Eternal Security

This course is designed to refute and assure. To refute the heresies surrounding Eternal Security and assure the student that his Salvation through Christ and his destination because of Christ are eternally secure. It will guide the student through the bedrock biblical proofs and refutations surrounding this question- "Is the believer secure in Christ?" - Dr. VBK, Editor

Chapter One What Is Salvation, According To The Bible?
The blood of Jesus Christ in regard to man’s salvation
The meaning of the word "Eternal" "Everlasting" in regard to salvation
What is being born again, in regard to man’s salvation

Chapter Three Does Good Works Or Baptism Save A Soul?
Briefly, What is the purpose of the Christian’s works?
Is baptism essential for salvation?

Chapter Four Argumentation And Reasoning’s That I Have Heard Or Read,
For A Christian To Lose Their Salvation
Salt losing its savor
Failing to abide in Christ
Being moved away from the hope of the Gospel
Erring from the faith
Being taken captive by the devil
Neglecting so great salvation
Departing from the living God
Being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin
Willfully sinning
Erring from the truth
Being overcome by the world
Leaving one’s first love
Internet debate forum on eternal security

Chapter Five What Would Happen If A Christian Could Lose Their Salvation?
Fourteen steps

SCRIPTURES QUOTED IN THIS STUDY - Student must look up EVERY scripture reference in this study in their King James Bible. That includes all of those scriptures that are partially or wholly quoted in the textbook. This is a requirement for the course. If you do not look up every scripture referenced in the textbook then you will fail the course.
ATTENTION: All scriptures in the tests are quoted from the KJV and require that the answers also be quoted from the KJV in order to be correct. Sometimes when using a scripture in the textbook the author may, for various reasons, use a different punctuation at the end of the quote than what is used in the KJV. If this does happen, then the test answer that you give must be a quote from the KJV rather than a quote from this textbook. Dr. VBK

As a Christian and pastor, this subject has come up time after time over the years. It has been debated, argued, accepted and rejected by many well meaning people. Some of them Methodists, some branches of Pentecostalism, Roman Catholic and from the Church of Christ as well as many others. In my writing, I will show five basic areas that I believe are important areas to explore regarding the subject of "Eternal Security."

First: I believe that it is necessary to define just what is salvation according to the Bible.
Second: I want to show, according to Scriptures, what happens when a Christian does sin.
Third: Does good works or baptism save a soul?
Fourth: I will share some of the arguments and reasonings that I have heard or read from
those who believe that a Christian could lose their salvation.
Fifth: I will show, according to Scriptures, what would happen "IF" a Christian could lose their salvation.
Sixth: Additional Scripture Verses Showing Eternal Security Or Once Saved - Always Saved.

Further, in writing on this subject, I hope to be a help to young Christians; to help them to further understand God’s Word regarding what the Bible says about the subject of Eternal Security. I want to encourage Christians, in their faith in Jesus Christ, to effectively share their faith with others around them. Christians should know what the Bible says regarding this subject as well as other great Bible doctrines. We should know how to give an answer to those who disbelieve in "once saved always saved." We should know how to give an answer to those who doubt their salvation; those who have trouble fully trusting in Jesus to save their soul. Then, we should know how to give an answer to those who challenge our beliefs and those who erroneously teach that you can lose your salvation once you have been saved.

I Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." (emphasis mine)

Many times, young Christians are confronted by someone who will try to dissuade them from believing in eternal security. I want to supply young Christians with the "tools" from the Bible to help them in their faith in God’s Word and in their witnessing to others. In the Book of Jude, verse 3, the Word of God tells us:

"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

The emphasis is mine for the purpose of bringing out that one phrase: "... that ye should earnestly contend for the faith ... " The word "contend" means: "to contend about a thing, as a combatant." The word "earnestly conveys the intensive force of the preposition." [1] I would gather from this passage of Scripture, that we are to fight for the faith; to fight for what the Bible teaches.

Another reason for writing on this subject would be a "challenge" to those who firmly believe that they can "fall from grace;" "lose their salvation." There are many who do not accept the doctrine of Eternal Security and I want to challenge them to go to the Bible, the Word of God, and clearly present their case. I want them to "dig" into the Scriptures and prove their point. All of our Bible doctrines should be based on Scripture. I fear that there are many who develop a doctrine and then go to the Bible and "cherry pick" Bible verses to try and build a case for themselves. This is true of Eternal Security as well as many other great Bible doctrines. The Bible should be our guide, not a Book to "pick and choose" certain verses to try to prove a point. The Bible must be taken in the context of which a particular Book or Epistle was written. We must be careful not to isolate a verse or verses from their context, thus taking them out of context .... just to prove a man made doctrine.

Some refer to this doctrine we are going to study as "Eternal Security," while others may call it the "final perseverance of the saints." It is also referred to as "once saved always saved," and the "security of the believer."

When I have spoken with folks who say that you can lose your salvation, I find that they really don’t want to lose it. Also, I have found that they believe that they have never lost it. It’s always someone else who has lost it and not themselves. Now ... I realize that my sampling is relegated to a few people compared to all of those who believe in losing their salvation. However, my conversations with many, many, folks have taken me to that point. It has been pointed out to me that there are folks who used to go to every church service, teach Sunday School, bring folks into the church, give a wonderful Christian testimony, etc. etc; but now they cuss, drink, and won’t even set foot inside a church house. They have obviously "lost it."

If a Christian could lose their salvation; fall from grace; etc; then they would have to lose everything that they had gained by being saved. Wouldn’t things have to be reversed? If a saved person could lose their salvation, then wouldn't they also have to gain everything that they had lost after they were saved. Let’s see, if they gained heaven by being saved, they have now lost heaven. The saved person also has escaped hell by being saved; so now ... they have just gotten back hell by losing their salvation. What about sins, the sins that nailed Jesus Christ to the Cross? You would get them ALL BACK when you lost your salvation; the misery would be back, the misery of not knowing that you were heaven bound. The peace of God that the saved person had would be gone after they lost their salvation.

Some people may believe that they can "feel saved," or "not feel saved." Can we base our salvation; our forgiveness of sins; etc. on our feelings? Salvation is something that you can know.

"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." (emphasis mine).

Knowing is not feeling. Our feelings can be unreliable and our thinking can be wrong and clouded. Therefore, our feelings cannot be depended upon for our salvation.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it.?"

Many people depend upon their works to save them or to help keep them saved. This too, we will explore, then show from the Bible that works cannot save a soul nor to help that soul to stay saved. How many works must a person do in order to stay saved? How many works must a person do in order to maintain that salvation? What would be the criteria for the "quality" of a man’s works to keep him saved? The question arises regarding the Christian who is now physically incapable of doing much. Perhaps that person is bed ridden etc. How could they perform works? Is there an exemption for them? If so, do we not now have two ways of salvation? One with works to keep a soul saved and one without works, for that person who does not have the time nor the means to do enough works. Would this simply depend upon which way the wind is blowing? Many different denominations have different and conflicting beliefs on what saves and how to "stay saved." Remember what the Bible has to say in I Corinthians 14:33: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." Conflicting doctrines on any subject offers confusion and keeps many people in ignorance about what the Bible really teaches on any particular subject. They also keep untold millions in spiritual darkness and send them to hell because they are kept from the truth of God’s Word regarding salvation.

When I consider writing on this subject, I must also realize the fact that there might be someone who could read this and really not be sure of their salvation. The Bible does teach that a person can be sure of heaven. That is why I, and others, often ask the question: "If you were to die today, are you 100% sure of heaven?"

Caution: Some test have a scroll bar on the right side of the test page
that must be used to scroll down to see all possible answers!

INTRODUCTION TEST

Briefly, the answer as to what saves us, according to God’s Word, is the grace of God through faith.
We read in Ephesians 2:8-9,

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

"For as much as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without blemish and without spot."

Salvation is admitting that you are a sinner. Believing (faith) that Jesus Christ died in your place, on the Cross of Calvary, for your sins. You must ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins. Then, by faith, receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your own personal Saviour.

The Bible teaches us that: "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." That’s why God gave us the Law.
Galatian's 3:19 tells us "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions ..."
Sin is also failing to do the right thing. Look at James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners; therefore, a person must admit that they are a sinner, if they want forgiveness of sins.

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

Peter preached repentance on the Day of Pentecost. Then, after the Day of Pentecost, Peter preached repentance.

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord."

"... from that time Jesus began to preach and to say,
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Regarding the word "repent," I looked up the word "repent" in Vine’s and found the following: "In the N.T. the subject chiefly has reference to ‘repentance from sin,’ and this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God." [2]

Salvation is admitting that you are a sinner and then you ask forgiveness of your sins, repenting of them. The next part is receiving Jesus Christ as your Saviour; that is simply by faith.

"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

"I do not mean that you are simply to believe that there is a God or that there is a Saviour. Devils believe that and tremble (James 2:19). You can believe that a certain physician is a good doctor without calling him to be your doctor when you are sick. You can believe that a certain man is a good lawyer without taking him as your lawyer to defend your case. You are not just to believe the truth about Jesus; you are to believe on Him, that is, depend upon Him, risk Him, trust Him; and when you do, you are saved." [3]

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

Roman's 10:13 tells us that:
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

After you have admitted that you are a sinner; and believing that Jesus Christ died in your place on the Cross; the next step is to ask Him to forgive you of your sins. This is done by faith in God’s Word, the Bible. Now, ask Jesus to come into your heart to be your own personal Saviour. This is by faith; believing and receiving.

Many people that I have dealt with have thought or believed that you must work to be good enough for God to receive you. The Bible does not teach such a thing. Refer to the verse in the above, Romans 10:13.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."

Here, we find that it is we, the sinner, that must "call upon the name of the Lord." It is the sinner that must "receive" Jesus Christ as Saviour. If we wait until we are "good enough" for God to receive us, then we will have a long, hard, wait. Remember .... Christ died for sinners. Nowhere do we read in God’s Word that Christ died for the righteous and for the holy and for the "goody two shoes."

Salvation is by the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s why Jesus Christ went to the Cross of Calvary. He was that sacrifice for our sins, for the sins of the entire world. He died in my place and in your place. Our part is to repent of our sins; believe on Him and receive Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour.

"For asmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

In the Book of Hebrews, we find much on the blood of Christ and His sacrifice for us on the Cross.

"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood;
and without shedding of blood is no remission."

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus."

If it were not for the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross, dying in our place, where would we obtain salvation? He was that perfect sacrifice for us, God in the flesh.

"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Some folks take the Scriptures out of context regarding the blood of Jesus Christ. The Rev. Cline Hancock, a Church of Christ preacher, made the following statements in his book entitled: "20 of My Best Sermons." After quoting Ephesians 2:11-12, he stated the following: "Now I don’t know how to make it any plainer than that. That we’re baptized into Christ where we come in contact with his blood. Jesus purchased the church with his own blood." [4]

The last part of this statement is correct, but he takes the whole thing out of context by equating the blood with water baptism. We find on the next page he states:

"There is no way today with all the technique and all the science and everything that we’ve got (and like a famous doctor told me years ago) that you can completely separate blood and water. God joined them together and when the soldier pierced Jesus’ side, blood and water came out. You cannot separate them today." (emphasis his) "If we think that we can go to heaven dry shod, we’re just kidding ourselves. We’re going to have to be buried with our Lord in baptism and that’s just plain water. We come in contact with the spiritual blood of Jesus Christ and it’s the blood that takes away our sins." [5]

On the next page, the minister states: "Baptism is to put us in contact with Christ’s blood. There is no other way."[6] The problem with his reasoning is that it simply does not "wash" with Scripture. The thief on the Cross believed in Jesus Christ and received Him as Saviour; I do not read where he was baptized. In John 4, we read about the woman at the well. The water that Jesus was talking about was not baptism, but the "living water" verses 10-11. That "living water" refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit.

I do not read anywhere in the Bible where it teaches or states that baptism puts us in contact with the blood of Jesus Christ; the blood is applied when we receive Jesus Christ as our own personal Saviour. To further look into Scripture we find in I John 1:7: "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." In the context of this great verse, I find no mention or no suggestion of baptism; any way, shape or form.

We see, from Scripture, that we are saved by putting our faith in God's Grace. Jesus Christ was that sacrificial Lamb that was offered in our place on the Cross. His shed blood was payment for our sin and by faith we accept His payment.

A well-known rabbinical maxim, recognized by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (9:22) was "Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." The life is in the blood, as is often declared by Moses; the life of the sacrifice was taken, and the blood offered to God, as a representative and substitute for the offerer (Lev. 17:11). [7]

"Justification is by the blood of Christ." "We have already seen that we are justified by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 3:24). More definitely, we read in Romans 5:9: ‘Being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.'"

He continues on with a quotation of Hebrews 9:22 that I have referred to in the paragraph above. Thiessen’s comment on this is as follows:

"This sets forth the ground of our justification. Because Christ has borne the punishment of our sins in His own body, God is able to remit the penalty and to restore us to His favor. In other words, in justification our sins are not excused but punished in the person of Christ our Substitute. The resurrection of Christ is one proof that His death on the Cross has satisfied God’s claim against us (Romans 4:25). [8]

When we are saved, we receive eternal life and that is something that you can know:

I John 5:11-13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

The definition of "eternal" in the Greek means: "forever" [9] and also "undefined because endless;" "describes duration, either undefined but not endless." [10] Therefore, when we are saved; our new life in Christ is an endless one: having no end to it. Eternal life begins the moment we receive Christ as personal Saviour.

Some may believe that you receive eternal life begins when you get to heaven and not before. When does "eternal life" begin? The Bible had many verses on the topic of "eternal life" and "everlasting life."

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (Emphasis mine.)

"He doesn’t say, ‘will have’ - He doesn’t say ‘may have’ - He doesn’t say ‘ought to have’- He doesn’t say ‘might have’ - but He says ‘HATH’ - right now, in this present minute that he believes - what does he get? He gets life for three score and ten? No: long after the stars cease to shine and this old world had been incinerated, the skies have melted with fervent heat, and the heavens have been folded together like a garment that is old and moth eaten, my friends, the soul that believes in Him, will still enjoy everlasting life, and not on the condition of baptism, or anybody's obedience on earth." [11]

Taking this verse, John 5:24, and looking up the definition of several of the words in the Greek language from Strong’s, we can also arrive at what Dr. Norris stated. "... shall not come into condemnation ..."

"... and believeth on him ..." The word believeth means: "to have faith in, commit (to trust) put in trust with." [12]

The word everlasting and eternal were defined in a paragraph previously.

