Once Saved Always Saved: Arguments for
and against J. Vernon McGee (for), Charles Stanley (for), Adrian Rogers
(for), Mike Gendron (for), Darrell Ferguson (against)
Study Heb 3:12, 6:4-10; 1 Jn 5:12-14 with J. Vernon McGee
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God [Heb. 3:12].
You may ask, “Could that be true of a believer?” It
certainly could. It is very important to realize that God was angry with
their sin.
What was their sin? It was not murder; it was not stealing; it was not
lying. What was it? My friend, they didn’t
believe God. That was their great sin.
For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost,
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.
For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God:
But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected,
and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak [Heb. 6:4–9].
Verse 9 is the key to the passage, but we need the
context to understand what is being said.
As we study this section, we are immediately confronted
with the amazing fact that generally commentators have
avoided this chapter. Even
such a man as Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, the prince of expositors, has
completely bypassed it in his book on Hebrews. However, when we do come upon
the interpretations available and summarize each, we can well understand why
men have chosen to remain clear of this scene of confusion because we can
get many interpretations.
In the interest of an honest search after the evident
meaning of these verses, let us examine some of the interpretations.
The most unsatisfactory to me of all interpretations is
that the Christians mentioned here are Christians who have lost their
salvation. That is, they were once saved but have lost their salvation.
There are many folk who hold this position, and for the most part they are
real born again Christians themselves. However, this belief makes them as
uncomfortable as I am when I am making a trip by plane. I know that I am
just as safe on that plane as anyone there, but I do not enjoy it as some of
them do. There are many folk today who are not sure about their salvation
and therefore are not enjoying it. Nevertheless they are saved if they have
fixed their trust in Christ as their Savior. The essential thing is not the
amount of faith they have but the one to whom it is directed. They turn to
this passage of Scripture more than any other since they deny that we have a
sure salvation which cannot be lost and that the believer is safe in Christ.
I want to make it abundantly clear that I believe we have
a sure salvation because Scripture is very emphatic on this point. Paul says
in Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus …” and, my friend, he expands that great truth to the
triumphant climax of such a bold statement as, “Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth” (Rom. 8:33). The
throne of God is back of the weakest, humblest man who has come to trust
Christ, and today there is not a created intelligence in God’s universe that
can bring a charge against one of these who is justified through faith in
His blood. Paul continues in Romans 8:34–39: “Who is he that condemneth? [1]
It is Christ that died, [2] yea rather, that is risen again, [3] who is even
at the right hand of God, [4] who also maketh intercession for us.” My
friend, if you drink in those words you will have a great foundation of
assurance. “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.” Does that satisfy you?
Well, let’s keep going. Paul is not through yet. “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.” Can you mention anything that Paul didn’t mention in
this passage? Can you find anything that could separate you from the love of
Christ? May I say to you, this list takes in the whole kit and caboodle.
Here we have a guarantee that nothing
can separate us from the love of God—nothing that is seen, nothing that is
unseen, nothing that is natural, nothing that is supernatural can separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Lord Jesus Christ also makes some tremendous
statements about our absolute security. Listen to Him, trust in Him, and
believe Him. The Word of God is living and powerful, my friend. Jesus said,
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give
unto them eternal life” (John 10:27–28). What kind of life?
Eternal life. If you can
lose it, it is not eternal! “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” (John
10:28–29). It is not a question of your ability to hold on to Him; it is His
ability to hold on to you. He says here with the infinite wisdom and full
authority of the Godhead that He
can
hold us and that they who trust Him shall never perish. The question is: Is
your hope fixed in God who is all-powerful, or in a god who may suffer
defeat?
I have cited only some of the passages of Scripture that
make it abundantly clear that you and I cannot be lost after we have been
born again into the family of God. We become children of God through faith
in Christ. Once a person has become a child of God through faith in Christ
he has eternal
life. I cannot accept the interpretation that the people in Hebrews 6:4–9
were once saved and had lost their salvation.
There is a second interpretation that has some merit in
it. There are those who contend that this is a hypothetical case. “If
they shall fall away.” There is only a possibility that this might happen.
The writer does not say that it happens, only that it might be possible.
