Tuesday 26 May 2020

FIFTEEN MIND-BOGGLING QUESTIONS FOR FANS OF ETERNAL SECURITY




If the fate of believers in eternity is sealed (safe and secure in heaven) and decided 'once and for all' the moment they believed in Christ:

Why did Jesus warn believers to endure to the end in order that we might be saved (Matthew 24:13)?

Why did Jesus warn believers (branches) to abide in Him (Vine) or they will be lifeless, useless, thrown away and be burnt (John 15:6)?

Why did Paul urge us to watch our life and doctrine so that we might save ourselves (1 Tim. 4:16)?

Why did Paul warn believers that God is kind to us provided we continue in his kindness or else we will cut off (Romans 11:22)?

Why did Paul stress that, one day, we will be presented holy and blameless before God IF we continue to be steadfast in the faith (Colossians 1:22-23)?

Why did Paul say that it is possible to believe in vain (though we are saved) if we do not hold fast to the word (1 Corinthians 15:1-2)?

Why did Paul compare the Christian life to a race in which he had to exercise self-discipline so that he won’t be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27)?    https://bit.ly/2zta94e

Why did both Paul and Jude warn that it is possible to be saved and later destroyed (1 Corinthians 10: 1-12, Jude 5)?     https://bit.ly/2Xyipb3

Why did Peter remind us to make every effort to confirm our election so that we will not stumble (2 Peter 1:10)? 

Why did Peter warn that a believer who gets entangled in sin (world’s defilement) once again will face condemnation worse than if he had never believed (2 Peter 2:20-21)? 

Why did the writer of Hebrews warn that it possible to fall away from God and lose our inheritance, like those who failed to reach the Promised Land (Hebrews 3:12-14)?

Why it may be impossible for a believer (with five clear-cut unmistakable characteristics of genuine faith) who turns his back on God (commit apostasy) to repent and be restored (Hebrews 6:4-8)?      https://bit.ly/3esnBnQ 

Why did the writer of Hebrews warn that believers who willfully live in sin will incur God’s judgment as Christ’s atoning blood no longer avails for them (Hebrews 10: 26-31)?

Why did the writer of Hebrews exhort us to endure and not shrink back in our faith in order to receive the promise and not be destroyed (Hebrews 10: 36-39)?

Why did John tell us to overcome sin so that our names will not be blotted out from the book of life (Revelation 3:3-5)?

These are just some thought-provoking questions for believers to consider when it comes to the issue of eternal security.

All these questions tell us one thing: Salvation is conditional, even though many sweet and soothing messages from famous teachers that tell us otherwise. Though saved by grace, believers still have to exercise personal responsibility.

As believers, we come from different church backgrounds. But we must not allow any teacher or theological school to influence us regarding this issue—whether Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) is true or false—before we do serious Bible study ourselves.

We should not hide behind the cloak of integrity of famous teachers for finally we ourselves will be held accountable to God for our beliefs; being deceived by a false sense of security that OSAS offers is extremely dangerous as it concerns our eternal destiny. 


This is my personal invitation to all believers to investigate first-hand the above questions and their associated verses—like the Bereans—without allowing any preconceived ideas and prejudices to colour or cloud your judgment. Go to the primary source, the Bible, and discover the truth, setting aside your favourite teachers or articles posted on the Internet.


You can choose various versions of the Bible, study aids and commentaries and even pursue the original texts in the process of studying. I hope you will be enlightened for the sake of your eternal destiny. God bless.

                                                                     
DOCTRINE OF SALVATION
We are saved the moment we confessed our sins and believed in Christ. But that is just the beginning of a process. We only get to inherit salvation in the future if we remain faithful, endure and persevere.

Salvation is a process: justification, sanctification and glorification (the latter certainly has not happened yet). Justification: when God sees us as righteous based on Christ’s blood the moment we believed in Christ. Sanctification: the ongoing process of transformation of the believer to increasingly conform to the will and image of Christ. Glorification—the redemption of our bodies—is the final stage of salvation, which we eagerly await like Paul, will only happen at the rapture (Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:52-53).

