Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20010425.htm

CURRENT REGIONAL THEOLOGICAL ISSUES
Part III: The Believer's Eternal Security
(Ephesians 4:30; John 5:24 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. Some believe though one may trust in Christ to receive eternal life and live for decades in that saved status, he can lose his salvation by an act of sin in time and die a minute later headed for eternity in hell!
    2. For the sake of clarity and brevity, we view passages dealing with this issue in a summary way as follows:
  2. The Believer's Eternal Security, Ephesians 4:30; John 5:24 et al.
    1. The belief in conditional salvation security, that one can lose his salvation, is taught by misinterpreting Scripture in nine different ways. We name and illustrate these ways of misinterpretation as follows:
      1. Some misunderstood verses merely refer to those who were never saved. 2 Peter 2:1 mentions false prophets who deny the Lord that "bought" them. Since Christ died for the sins of the whole world (1 Jn. 2:2), His redemption covers even all unbelievers as it does these men who never trust in Christ.
      2. Some misunderstood texts speak of the evidences of salvation rather than salvation itself. Matthew 5:13 shows the need for the disciples to be spiritually upright to be effective servants of Christ!
      3. Some misunderstood texts warn against a false profession of faith, not a loss of salvation itself. Luke 11:24-28 does not teach one loses his salvation and is worse off than before he was first saved, for Jesus there warns of the danger of inadequate exorcisms by Jews in His day. By way of explanation, Matthew 7:22-23 tells of many who will try to enter heaven based on even miraculous works done in His name, and Jesus will tell them, "I never knew you" (v. 23)! These folk will have had false professions of faith in spite of their good intentions and even miraculous works done in Christ's name!
      4. Some misunderstood verses deal with rewards for living rather than salvation itself. When Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:27 expressed concern over being a possible "castaway," he pictured the possibility of becoming useless as God's vehicle for effective service due to sinful failure, cf. 1 Corinthians 9:23-26.
      5. Some misunderstood passages speak of a loss of personal fellowship with God, not a loss of salvation. Romans 14:15-23 shows a believer being "destroyed" (v. 20) or "damned" (v. 23) as another believer wounds his conscience. This describes how a thoughtless believer can obstruct another's sense of right and wrong, leading to the weaker brother's sinning against his Lord!
      6. Some misunderstood texts refer to the sin unto physical death rather than the loss of salvation. John 15:1-6, the favorite passage by conditional security advocates, does not picture believers being cast into hell, for men there are seen casting branches into the fire, and nowhere does Scripture show men casting other men into hell! Jesus uses the figure to show the discipline of believers for sinful living!
      7. Some misunderstood verses use the phrase "fallen from grace" not to teach a loss of salvation, but a departure from the lofty lifestyle of living by grace to living in ungodly legalism (cf. Galatians 5:1-4).
      8. Some misunderstood passages are used out of context: Ezekiel 33:7-8 warns Ezekiel of God's physical discipline were he not to warn Israel to repent. It does not refer to a loss of eternal salvation, but warns of punishment by physical death if he failed to call Jews to repent to escape God's physical discipline!
      9. Some misunderstood texts are clarified through a knowledge of the Bible's original languages or customs. Hebrews 6:4-6 does not even have a conditional, "if" clause in the Greek text, but merely states the fact that true believers can become so hardened against a life of faith that they lose their reward of God's blessing in life, cf. Bible Knowledge Com., New Testament, p. 794-795!
    2. The Bible clearly affirms eternal security of the believer's salvation of the soul as follows:
      1. John 5:24 unconditionally claims once one believes in Christ, he will not come into condemnation.
      2. Ephesians 4:30 in the Greek text is quite clear: It should be translated: "Stop currently grieving (present imperative with subjunctive negative adverb) the holy Spirit of God, in Whom you are sealed (aorist passive) unto the day of redemption." These believers were still sealed for eternity while in the state of grieving the Spirit by sin, meaning sin could not break their salvation seal!
Lesson: The Bible reveals once one is saved, he is unconditionally always saved so that even personal acts of sin cannot cause a loss of his sonship relationship with God. As such, he should REST in that great security in Christ, but also LIVE a HOLY life in keeping with his sonship position in Christ!