Those who contend that this is the correct interpretation say that it is the
biggest “IF” in the Bible,
and I would agree with them. If I did not take another position on the
interpretation of this passage in Hebrews, I would accept this one.
The third interpretation points out that in verse 6 there
really is no “if” in the Greek. It is a participle and should be translated
“having fallen away.” Therefore these folk have another interpretation,
which is that the passage speaks of mere professors, that they are not
genuine believers. They only profess to be Christians. Well, I cannot accept
this view, although such scholars as Matthew Henry, F. W. Grant, and J. N.
Darby hold this thinking, as does C. I. Scofield in his excellent reference
Bible—a Bible which I feel every Christian should own, although in some
cases I do not concur with the interpretations given in the notes, as in the
instance before us.
I do not accept the view that these folk are professors
rather than genuine believers. The Bible does speak of those who merely
profess Christ. There are apostates in the church. For instance Peter in his
second epistle wrote: “It has happened unto them according to the true
proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was
washed to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Pet. 2:22,
ASV). Those folk were
professors, not genuine believers. But in chapter 6 we find genuine
believers, because they are identified as such in many ways. If you will
move back into chapter 5 to get the entire passage, you will notice that it
is said of these people that they are dull of hearing (see Heb. 5:11)—it
does not say that they are dead in trespasses and sins (see Eph. 2:1). And
in Hebrews 5:12 it says that “when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye
have need that one teach you … and are become such as have need of milk….”
They need to have milk because they are babes. An unsaved person doesn’t
need milk; he needs life.
He needs to be born again. He is dead in trespasses and sins. After he is
born again, a little milk will help him. Therefore I believe the writer to
the Hebrews is addressing baby Christians, and he is urging them to go on to
maturity.
There are other expositors who take the position that
since the ones spoken of here are Jewish believers of the first century, the
warning can apply only to them. At the time Hebrews was written, the temple
was still standing, and the writer is warning Jewish Christians about
returning to the sacrificial system, because in so doing they would be
admitting that Jesus did not die for their sins. Therefore, those who hold
this reasoning say that verses 4–6 apply only to the Jewish Christians of
that day and have no reference to anyone in our day.
There is still another group which stresses the word
impossible in
Hebrews 6:4. It is impossible to renew them—the thought being that it is
impossible for man, but it is not impossible with God. They remind us that
the Lord Jesus said that “… It is easier for a camel to go through the eye
of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God” (Matt.
19:24). Of course it is impossible for any of us to enter heaven on our own;
we must have a Savior, a Redeemer. Therefore, this again is an
interpretation that I cannot accept.
You can see that there are many interpretations of this
passage—and, of course, there are others which I have not mentioned.
Now there is one interpretation that has been a real
blessing to my heart, and I trust you will follow me patiently,
thoughtfully, and without bias as we look at it. Because I was dissatisfied
with all the interpretations I had heard, I actually felt sad about it. Then
several years ago I picked up a copy of
Bibliotheca Sacra,
a publication of the Dallas Theological Seminary, and read an article on the
sixth chapter of Hebrews written by Dr. J. B. Rowell, who was then pastor of
the Central Baptist Church in Victoria, British Columbia. His interpretation
was the best that I had heard. I give him full credit for it. This is not
something that I thought of, although I have developed it to fit my own
understanding, of course.
First of all, let me call to your attention that the
writer is not discussing the question of salvation at all in this passage. I
believe he is describing saved people—they have been enlightened, they have
tasted of the heavenly gift, they have been made partakers of the Holy
Spirit, and they have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the
world to come.
The whole tenor of the text reveals that he is speaking
of rewards which
are the result of salvation. In verse 6 he says, “If they shall fall away,
to renew them again unto repentance”—not to salvation, but to
repentance. Repentance is
something that God has asked believers
to do. For example, read the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, as
recorded in Revelation 2 and 3. He says to every one of the churches to
repent. That is His message for believers.
