The Eternal Security of the Believer
Stanley Bruce Anstey
Table of Contents
The Eternal Security of the Believer
In the Christian world today (Christendom) every fundamental doctrine concerning the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is under attack, or is being undermined by false teaching. The doctrine of the eternal security of the believer is no exception. Although this truth is taught clearly in the Scriptures, many sincere Christians are confused about it.
It is said that after a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, it is possible that he could lose his salvation and become lost again through allowing sin in his life. Hence, the believer's salvation is a conditional thing dependent on how he behaves after he is saved. An old conditional-security preacher said (erroneously), “Getting to heaven is like riding a bike. When you believe the gospel, the Lord puts you on it, but you have to pedal. If you stop pedalling, you’ll fall off and not get there!” This mistaken idea teaches that the believer must do his part to ensure that he gets to heaven; his salvation, therefore, depends upon his works. This is a plain denial of Scripture (Rom. 4:1-8; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5, etc.). This false doctrine is a serious error, for it undermines the grace of God and the finished work of Christ. It also demeans the impeccable character of God.
Our desire in this booklet is to state the plain teachings of Scripture on this subject, so that there would be no mistake about the believer’s eternal security. And then to look at some of the main Scriptures that are wrongly used to support the false doctrine of conditional security, and to explain what those verses really mean so that our readers will see the error in those misinterpretations.
Scriptures That Teach the Eternal Security of the Believer
LUKE 15:3-6
“He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.”
This parable of the shepherd who found his lost sheep is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His work of seeking and saving souls (Luke 19:10). “Shoulders,” in Scripture, speak of strength. How beautiful it is to see that that is where the lost sheep are laid after they are found! Isaiah 9:6, tells us that in the Millennium the government of the whole world will be on the Lord’s “shoulder” (singular), but here, the believer is seen resting safely on His “shoulders” (plural). This speaks of the double security that we have in Christ. We are safe and secure in His salvation.
Note: The shepherd in this parable didn't put the newly found sheep down half way to the house and say, “You must do your part now and walk rightly the rest of the way home. And if you don't, I won’t let you in.” No, he brought the sheep all the way home. This tells us that we have an all-the-way-home Saviour! Those whom He saves He takes all the way home to heaven.
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.”
Here, the Lord said that He would “in no wise” cast out anyone who came to Him to be saved. This is a plain statement of Scripture that cannot be interpreted any other logical way. It means what it says. There is simply nothing that the believer can do or say that would cause the Lord to cast him out after he has come to Him for salvation. He has pledged with His Word that He will not do that; to do so would be to go back on His promise (Num. 23:19).
JOHN 6:39-40
“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. And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
These verses state that the Lord will not lose any of those whom the Father has given Him. This means that every person the Lord saves and starts out on the path to heaven gets there in the end. Not one of them will get lost on the way! Compare also John 17:12.
JOHN 10:28-29
“I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.”
The Lord Himself says plainly, “They shall never perish.” If we can take God at His Word, we don’t need to go any farther than this. Every believer can rest assured on what the Lord said here—“They shall never perish.” There is really no other way to interpret these verses than by simply taking them at face value. No sober Christian could get anything from this passage but what it plainly says. However, we are told by some that when God says “never” He doesn’t really mean it—that there are conditions connected with it. But that is not what the Lord says here.
These verses not only show that the believer is secure in the “hand” of the Lord, but also that he is safe and secure in the “hand” of God the Father! Again, this shows that the believer is doubly secure. The Lord says that “no one shall seize them out” of that security. Yet in the face of these plain statements there are some who will tell us that while no other person can pluck a believer out of the Lord’s hand, the believer can pluck himself out. That is nothing but a plain denial of what Scripture states. It says “No one.” Is not the believer someone? The KJV says, “Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” But the word “man” really should not be in the text. It is broader than just men. The thought is that no creature—man or devil—can take one of the Lord’s sheep out of that place of eternal security. To say that one could be plucked out of the Father’s hand is to say that some creature is stronger than God Himself!
A lovely type of this double security is found in Exodus 26:15-17. The tabernacle can be taken as a type of the house of God today, which is composed of believers (Eph. 2:20-21; Heb. 3:6; 1 Peter 2:5). The “boards” of the tabernacle are a type of individual believers. They were held in place by “two tenons” that stuck out of the bottom of the boards and were placed in sockets of silver. Silver, we know, is a type of redemption in Scripture. Therefore, it is a picture of the believer standing on the redemption of Christ. It is noteworthy that the word “tenons” could be translated “hands” (KJV margin; J. N. Darby Translation footnote), and hence, suggests the two hands of the Father and the Son, in John 10:28-29, that are holding the believer securely in the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ.
JOHN 14:16
“I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever.”
When the Spirit of God comes to dwell in the believer upon his receiving Christ as his Saviour, the Scripture says that He will be with him “forever.” If he could lose his salvation, the Spirit would have to depart from him, but that will never happen, because the Lord said He will be “with you forever.”
ROMANS 6:23 and 11:29
Comparing Romans 6:23 which says, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” with Romans 11:29 that says, “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” we see that God does not give a gift and then take it back again. “I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it” (Eccl. 3:14).
ROMANS 8:30-39
“Whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 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.”
The Apostle speaks of the purpose of God to save the elect. They are “foreknown” by God (vs. 29), “predestinated” to a place of blessing with Christ, “called” by the gospel, and “justified” when they believe the gospel. Then, he adds that those who are justified are going to be “glorified.” They are going to reach the glory with Christ in the end! These are five great links of divine purpose that cannot be broken. He does not allow for the possibility of some who are justified not being glorified. All the elect will reach the glory in the end.
Then in verses 31-35, the Apostle asks seven questions that emphasize the impossibility of any creature—be it man or devil—that could thwart God in His purpose to bless those whom He has predestinated. He speaks of seven external things in verse 35 and of ten unseen things in verses 38-39—all of which are not able to take a person whom God has predestinated out of his blessing in Christ. We wonder how anyone who reads this passage of Scripture could ever think that a Christian could be lost after Christ has saved him.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:7-8
“Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This passage states that believers on the Lord Jesus are going to be confirmed “unto the end” by none other than Himself. He keeps them safe right to the end. It is striking when we consider who the Apostle is writing to—the Corinthians! These Christians were guilty of all sorts of sins and failures. If any Christians were in danger of slipping away from their salvation, you would think that it would have been these.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:13-17
“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile [corrupt] the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”
The Apostle speaks of three kinds of workers in the house of God distinguishing them by the words, “If any man ... ” The first is a Christian who serves well and builds according to the will of God. It says, “He shall receive a reward.” The second worker is a Christian who doesn’t serve according to the will of God. It says that he will “suffer loss”—but not the loss of his salvation. He still would be “saved; yet so as by fire.” It is clear from this that a true believer who does not behave well loses his reward, but not his salvation.
The third worker is one who merely professes to be a Christian and carries on in the place of a Christian servant, but he is not a true believer. It says, “him shall God destroy”—which is to come under God’s judgment.
1 CORINTHIANS 5:5
“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
This verse shows us that if a believer goes off into sin he will come under the punitive discipline of God, but his “spirit” will still be “saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” If he lives his life in “the pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25), he will end up with a saved soul, but a lost life.
People who hold the false doctrine of a conditional security talk about the degree of sin in which a person must go to cause him to lose his salvation. Well, could you get any further into sin than this person? Yet it is said that his “spirit” was going to be “saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
EPHESIANS 1:13 and 4:30
“In Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”
This verse tells us that when we get saved we are sealed with the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God (Acts 5:32; Rom. 5:5; 1 Thess. 4:8). Ephesians 4:30, adds that we are “sealed unto the day of redemption.” The aspect of redemption in this verse is that of our bodies when the Lord comes for us—the Rapture (Rom. 8:23). Redemption means not only to be “bought back,” but also to be “set free.” Our souls are presently redeemed (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7); but in that day, our whole beings will be set free from the effects of sin and we will be glorified like Christ (Rom. 8:30; 1 John 3:2; Phil. 3:21). This means that the Spirit of God, who seals us upon our believing, never departs throughout our whole life. He is with us from the moment we are saved until the moment we are glorified and taken home to heaven.
PHILIPPIANS 1:6
“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform [finish] it.”
Here, we learn that when God begins a work in a person and saves him, He is going to “finish it.” None of the works that God undertakes to perform will be left undone; this includes salvation. If He begins a work in someone, He is going to finish it and bring that person safe home to heaven.
HEBREWS 13:5
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
There is, clearly, no condition attached to this promise of the Lord. He is going to keep us with Himself, and since that will be in heaven, then we will be there too!
HEBREWS 10:14
“For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
The “sanctified,” here, are those whom God has set apart to Himself by new birth (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). By their faith in the finished work of Christ, these, in whom God has begun a work (Phil. 1:6), are perfected as to their “conscience of sins” (Heb. 9:9; 10:1-2). Hence, they are given peace and the assurance of their salvation. Notice: this work of perfecting the believer’s conscience is “forever!” It doesn’t say, “Perfected ... until they fail in the path of faith,” but “perfected forever.”
1 PETER 1:5
“Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
This passage is speaking of how God has reserved an inheritance in heaven for the believer, and that he is being “kept” for it on earth “by the power of God.” The aspect of salvation spoken of here is not the salvation of the soul when one believes the gospel, but rather, the salvation the believer gets at the end of the path. When the Lord comes (the Rapture), He is going to save us out of this world of corruption by taking us home to heaven (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:9; Heb. 9:28). It is a mercy that every sober Christian looks for (Jude 21). This verse in First Peter clearly states that we are kept by God's power until that moment.
