us that “each one began to say to Him, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’” (Mt. 26:22.
If we acknowledge the security of salvation and the perseverance of the saved, what is the purpose of warnings about falling away and exhortations to continue in the faith (Heb. 3:13; Acts 14:22)? Are these unnecessary? If so, Why?
The following suggested purposes of these warning and exhortations prove helpful:
a) The warnings are directed to certain ones in the larger assemblies who were contemplating a return to Judaism (Heb. 6:11-12; 10:32-35).
b) The warnings balance man’s responsibility with the work of God thus bringing the whole matter into focus (cf. II Pet. 1:10).
c) The warnings encourage healthy self-examination (e.g. Jesus reveals that one will betray Him)
d) The warnings serve a preventative purpose. They are instrumental as a divine means of keeping believers on the right path.
e) The warnings expose the ones who depart as being apostates (I Jn. 2:19)
f) The warnings indicate the danger of the hardening effect of sinning against the light of God’s revelation.
g) The warnings do not prove that a true believer can commit apostasy (cf. Heb. 6:9-11; 10:39).
In conclusion, “…it is said that Scripture records several cases of actual apostasy (I Tim. 1:19,20; II Tim. 2:17,18; 4:10; II Pet. 2:1,2; cf. Also Heb. 6:4-6). But these instances do not prove the contention that real believers in possession of true saving faith, can fall from grace, unless it be shown first that the persons indicated in these passages had true faith in Christ, and not a mere temporal faith, which is not rooted in regeneration. The Bible teaches us that there are persons who profess the true faith, and yet are not of the faith” (L. Berkhof, p. 549, Systematic Theology).
Steve Cornell
Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com
