Photo to Right: The rainbow is a token between God and man, that God will never destroy the earth by flood again; but moreover, I believe that the rainbow is a shining reminder that God always keeps His promises.
There is a great hypocrisy, in those who teach and defend the heresy that a believer can lose their salvation. I will address this in a bit, but first I want to make a few comments as introduction.
The Bible teaches that once a sinner is born-again, they are eternally secure (John 10:28), i.e., they can NEVER lose their salvation. This truth is often referred to as Once saved, always saved. We read in 1st John 5:13 that we can KNOW that we are saved. Tragically, there are some professed Christians who deny this Biblical truth, claiming that a believer can lose their salvation, and fall out of a state of grace with God. The Bible is clear that, just as man cannot go back into his mother's womb, neither can a believer go back into an unregenerate spiritual state (John 3:1-7). Not one example is given in the Bible of someone losing their salvation. King David lost the joy of salvation; but not salvation (Psalm 51:12).
I was recently reading an excellent book, 508 Answers to Bible Questions, by M.R. DeHaan M.D.(1891-1965).Now Dr. DeHaan was a great man of God and I respect him dearly; BUT, I disagree with something he said in his book concerning the eternal security of the believer. Dr. DeHaan DOES believe in eternal security; however, he said that those who don't are still saved, just so long as they are trusting the Saviour. Now, I have a big problem with that type of thinking. Why? Because the very idea that someone can lose their salvation if they don't live holy enough, places salvation in men's hands, instead of 100% in God's.
As born-again believers, why would anything we do affect whether or not we're still saved? Did we have to do any good works to get saved? No!, we simply rested upon the Saviour, because He paid the price for our sins with His blood. We did NOTHING to merit or deserve salvation. Salvation is of God, not man. Our part is to believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), and God's part is to save (Isaiah 43:11). If we can't do good works to be saved, then how can we do bad works to lose it? We cannot! Listen to what the Word of God has to say about men who try to establish their own salvation ...
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. Romans 10:3,4
Just because a person professes to be trusting the Lord, doesn't necessarily mean that they are. Dr. DeHaan uses John 3:18 to defend the opponents of eternal security, which states, He that believeth on him is not condemned... But they've added works to faith. Dr. DeHaan's argument is that a person who doesn't believe in eternal security can still be saved, just so long as they are believing on Christ. However, many Hell-bound Catholics claim to be born again and trust Christ; BUT, they are not wholly trusting Christ. They are also trusting their priests, baptism, religion, works, and the sacraments to save them. So the question is raised... Can a person who refuses to believe in eternal security be saved? Or is it unbelief?
From studying the mindset of Calvinists, I am convinced that their teaching of the perseverance of the saints, perverts their doctrine of salvation. It is a form of unbelief, and works salvation, to claim that a Christian can lose their salvation if they don't remain faithful (i.e., persevere).Jesus PAID our sin debt so we wouldn't have to persevere. And even if we did try to persevere, it wouldn't be enough to wash away the sins on our record. Jesus had to die for the sins of mankind. There was no other way. Calvinists believe that a person who fails to persevere to the end, has fallen from grace. That is works salvation. The Biblical context of the phrase, fallen from grace, was simply a reference to those who reject the Gospel, preferring religion instead. They have missed the only way to Heaven, which is Jesus Christ alone. No genuine Christian can ever fall from grace.
Calvinists, Hyper-Calvinists, and others, who deny the Eternal Security of the believer, are not fully trusting Christ for their salvation. The great hypocrisy is that they CLAIM to be wholly trusting God. How can that be? How can a person claim to be wholly resting upon Jesus Christ for salvation, while at the same time believing that one's salvation is CONDITIONAL upon the life we live? This cannot be; BUT, they're in DENIAL. This is so typical of deception and lies. As an example: America is increasingly becoming a police state, yet the majority of Americans have been successfully brainwashed to believe that they are not losing their freedoms. The handwriting is all over the walls, screaming at Americans; but, they're in DENIAL and so is the crowd who doesn't believe in Eternal Security.
Those who DON'T believe in Eternal Security have a completely different mindset towards salvation. They DON'T have the blessed peace and assurance which comes from resting upon the promises of God. Jesus is our Sabbath, upon whom we solely rest for our salvation. Titus 1:2 speaks of the promise of eternal life, from God Who cannot lie.
