ARE BELIEVERS ETERNALLY SECURE IN CHRIST?

1. Is it possible to fall from grace? In other words, can a believer backslide, fall away, and be cut off from Christ?
2. Are believers unconditionally and eternally secure in Christ? That is, once we are saved, are we always saved without any chance of being lost?

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ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY

PASSAGES USED TO SUPPORT PREDESTINATION OF INDIVIDUALS

John 10:27–30 NKJV

²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

²⁸ And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

²⁹ My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

³⁰ I and My Father are one.”

Pluck/Snatch—comes from the Greek verb harpazo, meaning to seize, catch away, pull, take by force. Remaining in Christ’s protective care is contingent upon following Him. (See John 6:35-40; 10:27.) Security in Christ is conditional on our continued faith in Him as demonstrated by our obedience to His commands in the Scripture. Humans or Satan cannot pluck us from the hand of God as long as we walk by faith in Him, following His Word. Refusing to do so would result in our being severed from Christ, which would occur by our own volition.

Romans 8:35–39 NKJV

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

³⁶ As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

To understand this passage, read the entire chapter of Romans 8. It declares that a believer has no condemnation as long as he or she walks after the Spirit and not after the flesh. The chapter warns believers not to be carnally minded; it encourages them to be led by the Spirit and to mortify (kill) the deeds of the body so they will live.

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STRUCTURE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

The New Testament comprises twenty-seven books. Four are Gospels, recording the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. Acts of the Apostles describes the formation of the church and its spread through the then-known world. The twenty-one Epistles are letters to believers, or saints. Revelation, the final book, has future events as its main focus.

God wants us to retain what He gave us in the New Testament. These books cover Christian conduct, manner of lifestyle, modes of dress, and so on. Much of the material in them would be wasted material if believers are irrevocably secure in Christ.

God’s Word demands that we give diligence to our salvation lest we fall from the grace of God or come short of His glory.

2 Peter 1:10 “10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;”

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SCRIPTURES EXPRESSING CONDITION

2 Peter 1:10 “10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;”

1 John 1:7 “7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Hebrews 3:6 “6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”

John 13:35 “35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””

Hebrews 3:14 “14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,”

John 8:31 “31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”

Colossians 1:21–23 “21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

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SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS CONCERNING ETERNAL SECURITY

Angels—God did not spare the angels who sinned but cast them down to hell, reserved for judgment. The highest order of created beings, secure and seemingly beyond the ability to fail, did so and were cast down because of sin (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6).

Adam and Eve—From the most sublime state humans have ever experienced, Adam and Eve fell into the trap of sin. The Bible gives us warnings lest Satan use the same weapon against us that he used against Eve. (See Genesis 2-3; Romans 5:12-21; II Corinthians 11:3.)

Israel—God delivered them from Egypt but then destroyed them for continually disobeying His commands (Jude 5; Hebrews 3:6-19).

Judas Iscariot—He obtained a part of the apostolic ministry, was treasurer of the Twelve, and was sent out to heal the sick and to preach the gospel, but then he fell by transgression (Acts 1:15-16).

Ananias and Sapphira—They were among the believers (Acts 4:32), but Satan filled their heart to lie to the Holy Ghost (God). Could they possibly be saved when God has already decreed the destiny of liars? (See Revelation 21:8.)

Hymenaeus and Philetus—Apparently, they were once in the truth since they erred from it (II Timothy 2:15-19; I Timothy 1:18-20).

Ephesus and Laodicea—The churches in these cities were in danger of having their candlesticks removed unless they repented (Revelation 2:1-11; 3:14- 22). If God’s judgment would be against a congregation, what about an individual?

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WARNINGS CONCERNING SPIRITUAL FAILURE

Ekpipto—means to drop away, be driven out of one’s course, lose, become inefficient, be cast, fail, take none effect.

Empipto—means to fall on, be entrapped by, be overwhelmed with, fall among.

Ptaio—means to trip, err, sin, fail of salvation, offend, stumble.

