26
03
2008
Session 10: The Doctrine of Perseverance (Eternal Security)
Posted by: carrie in Spring 2008
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April 1st, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Group Discussion Questions:
The Doctrine of Perseverance
1. Do you believe that a person can lose their salvation? Discuss.
No, I don’t. That salvation is referred to in the present tense in scripture (I John 5:13; John 3:16) is assuring: “I am saved”. As a child, I heard salvation expressed as “I was saved, I am being saved, I will be saved.” I also take great confidence in the salvation images seen in the New Testament: We are born again (you cannot be unborn). God is our Father (my son will always be my son). I am a part of the Family of God (I may not always act like it, but my family never quits being my family). How can one who has truly trusted Christ, had their sin “blotted out”, had fellowship with God in prayer, seen lives radically changed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, ever deny those realities.
2. Why do you think that most people do believe that a person can lose their salvation? Explain.
Most people believe that if we live good enough lives, in the end we will be saved. Most people believe that those who die outside of Christ will cease to exist after death. Most people seek to answer life’s questions, not with scripture, but bas3ed on feelings. I do not believe there are conflicts in scripture but there are conflicts in understanding. This is certainly such a case. One can easily see in scripture that a person can lose their salvation and one can see eternal security. Great Christians, great biblical scholars line up on both sides. I would never demean someone who interprets scripture differently from me. I would hope to receive that same respect. So in answer to the question: some have definite biblical reasons for believing one can lose salvation, for others, it is the least objectionable argument.
3. Which argument of Conditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
Two, three, and four are all compelling because the basis is scripture. From question two: having just completed a study in Galatians, I do not believe Paul is speaking of “losing salvation” but rather, a warning concerning sanctification and the absurdity of placing yourself back into slavery under the law. But in the end, all comes down to interpretation. In Galatians and Romans especially, Paul is writing to contradict the teaching of “Judiazers” who wish to impose the yoke of the law on Gentile converts. This must be remembered as we read and interpret in light of the context. Concerning Matthew 18:23-35, go back to verse 21 for the context: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” To interpret this parable as teaching anything but the importance of forgiveness (especially in light of the hyperbole) is absurd as construing that God is an unrighteous judge from reading the parable in Luke 18:1-8.
4. Which argument of Unconditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
“The Bible clearly teaches that a true believer can never be lost.” Although unconditional and conditional security advocates have selected scripture that tend to support their arguments, the more convincing arguments lead me to believe in Eternal Security. I would especially site: John 10:25-29; Rom. 11:29; Eph. 1:13-14 (sealing keeps in what is intended and out what is foreign).
5. Evaluate the validity of this statement: “The means by which a person is saved is also the means by which he is kept. The means by which a person is kept is also the means by which he is saved.”
I was raised in a Fundamentalist Church in which fear was a tool to bring the lost to salvation and brought constant doubt. I use the phrase “If you have to scare a person to get them saved, you must continue to scare them to keep them saved!” Eph. 2:8: By grace are you saved through faith, it is the gift of God.” Rom. 6:23 refers to salvation as a gift. I can do nothing of merit to receive salvation and I can do nothing to keep me saved.
6. If you believe that a person cannot lose their salvation, how would you respond to the argument that a person can then sin all they want?
This question displays scriptural ignorance: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” Phil. 2:12; “But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” II Peter 3:18; “Pursue righteousness” II Tim. 2:22. If a person could think themselves saved and yet free to sin without consequences, they are deluding themselves. If we can continue in sin unabated with no consequence, then we are lost. Heb. 12:4-11 clearly teaches that a Christian who willfully sins will receive severe discipline. If you sin and do not receive discipline, you are not saved.
7. Read I Jn. 2:19. How does this passage contribute to this discussion?
Put Matthew 7:21-23 with this passage and it appears clear that many have deceived themselves into thinking they are saved when they are not and many have been deceived by teachers and pastors who have not accurately taught the requirement of the saved in growing in sanctification.
8. The doctrine of Perseverance teaches that while a true believer’s faith most certainly will fluctuate from time to time, he or she will never completely lose it. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have doubted the Gospel? In other words, does your faith ever fluctuate?
My doubts have more often centered on me and my salvation or on an interpretation of scripture. I cannot think of a time since my teenage years when I had doubts about God, Scripture, the sacrifice of the Cross, or the message of salvation. I have doubted my personal interpretations and have struggled in application of Biblical Principles. Faith at times is more evident than at others, but has had more to do with a lack of diligence on my part.
