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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: THE CROSS |
Bible Note: Greetings, Hank. Perseverance of the saints is similar to what many Baptists (both Reformed and non-Reformed) call "eternal security." All Calvinists believe that true Christians are eternally secure, and Arthur Pink notwithstanding, generally do not make such sweeping statements like a reserve in your obedience making you bound for hell. I think that eternal security can be lumped into two varieties, roughly consistent with the differences between those who hold to what has come to be known as Lordship salvation and the so-called "free-grace" folks. Both believe that the Christian cannot lose their salvation. The latter group, however, contends that one only need to pray some prayer and believe for an instant that Jesus is their savior, and that no matter what apostasy and immorality one falls into, that their salvation is secure. "Once-saved-always-saved" is taken to mean that the vilest scoundrel who years before prayed a sinner's prayer in elementary school is on safe ground. This is the position of folks such as Charles Ryrie, Zane Hodges, and Charles Stanley. Calvinists hold to the Lordship view put forth in Scripture and championed by contemporary preachers such as John MacArthur and Alistair Begg and R.C. Sproul. While one is saved by faith alone and remains justified from the moment of possessing saving faith (i.e. is "eternally secure"), that justification is evidenced by a progressive sanctification that is visible. In other words, God doesn't merely declare a person righteous because of Christ's perfect obedience and then leaves that person alone. God keeps His people from finally falling away from the faith and from continuing in such sins as are listed in 1 Corinthians 6:9, the practicioners of which will not inherit the kingdom of God. Those who claim to be saved-but-practicing-homosexuals, for example, are not eternally secure, not because their works make them unsaved, but rather because their works show that they never were truly justified in the first place. Holiness is not an option, as the Scriptures teach plainly: "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." --Hebrews 12:14 The good news is that this sanctification is as much a work of God's grace as justification is. We are the one's working out our salvation with fear and trembling, while at the same time it is God who works in us to (a) will and (b) work for his good pleasure (Phil. 2:12-13). Paul also speaks of this striving with the strength that God provides at the end of Colossians 1. It is paradoxical, but in those of us who are eternally secure, God produces the steadfastness at the same time we work hard at it. So, I am "once-saved-always-saved" and the proof of that salvation is God making me more like Jesus Christ in practice. --Joe! |