"... hath everlasting life ..." The word hath means, in this context, "possession, have, hold, keep." [13]

The word not, in Strong’s: "a primary word; the absolute negative." [14]

Then we look up the word into from the part of the verse - "come into." In Strong’s, the Greek word is "eis." It is a primary preposition "to" or "into" (indicating the point reached or entered) of place, time or purpose." [15]

The word condemnation, from John 5:24, in Strong’s, means: "decision by extension, a tribunal, by implication, justice (especially diving law), accusation, condemnation, damnation, judgment." [16]

Now, to look at the word "... but is passed ...," the word passed, from Strong’s, means "to change place, depart, go, pass, remove." [17]

Then the word unto , at the end of the verse. It is the same Greek word "eis" as used in the above word of the verse into.

Putting this all together, cannot we find the verse teaching us that when we hear God’s Word, and put our faith in and commit our trust to Jesus Christ; we have or possess a life that is perpetually forever. This is a life that will not allow the saved person to reach the point of damnation or judgment. We have departed from or changed places with death and entered the place and time of a life that is perpetual or forever.

In John chapter three, Jesus talks with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. In verse three, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be "Born again." The word "born" is from the Greek word gennhqh from gennaw, gennao which has the following meaning: bear, begat, bring forth, to regenerate. [18] The word again is from the Greek word anwqen anothen which means: anew, from above, from the beginning. [19] Jesus tells a religious man to have a rebirth; to be born from above, if he wanted to see the kingdom of God.

Verse five tells us that a man must be born of "the water and of the Spirit." Nicodemus was a scholar, a Jewish theologian. He surely was familiar with Isaiah 44:3 where the water is a typology of the Holy Spirit.

"For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:"

To further substantiate this, notice John chapter 4 where Jesus is having a conversation with the woman at the well. Jesus speaks of the living water:

"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

This nowhere refers to baptism nor to anything else except the Holy Spirit of God.

In John 7:38-39 we read:
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (Emphasis mine.)

Jesus tells us that He was speaking of the Spirit when using the word "water" and not referring to baptism nor to anything else.

"The Greek word and has other uses than merely that of a connective. It has an emphatic or ascensive use, and is at the same time translated by the word even. Thus, the translation here could read: ‘Except a man be born of water, even of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ [20]

We see the necessity of the new birth; a birth from above: not a worldly birth, not a fleshly birth - one of the physical, not a birth of keeping the Law; but from God. The Holy Spirit does the work in the hearts of mankind, convicting of sin and bringing man to where he must make a choice regarding salvation. In John 3 verse 6 and 8, Jesus again refers to the new birth. He does not mention water at all, but the Spirit.

What is the necessity of the new birth? In John 3:7 Jesus said "Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again." Notice the word must; according to Wuest Word studies: "It is a necessity in the nature of the case." [21] The nature of the case is the fact that we are sinners; Jesus died to save sinners; He rose again the third day. If we want to go to heaven; if we want to have salvation; we MUST be born again or it just won’t happen. Since the "nature of the case" is that man is a sinner, we are after the fact of the first Adam. The MUST is simply that our sins have been paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary. Jesus, in talking to Nicodemus, knew that He was going to the Cross and that He was going to pay for our sins. If Nicodemus wanted to see the Kingdom of God, he MUST go by Jesus and be "born again" by the Spirit. Remember ... Salvation is a FREE GIFT bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ and we are kept by His power: I Peter 1:5

Now, we will look at the question of what happens when a Christian does sin. We know that Christians do sin. Look at I John 1:8-10. This epistle (letter) was written to the saved, the Christians, and not to the unsaved. It instructs us what to do with sin in order to stay in a right relationship with Christ. It deals with our walk with Christ etc. Nowhere in this context does it deal with being "saved again" ... which is a Biblical impossibility. What happens when we sin after we are saved? We are to confess that sin as I John 1:9 tells us to do. In I John 2:1, take a look at the word "advocate." The word in the Greek [22] (paraklhton from paraklhtoV, parakletos) is a verbal adjective that suggests the capability or adaptability for giving aid.

This word advocate was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant; a council for the defense: one who pleads another's cause: an intercessor. Our advocate, according to I John 2:1, is Jesus Christ. Look at I John 2:2: in this verse, we find Christ the propitiation for our sins. The word in the Greek means "a means whereby sin is covered and remitted." Here, Christ is the forgiver; He shows mercy to the believer. Remember... I John was written to Christians; those who were already saved. Christians have an intercessor and a forgiver in Christ Jesus.

This question must be looked at in the light of Scripture and not feelings; no human reasoning; but by the Bible, the Scriptures. Let's look at several Bible verses that deal with the issue of "eternal security."

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory ..."

Looking at I Corinthians 9:27, the word "castaway." Some say that Paul was in fear of being lost. The context deals with rewards (vs 24) in Heaven for service towards Christ while we are here on this earth. The word "castaway," in the Greek language, means: disapproved; worthless. Nowhere in the meaning of this word do we even come close to anything resembling the word "lost."

Now, in John 10:27-29 They (sheep); SHALL NEVER PERISH; they will never be lost. Turn to John 5:24; the word "condemnation" in the Greek means "accusation, damnation, judgment." The passing judgment will be in Revelation 20:12, for the unsaved and not for the saved. John 11:26; "never die" means shall never experience the second death. Go to Hebrews 10:14-18 where we read: "perfected forever..." The Holy Ghost is witness to this. Verse 18 says: "No more offering for sin" The reason why is simply because we have remission (forgiveness) of sin.

Look at II Timothy 1:12, where Paul was persuaded that God, who saved him, would keep him saved. Turn to Romans 8:35-39. What can separate a saved soul from God's love? Answer: Nothing.

When a child of God sins, we are to confess that sin, as I John 1:8-10 instructs us to do. This is the Christian staying in a right relationship with Christ. That is a relationship of one being placed spiritually where God can make us useable and to use us for His service. II Timothy 2 gives the Christian instructions regarding this. Verse 19: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." (emphasis mine). The Apostle Paul instructs us (by inspiration of the Holy Spirit), to depart or to get away from sin. He also tells us that God knows who is saved and that is a "seal." That "seal" is what keeps us saved securely.

II Timothy 2:21-22 goes on to instruct the Christian to purge himself from these. The "these" are the things of dishonor in verse 20. Verse 22 tells us to "Flee also youthful lusts." Next we are instructed in what to follow: righteousness, faith, charity, peace. We are to "flee" certain things and "follow" certain things NOT to be saved; NOT to stay saved; NOT to complete salvation; but because we are saved. What a great God we have that loves us; died in our place; saves us when we repent of our sins and call upon His name. He keeps us saved by His power and He gives instructions on how to keep ourselves spiritually clean after we have been saved, so that God can get us to the place where He can use us to carry out His will.

When a Christian sins, we are chastened by the Lord. Hebrews 12:6 "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." That word "chasten" is to discipline. That’s simple, because the next part of this verse tells us that the Lord will scourge every son .... The word "scourgeth" would mean that He punishes us or whips us when we get out of line. Notice the word son; he calls us "son." That means that the one whom the Lord is disciplining and whipping is still a son, we have not "lost" our salvation, just got a whipping for disobedience. Go on to verse 8 and we find that if we are not chastened by the Lord; "...then ye are bastards, and not sons." The word bastard simply means illegitimate. In other words, if God does not chasten the child of God when we go astray, then we are not really a child of God, we are illegitimate.

Revelation 3:19, in the message to the local church of Laodicia, we are told:

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."

God chastens those whom He loves, and it is because of His love that He corrects us.

When a Christian sins, we are to confess those sins. I believe that we are to confess those sins individually by name. Why, because we committed those sins individually and personally. We committed specific sins and I believe that we should confess them and ask forgiveness for them individually and personally. When a Christian sins, God will chasten us because He wants us to be in fellowship with Him. God wants His child to love Him back and to submit to His authority so that we can be made useable by Him for His service. Nowhere do I find, in Scripture, that a Christian loses their salvation when they sin. However, we can lose our effectiveness and our usefulness. We can quench the power of the Holy Spirit ( I Thessalonians 5:19) and we can grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30).

Over the years, as a pastor, I have dealt with many people who believe that you can be saved and then lose your salvation; having to get saved all over again. Many will believe that they must do good works in order to stay saved, while others add something external to their salvation. The "external" could be baptism; communion or Lord’s Supper; belonging to or membership in a particular religion or church; speaking in tongues; etc. Many, not all, that I have spoken with, do not consider the things (that I have labeled as "external" above) as "works" but rather a part of salvation. I realize that there are many different variations of these argumentation's, and I will deal with them on this subject.

First, we will look at several Scriptures dealing with works for salvation and to stay saved, etc. The key to these and to any verses in the Bible, is CONTEXT, whom it was written to and why.
In the Book of Acts 26:20:

"But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance."

These are the works that true repentance will produce. Repentance is to "turn" from our sin; Paul was writing about taking the Gospel to the Gentiles, that they might be saved. The context nowhere suggests that one works for their salvation nor for even a part of their salvation.

Romans 3:27 "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith."

Romans 4:2
"For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God."

Romans 4:6: "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works."

Romans 9:11: "(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)"

Romans 9:32: "Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone."

Romans 11:6: "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."

Romans 3:20: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."

Romans 3:28: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

Galatians 2:16: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

Back in Acts chapter 15, there was a great debate over the issue of adding something to salvation, such as works or the keeping of the Law.

"And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved."

Read verse 5, it is similar and in verse 6 we read where the Apostles and elders (pastors) came together to consider the matter. They wanted to clear this up and come to a conclusion once and for all. In verse seven, we see "much disputing;" I believe that they hashed it all out; they argued the point back and forth in order to come to a final conclusion once and for all.

"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they."

They threw out the Law of Moses; circumcision and everything else, leaving only saved by the grace of God and not the Law.

II Timothy 1:9: "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,."
Titus 3:5: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

The Bible does speak of works, and there is a purpose for them. They do not save, help save, nor keep the saved person saved; so why do them? They are an evidence that we have been saved. Let’s look at some following verses on the subject.

Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

John 6:28: "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?"

Verse 29: "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Yes, we are to "walk in them," but "walk" is not keeping saved nor staying saved. "Walk" deals with our daily life; Christians are to "live what they profess." This "walk" is an evidence of salvation; saved people are to live and act like they have been to Calvary; not to live and act like the unsaved world.

The CONTEXT, here, is dealing with Scripture and its purpose in verse 16. Chapter 3:1 Paul warns of false teachers etc. Verse 16 has Paul telling young Timothy that Scripture is the inspired Word of God and it will profit Timothy (and all Christians), so that we might be perfect (spiritually mature) and throughly furnished (to equip) unto all good works. Nowhere is staying saved, keeping saved or working to remain saved, being referred to in this context.

Titus 2:7: "In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity."

Titus 2:14 "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

Paul tells us to have good works and to be zealous of them, but does Paul teach that works have anything to do with remaining saved or keeping saved?

Titus 3:5: "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

"...be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men."

"And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful."

Good works are to be maintained and they are profitable; they have their "necessary uses." Not once is a "necessary use" listed or taught as works to stay saved; be saved; be a part of salvation; or necessary so that the saved won’t lose their salvation.

I can go over many, many more verses on the subject of works, and show that they are there for a purpose. Works are for the Christian to show that we have been born again; our new life in Christ is to be evidenced by a changed life. Nothing man can do will add to his salvation in order to "stay saved." I take you to John 14:15 where we read: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Here Jesus teaches us that our keeping His commandments is predicated upon our love for Him. Isn’t that love to be our motivating factor in obeying and in serving Him? Doing "good works" has the purpose of showing or proving our love to the One who gave His life, in my place and yours, on the Cross of Calvary.

Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

There are those who believe that baptism is essential for salvation. In other words, if a person is not baptized after their profession of faith in Jesus Christ, then they cannot go to heaven. Some have said that baptism seals salvation; completes salvation; applies the blood; etc. One of the most interesting books on this subject, that I have read, is the "Norris - Wallace Debate." This debate took place, in 1934, at the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. J. Frank Norris, pastor of the First Baptist Church debated Rev. Foy E. Wallace of the Church of Christ. Four questions were debated; two of which are helpful on this subject. The two are as follows:

1. "Baptism, to the penitent believer, is essential to his salvation from past, or alien sins." Rev. Foy E. Wallace, affirming and Dr. J. Frank Norris, denying.

2. A child of God, one who has been saved by the blood of Christ, can so sin as to be finally lost;" Wallace affirming and Norris denying.

On the subject of this entire debate, I read on page 4: "A short time after the debate my opponent went into the Federal court asking for an injunction prohibiting his side of the debate from being published." [23] The reason is obvious after reading the debate because the Church of Christ minister could not prove his point on ANY of the four questions of that debate.

"Baptism, to the penitent believer, is essential to his salvation from past or alien sins."

"A man who believes and is baptized is saved -- I am talking about Mr. Wallace’s platform -- a man thus saved can fall away and be lost, and the man who believes, and is baptized, and is saved, if he falls away, he is in a lost state -- I am talking about Mr. Wallace’s position -- he will tell you what that man has to do now, after he has fallen away and is lost, is to repent and he will be saved again." "Now if baptism is necessary for salvation, I want my opponent to tell me why he doesn’t baptize him again?" [24]

Another Scripture that many will use for baptismal regeneration is John 3:5.

"In the beginning, Mr. Wallace, I want you to answer this question: Do you believe in John 3:5: ‘Except a man be born of water’ -- ‘Does this mean baptism." [25]

"I challenge him to speak on it tonight at the beginning. I say that he is under obligation to tell this crowd whether ‘Born of water’ there means baptism. I have heard all my life, his creed claims it does, and that is what this debate is for, to come to the truth on these questions ..." [26]

I do not read where Rev. Wallace answers the question at all. Later, in the debate, Dr. Norris asks the question about John 3:5. I quote Dr. Norris:

"I want you tonight to answer this question: Do you believe in John 3:5: ‘Except a man be born of water" - Does that mean baptism?" At the end of the paragraph, Dr. Norris states: "I am sorry my opponent declines to discuss John 3:5." [27]

To answer the question of an explanation of John 3:5, I will stay with J. Frank Norris and his debate and give Dr. Norris’ answer to the Church of Christ minister.

