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Give
Him praise and glow-ry!”
Many professed
“born-again” evangelicals would respond with a collective
“Amen,
brother!” to this man’s statement. There is no doubt in
their
minds that their salvation is already a certainty.
They
believe they are destined for heavenly bliss no matter what they do
or how they may sin between now and their last breath. As one
evangelical describes it, “It is as if they have boarded a
nonstop
train bound for heaven. This faith train may pass through dark and
perilous places, but it will never discharge a person with a
reservation short of his glorious destination.”
The doctrine of
eternal security or “once saved, always saved” is a widely
believed teaching. Although no such terms exist anywhere in
Scripture, what the preacher says about the belief may on first
glance sound plausible, but is he right?
A representative passage
very popular with those who believe in being forever saved at
conversion is:
John
10:27-29
“My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My
Father’s
hand.” (KJV)
“See,” they say,
“once He saves us we can never perish and no one can separate us
from Him. His word is absolute and He cannot lie.”
Their
statement cannot be denied. The question is, when does He grant us
life everlasting? Are we “saved” immediately at our
conversion?
Is it ever possible to fall from grace? The issue of timing is the
crux of the matter.
A companion verse to John
10:27-29 and a key that unlocks it and
similar passages is found in Matthew, speaking of the Saviour on the
day of judgment:
“And
all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the
goats. 33
“And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on
the
left. 34
“Then the Sovereign shall say to those on His right hand,
‘Come,
you blessed of My Father, inherit the reign prepared for you from the
foundation of the world...”
- Matthew
25:32-34
The setting in Yahushua’s
statement is the earth at His Second Coming. When He returns he will
judge the earth and at that specific time will reward the faithful,
both living and dead, with salvation. He confirms this in Revelation,
showing the basis on which He gives rewards: “And
see, I am coming speedily, and My reward is with Me, to give to each
according
to his work.”
Two verses later He adds, “Blessed
are those doing
His commands,
so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to
enter through the gates into the city.”
- Revelation
22:12
Doing His commandments -
obeying His laws - is what makes us worthy for eternal life,
symbolized by the tree of life. The implied opposite, then,
means that if we don’t do His commandments we will not have this
special right to everlasting life.
To be judged worthy by
adhering to commandments and being rewarded according to works
certainly doesn’t square with the popular teaching that salvation
is immediate, automatic, and inevitable for the chosen. Unless we
understand the truth about when and how we are saved, resting in the
false notion that our salvation is forever secure could give us false
security and in fact jeopardize our eternal future.
SOME
BELIEVE THEY HAVE NO CHOICE
There are those who take this idea of
eternal security even a step further. They believe that because
salvation is “all of Yahweh,” you are saved whether you
want to
be or not! Even though salvation involves both you and Yahweh, even
if you decide you don’t want it Yahweh will carry you through
anyway because it is His will to do so.
One such proponent
explains it this way:
“Eternal security,
then, is the unbreakable relationship with the integrity of G-d.
Neither G-d nor man nor angel can destroy the relationship which
begins at salvation. There is no sin we can commit. There is no
activity on our part that can neutralize it or destroy it. It is
something we have permanently and perfectly both now and forever.”
An even more extreme position, promoted by men like Charles
Stanley and Charles Ryrie, says that even if a person becomes an
unbeliever, that person will still remain saved. This teaching
essentially takes away any free choice from human beings. Yahweh may
just as well have created humankind with an inability to sin. The
whole idea of freedom to choose right over wrong that Yahweh has
granted human beings since Eden is pointless in view of this extreme
doctrine. He’ll save you in spite of yourself!
But is that really the case?
A Scriptural truth that is not
understood by many is that Yahweh does not save us in
our sins, He saves us from
our sins - from the death penalty that we because of our sins
deserve. We cannot continue in sin and still expect Him to redeem us
for His Kingdom. In fact, He makes it clear that He will not do so.
“The wages of
sin is
death”, Paul (Sha'ul) wrote in Romans
6:23. Sins must be repented of and no
longer indulged in. If we are in unrepented sin we will not be
granted everlasting life.Yahweh does not reward sin. Notice:
1Corinthians
6:9-10
“Do
you not know that the
unrighteous
[lawbreakers] shall
not inherit the reign of Elohim?
Do
not be deceived.
Neither those who whore, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10
nor thieves, nor greedy of gain, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
swindlers shall inherit the reign of Elohim.”
