Eternally Secure???

     There is something that has always confused me.  It's when someone shares (usually in a Bible study type setting) about a sick relative who needs prayer.  I ask, "Is this person a Christian?"  The reason I ask is because that makes all the difference in the world.  If this person isn't saved, we need to be praying for their salvation.  Anyway, though, I'll ask about this person's salvation, and I'll often get an answer that really confuses me. "They used to be."  Have you ever gotten that?  What is actually meant by that?  Does that mean the person once professed to be a Christian and now denies Christ?  Did this person used to be active in church and suddenly stopped attending?  Is the person now living an immoral life in some way?  The deeper question is, can a person actually stop being a Christian?  If so, what lines are crossed in order for that to happen?

     Like my last post, The Chosen Ones, this post is about a subject that has been pretty heavily debated.  I do not claim to be smarter than the great theologians who originated these debates, although I do have the same resources.

     First, let's look at what it actually means to be a Christian.  If being a Christian is simply going to church, and a person stops going, then it makes sense to say they "used to be" a Christian.  If being a Christian is simply saying you are one, and then you decided not to say it anymore, it would also make sense to say you "used to be".  Or if being a Christian is living a moral life, and then a person left morality and engaged in what most would consider gross sins, then again, it would make sense to say they "used to be" a Christian.  But the truth is, Christianity is none of these things.  A Christian is a person who has been brought to a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  It isn't just verbally saying you are a Christian.  It is coming to a point of conviction over sin (Romans 3:10, 23).  It is recognizing that Jesus Christ offers the only solution for your sin problem (Second Corinthians 5:21).  It is believing that His substitutionary death and resurrection paid the penalty for your sinfulness (First Peter 3:18).  It is repenting of your sins and placing your faith in the finished work of Christ (Acts 16:31).  It is instantaneous.  It has to be.  That's why the thief on the cross could be saved (Luke 23:40-43).  The moment this happens in your heart, you are saved.  You are a Christian.  Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has gone, the new has come."  At that moment, you are forgiven of all sin, past, present and future (Hebrews 10:14).  You are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).  Your sins are gone (First John 1:7).  You have changed ownership going from Satan's kingdom of darkness to God's kingdom of Light (Colossians 1:13).  All that and more happens the moment you are saved.

     If all these changes take place instantaneously, is it that simple to just stop being a Christian?  Is it even possible?

     There are several phrases used.  Some call the position of being unable to lose your salvation, "Once Saved Always Saved," or "Eternal Security."  The more theological term is "Perseverance of the saints."  Is it true?  Are we eternally secure?  Does everyone who comes to the Lord "persevere?"

     I have met several people who don't like this position of eternal security.  Often, their reasoning is that if we teach people that they are eternally secure in Christ, they'll think it's okay to sin.  Well, maybe they will, maybe they won't, but possible abuse of a doctrine is no reason to withhold truth from people.  If someone is looking for an excuse to sin, they probably aren't a Christian.  Remember everything we just read that happens at the moment of faith in Christ.  Someone who is now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and been forgiven of their sins isn't likely to be looking for excuses to sin.  The Holy Spirit does a work in us, taking away the desire for sin, and giving us the desire for righteousness.  We aren't going to be perfect, but as we grow in the Lord, He will continue working in us.  If a person thinks they have a biblical basis to teach a person that they are NOT eternally secure (we'll examine that a little later), they can go ahead, but I have seldom seen people operating from a biblical basis on this position.  Usually, those who believe it is possible to lose their salvation tell me that they take this position because they worry that people will think they are free to sin.  This is not a way to choose our doctrinal positions.  We should choose to believe the truth.

     Another thing I notice from people who believe it is possible to lose their salvation is that they often believe a certain sin is what does it.  I find logical issue with this.  If we aren't saved by good deeds, how can we lose our salvation by bad deeds?  Theoretically, I can see how a person would say we could lose it if we ceased to believe in Christ.  This is a more logical position, because we are saved when we place our faith in the Lord, so it would make sense to say someone isn't saved anymore when he ceases to do so.  I seldom hear people take this more logical approach, though.  It is usually all about a certain sin they believe is crossing an invisible line.  One pastor even told me once that murder is the sin that makes you lose your salvation.  This doesn't gel with the Bible.  Moses killed an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11-12), but was used mightily of God, and is named as a hero of faith in Hebrews 11.  I think we humans get hung up on sins...our own and other people's.  We lose sight of the very grace that saved us to begin with--grace that didn't originate with us.  And that is why I don't believe it is possible to lose our salvation.