"Now I tell you why he runs from it. (1) If he says it means baptism, then he knows that I will come right back and say that it was before Pentecost and Jack’s house will come down. (2) If it means baptism then he has put baptism before belief or birth of the Spirit, and his position is belief comes first and baptism second. In that position he is correct as to order, but not to the design of baptism. (emphasis his). (3) The third reason why he is afraid to say "born of water" means baptism, he knows that the word "born" carries the phrase "of water and the Spirit." The preposition "of" occurs only once in the qualifying phrase, and does not occur in connection with the Spirit. Read your Bible and you will find that the second "of" in the expression "of water" is in italics. Therefore the correct rendering is "Except a man be born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." This clearly shows that the action of the New Birth, whatever the water means, take place at the time that "born of the spirit" occurs. And therefore my opponent can find no comfort in interpreting "born of water" meaning baptism." [28]

I find something interesting here in John 3:3-8. Reading verse three, "Except a man be born again ..." No mention of water. Nicodemus answers in verse four with no mention of water or water baptism. Verse six talks about being "born of the Spirit;" no mention of water. Verses seven and eight speak of being "born again," and "born of the Spirit," with no mention of water.

IF baptism is essential for salvation, then why is "water" mentioned only once here in these passages of Scripture? Could this not be the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit? If we go to verse 15 in this same chapter, we read: "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." If "water" meaning "baptism" were a condition of man’s salvation, then I must ask the question: Why is it not stated here? The "water" in John 3:5 cannot possibly refer to water baptism.

Dr. Norris quotes Rev. Wallace with the following Scripture of Mark 16:16; and then gives an illustration of that Scripture.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

Dr. Norris tells us that Rev. Wallace failed to quote the entire verse and so Norris completes it. Quoting Dr. Norris: "It does not say the baptized person may be saved, if he does not apostatize; but it says ‘he shall be saved!" In the next paragraph, Dr. Norris goes on to say: "Baptism is essential to the perfect obedience the Lord requires of His people." "But baptism itself does not give salvation, and Jesus never intimated such a thing."

"Note this parallel sentence: he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that entereth the train, and is seated, shall reach St. Louis. Now, suppose a man enters the train, but does not take a seat, won’t he go to St. Louis anyhow - if the train goes there? The taking of a seat involves his comfort, but does not involve going to St. Louis. So baptism relates to the privileges of a religious life, but does not secure such life. The believer has entered the Gospel train, and whether he ever takes a seat or not, he will reach heaven if the train does." "The contrast is between salvation and damnation. To what point of time does the damnation look? Evidently to the future. Then to what period does the word of contrast look? Also to the future. Then the salvation means salvation in heaven. Does Mr. Wallace believe that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved in heaven? Of course he doesn’t. But Baptist do. Hence they take the language as it is." [29]

In this debate, it seems the Rev. Wallace was depending a lot upon Mark 16:16. Going on further in these writings, I read the following dissertation in which Dr. Norris shows the fallacy of baptism being essential for salvation. The Church of Christ, as do most religions (religious groups) beside Baptists, believe that the Church started on the Day of Pentecost. That’s where Dr. Norris uses the Church of Christ doctrine of Pentecost to disprove their teachings on Mark 16:16.

"Now my Friend, that was written before Pentecost, and you are beginning at Pentecost." "Keep in mind that my opponent’s position is that there was not any Gospel preached before Pentecost, and here he, being the judge, declares that gospel actually preached before Pentecost. That ruins your Pentecost theory." [30]

On the bottom of page 110, Dr. Norris continues on with Mark 16:16, since that, again, seems to be where the Church of Christ minister seems to cling to for his doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Quoting Dr. Norris:

"Mark 16:16 does not show baptism is essential to salvation - it does not read: ‘He that believeth not and is not baptized shall be damned.’ He might as well add many other things to ‘believeth’ and make it read: ‘He that believeth and is baptized, takes the Lord’s supper, attends church, brings his tithe, shall be saved,’ it doesn’t say the things that come after faith are necessary for salvation."

Dr. Norris again reminds the audience that his opponent left off part of the verse in Mark 16:16 and Dr. Norris quotes the entire verse and then hammers away at the obvious misquote.

"The very fact that it says: ‘He that believeth not shall be damned.’ Listen, my friend, if baptism is necessary to the soul’s salvation, do you think a great God would have left it out and made the mistake of not saying: ‘But he that believeth not and is not baptized shall be damned?" [31]

The next Scripture on the subject of Baptism being essential for salvation, as used in this debate, was Acts 2:38. I will use verses from this debate because they are verses that have been used by preachers and folks from churches that believe that a saved person can be lost and that baptism is essential or necessary for salvation. As a pastor, I have heard them used over and over again, by folks trying to persuade or defend their erroneous position on this subject.

Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."

"the use of the word, ‘eis’ (for), can be translated two ways: 1. ‘in order to’ 2. ‘on the basis of’ - ‘because of’ - ‘with reference to." In the next paragraph: "Here is the correct rendering: ‘Ye (plural, second person) - repent and be baptized.’ The Greek word for ‘repent’ is in the second person, and plural number - ‘the Greek word for ‘to be baptized’ is the third person, singular number; and Mr. Wallace didn’t touch it; he didn’t deny it." "The Greek preposition ‘eis’ - for, unto, or into, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon - says it means ‘into’ when the IDEA OF PLACE is meant, but when the IDEA OF RELATION IS MEANT it means ‘with reference to’ - MOST CERTAINLY IN SALVATION THE IDEA OF THE RELATION IS EXPERIENCED. Hence, it cannot mean into or in order to in Acts 2:38."

In the next paragraph, Dr. Norris gives a couple of illustrations to show his point regarding this preposition in relation to Acts 2:38.

"Congress gives a man a medal for his bravery on the field of battle ... does Congress give him the medal in order for him to be brave in the future? No, but because he has already been brave. So in the case of baptism - ‘baptized for the remission of sins’ a person is baptized because he has already been saved."

"A day laborer is paid $25 a week - now he is paid for the work he has done, not ‘in order to work’ in the future, but he is paid because he has already worked; therefore, a man is not baptized ‘in order to’ be saved; he is baptized because he has been saved."

"A man is electrocuted for murder, not ‘in order to’ commit murder, but because he has already committed murder. We are baptized for the remission of sins, not ‘in order to’ be remitted, but because they have been remitted or forgiven." [32]

The churches that I am familiar with and have read about, that make baptism essential for salvation, teach that a person must be baptized into their church, denomination, religion etc. as Dr. Norris points out that the Church of Christ believes. Rev. Wallace never refuted that fact. If that be the case, then many, many folks who have believed and were never immersed are in hell. In the case of this debate, the folks who have never been baptized into the Church of Christ are in hell.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches baptism as a sacrament (a saving grace); United Pentecostals; the churches that baptize babies to take away their "original sin," etc. believe that you must be baptized in order to go to heaven. Many of them will believe that you must be baptized into "their church," religion, denomination, etc. in order to go to heaven. The problem with this is simply that the doctrine of baptism to save; help save; complete salvation etc. is not found in the Bible. We also do not find that one must be a member of a certain or a particular religion or a denomination in order to go to heaven. These things are simply just not in the Word of God.

Over the years, I have obtained and kept various brochures and articles from other denominations. I like to read what they believe and teach regarding the various doctrines of the Bible including salvation. One such brochure is from the Christian Church. They write: "This congregation is a part of the restoration movement within the church of Jesus Christ that for over a century and a half has sought to return to the church as established by Christ in the New Testament." (This was formerly a Church of Christ, as I knew the pastor and some of the congregation). The brochure goes on to state: "In following the New Testament example for Christianity, we follow it’s basic outline for salvation:" (the following emphasis is mine)

"By grace; The basis of salvation. Through faith; The means of salvation; In baptism; The time of salvation; For good works; The purpose of salvation." [33]

"Sectarian preachers have been quite articulate in denouncing baptism! Man is saved without baptism! It is nonessential to salvation! But after men have argued against it, what does God have to say? What is written? Look to the commission Christ gave to His disciples (Mark 16:15-16). Now who did He say would be saved? How does this compare with what men have said? Do you remember what Peter told inquiring men on Pentecost? And what they did? (Read Acts 2:36-41). What was commanded of the household of Cornelius? (Acts 10:47-48). Where is eternal life to be had (II Tim. 2:10). And how does one reach that eternal life (Rom. 6:3-4, Gal. 3:26-27)? This also obtains remission of sins (Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14)." [34]

I notice something interesting, both here and in the Pentecostal Theology Book I quoted from; they give some "one liners" and a Scripture. What stands out to me, as I read, is that they fail to explain the Scriptures to prove their point. The Scriptures are taken out of context and isolated from their text.

Another booklet I have is from the Lutheran Church. Under the section entitled: THE MEANS OF GRACE, they explain their point.

"We believe that also through baptism the Holy Spirit applies the gospel to sinful man, regenerating him (Titus 3:5) and cleansing him from all iniquity (Acts 2:38). The Lord points to the blessing of baptism when he promises, "Whosoever believes and is baptized will be saved" (Mark 16:16). We believe the blessing of baptism is meant for all people (Matt. 28:19), including infants, who are sinful (John 3:6) and therefore need the regeneration effected through baptism (John 3:5)." [35]

In answering the above; first, we have, in this paper, covered Acts 2:38 and Mark 16:15-16. Titus 3:5 does not say ANYTHING about baptism. The CONTEXT of Titus 3:5 does not say anything about baptism. Matthew 28:19 deals with the Great Commission and its CONTEXT does not teach nor imply that baptism is there for salvation or that "The Means Of Grace" is by baptism. John 3:5-6 is covered in the section where Dr. J. Frank Norris debates the Church of Christ and this passage is used.

If baptism were essential to have one’s sins forgiven, to be saved, to go to heaven, etc. then there are a lot of people who were Godly, that served the Lord, that preached the Gospel, and are in hell, according to many religions. Dwight L. Moody was never immersed. He was a great evangelist and won, perhaps, close to a million souls to Christ; then he is in hell according to many religions. John Wesley, was a great Methodist preacher and soul winner; he must be in hell too. Dr. James Gray, was the president of Moody Bible College, he was never immersed. He was a great Bible expositor, author, and trained thousands of student for service to the Lord. He must be in hell because he was not immersed and not a member of a particular religion.

I have known good men in the United Pentecostal movement, who believe that you must be baptized in Jesus Name only, in a U.P.C. church, in order to be saved. Those churches were not in existence until around the late 1800’s. Does that mean that the Gospel was not preached before that time? Does that mean that all who professed Christ before their movement began, are in hell? Does that mean that all who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ since that time, and were never immersed; were never immersed in Jesus Name only; were never immersed in Jesus Name only in a United Pentecostal Church, are in hell or headed to hell?

I purchased a book entitled: "Foundations of Pentecostal Theology." This book has several pages on the subject of "eternal security." Let’s take a look at what they say about this subject. First, let me say, that this book teaches repentance, faith, receiving Christ as Saviour etc. etc. as in regard to salvation. However, on the subject of "eternal security" and "everlasting life," they do take the Scriptures out of context. I believe that they may be honest and sincere in their approach, but a person can be honest and sincerely wrong also.

On page 253, they quote II Thessalonians 2:3 and then give no supporting evidence to support their claim that this verse points to a saved person losing their salvation.

"One great preacher, who believed strongly in unconditional eternal security, admitted this vast group of former witnesses to Christ, and he invented a virtual purgatory where they might be punished and purged from their backslidings before being admitted to the eternal reward of the saints." [36] They also state that "Maybe this can be dismissed by saying that these were never really saved in the first place ..." [37]

Rhetoric does not prove their point. Their example of a "great preacher" inventing purgatory simply does not wash. They do not tell us just who this "great preacher" is and when he invented such. The truth is that NO great preacher invented such a thing. The doctrine of "purgatory" is a Roman Catholic invention and the Roman Catholics do not believe in "unconditional eternal security,’ strongly or weakly. They just don’t believe in it. The Pentecostal folk here are weak, at best, in their argument.

Since they gave II Thessalonians 2:3 as supporting evidence, let us at least examine it briefly.

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition."

The context, here, is apostasy, not a person losing their salvation. Let us go on to the next verse, where we read:

"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."

If one just reads the preceding and following verses, you cannot even assume that the Apostle Paul is even remotely hinting at a saved person losing their salvation. We are reading about the "antichrist" - the "wicked one," the "mystery of iniquity," etc.

Another passage that this group uses to show that you can lose your salvation, is James 5:19-20

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."

"May I remind you that this passage was written to Christians (see James 1:2). This speaks of a Christian who sins, but if one convert him (lit., turns him back from his sin) he ‘shall save a soul from death.'"

Let’s examine this and see if they have us, here, finding a way for us to lose our salvation. [38] Yes, James was written to Christians, we are in agreement so far.

"And one convert him. This does not mean convert him as a sinner, or regenerate him, but turn him from the error of his way; bring him back from his wanderings; reestablish him in the truth, and in the practice of virtue and religion. So far as the word used here is concerned, (epistreqh,) he who had erred from the truth, and who was to be converted, may have been a true Christian before. The word means simply to turn, sc., from his way of error." [39]

"Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth. Either doctrinally and speculatively, by embracing error; or practically, by falling into sinful practices. Either of these may be called "erring from the truth," because they are contrary to what the truth teaches and requires."

"It certainly is not God’s Will that any of His children should be lost. We are also assured that He is able to keep them from falling. But these things are not automatic. God does not save a man against his will, nor does he keep him against His will. Just as faith and repentance are necessary for salvation, so they are necessary for the continuance of that salvation in a Christian’s life." (emphasis mine) [40]

Here we find more problems for our Pentecostal friends. In order to remain saved, you would have to continue with repentance and faith. Now, I must ask: is that not getting saved again every day? How often should a Christian repent? How often should that child of God renew his faith in Christ Jesus as Saviour? They said that they are "not automatic." They tell us that they are "necessary for continuance of that salvation." How many times must Jesus die on the Cross of Calvary and to rise again, the third day, in order to pay for our sins and to provide for us, another salvation? Read the Book of Hebrews where we find over and over again, where Christ "died once" for our sins. They do err not knowing Scripture.

"There is no promise in the Bible that God will keep the man who willfully turns away from the provisions of salvation which Christ has made. In fact, we are plainly told: "If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.’ Hebrews 10:26-27." [41]

The first problem with this, I note is, they did not finish quoting verse 27: "which shall devour the adversaries." This changes their whole argument when you add the entire verse. It is the adversaries, we read, that are devoured. Adversaries are simply our enemies. it does not state that the saved Christian is devoured or that he lost his salvation.

"If, after we are converted and become true Christians, we should apostatize, it would be impossible to be recovered again, for there would be no other sacrifice for sin; no way by which we could be saved." [42]

I find that this passage is similar to Hebrews 6:4-6. "If, after we are converted ..." The word "if" is a supposition, just as in Hebrews 10:26-27, where Paul gives a hypothetical illustration, he does so, again, here. IF the true Christian were to "sin willfully," there is NO MORE SACRIFICE FOR SINS. He could never get saved again. Why? The Christian would have received the only plan of salvation, and it would have failed that Christian. There would not have been enough saving power in the blood of Jesus to keep that Christian saved. Would our Pentecostal friends want us to believe that the power of God, of Jesus Christ is not powerful enough to keep us from hell? Jesus would have had to fail in His power and in His blood atonement for us. What about the Holy Spirit who "seals" us when we are saved? Could the Holy Spirit not have the power to stop the Christian from "breaking" that seal? What greater person or power would there be to save that newly lost saved person?