By definition, sin is the breaking of
any of Yahweh’s laws (1
John 3:4).
Clearly, it does matter
if a person remains true to Yahweh and it matters very much whether
he or she indulges in the sin of this world. Sha'ul tells us in
Galatians 6:7-8:
“Do
not be led astray:
Elohim is not mocked, for whatever
a man sows,
that
he shall also reap.
8
Because he who sows to his own flesh shall
reap corruption
from the flesh, but he who sows to the Spirit shall reap everlasting
life from the Spirit.”
WAS
PAUL EVEN SURE OF HIS OWN SALVATION?
Surely a man like the Apostle Sha'ul,
who wrote the majority of the New Covenant and had direct revelatory
teaching from Yahushua (Gal
1:11-12), would know whether he
himself had salvation assured. If the eternal security doctrine
is true, then Sha'ul of all people believed it and taught it.
Right? On the contrary.
Read the Apostle’s own statements about
the doubts he entertained about his own life, and what he admonished
about persevering and being faithful until the end:
1Corinthians
9:27
“I
treat my body severely and make it my slave, so that when I have
proclaimed to others, I
myself might be rejected.”
(Rejected is the Greek adokimos,
one disapproved by the judge as not having fairly deserved the
prize.)
Philippians
3:10-13
“...to
know Him, [Messiah Yahushua] and the power of His resurrection... 11
if somehow I might attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12
Not that I have already received, or already been perfected, but I
press on, to lay hold of that for which Messiah Yahushua
has
also laid hold of me. 13
Brothers, I
do not count myself to have laid hold of it yet...”
2
Corinthians 13:5
“Examine
yourselves
whether you are in the belief – prove yourselves...”
Hebrews 3:14
“We
have become partakers of Messiah if
we hold fast
the beginning of our trust firm
to the end...”
Knowing exactly when the saints are
saved will reveal the error of both the once saved, always saved
doctrine and the popular understanding about being “born
again”
at conversion. Neither teaching is scriptural, based on what
Scripture says about how and when salvation occurs.
HOW
SALVATION ACTUALLY WORKS
What few today grasp is that saving is
a process, which starts with being begotten of the Set-Apart Spirit
at immersion and ends with being born again at the resurrection.
An
analogy about being saved is helpful here.
Let’s
say a bush pilot crashes his plane in the cold wilderness of the
arctic. Injured, he sends out an SOS, sets off flares, and radios for
help. After some days he hears the distant drone of another plane.
“I’m saved!” he cries.
But is he really saved? His exact
location has not even been pinpointed by the rescuers.
What he
means is that he now has the hope of being saved, the same thing
Sha'ul said he had in Philippians
3. He is technically not saved until
he is safe and recovering in a hospital bed. For all he knows, his
rescue plane itself may hit bad weather on the way back and be forced
down. The ambulance picking him up at the airport may crash on icy
roads. He may succumb to his injuries. All sorts of things could
happen between now and the time he is in fact saved and on his way to
recovery. As the popular expression goes, “It’s not over
till its
over.”
Yahushua said that men would hate the truth, “But
he who shall have endured to
the end
shall be saved.”
- Matthew 10:22.
We may have hope of salvation, but it isn’t assured until “the
end” - either the end of our lives or
the
end of this age when Yahushua comes to gather His elect.
Why? Because at any point we could become apostate. We could fall
from favour by slipping back into the world through its many sins and
temptations. If that happens to us we are in jeopardy, because Yahweh
does not save sinners. Rather, he saves those who have repented of
sin and turned to walk in His ways. Yahweh said through the prophet,
“But
the wrong, if
he turns from all his sins
which he has done, and
he shall guard all My laws,
and shall do right-ruling and righteousness, he shall certainly live,
he shall not die.”
- Ezekiel
18:21
We
learn from Corinthians that Yahweh will destroy those who once knew
the truth but become defiled:
1
Corinthians 3:16
“Do
you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the
Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? 17
If
anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy
him.
For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are. 18
Let no one deceive himself...”
Even though the last verse of this passage
(v.23),
says that we are Messiah’s, Sha'ul shows that the possibility
still
exists that we could
fall
We see abundant evidence in the Scriptures that even though we
are called His, we can still become debased through our choice to
sin, and therefore jeopardize our eternal reward.
