Eternal Security

Can you explain the arguments against eternal security?

The Question At Hand
     Problems must be properly defined before they can be solved. In this chapter we will survey the arguments raised by those who believe genuine salvation can be lost. Along the way we will take a brief tour of the history behind this belief. From there we will look at the divergence of opinion among the proponents of this view.

Historically Speaking...
     Historically, this view has been associated with Arminian theology. Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch Reformed theologian who lived during the late sixteenth century. As a theologian, he found himself at odds with the Calvinistic teachings of his church. In particular, he took issue over the teachings on predestination, sovereignty, and eternal security.
     Arminius believed that election was determined by man's response to God's universal offer of salvation. In other words, God looked through time and saw which of us would trust in His Son for salvation. He then elected the ones He knew would eventually choose Him. Since election hinged on man's response to God's offer, it followed that one could lose his elect status by later rejecting that offer. Consequently, there was no assurance of ultimate salvation.

Arminians Today
     Since the days of Arminius, many revered theologians and preachers, not the least of which was John Wesley, have espoused his views. Today the basic tenets of Arminianism are taught in the Nazarene church, the Wesleyan church, and the other denominations comprising the Christian Holiness Association.
     Modern Arminianism falls within the realm of evangelicalism. That is, generally speaking, Arminians defend the deity of Christ, the virgin birth of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Christ, and the infallibility of Scripture.

Two Schools of Thought
     As is the case with most doctrinal systems, there are differences among persons who would be considered Arminian in their theology. I have talked with literally hundreds of people about the question of eternal security. Some wanted to argue. Others sought answers. Through these discussions I have discovered that two schools of thought exist among those who believe salvation can be lost.

Abandoning the Faith
     The first view falls within the framework of traditional Arminian theology. Simply stated, a genuine born-again believer can lose his or her salvation by turning away from the Christian faith (ie., by no longer believing or trusting in Christ). Such a person would be considered an "apostate." Apostasy is defined as "a deliberate repudiation and abandonment of the faith that one has professed." Individuals holding this view often interpret scriptural references to "falling away" as apostasy.


Hebrews 6:4-6
     The classic passage used to defend this view is found in the sixth chapter of Hebrews. Over the course of my ministry, people have more frequently asked me for help in interpreting this passage than any other passage in the Bible. And understandably so! Here is what it says:

    For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. —Hebrews 6.4-6, emphasis mine

     The issue for proponents of this view is faith, not necessarily faithfulness. There is room in their theology for temporary moral and ethical failure by the believer. The fact that a believer commits a sin is not necessarily a sign that he has lost his salvation. However, the man or woman who deliberately turns away from the church, Christ, and all that He stands for has surely stepped out of the kingdom of light back into the kingdom of darkness. After all, they argue, if we are free to choose Christ, are we not free to choose against Him?
     The parable of the sower is used to illustrate this point (see Luke 8:4-15). The sower sows on different soils representing persons and their response to the truth. The soil beside the road is compared to the unbeliever. The rocky soil, however, is compared to the man who "[believes] for a while, and in time of temptation [falls] away" (v.13).
     We have all met someone like that man depicted in the parable, someone who said, "Oh, I used to believe all that but not anymore." The person at one time genuinely believed. But something happened that caused him to turn his back on Christ; he no longer believes. According to those who do not believe in eternal security, the phrase "fall away" in this passage refers to the loss of salvation.
     The potential for losing salvation lies not only with those who have a rebellious heart toward God but with those who are innocently led astray by false doctrines as well. Paul expresses his amazement and concern over the Galatians "deserting" the truth and turning to "a different gospel" (Galatians 1:6). About this same group he later says,
     You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.... You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?—Galatians 5:4,7
     Notice Paul's strong language to describe the Galatians' present status: They are "severed from Christ" and "fallen from grace."
     A similar situation surfaces in Paul's first letter to Timothy. Here Paul predicts that in the last days some believers will be tricked into following false doctrines:

    But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. —I Timothy 4:1-2, emphasis mine

     Once again the phrase "fall away" appears. Here the context clearly implies a turning away from the faith, a rejection of what was once fully embraced.
     In these last two examples, the believers in question did not fall into "sin" in the moral or ethical sense. They were simply deceived into believing something that was a distortion of the truth. Yet these passages seem to indicate that the consequence of their naivete was eternal damnation.