"The Christian is warned of mortal danger: through salt losing its savor; through failing to abide in Christ; in being moved away from the hope of Gospel; in erring from the faith; in being taken captive by the devil; in neglecting so great a salvation; in departing from the living God; in being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin; in willfully sinning; in erring from the truth; in being overcome by the world; and in leaving one’s first love." [43]

They did use some Scriptures which I will go to and show their misunderstanding and misinterpretation of that Scripture. Their mention of the above supporting evidence gave no explanation but mentioned it just as briefly as I quoted it above.

First, they mentioned "salt losing its savor," with the Scripture Luke 14:34-35. The context of this chapter deals with the parable of the Great Supper. The problem with their reasoning is that there is no mention there of anyone losing their salvation. Next, in the parable of building a tower and of a king going to war, we are told to count the cost.

"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh
not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."

We are taught what it takes to be a disciple (follower, learner) of Jesus Christ; the same in verses 26-27. As to the salt, the Geneva Bible notes of 1599 states: "The disciples of Christ must be wise, both for themselves and for others: otherwise they become the most foolish of all." [44] I have read through various other commentaries and could find no mention of losing one’s salvation in this passage.

Secondly, their next statement dealt with "failing to abide in Christ" John 15:6. This passage deals with "fruit bearing" and not losing your salvation. It only takes a simple reading of that passage to figure it out. If a Christian does not "abide" in Christ, he will not bear fruit or win precious souls to Christ.

"To abide in Christ, is to have no known sin unjudged and unconfessed, no interest into which He is not brought, no life which He cannot share. On the other hand, the abiding one takes all burdens to Him, and draws all wisdom, life and strength from Him. It is not unceasing consciousness of these things, and of Him, but that nothing is allowed in the life which separates from Him." [45]

What about that part of the verse that tells us that they are cast into the fire? First, we must see that it says: "... and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." If we take this literally, if we would believe that this passage proves that folks who do not abide, go to hell, then we must believe that "men" gather and cast folks into the fire or into hell. In Revelation 20:11-15, we read of the Great White Throne Judgment where the unsaved stand before God. From that passage, it is the Lord who "cast" the unsaved into the lake of fire and not "men."

In verse six, the branch is "withered." This is a dead branch. Dead branches will not produce any fruit. Ephesians 2:1 states,

Before a person is saved, they are dead in their sins. Those referred to in John 15:6, are not saved. An unsaved person does not produce fruit.

"Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

Jesus warns us of those who play the part of a Christian, but, in all reality, are not. The ravening wolves are out there to "have the sheep for lunch." They devour them; destroy them.

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Now, back to John 15:6. The "men" that gather them and "cast them into the fire," are the angels. Note Matthew 13:40-42. Here we find the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus tells us just who the tares are in verse 38; they are the "children of the wicked one." They are false professors of Christ; they are like the false prophets of Matthew 7:15 and the "withered branches" of John 15:6. In Matthew 13:41, Jesus tells us that it is the angels that are sent by Jesus, to gather such. Verse 42 tells us that it is the angels that "shall cast them into a furnace of fire ..." Are we looking at a saved man that got lost or does the context of the Bible tell us that it was the unsaved; the false prophets; the false professor of Christ, that Jesus sends His holy angels to cast them into the fire? The answer is simple; the "withered branch" of John 15:6 is unsaved folks. They might have said that they were Christians, but did so falsely; they were unsaved.

Thirdly, "in being moved away from the hope of the Gospel," Colossians 1:23. Again, context is everything.

"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight."

Here we are dealing with the "enemies in your mind." This is the devil hindering the Christian’s understanding and or thinking regarding the Scriptures. To be "moved away from the hope of the Gospel" is not suggesting that one "moves away" from their salvation or that one could lose their salvation.

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

Even John Wesley, who did not believe in eternal security states, regarding this verse:

John Wesley's Notes on the Old and New Testaments: [46]
"If ye continue in the faith-Otherwise, ye will lose all the blessings which ye have already begun to enjoy. And be not removed from the hope of the gospel-The glorious hope of perfect love. Which is preached-Is already begun to be preached to every creature under heaven."

Fourth, in erring from the faith; I Timothy 6:10. This verse talks about the "love of money" and not losing salvation. Yes, it says "erred from the faith," but to "err from the faith" nowhere alludes to the fact of a Christian losing their salvation. Verse 9 talks about falling into temptation while verse 11 talks of following after righteousness and "fleeing" from the faults named in verse 10. Verse 12 admonishes us to "fight the good fight of faith." I am not finding, here, losing one’s salvation because they lusted after money. Now, it is wrong to "lust after money" but the context does not teach that to do so will strip a man of his salvation and nullify the power and the blood of Christ and send that saved sinner to hell.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

What does it mean to "err from the faith?" The verse tells us just what happens when one "errs from the faith." They have pierced themselves with "many sorrows." To err, from Strong’s [47] to lead astray (figuratively); passively, to stray (from truth):--err, seduce. The Christian who falls prey to lusting after money will reap what they sow, as the Bible teaches us. They will pay for their sin with their own misery. The text and the context does not even allude to falling from grace; losing one's salvation etc.

Fifth, in being taken captive by the devil, II Timothy 2:24-26. If this be true, then Satan can steal us away from God and that would make a liar out of Jesus Christ Himself as in John 10:27-29, as well as in many other Scriptures. The "snare" of the devil is simply a "trick" or a "trap" of that fiendish devil. The "snare of the devil," from the context here, seems to be to the servant of the Lord, verse 24. He should not strive, which means that he should not, quarrel, fight nor dispute. Back in verse 23, that servant is to avoid "foolish and unlearned questions." Why? "They do gender strifes" which is basically, a battle. If the servant of the Lord would fall prey to those "foolish and unlearned questions," if he would "strive" as in verse 24, he would find himself in the snare or the trap of the devil. Being "taken captive at his will," does that mean that the devil now owns that servant of the Lord who falls into the trap? This basically is telling us that the servant of the Lord can fall prey to the devil's tricks and traps and even fall prey to teaching false doctrines; believing "every wind of doctrine."

Sixth, in neglecting so great salvation, Hebrews 2:3. Again, they made no comment, just stated a point. I read NO supporting evidence and no explanation of their point. Perhaps some Bible teachers can buffalo others by just making a statement, but I find it ludicrous for such statements to be in a Theology Book; a book that is used to train and influence young minds training for the Lord’s work.

The context does not deal with salvation nor losing salvation. Chapter one deals with God speaking to us by prophets and by His Son, (verses 1-2). We read, verse 4, that Christ is much better than angels. I read about the throne of God and about angels etc. Chapter two begins with telling the reader that we ought "to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard..." I read the verses after verse two, and I still cannot find any allusion to one losing their salvation; not even a hint. Verse two talks about "neglecting so great salvation," not in "losing so great salvation."

To "neglect" our salvation is to fail to "oppose," those who do not take it "to heart." A person can have salvation, the "gift of God," and yet neglect it. You can go to school to receive an education, neglect your education, and grow up ignorant. A farmer can neglect his farm and let it grow up in weeds, it becomes an unproductive farm; yet it is still a farm. He can sow the seed and not harvest the crop, it would be neglect of his farm by letting his crop rot or go to waste in the fields. You can have something and yet neglect it; you can have religion, salvation, and yet neglect it. That person can not allow himself to be taught, to be discipled, to grow in faith and grace by his or her neglect; their unwillingness to obey and to serve.

In this context, it appears to be teaching that the salvation is great; it has a great author; a great Saviour. The context tells how great Jesus Christ is, not that a person has so sinned as to lose their salvation.

Seventh, in departing from the living God, Hebrews 3:12. In this verse, it starts off with "Take heed," which I find similar to "Beware," as used in other Scriptures. I believe that we are to take note of something here. We are to "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief ..." Philippians 3:2: "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." What, exactly are we to "Take heed" of? The Scripture goes on to warn us (brethren) about having an "evil heart of unbelief."

In letting Scripture interpret Scripture in light of Scripture, go to Colossians 2:8 where it states,

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

Yes, a Christian is to "beware," to "take heed," lest we fall prey to false teachings etc.

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

As a Christian, we have a "free will." Just as a person can either receive Jesus Christ as Saviour or reject Him as Saviour, likewise, a saved person has a free will. We are not puppets on a string that God manipulates. We have choices to make after we are saved. There is a choice to be obedient or to be disobedient; the choice to serve; to be baptized; to go to church; to follow Christ; etc. Read Romans 6:13 and then down to verses 15-16. Here, I will quote verses 13 and 16, and you can look up and read the entire chapter for context.

Romans 6:13: "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."

Here, the Christian, the saved person, has a choice to make. It does not teach a choice to remain saved or to reject Christ and go back to being "unsaved;" it talks about "yielding" to God rather than to unrighteousness.

Romans 6:15 "What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid."

Romans 6:16: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"

These verses deal with a Christian obeying the Word of God; not of "staying saved." Continuing on with a dissertation of Hebrews 3:12, so far, could we not say that Hebrews 3:12 is a warning to Christians to "take heed," regarding our faith or belief, our Christianity, our spirituality? So far, I cannot find losing salvation here. Hebrew's 3:12 goes on to tell the Christian to "beware," to "take heed," not only in an evil heart of unbelief, but in "departing from the living God."

What does Hebrews 3:12 mean when it says "departing from the living God?" We have dealt with the first part of this verse and we can show many Scriptures in support of the fact that it does not teach "losing one's salvation." Let’s go back to verses 8 and 9 as well as the verses after verse 12. Read verses 15 to 19. We read of a comparison of the Christian to the Israelite who came out of Egypt and wandered in the Wilderness for forty years. Why did they wander? Simply this, they were disobedient to the Word of God. The Children of Israel were "brought out" of Egypt with a purpose. That purpose was to "enter" the Land of Canaan. It was about an eleven day's journey, but it took them forty years to accomplish this. God wanted them to have all the blessings of the Promised Land, but they sinned and those sins hindered them from the joys and the blessings of what God had in store for them. Canaan is a type of a victorious life in Christ; it is not Heaven, lest one think that the Israelites came out of Egypt and were not allowed in heaven because of sin. The Land of Canaan was a place of conquest through conflict. Little fighting occurred in the wilderness, but to enter Canaan, Israel had to fight; enemies must be destroyed. How could Canaan typify the calm restfulness of the ultimate inheritance of Heaven.

Another reason was that Israel was ejected from Canaan Land, eventually, because of idolatry, disobedience and other sins. We can never be ejected from Heaven. For these reasons, we cannot equate Canaan with a type of Heaven. Likewise, God saved us from sin to have a joyful life in Christ; a victorious life in Christ, here on this earth. Many a Christian will miss out on God’s richest blessings by disobedience to the Word of God; still be saved, but out of God’s will for their life.

Christians can sin; fall into sin; disobey God but still are Christians. Take Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus, when he was walking on the water, in Matthew 14. Peter was saved, was still saved, did not lose his salvation; he simply started looking at the trouble around him instead of keeping his eyes on Jesus. Peter sinned, and I do not read anywhere, in that passage, or in reference to it in the Bible, where Peter had to get saved all over again. Peter denied the Lord three times; denied the Lord; cursed etc. three times before the rooster crowed. I read where Peter repented and "wept bitterly." The Scriptures do not teach that Peter got saved all over again and I read nowhere that Peter got baptized again (the first act of Christian obedience), and I read nowhere that Peter was "recalled" to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. He sinned and got right with God.

Eighth, in being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, Hebrews 3:13. We have pretty well dealt with this in the above point, as we dealt with the context. Yes, sin is deceitful, and Christians do sin. Here, the Apostle Paul writes to us to encourage each other. The reason is simple, he doesn’t want us to be hardened or to be "stubborn" because we have been "deceived" by sin.

"Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

The Bible tells us that there is more of Gods grace than there is of man’s sin.

Remember, the "LAW" was there to teach us that we are sinners. Jesus Christ came to save us from our sin.

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."

Sin brings death but Jesus brings eternal life. The preceding verse tells us, again, that God has more grace than man has sin.

Ninth, in willfully sinning, Hebrews 10:26-31. Here is the next reason that they give to show that the Christian can lose their salvation. Again, they give no supporting evidence as in the other examples; they have just listed the Scripture reference. We will take a look at what they give for Scriptures and give a brief examination of them.

CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING. This chapter does not teach, anywhere, that a Christian can so sin as to lose their salvation; it teaches the fact that there is only one sacrifice for sin and there will be no more sacrifices for sin. When we go to the beginning of this chapter, we read about the LAW having a "shadow" of "good things to come;" read verse one of Hebrews chapter ten.

"By the which will we are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Notice the "once for all." That seems to settle it, but those who believe in sinning so that they can lose the "gift of God," ignore the whole of Scriptures and "cherry pick" certain verses to try and prove their point.

"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God."

Again, the CONTEXT is telling us of the "once for all" sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary.

"For by one offering he hath perfected forever
them that are sanctified;" (emphasis mine).

"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin."

Again, the CONTEXT deals with the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. There is "one sacrifice," and there will be no more sacrifice. The reason is very simple, Jesus was that perfect sacrifice; God in the flesh, dying in my place and in your place for sins that He did not commit but for sins that you and I committed.

This brings us down to the verses that they referenced in Hebrews 26-31.[48]

After we are told, several times, that the sacrifice of Christ for our sins is a "once for all" sacrifice; we now read that "IF" we sin willfully, there is no more sacrifice for our sins. The Bible does not say that a person can sin so as to lose their salvation, but it gives a hypothetical example, just as in Hebrews 6:4 where we read: "For it is impossible ..." and in verse six: "If they shall fall away..." The word IF is a hypothetical here, and the verse goes on to tell us that in order to get saved again, Jesus would have to be crucified all over again.

To continue on with CONTEXT in Hebrews chapter ten, let us go to the verses AFTER their reference.

"Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (emphasis mine).

If our Pentecostal friends would consider the entire CONTEXT of a chapter or of a Book of the Bible; if they would consider what the purpose of the Law is; the purpose of the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross; then they, and others like them, would not offer confusion and misunderstanding of the Scriptures.