Those that do
fall through disobedience will be cut off:
Romans
11:21-22
“Do
not be arrogant, but fear. 21
For if Elohim did not spare the natural branches, He
might not spare you either.
22
See then the kindness and sharpness of Elohim: on those who fell
sharpness, but toward you kindness, if you continue in His
kindness,
otherwise
you also shall be cut off.”
“Kindness”
means
moral excellence. To fall from moral excellence is to disobey, as
verse 30
reveals
JUSTIFIED
AND SANCTIFIED: THE KEY
Most who
hold to the eternal security teaching dread what they call “works
salvation”. They believe that Yahweh
requires nothing of His people but faith alone. Any hint of obedience
sends them into paroxysms of denial.
Certainly we are not saved
by our works. The Scriptures are clear on that. We are not justified
by keeping the law (Romans 3:20), but by His favour, (v.24).
Justification means “just as if”
we had not sinned. Nothing we can do will “earn”
us righteous standing in His sight because we have all sinned and are
nothing but filthy rags (Romans
3:23).
Once we are justified by
His grace, however, then we are set apart for a purpose, which is
called sanctification. Through sanctification Yahweh expects His
people to live pure and righteous lives.
2
Corinthians 7:1
“Having,
then, these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves
from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting set-apartness
in the fear of Elohim.”
Notice
the verse does not say, “Let Yahweh cleanse us,” but
rather, “let
us cleanse ourselves.” Live purely.
In the same vein we are commanded to:
“work
out your own deliverance
with fear and trembling”
- Philippians
2:12
If one is already saved, no
fear and trembling would be necessary! Neither would there be a need
to work out any salvation.
A sanctified
individual not only lives a life apart from sin, but also is obedient
to what Yahweh tells Him to do.
1
John 5:3
“For
this is the love for Elohim, that we guard
His commands,
and His commands are not heavy...”
He has commanded His people to keep His laws,
including His Feasts and Sabbaths. They do so, not because they are
earning their salvation, but because they now live for Him and are in
the process of taking on His very nature. We reflect His nature when
we do what He would do and follow His direction. He is the Father and
we are His children. We obey Him just as we obey our earthly parents.
We don’t obey our parents for a reward, but because they are our
parents and they demand obedience. Our love for them makes us want to
obey them.
BACKSLIDERS
WILL SLIDE ON OUT
Yahweh
is adamant about the failure of those who once accepted Him but now
turn back to sin. He will not save them in spite of themselves. He
will, in fact, judge them!
The prophet Ezekiel
warns, “When
a righteous one turns
away from his righteousness
and does unrighteousness, according to all the abominations that the
wrong one has done, shall he live? All his righteousness which he has
done shall not be remembered. For his trespass which he has
committed, and for his sin which he has committed, for
them he shall die.”
-
Ezekiel
18:24
Does this passage just apply
to ancient Yisra’ĕl?
Ezekiel and other prophets prophesied not only for their day but also
for our day and beyond. Yahweh does not change! (Malachi
3:6). What was true of His
people anciently is true of His people today. He has but one
standard. Sha'ul said that all that happened in the First Covenant
was for our example (1
Corinthians 10:11).
Backsliding is as hazardous to the people of
Yahweh today as it was with Yisra’ĕl
of old. Read in the Renewed Covenant Book of Hebrews,
6:4-6:
“It
is impossible for those who were once
enlightened,
and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become
partakers of the Set-apart Spirit ,
5
and have tasted the good Word of Elohim and the powers of the age to
come, 6
and fall
away,
to renew
them again to repentance
- having impaled for themselves the Son of Elohim again, and put Him
to open shame.”
Stark
and serious words. To throw away the Truth once you know it is as
grave as it gets. Obviously such a result leaves no room for being
eternally saved.
The Scriptures are filled
with assurances that Yahweh will reward His chosen according to their
deeds. Both an obedient life and a sinful life will be rewarded
accordingly, Romans
2:6-9.
The
final book of our Scriptures shows that the saints are those who keep
the commandments of Yahweh and have the faith of Yahushua (Revelation
14:12). Belief and obedience go hand in hand. Clearly,
it is the obedient - who are faithful until the end - who are saved
(Hebrews
5:9),
and not those who flout His commands and live the life they choose
still expecting a Heavenly reward.
ETERNAL
SECURITY
FIFTY
REASONS WHY A SAVED PERSON CAN NEVER BE LOST...