So the writer of Hebrews is talking about the
fruit of salvation, not
about the root of
salvation. Notice verse 9 again: “But, beloved, we are persuaded better
things of you, and things that
accompany
salvation [he hasn’t been discussing salvation but the things that accompany
salvation], though we thus speak.” He is speaking of the fruit of the
Christian’s life and the reward that comes to him as the result. The whole
tenor of this passage is that he is warning them of the possibility of
losing their reward. There is danger, Paul said, of our entire works being
burned up so that we will have nothing for which we could be rewarded. “For
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, stubble; 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” (1 Cor. 3:11–15). The work of every believer, my friend, is going to
be tested by fire, and fire burns!
The work you are doing today for Christ is going to be tested by fire. For
example, when all of those reports that some of us preachers have handed in
about how many converts we have made are tried by fire, they will make a
roaring fire—if our work has been done in the flesh rather than in the power
of the Spirit. We will have nothing but wood, hay, and stubble that will all
go up in smoke.
Someday every believer is going to stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. I wish I could lay upon the heart of believers that
it is not going to be a sweet little experience where the Lord Jesus is
going to pat us on the back and say, “You nice little Sunday school boy, you
didn’t miss a Sunday for ten years. You are so wonderful.” The Lord is going
to go deeper than that. He is going to test you and see if you really had
any fruit in your life. Have you grown in grace and knowledge of Him? Have
you been a witness for Him? Has your life counted for Him? Have you been a
blessing to others? My Christian friend, I am not sure that I am looking
forward to the judgment seat of Christ, because He is going to take Vernon
McGee apart there. I will not be judged for salvation, but because I am
saved, He is going to find out whether or not I am to receive a reward.
Now notice that he is illustrating the fruit of the
Christian’s life: “For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft
upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God: But that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned” (vv. 7–8). If
the believer’s life brings forth fruit, it receives blessing from God; if it
brings forth thorns and briers, it is rejected.
When the apostle Paul wrote to Titus, a young preacher,
he dealt with the matter of works: “Not by works done in righteousness,
which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us…” (Titus 3:5,
ASV). From this, one might
be inclined to think that Paul is not going to have much regard for good
works, but move down in that same chapter to verse 8: “…I desire that thou
affirm confidently, to the end that they who have believed God may be
careful to maintain good works….” Good works do not enter into the matter of
salvation, but when one becomes a child of God through faith in Christ,
works assume supreme importance. My friend, if you are a Christian, it is
important that
you live the Christian life.
When I was a university student the psychologists were
discussing a matter which they have moved away from now. It was: Which is
more important, heredity or environment? Well, my psychology professor had a
stimulating answer. He said that before you are born, heredity is more
important, but after you are born, environment is the major consideration!
Now let’s carry that line of thought over to our present study. Before you
are born again, works do not enter in, because you cannot bring them to
God—He won’t accept them. Scripture says that the righteousness of man is
filthy rags in His sight (see Isa. 64:6). You don’t expect God to accept a
pile of dirty laundry, do you? He is accepting sinners, but He accepts us on
the basis of the redemption that we have in Christ. When we receive Christ
as Savior, we are born anew and become a child of God. When that happens, we
are, as Peter put it, “… an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of
him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Pet. 2:9,
ASV). Now after you have
been saved, you are to show forth by your good works before the world that
you are redeemed to God. Therefore the Christian has
something to show forth,
and that is the thing which is to be judged. If he is going to continue as a
baby and be nothing but a troublemaker, turning people from Christ instead
of to Christ, there will certainly be no reward. In fact, there will be
shame at His appearing.
“For as touching those who were once enlightened and
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come, and then
fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they
crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame”
(vv. 4–6,
ASV). These
verses bring us to the very center of this study.
“And then fell away”—fell
away is an interesting word in the Greek. It
is parapitō
and means simply “to stumble, to fall down.” It would be impossible to give
it the meaning of “apostatize.” It is the same word used of our Lord when He
went into the Garden of Gethsemane,
fell
on His face, and prayed.