Tenth, in erring from the truth, James 5:19-20.
Barnes New Testament Commentary, on this Scripture, states,

"Either doctrinally and speculatively, by embracing error; or practically, by falling into sinful practices. Either of these may be called "erring from the truth," because they are contrary to what the truth teaches and requires. What is here said does not appear to have any connection with what precedes, but the apostle seems to have supposed that such a case might occur; and, in the conclusion of the epistle, he called their attention to the importance of endeavoring to save an erring brother, if such an instance should happen. The exhortation would be proper in addressing a letter to any church, or in publicly addressing any congregation." [49]

Barnes is writing about "embracing error;" people do fall into error and they do "err from the truth" by falling into doctrinal error. Again, James is not saying that a Christian can so sin as to lose their salvation; it is simply not in the CONTEXT.

Let us still go back to the beginning of the fifth chapter of James and see what James is writing about. The rich are warned, in the first several verses, notice verse one as well as read through verses six.

Go to verse twelve, it teaches us to mean what we say and to say what we mean; be honest and don’t lie.

Now, verses 13-16 deals with the Scriptural way of God’s healing folks in the local New Testament Church. Verse 14, "Is any sick among you?" , "let him call for the elders of the church ..."

Verse sixteen deals with confessing ones sins for healing and it uses (verses 17-18) Elias as an example. People do "err from the truth" and believe false doctrines; that’s what James is warning us about, not sinning so as to lose one’s salvation.

I Timothy 6:3 it says: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words ..."

Verse :4 "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables."

Here, again, we have warnings because Christians can fall into unsound teachings; unsound doctrines. That’s why Paul tells Timothy to "be instant;" to "Preach the word." Preachers and teachers of the Word of God are to be true to the Bible; don’t compromise; tell it like it is, according to the written Word of God.

Eleventh, in being overcome by the world, II Peter 2:20-22. This one is simple; a "gimme." CONTEXT, go to verse 15 of this chapter. This portion of Scripture deals with the false teachers "following the way of Balaam ..."

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies ..."

We are not dealing here with losing salvation, but the CONTEXT deals with false teachers teaching false doctrines.

Twelfth, in leaving one’s first love, Revelation 2:4-5. CONTEXT, again, does not teach that anyone in that local church, nor anywhere else, can be in danger of losing their salvation.

"and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars."

Here we have a local church that has stood true to the doctrines of the Bible; they have stood guard so as not to allow false doctrines into their church. This local church has not "fainted," which means that they have not quit, not given up.

When we look at verse six, we find, again, that this church has,
"hated the deeds of the Nicolaitanes ..."

In verse four, the Lord does tell this local church, (not individual Christians), as a whole, that they have "left thy first love." He does not tell them that they have "lost their salvation." Some folks will get saved; and sometimes lose their zeal for the Lord. The Lord tells this church to "repent" which is to change one’s mind or thinking; and then to "do the first works ..." Go back and, as a local church, (CONTEXT), do their first works. A person’s love can lessen for each other and for the Lord. Go back and "fall in love" with the Lord all over again; not get saved all over again.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words ..."

Loving Jesus is to obey Jesus. We are to work and serve to show or to prove our love to the Lord. It also deals with our outward testimony to other Christians and to the unsaved world. Nowhere does the Scripture teach us that we are to work in order to "keep saved;" to "stay saved," etc.

In all of the above points, if one were to follow the Pentecostal theories of losing salvation; one would have to bring in works for salvation, which they will, most certainly deny. They will tell us that we are saved by grace; but then they have us losing our salvation because of our sin. That, my friend, is where works come in, whether they see it or not. One must do "good deeds: in order to stay in the grace of God;" in order to "stay saved;" in order to avoid going to hell. After they have you losing your salvation, they don’t tell you how to get "re-saved" again. Where is their new "sacrifice for sin?" Where is their sacrifice for sin that is better than Jesus sacrifice for sin? According to them, by implication, it is simply just not good enough. Why do I say that? Because they have us losing what Jesus bought and paid for. It is not our "staying saved" but His keeping us saved by His power.

I picked up several brochures from the Catholic Church; among them, is one entitled: "No Assurance of Salvation." I quote the following:

"How can any fundamentalist know his salvation experience was real, that it worked? Well, he can’t. Leading a good life immediately after being ‘born again’ proves nothing, since one can sin grievously at a later time. And leading a bad life right after being saved doesn’t disprove it, since one’s sins are immaterial. Either way, the doctrine seems nearly useless because, when reflected upon seriously, it seems to make impossible the very assurance it is supposed to give." [50]

They do quote a few verses such as Philippians 2:12 where the last part of the verse says,

Their only comment to this is simply: "This is not the language of self confident assurance." [51] What they forgot to do was look at the CONTEXT.

They forgot to look at or quote the very next verse where the Apostle Paul writes,

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

They then quote II Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 2:6; then make a statement regarding those verses.

"But if the only act of consequence is ‘being saved,’ what differences do the other acts make? These verses demonstrate that we indeed will be judged by what we do - and not just by the one act of whether we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior." [52]

The problem I see is that they either have no knowledge of Scripture or that they deliberately mislead their people by misinterpreting the Bible. II Corinthians 5:10 deals with the "judgment seat of Christ." The "judgment seat of Christ" is the judgment of the Christians works and deeds but our sins, our salvation, is not the question here.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

The Bible is clear, all the way through, that we are saved by one putting their faith in the grace of God. Baptism; works; communion; the Law; etc.; is not and never has been, essential for man’s salvation.

From time to time, I have skimmed through various religious forums on the Internet. I came across one in the fall of 2003. [53] They have various discussions as well as sections where you can enter into a debate with other Christians. Some of the people who have entered into these debates are not Baptist. This is allowed by that forum in certain areas of discussion. I have copied the following discussions, that I entered into, from a "debate" on "Calvinism Vs Armenianism."

Many of the posts may restate the questions; points; arguments; etc. and it may seem trite to the reader. It is not my purpose to be trite, but to let you see what type of discussions can and do go on. It is interesting to banter back and forth and be made to "prove your point" with someone who does not share the same biblical belief. I have copied and pasted the discussion for you to read.

I last posted on January 21st, 2004. Since then there have been NO other attempts to refute "eternal Security" from this particular debate. For the sake of brevity, I will include the major points from both sides of this exchange. For this paper, I will try to eliminate much of the repetition that, I trust, will make the reading easier and avoid confusion.

[Editor's Note: The following segment is quite disjointed. This is the nature of most debate forums. It is only included to let the student know what kind of discussion pro and con goes on in debate forums pertaining to this subject and how heated the discussions can become. Dr. VBK]

Hi Mortenview; Here is just a few; (I had posted asking for Scripture "proving" that a Christian could so sin as to lose their salvation).

Revelation 22:19 "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.."

Matthew 18:34 "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

Matthew 18:35 "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Mark 11:26 "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

James 2:13 "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment."

The next time I entered this forum, I replied to this post on November, 1, 2003.

Reply: Does not say that a saved man can lose his salvation. Look at the context and the meaning of the word "eternal" It speaks of his "part." Context: Go back to verse 15: "dogs" hmmm.....Dogs, sorcerers, whoremongers, murderers, idolaters ... They were the ones who would, Vs 18 ADD to and in Vs 19 - take away from....These dudes were not saved in the 1st place.... Nice try.

Matthew 18:34 "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

Matthew 18:35 "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

Reply: CONTEXT: That is everything my friend: The verses are dealing with Christians forgiving one another and/or Christians forgiving anybody, for that matter. Matthew 18:21 ... Peter asks: "how oft .... and I forgive him?" The Lord then follows up teaching how to forgive and how often to forgive. The answer: Vs 22: "Until seventy times seven" or as much as it takes.

Mark 11:26 "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

REPLY: Ahhh ... AGAIN CONTEXT my friend ... CONTEXT: The context is Jesus teaching them how to get things from the Lord in prayer ... OR ... how to get our prayers answered.

It deals with our forgiving others so that the Lord can forgive us our sins so that we might be in a right relationship with Him so that our prayers can be answered and we can get the most out of our prayers.

The forgiveness by the Lord is not dealing with our being saved. It no where says that you can lose your salvation by being an unforgiving person. First John was written to born again folk ... Christians.
I John 1:8 & 10 says that we do sin BUT vs 9 teaches that the Lord will forgive IF we confess. This, again, deals with being in a right relationship with Christ, it does not teach that you sin and lose it.

James 2:13 "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment."

REPLY:CONTEXT: Not dealing with salvation nor the loss of Salvation. CONTEXT deals with respect of persons; keeping the Law. Vs 12: judged by the Law of Liberty. The law of God in the hand of Christ IS the law of liberty. We are FREED from it as a covenant. FREED from its curse and terrors. Christians will be at the "judgment seat of Christ" = bema seat = where there will be rewards and loss of rewards NOT salvation, that is not the question at that judgment. The Great White Throne Judgment is where ALL unsaved will stand before God etc. etc.

:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Galatians 3:19: The law was added because of transgressions ...sins....Vs 24 The LAW was our schoolmaster = teacher = to teach us what? That we are all sinners and need to be saved.

:25 "But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

Liberty is the freedom to serve the Lord. He freed us from the law... we were dead in trespasses and sins...what can dead men do to serve the Lord? Nothing ... not a thing...He gave us LIFE ... eternal life. It began the split second we receive Jesus Christ into our hearts to save us and we have asked Him for forgiveness of sins. Liberty frees us to serve Him ... we are alive in Christ. Freedom NOT to live as we please... but FREE to do what He wants us to do. We could not do that BEFORE we were saved ... again... we were DEAD and had NO spiritual life. John 3:15 & 16 ... the words "eternal" "everlasting" are both the same Greek word: "aionios" meaning "perpetual" used of past and FUTURE as well; "Forever" To lose it, you would have to change the meaning of the word "eternal" & "everlasting." Thanks for the verses. Got some that tell us that a saved man can lose it??? If you can lose it... do you now have a "lost saved man" or a "saved lost man."

John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."

John 10:27-29 ... God is greater than ALL. That, my friend, means you, the devil etc. "... and no man is able to pluck them out of my hand." Hebrews 9:12 "... he entered in ONCE into the holy place ..." Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many ..." Hebrews 10:10 "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ ONCE FOR ALL."

Hi mortenview; I appreciate your post but I'm still not convinced. Maybe if you could provide scripture that is clearly saying that a man cannot change their mind or loose faith. I have to say that these verses are very clear.

Matthew 18:34: "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him."

Matthew 18:35: "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

This is not just a warning, it's clear that Christ meant what he said. This is the last verse in this chapter and I didn't take it out of context I read the whole parable. If our sins can be put back on us then we are fallen from grace. I believe it's true no man can pluck me out of His hand but God can cast me out for unforgiveness. If we can accept a gift we certainly can throw it away as well.

Hebrews 6:4: "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,"

Hebrews 6:5: "And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,"

Hebrews 6:6: "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

Hebrews 6:7: "For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:"

Hebrews 6:8: "But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."

To me it would seem that if there were no such thing as falling from grace why even mention it. I would like to believe that I couldn't fall from grace but as I see it this isn't so. Thanks again for your post. I'm sorry it took me so long to respond, but I've been so busy with work and all. May God bless you Member #6620

Sorry it took so long to get back to your post....I don't have a lot of time for these forums, but I do enjoy them. Then ... I couldn't find this topic until I took a lengthy search. I appreciate your replies, but let me comment on your reply...

[Editor's Note: Please reread Heb 6:4-8 quoted above before reading the upcoming section. This will help clarify the discussion. Dr. VBK]

You have just PROVED my point .... or ... shall I say .... the Bible's point. Notice what you wrote or copied: Hebrews 6:4: "FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE....." Ahhhhh .... when something's IMPOSSIBLE .... you just can't do it. What's IMPOSSIBLE?????? VS 6 FALLING AWAY Back to VS 4 .... Paul, here, is giving a hypothetical.... They were enlightened ...."shine, brighten up, illuminate" They have also TASTED the heavenly gift .....Romans 6:23 "The GIFT OF GOD is ETERNAL LIFE ... Tasted means "they experienced it" OR they are saved folks. They were MADE PARTAKERS of the HOLY GHOST ....Now .... let's see here .... TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT = SALVATION. MADE PARTAKERS.... Can a lost person have the Holy Ghost????? I think not. Paul is teaching, here, that IF a saved person could ... VS 6 ... fall away, in order for that saved person to get saved again .... they would have to crucify Jesus all over again .... that, my friend, puts Jesus to an open shame. Hebrews 9:25-26, 28, 12, etc. Jesus died ONCE Hebrews 10:18, "... there is no more offering for sin." Paul says that you can't lose it, but IF - vs 6 "IF"= a supposition in the Greek = supposing they shall fall away ... you couldn't get it back.

If one can cease to believe in anything, one can also cease to believe in Jesus. If one ceases to believe, that is the same as losing ones FAITH, because we do not have faith in that for which we have no belief ...that is simply impossible.

No where does it imply falling from grace. The parable deals with forgiveness NOT salvation. Christians are commanded to forgive. God cannot cast you out for unforgiveness, as you stated above.

John 6:37 "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."

NOW ... Peter ask the Q?
In vs 21 ... "...how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? till seven times?"
Vs 22, the Lord teaches us that we should continually forgive ... "... but until 70 X's 7" (my emphasis on the #)
Luke 17 also has this same parable. Here, in vs 5, the Apostles said: "...Lord, increase our faith." Hmmmm..... seems like we are dealing with faith .... NOT salvation. Hmmmm..... seems like we are dealing with Christians forgiving each other, NOT salvation.
Vs 34 - Delivered to tormentors ... till ... he should pay all that was due ...If "tormentors" means hell ... then you now have a "purgatory" & there ain't such a place. Delivered TILL HE SHOULD PAY ALL ....Remember ...Whom the Lord loves, He chastens. Then ... there is the judgment or bema seat of Christ. But ..... You cannot find losing salvation here.

No you can't take a train, a plain or any other modern device. You must use a horse drawn chariot.

Ridiculous? Perhaps, but not more ridiculous than your insistence on scripture only.

God gave us all a brain by which we are to think through the issues. Use yours will you?

The fact is that the beloved Apostle John told us in closing his Gospel that if everything that Jesus told them or did was written down the books would be many, and they are not. So the bible does not capture the whole sum of our faith in Jesus Christ. What we have is guidance to get to full faith. The new testament is not a new set of LAWS, but rather guidance that instructs those who believe the Gospel message in how to live the Christian life.

