Dear Doves,

Since the question of the eternal security is frequently raised, I want to try and clear up some of the confusion in this area. I am going to share, not what I think about it, or what my church has taught about it, but what the Holy Spirit has revealed in the scriptures concerning eternal security. The phrase "eternal security" is usually used to indicate that once a person is saved, they cannot become unsaved. Just as a person cannot save himself, he also can't keep himself, so God must be the full author of both. Therefore every saved person will go to heaven regardless of his actions. Some even call this "extreme eternal security" because it implies that once a person gets saved, they can't keep from going to heaven even if they didn't want to.

I was raised in a denomination that taught eternal security and fully understand the scriptures that indicate God's work in this area. There is much to take comfort in, and I'm certainly glad that no man can pluck us out of his hand (John 10:28-29). Since I am not perfect, it's great to know that Jesus will never cast out anyone who comes to him (John 6:37). I didn't work to get saved and I don't have to work to stay saved; it's all a free gift by grace. However, what these verses do not say is:  "He will not allow us to depart from the grace bestowed upon us."  To say, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5) is not the same as saying, "I will never allow you to leave me nor forsake me."  We must not take what a particular scripture does say, and extrapolate it to say something that contradicts other passages. 

Once a person gives you a gift, he cannot rightly take it back and likewise once God gives you salvation, he cannot rightly take it back. It is not a free gift if it comes with strings and conditions. However, a gift that is no longer wanted can be thrown away, or even given back to the person that gave it in the first place.  Also, note that a gift that is given with a requirement that you must keep it, would not be considered a totally free gift but a conditional gift.

From God's perspective he gives you the gift of salvation with no strings attached. It is yours to keep or return. The truth does no damage to any of the scriptures that have been used to teach eternal security, but rather illuminates how they fit with the scriptures that seem to imply otherwise. When a mature Christian turns back to sin like the sow, "returning to the wallowing in the mire", and chooses to depart from grace, no man "plucks" them out of his hand, and he does not "cast them out", but rather he allows them to depart based on their own volition.

II Peter 2:20-22   For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.   For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.   But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

The above passage is quite clear that a Christian can be overcome with the same bondage from which he has previously escaped. Just as a person can choose to turn from darkness to embrace the light, he can also choose to turn from the light back to darkness. The key word here is "choose". Even though God is the author of your salvation and no man comes to the Father without the Spirit drawing him, it is still only by your choice that you accept the free gift offered to you. (He makes nobody get saved against their will!). As a Christian, you also have the choice to "count the blood of the covenant whereby you were sanctified an unholy thing and do despite to the Spirit of grace" (Heb. 10:29). Doing that is, in effect, saying to God, "I no longer consider salvation desirable and want you to leave me alone so I can enjoy darkness." Notice also that in I Peter 1:5 we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation" indicates that faith is a condition of our being kept.

Think about it, would it not be unrighteous of God to remove the free will of a mature Christian? Sure it would! Even though you are complete in Jesus Christ and your salvation is an established fact in God's sight, he does not remove your free choice to reject the covenant that you have entered into with him. We see eternal security from his perspective in that he will never reject you, but you can choose to reject him. It's that simple, he keeps everyone that wants to be kept, and he allows everyone to depart that knowledgably chooses to depart. However, he does everything that he can to call such a person to repentance and prevent them from departing. Once again though, he will not override your will to accomplish his will, and once a Christian departs, there is no hope of return (Heb. 6:4-6). Such a person has received and then rejected Jesus Christ, the only sacrifice there is for sin, so there can be no subsequent salvation. We see this in the O.T. type and shadow of the wife that has departed from her husband and married another cannot be accepted back by her husband (Deu. 24:4).

Romans 5:6-10  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

 

There is a ditch on either side of this subject: one is "extreme eternal security" and the other is "sloppy grace". Those that live in the sloppy grace ditch think that anytime a Christian sins, that they depart from grace and must come back and get saved again. That is doctrine is clearly unsupportable by the scripture and I am amazed that some hold it.  Jesus died for the ungodly and having saved us when we were his enemies, he is going to do everything that he can to keep us, even allowing our life to be cut short before we are overcome by sin (I Cor. 5:5).  Those that are in this ditch must live in fear lest they commit a sin and die before they can get saved again and wind up in hell. I think you can see that this is definitely "sloppy grace" and a miserable doctrine to live under. God's grace is greater than our sin and he does not want his children continually living in fear, just hoping that they make it to heaven. Just the opposite, he wants us to give diligence to make our calling and election sure, being a doer of the word so that we have confidence of an abundant entrance into heaven (II Peter 1:8-11).

 

Heb. 10:26-29  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.   He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

 

In one sense, most sin is willful, but the "sin willfully" in Heb.10:26 is referring to the sin of the will turning from light and choosing darkness over light. It is not a person choosing to steal, lie, or any similar individual sin, but willfully choosing to despise the blood of the covenant. We see the active choice of the matter in Peter's use of the words "to turn" in II Peter 2:21-22. I have never know a Christian who has done this, because it's not an easy thing to do. One must get entangled in sin and continue going down that road searing their conscience and rejecting every roadblock and effort of the Holy Spirit to alert them and call them to repentance. Is it possible to depart from grace? YES! Is it an easy path to go down? NO!

Knowing the truth in this area reconciles all scripture on the subject and does not diminish the love of God or the keeping power of God. Both are very real to me, but it does alert me to guard against a lax attitude toward sin or giving the devil a place in my life. A lax attitude could end up costing you your salvation even though God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). His will is to keep everyone that comes to him and call them to repentance when they sin, but he must still respect a mature Christian's will, even to their own destruction.   In a vision, the Lord told one brother that only a mature Christian could depart from grace, with Heb. 6:4-5 indicating the conditions for spiritual maturity. Just as we cannot allow our immature children a completely free will, only a spiritually mature Christian can be allowed free will in this area. We can also see why spiritual maturity would be a requirement for God to allow a Christian to reject the covenant, because only someone who has tasted of the fullness of that covenant could make a "knowledgeable choice" to then reject it.

Since the vast majority of Christians are spiritually immature and don't have free will in this matter, I guess that you could say that they are eternally secure. However, the blessings of spiritual maturity are so abundant, that opening up the capability to depart from grace is almost inconsequential in comparison. At this point in my life, I am more concerned about being diligent that I may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless (II Peter 3:14) so that I may participate in the firstfruits rapture. Counting the blood of the covenant whereby I was sanctified an unholy thing, is totally out of the question. Likewise, Paul is not concerned for his salvation in Phil. 3:11-14, but concerned that he be counted worthy to participate in the resurrection of the dead (or rapture) because it is a prize to those who have been found worthy. I realize this is off-subject but to the vast majority of Christians, missing the rapture is a much more immediate danger than loosing one's salvation.

Watching and Longing for his return,

David Robinson