There are many examples in Scripture of men who “fell
away.” The apostle Peter fell, but he was not lost. The Lord Jesus said to
him, “I have prayed that your faith might not fail” (see Luke 22:32). Peter
suffered loss, but he was not lost. John Mark is another example. He failed
so miserably on the first missionary journey that when his uncle Barnabas
suggested that he go on the second journey, Paul turned him down. He as much
as said, “Never. This boy has failed, and as far as I am concerned, I am
through with him” (see Acts 15:37–39). Well, thank God, although he stumbled
and fell, God was
not through with him. Even the apostle Paul, before he died, acknowledged
that he had made a misjudgment of John Mark. In his last epistle he wrote,
“… Take Mark and bring him with thee; for he is useful to me for
ministering” (2 Tim. 4:11). Now, neither Peter nor John Mark lost their
salvation, but they certainly failed and they suffered loss for it.
Read again verse 1 and notice that the writer is talking
to folk about repentance from dead works—not salvation, but
repentance. You will recall
that John the Baptist also preached this to the people: “Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repentance …” (Luke 3:8). He was referring to
that which is the evidence
of repentance. Repentance in our day does not mean the shedding of a few
tears; it means turning right-about-face toward Jesus Christ, which means a
change of direction in your life, in your way of living.
Many of the Jewish believers were returning to the temple
sacrifice at that time, and the writer to the Hebrews was warning them of
the danger of that. Before Christ came, every sacrifice was a picture of Him
and pointed to His coming, but after Christ came and died on the cross, that
which God had commanded in the Old Testament actually became
sin.
You see, those folk were at a strategic point in history.
The day before the crucifixion of Jesus they had gone to the temple with
sacrifices in obedience to God’s command, but now it was wrong for them to
do it. Why? Because Jesus had become that sacrifice—once and for all. Today
if you were to offer a bloody sacrifice, you would be sacrificing afresh the
Lord Jesus because you would be inferring that when He died nineteen hundred
years ago it was of no avail—that you still need a sacrifice to take care of
your sin. It would mean that you would not have faith in His atonement, in
His death, in His redemption. As someone has said, we either crucify or
crown the Lord Jesus by our lives. Today we either exhibit a life of faith
or a life by which we crucify Him afresh—especially when we feel that we
have to get back under the Mosaic system and keep the Law in order to be
saved. It is a serious matter to go back to a legal system.
Notice again verse 6 as the Authorized Version translates
it: “If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance.” Actually
the if is not in
the text at all. It is “having fallen away,” or “then fell away”—a genitive
absolute. It is all right to use the “if,” providing you use it as an
argument rather than in the sense of a condition.
Why would it be impossible to renew them again unto
repentance? Remember we are talking about the fruit of salvation. It is a
serious thing to have accepted Christ as Savior and then to live in sin, to
nullify what you do by being a spiritual baby, never growing up, doing
nothing in the world but building a big pile of wood, hay, and stubble. Paul
said the same thing in different language in 1 Corinthians 3:11 which says,
“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus
Christ.” Your salvation is a foundation. You rest upon it, but you also
build upon it. You can build with six different kinds of materials—wood,
hay, stubble, gold, silver, and precious stones. What kind of building
materials are you using today? Are you building up a lot of wood, hay, and
stubble? There is a lot of church work today that is nothing but that. We
are great on organizations and committees, but do our lives really count for
God? Are there going to be people in heaven who will be able to point to you
and say, “I am here because of your life and testimony,” or, “I am here
because you gave me the Word of God.” Oh, let’s guard against building with
wood, hay, or stubble!
By the way, there is a difference between a straw stack
and a diamond ring. And you can lose a diamond ring in a hay stack because
the ring is so small. I am afraid that a great many folk are building a
straw stack to make an impression. One pastor told me, “I’m killing myself.
I have to turn in a better report this year than the report last year. We
have to increase church membership and converts and giving to missions.” Oh,
if this pastor would only dig into the Scriptures and spend much time in
God’s presence. Then he would be teaching his people the Word and many would
be turning to Christ and would be growing in their relationship with Him.
Every man’s works are going to be tested by fire. What will fire do to wood,
hay, and stubble? Poof! It will go up in smoke. There will be nothing left.
That is what the writer is saying.
In John 15 the Lord Jesus talks about the fact that He is
the vine, the genuine vine, and we are the branches. We are to bear fruit.
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will,
and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear
much fruit …” (John 15:7–8). He wants us to bear
much fruit. When there is a
branch that won’t bear fruit, what does He do? “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” (John 15:6). He will take it away;
He will remove it from the place of fruitbearing and that is what the Lord
Jesus is saying.
