Unconditional Eternal Security
2022-11-04
There are a lot of Christians that believe you can lose your salvation. They have reasons, often good ones, for believing this way. However, there are better reasons to believe that you cannot lose your salvation.
I have interacted with people who believe this way. The ones who believe in conditional security would say people can stop believing in Christ because they have “freewill.” This is the best answer for those who say you can lose salvation. There are plenty of passages that may suggest this. Some of the common passages used to defend this, among many others, are John 15:6; Romans 8:13; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Timothy 2:12; and Hebrews 10:26). Much of the early portions of Hebrews imply this as well. Therefore, there is a middle ground that calls for “conditional” eternal security. However, this is neither eternal nor secure. If there is any eternal security in Jesus Christ, it is unconditional once you are born again.
However, the main concept that this school of thought is lacking is the concept of being born again and the doctrine of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. This school of thought undermines these in favor of freewill. This view would think (perhaps not intentionally) that human freewill is more powerful than the new birth and regeneration. They would imply that your first “birth” from your sinful human father and mother is more binding to you than your second “birth” from God the Father. Do you see what is wrong with this? More on this in a minute.
Confusion on Justification Versus Sanctification
Much of the confusion comes from interpreting verses out of their context. People take verses that apply to living the Christian life (“sanctification”) and apply them to being saved (“justification”). More on this in the post, Justification Versus Sanctification. These would apply to John 15:6 and Romans 8:13.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. (John 15:6)
For example, the book of John spends the first 12 chapters on how to be saved. Starting in chapter 13, Jesus took the disciples aside and showed them how to live the Christian life, which was dependent on the coming Holy Spirit. He was not telling them how to be saved anymore; that was settled in the first 12 chapters. He was now telling them what to expect when He was to go to the Father. Here, someone who does not bear fruit in this life is worthless to the cause of the Kingdom and is judged in this life. More discussion on this in the chastisement/discipline section below.
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (Romans 8:13)
The same thing applies to Romans 8:13; the interpretation is the same as the previous verse. From the middle of Romans 1 to the middle of Romans 5, the rebirth and justification are discussed in detail. From that point, through the end of Romans 8, the apostle told the Romans on how to live the Christian life, and what it means to be dead with Christ and alive in Him.
Confusion on Reprobation
Other verses discuss reprobation. Verses like Hebrews 6:4-6 come to mind. These people heard the Gospel repeatedly, but could never grasp it, if you consider the context. Eventually, by hearing the Word of God, one will either be saved or be damned, becoming a reprobate. The reprobate is hardened and will never be saved, just as much as the saved will never be unsaved. All the warnings in Scripture, such as 2 Corinthians 13:5, apply to this. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1:10). These challenges are for people to take a hard look at themselves and make sure they are saved. What are they trusting in? Many such tests exist in 1 John. It is not warning to make sure to not lose your salvation. It is more to make sure you were saved in the first place.
The Importance of the Rebirth
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
So much Scripture talks about the rebirth. Think about this: did you choose your first parents? Even if you were to scream in their faces and disown them, or if they were to do the same to you, DNA doesn’t lie. You are genetically connected to them. Do not say that when you are born again that the spiritual bond between you and Christ is weaker than fleshly DNA.
Did you choose the sinful nature of Adam? No, you were born with it. You did not need to ask for it. You cannot get rid of it. You did not choose the righteous nature of Christ either. You were born again with it. You did not need to ask for it. You cannot get rid of it.
You are born into a new family and a new kingdom. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). “...the Father... Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
That family bond in Christ will not dissolve. “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). Do you see what He said there? If your faith fails, and it will, He will not deny you because He cannot deny Himself. The “denial” in the previous verse is the denial of reward (i.e., reigning with Him). He denies this reward to those who deny Him because they want to escape persecution. But the bond of being in Christ’s family is stronger than your freewill. This is because your genealogy is an immutable fact, and your experience does not deny that fact of your union of Christ. You could not change your earthly parents; you cannot change your heavenly Father. If you say you can lose your salvation, you are saying that earthly bonds are stronger than heavenly bonds, and your freewill is more powerful than God.
This concept is a lot deeper than you think. See the discussion In Adam, In Christ to expand on this.
