Eternal Security
We can walk in full assurance of our salvation. Yet, can a Christian fall from grace?
"Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12).
The word "departing" in this verse comes from the Greek word "aphistemi", the verb form of the noun "apostasia" from which we derive the English word "apostasy." This word, translated "departing" here in verse 12, means to withdraw one's self or fall away, to desert or shun, to stand aloof, or to depart. Teachers of the doctrine of eternal security claim they are sealed, that they can never fall from grace. Some go as far as to claim that all sins, past, present and future are forgiven at spiritual birth. They also point out that if someone does fall away or backslide, then they were never really saved. This doctrine is one of many that have split churches and have birthed new denominations. The danger of this doctrine, especially for those who believe that future sins are forgiven, is that they believe they can live anyway they want to. They do not have to give up any bad habits, they can continue to live in sin, that there is no need to try to live in holiness or righteousness, for all future sins have been forgiven. Many believe that because they are a member of a church or were baptized at a young age, they are saved even though they lively openly in sin. But, Paul said explicity to the church at Rome, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Romans 6:1-2). Jude mentioned in his book, even in his day, that "certain men.... have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." (Jude 4 NIV).
It is true that believers are sealed. A Christian can have full assurance of his salvation and that heaven will be his home after death. Paul told the Ephesians, "That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." (Ephesians 1:12-13). The apostle John said his purpose for writing his first epistle to those that believe on the name of the Son of God was "that ye may know that ye have eternal life." (1 John 5:13). But, a Christian can still fall away from God. I'm not referring to a single incident or one-time event, but a process which may take many weeks, months or even years.
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, warned the brethren, "Take heed," he said, "lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." The word "heed" here is translated from the Greek word "blepo" which means to behold, to discern, to contemplate, weigh carefully or beware. The writer warns believers here to beware, to watch carefully, to look for and examine your hearts so that you will not fall away. Paul continues in the following verse, "But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Hebrews 3:13). As a believer, we may slip and commit a sin or pick up an old habit. Conviction and sorrow will grip our hearts and we will run to our Father in Heaven and cry for forgiveness and cleansing in the blood of Jesus. The apostle John reminds us "that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1). John also tells us, "If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).
But there are some Christians that have slowly drifted from Christ. Over time, they have come to ignore or shun the conviction of the Holy Ghost. They have reached a place where sin no longer bothers them. They show no remorse, no sorrow, no grief over their sin, and often live openly in sin and encourage others to do so as well. Their hearts have become hard and calloused through sin's deceitfulness and they have grieved the Holy Ghost by shunning His conviction. Sadly, these people, if they have not already, are in severe danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, a grievious sin classified by Christ as unforgivable. "All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men," Jesus said, "but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men." (Matthew 12:31-32). Paul wrote again to the Hebrews, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:4-6). Paul continued his exhortation in chapter 10, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29 NIV). "Christ is become of no effect unto you," Paul said to the church at Galatia, "whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace." (Galatians 5:4).
A good Biblical example is Judas, who walked with the Savior, went out with the other disciples and preached the gospel, healed the sick and worked other miracles. He was with Jesus as He taught and worked wonders. Jesus in His prayer at the Passover said of the disciples, "I gave them the words You gave Me, and they accepted them..... They knew with certainty I came from You.....They believed You sent Me..... You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your word." (John 17:6-12). Peter to the disciples gathered in the upper room, echoed the prophecy of David concerning the one who would betray Christ, "He was one of our number and shared in this ministry." (Acts 1:17 NIV). Yet, slowly over the three years Judas walked with Christ, through the deceitfulness of riches and his lust for money, his heart became so hardened that he betrayed Christ for a handful of coins. Though "he came to himself", he did not ask for forgiveness - and I believe he would have been forgiven had he prayed for God's mercy - but in his state of despair took his own life and died lost without God.
Judas' downfall was the result of a process of giving in to his lust for money until his heart became hardened, and not just a one-time sin. Jesus again spoke concerning His disciples in His prayer during the final Passover, "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled." (John 17:12). As the disciples prayed concerning choosing a new apostle to replace Judas, they said, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two men thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell." (Acts 1:23-25).
Constantly giving in to a sin can possibly, over time, cause a person to become hard in heart. People who struggle in trials, with illnesses, can question God so much until they become bitter or angry. Sin, if left unchecked, and if not dealt with immediately, can cause a person over time to depart from God. Hence, the warnings from the writer of Hebrews, "Take heed BRETHREN, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12). "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." (Hebrews 12:15).
The Bible explicitly tells us to forsake sin. The lusts of our flesh can drag us down, which is why we are warned to shun the very appearance of evil. If all future sins are forgiven, why such a warning against sin, even shunning its appearance? Second Timothy 2:19 tells us, "The Lord knoweth them that are his: and, Let every one that nameth the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness."