AND
A BRIEF REBUTTAL OF EACH POINT
Each
point is a statement of proof by one who believes that these verses
establish that a saved person can never be lost. The response in kind
will be brief and concise. This will not answer every question
someone has about these proof-texts. In most cases, these assertions
of Eternal Security are answered in greater detail in other articles
on the linked site. Because of this, the reader is left to research
the issue further on their own.
As
you read each "proof passage", ask yourself, "Does
this say that a believer cannot lose their salvation?" "Does
one have to presuppose that Once Saved Always Saved is true in order
to make the passage say that 'A saved person can NEVER be lost?' "
"Does one have to read Eternal Security into each verse in order
to get Eternal Security "out of" each verse?"
1.
ETERNAL LIFE IS ETERNAL! John
3:15, 10:28, Romans 6:23, 1 John 2:25, 5:11, 5:13,
etc.; By definition eternal means never ending. Once a believer has
eternal life it can never be taken away. If it could be it would not
be eternal!
Eternal
also means that it has no beginning! If you had to gain it, you
don’t
have eternal life according to this argument! This argument ignores
the conditions of present tense belief (John
3:15)
and present tense hearing and following (John
10:25-28)
in these verses. It fails to understand that the “life” is
eternal, and not our possession of it.
2.
EVERLASTING LIFE IS EVERLASTING! Daniel
12:2; John 3:16, 3:36, 5:24, 6:40, 6:47; Romans 6:22;
etc.; Likewise, everlasting life can never end. It is everlasting
regardless of the believer’s behavior.
Regardless
of behavior? This is rank antinomianism! It renders all exhortations
to righteousness in the Scriptures to be absolutely useless. This is
the same error as is noted in point #1.
3.
IT IS GOD’S WILL! John
6:39;
It is God’s will that Christ lose none of those who come to
Him.
Don’t
confuse Yahweh's will with Yahweh's decree. Yahweh is not willing
that ANY should perish, but some will. Yahushua said that it was not
Yahweh’s will for Him to lose any; but yet, he admits to losing
Judas. Jn.
17:12.
Keep in mind, one must have something in order to lose it!
4.
HEAVEN IS RESERVED FOR HIM! 1
Peter 1:4;
An inheritance in heaven is reserved for the believer.
For
the BELIEVER, not the one who once believed, or presently has a
fruitless, non-saving belief. The Scriptures never promise these
things to those who cease to remain, abide, and continue in the
belief, or to those who cease to believe!
5.
SALVATION (INHERITANCE) IS INCORRUPTIBLE! 1
Peter 1:4;
No one can corrupt something God has made incorruptible.
Thank
Yahweh that the inheritance is imperishable! We know that it will be
there for genuine believers! But don’t miss it! It is there
through
belief, (v.5)
not unbelief! The inheritance is incorruptible, not our possession of
it!
6.
SALVATION (INHERITANCE) CANNOT BE DEFILED! 1
Peter 1:4;
No one can defile something which God says cannot be defiled.
It
won’t be defiled or fade away! It will be in the heavens as
surely
as there is an Elohim! It is no promise that every believer will
endure to the end to receive it! Even if someone fails the favour of
Yahweh, this would have no impact whatsoever on the inheritance.
(Which is not salvation, but rewards in the new heavens and earth.)
7.
HE IS SEALED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT! Ephesians
1:13;
No power in Heaven or earth can break God’s seal.
There
is no Scripture verse in the Heavens or Earth that says that we
cannot break Yahweh’s seal! Must they prey on the ignorance of
their readers to get them to believe something the Scriptures never
say in order to prove their point? Ephesians
4:30
warns us not to grieve the Set-Apart Spirit, the very One of Whom is
our Seal. A warning that serves no purpose if there is no danger!
Maybe they should take off their theological glasses long enough
so they can stop seeing things that are just not there!
8.
HE IS SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION! Ephesians
4:30;
The believer is sealed until the day God redeems his body.
Hogwash!
There is not a single reputable translation of Scripture that says
“until
the day Yahweh redeems His body."
There is no meaning of sealing "until" the day of
redemption! Those theological glasses that they are wearing are
putting words and meaning where there is none! We are sealed
“for”
the day of redemption. Any Greek Lexicon will prove it, and any
reputable English version will too!
9.