1 JOHN 2:1
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.”
This verse tells us that if a believer sins and fails in the path in some way, the Lord Jesus works as his Advocate to bring him back into fellowship with God the Father. An advocate is one who handles all the affairs of his client. As our Advocate, the Lord takes up our cause before God the Father to restore us. He points to the blood first, and so to speak, says, “I’ve paid for that sin”—which is the force of “propitiation” (vs. 2). Then He goes to work on our conscience to produce repentance in us that leads to a confession of our having done wrong, whereby we are restored to communion (1 John 1:9). Without His work as an Advocate, no believer would ever turn and get restored. We have much for which to thank the Lord!
Notice that His advocacy is “with the Father.” This implies that while the link of communion has been broken, the link of relationship the believer has with God as his Father is still standing. God is still his Father! When a child in our family doesn’t behave properly he does not cease to be part of the family, and it’s the same in God's family. The erring one will come under chastisement for his correction if he continues in his course of sin, but he is still part of the family. If the false doctrine we are considering were correct and it were possible for a believer to lose his salvation, it’s not an Advocate that he needs—it’s a Saviour! But Scripture doesn’t say that. When a child of God fails, Scripture introduces the Advocacy of Christ, not the need to get saved all over again. This false doctrine does away with Christ's Advocacy. If it were true, there never would be a time for Him to exercise it.
Some Types That Teach the Eternal Security of the Believer
GENESIS 7:16
This passage has to do with “Noah” and the “ark.” He is a type of Christ. In Genesis 6, as the “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), Noah is typical of Christ who, in His life, warned men to flee from the wrath to come. In Genesis 7, he is a type of Christ, “the Captain” of our “salvation” (Heb. 2:10), who secured our redemption by passing through the waters of judgment. In Genesis 8, Noah is seen as the head of a new world, and is typical of Christ in resurrection as the Head of the “new creation” (Rev. 3:14; 2 Cor. 5:17 – J. N. Darby Trans.).
The “ark” that Noah built to save his family (Heb. 11:7) is a type of the work of atonement that Christ accomplished on the cross to save all who are in the family of God. Each one who entered it was safe and secure from the waters of judgment that fell on the earth. To make the ark impervious to the elements, it had “pitch” on both the inside and the outside. The word “pitch,” is the same word as “atonement” in the original language, and it is translated elsewhere as such. The double coating of “pitch” on the ark speaks of the double aspect of Christ’s work in redemption. Firstly, there was propitiation (1 John 2:2; 4:10), which satisfied the holy claims of divine justice against sin; and there was also substitution (Heb. 9:28; 1 Peter 3:18), which refers to Christ taking the believer’s place in judgment. The ark also had “nests” inside for all who entered. This speaks of the rest and peace that Christ gives to all who come to Him in faith for salvation (Matt. 11:28; Rom. 5:1).
Our point in this type is that when Noah and his family got in the ark, it says, “And the LORD shut him in” (Gen. 7:16). When the door was shut, there is no record that it was ever opened again! So securely was it shut that when it was time for the redeemed family to get out they had to dismantle the ark (Gen. 8:14).
EXODUS 28:9-21
This passage has to do with the precious stones on the high priest’s garments. Aaron, the high priest in Israel, is a type of Christ our Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14; 10:21). The precious stones that Aaron had in his “ephod” and “breastplate” are typical of the people of God who are precious to God. The “ephod” was connected to the shoulders of the high priest (vs. 12). It speaks of the security we have in Christ being safe on His shoulders (Luke 15:5). The “breastplate” covered the high priest’s heart. It speaks of how we are loved with the infinite love of Christ (Eph. 3:19). It is significant that the stones were held in place in the ephod and breastplate by “ouches of gold.” “Gold” speaks of what is divine. These gold “inclosings” (vs. 20) tell us that we are divinely held, not only on the Lord’s shoulders, but also on His heart! Nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).
JOSHUA 20:6
This chapter has to do with the “cities of refuge” which typify the safety and salvation the believer has in Christ. It is alluded to in Hebrews 6:18-20, where it says, “Who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.” We are told that the “slayer” was safe if he fled to one of the cities of refuge. He was to remain in that place of safety “until the death of the high priest.” But how wonderful to know that our Great High Priest is never going to die again! We are told that He “ever liveth” to make intercession for us (Heb. 7:25)—we are safe forever then!
RUTH 2:1
In this book we read that Naomi and her husband Elimelech left the land of God’s appointment (Canaan) and went to the land of Moab. It’s a picture of the Lord’s people losing heart and turning to the world. But we find that God worked in Naomi’s heart and brought her back, and she brought Ruth with her. Upon returning, Ruth was brought into contact with Boaz, who is a type of Christ, and Ruth found “rest” in him (Ruth 3:1). We learn from Ruth 2:1, that Boaz was a “kinsman” of Naomi’s husband. That means that even though Naomi had wandered away from the Lord and her brethren and had taken a position among the enemies of God’s people, she never lost her relationship with Boaz.
PSALM 51:12
“Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” This is not a type, but it is an Old Testament confirmation of the believer’s security. David had committed adultery and murdered Bathsheba’s husband. These are very serious sins. If anybody could lose his salvation, it would be him. Yet he didn’t pray for the restoration of his salvation, but for the restoration of the “joy” of his salvation. By this we learn that if a child of God sins, it is the “joy” of his salvation that he loses, not the salvation itself. He becomes miserable because he is out of communion with his God (Psa. 32:3-4). For a believer that is a most unhappy thing, but he doesn’t lose his relationship with God.
ACTS 27:44
“And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.” The voyage spoken of in this chapter is a picture of the history of the Church. We do not have time to go into the details now, but only to say that it is significant that the people all made it to shore, even though the “ship” (the outward testimony of the Church) was destroyed.
Common Misunderstandings
We have looked briefly at about two dozen Scriptures that teach the truth of the eternal security of the believer. Many, if not all of these, could not be logically interpreted in any other way than what they plainly say. If the reader is an honest seeker of truth, there should be no doubt about the believer’s salvation being eternally secure.
There are, however, a number of passages in the Word of God that seem to suggest that a believer could lose his salvation. We want to look at these Scriptures now to see what they mean. It might be puzzling to the reader as to why there are some Scriptures that teach the eternal security of the believer, and some that seem to say that a believer could lose his salvation. If this is troubling any, let us rest assured that the infallible Word of God does not contradict itself. If there is an apparent difficulty, it is not the fault of God’s Word, but in our understanding. As a general rule, when we meet with what seems to be a contradiction in the Word of God, we suggest that the reader hold fast to the plain statements of Scripture that cannot really be interpreted any other way, and have another look at the verse or verses that seem to say otherwise. There likely will be a phrase or two in the passage that we have misunderstood. If we pray about it, and ask the Lord for help, He will show us the true meaning. We’ll find that the Scriptures really don’t contradict themselves. This is the only logical way to handle the difficulty. Mr. Hayhoe used to say, “Never let the things that we don’t understand in Scripture spoil our enjoyment of the things that we do understand.”
These passages that appear to deny eternal security are an example. They are often surrounded with rather ambiguous expressions that could be taken a number of different ways. On the other hand, the Scriptures we’ve looked at thus far are so plain that it would be hard to see something else in them. Why would someone want to throw out the plainest statements of Scripture that we can surely trust, because they come across some apparent contradictions, which are surrounded with expressions that are admittedly difficult?
Oftentimes, to come up with these faulty interpretations one has to infer things into the passage that are not there to make it fit the interpretation. Peter warns of those who are “untaught and ill-established” in the Word, who “wrest” the Scriptures to make them fit their ideas (2 Peter 3:16 – J. N. Darby Trans.). This is dangerous ground. It is hardly coming to the Scriptures with an open and honest heart. The habit of the Apostle Paul was to reason “out of the Scriptures” (Acts 17:2), but he didn’t reason into the Scriptures—and neither should we. J. N. Darby said, “People try to torture passages to make them consistent with their doctrines, instead of taking the doctrine from the passages.” Those who try to read between the lines of Scripture, inferring things into them, are really adding to the Word of God. We trust this will not be the case as we proceed with our study of these passages that seem to deny the believer’s eternal security.
Four Main Causes for Misunderstanding Certain Passages Regarding This Subject
Before we look at some of these problematic Scriptures that seem to suggest that a person could lose his or her salvation, we would first mention four main causes for the faulty interpretations. In almost every case, one of these four things is at the bottom of the misunderstanding.
1) The Need For Understanding the Context
The first cause for the faulty interpretations on this subject is that they are often taken out of context. Perhaps the greatest principle required for correct Bible interpretation is context. When buying a house, the realtor tells us that the three most important rules in making a purchase of lasting value are, #1) location, #2) location, #3) location. Similarly, in Bible interpretation the three most important principles are, #1) context, #2) context, #3) context.
Not only do we want to understand the context of the passage under consideration, but we want to be sure that the interpretation also coincides with the rest of Scripture. The old adage, “We must interpret Scripture in the light of all other Scripture,” is important to keep in mind when we look at this subject. The Apostle Peter said, “The scope of no prophecy of Scripture is had from its own interpretation” (2 Peter 1:20 – J. N. Darby Trans.). In the footnote of the Darby Translation, he says that the passage could almost be translated, “No prophecy explains itself.” In a sense, it takes the whole Bible to explain any one passage in it. It’s true that Peter was referring to the understanding of prophecy, but the principle he lays down is very broad and applies to all lines of truth in the Bible.
