Eternal security (salvation)
Eternal security is the doctrine of unconditional eternal salvation as an irrevocable gift of salvation from God through Christ as Savior. Reformed Christianity/Calvinism teaches the "perseverance of the saints". The theology of the perseverance of the saints is based on various biblical arguments. For example, writing to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul says, "He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it to the end" (Phil. 1:6). The Apostle John quotes Jesus as saying: "and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." (John 10:28-29).
Commonly, if someone makes a half-hearted commitment to Christianity and later renounces Christianity, the advocates of eternal security often say that the person was never a Christian to begin with. Jesus said, "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' (Matthew 7-22-23).
The Reformed evangelist Paul Washer and like-minded individuals commonly criticize people who think they are saved because they merely "prayed a prayer" (commonly called the sinner's prayer), as far as wanting to become a Christian, but they never made Jesus their Lord and Savior (In other words, they merely wanted Jesus as their Savior, but never wanted to be under the lordship of Jesus Christ). In addition, the individuals never repented.
It is also called, "Once saved, always saved", a nickname for the belief that we are eternally saved from sin and damnation to hell once and for all eternally by faith alone, sola fide, by believing in Jesus Christ as one's own personal Savior, without any merit or any earning of salvation by anything the repentant sinner can do, and that once it has been given and received by accepting Christ "into your heart" as Lord and Savior, salvation and eternal glory in heaven with God cannot ever be lost or forfeited or revoked. See Romans 8:38-39; 10:10-11.
Martin Luther famously wrote: "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger...No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day." (Martin Luther: Letter to Melanchthon)[1]
There are those who reject this doctrine as a heresy[2] on the basis of the following texts:
- Ezekiel 18:24
Hebrews 6:4-8
1 Peter 2:15-16
2 Peter 2:18-22
Jude 3-4, 8, 12-13, 16-19 [3]
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
Matthew 7:21-23; 25:14-46
James 2:14-26 and 1 John 3:17-18
- Compare Romans 8:1 with 1 John 3:7-8.
- See Luke 13:6-9; 19:12-26.
This is the contrasting doctrine of "conditional security" which is dependent on "good works" as necessary to retain the gift of unmerited salvation. Romans 2:3-13.[4]
Rejection of the doctrine of unconditional eternal security is seen as part of the Great Apostasy from the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
See Also
- Sinner's prayer
- Repentance
- Arminianism
- Epistle to the Romans: Controversy
- Antinomianism
- Leviticus 18
- Nicolaitans
- Corporal and spiritual works of mercy
- Sloth (sin)
- Presumption (sin)
- Predestination
- The Decay of Conscience
References
- ↑ See the following:
- Was Luther an Antinomian? (justforcatholics.org) A sympathetic assessment of Luther's Letter to Melancthon by a Roman Catholic apologist.
- Online text of Martin Luther's Letter to Phillip Melancthon Sin Boldly (scollpublishing.com) Let Your Sins Be Strong: A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521, From the Wartburg (Segment) Translated by Erika Bullmann Flores from: Dr. Martin Luther's Saemmtliche Schriften Dr, Johannes Georg Walch, Ed. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.), Vol. 15,cols. 2585-2590.
- ↑ Primarily the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church
- Orthodox Christian Information Center - Justification by Faith Alone? The Reply of Patriarch Jeremiah II to the Lutheran Tübingen Theologians, Concerning the Augsburg Confession (16th cent.) (orthodoxinfo.com) "It is necessary to join our good works together with the mercy from above."
- The Orthodox Church Affirms Conditional Security (evangelicalarminians.org)
- Orthodox Apologetics: The Biblical Doctrine of Salvation (Part One: Predestination, Incarnation, Grace, Faith, and Works (orthodox-apologetics.blogspot.com)
- Grace and Justification - Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part III, Section One, Chapter 3, Article 2 (scborromeo.org)
- ↑ Jude 16-19 was seen as especially applicable to Martin Luther because of his polemic against the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and his doctrine of Christian freedom and unconditional salvation; see his pamphlet On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church and the Catholic document of Pope Leo X, the papal bull Exsurge Domini Condemning the Errors of Martin Luther.
- ↑ " To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good" Romans 2:7-10 KJV (boldface emphasis added).