I see God doing this very thing today. And as I look back
over the years, I have seen many men work with wood, hay, or stubble. And I
have seen others work with gold. I know a layman who was a very prominent
Christian when I came to the Los Angeles area almost forty years ago. Then
he became involved in a dishonest transaction. He has lost his testimony,
and yet he was a very gifted and likeable man. I still consider him my
friend, but I wouldn’t want to go into the presence of Christ as this man
will have to go when his life is over.
Also I recall a minister who was very attractive—a little
too attractive. He was unfaithful to his wife, had an affair with another
woman, and finally divorced his wife. And all the while he tried to keep on
teaching! But his teaching didn’t amount to anything—he was just putting up
a whole lot of straw. He was not even baling hay; he was just making a big
old haystack. Finally the match was put to it, I guess, because he certainly
didn’t leave anything down here.
Oh, how careful we should be about our Christian lives.
And we cannot live the Christian life in our own strength. We need to
recognize that Christ is the vine. If we have any life, it has come from
Him, and if there is any fruit in our lives, it comes from Him. We are sort
of connecting rods, as branches connect into the vine and then bear fruit.
Christ said that, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye
abide in me” (John 15:4).
“If they shall fall away” or “having fallen away,” it is
impossible to renew them to repentance. They can shed tears all they want
to, but they have lost their testimony. For example, a preacher came and
talked to me about his situation. He moved away from this area and attempted
to establish a ministry. But he failed. He had an affair with a woman, and
he had lost his testimony. He was through. “It is impossible to renew them
again unto repentance.” I don’t question his salvation; he is a gifted man
who could be mightily used by God but is not. “Seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.” My friend,
any time you as a born again child of God live like one of the Devil’s
children, you are crucifying the Son of God—because He came to give you a
perfect redemption and to enable you by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to
be filled with the Spirit and live for Him.
“For the land which hath drunk the rain that cometh oft
upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them for whose sake it is also
tilled, receiveth blessing from God” (v. 7,
ASV). The garden produce is
a blessing to man—my, it is delicious! “But if it beareth thorns and
thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned”
(v. 8,
ASV). “Rejected” is
adokimos,
the same word Paul used when writing to the Corinthian believers, “But 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” (1 Cor.
9:27). “Castaway” is the same word
adokimos,
meaning “not approved.” In effect, Paul is saying, “When I come into His
presence I don’t want to be disapproved. I don’t want the Lord Jesus to say
to me, ‘You have failed. Your life should have been a testimony but it was
not.’” Oh, my friend, you
are going to hear that if you are not living for Him! I know we don’t want
to hear these things, but we need to face the facts.
Now notice the key to this chapter: “But, beloved, we are
persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though
we thus speak” (v. 9). The writer to the Hebrew believers is saying, “I am
persuaded that you are going to live for God, that you are not going to
remain babes in Christ but will grow up.”
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and
labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister [Heb. 6:10].
“Work and labour of love” won’t save you, but if you are
saved, this is why you are rewarded. This is where good works come in.
Although they have nothing to do with your salvation, they certainly do have
a very important part in a believer’s life.
McGee, J. Vernon:
Thru the Bible
Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997,
c1981, S. 5:543-549
He that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life [1 John 5:12].
“He that hath the Son hath life.” He didn’t
say, “He that belongs to the church has life.” You might say,
“I’m a Baptist” or “I’m a Methodist” or “I’m a Presbyterian” or
“I’m a Nazarene” or “I belong to the Church of God.” It does not
matter what church you belong to—your church membership does not
mean you are saved. Then
what
does it mean to be saved? “He that hath the Son hath life.” The
question is: Do you have Christ? Is He your Savior? Are you
trusting Him in such a way that no one on earth or in heaven can
shake your confidence in Him? My friend, if you haven’t come to
that point, you haven’t come anywhere at all. To be saved means
you trust Christ, and it means you have Christ as your Savior.
“He that hath the Son hath life.” He’s our lifeboat. He’s our
lifeline. He’s our only hope. We are lost without Him, but if we
have Him, we have life.
