THE Holy Scriptures affirm that, on believing in Christ, we have everlasting life. “This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 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 " (1 John 5:11-1311And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These 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. (1 John 5:11‑13)).
The following letter shows the terrible evil of being taught the opposite of this. Its importance leads us to give it entire:—
DEAR SIR,—Having read your little book, the " Blood of Jesus," and derived much benefit from it, we feel very anxious to know if we rightly understand the sentence on page 67:—" What is needed is to know that we are saved—absolutely, perfectly, eternally saved."
We take this to mean that it is a part of present salvation to know that we are from this moment saved to all eternity; that is, delivered from any possibility of apostasy. We think, if this were our privilege, it would be salvation indeed! Yet how are we to account for those who, having once enjoyed religion, have been finally lost.
We think we have had sufficient evidence of the fearful existence of such cases, and therefore we can hardly venture to indulge such a hope.
Our deep and long-continued anxiety on this and other points has induced us to trouble you.
Our parents have carefully trained us in Scriptural truth, and we have from infancy sat under a gospel ministry. We should be only too happy to know that we are saved—ETERNALLY saved—but fear to cast off an old faith for one which would be much more agreeable. We have so often heard “the salt may lose its savor," and this makes us feel, when our faith is strongest, instant death is the most desirable thing, lest a continuance in this life should cost us our salvation.
We each thought of writing, this having for some time troubled us, but feared to do so till, in a recent conversation, we discovered each other's thoughts on the subject, and determined to write.
We have not told our friends about the unsettled state of our minds, because we know if we did we should be advised to read books confirming us in their views; and we wish to avoid controversy, as it is only satisfaction of mind we desire on this, to us, very important point.
We don't know what apology to offer, other than that we are very anxious about it.
With many thanks to you as the author of the " Blood of Jesus," and " Streams from Lebanon,',
believe us, &c.
To this letter we gave the following answer: —
MY DEAR FRIENDS,—I received your sadly interesting letter; and as I could not answer it for a day or two, I sent you one or two things to read. I would. especially call your attention to the little book which
I forwarded.
That is the sort of truth you need to know now to give you divine emancipation from the legal bondage in which you are held by " the traditions of men." I do not think it would be of any use entering on the Scripture proof that would show you the impossibility of a divinely-quickened soul apostatizing and, being lost. The way to make you get out of the " old things" is to present the new—to tell you more of our precious Savior—that is what that little book will do; and if the Holy Ghost fill you with the truth that the believer and Christ are one—as the tract shows it—you will be so established in Him and in the certainty of your salvation in Him, that you would only smile at the unscriptural notion that Christ could lose two of the members of His body, for if believers, and having the Holy Ghost, you are members of His " body." (Eph. 5)
I remember when I was very ill, and could hardly walk, that I consulted one of the first physicians of the day; and after he examined me he said, " There is nothing organically wrong with you, but your constitution is extremely low; you have worn yourself down; you must go off at once to a watering place, and do nothing for some months, and you will get over it. Take also as much nourishing food as possible." I followed his advice, and eventually my local ailments ceased to trouble me as my constitution got stronger.
This is your case spiritually: all local ailments will cease if your soul's general health were improved by breathing the free air of full gospel liberty, and feeding by faith on Christ in all His fullness. When we know our oneness with Christ in this, that, on our believing, the life of Him who is risen from the dead and dieth no more, is communicated to us, so that the believer can say, " No longer live I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loveth me, and gave Himself for me "—how could one lose the very life of the rise's Christ of God? As soon could Christ fall away and be lost as one of His members.
But many preachers and teachers give us only a change wrought on our own nature, and they call that being born again; but that could not be, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh; and in the new birth a new nature or life is communicated, so that in reality, and, by no mere figure of speech, " Christ is in us," and we are one with Him in our being in Him " partakers of the divine nature." If you would look at the 1st Epistle of John, 4:9-19, you would see how free, full, and sure the work of God for us poor sinners is:—
(1.)In ver. 9 we have life. God is love, and He has manifested it in giving His only begotten Son, that we might live through Him.