HOLY SPIRIT WILL ABIDE FOREVER! John
14:16-17;
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent.
The
context of the passage is to the twelve disciples and not to the
whole world. It was written to believers, not to those who cease to
believe. To apply a promise to those the passage never intended to
include is the only way to rescue this false doctrine! Nothing in
this passage guarantees or states the impossibility of falling from
the belief. Another theological interjection!
10.
HE IS PRESERVED FOREVER! Psalm
37:28;
God preserves the saint forever.
“For
YHWH loves right-ruling, And does not forsake His kind ones”
“set-apart
ones,”
or “kind
ones”
is who the promise is for. He preserves the believer, not the
unbeliever! There is no promise in Scripture that Yahweh preserves
the unrighteous!
11.
HE IS BORN OF GOD! John 1:12-13
The believer actually becomes God’s child and cannot be
“unborn.”
Of course, this passage says nothing of the sort! No child in
life or spirit is ever “unborn.” Such language is not in
anybody's vocabulary except for those who wish to invent a pathetic
argument! People do not become “unborn,” they die! They can
die
both physically, and spiritually!
12.
HE IS A NEW CREATURE! 2 Corinthians 5:17;
God has made the believer a new creature and no one can
“uncreate”
him.
Where? Must the whole argument for Eternal Security rest
in what the Scriptures do not say? Apparently so! Nothing
within this passage speaks to the issue at hand! Foolish theological
interjection!
13.
HE IS CREATED IN CHRIST JESUS! Ephesians
2:10;
The saint was created in his Saviour.
And
as the verse continues, "unto
good works!"
Not for sin and unbelief! This proves more for the cause of
Set-Apartness and the power of Yahweh, and nothing for some invented
theory of Eternal Security!
14.
HE IS PRESERVED UNTO THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM! 2
Timothy 4:18;
The believer is preserved like Paul since God is no respecter of
persons.
You
seem to miss the statement that goes before
this! “The
Master shall rescue me from every wicked work.”
Paul’s
hope was not based on belief in some false doctrine, but in the fact
of the power of Yahweh to continue to deliver him from evil deeds.
This passage is personal, and not a universal promise to all who ever
had a scrape with favour! We can apply this to genuine believers who
have the set-apartness that is wrought by Yahweh. No universal
promise of Eternal Security here… except in the minds of those
who
read it into it!
15.
HE IS KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD! 1
Peter 1:5;
Since God is keeping him, the believer cannot fall from salvation.
And
as the passage continues with a condition ..."THROUGH
BELIEF!"
It is astonishing how Eternal Security advocates conveniently leave
off the condition! Rebellion and continued sinning is not belief!
Yahweh only "keeps" as long as the condition is met.
16.
CHRIST HAS PRAYED FOR HIM! John
17:11;
Jesus prayed that God would keep all who He had given Him.
And
he lost Judas anyway! Jn.
17:12.
Yahweh will not violate the freedom that He has given man!
17.
WORKS CANNOT AFFECT HIS SALVATION! Romans
11:6;
Salvation is not gained by works, so it cannot be lost by works.
“So
also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.”
James
2:17.
Paul
is arguing the point that works cannot merit salvation, and James is
arguing that one cannot be saved by a fruitless belief. They are not
in opposition in any way. Nowhere is it said by Paul, or the
Scriptures, that works cannot affect salvation! You have the choice;
you can believe your theories, or you can believe the Scriptures! The
Scriptures never say that sin cannot affect salvation!.
18.
HIS FAITH IS COUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS! Romans
4:5;
It is faith which brings salvation to a believer.
And,
it was not a fruitless belief, for, “Was
not Abraham our father declared right by works when he offered
Yitshaq his son on the altar?”
James
2:21.
True belief brings forth good fruit. A belief that brings forth bad
fruit is not a saving belief. (John 15). Works, or working for the
purpose of gaining salvation voids favour. Works that result from the
fruit of salvation validate belief, but do not attempt in anyway to
merit salvation.
19.
NOTHING CAN SEPARATE HIM FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST! Romans
8:38-39;
Nothing material, immaterial, past, present, or future can separate a
believer from Christ’s love.
Scripture
says otherwise! “Keep yourselves in the love of Elohim!”
Jude 21.