Sad to say, the verses that are brought forward to deny the eternal security of the believer are not only isolated from the context of the passage wherein they are found, but they also do not have the support of the general tenor of the rest of Scripture. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we prayerfully and carefully read each passage in its context to make sure that we are “rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
2) The Christian Audience is Often a Mixed Multitude
The second reason for faulty interpretations on this subject is not realizing that the writer’s audience is a mixed multitude of real believers and merely professing believers. It should be no surprise to us that the Christian profession would have a mixture, for the Lord indicated it in many of His parables. He said that there would be “tares among the wheat” (Matt. 13:25, etc.).
For example, in writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul allowed for the possibility of there being mere professing Christians among them. In the first chapter he said, “All that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Cor. 1:2). In the second chapter, he alludes to this possibility again when he speaks of three classes of people. He refers to the “natural man,” who doesn’t have the Spirit of God and is not saved (1 Cor. 2:14), the “spiritual” man, who is saved and has the Spirit governing him (1 Cor. 2:15), and the “carnal” man (1 Cor. 3:1) who is saved and has the Spirit, but lives after the flesh. Again, in the third chapter, the Apostle distinguishes between three kinds of workers in the house of God by using the words, “If any man ... ” The first is a Christian who serves well and builds according to the will of God. He says, “He shall receive a reward.” The second worker is a Christian who doesn’t serve according to the will of God. He says that he will “suffer loss” of his reward, but quickly adds that he himself would be “saved; yet so as by fire.” Then, in the case of the third worker, the Apostle refers to a sham believer who professes to be a Christian and carries on in the place of a Christian servant, but is not real—the presence of such persons in the temple of God “defile [corrupt]” it. He says, “Him shall God destroy” (Compare Matt. 25:30).
It is important, therefore, to keep in mind that many of the exhortations in Scripture are to a mixed profession. Thus, there is something in those exhortations for the conscience of empty professors among the real believers. An example is found in Colossians 1:23.
3) The Difference Between Backsliding and Apostasy
The third reason for the faulty interpretations on this subject is due to not knowing the difference between a backslider and an apostate. Throughout the epistles, the writers refer to two kinds of departures from God: one is backsliding, and the other is apostasy. Both are bad, but one is infinitely worse. If the reader confuses the two, he will surely get into difficulty on this subject.
Backsliding happens when a believer gets out of communion with the Lord, and gets away from the sense of His presence, and into a course of sin. He doesn’t lose his soul’s salvation from the eternal penalty of his sins, nor does he really get out of the Lord’s presence, because the Lord never leaves nor forsakes His people (Heb. 13:5). But he loses the sense of the Lord’s presence, and may feel very far away from the Lord in his soul. It all starts when a believer allows sin in his life, and doesn’t judge it. It is often some small sin left unjudged, and as a result his communion is interrupted, and thus, a course of backsliding follows.
Apostasy is a different kind of departure from God. It is the renouncing of a confession that one has once made, and the abandoning of the Christian faith. It is something that only a mere professor (one who never was saved) could do. For such a person there is no recovery! (Heb. 6:4-8; 10:26-31) These two kinds of departures are illustrated in Matthew 26 in two of the Lord’s apostles—Peter and Judas. Peter backslid and was restored through the faithfulness of God (Luke 24:34; John 21:15-19). Judas apostatized and ended up lost in eternity (Psa. 109:7; Acts 1:25).
A person who backslides is called to return to the Lord (Jer. 3:12); a person who apostatizes is not called to return, because there is no return! The Bible says, “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead” (Prov. 21:16). It is “impossible” to “renew them again unto repentance” (Heb. 6:6). After Peter departed, he turned back to the Lord; Judas departed, but he never turned to the Lord. With one there was repentance (Luke 22:61-62); with the other there was only remorse (Matt. 27:3 – J. N. Darby Trans.).
Occasionally, we’ll hear someone speak of a backslidden Christian as having fallen away. We don’t want to make anyone “an offender for a word” (Isa. 29:21), but “falling away,” in. Scripture, refers to apostasy (Heb. 6:6; 2 Thess. 2:3), not to backsliding. Peter shows that while a Christian cannot be an apostate, he can be swept “along with” the current of apostasy, and give up certain doctrines and practices. “Ye therefore beloved, knowing these things before, take care lest, being led away along with the error of the wicked” (2 Peter 3:17 – J. N. Darby Trans.). The “wicked,” in this verse, refers to the apostates described earlier in the epistle. Peter warns the saints that if they didn’t “take care,” they could get swept along with the current of the apostates’ error. It wouldn’t make them apostates, but they would be backslidden. Peter knew what he was talking about when he said this; he was speaking from experience. He got off into bad company, and was led “along with” their evil ways. Then, when he was challenged about his relationship with the Lord Jesus, he denied Him. While a Christian can never “fall away,” he can “fall” from his steadfastness of devotion to the Lord (2 Peter 3:17), and from the principles of grace (Gal. 5:4).
A Christian has two links with God. One is his link of relationship; there is nothing that could be stronger. No man, or devil, or sin can break that relationship, for he is eternally secure in it. If we know the Lord as our Saviour, we are in a position before God as being “in Christ.” No condemnation can ever be attached to those in that place (Rom. 8:1). It’s the very place of acceptance that Christ Himself is in before God. Simply put, to be “in Christ” is to be in Christ’s place before God. All the favour of God that rests on Christ, as He now is on high in the glory, rests on the believer! The other link the Christian has with God is the link of communion; there is nothing that could be more fragile. Our link of communion with the Lord can be broken by the smallest sin. And then, if it is not judged and confessed to the Lord, a course of backsliding begins—even if, at first, it is a very small departure.
It is important to understand the difference between these two things when considering our subject because some of the warnings in the New Testament are to those (being mere professors) who were in danger of apostatizing. If we confuse these warnings with exhortations to believers, we will get into bad doctrine. Now some might ask, “How do you know that real Christians can’t apostatize?” Because Scripture allows for true believers to be restored if they fail, but Scripture does not teach that an apostate can be restored. When apostates depart from God, it is “impossible” to “renew them again unto repentance” (Heb. 6:6).
4) Pre-conceived Notions
A fourth reason for faulty interpretations on Scriptural subjects is pre-conceived, erroneous ideas, hindering a person's understanding. Three great things have contributed to the ruin of the Church’s testimony. They all begin with the letter “I”—ignorance, indifference, and insubjection. The greatest of these, we believe, is ignorance. It was the same problem in Israel. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hos. 4:6; Prov. 19:2).
Some of the mistaken ideas on doctrine that people have are a product of the environment in which they live in today’s Christian world. Unfortunately, conventional Christian theology is not very Scripturally accurate on some doctrinal terms. If a person has imbibed some of these mistaken ideas that have come to be accepted as truth, and then tries to understand certain statements in Scripture concerning the security of a believer, we can well understand why he or she might be confused. With all the different teachings in evangelical Christendom today, we can hardly fault someone for honestly being mixed up. There will be a need, on the part of some, of unlearning some things. As we proceed, we hope to unravel some of these false notions, and thus, clear up the confusion on the subject.
In each of the passages that we are about to look at, it will be seen that one or more of the above four things are at the bottom of the misunderstanding.
Some Scriptures That Seem to Say That a Person Could Lose His Salvation
MATTHEW 7:21-23
“Not everyone that sayeth unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
In reading this casually, we might think that it is referring to someone who is not only saved, but he's out serving the Lord, and yet he ends up losing his salvation.
This misunderstanding is an example of not carefully reading the passage in its context. A careful reading shows that the person was never saved in the first place. He had made a profession, saying, “Lord, Lord,” but was without any inward reality. The context has to do with “false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing” (Matt. 7:7-20). These were shams. The Lord was alerting His hearers that there could be some among them who were such.
The Lord said to these persons (hypothetically), “I never knew you.” There was “never” a time in their history when they had a relationship with the Lord. They never were saved! The Lord didn’t say, “I knew you at one time, but now that you’ve sinned and turned away, I don't know you anymore.” Compare this with John 10:27, where the Lord says of true believers, “I know them.” These people never were saved because they hadn’t done “the will” of the Father, which, according to John 6:40, is to believe on the Lord Jesus. “This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life.”
Now we might wonder how these people did “many wonderful works” and “prophesied” in the Lord's Name if they weren't saved. However, there are plenty of accounts of people who have held positions in the so-called “ministry,” who preached the Word of God from the pulpit, and yet were not saved. John Wesley is an example. Judas Iscariot would be another (Matt. 10:1-7). John Wesley got saved later, but Judas was never saved. It is also possible for a person who is not saved to “cast out devils [demons].” Acts 19:13 furnishes us with an example. And again, Judas is another example (Matt. 10:1). The Lord's solemn assessment of their works was that they were only works of “iniquity.”
This passage, in Matthew 7, is given to show us just how far empty profession can go—even to the point of a person posing as a servant of the Lord! It is a real warning to anyone who would move in the things of God without having any inward reality.
MATTHEW 12:43-45
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.” This man is said to have been cleansed (i.e. saved) because the unclean spirit went out of him. He then turned and associated himself with wicked spirits so that he lost all which he had gained in being cleansed. He, therefore, lost his salvation, and his last state was worse than before he was cleansed.
This is an example of a passage having some unusual and ambiguous phrases. One has to infer things into it to make the mistaken interpretation fit. To say that this man was saved is implying something that is not in the passage. The Lord was speaking about the national departure of the Jews, from God, into wholesale idolatry. The context is that of the Lord being rejected, both by the common people in the villages of Galilee (Matt. 11), and the leaders in Judea (Matt. 12). He, therefore, gave this solemn warning concerning the nation.
