10 Problems with
Eternal Security:

Definition of Terms:

  • Eternal Security: the belief that once one becomes a Christian, they are saved and cannot lose that salvation
  • Perseverance of the Saints: the belief that once one has been “regenerated” by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that God will cause an authentic Christians to NECESSARILY persevere in faith and good works until they die, and thus they are eternally secure
  • Once Saved, Always Saved: A Christian can never lose salvation despite losing faith or falling into grave sin.

Eternal security is understood in more than one way among Protestants. Reformed Calvinist traditions such as Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Reformed Anglicans, and Reformed Baptists frequently use the phrase “perseverance of the saints” to describe their understanding of the teaching. According to this view, God will cause authentic Christians to persevere in faith and good works until they die, and thus they are eternally secure. If a person does lose faith or fall into grievous sin, it means one of two things: either the person was never an authentic Christian to begin with, or he will return to an authentically Christian life before he dies.

Most historic Baptist traditions and advocates of free grace theology, on the other hand, understand eternal security as “once saved, always saved.” This view holds that Christians can  lose faith or fall permanently into grievous sin and not lose their salvation. A single moment of saving faith, at any point in one’s life, is sufficient to permanently cancel all of one’s sins, even those not yet committed.

Lutherans,  Methodist, Wesleyan, Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic, Arminian, and Free-Will Baptists hold conditional security.  They acknowledge that it is possible for a believer to commit grievous sin and fall from grace. Thus, believers are kept safe by God in their saving relationship with him upon the condition of a persevering faith in Christ.  There are several reasons for the rejection of eternal security, a few of which are;

  1. It’s not Biblical. Verses like 1 John 5:13 & Romans 8:39 do NOT teach that it is IMPOSSIBLE to lose one’s salvation.  I John 5:13 says: “you may know you have eternal life”. The Greek word here for knowledge (the verb oida) does not indicate absolute certainty, but rather a confidence in God’s promises IF we keep His commands (1 John 5:2-3, Col 1:22-23, I Cor 15:1-2). Likewise, Rom 8:39 states that nothing can separate us from the grace of God or has power over our salvation, but it does not say that we cannot choose of our own free will to turn from God’s grace to a life of sin & thus forsake our own salvation (Gal 5:19-21, Rom 1:28-32, Eph 5:3-5, Col 3:5-8).
  2. It’s not Historical. Church Fathers were unanimous that salvation could be lost.  NO Christian prior to the 16th century taught that salvation could NOT be lost. Even Protestants disagree on the subject. Methodist, Arminian, and Pentecostal groups acknowledge that it is possible for a believer to commit grievous sin and fall from grace. Martin Luther taught that one could not lose salvation due to sin,
    but if one commits apostasy, they lose their salvation with no way to regain it. Calvinists ascribe to “perseverance of the saints” or that God will CAUSE authentic Christians to NECESSARILY persevere in faith and good works until they die, and thus they are eternally secure (effectively eliminating free will). In contrast, some non-Calvinist Protestants ascribe to “once saved, always saved” or that Christians can lose faith & fall permanently into grievous sin, and still not lose their salvation.
  3. It confuses Redemption and Salvation. Christ redeemed the entire world, offering Himself as a ransom for all and expiating the sins of the whole world (1 Tim. 2:6, 4:10; 1 John 2:2, Mark 2:17). Although the entire world is redeemed, the entire world is not saved. If there was no need to apply the redemptive work of the cross to individuals, then we would have been saved and justified from the beginning with no need to repent or have faith or anything else. We would have been born “saved,” with no need to be born again.
  4. It confuses initial salvation with final salvation. Our initial salvation is a gift of God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-8), which transforms us so that we are “born again” into a life with God. Nothing we do, neither faith nor works, can earn us the gift of God’s grace. However, due to our own free will, we can always turn away from God and reject His grace and instead choose a life of sin.
  5. The Bible speaks of salvation in past tense, but ALSO present and future tense as well; (2 Tim. 4:7-8, Rom. 13:11; cf. 1 Cor. 3:15; 5:5, Mt 19:29; Mk 9:43-47; Ti 1:2; 3:7; Phil. 1:6, Jude 21) indicating that salvation is an ON-GOING PROCESS.
  6. Although assurance IS possible if we love of God & keep His commands, (1 John
    5:2-3, 13), Christ also warns us that we can be deceived by having false assurance.  Jesus said: ‘Not everyone who calls me, “Lord, Lord” shall enter the kingdom of heaven’ (Matt. 7:21).” These people even claimed to prophesy in His name, therefore they had faith, but were turned away because they were “EVIL-DOERS”.
  7. It’s contrary to Christ’s teachings. Christ says only “He who endures to the end will be saved” and if we do not continue to abide in Him, we’ll be thrown into the fire (Matt 24:13; cf. 25:31-46, John 15:6).
  8. Paul warns that, unless we continue in Christ’s kindness, a Christian can “believe in vain” and lose their salvation (1 Cor 15:1–2 , Rom 11:22, Gal 5:4, 1 Cor 9:27) due to sin (1 Cor. 6:9–10) and that we should “work out our salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).
  9. The fact that we do nothing to merit grace does not mean that there is nothing we can do to DEmerit grace. Adam & Eve demerited the grace of salvation. The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32), who initially lived with his father (representing God), chose to leave and live a life of sin and had to later repent (cf. Rom. 11:17-24).
  10. It confuses mortal & venial sin (1 John 5:16-18). Salvation can be lost through mortal sin (Eph 5:3-7, Col 3:5-6, Gal 5:19-21, and I Cor 6:9-11), but such sins are by nature grave ones, and not the kind that a person living the Christian life is going to accidentally commit. Mortal sin, however, can be forgiven through Confession (1 John 1:9, John 20:21-23, 2 Cor. 2:10, 2 Cor. 5:15, James 5:14-17).

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Bible Verses:

Gospel of John 15:6

“Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

1 Corinthians 15:1–2

“Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.”

Romans 11:22

“Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off.”

Galatians 5:4

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

1 Corinthians 9:27,

“I pummel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified “

Colossians 1:22-23

“He has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him—provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.”

Colossians 3:5-8

“Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient. These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life. But now you must get rid of all such things—anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language from your mouth.”

Timothy 4:7-8

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Romans 13:11

“Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers.”

Mark 9:43-47

“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell.”

Philippians 1:6

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

Matthew 24:13

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Philippians 2:12

“Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

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Church Father Quotes:

The Didache

“Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord comes. But you shall assemble together often, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if you be not made complete in the last time” (Didache 16 [A.D. 70]).

Irenaeus of Lyons 

“To Christ Jesus, our Lord, and God, and Savior, and King, according to the will of the invisible Father, ‘every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess’ [Phil. 2:10–11] to him, and that he should execute just judgment towards all. . . . The ungodly and unrighteous and wicked and profane among men [shall go] into everlasting fire; but [he] may, in the exercise of his grace, confer immortality on the righteous, and holy, and those who have kept his commandments, and have persevered in his love, some from the beginning [of their Christian course], and others from [the date of] their penance, and may surround them with everlasting glory” (Against Heresies 1:10:1 [A.D. 189]).

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Non-Catholic Quotes:

Non-Catholic Quotes:

 

 

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