9. How was your thinking challenged the most by the lesson? Explain.
How can we believe that those who have never heard the gospel are eternally condemned to Hell and not hang our heads with the guilt we bear in not sharing? I believe it is a cop-out to refer to them as the non-elect, thinking that absolves us of our culpability. Jesus said “Go and make disciples” and “Ye shall be witnesses” and we have ignored His command. Did Christ not mean what He said? Are they not elect because we have been complacent? To say that we have no responsibility means we have embraced the doctrine of double-predestination or reprobation and believe in absolute determinism.
I do not believe in unconditional election and I feel the weight of those who die in sinfulness having never heard the Gospel. There is (to me) hypocrisy in spending hours fine tuning my theology if it does not drive me to obedience to what is clearly known.
On the fate of infants who die, or the mentally unable: I can find no scriptural grounds for the belief found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (chapter 3) which states: “Elect infants, dying in infancy, are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who waketh when, and where, and how He pleaseth”.
Charles Hodges and A. H. Strong teach that “infants have not deliberately flaunted God’s will for their lives. Thus by virtue of the absence of premeditation, naiveté, and trustfulness in children prior to the age of accountability,” God applies to them the benefits of Christ’s saving work at their death.
“The Baptist and broadly reformed theologian A. H. Strong argued that since infants, prior to the age of moral accountability have not personally and volitionally transgressed God’s law, they are characterized by “a relative innocence” and “trustfulness”. If children should die in the state of infancy, they become the objects of special, divine compassion and receive a secret application of the atonement.
Erickson’s answer to this question is covered on pages 654 (second paragraph) through 656 in “Christian Theology.
On final thought: “Synergism is not the belief that humans save themselves; it is the belief that salvation is by grace alone but requires free reception and not resistance by human persons.” Olson’s “The Mosaic of Christian Belief”; p. 280.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
1. Do you believe that a person can lose their salvation? Discuss.
No, I believe that those who are saved will endure to the end. I believe that Scripture is very clear in its assurance to those who are saved. Yet, Scripture also calls us to examine ourselves and test ourselves to make sure we are of the faith. I can not decide who is saved and who is not, nor can I tell you who is saved and who is not. What I can do is look at Scripture and my life or the life of someone else and examine to see if we are following the Bible’s call for our lives.
2. Why do you think that most people do believe that a person can lose their salvation? Explain.
I believe that the fact that the doctrine of ‘once saved always saved’ being so relatively new has a lot to do with it. Looking back into church history and personal experience shows numerous instances where it appears a person has lost their salvation. Or, where the church has ex-communicated someone. Since the church has historically believed in this doctrine, it goes to reason that many would continue to believe this way.
3. Which argument of Conditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
For me, it is number 5. The fact that the church’s position on this issue was relatively clear up until the 16th or 17th Century leads me to be suspicious of this relatively new doctrine. We have seen the church deal with heresies and canonization in a realtively unified way for most of early church history. Although I do believe in the eternal security of the believer, the fact that this doctrine was not held for so long is a difficult argument to refute.
4. Which argument of Unconditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
Number 2, I believe the Bible clearly teaches this doctrine. The Bible verses we use in this lesson that are used to defend this position are clear and convincing to me. Much more so, than the conditional security arguments, in my opinion.
5. Evaluate the validity of this statement: “The means by which a person is saved is also the means by which he is kept. The means by which a person is kept is also the means by which he is saved.”
I think this is a valid statement. Throughout this class we have discussed how all of soteriological history and future goes to the cross. Without the cross, none of these discussions or classes would be taking place. The cross is the means by which we are kept and saved. To suggest that we can lose our salvation or not be kept would suggest that the cross is insufficient, that Christ is insufficient and the Bible is not true.
6. If you believe that a person cannot lose their salvation, how would you respond to the argument that a person can then sin all they want?
Scripture clearly discusses this and Paul addresses this directly. He repeatedly uses the rhetorical question of “shall we continue sinning so that grace may abound?” Paul’s emphatic reply is “certainly not!” God has called us to holiness. Martin Luther’s axiom of “same time just and sinner” sums it up. God has forgiven us, yet until the resurrection of us all, we will still be sinners.