The Lord speaks of this man as figuratively representing a whole “generation” of people, not any particular individual. In returning from Babylon the Jews had given up idolatry and the spiritism connected with it. The “unclean spirit,” in that sense, had gone out of the nation, thus leaving the house of Israel “empty, swept, and garnished.” But they had not given the Lord His rightful place in it as their Messiah. He told them that since their unbelief was so deep, it would manifest itself in a coming day by the nation returning to idolatry. This will happen when the Jews receive the Antichrist and worship the image of the Beast (John 5:43; Rev. 13:12-15). They would plunge into idolatry seven times worse than in the days of their pre-Babylonian captivity! The passage, therefore, has absolutely nothing to do with a Christian losing his salvation.
MATTHEW 13:5-6, 20-21
“Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away ... He that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the Word, and anon with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a awhile: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word, by and by he is offended.”
This is taken from the parable of the Sower. The various types of ground on which the seed fell depict the various kinds of hearts with which the Word of God comes into contact. This stony-ground hearer received the seed with joy. It is, therefore, assumed that he was saved, but when he was tested he fell away and lost his salvation.
The problem with this interpretation is assuming that receiving the Word is synonymous with being saved. It is, however, possible for a person to receive the Word of God without believing it in their heart. Simon the sorcerer is an example. He “believed” (Acts 8:13), but didn’t believe in his heart (Rom. 10:9). It might be argued that since the person received it with “joy” that he must have been happily saved. However, when a person rightly receives the Word of God, the initial effect is not joy, but rather sorrow and deep conviction. The conscience is stirred up in connection with the person's sins, which produces repentance. Joy follows when the person learns that God has put his sins away by the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. To receive the Word with joy indicates a superficial work; it is a tell-tale sign that something is not right. The person has not really understood his condition before God as a sinner, and thus, there has been no real conviction. F. G. Patterson said, “The first action of the Word is to make the conscience bad, creating unhappiness over one’s state—conviction of sin—anxiety, etc.”
There are many who have heard the Word and made a show of life initially, but time proved that they were not real. The Lord was indicating that in this stony-ground hearer. There is only one of the four grounds on which the seed fell that produced fruit. Fruit in a person’s life is what proves that he is truly saved. The stony-ground hearer was a mere professor without life.
MATTHEW 24:13
“He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
This verse has been used to support the false idea that a believer has to continue with the Lord in the path of faith until the end of his life, if he is going to be saved.
This interpretation is another example of not reading the verse in its context, nor understanding the use of certain biblical terms such as “saved.” Many who are confused on the doctrine of the believer’s security also think that the Church will go through the coming seven-year tribulation period. It only proves the old adage: “Bad doctrines rarely travel alone.”
The context here indicates that it is Jews, not Christians, being spoken of in the coming seven-year tribulation period. The Lord is describing events that will take place after the Church is called away to heaven. The preaching of the “gospel of the kingdom,” the setting up of “the abomination of desolation,” the “holy place” in the temple, the danger of desecrating the “Sabbath,” the mention of the “Great Tribulation,” and the Lord’s coming as the “Son of Man,” all point to the fact that it is speaking of a Jewish setting in a coming day. The passage has nothing to do with Christians losing their salvation. This is another example of inferring something into a passage of Scripture.
The “end,” in this verse, is not the end of a Christian’s life, but the “end” of the age, which will be the end of the Great Tribulation. The context supports this (vs. 3).
Furthermore, there is a misunderstanding of the meaning and use of the word “saved.” With many Christians, whenever that word appears in the text, they automatically assume that it is referring to salvation from the penalty of our sins. However, there are many aspects and usages of the word salvation, and it requires understanding the context of the passage to know which aspect is in view. Salvation is a comprehensive word used in Scripture that always carries the thought of deliverance from danger of some kind. It embraces every aspect of deliverance from danger and judgment in a believer’s life—from his justification to his glorification. Besides being saved from the penalty of our sins, there is an aspect of salvation that refers to deliverance from present spiritual dangers in this world (Rom. 5:10; Heb. 7:25; 1 Tim. 4:16; James 1:21; 1 Peter 4:18, etc.) and from physical dangers (2 Cor. 1:10; 1 Tim. 2:15; 4:10; 2 Kings 6:25). There is also an aspect of salvation that is future, when the Lord comes to deliver His people from the effects of sin by taking them home to heaven (Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:9; Heb. 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5).
Therefore, it is a mistake to confine the word to deliverance from hell. “Saved” is used in this passage in a practical and literal sense. Those who literally survive the Great Tribulation judgments and the deceptions of the Antichrist will make it to “the end of the age” to enter the millennial kingdom of Christ. The point of the verse is to encourage the faithful remnant of Jews to hang on to “the end of the age,” enduring the hardships and the spiritual wickedness that will mark that day, and they will be rewarded with deliverance into the kingdom.
MATTHEW 24:24
“If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”
This, somehow, has been taken to mean that a person could lose his salvation, even though the verse says nothing about it.
Again, the context here is Jewish. It has nothing to do with Christians who will not be on earth at this time. It simply means that God will not allow the “elect” Jews (the remnant) in the Great Tribulation to be deceived by the delusion of the Beast and the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:9-12; Rev. 9:1-11). The delusion will be so strong that if God didn’t act providentially, even the elect would swallow it. Thankfully, He won’t allow that to happen.
MATTHEW 25:26-30
“His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents ... .And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
It has been said that this man lost his salvation because he didn’t serve the Lord.
The mistake here, is assuming that because the man is called a “servant” that he is saved. This again is inferring something into the Scriptures. This person is called a "servant" because he took that ground by profession, and consequently, he was judged on that ground. This principle is consistent in Scripture (Matt. 12:37; Luke 19:22; 2 Sam. 1:1-16). Again, it shows how far empty profession can go—even to the point of taking the place of being one of the Lord’s servants. There are some clergymen in that place today. They profess to be believers—even being the Lord's servants—but they are not even saved! This passage shows that such pretension will not escape the Lord’s judgment. He will judge these false servants that have had the audacity to pose themselves as His ministers. They may have fooled men, but they haven’t fooled the Lord.
MARK 3:28-30
“Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”
This has been called, “The Unpardonable Sin.” We are told that if a believer commits this sin, he loses his salvation, and can never be saved again. Sad to say, there are some Christians who think that they are guilty of this unpardonable sin, and that they are now lost and have no hope of being saved.
The question we need to ask is, “What is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost?” The answer is in verse 30—“ ... because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” It is to attribute the power that worked in the Lord Jesus to Satan (vs. 22). In other words, it is saying that the Lord Jesus was associated with, and empowered by, the underworld in His ministry. It’s hard to conceive that anyone could invent a greater blasphemy than this. Let those who think they have committed the so-called "unpardonable sin" ask themselves, “Is the Lord Jesus truly the Son of God who came from heaven to save sinners?” If their answer is, “Yes,” then that is a clear proof that they haven’t committed the unpardonable sin of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit!” What Christian would ever say that the Lord Jesus had an unclean spirit? No backsliding Christian harbours the thought that the Lord Jesus came from the underworld to do Satan’s work! It is only something that an apostate would say. However far away from the Lord a Christian backslider may get in his soul, there is still, somewhere in the deep recesses of his heart, the sincere conviction that the Lord Jesus Christ came from heaven to die for sinners.
Having defined what the unpardonable sin is, and the impossibility of a real believer committing it, we hasten to say that “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost” was a national sin committed by that whole “generation” of people in that day of the Lord’s rejection. It is not something that was charged to any particular individual—then or now. Such blasphemy against the Holy Spirit brought unpardonable judgment upon the apostate nation of Jews. Apart from a believing remnant, they were given over to hopeless perdition (Psa. 69:22-28).
Even if someone today has said derogatory things about the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, he or she can still be saved, for Scripture says, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from every sin” (1 John 1:7). C. H. Mackintosh said, “We do not believe that any sinner, in this acceptable year, this day of salvation, is beyond the reach of the pardoning love of God, and the atoning blood of Jesus.”
LUKE 22:31-32
“The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
This looks like the Lord was telling Peter that he was going to have a fall and would need to get saved all over again since he was already a converted man when the Lord said this to him (John 6:68-69; Matt. 16:15-17). If he was going to be converted a second time after he fell, then it means that Peter was going to lose his salvation, but gain it back. Hence, a person—even an apostle—can lose his salvation.
This misunderstanding is a classic example of having pre-conceived, erroneous ideas on doctrine. The mistake here is thinking that conversion is synonymous with salvation. Conventional evangelical theology might say that it is so, but Scripture does not support the idea. Conversion simply means to have the heart turned around to God. When a person turns to the Lord in faith and gets saved, it is conversion. For an example, the Thessalonians “turned to God from idols” (1 Thess. 1:9). But if the person turns away in heart from the Lord, and gets into a course of sin in his life, then he will need to get converted again (James 5:19-20). That is, he will need to have his heart turned around to the Lord and be restored. Conversion, therefore, can be used for a person’s initial turning to God for salvation and for any subsequent turns to the Lord a person might make if he fails turns away in heart from Him.
Most translations render “converted” (KJV), in Luke 22:32, as “restored,” or “turned again,” or “turned back.” This helps to distinguish this as being the restoration of a believer, and not a second salvation of his soul. But in the original language it is the same word, and it can be used for either a person’s initial turning to God for salvation or for the restoration of a believer’s soul to communion. Therefore, the Lord was simply telling Peter that after he fell, he would need to be restored in his soul (Luke 22:62; 24:34; John 21).
JOHN 13:2, 26-27
“And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him” (vs. 2). “And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him” (vss. 26-27).
Judas has often been considered as one who lost his salvation, even though he had a very privileged place as an apostle.