Every Day Falling Away
     Most of the folks I encounter who do not believe in eternal security are unclear about exactly how and when one loses salvation. By that I mean, they are not sure what it takes to lose itóthey are just sure you can! As one fellow put it, "I know God is merciful, but He is not a fool." In other words, there must come a point when God says, "Enough is enough!" For most, if not all, proponents of this view, that point is very illusive and undefined.
     Whereas the first group would reserve the loss of salvation for those who have clearly turned their backs on the Christian faith as a whole, the focus of this second group is the life-style or behavior of believers. According to this view, a believer's security is based on his willingness to continually strive toward spiritual excellence. Didn't Paul exhort believers to "work out" their own salvation with "fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12)? Why the inclusion of "fear and trembling"? Because he apparently believed the possibility of losing one's salvation was a real threat.


It Does Not Make Sense
     Many people have drawn their conclusions concerning eternal security not from a scriptural standpoint but from a practical one. Let's go back to the young man who made the comment about God's being "merciful" but not a "fool." What motivates a statement like that? In his case he had given this thing concentrated thought. His line of reasoning went something like this:

   1. God is a holy God and demands holiness from His children.
   2. God is a merciful and forgiving God.
   3. At some point in the life of a disobedient Christian, God's mercy runs out, and His holiness takes over.
   4. At that point God deals with His child totally from the standpoint of His demand for holiness and obedience.
   5. This may result in placing a person back outside the circle of acceptance.
   6. After all, God cannot accept what is contrary to His holy nature. 

     The idea of eternal security just did not make any sense to this young man. Why would God keep putting up with people who for all practical purposes could care less about Him or His Son? If individuals no longer believe, it is as if they have broken their salvation contract; they have not upheld their end of the deal. Is God under obligation to maintain a saving relationship with people who have that kind of attitude?


It Does Not Seem Fair
     Another argument I have heard through the years focuses on the question of justice. Is it fair to allow "Christians" who went the way of the world to share in the same eternal blessing as those who followed Christ throughout their lives? Can a truly just God allow the faithful and the unfaithful to be equally rewarded? Besides, doesn't the Bible say that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the heavenly Father (see Matthew 10:33)? If a person makes it to heaven regardless of the type of life he or she leads, why strive to live in a godly manner?


The Fear Factor
     Dovetailing into the question of justice is that of license. Many people are afraid of this doctrine. They see it as a potential excuse to live free from all restraint. A man said to me recently, "I don't believe we should preach about eternal security." When I asked him why, he said, "I don't think people can handle that kind of freedom." He meant that if Christians think they can do anything they want and still go to heaven, they will do just that! Every once in a while I run across people with that attitude. They have no intention of straightening up their lives. They see no need to. According to the doctrine of eternal security, they can have their cake and eat it, too. So why change? People with that attitude scare many away from the doctrine of eternal security. It just leaves things too open-ended.


"Saved, Yes. Heaven, Maybe."
     My father-in-law was a wonderful man. He did not come to know the Lord until late in his life, but he made up for lost time. Visits and phone calls were packed full of questions about the Bible. He and his wife attended church three or four times a week. Right up until the day he died, he was growing spiritually by leaps and bounds. In spite of all that, however, he never had any assurance about his salvation.
     I would ask him, "Mr. Johnson, are you sure you have trusted Christ as your Savior?"
     "Oh, yes," he would reply. "He is living in my heart today."
     I would continue, "So then you are sure if you were to die, you would go to heaven?"
     "Now, I don't know about that," he would say.
     Round and round we would go. But I could never convince him. His problem was not any particular passage of Scripture. He struggled with the question of how God could forgive him for the sins he committed before coming to faith. The idea of God's being that loving and forgiving was too much for him to comprehend. He was sure he was a Christian, but heaven was a different thing altogether.
     I often meet people like my father-in-law. People who believe Christ died for their sins. Men and women who love God with all their hearts. But somehow they cannot accept with any certainty that God has forgiven them. One day they are sure of their salvation; the next day they are not. Back and forth they go, hoping they will make it but having no assurance.


Looking Ahead
     What about you? What is the issue on your mind? Is it a passage of Scripture? Is it a personal experience that you just can't seem to erase from your memory? Have you been turned off by the way people use the concept of eternal security to excuse their sin? Were you raised to believe that the idea of "once saved, always saved" was something the Baptists or some other group just invented?

Notes

   1. "Arminianism," in Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 2d ea.; also "Arminianism," in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 1984).
   2. "Apostasy," in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.
   3. Dale Moody, The Word of Truth, (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1981), pp. 348-49.
   4. Moody, Word of Truth, pp. 348-49.
   5. Moody, Word of Truth, p. 351.