Your approach to religion seems to be that if it is not contained in scripture, it is not applicable to religion. If that is the case, you'd better not drive a car to church, because cars are no mentioned in scripture! No you can't take a train, a plain or any other modern device. You must use a horse drawn chariot. You cannot carry a Bible, you must carry a full set of scrolls instead. Ridiculous? Perhaps, but not more ridiculous than your insistence on scripture only. God gave us all a brain by which we are to think through the issues. Use yours will you? The fact is that the beloved Apostle John told us in closing his Gospel that if everything that Jesus told them or did was written down the books would be many, and they are not. So the bible does not capture the whole sum of our faith in Jesus Christ. What we have is guidance to get to full faith. The new testament is not a new set of LAWS, but rather guidance that instructs those who believe the Gospel message in how to live the Christian life.

Now, here, you again, cannot back up anything by use of Scripture but rather turn to insults. I find that pretty small of you. I have answered posts with Scripture and have been kind to those I have replied to until your last two posts to me. Yes; Scripture only. Your assertion that not everything that Jesus did -- the world could not contain the books that would hold such info. Yes, Jesus did a lot of things, but what was included in the Cannon of Scriptures was not fables nor unwritten stories. Your point leave open to believe whatever you want to believe and it opens the door for extreme liberalism in theology. Yes, Scripture only. We are not to add to nor take away from Scripture... you seem to want to open the door to adding.... since everything Jesus did was not written down. NOW.... just how does that point of yours apply to eternal security? It doesn't. NOW ... Have you a special revelation from God as to what was not written down in the Bible? If so... please enlighten us as to this great phenomena. I await your special revelation from God.

You replied to me: "God gave us all a brain by which we are to think through the issues. Use yours will you? "Hmmm ...I have been using mine all along .... waiting for you to use yours. Still, you use NO Scripture.

Next, I have added here ... apart from the forum’s debate, the following comments regarding the comments from those trying to refute Eternal Security.

I want you to note what this person stated. Go back above and read where we find that he is not a Bible believer. He stated: "Your approach to religion seems to be that if it is not contained in scripture, it is not applicable to religion. If that is the case, you'd better not drive a car to church, because cars are no mentioned in scripture!" That’s the problem with many people, they don’t really believe the Bible; they want to "add to" or "take away" from God’s Word.

This also proves my point that many people look to other sources for their beliefs. One of those sources may simply be how they feel. Perhaps they have been fed a certain line from liberal Bible colleges or from liberal pastors; who, in themselves, may not be saved to begin with. This also shows how many will try to argue a point from their reasoning and logic when they are not able to prove their point from Scripture.

As to the last two posts ....The pointless thread of the car etc. is not applicable to eternal security; but rather chasing a rabbit & trying to throw a fella off the trail. As for FAITH and Salvation: It takes faith to be saved but there is also operative faith .... faith that the born again Christian needs everyday. That faith is not getting saved all over again. The apostles said: Lord, increase our faith... they were not referring to salvation. The point of Scripture re/forgiving etc. again, does not speak of losing salvation etc. You and/or others have tried to refute it with argumentation, but I have not seen scripture to back up your claims.

I am posting to #4504"s last two posts to me and take them one at a time on this post.#4504 posted: NO FAITH? = NO SALVATION!

MY REPLY: First, I must say that you are ignorant on what the Bible teaches. I never said what you wrote above; you are guilty of putting words into my mouth or post.... very dishonest of you. Also, you made a statement, but failed to back it up with Scripture. The Bible teaches a lot about faith ... faith to move mountains ... now... according to you ....your statement to me in the above... it is Salvation to move mountains .... come now and be honest. Faith to believe and to be saved is different than faith that we need to operate every day of our Christian lives. For example: For one to lose their salvation, they must find the faith of Christ to be faulty. Now, we must remove the element of faith. In order for a saved person to lose their salvation, we must remove man’s faith in the substitutionary death on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; we must remove our faith in His resurrection from the grave. Keep in mind here, it is not our production of faith or even a "great faith" that would be great enough for God to accept you. We are to simply believe (faith) and then let the faith of Christ work in us.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (emphasis mine).

This is reliance on Christ to keep us saved; reliance upon Him to live His life in us and through us. Notice what the Apostle Paul says: I live by the faith of the Son of God. It is His faith ... not Paul’s; not mine; not yours. What saves us? The shed blood of Christ, according to Scriptures; His burial according to Scriptures; His resurrection from the grave, according to Scriptures, is what saves us. Everything that Jesus did and does today, is according to Scripture. It is our faith in what He did, not what I did or what you did.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

That faith is not "of yourselves: it is the gift of God." God’s gift is freely offered and must be freely received. Romans 6:23 says "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice, it is a GIFT; Ephesians 2:8-9 says it is a GIFT. Someone can offer you a gift, say at Christmas or for your birthday etc. and you have the choice - free will - to either accept it or to reject it.

John 1:12: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" (emphasis mine).

Again, in order to remove the element of faith, a person losing their salvation would have to find the faith of Christ to be faulty.

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."

Here we read that a man is justified. The word "justified" in the Greek language of the Bible is: dikaiow dikaioo, dik-ah-yo'-o. It means: to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent: --free, justify(-ier), be righteous. The element of faith that saves us is "but by the faith of Jesus Christ." This is not faith IN Christ but it is the faith OF Jesus Christ.

"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"

The Greek word for "righteousness" is: dikaiosunh dikaiosune, dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay - equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification: --righteousness. Very similar word as the Greek word for justified and has the basic same meaning .... it means that we are saved - saved by what? Romans 3:22 tells us that the righteousness of God is BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST.

I quote Pastor Reagan, in his book, at this point regarding the faith of Christ.

"Although you must believe to the best of your ability, the perfect faith which provides for you a perfect salvation is the faith of Christ. This means that there is no need to "pray through" or "hold on" in order to get saved. We come to God in simple belief, and He completes our faulty faith with the perfect faith of Christ. This also means that you cannot become lost by losing faith. Although your faith may waver at times, your salvation is based on the faith of Christ. Therefore, the only way to lose your salvation is to find the faith of Christ to be faulty." [54]

I then posted from Pastor Reagan's Book: "So you want to lose your salvation! How to lose it in 14 easy steps." I included that dissertation, regarding the 14 points, later in this paper. To repeat them here, would be repetitious. They are in the following section for you to read.

As of this writing, it has been at least three months and no attempt by ANYONE to rebuff the points I made using Scripture. The thing that I notice is that many well meaning men do not understand the Bible. Perhaps they are not saved, as I Corinthians 2:14 states: "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ..." The natural is the unsaved.

I also note that these well meaning men resort to personal attacks and rhetoric to try and prove their point. If we stick to Scripture, we will have a firm foundation.

Fifth, What Would Happen If A Christian Could Lose Their Salvation?

The question comes to my mind, if we could lose our salvation, how would we stay saved? How could we get saved again? The only answer given to me has been basically: by doing good works; by living for Jesus ( good works); by being faithful (good works). The following provide some references for the aforementioned. Romans 11:6; Romans 3:28; Romans 3:20; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:6 & 10-11 & 19-25.

Let's take time for a brief dissertation of Hebrews 6:1-6. Notice the first four words of verse 4, "For it is impossible..." What is impossible? Read verse 4 to find it is obvious that the reference is to those who are saved. Why? They were not only enlightened, they tasted of the Heavenly gift (Romans 6:23); and they were partakers of the Holy Ghost. Only a saved person has the Holy Ghost; so this can nowhere refer to the unsaved. No good Pentecostal in his or her right mind would admit to a lost person having the Holy Ghost. It is impossible for those saved souls ( go on down to vs 6) ... IF ( a supposition in the Greek), they shall fall away ... (IF those saved souls shall lose their salvation); to renew them again ( a second time); unto repentance ( to get saved again); what would they have to do? They would have to crucify Christ all over again. That, my friend, would put Jesus Christ to an open shame.

Previously, I mentioned the book entitled: "So you want to lose your salvation! How to lose it in 14 easy steps." [55]

"Well, if you are going to lose your salvation (just bear with me if you want to keep yours), then you must lose it according to the rules. The rule book is, of course, the Word of God."

The author does a great job with simplicity showing how bizarre it is, or would be, to lose one’s salvation. The table of contents of his book reads as follows:

Let’s explore pastor Reagan’s outline here as well as integrate what he teaches in his booklet regarding losing your salvation.

Point 1, Declare God’s grace as insufficient. In the Book of Romans, chapter 11:6 we read:

"And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.."

The basis of salvation is God’s grace, and in order to remove oneself from the Grace of God, to lose your salvation (once you’ve had it), we would have to remove grace as a factor in salvation. That would leave only man’s work .... hmmmm ...... won’t work - according to the Bible.

The Greek word for grace is cariV, charis, khar'-ece ; it is 5463 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. The meaning is as follows: graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):--acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace(-ious), joy, liberality, pleasure, thank(-s, -worthy). [56] This verse teaches us that works and grace do not mix; grace has no works.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

This means that you cannot save your own soul by good works; good works are good deeds that a person can do, which would include baptism; Lord’s Supper; church membership; confirmation; keeping the Ten Commandments and loving thy neighbor; just to name a few. We will cover more on good works in a later section. However, since grace is not man’s works or man’s doings; and since good works can do nothing for man to earn his salvation; keep his salvation; help keep it or help to get it; then it would likewise follow that man’s bad or evil works cannot remove your salvation. What "work" can assure man of his salvation? What "work" can remove man’s salvation? The Bible is our final authority, not man’s reasoning. The following verses from the Bible are just a few verses that teach salvation through God’s grace.

Galatians 2:21 states: "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

Acts 18:27 "And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace:"

Romans 3:24: "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"

Romans 5:15: "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."

Romans 5:17: "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."

Romans 5:20: "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" Notice what this verse so vividly teaches: there is more grace than there is sin.

Point 2, Find the faith of Christ to be faulty. Now, we must remove the element of faith. In order for a saved person to lose their salvation, we must remove man’s faith in the substitutionary death on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; we must remove our faith in His resurrection from the grave.

Keep in mind here, it is not our production of faith, or even a "great faith", enough for God to accept you. We are to simply believe (faith) and then let the faith of Christ work in us.

This is reliance on Christ to keep us saved; reliance upon Him to live His life in us and through us. Notice what the Apostle Paul says: I live by the faith of the Son of God. It is His faith ... not Paul’s; not mine; not yours. What saves us? The shed blood of Christ according to Scriptures; His burial according to Scriptures; His resurrection from the grave, according to Scriptures, is what saves us. Everything that Jesus did and does today, is according to Scripture. It is our faith in what He did, not what I did or what you did.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

That faith is not "of yourselves: it is the gift of God." God’s gift is freely offered and must be freely received. Romans 6:23 says "... but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Notice, it is a GIFT; Ephesians 2:8-9 says it is a GIFT. Someone can offer you a gift, say at Christmas or for your birthday etc. and you have the choice - free will - to either accept it or to reject it.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" (emphasis mine).

Again, in order to remove the element of faith, a person losing their salvation would have to find the faith of Christ to be faulty.

Here we read that a man is justified. The word "justified" in the Greek language of the Bible is: dikaiow dikaioo, dik-ah-yo'-o. It means: to render (i.e. show or regard as) just or innocent:--free, justify(-ier), be righteous. The element of faith that saves us is "but by the faith of Jesus Christ." This is not faith IN Christ but it is the faith OF Jesus Christ.

"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:"

The Greek word for "righteousness" is: dikaiosunh dikaiosune, dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay - equity (of character or act); specially (Christian) justification: --righteousness. Very similar word as the Greek word for justified and has the basic same meaning .... it means that we are saved - saved by what? Romans 3:22 tells us that the righteousness of God is BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST.

I quote Pastor Reagan, in his book, at this point regarding the faith of Christ.

Point 3, Get Christ to take back His righteousness. This point, as with all of Pastor Reagan’s points, is an excellent one. We have no righteousness of our own.

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

The word accounted means imputed. We read similar verses, regarding God’s righteousness being "imputed" to Abraham in Romans 4:11; 22-24; Romans 5:13; Galatians 3:6 and James 2:23.

The righteousness of God was given to Abraham by faith, not the Law. God’s righteousness was not given to Abraham nor to anyone else because of their works. Remember, 430 years before the Law, Abraham believed - which is FAITH. In Galatians 3:18, the Bible is telling us about faith; the Law; God’s righteousness and in relation to Abraham. Go to verse 16, where the Bible is speaking about Abraham.

"And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." (emphasis mine).

Go back to Isaiah 64:6, where we are told that our righteousness is as "filthy rags." We give up our "filthy rags" for the robe of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ took our sins upon Him on the Cross of Calvary. He paid for them IN FULL by His own precious blood that He freely gave or shed for us. He died in our place and paid a heavy price for sin that he did not commit nor could commit. Jesus Christ was our perfect sacrifice - a sinless God offering Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. He did that for sinners and when we receive Him as Saviour; when we accept His payment for our sins; we have now exchanged our "filthy rags" for His righteousness.

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Notice what Isaiah 61:10 tells us about being "clothed" in the righteousness of Him.

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

Notice: he hath clothed me; he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. Jesus did it, we believe it and receive it. He would have to "unclothe" us and He would have to "uncover us" from His righteousness.

A person, who has accepted or received Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour; is "clothed" in His righteousness. On that basis, we will NEVER have to appear before the Lord in our own righteousness.

"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

Notice here, our righteousness comes by the Law. We think we are pretty good when we don’t steal; kill; commit adultery etc. But keeping the Law will not save us.

"but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

Righteousness is through the faith of Christ; the righteousness comes from God BY FAITH.

Since the righteousness that saves us comes from God and is "imputed" to us, we must realize that a saved person cannot become "lost" when you lose your own righteousness. My righteousness and yours too, will fail; because it is as "filthy rags" before a holy and a righteous God. Remember this my friend .... the righteousness of God; of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, will NEVER FAIL you nor fail me nor ANY Christian.

To conclude this third point; in order to lose your own salvation, you must get Jesus to "take back" His righteousness from you. Then, you MUST take back your sin for which He died.

Point 4, Have the pardon removed from your sin. There are several verses in the Bible regarding God’s pardon for our sin.
Let’s look at some of them beginning with Isaiah 55:7.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."

The word "pardon," in the Hebrew is: calach, saw-lakh' a primitive root; to forgive:--forgive, pardon, spare. [58] Here we find repentence and faith go hand in hand. The pardon of God is an abundant one; it means to increase (in whatever respect); abundance; enlarge; excel; multiply; thoroughly.

