Is eternal security really taught in
the Bible or can you lose your salvation? This question is
intertwined with the question of free will versus election and I did
write an article on that already here
http://bibleconundrumsandcontroversy.blogspot.com/2012/06/calvinism-vs-arminianism-or-election-vs.html
, but as I see this is becoming a matter of debate over who is a
false teacher or not based on whether they teach eternal security or
not, I felt that it deserved another go around. If the reader is a
proponent of election and does not believe in free will then it is
really imperative that the above article be read first before
continuing with this one.
I have heard a slightly new teaching
that says that free will exists up to the cross, but after that you
no longer have free will and thus are eternally secure. Let's take a
logical look at that statement. You are born with free will, which
means you can utilize your will to make choices for or against God,
but after you accept Jesus or Yeshua as your Savior, you no longer
have the ability to exercise free will choices for or against God. If
this hypothesis is true, then we should be able to look and see
Christians who, whether they believe this doctrine or not, never sin.
(Because God's truth applies to all His children regardless of how
ignorant they might be of the Scriptures.) This must be the end
result of this tenet, as once we are inhabited by the Holy Spirit, if
we are unable to make free will choices, we must by default only do
that which is godly and right. Therefore we can never sin, because
sin would be a choice of the old man (or our free will) overcoming
the new man, which according to this theory is impossible, for we are
eternally secure from ever exercising our free will to go against
God.
The question that presents itself
is.....is that what the evidence suggests? Well, I don't know about
you, the reader, but that is not what I see in Christians as a whole,
(as a whole I see incredible apostasy and sin in the church) and try
as hard as I might, that is not even what I can see in my own life. I
readily admit that there are times I give in to sin. I sometimes get
angry, jealous, and even sometimes covet material possessions, even
if only ever so briefly. I am a sinner....still. Yet I have been born
again since I was a little child. I require repentance daily for
falling short of the standards of God. So to say that free will
exists up to the time of the cross, but after that we no longer have
free will would not seem to be an accurate assessment of the
situation. Christians still do sin. All of them. I see people who say
they are born again Christians struggling with the same problems I do
and many other problems that I don't. People gossip, are deceitful,
get angry, jealous, covet others property, even lie or cheat. And
yes, they are true believers. If everyone who commits a sin was
“never really saved to begin with” as the excuse is given, then I
don't think there are very many real Christians in the world.
Possibly none, because I have yet to know of a sinless person other
than Christ.
I think logically we can dispense with
the idea that free will exists up to the cross and then we are
incapable of making decisions against God. Clearly we can and do sin
against God. We continue to choose and have free will choice to defy
God.
So, you might say, just because we
commit a sin here and there does not mean that we lose our salvation.
I agree. 1 John 1:9”If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” Confession
is good for the soul, as they say. And the spirit too. If we confess
our sins, God restores our relationship with Him to what it should
be. That is why it requires constant repentance on our part when we
sin. Losing your salvation is not that easy.
Christ
gave us a lot of parables to show us truths. Maybe we need to take a
closer look at what He said. In the parable of the mustard seed in
Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23 it says, “And he spake many things
unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And
when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came
and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not
much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no
deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and
because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell
into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some
sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Hear ye therefore the parable of the
sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and
understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away
that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by
the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the
same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet
hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when
tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he
is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that
heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness
of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that
received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and
understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some
an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
In examining this parable, without
applying a preconceived interpretation, we see something that is
often overlooked. In each case, the Holy Spirit puts the seed in the
hearers heart. In the first case, the hearer did not understand. It
was meaningless to him, so Satan was able to grab it away from him.
In the second case notice that it says he receives it.....I
repeat, he receives
it. He receives it with joy.
And he continues in the faith
for a while. But because he does not let it really get rooted deep
down - it is a shallow faith - and he does not grow and let that root
penetrate deep into his life, and does not bring forth the fruit, he
only continues to walk in faith until tribulation
and persecution arises. Then he chooses to abandon or
walk away from the faith, permanently. This to me is the kind of easy
Christianity that we see today. People are being told that all they
need to do is believe and they are saved. They truly do believe. They
truly want it and accept it. Yes, belief and receiving the gift is
what is necessary for salvation, but so is taking it deep into your
life and letting it become so rooted that nothing else matters. It is
putting Christ first in your life before all things, and being
willing to suffer and sacrifice for him. If we don't let it root that
deeply, when tribulation and persecution comes, when the God of love
that is so easy to respond to seemingly deserts us to allow us to
suffer, then people choose, I repeat, people choose
to walk away from the faith that causes them to suffer. This is what
I fear will happen to many pre-tribbers when they suddenly find
themselves in the great tribulation after believing all along that
Jesus would never let His Bride suffer, as I hear them all say. These
people love God, but they aren't willing to suffer for God.