This mistake is an example of not having read the Scriptures carefully. A careful reading of the passages regarding Judas, indicate that he never was a believer in the first place. The Lord said, “There are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray Him” (John 6:64). Furthermore, Scripture says he was a “devil [demon]” (John 6:70), “a thief” (John 12:6), an unclean person who had not been "washed all over" (which results from being born again, John 13:10-11), a “son of perdition” (John 17:12), a traitor (Matt. 26:48), and a transgressor (Acts 1:25). Hence, the Scriptures show that Judas never had salvation to lose. He was a mere false professor from the beginning, and the Lord knew it all along. He was exposed by the Lord at the Last Supper, and proved himself to be what he was by betraying the Lord. Acts 1:25, tells us when he died he went to “his own place,” which is a lost eternity.
1 CORINTHIANS 8:11
“Through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died.”
Here, the Apostle speaks of the possibility of a weak brother perishing. In view of John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9, which indicate that “perish” means to pass eternally ruined into hell, this has been taken to mean that “the weak brother” lost his salvation.
The mistake here is to assume that every time “perish” is used in Scripture it is speaking of a lost eternity. Besides being applied to lost sinners, the word can be applied to faithful believers who die (Eccl. 7:15; Mic. 7:2; Luke 11:51; 13:33; 2 Cor. 4:16), to the truth itself (Jer. 7:28), to inanimate objects being spoiled (Luke 5:37), etc. It is clear that there are many applications of the word “perish.” It is a mistake to think that there is only one use for a word in Scripture, and then torture the interpretation all other Scriptures to fit that one thought. If perish had only one meaning in Scripture—to pass into a lost eternity—why would God justly allow faithful believers to perish?
In this verse, the word “perish,” means that a person has a serious breakdown in his faith whereby he is led into some compromise, and thus, he makes shipwreck in his Christian life. The point of the passage is that we have to be careful of what we allow in our lives so that we don’t stumble fellow believers.
1 CORINTHIANS 9:27
“I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Here, Paul says that if he didn’t keep his body under control (its appetites and desires), he could end up sinning, and thus, be a “castaway.”
The word “castaway,” is translated elsewhere as “reprobate,” and surely refers to a lost soul (Rom. 1:28; 2 Cor. 13:5-7; 2 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:16). Some have said that since the word means “disapproved” or “rejected,” that it is referring to a man’s ministry being rejected, not himself personally. Hence, his ministry would be rejected because his life was in disorder. This interpretation might be handy to refute those who deny the eternal security of the believer, but the word “castaway” must not be taken in that limited sense. It is not used that way in the New Testament. It means that the whole person is rejected because he is lost. J. N. Darby said, “To be a castaway is to be lost—to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”
However, we mustn’t take from this that a Christian can lose his salvation. The subject in question in the chapter is Paul’s preaching, not his salvation. He is speaking of the possibility of a person being a preacher, and yet ending up a castaway; not a person being a Christian and ending up a castaway. If a preacher does not possess salvation, it is possible for him to end up a castaway if he doesn't get saved. Judas was such a person. The man we discussed in Matthew 7:22 is another example. It was evident that there were some who were preaching in Corinth who were suspect, and Paul gave this warning for them.
We might ask, "Why then did Paul speak of himself as possibly ending up being a castaway, if such a thing could never be?" The answer is that Paul was speaking of preachers in general, and therefore, included himself. But he was more than a preacher; he was a believer and could not be lost. Paul, “in a figure transferred” himself into the picture (1 Cor. 4:6; 1:12) so as not to single out anyone in Corinth in particular and cause offence; thus, he handled the matter with delicacy. The point in the passage is that he wanted to show by his whole manner of life, in which he kept his body in subjection, that he was not one of these reprobates.
HEBREWS 12:14
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.”
This has been taken to mean that the believer who will not walk in holiness will not go to be with the Lord and “see” Him.
It is important to understand that the Bible speaks of more than one way of seeing the Lord. It is not always referring to seeing Him at the end of our path in heaven. The normal Christian posture is to see the Lord with the eye of faith now while we are in the path to glory. In the epistle to the Hebrews, seeing the Lord is presented in this way. Chapter 2:9 says, “But we see Jesus ... ” Also, earlier in this chapter (12) it says, “Looking unto Jesus ... ” (vs. 2). These are present glimpses of the Lord by faith.
The point of this verse is that if we don’t walk in “peace” and “holiness,” we’ll lose sight of the Lord in a practical sense and veer off course (Prov. 29:18). Concerning this verse, Hamilton Smith said, “‘We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour,’ says the Apostle, but this supposes a normal walk in holiness. Any allowance of unholiness will obscure the vision.”
2 PETER 2:1
“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, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”
Since these false teachers were “bought,” it is assumed that they were saved. Yet because they denied the Lord, they lost their salvation and ended up in destruction.
This is another example of erroneous theological terms forming our thoughts and producing faulty conclusions. The misunderstanding here is in thinking that “bought” means redeemed and, therefore, saved. Many Christians think that the two terms are synonymous, and we can hardly fault them, for it is commonly taught in Christendom. However, Scripture carefully distinguishes the two terms. Bought, or purchased, means to “buy” or “buy back.” Redeemed means to “buy back and set free.”
Christ has “bought” (purchased) all persons and all things in what He accomplished on the cross. Hebrews 2:9 says, “That He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” The KJV says “every man,” but it should read “every thing,” because the passage is speaking of the broadest aspect of Christ’s work on the cross in purchasing the world and all in it. This is seen in the parable of the man who bought the “field,” which the Lord explains as being the purchase of the whole world and everything in it, including the “treasure”—His people (Matt. 13:38, 44). Hence, the Lord has title and right to all persons and all things. While all persons have been bought, not all are redeemed. A person is redeemed when he, in faith, owns the purchase that Christ has made on the cross and receives Him as his Saviour. Similarly, all things have been “bought” or “purchased,” but they are waiting to be redeemed (set free) from the effects of sin, Satan, and the world (Eph. 1:14). This will happen when Christ appears at the end of the age.
A careful reading of the passage indicates that these who denied the Lord were “false.” Peter calls them “false teachers.” It is not merely that they taught false things, but that they themselves were false—being mere imitation Christians. They denied the Lord by not owning His purchase and ended up in judgment. Jude speaks of this same class of people who deny the Lord, saying, “Certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 4). They never were saved in the first place, yet they were posing as teachers.
EXODUS 32:33; PSALM 69:28; REVELATION 3:5; 22:19
“Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book.” “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living.” “I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.” “God shall take away his part out of the book of life.”
These verses concern themselves with the possibility of being blotted out of the book of life, and hence, the loss of one’s salvation.
People who deny the eternal security of the believer will ask, “How can God threaten to blot people out of His book if it can’t happen?” But this is a “straw man” argument. Scripture does not say that a person can’t be blotted out. Some well-meaning advocates of eternal security might teach that, but the Scriptures do not. The solemn fact is that a person can be blotted out of the book of life! “The book of life” is used figuratively in the Bible; it doesn't mean that God has a literal book up in heaven. He writes every real believer’s name in the book, but people can write their own names in the book too, so to speak, by making a profession of life. If they are not real, God will blot them out in the day of judgment. J. N. Darby said, “I believe the book of life is final, and all the devils cannot blot a name [of a real believer] out of it. Where it speaks of blotting out, it is like a registry of votes. If it is proved that a certain name has no right there, it is blotted out. Every professor’s name is in the book of life: but if God wrote it, it will never be blotted out. A mere professor writes his name himself, but he has no right to be there, unless God has written his name, and it will be blotted out. I suppose the book of life (chap. 20) is after the names are blotted out, for verse 15 is ‘whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’” Hence, these verses having to do with people being blotted out of the book of life, are referring to mere professors, not real believers.
The "Ifs" of Scripture
The presence of an “if” in a verse suggests that there is a condition attached to it, and if a person does not fulfill that condition, it’s possible for him to lose what is promised to him in that verse—i.e. salvation. As stated earlier, the plain statements of Scripture concerning the believer's security cannot be taken in any other way than that in which they have been written, and since God's Word doesn't contradict itself, these passages containing an "if" must mean something else.
“If,” surely is a simple word, but we need to understand whom the writer is speaking to when he uses it. As mentioned earlier, oftentimes the writer is taking into consideration the possibility of there being a mixed multitude of real believers and mere professors in his audience. The use of “if” in this connection was intended for the conscience of those who are not saved that they might search their hearts as to where they really stood before God. Consider what we are saying here. Suppose you were addressing an audience that had both believers and unbelievers. And, in your desire to get the gospel out, you told your audience that they needed to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. How would the believers in the crowd take that? Were you meaning that they needed to get saved? No; they would understand that you were referring to the lost among them. It is just the same in the Scriptures; when a writer uses the word “if,” it is intended for the mere professor in his audience.
Furthermore, we need to understand that the word “if” is used in Scripture in two ways. We don’t say that there are two different words used in the original language for “if,” but that the word is used in two different ways. There is an “if” of argument and an “if” of condition. An “if” of argument is predicated on some fact already laid down in the discussion, and taking it for granted, the argument builds on it. J. N. Darby gave an example of this, saying, “If you are an Englishman, you will not want to dishonour your country.” Similarly, we might say, “If you are truly a Christian, you will want act like one.” In this sense, the word is used, not to call into question whether a thing is so or not, but to build one's argument on that fact. When “if” is used in this way in Scripture, the word “since” could be substituted, and it would aptly convey the thought. For example, “If [since] ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1; Phil. 2:1; Eph. 4:21, etc.). On the other hand, the “if” of condition is used in Scripture as such; “If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness” (Gal. 6:1). This indicates that he might or might not be overtaken in a fault.