Justification: Saved from the penalty of sin
Sanctification: Saved from the power of sin
Glorification: Saved from the effects and possibility of sin

To summarise, salvation is a work in progress. We were saved, we are being saved and we will be saved one day ... provided we remain faithful. The danger of liberal theology is that it presents salvation as a one-off event whereby we inherit eternal life at the point of entry (conversion). That breeds complacency. In fact, salvation is a process whereby we have to be faithful and persevere until the end in order to inherit eternal life. That is Soteriology 101.

THE QUESTION OF AUDIENCE
An important consideration that underpins all the above questions is this: Who were Jesus and the apostles addressing? Were they genuine or professing believers?

We can be sure that in the first question that Jesus was talking to his disciples in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24), which is confirmed in the parallel passage in Mark 13: 3.

Also, Jesus could not have referred to professing believers in the second question as believers are compared to branches that originate from the Vine (Christ) in John 15. Branches are an integral part of the Vine. By the way, John 15 is part of the Upper Room discourse (John chapters 13 through16), a time when Jesus bared His soul and taught his disciples before going to the cross.

In the book of Hebrews, one may argue that there were both genuine and false believers in the fledgling Jewish church at that time. But the main purpose of the writer is to warn genuine Jewish believers the eternal consequences of turning their backs on God and returning to their old religion or a sinful lifestyle. 

For example, it is clear beyond doubt the writer was warning genuine believers: “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). And, in the ensuing verses, the inevitable judgment of God was spelt out. 

Again, there is no doubt that genuine believers (who choose to willfully live in sin) are the ones being warned: For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:30-31).

Why would Jesus, the apostles, the writer of Hebrews take so much trouble to warn genuine believers about the consequences of falling away (and losing one’s salvation) if such a possibility does not exist?

Calvinists try to soften the harsh truth. They circumvent the situation by arguing that these believers were not saved in the first place and that, if they were genuine believers, they would have persevered till the end in order to fit into their man-made doctrine, “Perseverance of the Saints.” That is how Calvinists justify their doctrine of eternal security (OSAS).

If huge swathes of scriptures are set against a certain doctrine, it is able to stand firm if it is valid. However, if a so-called established doctrine cannot stand the above tests (questions from many sections of the Bible), we must sit up and begin to question whether this doctrine (eternal security) is valid or not, no matter how many famous leaders embrace it.

EXTERNAL LINKS

The challenge I have with this teaching—ONCE SAVED, ALWAYS SAVED (OSAS)—is its failure to interpret individual passages honestly that disagree with this particular system. For example, Hebrews 6:1-8 and 10:24-29 clearly teach that people, after receiving the saving knowledge of Christ, can fall away and lose their salvation. Second Peter 2:20-22 and James 5:19-20 are as clear as tar on snow that a believer can fall away and once again be called sinners who have to be restored.
-Joseph Mattera, Presiding Bishop of Christ Covenant Coalition and Overseeing Bishop of Resurrection Church in New York.

CAN BELIEVERS LOSE THEIR SALVATION?
Listen to this balanced, seasoned teacher, the late David Pawson. A must-watch video.
God is able to keep us in the faith AND we are to keep ourselves in His love.
If we keep ourselves in the love of God, He keeps what we have committed to Him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG-zaJXv5D0

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IS CALVIN CORRECT?
John Calvin, the great reformer, believed that Christians can never lose their salvation. That is, Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS). Is he correct?

DON'T MAKE JESUS AND PAUL LOOK LIKE FOOLS
Two passages on endurance and perseverance we mustn't ignore in these end times

ONCE SAVED, FOREVER SECURE?
Some Christians believe, once they are saved, absolutely nothing can happen to them to alter their destiny. Even though they might live in sin or deny God, they believe that one day they will surely reach their final destination in heaven.