The
third seed falls on ground that also receives it. And like the second
seed, notice that not only is it received, but it must actually grow,
for thorns can't choke out something that doesn't exist. And what is
the result of this choking? The result is that the cares and riches
of the world prevent the person from producing fruit.
They are too busy with these other things to be engaging in God's
work. In other words, it is expected that once the word is received,
that the evidence that it is rooted and is not being choked out is
that, as any viable seed would, it will produce fruit. Now people
immediately will jump on that and say, “But that's works. You are
trying to work your way to heaven.” No, that is not what this is
teaching. It is teaching that once we have received the word, if we
want it to continue to live in us, to make it viable,
we
need to make sure we are bringing forth fruit. John 15: 1-2, 5-6 “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the
same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If
a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
burned.” Jesus
tells us that if we are not abiding in Christ and bringing forth
fruit (and not just some fruit, but much fruit), we will wither, be
taken away, and thrown in the fire (of hell), just as this seed
perishes. If we are bearing fruit, it doesn't mean everything is easy
going. God, like a farmer, will prune (purge) you to make sure you
bring forth even more fruit. It takes pruning a fruit tree to keep
it producing a lot of fruit, but pruning is painful for the tree. And
we need to weed ourselves of sin. Purging, discipline, tribulation,
hardships, persecution, all these things God allows so that we will
grow deeper roots and bring forth more fruit.
This brings us to the fourth seed which indeed verifies the idea that
fruit is a necessary part of salvation, not to earn it by works, but
to prove it by evidence. This person hears and understands the
word. In other words, these people understand that there is more to
it than easy believe-ism. They understand that it requires putting
down roots, weathering the storms of life, and bringing forth fruit.
Naturally not everyone is going to bring forth the same amount of
fruit, but everyone must bring forth fruit nonetheless. So grounds
number two and three initially receive the gospel, but lose their
salvation due to their inability to continue in the faith and endure
to the end, while producing fruit along the way. And we see that in
the next parable also.
Matthew
25:14-30 “For
the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who
called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto
one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to
every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his
journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded
with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that
had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received
one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. After a
long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five
talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold,
I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him,
Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents
came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I
have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him,
Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came
and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where
thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I
was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou
hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked
and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and
gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put
my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have
received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and
give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath
shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath
not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.”
Take
careful note of what the first sentence says. “..a man....called
his own
servants.” This is not
speaking of believers versus non-believers. This is talking about
several different servants of the Lord God. People who belong
to God. They are His own
servants, not someone elses. The master divides up the talents in
different amounts to the different servants. He does not give the
same thing to everyone. He spreads the talents out among the servants
in differing amounts for His own reasons. Notice that he doesn't
expect an unreasonable amount of return. The five talents yielded
five more. The two yielded two more. But the one who buried the
talent, who did not do the work expected of him in doubling the
talent, was in serious trouble when the master returned. Not only is
the single talent taken away, but far worse the unprofitable
servant is
thrown into outer darkness (hell, where he loses his salvation).
Again, we see that it is apparent that our Master (God) is expecting
that we will be doing works on His behalf, bringing in some sort of
“profit” for His kingdom. To say that works are unnecessary is to
blatantly disregard what Christ is telling us. They do not earn our
way to heaven, but they do keep us from losing the salvation that has
been given to us. Just as you have to take care of a car or it “dies”
and ends up on a junk heap, you need to take care of your salvation
and nurture it or it will die and you will end up in outer darkness.
The
next parable has been used by various camps of thought to try to
prove their interpretation. In some cases it requires leaving all
logic behind to accept the explanation they give. Let us look at it
and see what is said. Matthew 25:1-12 “Then
shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them
were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold,
the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins
arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise,
Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise
answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you:
but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while
they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went
in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came
also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he
answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
The first thing we notice is that there are ten virgins who are
awaiting the bridegroom. Now I have heard people say that five are
real Christians and five people who think they are Christians but
aren't, or five are pre-trib Christians and five are Christians who
embrace another doctrine of the rapture. Neither fits the scenario in
any logical way. There are ten virgins. They are waiting for the
bridegroom. The fact that they are all virgins waiting for the
bridegroom can only mean that it stands for ten Christians.
