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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The most frequent objection to the doctrine of eternal security is that it supposedly allows people to live any way that they want and still be saved. While this may be 'technically' true, it is no...
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Pastor Nelson Santiago
As a Pastor of an Assembly of God church I hear and see all kinds of believers, those that feel they are eternally secure and those that are not certain either way, then there are those who have carefully considered both sides of the equation and would rather err on the side of caution. These are the ones who have studied the word of God and have through the Holy Spirit's guidance understood that Jesus himself warned of the possibility of losing ones Salvation. Unlike the other commentators on this forum, I am not going to go into deep theological discourse! Suffice it to quote from Matthew 25 :34-46 here Jesus confronts those who do absolutely nothing for the kingdom of heaven, yet seem to expect a reward. In verse 41 He tells them "Depart from, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.". Tough sentence, yet very revealing to those who think they can live their lives as if there is no price to be paid. Then we have Matthew 7 v 21. "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Jesus then goes on in v22-23 to expound on those who try to justify the reasons they should be granted acesss into heaven.many will say Lord have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. Seem like believers to me! Yet Jesus replies to them and says, " And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. These are words of eternal judgment spoken against those who on the surface appeared to be safe in their eternal security. What happened to that theory. It is a man-made theory, not supported by scripture, and certainly not espoused by Jesus Christ. Hopefully this will open many eyes to those who are on the fence, and who do have good bible teachers or pastors who care enough to tell them the truth that there is no such thing as once saved always saved.
Bruce Lyon
The doctrine of Eternal Security is not based on a proper understanding of scripture. It is a teaching that puts believers in false understanding of grace and what our responsibilities are as followers of the lord Jesus. It makes all that admonitions of Jesus and Paul, James and the other apostles warnings about not holding fast to the teachings given in the revelation that our God has given to us in the scriptures - His word. It's result is evident when we see the condition of Christendom at present.... Revelation 3:14 ¶ And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear; and anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne. The condition that Jesus is talking about, the condition of Laodicia is the condition that is representative of Christendom as a whole, there are also many who are representative of the Sardis condition those who are ready to die spiritually. Very few are representative of the Philadelphian character. What a shame that for most of Christendom Jesus is outside knocking at the door trying to get someone to open. The few who do will be with him in his kingdom rule. Most don't even hear the knock, they think that they are eternally secure, which is a destructive Satanic lie. We are strive - agonizingly struggle to enter the kingdom of God as Paul says. Luke 13:24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Why strive if you think you are eternally secure? Notice Romans 11: 19-23: You will say then, The branches [Jews] were broken off, that I [a Gentile]might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and you standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not you. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF you continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. Cut off, outside of those who are in the lord Jesus the anointed one, outside the called-out Assembly of God. Outside and considered as an unbeliever. But if you believe in the false doctrine of eternal security, no worries, you can just sit back and do nothing and expect to be saved.... NOT! Notice Hebrews 6:4-9: For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the holy spirit, 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. For the earth which drinks in the rain that comes oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. So much for the doctrine of eternal security, it is dangerous and false, we need to hold fast to the end!