It is this use of “if” as a condition in connection with this subject (eternal security) that has troubled a great many people, and it has led to much misunderstanding. The key to unravelling this difficulty is in knowing that the writer is speaking to a mixed audience, and that the word “if,” in that connection, is particularly for those who were mere professors among them. Some examples are:
HEBREWS 6:4-6
“It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 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.”
These verses are the so-called “Magna Carta” of the denial of the believer’s eternal security. They are an example of simply not knowing the difference between a Christian backslider and an apostate.
The writer of the epistle was warning the Hebrews (for they were a mixed class) that if any who were mere professors of the Christian faith abandoned that confession and went back to Judaism (apostatized), there would be no means by which they could be renewed to repentance. They would be crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh, and thus, be damned forever. The “if” of condition in this passage is used to check profession among them, and hopefully, to arrest any who were in danger of apostatizing, so that they would turn to Christ in reality. There are five such warnings in the epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 2:1-4; 3:7–4:11; 5:11–6:20; 10:26-31; 12:15-27).
It is important to notice that the writer, in speaking of those who were in that awful class, changes the tenses of the pronouns to distinguish them from the true believers. When speaking of true believers in verses 1-3, he uses the first person plural (“us” and “we”), but when he speaks of those who were mere professors in verses 4-6, he uses the third person plural (“those” and “they”). After speaking of them, he returns to the use of second and first persons plural (“you” and “we”) in verses 9-20. This change of tenses to distinguish such persons is consistent with New Testament Scripture (Compare 1 Thess. 4:15–5:11; 2 Peter 2:1–3:2; Jude 3-25, etc.).
This means that he is not even speaking of true believers in Hebrews 6:4-6. We have no authority to say that those referred to in these verses are real believers, for there is not a single expression used that rises to the height of new birth or salvation. At a casual glance, if a person does not know the difference between a backslider and an apostate, he might honestly assume that it’s referring to someone who has lost his or her salvation. However, there are five things in these verses that refer to the outward blessings and privileges connected with Christianity that a person could partake in without being saved.
Firstly, it speaks of “those who were once enlightened.” A person becomes “enlightened” through hearing the Word preached (Psa. 19:7-8). Having heard the gospel, these people learned of the way of salvation, and hence, were enlightened; but it doesn’t mean that they were saved. That would be adding to Scripture. Knowing the way of salvation and believing it are two different things.
Secondly, it speaks of them as having “tasted of the heavenly gift.” This refers to the Christian revelation of truth (2 Peter 1:1). These are the things reported to us by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven (1 Peter 1:12). Notice: it doesn’t say they have received or taken in the heavenly gift; only that they have “tasted” it. This is a superficial thing, not the actual reception of it. A person can do this by coming among Christians and hearing the truth ministered. To say that someone who tastes of “the heavenly gift” is saved is, again, going beyond Scripture.
Thirdly, it speaks of them as being “partakers of the Holy Ghost.” We can see how a person might think that this is referring to someone who is saved because every Christian has the indwelling of the Spirit (Eph. 1:13; Acts 5:32; Rom. 5:5; 1 Thess. 4:8). However, a more careful look at this shows that it is not the full sharing of the Holy Spirit that believers have. The word metecho in the original language, translated here as “partakers,” refers to a taking part in something, but not having a full common sharing in the thing. When it is a full sharing in something, the word koinoneo is used. This difference is illustrated in Hebrews 2:14. The “children” partake [koinoneo] in the same fallen sin nature as Adam. But when it speaks of the Lord coming into manhood (the incarnation), it says, “He also, in like manner, took part [metecho] in the same.” This tells us that when He became a Man, He did not partake in humanity to the point of sharing in the fallen Adam sin-nature. He was, and is, a real Man—spirit, soul, and body, but without a fallen nature. Thus, Scripture carefully guards Christ's sinless humanity.
Understanding the use of this word (metecho), we learn that a person can partake of the Holy Spirit without being indwelt with the Spirit. This is supported by Scripture elsewhere. There is an aspect of the Spirit's presence on earth today in which He not only dwells in believers, but in which He also dwells among believers. “He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). In Acts 2:1-4, it says that the Spirit “filled all the house where they were sitting,” and also, “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” And again in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, we are told that the Spirit of God dwells in the temple—“you” (plural). An unbeliever could be in the temple mixing among the believers, and thus defile it. Being among Christians, where the Spirit of God is working, a person partakes of the Holy Spirit in an outward sense. He may experience the striving of the Spirit with his soul. He could also partake of the outward blessings of Christianity that the Spirit of God has brought into this world—the happy fellowship and teaching of the truth, etc.
This outward working of the Spirit of God is seen in Acts 7:51-54. Stephen testified to the unbelieving Jewish leaders in the Sanhedrin, saying: “Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost.” And it tells us that they were “cut to the heart.” The Spirit of God was working, but did not penetrate the heart—it was a superficial work that went only "to" the heart. If you compare this with Acts 2:37, where the people got saved, it says they were “pricked in their heart.” This indicates that there was penetration into the heart, and the result was that they got saved and received the indwelling Spirit. If being “partakers of the Holy Ghost” were referring to the indwelling presence of the Spirit in the believer, the word koinoneo would have been used.
Fourthly, it says that they “tasted the good Word of God.” Again, this does not mean that they received or believed the Word of God. Compare Acts 2:41; 8:14; 17:11. To “taste” something is only to sample it, but not to take it in and assimilate it. Unbelievers “taste” the Word of God when they come and listen to the Word preached.
Lastly, it says they tasted “the powers of the world to come.” The “world to come” is the Millennium (Heb. 2:5; Mark 10:30; Eph. 1:21, etc.) The powers of God that will characterize that day were seen in the days of the apostles when the kingdom was still being held out to the Jews. There were signs and miracles being demonstrated as a sample of the powers of the coming Millennium (Heb. 2:4). Mere professors could come in among the Christians of that day and witness these powers first hand, and perhaps, even be healed of some sickness. But that does not mean that they were saved.
The passage goes on to say that if such persons were to “fall away” (apostatize) after having experienced such privileges, that it would be “impossible” to renew them to repentance. They bring damnation upon themselves for which there is no recovery! There is no return. Those who wrongly use this passage to teach that a person could lose their salvation don't even believe that! They say that a person who loses his salvation can get saved again. This all comes from a careless and loose interpretation of the passage. It means nothing of the sort, unless Scripture does not mean what it says.
Then in verses 7-8, the privilege of being exposed to Christian blessings is illustrated. It speaks of two kinds of ground and plants. One “drinks the rain” that is showered upon it, and consequently, brings forth “useful herbs” for its owner. The other brings forth “thorns and briars” only, and its end was to be “burned” (a figure of judgment). They both had the privilege of the rain being showered on them. Likewise, both true believers and mere professors are equally exposed to the heavenly blessings that Christianity has brought into this world. Notice, there is no mention of the latter drinking it in. Compare the obvious contrast between drinking in and tasting in this passage.
It is clear that the passage is referring to mere professors (who were mixing among the real believers) being in danger of apostatizing. It was a warning to them. It has nothing to do with Christians.
JOHN 8:31
“If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed.”
This is another example of not carefully reading the Scriptures. The Lord is speaking of discipleship, not salvation. To use the two terms interchangeably is confusion. The Lord called people to come “unto” Him for salvation (Matt. 11:28), and He also called people to come “after” Him in the path of discipleship (Matt. 16:24). These are two distinct calls and are not synonymous. If salvation and discipleship were the same, a person could earn his salvation by doing certain things required in discipleship (Luke 14:26-27). It would be salvation by works. The Lord was simply saying, in this verse, that by continuing in His Word a person proves that he is a real believer and a true disciple.
JOHN 15:2, 6
“Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” “If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
This passage is taken to mean that if people do not bear fruit in their lives they will lose their salvation and God will take them away to eternal judgment.
This faulty interpretation does not distinguish between the various branches mentioned in the passage. The Lord speaks of three branches: one is taken away, another is purged so that it brings forth more fruit, and the third is cast away and burned.
The first branch that doesn’t bear fruit is a true believer who is walking poorly. The Father may take such a person away from this earth through death in a stroke of governmental judgment. It has nothing to do with the person’s salvation, but with his removal from the place of testimony on earth. The person is taken home to heaven because he or she has dishonoured the Lord in some serious way and is no longer fit to continue in the place of testimony. Scripture supports this (1 Cor. 5:2; 11:30; James 5:20; 1 John 5:16; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Peter 1:17).
The second branch is a true believer who bears fruit for God. Fruit bearing is the reproduction of the moral features of Christ in the life of the believer. This branch experiences another kind of discipline from the Father—a purgative discipline. This has to do with the removal of character traits in the Lord’s people so that more of Christ will be seen in them.
The third branch is not taken away, but is “cast forth” (vs. 6). This implies the abandoning of it altogether. This is a mere professor who has no living connection with the Lord. He does not “abide” in the Lord in any sense and is “cast forth” into the lake of fire. It is noteworthy that he is only said to be “as” a branch. This indicates that the person has taken the place of being a real believer by profession, but has no reality; he is not a branch in the real sense of the word. This person, therefore, did not lose his salvation—he never had it in the first place.
ROMANS 8:13
“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
This has been taken to mean that if a believer lives “after the flesh” he will “die” in the sense of losing his spiritual life and salvation.
To say that dying, in the sense that it is used here, is to lose one’s salvation, is reading something into the passage that is not there. There are many ways in which death is used in the Scriptures. Each time, it carries the thought of separation in some way.
