The Issue of Eternal Security - An Overview

Selah » Eternal Security

Periodically we take on difficult or controversial issues in these articles and resolve them through scripture. In each case we begin from the perspective that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and as such cannot be self-contradictory. So if we think we see a contradiction, the problem's with our understanding, not God's Word.

How secure are you?

One of the controversies in the Church has been whether our salvation is irrevocable once given (eternal security), or whether we can by word or deed lose or reject it (conditional security). It's an issue that has plagued the Church from the beginning.

What School Did You Attend?

Among those Christians who even consider the issue (tragically, many don't) there are essentially two schools of thought.

The Doctrine of Election holds that you didn't choose God, He chose you. Since you didn't choose to be saved, you can't refuse or reject salvation (irresistible grace, it's called). God chose you and He chose you forever. This view confuses Israel, who didn't have a choice about a relationship with God, with the Church, who did (Rom 11:25-29). It's a child of Replacement Theology.

The Doctrine of Agency holds that anyone can choose to be saved, but since you chose to receive salvation, you can later lose or reject it by word or deed. Some proponents of this view also contend that if you ever do lose or reject it, you never get another chance.

These positions are both right in what they assert; Election - you're saved forever; and Agency - it's your decision (Ephe 1:13-14). They're both wrong in what they deny; Agency - you're not saved forever; Election - it's not your decision

The controversy probably stems from man's difficulty in understanding two basic truths; the unconditional nature of God's love, and the relationship between God and time (2 Ptr 3:8-9).

First His Love

Regardless of your theological position, one thing is clear from reading the Old Testament. In all God's attempts at relating to His creation, none was successful. This was due to the basic flaw caused by man's fall in the Garden; his inherent sinfulness. Man is simply not able to meet God's standards, so sooner or later God had to go away to avoid destroying him altogether. He loves us so much He can't let us be hopelessly lost, and yet He can't violate His laws to save us. It's an impossible situation. This is why, when Peter asked, "Who then can be saved," the Lord answered, "With man this impossible but not with God."(Mark 10:27)

In order to be a Father to His children, He had to find a way to eliminate the sin problem that was neither contingent on our behavior nor contrary to His law. And He had do it once and for all. The brutal fact is that if He had made any of our salvation conditional on our subsequent thoughts or deeds, we would all have been irretrievably lost within 24 hours.

Contained in the Old, Explained in the New

You say, "Why then is the Old Testament full of the stories of man's disobedience followed by God's judgement? Isn't that the pattern He's is showing us?" Good questions. Here's the answer;

The Old Testament was before the cross and
the pattern was to teach us that nothing but the cross could satisfy God's requirements (Acts 4:12).

In 4000 years of the most elaborate system of religious works ever devised (the Lord Himself officiating over much of it) with buildings costing more than anyone could afford today, not a single person was saved until our Creator's own blood was shed on the cross. Obviously, some were born and died before that event, and others would be born and die afterward, so He had to make His death suffice for all time (Hebr 7:27). Because of this, all anyone ever needed to do was ask in faith to receive. Anyone can ask, and all who ask receive. It is His work that saves and keeps us, not ours.

It's About Time

On the matter of time, the understanding from science has come only in our generation, long after both of these theological views were formed. Simply put, time is a physical property, to which only physical beings are subject. God is a spirit, not a physical being. He doesn't just have lots of time, He's not governed by time at all. He can see the end from the beginning, and everything in between. He knew every sin of your life before He created the Earth. He also knew you were going to ask Him for forgiveness for all those sins. When He went to the cross He took all your sins with Him, and paid for them there, so that when you asked He could immediately forgive you. (Even the faith to ask was a gift from Him.)

Holy and Blameless, Without Spot or Blemish

If you've asked Him to be your Savior there is no sin you can commit in your lifetime that will cause Him to revoke your salvation, because there is no sin that He doesn't already know about. And that means there is no sin He hasn't already paid for. If He gave you the faith to ask, He will use that same faith to sustain you. As He died, He said, "It is finished." He was talking about the work of saving you.