Confusion of Chastisement of the Christian Versus Hell
Because the Christian is a part of God’s family, the same is disciplined. We discipline our children when they do wrong, but do not discipline the children next door. We do this because we love them and want them to grow up and do right. When the Christian does not trust God or decides to sin, there is chastisement; He disciplines us because He loves us. The lose-you-salvation school of thought may interpret these passages as hell. Rather, verses such as these refer to discipline: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27; more here). And again, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Corinthians 11:28-30). Because people sin willfully, they get chastised by God because He wants them to turn back to Him. Sometimes, He even takes them out of this life, as we see here.
However, “If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Hebrews 12:7-8). The truly saved get disciplined by God; it is a sign of love and compassion, not wrath and eternal condemnation. He wants His children to trust only in Him and forsake their sin. He wants them to be like Christ and bear fruit for His kingdom.
Regeneration of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit regenerates a Christian when the Word of God is received. “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:4-5).
Consider the indwelling Spirit. “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14). “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). That same Spirit works in us and guides us into all truth (John 16:13): “...he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippans 1:6).
“Eternal” is a Time Word
If God tells us that we have eternal life now, and eternal means forever, then how will the “eternal” life end? “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2). Again, we read, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). Notice the present tense. The Christian has eternal life now. The words for “eternal” and “everlasting” are time-oriented words. We get the word “eon” from the Greek word.
In John 3:36, we also see the fork in the road toward eternal life and reprobation. There is a time when someone clearly hears the Gospel, and they will eventually take one path or the other. Whatever the path, it is permanent.
It Is Not “Lose Your Salvation” but Rather “Never Was Saved”
Those people who appear to be saved but then “lose their salvation” never were saved in the first place. Consider these:
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Matthew 7:22-23)
Jesus said He never knew them. He also knows who really belongs to Him, as He sees straight to the heart. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). And again, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity” (2 Timothy 2:19).
Here is one more:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (1 John 2:19)
Those who once were with the believers in the church but left Christianity were also never saved. You could say this refers to only false prophets, but all those who defect from the faith are false prophets. These people had false professions of faith. They were never saved, but rather gave verbal assent to truth, and went through the motions for a little while.
Conclusion
In many ways, this does not make things easier. The concern moves from “losing your salvation” to “have I ever been born again to begin with”? This rules out concerns about a license to sin, which is what the conditional view often says. A continuation of sin without conscience and without chastisement shows you are not born again. This calls for humility; the born-again Christian will grieve sin and the Lord will work in him to make him be like His Son.
If you could lose your salvation, there would be a little something to boast about. You persevered in faith, and someone else did not. Faith just became works (intrinsic human value or effort), “But if it be of works, then is it no more grace” (Romans 11:6). Again, “no flesh should glory in his presence” (1 Corinthians 1:29).
We could say that perhaps that semantically we are saying the same thing. The biggest difference I see is, would God have you be born again, which is stronger than being born the first time in the flesh, and revoke it? Would he dissolve the “new man” created in Christ Jesus? Would He take away His Holy Spirit, our earnest of our inheritance and our sealing of our salvation? If God “will have all men to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4), and is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), why would He revoke what He has given them to secure them? No, if you could lose your salvation, He would kill you before you did, because He wants everyone to be saved according to these verses.
Christians get very angry over this issue. I have been called a blasphemer because I hold this view. I also have been angry at and skeptical of those who hold the lose-your-salvation view. We cannot let this get to us. Sometimes we are afraid to examine our beliefs because of implications it may have on our lives. Don’t be afraid; trust in Christ and find comfort in Him, and let the truth be truth.
I do believe that the missing ingredient to the conditional view is a proper perspective of being born again and Spirit regeneration, and a proper understanding of Bible interpretation. It also shows a lack of consideration of the severity of sin, because how alienated from God sin has made us. It is intertwined in our human nature. Because of this, we must be remade entirely new.
Regardless of whether you take the conditional or unconditional view, the outcome will be same for the truly born again. You will not sit around thinking about the bare minimum on how to be saved and be satisfied in staying there. Of course, salvation is by faith in Christ alone. The Lord will work in you to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).