Spiritual death is to be spiritually separated from God by not having a new life (Eph. 2:1).
Physical death is to have the soul and spirit separated from the body (James 2:26).
Second death is to be eternally separated from God in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:14).
Apostate death is to be separated from God by abandoning one’s profession of faith (Jude 12).
National death is not to exist as a nation on earth (Ezek. 37; Dan. 12:2).
Judicial death is being positionally separated from the whole order of sin by the death of Christ (Rom. 6:2; 7:6; Col. 3:3).
Moral death is to be separated from having communion with God (Rom. 8:13; 1 Tim. 5:6).
Death, in Romans 8:13, is referring to a believer living after the flesh, and thus, having his link of communion severed.
ROMANS 11:22
“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.”
This has been taken to mean that if a person doesn’t continue in the goodness of God he will be “cut off,” and thus, lose his salvation.
This is another example of taking a verse out of its context. Paul is not speaking of individuals here, but rather, of the legal (Mosaic) system and those connected with it, and the system of grace and those connected with it. The chapter unfolds how one system has been replaced with the other. He uses the figure of an “olive tree” having some of its branches broken off and replaced with branches from “a wild olive tree.” This is referring to the Christian profession, which is composed largely of Gentiles, replacing Israel in occupying a place of favour before God.
The warning here, is that “if” the Christian profession does not continue in the goodness of God it will be “cut off,” and that God will take up with the domestic olive tree again (Israel). Hence, it speaks of the dispensational ways of God. The solemn conclusion is, that having failed, there will be no restoration for the Christian profession! God will judge it for having failed to glorify Him on earth (Rev. 17-18). This will happen after the true believers are taken out of the world (at the Rapture) when the Lord appears after the Great Tribulation. In that day, “all Israel shall be saved”—that is, all who are “the children of the promise” (Rom. 9:7-8).
1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-2
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
This has been taken to mean that if a person does not hold fast the truth of the gospel, he will lose his salvation.
In this chapter, Paul had to go back and “declare” the first principles of the gospel to the Corinthians because some of them were letting go of one of the great cornerstones of the Christian faith—the resurrection. He assured them that those who had truly “received” the gospel were “saved.” But he added, “ ... if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” This was for the conscience of those who were mere professors among them who had, evidently, let go of the truth of the resurrection. “Keep in memory,” should be translated, “hold fast.” Holding fast the truth of the gospel proves the reality of a person’s faith. A real believer will hold fast to the fundamentals of the gospel, but the mere professor may not. To give up something as fundamental as the resurrection, calls into question whether such a person is really saved. What Paul was saying is that he who tampers with the fundamentals of the gospel cuts away the very ground beneath his feet which he professes to be standing on! In a sense, he was saying, “Are you sure you really want to do that because such a thing only proves that you were never saved in the first place.
A Christian may become defective in some points of the truth and give up something he once held. Perhaps he will change his view on how Christians should meet together for worship and ministry or, on some personal exercises about separation from the world, but he will not give up the cornerstones of the faith. Only an apostate would do that. So, it’s not saying that if someone doesn’t “hold fast” the truth of the gospel that they will lose their salvation, but that if someone doesn’t “hold fast” the fundamentals of the gospel it’s because he was never saved in the first place!
If resurrection were just a myth, then the Corinthian’s belief was “in vain” because everything that they had professedly received in Christianity hinged on it! To believe something “in vain” is to believe something that is not true.
2 TIMOTHY 2:12-13
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us: if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself.”
This has been taken to mean that if a believer denies the Lord, the Lord will deny him, and he will be rejected before God, and thus, lose his salvation.
The context here is an older labourer (Paul) encouraging a younger labourer (Timothy) in the path of service. Paul laid out the sure working of the government of God in these verses to encourage Timothy to continue in the path of service. This would have been a great encouragement for Timothy because he was a devoted man and like-minded with the Apostle Paul in the service of the Lord (Phil. 2:20-21).
The words “we” and “us,” in these verses, refer to all professing Christians. These great principles can be applied to both the true believer and the false professor. Just as there will be compensation and reward for the one who acts for God in the time of Christ’s absence, there will be disapprobation and retribution for the unfaithful. The fullest sense of denying the Lord would be apostasy. If a mere professor denies Him, it would be to give Him up altogether. Paul was not saying that a true believer would ever give up the Lord; he was merely speaking of the principle of God’s government in its abstract form, which has a wide application to all who make a profession.
HEBREWS 10:26-29
"For 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, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"
This passage has been taken to mean that if a person willfully chooses to turn away from Christ, he will lose his salvation.
As mentioned earlier, the Hebrews were a mixed company. This is one of the five warnings of apostasy in the epistle that must not be confused with the exhortations to believers. For instance, Hebrews 10:19-24, is an exhortation to true believers; whereas Hebrews 10:25-31, is a warning against apostasy, of which mere professors were in danger. A real Christian will not “sin” in this way; he will not turn away from Christ and abandon the Christian faith.
It may be asked, “Why does he say ‘we’?” This is because he was addressing the company as a whole—the true and the false together. It is proper to address them as such. Some might say, “But haven’t you, being a Christian, sinned wilfully?” Sad to say, the answer is “yes.” But to do such, serious as it is, is not the willful sinning spoken of in this passage. Verse 29 describes the sin of verse 26. It is the sin of turning one’s back on Christ and the whole Christian faith and abandoning it to go back to Judaism. A true believer will not do that.
Notice too, that this person is not said to have received salvation, but only to have “received the knowledge of the truth.” He has acquired this knowledge through the gospel. But there is a difference between knowing and believing the gospel. Furthermore, he tells them that turning back to the legal system would be of no use. For under that system “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” because there was no sacrifice for presumptuous sins under the law, but only for sins of ignorance (Num. 15:30-31; Lev. 4:2). Hence, those who were minded to return to Judaism had no hiding place for their sin of rejecting Christ! For them, there was only “a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation” under that system.
In the following verses (vss. 28-31) he shows that sinning against grace receives a far worse punishment than sinning under law. One who “despised Moses’ law died without mercy!” Could there be anything more dreadful? YES—to sin against grace! What a terrible warning this was for those who were minded to apostatize.
Someone might say, “But it says that the person was ‘sanctified.’” This is just another example of how pre-conceived, erroneous theological terms hinder us from understanding the truth. Sanctified, in Scripture, does not always refer to saved persons. There are at least three aspects of sanctification. There is absolute or positional sanctification, which is what all believers are, being set apart to God (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). Then there is practical or progressive sanctification, which is the exercise of perfecting holiness in the believer’s life (John 17:17; 1 Thess. 4:3-4; 5:23; Eph. 5:26). There is also relative or external sanctification, which is to be set outwardly in a clean place on earth, associated with the privileges of Christianity. To take one’s place among Christians is to be sanctified externally by “the blood of the [new] covenant” (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 13:12). It does not refer to any vital work in the soul. In this sense, there is such a thing as an unbeliever being sanctified! That might sound strange, but that’s what Scripture teaches (1 Cor. 7:14). These professors who had taken their place among the Hebrew believers were sanctified in an outward sense, but sad to say, they weren’t saved. By giving up that ground and going back to Judaism, they were in effect:
Treading under foot the Son of God.
Counting the blood of Christ an unholy thing.
Despising the Spirit of grace.
This is apostasy, for which there is no recovery (Heb. 6:4-6).
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.”
It is said that this man needed to be converted again; therefore, he must have lost his salvation.
As mentioned in our remarks on Peter’s conversion (Luke 22:32), salvation and conversion are not the same thing. A person is saved once, but he may need to be converted several times. Conversion is to have the heart turned around to God. This happens initially when a person is saved, but if he turns his heart away toward the world, he will need to be restored by having his heart turned around again. To help resolve the confusion in the minds of any, some translators use the words “bring him back” or, “turn him back,” for the word “converteth,” in the KJV. It is a restoration of soul to communion with the Lord, not a second salvation.
If conversion is synonymous with salvation, the fact that one of his brethren is told to convert him ought to strike us a little odd. We all know that the Lord is the only One who saves souls from hell—not the brethren! It ought to be obvious that it couldn’t be speaking of a second salvation.
Those who work to restore an erring one (Gal. 6:1) may “save a soul from death.” Death here is referring to an erring Christian being taken home to heaven as a governmental judgment from the Father (1 Peter 1:17). His course of sin is such that God removes him from his place of testimony on the earth (John 15:2; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 5:2; 11:30; 1 John 5:16). Notice “save,” here, is being delivered from dying literally under the hand of God in a governmental judgment.
1 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.”
It has been said that the “if” in this verse teaches us that a person is washed in the blood only if he walks in the light as God is in the light.
If this interpretation were correct, then it is teaching that a person can be cleansed by the blood of Christ by his walk! We ask, “Do those who believe this false doctrine tell people who want to be cleansed from their sins that if they “walk in the light”—behave as a Christian should—that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, will cleanse them from all sin?” This is nothing more than salvation by works, and certainly runs in collision with other Scriptures which clearly teach that salvation is “not of works” (Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; Rom. 4:5; etc.). Now they might say, “But that’s not what we’re saying. A person must keep walking in the light to be saved.” However, that is inferring something that is not in the verse. It says, “If we walk in the light ... the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
It should be abundantly clear that this verse must mean something else. We need to understand that the Apostle John writes with many abstract statements that are to be taken as black or white. Since the Christian testimony in his day was being infiltrated with empty professors, John’s first epistle lays down the characteristics of a true child of God and also gives the characteristics of those who are not real. Since there is such a thing as putting a man’s confession to the test (“If we say”—vss. 6, 8, 10, etc.), these things could be used to discern those who came to them making a profession of faith.