     Let's look at what the Bible says about our salvation.  A verse I used in the last post is also applicable here.  Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.  To read more about what that means, I recommend reading my last post, about election.  For the moment, I'll say this about it.  If God chose us, and it is in God's hands, does it make sense that we could lose it?  Philippians 1:6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus."  God continues what He began when He saved us.  Hebrews 13:5b says, "...for He [Jesus] has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"  Second Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for He cannot deny Himself."  That makes it sound like our salvation is dependent on Him, not on us.  He's the one who saves us and keeps us, regardless of what we do.  Hebrews 7:25 tells us that the Lord is able to "save completely those who come to God through Him."  If we are saved "completely" does that leave room for us to lose it?  I don't think so.  All these verses point to God being the One who saves and keeps us.  This is very closely related to the concept of election.  As I stated in my last post, there are two positions regarding the doctrine of election.  Some Christians believe that God chose to save some fallen sinners, and He chose those people by His Sovereign choice.  Others believe that God chose us based on His foreknowledge of who would say yes to Him and receive Him.  In either event, the evidence that someone is one of the elect is that they do make a decisions for Christ.  I covered that topic more in-depth previously.  Either way, God having chosen us puts the responsibility and security on God, not us.  We humans lose everything!  I used to lose my library card constantly!  In fact, I once lost my car in the parking lot at Disneyland, and it took three hours to find it!  God never loses anything, including His people.  John 10:27-28 is a precious passage that paints a beautiful picture of our relationship with God as believers.  "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand."  Sounds pretty secure to me.

     The Bible is our ultimate source of truth.  I believe I have built my case scripturally.  I'm now going to use some logic with scripture.  John 3:16 promises that anyone who believes in Him "should not perish, but have everlasting life."  If we are given "everlasting life" when we believe on the Lord, does it make sense that we could lose it?  If we could, was it everlasting?  No, it was temporary!  Romans 6:23 says that "the gift of God is eternal life."  Then a few chapters later, in Romans 11:29, it says, "the gift and the calling of God are irrevocable."  That would include the gift of eternal life, the biggest gift of all!

     Are there any believers in the Bible who lost their salvation?  Peter did something that many churches today would deem worthy of losing his salvation.  He denied Jesus.  But he was still saved.  He was like us.  Maybe we're not denying Jesus verbally, but we often do things that aren't in keeping with our faith.  But we don't lose our salvation for it.  Peter was weak, but Jesus helped him become strong again, and he eventually became a great apostle and martyr!  What about Judas?  He was a disciple of Jesus.  Didn't he lose his salvation?  My research would lead me to believe that he was never saved to begin with.  His priorities were shown to be wrong in the first place (John 12:4-6).  There isn't a lot of evidence of his faith in the Lord.  Jesus even gave Judas a chance to avoid sinning by allowing him to partake in the last supper (Matthew 26), but he went ahead with his plans to betray Jesus.

     I once had someone make the case that we can lose our salvation because Lucifer (Satan) did.  He was in Heaven with God, and his sin got him alienated from God.  That is an interesting observation, and I had never thought of it before.  My only problem with it is that Lucifer was not a redeemed human being.  He was an angel who had not previously sinned.  What's more, he didn't repent of his sin.  He didn't have all the promises that are available to believers.  Others have used Hebrews 6:4-6.  This text is often used to defend the belief that we can fall from grace and lose our salvation.  It says, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tested the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance.  To their loss, they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace."  Whew!  That's a mouthful.  On the surface, it would appear to be talking about people who have been saved, experiencing the Lord in their lives, and then turning back.  If, indeed, that is who it is talking about, then that passage would be teaching that it is impossible for them to be saved again at that point.  However, we must always interpret scripture in light of scripture.  Those who interpret this passage to mean losing our salvation are isolating it, not comparing it to the entirety of scripture.  In light of all the passages about our security as believers and God keeping us, I would conclude this passage is talking about a very specific type of hardened person.  Someone who has come very close to God's people, seen God doing amazing things, maybe even seen God work in his life, but then hardened his heart without receiving Christ for himself.  This is much like Pharaoh in the book of Exodus.  He had seen God unleash His power on Egypt through the ten plagues.  He had every opportunity to repent  and embrace the true God for himself.  After the first five plagues, the Bible tells us that Pharaoh hardened his heart.  It was pharaoh's choice.  He saw all God was doing, and was free to choose the true God for himself, but he didn't.  After the sixth plague, in Exodus nine, we see something different.  Exodus 9:12 says, "But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart..."  God did it, but only after Pharaoh had made his choice.  I believe that's what Hebrews 6 is talking about.  Resisting the Holy Spirit is costly.  It cost Pharaoh his life and eternity.  He never embraced the truth.  In light of all that God has done to save us, and in light of the lack of conclusive scriptural evidence to support the contrary, I would say that once we are saved, we are eternally secure.  God keeps us.

     I know that what I'm about to close with isn't as authoritative as the Bible, but these are some quotes about our security as Christians from believers I greatly respect.

     "God buries our sins in the depths of the sea and then puts up a sign that reads 'No fishing.'" 
--Corrie ten Boom

     "If anybody said that he had eternal life and lost it, he would be flatly contradicting himself.  It could not be eternal, or else he would still have it.  If it is eternal, it is eternal, and there is no end to it; and thus there is an end of further argument about it." --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

     "Sometimes, people will make a profession of faith, and then seemingly fall away.  We ask ourselves, 'Did this person lose their salvation?'  My question, in turn, would be, 'Were they really saved to begin with?'  If somebody commits their life to Christ--and then walks away and never comes back, I suggest to you that they were never a Christian at all.  If, on the other hand, someone commits their life to the Lord, walks away, and then comes back to Christ, I suggest to you that they were simply a prodigal." --Greg Laurie

     "Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia." --CS Lewis (a thinly-veiled reference to eternal security in his allegorical novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)