More about the Security of the Believer
In view of the Biblical teaching that the security of the believer depends on a living relationship with Christ (John 15:6), in view of the Bible's call to a life of holiness (1 Peter 1:16; Hebrews 12:14); in view of the clear teaching that a man may have his part taken out of the Book of Life (Revelation 22:19); and in view of the fact that one who believes for a while can fall away (Luke 8:13); the Bible clearly refutes the unconditional security position which holds that it is impossible for a person once saved to be lost.
In the matter of the security of the believer, teachings of the Bible stand between the extreme positions of Calvinism and Arminianism. The Calvinist stresses, rightly, God's sovereignty and divine prerogative, while the Arminian stresses, also rightly, man's free will and responsibility. The two positions, however, must be considered together if they are to be properly understood. Four points therefore need to be emphasized:
1. Salvation is available for every man (2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16; Romans 10:11-13).
2. Salvation is received and kept by faith (Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 10:38; 1 Peter 1:5; Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:20, 21).
3. Continued sin will adversely affect the believer's faith (1 John 1:8; 3:8; Romans 3:5-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 3:12-14; 12:1).
4. The believer's salvation is forfeited by rejecting Christ (John 17:12; Hebrews 10:38; 1 Timothy 4:1; 5:12, 15; 1 John 5:16; 2 Peter 2:20; Hebrews 10:26, 27; 6:4-6).
I. Salvation Is Available for Every Man
Two questions may be asked: "Are some predestined to be saved and others to be lost?" and, "Who are the elect?" The answer is clear when it is recognized that the message of the gospel is one of "whosoever will." No one reading the New Testament can miss the impact of this great truth.
However, in Romans 9-11 there are some statements that seem to imply that man's free will is excluded in the matter of the believer's salvation and that God in His choice of the elect exercises His divine sovereignty entirely apart from man's volition. For example: (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)...Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.... I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.... Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth (Romans 9:11, 13, 15, 16, 18).
When this passage is considered in the light of all that God's Word teaches concerning election, however, it is evident that man's will is involved in his election. Jacob was chosen before having done good or evil, but God's choice was on the basis of what He foreknew Jacob would do.
This truth is brought out in Peter's letter to "the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." These believers were recognized to be "elect according to the foreknowledge of God" (1 Peter 1:1, 2). This same truth is stated in Romans 8:29. Paul wrote, "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son."
God determined beforehand the conditions on which He would show mercy. And on the basis of His foreknowledge believers are chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:4). Thus God in His sovereignty has provided the plan of salvation whereby all can be saved. In this plan man's will is taken into consideration. Salvation is available to "whosoever will."
II. Salvation Is Received and Kept by Faith
The Bible clearly states that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and that the just shall live by faith (Hebrews 10:38; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Habakkuk 2:4). As the believer's salvation is received, not by an act of righteousness but by an act of faith, so the believer's salvation is maintained, not by acts of righteousness but by a life of faith!
Being a Christian then is not a matter of works; it is a matter of faith. This must be emphasized. In no case is the sinner accepted by God on the basis of any good that he has done. He is saved totally and solely by grace through faith. By faith he accepts the fact that Christ died in his stead. By faith he throws himself upon the mercy of God and accepts Christ as his Saviour. By faith he sees himself clothed with the righteousness of Christ--a standing imputed to him through no merit of his own (Philippians 3:9). He knows that he is accepted through faith, and this knowledge gives him peace and joy.
The believer's state must not be confused with his standing, however. He stands secure because of faith. His standing is the result of God's grace which he has accepted by faith. He stands justified, clothed with the righteousness of Christ! The believer's state, or the working out of the righteousness of Christ in the believer, is another matter. It involves spiritual growth, a progressive sanctification by obedient cooperation with the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:5-7; Romans 6:12, 13; 8:13; Colossians 3:1-5). During this maturing process the believer must learn by his mistakes as well as by his victories. Nevertheless, his security is never in doubt as long as his faith in Christ is steadfast, for he is kept by faith. His spiritual growth varies in excellence and degree according to the yieldedness and attention he affords to the Spirit who is at work within him. Yet all the while as the perfecting processes go on, he is credited with the perfection through the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith.
Through the process of "becoming conformed" he is secure; his salvation is sure. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). The believer's security, then, is solely through faith, both in the receiving of salvation and in the keeping of salvation. This security is made possible through the mercy of God in imputing the righteousness of His own Son to the fallible and faulty believer as long as he maintains a living faith in Christ. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
III. Continued Sin Will Adversely Affect the Believer's Faith
The Bible makes it clear that in this life Christians do sin and that the Christian's recourse when he has sinned is forgiveness through Christ (1 John 1:8, 9; 2:1). On the other hand, it is unnatural for a Christian to continue in a life of sin. That is, as long as he has the life of Christ within him, he cannot habitually sin. (See 1 John 3:8, 9 where the Greek tense is the continuous present.)
The one who practices sin is of the devil. Whoever is born of God does not practice sin, does not keep on habitually sinning. He cannot keep on sinning the way the child of the devil does. Instead, the Christian should grow spiritually and lay aside sin, recognizing that continued sin will adversely affect his faith.