The passage from Romans
8 deals
with the security of the believer who remains “in” Messiah,
and
no other. It speaks of external forces that attack the believer, but
some may see these afflictions as giving the impression that Yahweh
is punishing them, or that they have fallen out of the favour of
Yahweh. Paul is saying that the love of Messiah is with the believer
regardless of the great persecution that they may suffer. Nothing is
said about an impossibility of being separated from Messiah because
of rebellion and sin! It is not speaking of loss of salvation, but
the separation from Messiah’s love! Sin is not an external force,
it is a personal choice. Nothing in this verse promises the apostate
any security!
20.
SALVATION IS OF THE LORD! Jonah
2:9;
Salvation is all God’s work. He bought it and provided it.
And
sin is the work of man! So what?!!!! This proves nothing! Yahweh does
not force salvation on anyone!
21.
GOD IS ABLE TO KEEP HIM!
2
Timothy 1:12;
The believer’s salvation rests on God’s omnipotent ability
to
keep him.
Elohim
is able. This does not promise in any way that Yahweh will keep an
apostate against their choice! I have nothing to fear, Yahweh is
all-powerful, and will not lose His grip on me, or His promises to me
as long as I do not cease to trust and obey Him. This promise is to
believers, and not to those who once believed.
22.
HE IS PROMISED NOT TO COME INTO CONDEMNATION! John
5:24;
This promise would be broken if even one believer fell into eternal
condemnation.
The
promise is only to those who have a present tense “belief.”
It is
not to those who started in the belief, and thereafter faltered. Only
the one who believes right now has the promise of "no
condemnation."
23.
HE IS PROMISED TO NEVER PERISH! John
10:27-28;
Every saint has an unconditional promise to never perish.
The
promise is only to the “sheep.” The SHEEP are defined by
the
verse. They (present tense) hear and follow the Shepherd. Those that
continue in sin are not hearing, and are certainly not following the
sinless Shepherd! They are not by definition what Yahushua calls
“sheep.” They are not sheep, and they are not benefactors
of the
promise that they shall never perish! They are only secure in as far
as they continue hearing and following, that is what the text says!
24.
HE WILL NEVER BE CAST OUT! John
6:37;
Under no condition will any believer be cast out from Christ or
Heaven.
The
verse is dealing with people coming to Him, not believers staying in
Him! All this is saying is that no one who comes to Him should have
any fear that they would be turned away. No mysterious lucky lotto of
fate that leaves the majority of people abandoned without hope. The
Good News is truly to whosoever will.
25.
ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO HIM! Romans
8:28;
It would not be good for one to lose his salvation.
To
him "WHO
LOVES ELOHIM!"
As the passage says. Not to those who abandon, forsake, or continue
in rebellion. Willfully walking in sin is not loving Yahweh!
26.
HE IS IN CHRIST’S HAND! John
10:28;
The believer is in his Saviours hand.
See
#23.
27.
HE IS IN THE FATHER’S HAND! John
10:29-30;
The saint is in his heavenly Father’s hand.
Who
is in His hand? THE
SHEEP.
See #23.
28.
HE IS, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, A SHEEP! John
10:27-28;
A sheep represents a saved person and cannot change from being one.
Really?
So your saying that no one can get saved? If a sheep cannot become a
goat, then a goat cannot become a sheep! This passage says NOTHING
about it being impossible to revert back to their old state. It
speaks only of the security of those who are hearing and following
right now.
29.
GOD’S MERCY NEVER ENDS! Titus
3:5;
The believer is saved by God’s mercy and it endures forever (Psalm
136).
Do
you really believe that this statement is teaching Eternal Security?
Yahweh is always full of favour, but that has nothing to do with any
mythical doctrine of irrevocable assurance, or salvation without
belief! Yahweh's mercy was there before anyone ever had belief, but
that doesn't mean they were saved before belief just because Yahweh's
favour endures forever! Nothing of irrevocable salvation is stated,
or even implied in this verse.
30.
GOD CANNOT LIE! Titus
1:2;
Once God has saved a believer, he cannot go back on His word.
Yahweh
says, “The
one who sins is of the devil,” 1 Jn. 3:8. “The wages of sin
is
death,” Romans 6:23. “The being that is sinning shall
die.”
Ezekiel 18:4.
YAHWEH CANNOT LIE! This passage has nothing to do with a doctrine of
Eternal Security!
31.
HIS SINS ARE GONE FOREVER! Psalm
103:12; Micah 7:19; Isaiah 38:17, 44:22; Hebrews 10:17;
The saints sins are gone.