External links
See the following sources related to the controversy over the doctrine of unconditional eternal security:
- licentiousness - Roget Thesaurus (classic.net.bible.org)
- The Expository Files - Licentiousness (bible.ca)
- 18.2. Christian Liberty or Licentiousness (biblestudytools.com)
- Bible verses about Licentiousness (From Forerunner Commentary) Richard T. Ritenbaugh, John W. Ritenbaugh (bibletools.org)
- A Historical Examination of the Doctrine of Eternal Security, Jeff Paton (eternalsecurity.us)
- Once Saved Always Saved - Fact or Fiction? (preparingforeternity.com) Eternal Security: "Salvation in Christ cannot be lost, no matter what one does, because salvation is not dependent on works, but faith in Christ alone. 'As it is written, The just shall live by faith alone.' 'For we hold that a man is justified by faith alone apart from works of the law.' "
This is Martin Luther's reading of Romans 1:17,3:28.
See Sola fide. - Luther Added The Word "Alone" to Romans 3:28? (beggersallreformation.blogspot.com)
- The Aquila Report - Justification by Faith Alone: Martin Luther and Romans 1:17. Justification is a righteousness that God gives freely to those who believe. (theaquilareport.com) The righteousness is a legal judgment, not a spiritual or ontological change
- Lingonier Ministries: Justification by Faith Alone: Martin Luther and Romans 1:17
R. C. Sproul describes the moment of awakening Martin Luther had as he read Romans 1:17 (video embedded) (lingonier.org) - Martin Luther's Preface to The Epistle to the Romans pdf (newcreationlibrary.net)
- Sin boldly (Did Luther really mean it the way we use it today? (jpserrano.com) "Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger...No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day." (Martin Luther: Letter to Melanchthon)
- Total and Complete Forgiveness (josephprince.org) "But you don't confess your sins to God in order to be forgiven. You already have total and complete forgiveness because of the blood of Jesus."
Pastor Joseph Prince boldly asserts with complete confidence a scripture-based argument that all sins, past, present, and future are already forgiven, and there is no need to confess any sin committed. Salvation in Christ cannot be lost, no matter how heinous and vile the sin might be. All of your sins are already forgiven. God will never condemn you.
He contradicts the Bible's conditional-forgiveness teaching in 1 John 1:9:
"IF we confess our sins - [ then ] he will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". (John does not say, "he has already forgiven all of our sins and cleansed us from all unrighteousness"—and John is not addressing his letter to unbelievers he is seeking to convert, asking them to confess their sins and receive Christ as their Savior once and for all, but to Christians who already believe and have hope in him.) See also James 5:14-16 and John 20:21-23 - The Truth About Martin Luther: And Why So Few Read His Works (jesus-is-savior.com)
Martin Luther's licentious blasphemy in his own words - Catholic Bible 101: Luther's Revolution (catholicbible101.com)
Luther opened the door to licentious behavior - Christians Shall Be Rewarded According to Their Works Trumpet Ministries, Inc. (wor.org)
A scripture-based argument that those who have been saved and afterward act wickedly will be irrevocably condemned to hell, unless they repent. - Let God Be True!: Once Saved, Always Saved. One heresy leads to another heresy—requiring two lies! The lie of decisional regeneration needs the lie of guaranteed eternal life to comfort the "saved" that continue living in sin. (audio play option included) (letgodbetrue.com/sermons)
- Into the Light Ministries: The Truth About Unconditional Eternal Security (intothelight.org)
The author says it is a foul doctrine. - Eternal Security: A lie from HELL - Part 2, Part 3 (three-part video) (youtube.com)
(Part 1 is accessible from the Youtube site.) - Catholic priest preaches on sin and salvation (youtube.com)
- Purity of Heart, Pope John Paul II, General Audience of 10 December (ewtn.com)
- The Fallacy of Salvation and Justification by Faith Alone (dream-prophecy.blogspot)
Argument from scripture and the writings of the 19th century Swedish philosopher and visionary mystic Emanuel Swedenborg founder of The New Church (New Jerusalem Church) (see Paul's warning: Colossians 2:18-19 with commentaries on 2:18).
Compare the following Bible texts:
See also:
