Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20010729.htm

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY (ORGANIZED BIBLE KNOWLEDGE)
Part VI: Soteriology (The Doctrine Of Salvation)
E. Unconditional Eternal Security
  1. Introduction
    1. Though they believe that one enjoys eternal security conditioned upon his sustaining his faith in Christ (Conditional Eternal Security), Arminians teach if one denies Christ in unbelief after trusting in Him, he looses his justification. Thus, it is taught that after walking with God for 60 years, one could go to hell!
    2. We address this theological idea from the Scriptures as follows:
  2. Unconditional Eternal Security (I am indebted to Chafer/Walvoord's Major Bible Themes and Chafer's Systematic Theology, vol. III, "Soteriology.")
    1. Scripture reveals that once a party believes in Christ as his personal Savior from sin so that God justifies him, he remains unconditionally eternally secure in that salvation status by God's doing alone:
      1. God the Father keeps the believer saved in accord with God the Son's prayer, John 17:11.
      2. God the Son preserves the believer from God's wrath as the believer's advocate, 1 John 2:1-2.
      3. God the Holy Spirit seals the believer from salvation to the rapture, Eph. 1:13-14; Romans 8:23.
      4. So solid is this salvation security status that nothing whatsoever can break this justified status:
        1. Ephesians 4:30 should read, "Stop your grieving the Holy Spirit . . . whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." The present subjunctive imperative here calls for a current action to cease, cf. Blass-Debrunner, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament, par. 336, p. 172. These believers were sinning while still being justified, so general sin cannot break one's justified status.
        2. Arminians teach though general sin cannot break one's justified status, the sin of unbelief cancels one's salvation since faith itself justifies (Pelagian heresy). Yet, Revelation 3:17 shows Jesus viewed the Laodiceans as "poor," a reference to a poor faith in light of how this state is to be overcome in Revelation 3:18 [and 1 Peter 1:7]. Yet, though poor in faith, Jesus claims He still loves these Laodiceans as true sons of God, for He wills to discipline them, Rev. 3:19 with Heb. 12:7-8! Hence, being poor in faith does not cancel one's justification, for God keeps us justified.
    2. However, Scripture passages are misused nine major ways to teach one can lose his salvation as follows:
      1. Some passages are misused to speak of the saved when they speak of the lost. John 17:12 notes Judas was lost when he was never justified according to John 6:70; he was just dropped from the disciple list.
      2. Some passages show evidence of salvation when they are misused to speak of salvation. When Jesus in John 13:8 told Peter unless he let Jesus wash his feet, Peter would have no part with Him, He was not teaching Peter's feet-washing kept him saved; rather, the feet-washing evidenced union with Christ.
      3. Some passages only warn of a false faith when they are misused to teach a loss of justification. Rev. 22:18-19 KJV should read "share" for the KJV's "part," and "tree of life" for the KJV's "book of life." (Ryrie Study Bible: KJV, ftn.) The verse only warns unbelievers about rejecting Christ's gospel!
      4. Some passages like Hebrews 6:12 address rewards when they are misused to teach a loss of salvation.
      5. Some passages deal with fellowship when they are misused to teach a loss of justification. 1 John 1:5-3:11 uses the term "abiding" for fellowship, not justification, in keeping with John 15:1-6.
      6. Some passages speak of the loss of earthly life when they are misunderstood to speak of a loss of justification. 1 John 5:16 and 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 are in this group.
      7. Some verses like Galatians 5:4 use the phrase "fallen from grace" to refer to leaving a lofty standard of grace to live in lowly legalism when they are misunderstood to teach a loss of justification.
      8. Some passages are taken out of context to teach a loss of justification. John 15:6 does not mean men are cast into hell for no longer abiding in Christ, for men do not cast men into hell as this verse would then teach! Jesus here merely teaches via illustration the futility of living out of fellowship with Him!
      9. Some passages are misunderstood to teach a loss of justification out of ignorance of the original Bible languages or customs. Exodus 32:32-33 shows Moses request to be blotted out of God's book (of life), but this is a book of the physically living unlike the Lamb's Book of Life which records eternal life, Rev. 13:8 et al. Moses was requesting he physically die in place of the sinful people of Israel!
Lesson: Once one is justified by God, he is unconditionally eternally secure in his salvation status!