Does this imply that a Christian can sin and still be saved? The first impulse of many may be to say that he cannot. Yet it is necessary in this connection to consider the fact that worry, pride, envy, and bitterness are accepted as common failings. Few would suggest that believers committing these sins are lost. Moreover if it be insisted that God demands present sinless perfection from believers, then the question must be raised: "Is man's standing in Christ based upon his own righteousness or upon the righteousness of Christ imputed to him by faith?" If man is saved only as long as he maintains a flawless life, then salvation is not of grace, but of works! Then too if man is accepted by God only if he is without fault, Christian living is not free from condemnation as Paul insisted in Romans 8:1. It is rather a continual exercise in soul-searching and penance, full of fear and condemnation and void of the joy and confidence that a knowledge of salvation can bring. (See Romans 5:9-11 where it is clear that the God who loved us enough to provide for our salvation loves us enough to provide for us all the way to glory. This assurance gives us joy in Him.)
A related question is: "What would happen to a believer who commits a sin at that moment Jesus returns?" Those who maintain that a Christian cannot commit a sin and still be saved would teach that such a believer is lost and doomed for eternity. What despair! The believer is not in a revolving door, moving in and out of the grace of God! He is secure in the hand of God, and neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate him from the love of the Father!
This must be said, however, with further emphasis that it is not the natural thing for the Christian to sin. He cannot keep on sinning the same old sins. Having been born of the Spirit, the believer is a new creature for whom old things have passed away and new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB). It is thus now unnatural to sin. The old life is a thing of the past, a latent force within, subdued and reckoned dead by the new Presence (Romans 6:11).
What was the custom and practice before now becomes unnatural and contrary to the new impulses of the heart. "He that is born of God," John said, "cannot sin [or keep on practicing sin]." That is, sin is foreign to the new nature. The new nature that is ours by faith does not sin. Thus when the old nature temporarily and unexpectedly regains ascendancy, the whole new being revolts against this unnatural intrusion. The immediate recourse is to Christ. As the believer who has sinned turns to Christ, he turns not with the despair of a lost soul, but with the secure knowledge that as a son of God he has an Advocate with the Father--who is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse from all unrighteousness. Thus the believer exercises his prerogative as a child of God, never needing to doubt his standing, which he knows is based upon the infallible righteousness of Christ by faith.
Having stressed the sovereignty and grace of God, it is also imperative to bring the free will and responsibility of the believer into focus. God does not withdraw the power of choice from the person who believes. By the exercise of free will the believer becomes a child of God, and by the continued exercise of free will he remains a child of God. To keep on believing is the believer's responsibility. The believer must also be careful that he does not take a light attitude toward sin. He dare not use the grace of God as a license to sin.
"Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" asked Paul (Romans 6:1). The answer is an emphatic negative. Paul knew and taught that continued sin will adversely affect a believer's faith, and faith is the very thing that makes a relationship with God possible. Continued sin becomes presumptuous, high-handed, and is evidence of rebellion. (See Numbers 15:30, 31.)
Rebellion is the opposite of the trust and obedience of faith. Believers must be on guard constantly, "looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God" (Hebrews 12:15). The Bible's exhortation is: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Why such precautions and concern? These repeated warnings are meaningful only when it is recognized that the loss of faith means the eternal loss of the soul. For while it is true that the believer's salvation is not earned by his righteous deeds nor his salvation maintained by them, it is equally true that as the believer obtains his salvation by faith, so he can lose it by unbelief!
Sin and unbelief are closely related. Sin jeopardizes faith, and loss of faith means loss of standing. Hebrews 3:12-14 bears this out. The writer warned the brethren against unbelief which will lead to a departure from the living God. He mentioned the deceitfulness of sin as the cause of unbelief and reminded them that we are partakers of Christ only if we hold the beginning of our confidence unto the end. Standing in Christ is by faith. Remove faith, and there is no longer any standing. This is why Scripture admonishes the believer to "take heed...lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief" (Hebrews 3:12).
IV. Salvation Is Forfeited by Rejecting Christ
God does not let anyone go easily. (See Romans 10:21 where Paul was speaking of Israel, but the principle applies.) But a believer can be lost if he disregards the continuing checks of the Holy Spirit and reaches the point where he rejects Jesus as his Saviour. It is possible to believe for a while and in time of temptation to fall away (Luke 8:13). It is possible for the weak brother to perish for whom Christ died (1 Corinthians 8:11). It is possible for a name to be written in the Book of Life and then removed from the Book (Revelation 22:19).
It is not always possible to determine whether a person has already turned his back on Jesus as his Saviour. Therefore it is well to leave judgment of these matters in the hands of the omniscient God. Of this we can be certain, however; if God does not give up in His efforts to bring the prodigal back, neither should the church of Jesus Christ. Too often people write off an individual when God has not written him off at all.
The Bible does recognize the possibility of forfeiting salvation, but it never ceases to offer hope for anyone who wants to respond to the entreaty of the Holy Spirit. Jesus' invitation is without qualification. He speaks to all when He says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Again the Bible speaks to all when it says, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
Source: Assemblies of God position papers
.