“And he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life.” My friend, can it be made any clearer than that? Let’s
forget about religion. Let’s forget about all this churchianity.
Let’s forget about all this gimmickry that is going on
today—taking little courses, going through little rituals, all
that sort of thing. Forget about it, my friend! The important
thing is: Do you have Christ? Is He
your Savior?
This is the reason John has emphasized that
Jesus is the Son of God. I want to say to you, He is wonderful.
He is God manifest in the flesh. He is the only one who can save
us. He is absolutely unique. There is no one else like Him. He’s
the only begotten Son of God. He died upon the cross because He
alone could pay the penalty for our sins. He rose again, and He
is living right this moment at God’s right hand for us. He is
the living Christ. Do you have Him today as your Savior? That is
the only question you need to answer. If you have Him, you have
life—you are saved. That is the record. Do you believe God, or
don’t you believe God? If you don’t believe Him, you make Him a
liar.
My friend, John has this down right where you
can get it. You cannot miss this. The only thing right now that
will keep you from coming to Christ is the sin in your life that
you don’t want to give up. That is the only thing in the world
which will stop you. That is the decision you make.
These things have I written unto you that
believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye
have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the
Son of God [1 John 5:13].
John has a twofold purpose in writing this
epistle: (1) “that ye may
believe
on the name of the Son of God”—that’s salvation, and (2) “that
ye may know
that ye have eternal life”—if you have Christ, if you have
believed Him, you have life. A great many people say, “I just
want to believe that I have eternal life.” The question is: Whom
do you believe? Not
what
do you believe, but
whom
do you believe? Do you believe God? Do you believe the record
that He gave? He says that if you have the Son, you have life.
Now do you believe that? John didn’t say if you feel like it or
if you have joined something, but if you believe in the Lord
Jesus Christ as your Savior. And if you have Him, then you have
life.
This is the reason John has written this
epistle—“that ye may know that ye have eternal life.” This was
also the purpose of the gospel which John wrote: “And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which
are not written in this book: But these are written [John didn’t
write everything, just certain things], that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God [that’s who He is]; and
that believing ye might have life through his name” (John
20:30–31).
If you have the Son, you have life—John wants
you to know that, and you honor God when you know it. That
simply means that you are not making God a liar, but you’re
trusting Him. It is not a matter of how much faith you have or
how you feel about it, it is whether or not you trust Christ.
That’s all important.
Having this assurance of eternal life will do
something for our Christian life here and now—
And this is the confidence that we have in
him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth
us [1 John 5:14].
Our assurance will give us confidence in
prayer, and believe me, we need confidence in prayer. This word
confidence
actually means “boldness.” “This is the
boldness that
we have in him.” This assurance will give boldness in prayer to
the child of God.
“If we ask any thing according to his
will”—our prayer must be according to the will of God. If you
and I are in fellowship with Him, walking with Him, then our
prayer would be for God’s will in every circumstance. George
Müller put it like this: “Prayer is not overcoming God’s
reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.” It is not
trying to get God to do something which He is reluctant to do,
but prayer is to be our thinking His thoughts after Him. This is
the thing which gives us confidence when we turn to God in
prayer.
“He heareth us.” You can be sure that He not
only hears our prayer, but He also answers our prayer. God will
hear the prayers of His children, but He will not always answer
them by giving us what we ask. John is saying here that we can
have the confidence that He will answer our request according to
the way we pray—when we pray in His will.
McGee, J. Vernon:
Thru
the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville :
Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 5:818-819
Charles Stanley Q & A: Can a Person Loose
His Salvation?
Q: Can I lose my salvation?
No. Dr. Stanley believes that once someone is saved by faith in
Christ’s death on the cross, that person has eternal life. His or
her salvation is secure.
What if someone stops believing in God or verbally denies Christ? If
we’re saved by faith, can we lose our salvation if we lose our
faith? We’re saved because at a moment in time we expressed faith in
our Lord. Faith is the agent by which God was able to apply His
grace to the life of the individual. But our standing with God is
not maintained by our faith. So even if we were to lose our faith or
deny Him, God won’t take back His gift of salvation.
What if someone “falls from grace” or returns to a lifestyle of sin?