Anthony Clinton
The unfortunate result of such a doctrine as “eternal Security” is that it is giving believers a false sense of security when the Scriptures clearly teach that to live securely in Christ one must abide in Him continually. A Christian who does not abide in Christ is one that once was a branch in Christ and dried up having chosen to no longer abide in Him, the Father removes them, and breaks them from the true Vine (Christ) and the end result is the fire. Christ’s address to the 12 concerning the True Vine permanently nullifies the doctrine of eternal security. There are also many other places in the Scripture that show 'eternal security' to be totally false. Some come up with a notion that 'if a person is born a human, can they be unborn?' to argue this case. They use this concept that if we are a born again Christian we cannot be unborn again. The same could be said of the Branch in Christ from John 15, does a branch in Christ, after disconnection remain a branch? Yes it does remain a branch, a branch no longer receiving the lifeblood of the vine and slowly dying. But it’s still a branch. Even when that branch is removed from the vine it’s still a branch. When Satan rebelled in heaven, did that mean he was never truly an angel? When he was cast out of heaven and eternally dammed was he an angel? Of course he was but now he has become a fallen angel. What the doctrine of eternal unconditional security does is remove the conditions demanded of us from the Bible. Jesus told His Apostles, “If you abide in me” you won’t dry up and be broken off, and “if you do not abide” you will be broken off. Does John back this up in his epistles? Yes he does, and again makes it certain that unless the Christians allow the Word of Christ to dwell in them they will not continue in the Father and the Son (1John2:24). It is a conditional promise that requires the believer to continue in the faith. Paul was consistent on this teaching in Romans 11:20-24, He is speaking to genuine Christians who were Gentiles grafted into the Olive Tree(the Church). They are at the time Paul was addressing them, standing (in the position of grace by their connection to Christ) by faith Rom 11:20, but are warned to fear that if they ceased continuing in that grace they would be a branch (Gentile Christian) broken off from the Church. A branch broken off from any tree is a dead branch. This means it once had life, eternal life, but once broken off from the life it had been connected to, it dies. If a Christian does not mortify the flesh he will die spiritually Rom 8:12,13, If a Christian lives to please the carnal cravings of his lower nature the Bible says he will die . Here is the clearest condition for remaining spiritually alive in Christ and note the apostles words, “but IF YOU through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live”. Note the very first verse in this Scripture passage, Rom 8:1, there is no condemnation to Christians that do not walk in the flesh but as we can see in plain sight, there is condemnation to those who turn to live again to serve their lower nature and stop mortifying those sins through the power of the Spirit. I would sincerely urge believers not to be so deceived by such a doctrine as “eternal security”, it is not sound doctrine and can be easily refuted. Let’s imagine Salvation was like a big ship Destined for heaven. The Captain says “While you remain in this Ship you are saved and certain to reach the destination (heaven). But if you decide you don’t wish to remain here I cannot force you, but you will not reach the destination of this ship. Remain in the Ship and you’re saved and nothing can take you away from this ship. Should you decide to jump ship we will send rescue parties after you to implore you to return, but should you continue to refuse to return your doom is your own responsibility. This is the true perspective of being saved by grace.
Aurel Gheorghe
I’m not a pastor or have any formal theological education but it makes sense to believe that the doctrine of eternal security imply a license to sin. If a person at some point in his/hers life surrender to Christ and is saved for eternity, whatever else is doing for the rest of his/hers life should inconsequential. However, the Bible doesn’t teach this doctrine. If “once saved always saved” doctrine would be true, that would mean that God is acting against our freewill if He saves us after we have changed our hearts and want to follow Satan instead. We are created with freewill and we can choose to follow Christ or stop following Him at any point in our lives. Hopefully we might not want to do that, but we can. People change their minds all the time in all manner of things and would be unfair for someone to be saved against his/hers will. King Saul and prophet Balaam are two Bible example that indicates to me that it’s possible for an apparently saved person to end up lost. Both were chosen by God for His work and for a while they did great things; as long as they obeyed God. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ and as long as we keep our eyes on Him we are saved through the power of His blood. In Matthew 14:28-31 we have the perfect illustration of our salvation in Jesus. Peter as long as he kept his eyes fixed on Jesus he was able to walk on water. As soon as he took his off Jesus, he started to sink. Matthew 28:31 'And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Any professed Christian can do the same: at any point in my life I can develop doubts, lose my faith and sight of Jesus, and be in danger of losing my salvation. A Christan should not walk in permanent fear of losing its salvation, but be aware that salvation is not a irreversible process. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Vin Smith
In many ways the so-called "once saved, always saved," concept is both true and false--in human terms. To mouth acceptance of our Savior Jesus Christ, and then willfully continue on in a sinful life gets down to the human construct of "put your money where your mouth is." It reminds me of the meaning behind the words of the great evangelist of the early twentieth century, Billy Sunday, when he said, "...going to church no more makes you a Christian than going to a garage makes you a car!" Only when the verbal affirmation "Jesus--I'm yours!" is accompanied with a Heart Conviction is salvation guaranteed. That's when the individual is humbled by the cross. Surrendered to our Lord and Savior! Good works then follow naturally out of one's core being, having been transformed by the Spirit. The old life is discarded like a sack of rotten potatoes. Then our souls fairly sing out, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me."
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