Once Saved…
Lord, I need to talk about two separate and sometimes heated differences of fact/opinion. I want to work this out as my technician mind would, seeing the problem, gathering evidential resources to direct me to the solution, and finally arriving at the point where only one can make the sense of reliability when confronted with any other thought process. So problem one: Saved, but based on the condition of how you live, your works, and your ministry.
Some arguments for this narrative
Galatians 5:4 “You have become estranged from Christ”
James 5:19-20 Bringing one back into the fold after wandering
2 Peter 2:20-22 Believers who have been entangled in sin
1 Corinthians 10:12 “..take heed lest he fall”
1 John 1:7 “But IF we walk in the light…”
Hebrews 3:12 “Beware brethren…departing from God”
To summarize, these arguments point towards having received salvation that one can become estranged from Christ, that believers can wander away from the faith, that believers can be ensnared in sin, that one can fall from grace, that if we are not careful to walk in the light that we can depart completely from God.
Problem two: Once saved, always saved
Some arguments for this narrative
Romans 8:30 “...those He called, He also justified”
Romans 8:33-34 “...Who is to condemn”
John 3:3 “…unless someone is born again”
Titus 3:5 “...but according to His own mercy”
John 14:17 “...You know Him for He dwells with you”
Romans 8:9 “You are not in the flesh but in the spirit”
1 Corinthians 12:13 “...all were made to drink one Spirit”
John 3:15 “Whoever believes in Him will have eternal life”
Romans 8:38-39 Nothing can separate us from the love of God
To summarize, those He predestined and called, He has justified and Glorified. Nobody can bring charge against a believer as Christ intercedes for us, those of us who are born again or regenerated, cannot be un-regenerated due to the lack of evidence in God’s word saying that new birth can be taken away. The Holy Spirit dwells within us and baptizes all believers to the Body of Christ, we cannot be unbaptized and detached. All those who believe WILL have eternal life and there’s nothing in this world or outside of it that can rob us of His gift.
The equation is set, now for the work.
How important is context? The definition of context is the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. Seems awfully important when it comes to truth discernment. So let’s discern the arguments for conditional salvation after reception.
Galatians 5, there was a group called Judaizers who were a group of Jewish Christians who insisted that their co-religionists should follow the Mosaic Law and that Gentile converts to Christianity must first be circumcised. Paul called them foolish. Since they had not done any works before believing in Jesus, the clear answer is that God sent His Spirit in response to their faith. What, then, do they have to gain from following the law? Paul states flatly that people of faith—not "people of the law"—are Abraham's children. After all, Abraham was counted righteous—"justified"—for believing God (Genesis 15:6), and God told Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). Thus, those of faith are the ones blessed along with Abraham (Galatians 3:6–9). James 5, James talks to his Christian audience urging them to remain patient as The Lord is standing ready at the door. Count your struggles as joy. If you are in trouble, pray. If you are cheerful, sing. Spiritually weak, involve yourself with your community and ask for prayer. Your actions will reflect whom you serve. Finally that same community you have surrounded yourself with should go out and reach the lost, those who have wandered away into sin. 2 Peter 2 is hard hitting against false teachers and what they bring to the table. In the latter verses in the chapter, being fed a false gospel, especially one of lustful intrigue and the practice of receiving false liberty becoming slaves of corruption, the dichotomy of the redeemed vs the appearance of the redeemed show more clearly. Those who had a sample portion of truth would’ve been better off never hearing of it because due to the lapse of the rest of the knowledge, they can’t know redemption. 1 Corinthians talks about the dangers of idolatry and how one can fall into the temptation to go along with the surrounding community. 1 John, live as you believe. If you believe in God, live like it’s true. If your arrogance makes you claim that you have no sin, you have deceived yourself and are not continually cleansed through Christ. For Hebrews, the website bibleref.com says it better than I can, “This kind of doubt does not imply a loss of salvation. The context is Israel's experience following the story of the Exodus. In the book of Exodus, "salvation" is represented by the Passover escape from Egypt. God did not send Israel back to the Egyptians when they doubted. Instead, He withheld from them the victory of entering the Promised Land. For the same reason, Canaan cannot be seen as a metaphor for heaven, here. There were still battles to fight and struggles to experience, even for those who held to their faith. In context, this warning is not about a loss of salvation, but rather a loss of fellowship, reward, and our "spiritual inheritance" which occurs when we doubt God's Word. This reflects a similar idea as the warning given in Hebrews 2:1–4. God's message regarding our salvation cannot be neglected without consequences. In the same way, our trust in His word and His message cannot be set aside without there being a price to pay.”
As a whole, the arguments and scripture for conditional salvation cannot be reliable to the context of the scripture surrounding them. Moving on to the once saved, always saved argument.
Romans 8 bookends itself with absolute security placed in Christ and that nothing can separate us from His commitment to us. We don’t commit to Christ, we put our faith in Him and He commits to us and holds fast to it. In John 3, Jesus has a meeting with Nicodemus about being born again and tells him that if you can’t believe the earthly things, how would you begin to understand the things of heaven. Christ goes on to say that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life and whoever believes in Him is not condemned. In Romans Paul states flatly that people of faith—not "people of the law"—are Abraham's children. After all, Abraham was counted righteous—"justified"—for believing God (Genesis 15:6), and God told Abraham that all the nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). Thus, those of faith are the ones blessed along with Abraham (Galatians 3:6–9). Paul then quotes Deuteronomy, Habakkuk, and Leviticus to show that the law brings only a curse to those who fail to follow it in any way. It's not about faith; it's about action. Since all people fail to keep the law in some way, Christ had to pay the price of sin with His own life. That's how He redeemed those in slavery under the law so that they could be justified by faith in Him (Galatians 3:10–14).
In summation, the more hereitcal idea is that for a man to say that as a man you can do something to lose your salvation calls God a liar. John 10:27-30 says " 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.” If we are in The Lord Christ's Jesus' hands and He's saying here they can't be snatched from His hands and THEN goes to say we can't be snatched out of The Father's hand, that means we are in Christ, Christ is in The Father, how then would we or anything else be able to peel their hands open to let us loose again? A believer’s eternal security is purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is given and maintained by God’s hand, and it is permanent and irrevocable. The eternal life granted by Jesus to His “sheep” cannot and will never be stolen, revoked, or lost. A Christian who has trusted in Jesus Christ as the Savior is declared righteous before God for all eternity (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1) and cannot lose his salvation. The Good Shepherd protects His sheep and ensures that no one and nothing snatches them from the fold.
Also, if you could lose your salvation, you would.
With all the intent and purpose of my heart, Father, God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, it’s not about me being correct in my own mind or being wrong. It’s a matter of what Your word says. I believe it all has to be read inside of its context for us to get a clear definition of what You are telling us. Authentic faith is Biblically and truthfully irrevocable. Simplistic knowledge or a belief of the mind isn’t authentic faith. Faith in Christ governs our conscience especially when we are attacked by the evil forces in this world. I pray that, even though I write to You, that whoever else You intended this to reach that it does so and with haste. All glory and honor is Yours, Heavenly Father, Amen.