Since all our sins—past, present, and future—were forgiven at the
cross, no sin we commit after salvation will cost us our official
standing as children of God. In context, the term “falling from
grace” means adopting a form of Christianity that would demand more
in the way of good works (Gal. 5:4). It has nothing to do with a
lifestyle of sin. We’re saved by grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Since salvation
is given as a free gift, nothing can separate us from the love of
God (Rom. 8:37-39). But disobedience does have a price. It will
cause us to lose our fellowship with God. We’ll also reap the
natural consequences of wicked behavior, experience divine
discipline, miss out on blessings God planned for us, and not earn
the heavenly rewards we would have received if we had been faithful.
In Touch.org
7 Reasons Why a Saved Person Can't Be Lost by Adrian Rogers
1. Nothing can separate you from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus your Lord.
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.
(Romans 8:38-39)
Neither death nor anything that happens after death, or anything
that happens while you're living can separate you from God's love.
If there were no other verse in the Bible that deals with eternal
security, this one covers the base.
2. When you are saved, you are made perfect forever.
For by one offering He [Jesus] hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)
When Jesus died on the cross, He saved you forever. Jesus offered
one sacrifice for sin forever. If you ever lost your salvation, in
order for you to be saved again, Jesus would have to die again. By
one offering He has perfected forever those who were sanctified.
3. Our Lord always finishes what He begins.
Being confident of this very thing, that He [God] which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
(Philippians 1:6)
Let me tell you what the Holy Spirit of God does for your salvation.
First, He convicted you of sin. Second, He converted you. And the
Convictor and the Converter is also the Completer. If God fails to
finish what He's begun God has failed and He cannot fail.
4. You are predestined to be like Jesus.
For whom He [God] did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be
conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)
God saw you before this world was put in space. He saw you repent of
your sin and ask Jesus to save you. And when God saw that, not only
did He foreknow it, but also He predestinated it. If it is settled
in eternity how can it be undone in time?
5. You are in Christ.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians
5:17)
You are in Christ just like Noah was in the ark. The ark was a
picture of Jesus and when Noah went into that ark God shut the door.
Noah may have fallen down a lot of times in that ark, but he never
fell out of it. Your security is not in a place, it is in a Person
and His name is Jesus. And if you're in Jesus, you're secure and if
you're not in Jesus you're not secure.
6. You already have eternal life.
Heareth My word, and believeth on him that sent Me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death
unto life. (John 5:24)
Everlasting life is not something you get when you die. Everlasting
life is something you get when you receive Jesus. If I have
everlasting life, when can it end? Suppose I had it 10 years and it
ended. Did I have everlasting life? No, I had a 10-year life.
Whatever you have, if you ever lose it, whatever it was it wasn't
everlasting.
7. The Lord Jesus Christ is ever interceding for you.
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given Me; for they are Thine. (John 17:9)
Jesus also prayed: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of
the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil...Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word" (John 17:15, 20). Say your name in that verse
because Jesus prayed for you! Has Jesus ever prayed a prayer that
wasn't answered? No, not one (see John 11:42 and Hebrews 7:25).
Some people say, "Well, if I believed in this doctrine, then I'd get
saved and I'd sin all I want to." Friend, I sin all I want to. I sin
more than I want to. I don't want to! When you get saved you get
your wanter fixed. As a matter of fact, you get a brand new wanter.
• Love Worth Finding (Tuesday, March 26, 2002)
[From:
Understanding the New Birth
by Adrian Rogers] In a birth
a completion transpires. A
birth is a once-for-all
experience. No baby is ever
born twice physically. In
the physical realm the birth
takes place one time. In the
spiritual realm the birth
takes place one time.
Some people think you can
get saved and then
lost...then saved...then
lost.
Can you image the angel
writing your name...then
erasing it...then writing
your name...then erasing it?
No, Jesus said rejoice, your
name is in the book of life
(Lk
10:20).
In the Greek, your name
"stands" in the book. That's
the reason I believe in the
eternal security of the
believer. I can never be
unborn.
There is a difference
between relationship and
fellowship. When you get
born again you become a
partaker of the divine
nature--you will always be a
child of God. In a birth a
commencement occurs. The
birth is finished and the
growth begins. A birth is a
starting place. If you get a
new birth you get a brand
new start.