The misunderstanding here arises from thinking that walking “in the light” is a practical exhortation. It is not a practical exhortation, but rather, it is a statement declaring where the children of God walk. They are “in the light,” and they can do nothing else but walk in the light. It is not speaking of whether they behave according to the light as far as their practice is concerned. They are “in the light,” and if they turn their backs on the light, then the light just shines on their backs. It is an abstract statement indicating the place where they are with God.
The other things that characterize the children of God, mentioned in this verse, are that they have “fellowship” with others in the family of God and that they are cleansed by “the blood of Jesus Christ.” Having mentioned these things, they immediately become a test for any who would profess to be a Christian. If someone says that he is in the family of God and does not know his relationship with God in the light, and doesn’t enjoy fellowship with the children of God, nor does he understand the work of Christ on the cross whereby his sins have been washed away, we have good reason to believe that he may be a sham. This is the point of the passage—in fact, the tenor of the whole epistle. Now someone may say, “Well, I know a true believer who walks in darkness.” Practically speaking, a Christian may walk in the dark as far as his deeds are concerned, but positionally, he is “in the light.”
2 PETER 2:20-21
“For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
Here, a person who escapes the pollutions of the world is said to be saved, but then he turns and gets entangled in those pollutions again and loses his salvation.
This is another passage that has a change in the tenses of the pronouns. If we go back to the beginning of the chapter, we’ll see in verse 1a, that the Apostle addresses his fellow believers in the second person plural (“you”). But in verses 1b–22, the tense changes to the third person plural (“them” and “they”) to indicate a special class of mere professors who were apostates. Then in chapter 3:1-2, the tense in the pronouns returns to the second person plural as he speaks to real believers. The verses we are considering are referring to that group of apostates of which Peter (being a believer) does not place himself—saying “they” and “them.” This shows the importance of getting the context of a verse.
These people were not real believers, but had worked their way into a place of being “teachers” (chap. 2:1). It’s hard to believe, but it shows again how far empty profession can go. These mere professors had “escaped the pollutions of the world” and were in a clean place on earth, outwardly, by being among the Lord’s people who lived in separation from the world. They were externally sanctified (1 Cor. 7:14; Heb. 10:29), but they weren’t saved.
Note: they had “the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” but not saving faith in Him. This, again, shows that knowing and believing are two different things. Peter tells us that their judgment will be worse than a person who never took up with Christianity! It shows that God holds a person responsible for the light that he professes to have (Luke 12:47-48). These teachers would receive the greatest judgment (James 3:1).
It is significant that two unclean animals are used as figures to describe these apostates. The “dog” illustrates that there has been no change of heart in them. There was no real repentance—no forsaking of their sins (Prov. 28:13), so they returned to their sins as the “dog is turned to his own vomit again.” No true believer is ever likened to a dog in Scripture (Rev. 22:15). This points to them being false professors who never were saved. The pig (“sow”) was washed outwardly, but that didn’t change its nature, and it proved it by returning to “wallowing in the mire.” Like the “sow,” these apostates were “washed” (in the sense of having escaped the pollutions of the world by being among Christians), but they were not “washed all over”—which is the new birth (John 13:10 – J. N. Darby Trans.). They only proved they weren’t saved by returning to their sins. Again, no true believer is ever likened to a pig in Scripture. The Lord refers to His people as sheep, but never as dogs or swine (John 10:14; Matt. 7:6).
2 CHRONICLES 15:2
“If ye seek Him, He will be found of you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
It is said that if a person forsakes the Lord, the Lord forsakes him, and thus, he loses his salvation.
This, again, is taking Scripture out of context. This misunderstanding comes from not seeing that this warning given to “Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin,” was referring to a governmental judgment of God, not an eternal judgment. It is not speaking of the Lord forsaking them in a lost eternity, but forsaking their armies on the battlefield (2 Chron. 14:9-15). If they forsook the Lord and turned to idols, they would not have His practical blessing. He would not stand with them against their enemies. Asa gave heed to the warning and “put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin,” and the Lord blessed His people in a practical way and “gave them rest round about” (2 Chron. 15:8, 15).
The Blasphemy Connected With the False Doctrine of a Believer Losing His Salvation
Those who hold the false doctrine of a believer losing his salvation probably don’t realize the seriousness of the error. If we take the doctrine through to its logical conclusion, we’ll see that it is blasphemous. There are false charges brought against God Himself, which are very serious indeed. We now give a few examples:
1) God would be a liar!
If what they are saying is true, then God cannot be taken at His Word. His Word clearly states that Christ's sheep will “NEVER PERISH.” If one of them ends up in hell, then His Word cannot be trusted. This insidious attack strikes at the faithfulness of God and His Word. Thankfully, “God is not a man, that He should lie” (Num. 23:19). Whatever way a person may try to get around the word “never,” in the end, it still means NEVER!
2) Christ would end up in hell!
Since the Word of God says that the Lord will "NEVER" leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5), if we were to lose our salvation and end up in hell, then God, who cannot go back on His Word, will have to put Christ there too.
3) The Holy Spirit would end up in hell, too!
Scripture plainly says that He will be with us “forever” (John 14:16). So, if one believer ends up in hell, it means that the Holy Spirit will have to be there too.
4) Christ’s work of atonement on the cross is really not sufficient
Christ’s work of atonement on the cross is really not sufficient to secure a person for heaven; it merely gets him on the road there! Christ gets the believer on the road to heaven initially when he first believes, but then the believer must do his part to secure his salvation by walking uprightly all his days. Hence, the believer's salvation is a conditional thing, dependent upon how he behaves after he is saved. In essence, what is really being said is that there are two parts to a person’s salvation: Christ's part on the cross and the believer's part of walking rightly throughout his life. Sad as this erroneous doctrine is, it makes reaching heaven a product of the believer’s own work. At the bottom of this blasphemous teaching is a system of works—something the Bible decries (Rom. 4:4-5; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). On the cross, the Lord did not say, “I am finished,” which could imply that He did His part of the work, leaving something for us to do. He said, “It is finished.” The work of redemption was completed on the cross and there is nothing left for us to do!
There is nothing to do,
There is nothing to pay,
Jesus did all in His own blessed way.
If a person could get himself to heaven on the basis of keeping himself from sin, when he got there he would be able to say, “I'm here not only because of what Christ did on the cross, but also because of what I did. Those who aren't here, though they may have believed, didn't do their part like I did. I walked the walk, and they didn't, so they’re lost, but I’m saved.” If that were true, it is only right that that person should get some of the credit for being in heaven. He would actually have quite a bit to thank himself for! Now, we ask our readers, Does that honestly sound like the truth of God?
A great test of whether a doctrine is true or false is simply whether it exalts Christ or man. If it exalts Christ, it is of God; if it exalts man, it is error. This false doctrine makes something of man and it demeans the work of Christ. It is blasphemy.
The Irrationality of This False Doctrine
If we take a moment and think through this false doctrine, we will see that it is absurd. It is not only unscriptural, as we have shown; it’s irrational. We give a few examples:
1) God would have to take back the new life
If a believer were to lose his salvation, God would have to take back the new life that He imparted to the person when he was born again. But then what would God do with that divine life? What would happen to it? It can’t be destroyed, for it is divine and eternal. The absurdity of this doctrine leaves God in an awful predicament.
2) It will encourage him to live carelessly
We are told that if we teach a believer that he is eternally secure, it will lead him to go out and live like the devil. It will encourage him to live carelessly because he knows that he will end up in heaven anyway.
This is human reasoning. It does not account for the power of the grace of God to transform lives. The same grace that saves souls from hell, transforms them. The Bible teaches that “the grace of God” will work in the heart of the believer so that he will not want to live in sin and grieve the Lord. It will touch his heart in such a profound way that he will deny “ungodliness and worldly lusts” and live “soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). When the believer reflects on the great price that the Lord Jesus paid on the cross to save him from the judgment of his sins, he is grateful, and he wants to do what he can to please the Lord to show his appreciation. The normal response is not to want to go out and live in sin! God works in every believer, by the Holy Spirit, “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). The Spirit of God gives him the power to live a holy life (Rom. 8:2). If a believer walks “in the Spirit,” the Spirit will work in his life so that he will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:16).
If a believer trifles with the grace of God and turns to the world to seek the pleasures of sin, he will be miserable. He will bring the discipline of the Father into his life (1 Peter 1:16-17). He’ll be chastised and taught not to walk in unholiness. If a so-called Christian habitually lives in the pollutions of the world, it’s because he’s a mere professor and is not saved at all.
3) At best he can only hope to be saved
By their own definition, those who hold this false doctrine cannot call themselves saved! Getting to heaven, according to this doctrine, is dependent on how one behaves after he has received Christ. He has to “endure unto the end” of his life before he is “saved” (Matt. 24:13). At best, he can only hope to be saved. Think of it; those who would come to us propounding this blasphemy are not even saved by the definition of their own doctrine! Now why would anyone even listen to a person who would teach something that is not Scriptural or rational, and admittedly, didn’t know whether they were going to be in heaven themselves? The whole thing is ludicrous.
Dear friend, if you hold this defiling doctrine, we plead with you to consider the God-dishonouring blasphemies and the irrationalities connected with it, and drop the whole thing immediately. May you be warned by the example of Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom the Apostle Paul “delivered to Satan, that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20 – J. N. Darby Trans.). It is a serious doctrinal error that could incur the discipline of God in one’s life! (1 Peter 3:12) We pray to God that He “peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2 Tim. 2:25). We believe that every honest seeker of truth will do this.