(2.)This love is shown in propitiation: " He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
(3.)This love leads to the indwelling of God in us, ver. 12-16: " God dwelleth in us." He hath given us of His Spirit.
(4.)This love gives boldness in the day of judgment because of our identification, our oneness with Christ: "Because as He is, so are we in this world." " Love with us "—God's love in Christ, of which he has just been writing—" is made perfect; " it has reached its full limits in giving us an unfearing boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is so are we—thus making us one with the risen and glorified Lord Jesus at God's right hand. Perfect love like this on God's part casteth out fear.
You wish to know how you can reconcile the certainty of eternal salvation with the apostasy of those who have once enjoyed religion. There are multitudes who have enjoyed religion who fall away from that, but none ever fall away from Christ and the possession of divine life. " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life "—" shall not come unto judgment, but is passed from death unto life." Mere profession, or even the natural man worked upon by means of the powerful preaching of the gospel, will all come to nothing; but wherever there is the implantation of the life of Christ—we quickened together with Him—that will last forever. He calls it " everlasting life."
There are two things in Scripture, God's grace and man's responsibility. God's grace effectually and eternally saves every believer, and the soul manifests salvation by a life becoming the gospel, and following Christ to the end; whereas the mere professor, who anon with joy receives the word, and for a while endures, in time of temptation or persecution for the Word's sake, falls away not from Christ, but from a profession of having Christ which had " no root."
I cannot tell you how sad I felt on reading your letter, especially where you say, “We have so often heard that the salt may lose its savor, and this makes us feel, when our faith is strongest, instant death is the most desirable thing, lest a continuance in this life should cost us our salvation." We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. It is quite true that God addresses professing Christians as under responsibility, being set in the fullness of His grace, in the height of privilege, to show a corresponding life of holy fruit-bearing and obedience; but all real Christians will delight in this, and endeavor to answer the end of their high calling, not in order to be saved, but because they are so; while those who have only a name to live will fall away from their nominal Christianity. There has never been one soul who had life in Christ, who has fallen away and been lost since the beginning of Christianity, and none ever will or can.
Just look at this word of our blessed Lord's-" And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness: even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Sit down before such a precious utterance of the true and faithful Witness, and say, "O my soul, look at that, how true it is, that on the authority of my Redeemer thou halt everlasting life." What grace there is in this, that eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! How different from the legal doctrine man would teach me: That on believing in Christ I have life, and it will be made eternal or not, just as I behave myself! Surely this is not like “the God of all grace," who gave me His only begotten Son to die for me and rise again. This is not grace at all; it is merely tantalizing me with an uncertain hope—suspending my salvation on my good behavior, and not on the blood-shedding of Jesus. If I were saved thus I would not be able to join the new song in glory, and sing, as they all do there, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain," for I would bring in the discordant note, and say, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and my good behavior." Your sensitive hearts would feel horrified at such a thought; but that is what the doctrine would lead to if logically carried out. But " 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 we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:8-108For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8‑10)).
There is salvation for you by grace through faith, and all as the gift of God; and it is everlasting, for " the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" on His part; that is, He does not change His mind and recall His gifts, and fall from His purpose of grace. What you should do is to continue to increase in divine knowledge of God's grace and His testimony to His Son. “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." There are vast fields of Scripture truth you have never explored, and of which you have no conception. Get up your constitution and your soul's strength by living by the faith of the Son of God, and avoid all controversy with any one. It is the God-ward side of Christianity you need to know—the positive side of your blessing in Christ, as says Eph. 1 " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before. Him in love, &c.; wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." Let Him. occupy your whole thoughts. See how frequently “in Christ," " in Him," occur in Ephesians. “Your life is hid with Christ in God." Do not think of yourselves at all, but get absorbed with Christ and let your whole aim be that I may know Him, and let your affections center in Him as your only object; be occupied. supremely with Him, and you will be filled with His fullness, and. be satisfied in conscience, mind, and heart. God rests in Him-in Him we rest. I deeply sympathize with you, and write this with much pleasure, and will be happy to hear from you again; while I pray the Lord to fill you with all knowledge and spiritual understanding, and give you to rest in the Lord Jesus as your Savior.