There
is not a single passage in all of Scripture that says all future sins
of the believer are gone! The Scriptures tell us that only sins past
are atoned for. Romans
3:25; 1 Peter 1:9.
The atonement is a provision that is available through our Advocate
if we stumble into sin.
32.
HE SHALL BE LIKE CHRIST! 1
John 3:2;
It is a certainty that the believer will be like Christ.
This
again, has nothing to do with any promise that all believers will
never fall away! Those that are believers, or died as believers, will
see Him in all His Power.
33.
GOD SEES HIM AS ALREADY GLORIFIED! Romans
8:30;
The saint is as good as glorified in God’s sight.
This
passage has nothing to do with the individual believer apart from
their participation in the Body, the Assembly. The Body, the Bride of
the Messiah is Esteemed and predestined. If one fails to continue in
the belief and the Body of the Messiah, this verse has no application
to them.
34.
HE IS BORN OF INCORRUPTIBLE SEED! 1
Peter 1:23;
The Christian’s new birth was from incorruptible seed.
The
seed is incorruptible, not the persons possession of that seed! See
the previous verse to see who this applies to! “Now
that you have CLEANSED your lives in OBEYING the truth through the
Spirit to UNFEIGNED BROTHERLY LOVE, love one another fervently with a
CLEAN HEART.”
This
cannot possibly describe those that continue in sin and rebellion.
They are not pure, they are not “obeying”, they demonstrate
that
they do not love the brethren nor Yahweh. They do not have a
“clean
heart”, and are thereby excluded from being possessors of this
incorruptible seed.
35.
HE WILL APPEAR WITH CHRIST IN GLORY! Colossians
3:4;
The saint is promised to appear with Christ when He returns.
The
“saint,” and not the “sinner.” You finally got
one right!
36.
HE IS HIDDEN IN CHRIST! Colossians
3:3;
The believer is dead to the world and alive in Christ.
Colossians
3:4
says this applies only to those who have made Messiah Yahushua their
life, not excuses and sin! Security is “in” Messiah. One
cannot
live in rebellion and be “in” Messiah Yahushua at the same
time.
37.
HE IS DEAD TO AND FREED FROM SIN! Romans
6:2-7;
Sin can no longer affect the saint’s destiny. He is freed from
it.
More
hogwash! The passage says nothing of the sort! It is speaking about
freedom
from the power of sin. Freedom from the oppressive slavery to
sinning! Paul describes this further, “But
now, having been set free FROM sin, and having BECOME SERVANTS OF
ELOHIM, you have your FRUIT RESULTING IN SET-APARTNESS, and the END,
everlasting life.” 6:22.
And, “Do
you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants for
obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin
to death, or of obedience to righteousness?”
6:16.
38.
THE LORD IS NOW PRAYING FOR HIM! Hebrews
7:25;
The Lord is presently interceding in the believer’s behalf.
Yahushua
prays for the believer, He does not believe and repent for the
unbeliever! Yahushua prayed for Judas, and Judas was still lost. (You
can’t lose that which you never had!) (Jn.
17:12).
39.
GOD WILL FINISH WHAT HE STARTED! Phillipians
1:6;
God began the work of salvation and will finish it.
This
is not a promise but a statement towards those who “fellowship
in the Good News FROM THE FIRST DAY UNTIL NOW.” V.5
Because of their trustworthiness, Paul thought it was
“right” for
him to think this of them! V.7.
No Eternal Security here, or anywhere else in Scripture!
40.
HE HAS ETERNAL REDEMPTION! Hebrews
9:12;
Every believer has been eternally redeemed from his sins.
The
provision of redemption is eternal. There is no promise here that any
man is guaranteed to have eternal possession of it. The redemption of
our Messiah would be eternal whether anyone ever believed it, or
accepted it, or was ever saved by it!
41.
HIS LIFE IS CHRIST’S LIFE! Colossians
3:4;
The saints life is Christ’s very own life, so how could it be
lost?
You
said it! The RIGHTEOUS ONES life! Not the unbelieving REBELS life!
Yahushua Messiah is not the Author of sin!
42.
HE HAS AN EVERLASTING COVENANT WITH GOD! Hebrews
13:20; God made a covenant to give the saint everlasting
life.
