I’ve been thinking quite a bit about eternal security and thought I’d lay out my own thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. There are a lot of different ways of approaching this subject and mine is not unique by any means.
I need to start with a confession of humility of what I don’t know before I proceed to state what I claim to know. In spite of thinking about this subject for many years, I don’t claim to have it all figured out. I have been on both sides of this issue at various times during my Christian life – sometimes even at the same time. Since God is the one who does the saving, it is folly for me to claim to understand all of this. But I will attempt the folly nevertheless.
The first point is to admit that this is an issue that divides some people and some churches. As such, it is an issue inside the church. This issue is not something that I believe should divide Christians from each other. There are people who are Biblically savvy that hold either position and do it with equal conviction that their view is Biblical (and with an equal number of prooftexts as well). Most of the disagreement is terminological and semantic. Some of the disagreement is based on real differences.
For many who hold Eternal Security, their position arises out of Calvinism and the P in the TULIP; where the P stands for Perseverance of the Saints. Stated simply it means that those who are elect will perseverance in their faith. At the worst, this is tautological since the elect will be the ones who are the elect. At it’s best this provides great comfort for those who are in moments of doubt.
For a particular person to know that they will persevere presumes that the elect are known, at least to the person who claims to be one of the elect. Historically, there have been Calvinists who say that one cannot and should not claim to be one of the elect (from memory, the Church of Scotland in the 1800s is one such example). Although they would formally admit that the elect will persevere, they would not claim to be one of the elect in their own individual case. In fact, it was considered a heresy to state that one was one of the elect.
For some today that say it is OK to say one is elect, in the end it may turn out to be a claim based on their good works. Because they have the works of a Christian, they know that they are saved.
One possible danger here is that of trusting in works. What happens when they sin? Do they feel that they may not really be a Christian since they have non-Christian works? This is the charge most often made against those who deny eternal security, but the point can be said against either side of the issue. Any system based on our good works is doomed to fail.
Faith has to be the keystone to either view, not our good works. We were not saved by works, nor should we trust in our works. The only one we should trust in is Christ.
Others make a claim based on some subjective experience or another with the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to answer such claims since they are personal. Certainly, the Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are children of God but much of this is about how others view us.
A second big point is that Eternal Security depends upon the perspective from which the question is asked. Through foreknowledge, God knows who will persevere, but that is not what the Calvinists mean by the P. For them, this is based not on foreknowledge, but on election. The P gets tied into the other four letters TULI. Each are logically connected and each tie together.
As an example, if grace is Irresistable (the I in TULIP), and the Atonement Limited to the Elect (the L in TULIP), then it could be said to follow that those who are elect will persevere. This follows logically. This system may be internally coherent but that does not prove that it is true.
Others point to specific examples of people that they know who left the faith. Calvinists quoting 1 John and other passages, claim that they “never really were”, hence they are not leaving. Non-Calvinists, such as Arminians, claim that the person actually apostacized and left the faith. In the end, what is the difference if the person is condemned to Hell?
There are some basic questions for those that assert Perseverence of the Saints.
– What parts do works play in Assurance of Salvation? Certainly works are not salvific but they are part of sanctification under most understandings of Salvation.
– What part does the Holy Spirit play in Assurance of Salvation?
– Given the pernicious nature of sin and the deceptive nature of the human heart, how does a person know that they are not fooling themselves?
– Is the will no longer free to reject God once a person has been saved?
Both sides have their issues. Those who reject Eternal Security have a set of questions that apply to them as well:
– Does a person lose/regain their salvation?
– On what basis does a person lose their salvation? Is it sin? What conditions could happen to someone to lead them away from God?
– Does the Holy Spirit come and go from a person when they are saved and leave?
In the end, either position should be tested on the basis of Scripture. Anecdotes of people who left are not Scripture. We never knew the hearts of such a person. All we had was their confession. That they left was not a surprise to God, since God knows all things.
We all need to be cautious when we put on our glasses. By that I mean that we all view texts through lenses. We bring along a paradigm when we come to Scripture. Sometimes our paradigms cause us to form Scripture to suit our paradigm. Scripture should form us, not us form Scripture. Easier said than done, right?
This is a good discussion topic even if we disagree about the answers. Along the way we learn about some fundamental questions like:
– What is the Gospel?
– What is election?
– What does God know vs What do I know?
– What things are essential in the faith?
– How does the Holy Spirit interact with the world and with the believer?
In the end, no matter which system we adopt we need to realize that faith in Christ is what matters. We need to trust Christ to save us whether or not we are Eternally Secure. If we do not trust Christ, there can be no security.
Please note that I have deliberatly avoided prooftexting here.
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