The word remember means the following: mnaomai mnaomai, mnah'-om-ahee. It is the middle voice of a derivative of Strong’s 3306 (menw meno, men'-o); to bear in mind, i.e. recollect; by implication, to reward or punish:--be mindful, remember, come (have) in remembrance. [59] The words: "no more" have the following meaning, 3364 in Strong’s: ou mh, ou me, oo may. A double negative strengthening the denial; not at all:-- any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise). To further look into the double negative, we find the Greek words (3378 in Strong’s): mh ouk, me ouk, may ook, or. as interrogative and negative, is it not that?-- neither (followed by no), + never, not. [60]

Here we find God’s Word telling us that when we are saved, God will never again bring up our sins. He has forgotten them; the double negative of "no more" in the Greek language of the Bible is more than enough to teach us "no", "never", "not at all", "in no case," will God EVER hold us accountable for our sins in regard to our salvation.

How far does God’s pardon go? Does it pardon us for awhile? Does it pardon us forever?

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."

"Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."

Here we find that there is more of the grace of God than man has sin. When we look at the pardon of God and His forgiveness from sin, we find that God’s grace is more than enough to save us and to keep us saved.

We must note that the complete forgiveness of our sins, when we are saved, does not take away our need to repent of the sins we commit after we are saved.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."

John writes to the saved and he teaches us that, yes, saved people DO SIN after we are saved. He also teaches us what to do with that sin. This is not speaking of salvation or "staying saved" but rather of the Christian keeping in a right relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

The pardon of Jesus Christ; His forgiveness of our sins and to "remember no more;" and His purchasing us with His own blood sounds pretty secure to me. He "bought us" and paid for us, as saved folks. The price He paid was a tremendous one and one that saves us by His grace and power and He keeps us saved by His grace and His power.

As I conclude point four, we find that in order for one to lose their salvation, we would have to have the pardon removed from your sin. That is a total impossibility. When a person gets saved, you receive a full pardon at that time. Therefore, you cannot become "unsaved" by committing unpardoned sins. What sin is there that God cannot forgive?

" But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Notice the words "all sin;" that’s what Jesus can forgive us from. There is not a single sin that a Christian can commit that can remove God’s pardon from that saved person.

Now, one might say; "What about the unpardonable sin? A Christian can commit that sin and lose their salvation."

"Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

The context of these verses is Jesus talking to the Pharisees and He rebukes them. Matthew 12:24 has the Pharisee’s attributing the miracles of Jesus Christ to the devil. These Pharisee’s were not saved folk; they were not Christian’s; born again, etc. Jesus teaches them that if they continue in their sin; do not repent of it, they cannot be saved. Why not? Because they have not repented of it. Again, Jesus is not talking to a saved person, but to some unsaved people who are mocking the power of God.

A saved person cannot commit this sin; repentance and faith are from God. He pardons us when we ask for it; therefore, the saved person's sins are already pardoned and cannot come into dispute.

"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."

Point 5, Convince the Father to fail in His commitment. Now we deal with who keeps our soul when we received Jesus Christ as personal Saviour. Before anyone was saved, we were the keepers of our own soul. What power did we have to save ourselves? None whatsoever. What power does a saved person to keep themselves saved after they have been saved? The answer, again, is none whatsoever.
In II Timothy 1:12

"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day."

The Apostle Paul tells us that He committed His soul to the Lord when he received Jesus Christ as Saviour. He did so for safekeeping and was "persuaded" that the Lord was able to keep it saved. Paul was convinced and had confidence in the power of God that God could preserve what Paul had committed to God. How long? The answer, in Scripture , is "against that day" verse 12. What is that day? Is it the day that a Christian sins? Is it a day that a Christian commits the "unpardonable sin? Let’s look and see just what "that day" is. I believe "that day" is the day when the Lord comes back or until He calls us home.

"Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Now, if the Heavenly Father could fail in His commitment to the saved soul, did He lie to us here? He began the work and He will perform it ... until the "day of Jesus Christ;" until He comes back for us. Remember, He comes back for us in the rapture, or snatching away, of the saved.

"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

Here, the Word of God tells us that God delivers us from every evil work. The word deliver in Strong’s is: middle voice of an obsolete verb, akin to 4482 (through the idea of a current; compare 4511); to rush or draw (for oneself), i.e. rescue:--deliver(-er). [61] It is He that keeps us from every evil work, not us who keeps ourselves. The word "preserve" in Strongs is: to save, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively):-- heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

Since the Father cannot possibly fail in His commitment to the saved person in His preserving or the keeping of our soul; it is impossible for the saved to lose their salvation. The question must now be asked: "What, now, must take place for the saved person to become unsaved? We will now move on to the next point.

Point 6, Break The Father’s Seal Of The Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us many things about the Holy Spirit. One of those teachings is the fact that the Holy Spirit indwells the saved person and seals the saved. If a saved person could lose their salvation, then one of the things that we would have to do is break that seal, the seal of the Holy Spirit of God.

How could we possibly "break" that seal; when could we do that and why would we even want to? Let’s take a look at Scripture and what it reveals to us about the Holy Spirit and our salvation.

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise,"

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

The Bible tells us that we are "sealed;" for how long? In my reference Bible, at this Scripture, I read the following foot note.

"The Holy Spirit is Himself the seal. In the symbolism of Scripture a seal signifies (1) A finished transaction (Jeremiah 32:11-12); (2) Ownership (Jeremiah 32:11-12; II Timothy 2:19); (3) Security (Esther 8:8; Daniel 6:17; Ephesians 4:30). [62]

Here we find that the "sealing" of the saved person by the Holy Spirit of God, has given Him ownership of the saved. Then we find a "finished transaction;" we were bought and paid for by Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit has "sealed" us.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Both of these Scriptures has stated that when a person got saved, they were actually "bought" by the Lord and He paid the price for your soul.

"Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts."

John Wesley's Notes on the Old and New Testaments, regarding II Corinthians 1:22 says: "Who also hath sealed us-Stamping his image on our hearts, thus marking and sealing us as his own property." Wesley was a Methodist and believed in losing your salvation, but even here he states "as his own property," (emphasis mine). [63]

Ephesians 4:30 tells us that the seal is "unto the day of redemption;" when is that? Well, it is the day when Jesus Christ takes us up to be with Him. The seal of the Holy Spirit guarantees our salvation; that means that we are "secure." We can break a promise to God or break a commitment to God, but that is not what our salvation is based upon. The Father’s seal of the Spirit must be broken in order for you to lose your salvation.

Point 7, Change The Meaning Of Everlasting. Earlier, I have dealt with the subject of "eternal" and "everlasting;" so I will be brief here. The Bible contains many, many verses on this subject.

I John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

We received eternal life when we received Jesus Christ as our own personal Saviour.

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

God’s gift is "eternal life;" we receive that gift the moment we are saved. Therefore, eternal life begins the moment we receive Christ or else we are not saved when we pray and ask Jesus to come into our hearts and save us.

Look up the following verses regarding "eternal life" in the Bible. Matthew 19:16; Matthew 25:46; Mark 10:17; Mark 10:30; Luke 10:25; Luke 18:18. Then John 3:15; John 4:36; John 5:39; John 6:54; John 6:68; John 10:28; John 12:25; John 17:2-3. Turn to Acts 13:48; Romans 2:7; Romans 5:21; Romans 6:23; I Timothy 6:12 & 19.

Then turn to Titus 1:2; Titus 3:7; I John 1:2; I John 2:25; I John 3:15; I John 5:11 & 13; I John 5:20 and Jude 1:21.

Then there are several verses telling us that we have "everlasting life." Both, eternal and everlasting, as previously noted, have the same meaning. The definition of "eternal" in the Greek means: "forever" [9] and also "undefined because endless;" "describes duration, either undefined but not endless." Let’s also note the verses that tell us about our "everlasting life" in the Lord.

Matthew 19:29; Matthew 25:46; Luke 18:30; John 3:16; John 3:36; John 4:14; John 6:27; John 6:40; John 6:47; and John 12:50. Then in Acts 13:46; Romans 6:22; Galatians 6:8 and I Timothy 1:16.

As we can see, there are multiple verses (about 43), teaching us that the saved person has "eternal or everlasting life" when they have received Jesus Christ as Saviour. So far, I have found none that teach us that the saved person can ever be lost or need to be resaved again

I read, nowhere in Scripture, where we are taught that "eternal" or "everlasting" life is in the future, but, rather, we have it here and now, once we are saved. This shows us that we cannot lose our "eternal" or "everlasting" life.

"Think about this: if your life has ending today (you are going to perish), then it could not have been without ending (everlasting) yesterday. To lose everlasting life would be a contradiction of terms, there is only one way to lose your salvation. You must change the meaning of the word "everlasting." [64]

Point 8, Unbirth yourself from the family of God. In the Gospel of John 3:3, we read the following:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

"Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

Both of these verses tell us that when we are saved, we are "born" into the family of God. None of us were born into this world as saved, we had to be "born again," as Jesus told Nicodemus, in John chapter 3. The meaning of "born" is as follows: gennaw gennao, ghen-nah'-o - from a variation of 1085; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate: --bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring. [65]

The word translated in John 3:3 "again" means also from above. So we find that when we are saved; born again; it was a birth from above. This is not another fleshly or earthly birth, but one from God almighty. It is not a birth from ourselves; from our works or from our good intentions, but from God.

Our first birth was a physical birth and our second birth is a spiritual one. That second birth is from God; of God; and by God. This birth makes us a child of God. How can we become "unsaved" by denying that we are a child of God. How can you cease to be your mother or father’s offspring? We would have to find a way to "unbirth" our self from the family of God in order for us to lose our salvation.

Point 9, Nullify your adoption by the Father. No one was ever born into this world as a saved person. When a person accepts Jesus Christ as Saviour, they are "born again" as Jesus told Nicodemus in John chapter three.

"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

Here we find that when we receive Christ; when we are "saved;" we are "led by the Spirit." We are the "sons of God." The Spirit - the Holy Spirit of God leads us to Christ and at salvation, not to the "spirit of bondage again to fear." A person who is unsaved is under the bondage of sin; they are a slave or a bond servant to sin. Sin governs or rules the unsaved person's life.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."

God’s love is not a love of fear, but the bondage of sin is a fearful thing. The Holy Spirit leads us to the "spirit of adoption." Again, we were never born saved and nobody was ever born that way. To get into God’s family, to become a Christian, we are "adopted" into the family of God. God made us; He bought us and He adopted us.

Let us take a brief study of the word "adoption" in Romans 8:15. When a person adopts a child, he is taking and treating a stranger (the one being adopted) as one's own child.

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."

"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens ...... and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope ..."

The stranger, the unsaved, he has no hope.. Why,? Simply this, the unsaved are not saved and that’s where adoption comes in.

How does this apply to Christians? God treats the saved as His children; He receives them into this relation, though they were by nature strangers and enemies. Before a person is saved, we had no claim on God. The act of God adopting us is an act of mere kindness; an act of God’s giving love, grace and mercy. This adoption also means that the saved person is now under His protection and care. When a child is adopted, they are taken out of their home, the place where they live (adoption agency, orphanage etc.). That adopted child now ceases to belong to his old family, legally. They now have a legal standing with the new family, the parents who have adopted that child.

Romans 8:17 says that the adopted child is an "heir of God," a "joint heir" with Christ. That means that we share in the inheritance. The adopted child has as much legal standing in that new family as the real children have. The estate is equally divided between the adopted and the non adopted children.

Back to Romans 8:15 where we read: "whereby we cry Abba Father." "(W)e cry" tells me that the adopted child expresses his feelings to his new Father. He calls upon Him and seeks his Fathers protection. The word Father is pathr pater, pat-ayr' [66] "apparently a primary word; a "father" (literally or figuratively, near or more remote):--father, parent. So, here we see, we can call our new father a "parent" and it is legal and right. We had no right to call Him "Father" before we were saved.

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."

The Holy Spirit of God now testifies that the now saved person is, in all reality, now a child of God.

Now, can we become lost? Can a saved person become unadopted or unsaved, by ignoring the fact? Adoption is a change of parents. John 8:44 teaches us that our father, when we were not saved, was the devil. Salvation; adoption; gives us a new Father, one we never had before. I had some friends who adopted a child; they got a lawyer, went to an adoption agency, and paid the price for that new child. It was all done in a legal way. My friend, Jesus paid the price for your salvation.

"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

The price that was paid was the precious blood of Jesus Christ upon Calvary’s cruel cross. God paid the price for us. He did it the right way and when we accept His salvation; the "gift of God," as in Romans 6:23; we are now in a new family. So, to lose our salvation, we would, somehow, have to find a way to nullify the adoption by the Father. Remember ... He did the adopting.

Point 10, Separate yourself from the love of Christ. If a saved person could lose their salvation, just how could we do this? A careful examination of Scriptures will show us if this can be done.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

These Scriptures speak for themselves; I can honestly say: "Let’s stop here, the debate is over." However, there is always a nay sayer out there who will not accept this Scripture with out any further back up. Before I do that, let me take some time to share some thoughts on the above Scriptures.

The question is WHO? Can you? Can the devil? Can your boss? Your parents? Just WHO can do this? The verses go on with some possible scenarios and comes to a full conclusion beginning with verse 37.

Notice how verse 37 starts out: "Nay..." The word "NAY" simply means NO! In other words, the tribulations, peril, sword etc. of verse 35 just won’t do it.

The question here, deals with the love of Christ. Some have suggested that it deals with our love for Christ. The Scriptures does not say that here, it says "the love of Christ." If we look at both sides, I believe that we will find that; either way; it is not a winning argument for losing one’s salvation. Verse 37 says that "Nay, in all these things ..." What things? The things of the above verse. In all of those things, "we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." Those things are conquered through HIM, not through you nor through me: not through the saved person. We gain the victory through Christ.

I can do ALL things .... All means ALL; I can stay saved through Christ which strengtheneth me. We get our strength from Christ not from self.

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."

The word "conquerors," in Romans 8:37 has the following meaning: to vanquish beyond, gain a decisive victory: -- more than conquer. [67] Through Christ we have gained "a decisive victory" and that is solid ground to stand upon.

In Romans 8:38, the Apostle Paul goes on to teach us and to tell us that he is persuaded about something. He is persuaded or convinced, that such things as death and life cannot separate us from the love of God. He then tells us that there is nothing (verse 39) high enough nor deep enough to separate us from the love of God. There is no other "creature" that is able to do this.

"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."

The Apostle John writes that the Christian; (here, the young Christian, new in the faith) is of God. He goes on to tell us that we have overcome them (false prophets of verse 1). How are we able to overcome? Christ in us is greater than the devil (he that is in the world); greater than false prophets and false doctrine; etc.

Back up to I John 2:13 where we find that he wrote to Christians because "ye have overcome the wicked one ..."

"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"

Again, we find OVERCOMETH; the saved person OVERCOMES the world by our FAITH IN CHRIST. The Apostle Paul tells us, regarding Jesus Christ to the saved person:

Since Jesus won’t leave the saved person nor forsake that saved person; then just how can that saved person separate himself from the love of Christ?