Notice that He also shows what proof that one is a
believer in the following verse. “Make
you PERFECT IN EVERY GOOD WORK to DO HIS WILL, WORKING IN YOU that
which is WELL-PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT, THROUGH YAHUSHUA MESSIAH.”
Heb. 13:21. Yahweh
does
not covenant with so-called “sinning saints.”
43.
HE IS KEPT FROM FALLING BY CHRIST! Jude
24;
A Christian cannot fall from grace because Christ is keeping him.
“Keep
yourselves in the love of Elohim” V.21.
The verse says that Yahushua is “able” to keep you from
falling,
not that He is going to force it upon you! Yahushua Messiah is able,
if you continue to “Keep yourselves in the love of Elohim.”
44.
SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT! Romans
6:23;
A free gift is given with no conditions.
One
verse does not speak for the whole of Scripture. This passage shows
the contrast between the wages of sin and the gift of eternal life.
It says nothing of how to get saved, and it has no conditions,
because it is not an appeal to repent or believe. It does not void
the Scriptures that assert that one must have belief in order to be
saved; it has a condition. A gift is free, but it can be thrown out,
trampled, and disowned. Being a gift has no bearing on an
unconditional Eternal Security. The impossibility of rejecting this
gift, or "losing" it, is not asserted by this passage.
45.
HE HAS IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS! Romans 4:6-7;
The righteousness the saint has is Christ’s perfect
righteousness.
No passage in Scripture says this. There is no transfer of
character. The word “recons” or “counts” as
righteous is a
better translation and meaning. You can no more impute wisdom to a
fool than you can impute bravery to a coward. Yahweh does not work in
myths, but in realities.
46.
HE IS A PART OF CHRIST! Ephesians
5:30;
Every believer is a part of Christ’s body. “Bone of His
bone....”
And…?
What does that have to do with proving Eternal Security? A leach
sucks off the life of the body, and a cancer eats away at it. It may
appear to be part of the body, but it is a destroyer, and invader.
Our Messiah's body is not a putrid mass of rotting sinful cancer
called unbelief! Yahushua said,
“If
your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.”
Matthew
18:8.
47.
CHRIST IS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF HIS SALVATION! Hebrews
12:2;
Christ began and will finish his salvation.
In
those that repent and believe, and continue in the belief, enduring
to the end. This passage says nothing about the Messiah having to
finish the salvation that someone had a start in, and chooses to
abandon along the way. Eternal Security must be assumed in order to
make the passage say that Yahushua must finish that which He began.
48.
HE HAS BEEN PREDESTINATED TO BE CONFORMED TO CHRIST’S IMAGE! Romans
8:29;
After salvation the believer is predestinated.
Predestinated
to set-apartness/conformity to Yahushua Messiah’s image, and not
to the heavens! (A person has a free will before salvation, and none
after? Foolish, and unscriptural logic!) See #33.
49.
CHRIST’S BLOOD HAS MADE PEACE FOR HIM! Colossians
1:20;
The saint has peace with God through the blood.
Peace
with Yahweh; no promise that they could never be lost!
50.
THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN SO HE COULD BELIEVE AND KNOW! 1
John 5:13; The saint can know he HAS ETERNAL SALVATION.
This
is without a doubt true, but this verse is no foundation to teach the
lie that one cannot lose their salvation! See point #1.
None
of the passages that are given as proof state that salvation cannot
be lost. If such a doctrine were true, why would Yahweh shroud it so
well that no one could see it? Wouldn't He have at least two or three
passages that state this proposition overtly?
Sadly,
the theory of “eternal security” (once saved, always saved)
is
another prime example of what Christianity has done in it's
separation and exclusion of the First Covenant. The Scriptures are
clear that Yahweh NEVER CHANGES (Mal
3:6, Ps 102:27, Heb 1:12, Jam 1:17),
and niether does that which He speaks!
(Ps
89:34).
His
First Covenant (as with the New) is full of conditional promises to
those who “Love
and keep His Commandments” (Deut 7:9, Deut 11:22, Deut 30:10 ,Jn
14:21, 1 Jn 3:24, etc.).
“Eternal
Security” is the doctrine for those who with to use Yahweh's
favour
as a cloak for their sin. 1Pe
2:15 “Because such is the desire of Elohim, that by doing
good you
should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not
using your freedom as a cloak for evil,
but as servants of Elohim.”
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