One thing you will never see
is a policeman getting ready
to arrest a new born child
for a crime he's done
because that new born child
is no yesterdays; he's all
tomorrows.
When you come to Jesus, all
of your past, all of your
yesterdays are buried in the
grave of God's
forgetfulness. The Bible
says as far as the east is
from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions
from us (Ps
103:12).
He doesn't say as far as the
north is from the south.
There's a north pole and a
south pole but there's no
east pole and west pole. You
start east you just keep on
going--as far as the east is
from the west, he has
removed our transgressions
from us, buried them in the
deepest sea.
1 Co
6:9-11--such
were some of you.
Washed means that the
stain--the blemish is gone;
sanctified means that you've
been set aside clean and
holy for God;
justified--it's as if you
were never impure to begin
with...(Edited sermon notes
Understanding the New Birth
by Adrian Rogers).
Understanding
The New Birth (MP3 right click and 'save target as'
to download)
Adrian
Rogers
[Catholic Apologist
Initiates: Debate on Eternal Security, Mike Gendron] "The Lord Jesus
promises eternal life to those who repent and believe His Gospel of
grace. Yet, there are many professing Christians who deny the
promises of the Gospel and believe eternal life can be lost. One
such person is Tim Staples, the Director of Apologetics at Catholic
Answers who has challenged me to a debate on the topic, "Once Saved,
Always Saved." Staples is one of many former Protestants who have
departed from the Christian faith to join the Roman Catholic
religion. He was raised Southern Baptist, went to Jimmy Swaggart
Bible College and then became a youth minister in an Assembly of God
church. He has been a Catholic since 1988 and has been defending the
Catholic religion as an apologist since 1994.
The debate will be in writing and published in
This Rock, the monthly magazine of Catholic Answers, which is the
largest layrun apologetics organization of its kind. It will be
comprised of ten 350-word presentations by each writer. Following
are the first four presentations.
Mike Gendron’s First Affirmation
God promises eternal life to those who repent
and believe the glorious Gospel of Grace. When He gives spiritual
life to those who are dead in their sins, He does not place them on
probation or give them conditional life. Eternal life is given by
grace through faith so that the divine promise can be guaranteed
(Rom. 4:16). God’s promise is upheld by His holy character,
unlimited power and sovereign purpose. Listen to the Lord’s promise:
“He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal
life, and Jesus said, "I give eternal life to them, and they will
never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." (John
10:28). Eternal life is a free gift of God that is irrevocable (Rom.
6:23; 11:29). Believers can know right here and now that they have
eternal life (1 John 5:13).
Jesus declared that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). The Good
Shepherd protects all the sheep who were given to Him by the Father
with these words of assurance: “I give eternal life to them, and
they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand”
(John 10:28). Eternal life is a free gift of God that is irrevocable
(Rom. 6:23; 11:29). Believers can know right here and now that they
have eternal life (1 John 5:13).
The word that describes a believer’s eternal
salvation is the same “eternal” that describes the eternal triune
God (Rom. 16:26). The word means everlasting, forever and never
ending. Not once does it ever mean ”temporary” or “conditional”.
According to God's eternal purpose, every believer has been saved
from eternal judgment, eternal destruction and eternal punishment
(Eph. 3:11; Heb. 6:2; 2 Thes. 1:9; Mat. 25:46). Believers possess
eternal redemption through the eternal Spirit who guarantees an
eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:12-15; Eph. 1:14). The eternal Gospel
promises every believer eternal life and eternal glory in His
eternal kingdom (Rev. 14:6; 1 John 5:13; 1 Pet. 5:10; 2 Pet.1:11).
The eternal King calls salvation eternal and He has given believers
eternal comfort (Heb. 5:9; Mark 16:20; 2 Thes. 2:16)..." Full text:
Proclaiming the Gospel Ministries Newsletter Vol 20 No. 4.
Link
Darrell Ferguson
See:
Apostasy and Eternal Security
Apostasy Technical Supplement
Part 1: Questions 1-14 (right click, open) by Darrell Ferguson
Part
1: Questions 1-14(right
click, open) by Darrell Ferguson