I have seen many false teachers who claim a person can lose or give back their salvation. Anyone that does not believe once saved always, does not know God word nor do they understand it. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans6:23 tell us the God promises us eternal life. These who claim you can lose or give back your salvation is calling God a liar. We are saved by Grace not of ourselves. If it is possible to lose or give back your salvation, then what must you do in order to keep it? Ive asked this question many times of those who deny eternal security and have received different responses. But they all, essentially, can be categorized into two areas: Remain faithful, and Be obedient. Whichever position is taken, both are dependent upon mans faithfulness and ability. Both require mans works. All that I am and all I need is found in the work of Christ. Even my ability to believe is Gods work (John 6:28-29). My believing has been granted to me by God (Phil. 1:29). And, I believe because I was appointed to eternal life (Acts 13:48). Should I then stand before God and man and say that I am keeping my position with God by my own faithfulness? This is something I can never claim. That is why I ask people who believe they can lose their salvation and are seeking to maintain it by being faithful, Are you taking credit for your believing? If they say yes, they are boasting. If they say no, then I ask them what makes them think that if God who granted that they believe (Phil. 1:29), appointed them to eternal life (Acts 13:48), chose them before the foundation of the world for salvation (Eph. 1:4-5; 2 Thess. 2:13), predestined them (Rom. 8:29-30), and said he will lose none (John 6:39), well let them slip through his fingers when he said it was his will that those who believe would not be lost and would be raised on the last day (John 6:37-40)? The Bible is clear that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6). The moment a person truly believes in Jesus Christ, he or she is saved and secure in that salvation. Salvation is not gained by faith, but then maintained by works. The apostle Paul addresses this issue in Galatians 3:3 when he asks, Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? If we are saved by faith, our salvation is also maintained and secured by faith. We cannot earn our own salvation. Therefore, neither can we earn the maintenance of our salvation. It is God who maintains our salvation (Jude 24). It is Gods hand that holds us firmly in His grasp (John 10:28-29). It is Gods love that nothing can separate us from (Romans 8:38-39). Any denial of eternal security is, in its essence, a belief that we must maintain our own salvation by our own good works and efforts. This is completely antithetical to salvation by grace. We are saved because of Christs merits, not our own (Romans 4:3-8). To claim that we must obey Gods Word or live a godly life to maintain our salvation is saying that Jesus death was not sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus death was absolutely sufficient to pay for all of our sins—past, present, and future, pre-salvation and post-salvation (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Does this mean that a Christian can live any way he wants to and still be saved? This is essentially a hypothetical question, because the Bible makes it clear that a true Christian will not live any way he wants to. Christians are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christians demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), not the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21). First John 3:6-9 clearly states that a true Christian will not live in continual sin. In response to the accusation that grace promotes sin, the apostle Paul declared, What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2). Eternal security is not a license to sin. Rather, it is the security of knowing that Gods love is guaranteed for those who trust in Christ. Knowing and understanding Gods tremendous gift of salvation accomplishes the opposite of giving a license to sin. How could anyone, knowing the price Jesus Christ paid for us, go on to live a life of sin (Romans 6:15-23)? How could anyone who understands Gods unconditional and guaranteed love for those who believe, take that love and throw it back in Gods face? Such a person is demonstrating not that eternal security has given him a license to sin, but rather that he or she has not truly experienced salvation through Jesus Christ. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him (1 John 3:6).
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 16:26:38 +0000
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