Non-believers would not be virgins waiting for Christ. There is no
other way of interpreting what virgins mean in this case. The second
case is where pre-tribs say that the wise virgins represent them and
the foolish virgins represent other Christians is not only illogical,
but ludicrous. Pre-tribbers expect Christ to come back early. In the
above scenario, the wise virgins know that the bridegroom will not be
coming right away, and that they need to have that extra oil, so that
they can refill their lamps after they burn out in the long wait. The
wise virgins did the “work” of packing extra oil and bringing it
along for the wait, not knowing how long it might be. The foolish
ones didn't think they need go to the trouble of packing and carrying
it along, as they did not expect to have to wait that long. They
expected an early arrival. They were wrong. And it cost them being
shut out of the wedding. Am I saying that no pre-tribber will make it
into heaven? Of course not. What I am saying is that those who do not
have a deep-rooted faith that can endure, those who have the easy
believe-ism Christianity including those who are also pre-tribbers,
who don't think God would ever ask them to suffer, will most likely
abandon the faith when persecution comes. They have not done the work
of growing in the faith. Those pre-tribbers who have that faith will
be terribly surprised and disappointed to find themselves in the
tribulation, and will probably die in it, but they will not let
persecution rob them of their salvation. They will suffer (or “work”
as they call it) and endure to the end to make their salvation sure,
for he who endures to the end will be saved. Ultimately what this
parable is teaching is that no matter when you believe the rapture
will happen, if you have not been abiding with Christ and doing the
works He has given you to do, you will not have that oil when you
need it.
Matthew
10:22 “And ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to
the end shall be saved.”
Matthew
24:13 “But he
that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Mark
13:13 “And ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
Is not enduring a “work” of sorts? And if you cannot lose your
salvation, why must you endure?
So far all of these parables are teaching us that you can lose your
salvation. You can be cast into outer darkness. You can - not make it
to the wedding.
Jesus
speaks yet another parable. Matthew 22:1-13 “And
Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The
kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage
for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were
bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth
other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have
prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all
things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it,
and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And
the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and
slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent
forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their
city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they
which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways,
and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants
went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they
found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which
had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how
camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and
foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
In
this parable we see that when Israel who was supposed to come to the
wedding would not come, and not only would not come, but killed the
messengers starting with Stephen, God sent forth armies to destroy
the murderers of His servants, and cast them forth out of Jerusalem.
He then offered the gospel to the Gentiles. The Gentiles accepted the
gospel, and were furnished with wedding garments, but when the time
for the wedding came, there was a man who
accepted the invitation and showed up at the wedding, but
did not have on a wedding garment. As a result he was cast into outer
darkness, which we know as hell. The amazing thing is, this man was
speechless because he was so shocked. And why was he shocked? Because
he apparently thought the wedding garment was automatically provided
for him when he got there by virtue of his accepting the invitation.
But it wasn't. Why wasn't it? What was this garment he was lacking?
How did he fail to show up without it? Let's see if we can figure
this out. Where else is the wedding garment mentioned?
Revelation
19:7-9 “Let us
be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:
for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto
me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper
of the Lamb.”
This tells us that the wedding garment is the fine white linen of the
righteousness of the saints. But all our righteousness comes from
Christ, does it not? So then if that is the case, why did this man
not have one on? He accepted the invitation. He accepted and believed
in Jesus, otherwise he wouldn't have come to the wedding at all.
Right? So what was missing?
Well, we've already seen in the previous parables that works are a
necessary followup to accepting Yeshua as our Savior. God created the
works for us to do, even before we accepted Him.
Ephesians
2:10 “For we are
his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good
works,
which God
hath before ordained that
we should
walk in them.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works.”
Titus 2:7a “In all things shewing
thyself a pattern of good works.”
Titus
2:14 “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous
of good works.”
Titus
3:8 “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will
that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God
might be careful to maintain good works. These
things are good and profitable unto men.”
Titus
3:14 “And let ours also learn to maintain good
works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful.”
Hebrews
10:24 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto
love and to good works.”
Philippians
2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
Even Paul
considered it a possibility for him to lose his own salvation if he
did not continue to abide in Christ and bring his life into
subjection. He realized he had to endure to the end.
1
Corinthians 9:21-27
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that
striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it
to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore
so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest
that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself
should be a castaway.”
2
Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought a good fight, I
have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing. ”
We are warned about
being contemptuous of works. For to deny works as a part of our
salvation is to deny God.
Titus
1:16 “They
profess that they know God; but in works they deny
him, being abominable,
and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”
Getting back to the wedding garment, which is the righteousness of
the saints, let us take a look at what is considered the
righteousness, to know what constitutes our wedding garment. It is
not the acceptance of the invitation, (which is accepting Jesus as
your Savior) obviously, otherwise the guest would not have arrived
inappropriately dressed. So it must be something else. Abraham seems
to hold the key.
James
2:14-26 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man
say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a
brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of
you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to
the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works,
is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have
works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my
faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest
well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O
vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our
father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the
altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was
faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith,
Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for
righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see
then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith
only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified
by works, when she had received the messengers, and had
sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is
dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
We are told that Abraham believed God
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. But we already know
that that does not give you a wedding garment. But then we see there
is something more to that righteousness. By works
along with his faith a man is justified (made righteous). Faith alone
is not enough. A man needs to have the evidence of his faith made
apparent. And that evidence is found in the form of works. What
righteousness is there in just believing? If that belief is not
tested, is not proven, is not shown to the world, of what use is it
to God? Our faith is justified by our works. Our justification and
our righteousness is made complete by our works. It proves our faith.
