Bible Question:
Greetings Forum! There was a thread recently which dealt with Eternal Security. The position of most on the forum seemed to be that the relationship between a believer and Christ can never be severed. If that is the case, how do we explain these three passages in particular? 1) 1 Cor. 15:1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 2) Col. 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 3) 2 Peter 1:10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I realize that many of us will approach these passage from different theological perspectives. My point here is not to argue the passages. I would simply like to hear how some from different perspectives deal with these passages. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
Bible Answer: Eternal Security and the “If” Clauses Dear Tim, Your question is, “Do the “if” clauses of I Cor. 15:1, Col. 1:21 and II Pet. 1:10 imply that the teaching of eternal security is false?” Can a true believer turn away from the faith and thus be lost? Both logically and biblically the answer is no. This is a question on will a true believer persevere in the faith till the end. But first a quote from the Westminster Confession of Faith, which summarizes the Biblical position: “I. They, whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therin to the end, and be eternally saved. II. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election, flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father; upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, the abiding of the Spirit, and of the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace: from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof.” Now, both the Corinthian and Colossians verses are restatements of justification by faith alone. If one holds fast to (that is, believes) the word preached (the gospel) then they are saved. Colossians says that by the vicarious death of Christ we are reconciled to God by faith. And none of the three verses given teach salvation by works. Two principles are at work in these verses: 1), that justification is by faith alone, and 2), that we are warned against self deception. None of the verses sited contradict justification by faith alone apart from the works of the law. Yet none of the verses leave a person complacent about faith in Christ, just as God in his word never allows a believer to become complacent about sin or the pursuit of holiness. A verse that kind of sums up these verses is 2 Cor. 13:5, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-- unless indeed you fail the test?” Now, whereas these verses emphasize faith, other verses focus on good works. Both sets of verses exhort us to vigilance that we might avoid self deception. If we find ourselves becoming cynical towards the Word, we’ve no assurance that His Word is really in us. If we’re complacent about the sin in our lives, God gives us no assurance that we are “good trees.” A good tree bares good fruit. God’s power to save his people is beyond doubt (Is. 59:1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short That it cannot save...), but man’s weakness to self-deception as well as sin’s ability to deceive makes such verses very necessary, and we should thank God that he’s given them to us. Faith is a gift (Eph. 2:9). He gave it. He won’t take it back. And even our good works are not ours, but that which has already been prepared for us by him (v. 10), and “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:6 “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:24,25 Peace, Lionstrong |