The Bible, (as we have read in the above), teaches us that it is OUR FAITH that enables us to OVERCOME. Our FAITH is not the FAITH in self nor in things, but FAITH in Jesus Christ when we have received Him as our own personal Saviour. Our FAITH in His love for us enables us to OVERCOME and to "do all things through Christ ..." He is, as the verse says, the one who strengthens us; Philippians 4:13.

Point 11, Remove yourself from the premises of heaven. When we receive Christ as Saviour, heaven awaits us. When Jesus was on this earth, He told us in John 14:2,

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

Jesus has gone to prepare a place for the saved soul up in heaven and that place is there awaiting the saved.

Before we are saved, as Ephesians 2:5 tells us, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. He quickened us or made us alive when we received Christ as Saviour. Notice, HE QUICKENED US; we did not quicken ourselves. Who raised us up together? Jesus did, and He, made us sit together in heavenly places; verse 6.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ."

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ."

The word conversation refers to the way we live or conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven. We are not there yet, but we do have a mansion reserved for us, Jesus promised. The Greek definition for conversation is: "citizenship (figuratively)." [68] Can we not have a citizenship in one land while living in another? Our citizenship, for the saved, is in heaven while we temporarily reside on this earth.

In Ephesians 2:6, it says "... heavenly places in Christ Jesus." When a person is saved, they are "in" Christ. He sits at the right hand of God. As a saved person, I am "in Christ" and He is in "heavenly places."

Colossians 3:1 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."

Mark 16:19 "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God."

I Peter 3:22 "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."

So here we are, in heavenly places, figuratively, awaiting a trip to our heavenly home where Jesus has already prepared a mansion for those who are saved. If the saved could lose their salvation, then you would have to remove yourself from your position in Christ which has placed our spirit in the premises of heaven.

"If salvation is to be lost, then it must be lost through disobedience to God." He goes on to say: "Yet, what degree of sin brings this loss of salvation? Evil thoughts? Bitterness? Murder? Failing to attend church? Failure to pray? What sin or sins cross the line of no return. Again, we must let Scripture be the measure of truth."

Incest:
The author goes on to give some examples from the Bible. In I Corinthians 5:1 where fornication is named in the church of Corinth.

In verse 5, Paul tells us that the flesh is to be delivered to Satan. But what about that person’s spirit?

The guilty one’s flesh will pay the price of sin. There can be church discipline; there can be the price of social diseases; there can be death; but the soul, once saved, is preserved by the Lord Himself.

I Corinthians 3:11-18, the Apostle Paul writes regarding the foundation that a saved soul can build upon. He tells us to build upon Christ for a sure and a firm foundation. Verse 14 teaches us that we receive rewards for our works that abide or that are built upon such a firm and a solid foundation. Verse 15 shows us that our works that are built upon "wood, hay, stubble," will not abide. Why? Because the man did not build with solid, Godly works. Paul tells us that such works or deeds shall be burned and that person will suffer loss. They will suffer through trials for their work and loss of their vain labors.

The man has built a house upon the foundation of Jesus Christ; he has built with materials that will not last long. When the fiery trials come his way, his labors or works, will not last.

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."

Our faith is tried in the fires of adversity and trials. If we build our Christian lives around selfish works; deeds that glorify self instead of Christ, they will not last. We are still saved, but lose our reward. That’s what Paul tells us in I Corinthians 3:14-15. The abiding work receives a reward while the work that does not abide suffers loss. Loss of what? The context tells us that the loss is of reward and not of salvation.

Our example is in I Timothy 1:19-20 regarding Hymenaeus and Alexander. Hymenaeus taught that the resurrection was already past; Paul refers to that in II Timothy 2:17-18.

Alexander the Coppersmith did Paul much harm in II Timothy 4:14. These men were unfaithful to God and evidently were teaching false doctrines. The faith and good conscience that was put away, is not referring to their salvation.

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."

Here we have faith to fight the attacks of the devil. Here, Paul gives a charge to young Timothy, in I Timothy 1:18, to war or fight a good warfare. Then he gives the example of the two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul, nowhere, in the context, refers to losing salvation in any way, shape or form.

Paul delivered them up to Satan in I Timothy 1:20. Does that mean that the Apostle Paul "took away their salvation." I hardly think so; Paul nor anyone else, has the power to do so. Paul was telling us, here, the same thing as he did in I Corinthians 5:5 that we used in the previous example. The flesh was delivered to the devil but not the spirit. Sin is sin and all sin is terrible. When a Christian sins, there is loss of reward; there is loss of Christian friendship and fellowship.

"But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat."

We are not to keep company with such sinners; they will answer to God and we are to pray for their restoration; but not keep company with them. This is their loss of Christian fellowship and friendship.

Point 13, Take the Spirit with you to hell. In the Epistle to the local church at Ephesus I find at least two very important verses.

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

Notice, when we are saved, we are sealed. How long are we sealed? "unto the day of redemption." The seal of the Holy Spirit denotes a finished transaction. We were sealed after you believed. In order to lose our salvation, we would have to "break that seal," but we can’t because we have that seal "unto the day of redemption." We would have to have more power than God in order to break that seal and we don’t have that kind of power. Ours is feeble at best. Therefore, we would, as this point suggests, take the Holy Spirit of God to hell with you. That, my friend, just won’t happen.

1. We heard the word of truth. That is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we heard how to be saved.

We then need to go to verse 14 where we find something very interesting. The words "the earnest of our inheritance."

The word "earnest" refers to a price paid in a transaction. Here, it is the earnest of our inheritance. A price was paid for our inheritance. That price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary. He suffered and died in my place and in your place to pay for our sins and to purchase our redemption. When I bought a house, I put down some "earnest" money. If I were to back out on that deal, I could not take back my earnest money.

In verse 13 of Ephesians 1, the Holy Spirit (the sentence goes into verse 14) is the "earnest" of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit of God, our "earnest" of our home in heaven, cannot be taken back. If you or I could lose our salvation, we would have to take the Spirit of God with us to hell, because we can’t take back the "earnest."

Point 14, Take the Son of God with you to hell. This is the last point in David Reagan’s book. outlining what you would have to do in order to lose your salvation.

"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Since the Word of God tells us that Jesus will never leave us; if a saved person were to be able to lose their salvation, go to hell, Jesus would have to go with them.

"Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee."

"And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."

In these verses, we find that Jesus won’t abandon us; He will not forsake us; He will not fail us!

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

In Colossians 1:2; Philippians 1:1 and 4:21; Ephesians 1:13, 2:6, 2:13; Galatians 3:26, 3:28, 6:15; Romans 8:1-2, 16:7; I Corinthians 1:2, 1:30, 3:1, 4:15, 15:18-19, 15:22; II Corinthians 5:17, and many other verses, the saved are "in Christ." When we are saved, in Christ, we will have NO CONDEMNATION. Now, I ask, how could we go to hell and how could we take Christ with us to hell?

Jesus is consistent, He does not change and He is not fickle. Therefore, since the saved are in Christ, He will never leave us, etc. If a saved person were to lose their salvation, they would have to take the Saviour with them, to hell.

I did not include all of the verses on eternal security and I will try not to be repetitive with the verses that I have included. It is important to read the Bible and put the verses in their proper context. What I have done with the following, is simply included several verses on this topic. After some of them, I have made brief comments, but the verses are pretty clear.

John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."

John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

John 1:12-13: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

I Peter 1:5: "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Acts 16:31: "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

This verse goes along with section two regarding works for salvation. Again, we read in the Bible, that works do not save; but that salvation is a GIFT of God.

John 10:2-4: "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice."

The true Christian, the believer, is a sheep that belongs to Jesus Christ. Notice that the sheep follows Jesus, the sheep knows the voice of Jesus Christ.

John 10:5: "And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

This Scripture tells us that the saved person (the sheep) will not follow a stranger. They only follow the shepherd, the one that they know. We also read that the Christian does not know the stranger’s voice. Further, the Christian (the sheep) will flee from the stranger.

John 3:18: "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Ephesians 1:13: "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

That seal shows ownership and it cannot be broken by you nor me nor the old devil himself.

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

The Bible teaches us that the seal of the Holy Spirit is until the day of redemption or the resurrection of the body. My friend, that’s a long, long time; forever.

I Peter 1:23: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Romans 11:6: "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work."

If a person believes that they could lose their salvation, they must trust good works in order to stay saved. Here, we find that you just can’t have both in regard as to what saves a person. It is either works or grace; you can’t mix them together to get saved or to stay saved.

I Peter 1:4-5: "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Notice, it is God that keeps us saved; not our good merit, nor our faith, and not our lack of faith. We also note that our inheritance is reserved for the saved; it is incorruptible and it cannot be defiled.

John 11:26: "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

John 6:37: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."

Romans 8:38-39: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

We have just read, from Scripture, that there is NOTHING that can separate the saved person from Christ. NOTHING that death can do. NOTHING that life can do. Angels can’t do it. The good ones would not want to and the bad angels cannot. Satan cannot separate you from God’s love. Things present nor anything to come (future). There is nothing HIGH enough nor DEEP enough.

The Bible plainly teaches us that once we are saved, no one, nothing, etc., has the power to remove the saved from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus.

John 6:39: "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day."

Psalms 37:28: "For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off."

Hebrews 10:10: "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

Hebrews 12:2: "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Jesus began and finished the faith of the saved. In the above verse, verse 10, Jesus died once; not twice nor several times. If we could lose our salvation and get saved all over again, He would have had to die more than one time.

The topic of Eternal security has been a doctrine embraced by Bible believing Baptists since the days of the Apostles; since the days of the Anabaptists, and on down through church history. Eternal security is a doctrine that was taught by our Lord Jesus Christ as well as by the Apostle Paul; the Apostles Peter and John etc. How can one look at what the Bible teaches, and believe that you can be saved and then lose that wonderful salvation that Christ has bought and paid for just for you and for me.

The detractors have not proved their case against eternal security from Scripture. many valiant attempts have been made but those valiant attempts were lost. I go back to the Norris - Wallace Debate, which I have referenced many times. The minister who tried to refute eternal security lost the debate. The sad thing is that he went on preaching and teaching that baptism is essential for salvation and that a saved person can so sin as to be lost again. This same thing has happened many times over and over. Why does this happen? It happens because many preachers will believe a doctrine and then try to build a case for it in Scripture, rather than to let Scripture dictate doctrine.

There are many things that are not connected with eternal security. Some may try to say that the Baptist believe that all Baptist are saved; that we believe that all church members are saved. To that, I say not so. There are many church members who have never been born again. Church membership does not save; never has and never will, regardless of the denomination. Just because somebody does a lot of church work, does not mean that they are saved. The Bible speaks of false prophets and false church members; look up Matthew 7:22-23; II John verses :7-11 and II Peter 2:1-3.

I have heard many say to me: "You Baptist believe that you can just go out and live any way you want and still be saved." I have always replied that I have never preached nor taught that. I have never heard that preached nor taught in any Baptist church I have ever been in. Jesus taught in John chapter 10, that His sheep follow Him. John 10:5 tells us that the sheep will not follow a stranger, but that the sheep flees from the stranger.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

The "old" is passed away when we are saved. What is the "old"? Our sins; then we are made a new creature (creation). That new creation is being fashioned anew by the creator. He is the potter and we are the clay; the potter molds the clay into what He wants us to be.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

We must remember that I John was written to the saved and NOT to the unsaved. John says that it is a fact that Christians sin. Then, in verse 9 he tells us how to deal with that sin: Confess it. We must remember just what sin is. Yes, it is breaking the Ten Commandments as well as doing a great many other ungodly acts.

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

Sin is failing to do the good thing and the Word of God equates that with doing the wrong thing (sin). There is the sin of pride; unforgiveness; bitterness etc. All of the many inward sins that others may not see in the Christian. Which sin will make that Christian get "unsaved" again?

If a saved person could lose their salvation and then get saved all over again; most of those folks would probably feel like a "yo yo." They would go back and forth, not knowing whether they were saved at that particular moment or not. They forget that man cannot save himself; he has no power to do that. He must depend upon God for that saving. In like manner, a man does not have the power to keep himself saved; he must depend upon God for that.

Where is that new sacrifice for sin if a saved man could get lost? If he now gets saved again like he did the first time, he has a faulty or a false salvation. Why? Because it didn’t hold. What was that man trusting in? His works? His baptism? His church membership? His giving of money? The fact that his mother or grandmother were fine Christians? None of those things will save a person.

God promised salvation; He bought it, paid for it, with the blood of His only begotten Son; God, Himself, as Jesus Christ.

"In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot
lie, promised before the world began."

Twenty six times in the 136th Psalm, we read: "His mercy endureth forever."

My friend, the way to heaven is through Jesus Christ, and in Him alone. Are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven if you were to die today? If not, how will you get God’s salvation? I John 5:13 tells us that you can KNOW that you are saved. "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Notice that salvation is called a "gift." A gift is freely given and freely received. If someone were to offer you a gift, you would either accept it or not take it. If they told you that you had to pay them back for it, then it wouldn’t be a gift. Likewise, if they told you that you had to come over and mow their lawn or do other chores in order to have or to keep that gift, then it just wouldn’t be a gift. It would be something that you had to earn.

Believe is faith; the faith is to be from your heart, not your head. Believe what the Bible says about Jesus and His death, burial and resurrection. God loves you so much that He died in your place, for YOUR SIN. Jesus had you in mind when He was on the Cross. He conquered death, hell and the grave by His powerful resurrection.

That word "whosoever" means anybody; that means YOU. Anybody can get saved if they "call upon the name of the Lord." It nowhere says by works; religion; church membership; holding out; etc. etc.

Right now, would you believe, by faith, and admit that you are a sinner? Will you confess to the Lord that you have sinned? Then will you, by faith, ask Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart and to be your own personal Saviour?

I hope and trust that all who read this, will accept Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour, if you have not already. Then, it is my hope and prayer that if you have not believed in eternal security, that you will search the Scriptures and fully trust in Him. Then, it is my hope to strengthen those who are saved and perhaps doubt their salvation or just need further teaching on this subject.

4. 20 Of My Best Sermons, Cline Hancock, Litho Printers, Cassville, Mo., p. 217-218

8. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Henry C. Thiessen, 1949, 10th printing Nov. 1969, p. 365-366

36. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology, Guy p. Duffield and Nathaniel M. Van Cleave, 1909, reprint 1996, p. 253 - 254

47. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, 31st printing, 1973, Greek word #575 and #4105

54. So you Want To Lose Your Salvation? How To Lose It In 14 Easy Steps, Dr. David Reagan, p. 8