As Christians, we can KNOW that we are saved, because our salvation is not rooted in merit or works, but upon the finished work of Christ. Our salvation is based upon God's love for undeserving sinners, not upon our own self-righteousness.To say that a believer is not eternally secure in Christ, is to lower the Christian faith to the level of the woeful Islamic Muslim religion, which offers no security to it's followers. In Islam, you do your best, and hope to make it. Isn't this the same garbage that is being propagated by those who claim that there is NO security in Christ? I find it a great hypocrisy for anyone to claim to be wholly trusting the Savior for salvation, while at the same time holding to the self-righteous idea that we can mess things up if we backslide and walk into sin. If the latter be true, then our salvation is dependent upon man, as much as it is upon God. The Word of God is clear on this matter in Jonah 2:9, Salvation is of the LORD
The absurd idea that Jesus only died for the Saints is unbiblical. Jesus clearly taught that it was wrong to love only those who love us back (Matthew 5:46). Do you think Jesus would violate His own teachings, by only dying for those who loved Him. No, on the contrary, we read in
Calvinists are liars.
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. 2nd Peter 2:1
Didyou read that? ... even denying the Lord that bought them... Jesus BOUGHT those false prophets! Jesus has bought every human being on this planet, because Christ died for ALL sinners (1st John 2:2). If you go to Hell for all eternity, it will only be because you rejected the free gift of eternal life. Can you imagine? Can you imagine someone being cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity to be tormented, knowing that Christ had freely paid for their ticket into Heaven? They were too proud and stubborn to accept it. John 3:20 plainly tells us that a love for sin causes many people to avoid the Truth of God's Word, and the Saviour ...
ButJesus is willing to save ALL sinners who come to Him for forgiveness. There is no depth of sin to which a man can go, but that God won't still save him. If you are repentant concerning your sins and desire forgiveness, Christ will forgive you. Jesus said in
Notice that Jesus didn't say, Ye CANNOT come. No, rather, Jesus said, Ye WILL NOT come. Will you come to Jesus?
Did you ever read this verse before?Did you know that the words free gift are right in the Word of God for us to view? Well, they certainly are, and they're wonderful words to behold. What a precious Savior! Eternal life is a free gift, paid for by the wonderful blood of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19). It is this FACT that causes me, once again, to wonder what in the world those who deny the Eternal Security of the believer are thinking. How can a free gift be taken away or lost? The whole concept of losing one's salvation sinfully requires Works Salvation to maintain it. I mean, if I give you a gift for your birthday and you receive it, then I have NO RIGHT to take it back, ever. If I did, then it was not a gift in the first place.
The Word of God makes no mistake when it describes salvation as a free gift.
declares,
Those foolish people who claim that there is no Eternal Security in Jesus Christ, are turning salvation into a REWARD, rather than a gift. Their false Calvinistic doctrines require you to put forth much effort, stay on the right path, and persevere in your faith for the Lord or risk losing all. This sounds more like operating a business than it does receiving a gift from a loving Savior. There is a vast difference between receiving a free gift, and trying to succeed in a business. Salvation is not a business opportunity, it is not an on-taking venture, it is not a life's accomplishment, nor a reward it is a FREE GIFT!
This is why I can confidently say to you my friend, according to the Word of God... that once you are saved, you will ALWAYS BE SAVED! Those who left us, left us because THEY WERE NOT OF US to begin with (1st John 2:19). Some scholars foolishly claim that Judas (one of Jesus' Apostles) was saved at first, but then fell from grace. That is simply not true. There is no Biblical record of Judas ever being saved, nor of showing any signs of being saved. In fact, Judas was a known thief (John 12:6). Judas, as so many people today, had religion without truth, and churchianity without Christianity. I heard an atheist man speaking, who claimed that he used to be a Christian. No he wasn't! Another man, a Mormon, who said he had gone to an Independent Baptist College when he was younger, claimed that he was once a Christian. No he wasn't. 1st John 2:19 plainly teaches that they left Christianity because they were never truly Christian to begin with. They didn't lose salvation because they never had it to begin with.
The FACT that salvation is a FREE GIFT, totally destroys the heresies of Lordship Salvation, Calvinism, Hyper-Calvinism, and other damnable doctrines which REQUIRE people to GIVE something in return to be saved. It is hypocrisy for anyone to claim that faith alone in the Savior is insufficient for salvation, holding to the foolish belief that one's own self-righteousness is also required. A gift requires nothing in return. You simply reach out by faith and take it. If you want God's free gift of eternal life, then you must receive it freely by acknowledging your guilt of sin and believing upon the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, apart from all self-righteousness. The burden of sin was bore upon the cross by the Lord. Anyone who places the burden of sin upon a sinner to be saved is propagating a false gospel of self-righteousness. Jesus paid it all.