1. Believers are instructed in how to handle a brother or sister overtaken in a fault (Galatians 6:1; See James 5:19-20).
2. Bishops are warned about falling into the condemnation and snare of the devil (I Timothy 3:1-7).
3. When we think we stand, we are warned to take heed lest we fall (I Corinthians 10:12). Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
4. Warnings are given to those who were once enlightened, tasted of the heavenly gift, were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good Word of God, and tasted the powers of the world to come (Hebrews 6:1-8). If it is not possible to fall, why such warnings?
5. Those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:27-30). Could a previous believer commit this sin? Hebrews 6:1-8; 12:15-17 and I John 5:16-17 indicate that it is possible.
6. Peter, the man with the keys to the kingdom of heaven, warned us who have escaped the pollutions of the world, that to become entangled again would cause us to be worse than we were before we were saved. It would be better never to have known the way of truth than, after we have known it, to turn from it (II Peter 2:20-22). (See Galatians 4:9; 5:1.)
7. Paul declared to some that they had fallen from grace (Galatians 5:1-4). Would he say that if it were not possible to fall from grace?
8. We are to look diligently lest we fail of the grace of God (Hebrews 12:14-17). Fail in this verse comes from the Greek word hustereo, meaning to be inferior, fall short, be deficient, come behind, be short, and lack.
9. Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail (Luke 22:32). Fail in this verse comes from the Greek word peto, meaning to fall, fail, and fall down.
10. We are to be aware lest we are led away with the error of the wicked and fall from our steadfastness (II Peter 3:14-18). Peter also gave a list of things we are to add to our faith, and if we obey, we will never fall (II Peter 1:1-11). Thank God, we do not have to fall. We can be a success spiritually. (See Jude 24.)
11. In the parable of the sower, some seed fell on stony ground and among thorns (Luke 8:4-15). These two classes of people obeyed and found God, but they did not last or endure to the end. This can and does happen today.
12. God can blot our name out of His book of life. (See Exodus 32:33; Revelation 3:5.) Our names had to be there once in order to be blotted out.
13. In the last days some shall depart from the faith (I Timothy 4:1). Surely some- one has to be in the faith before they can depart from it.
14. Again, warnings are given to believers lest they tread under foot the blood of the Son of God and insult the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-39).

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DANGERS OF THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY

1. It removes the fear of God from the believer’s life.
2. It destroys the desire to fast and pray.
3. It promotes worldliness and sin among believers.
4. It stops faithfulness to church services and activities.
5. It retards strong consecration and dedication to God.
6. It discourages paying of tithes, offerings, and helping the needy.
7. It denies the possibility of Satan overcoming us. (See I Thessalonians 3:5; I Peter 5:8.)
8. It breeds separation in marriage, divorce, and immoral living.
9. It renders church ordinances, standards of conduct, rules and regulations, and the twenty-one Epistles useless and unworthy of our attention and adherence.
10. It creates a false sense of spiritual security, causing laxity in every aspect of our service to God, though the Scriptures warn us to be prayerful and watchful.

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CONCLUSIVE TRUTHS

1. Predestination of the church is a Bible truth. Yet there is no validity to the idea that individuals are predestined of God to be either saved or lost. God has foreknowledge of this but has not decreed or predestined such.
2. No believer is unconditionally eternally secure; all believers are subject to failure and must diligently walk by faith to inherit eternal life in the end.
3. God’s Word does not teach the bondage of the human will but that humans are free moral agents with the ability to accept or to reject salvation, and even to reject Christ after once accepting Him.
4. Although we are saved by grace, kept by grace, and presented faultless before the throne of His presence by grace, yet in this life we can fall from the grace of God.
5. The Bible does not teach that we can reach flawless perfection (as we normally understand the meaning of perfection) in this life. Believers who are overcome by sin through lust and temptation can repent and be restored to favor with God through the advocacy of Jesus Christ. (See I John 2:1-2).
6. Believers who continue in sin without repentance and do not live by faith will fall from grace and will be lost. (See John 15:1-11; Revelation 2:5; 3:14-22.)
7. Christ’s atonement was unlimited, that is, He died for the sins of the whole world, not just for the predestined few.
8. God gives sufficient grace to every saint to maintain victory over sin and Satan, but it is absolutely essential for Christians to persevere through faith.
9. An individual can resist God’s call to salvation and His grace. God does not make certain people respond to His call. We are free moral agents who can choose either to serve God or to refuse to serve Him. (See Joshua 24:14-25.)
10. Jesus Christ died for all. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). We can live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:11-12). It is not His will that any perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). No one has a greater love than this!

Jude 24–25 “24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”

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