Without the works, our faith is a dead faith.
So it would seem
that our righteousness is not simply accepting Christ as our Savior,
it also requires the evidence of our works. The wedding garment is
made by our works. This is why the man at the wedding lacked a
garment. He had not been doing the works. He had not taken his talent
and doubled it for the Lord. He had not been producing fruit.
So we see that it
is possible to lose our salvation by neglect. What about by
commission, by a deliberate act of turning from God?
Do we have eternal security regardless
of what we do, or can we choose to walk away from God and quit
believing after having accepted His Son as our Savior? Do we have
free will after the cross? It would seem from the parable of the
seeds that we do. What else does the Bible say? Hebrews 6:4-6 “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 to themselves
the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” How can
people read these verses and not understand them? What do they say?
They say that it is impossible to
renew the repentance of
those who fall away. Fall
away from what? From having once been enlightened,
tasted
the heavenly gift, been a partaker
of the Holy Ghost, tasted
the word of God, and the powers of the kingdom of God. These
things only occur to someone who has accepted Yeshua as their Savior.
It does not happen to unbelievers. Unbelievers cannot partake
of the Holy Spirit or taste
the Word of God or the heavenly
gift (justification) anymore
than someone can partake of or taste a meal unless they actually eat
it. The only way to partake of the Holy Spirit is to be indwelt by
Him. Notice that they can fall away, but it is impossible to renew
them to repentance again. This falling away is speaking of one that
is equivalent to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, not simply committing a
sin. For if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(1 John1:9) Added to this is the fact that it says that they cannot
renew their
repentance. You can only renew something if you have had it before.
If they had not had justification applied to their lives, it would
not be talking about renewing it again. It would be the first time,
not the second.
Hebrews
10:26-31 “For if we sin wilfully (note
the free will choice to sin) 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? For
we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will
recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge
his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God.” Notice the
words in bold print. If we sin how? If we sin willfully.
That denotes a choice of our free
will. When is this choice made? After we
have what? After we have received
the knowledge of truth. This
does not just mean intellectually receiving it. This is talking about
having accepted Christ into our hearts. How can we be sure of that?
Because it says how much greater will the punishment be for those who
trod under foot the Son of God and have counted unholy the blood by
which he was what? By which he was sanctified.
One is only sanctified when one accepts Yeshua as their Savior and is
set apart by God as one of His own. There is no other way of reading
this. Does this mean that if we deliberately sin all is lost? We will
all sin, sometimes willfully, but this is much more than that. This
is a complete rejection of the blood of Christ and considering it a
worthless thing. It is blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
We
may sin, but most of us feel remorse and guilt and repent of that
sin. We can be forgiven for sinning against Yeshua, Luke 12:10 “And
whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be
forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it
shall not be forgiven.” So
even though as Christians we should not willfully sin, we sometimes
do. Fortunately God is faithful to forgive us our sins. We do not
throw the baby out with the bathwater and reject Christ's sacrifice
or stop believing in it, because we have committed a sin. In fact we
cling all the more to the promise of forgiveness, knowing how
unworthy we are to receive it. This verse is talking about those who
willfully walk away from Christ and reject Him totally to the point
of unbelief, not those who commit a sin, whether by deception or
intent. If that were the case, then why tell us in 1 John 1:8-10 “If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say
that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in
us.”
We are sinners trapped in a sinful body and will be at war with
ourselves all our lives to try to be obedient to God and turn from
sin, however we will all sin from time to time in spite of our best
efforts. We might be able to control our physical actions, but
capturing every thought, which is also required to be sin free, is
another matter entirely and extremely hard to do. It is that place
where sin originates, inside of us in our hearts and minds before it
ever manifests in our actions.
So
are we eternally secure? Well, as long as we abide in Christ we are.
Abiding in Christ means striving to run the race, to bring our bodies
and minds into subjection, to keep Christ's commandments (If
ye
love me, keep my
commandments,
John 14:15), to do the works God has preordained for us to do, to
endure to the end. People who believe in Calvinism and eternal
security within the definition of that theology like to quote the
following verse to say that it is impossible to lose your
justification. Romans 8:35-39 “Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am
persuaded, that 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 us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We are promised that nothing outside of ourselves has the power to
separate us from Christ as long as we choose
to
remain in Him. Nothing and nobody else has that right. However notice
that God does not include us in that list. We
do have
the ability to separate ourselves from Christ by our own free will
choice. Hebrews has taught us that. So eternal security is available
for the Christian, but only if you persevere and remain in Christ.
You can walk away.