7. Read I Jn. 2:19. How does this passage contribute to this discussion?
I think this clearly demonstrates that John is proving that those who originally claimed Christ and left them were never really believers to begin with. If they had been believers they would have stayed. I think it is a clear representation of the security of the believer.
8. The doctrine of Perseverance teaches that while a true believer’s faith most certainly will fluctuate from time to time, he or she will never completely lose it. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have doubted the Gospel? In other words, does your faith ever fluctuate?
I think my response to the Gospel has fluctuated, but I never have believed that Christ never has had me. I have often asked myself, how could I have done such a thing if I am a Christian? That question bothers me all the time. But I quickly come back to the point of knowing that merely asking that question demonstrates the Holy Spirit’s presence in my life and the conviction of sin He gives me. His presence assures me of His sealing for all time.
9. How was your thinking challenged the most by the lesson? Explain.
This doctrine was one in which I have been taught since an early age. This has led me to examine carefully the question of when and how to explain this doctrine to newer believers and even people considering the gospel. That is a challenging situation. It can ceratinly give a false sense of hope to someone who thinks he or she is a Christian, or be used as a license to sin. Both of these situations are ones we should avoid. So, the question of when and how to present this doctrine will continue to challenge me in the future.
April 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Session 10 Discussion Questions (The Doctrine of Perseverence)
1. Do you believe that a person can lose their salvation? Discuss.
Reply: No. I do not. I believe a person can have mental agreement with the doctrines of salvation and appear to be a full-fledged believer for a period of time, but then eventually abandon this brand of purely intellectual “faith.”
Intellectual “faith” is insufficient, incomplete faith - the same type of faith possessed by nominal “Christians” who profess to be believers but are not true possessors of Christ. They are professors but not possessors. These individuals are mentioned in the Parable of the Soils. See passage below.
Matthew 13:20-23 ESV
(20) As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
(21) yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
(22) As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
(23) As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Scriptures are extremely clear on the preservation of the believer. Perhaps the strongest passage supporting this understanding is John 10:25-29. See below.
John 10:25-29 ESV
(25) Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
(26) but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.
(27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
(28) I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
(29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
The words “no one” in this passage are all inclusive. They include the recipient of saving grace and saving faith. Some would suggest that “no one” contains an exception clause. What they mean is that no one outside yourself can snatch you from the Father’s hand, but you can remove yourself from His grasp…
As Michael persuasively indicated, this suggestion makes little sense. Think about it. When is the last time you really feared someone else taking your salvation from you? No - you and you alone are your own worst enemy. You are the one who is prone to wander, prone to failure, and prone to mistakes. From the Arminian standpoint, it would seem that it is you yourself that you should fear most of all. You need protection from yourself more than protection from any other. That being the case, this promise from Jesus holds little comfort for the typical believer. Meaningful consolation can only be realized when each individual believer is included in the “no one” of verse 29. Otherwise, Jesus is simply uttering meaningless superfluous remarks in this passage…
2. Why do you think that most people do believe that a person can lose their salvation? Explain.
Reply: To put my answer in a nutshell, the libertarian notion of free will is an assumption which emerges most naturally from our human consciousness. The false notion of “the power of contrary choice” readily lends itself to the equally false notion that man is the initiator and the originator of the decision to exercise faith in Christ (in the conversion experience). If man is perceived as the initiator and sustainer of “his” faith, then it readily follows that he can initiate a falling away from “his” faith.
Man naturally gravitates toward the following understanding – an understanding which is only half true. First, he is responsible (culpable) for responding to the claims of the Gospel (the General Call). This is true. Second, because he is held accountable it is assumed that he must therefore possess the inherent ability to respond. But, this conclusion runs counter to the scriptural teaching that man is depraved and totally unable to respond positively to the Good News on his own initiative. “No one understands; no one seeks for God.” (Rom 3:11 ESV) Man’s understanding is darkened to the point that he cannot grasp the truth of the Gospel of his own accord. “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.” (Ephesians 4:18 ESV) God elected in eternity past those whom He would transition from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight and from spiritual death to spiritual life (regeneration). All who receive this sight and see the truth of the Gospel are inexorably and invariably drawn to embrace Christ by faith (irresistible grace). “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,” (Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV) “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14 ESV)
Most people cling to a misperception of the essence of faith; for faith is the God-given instrument or vehicle through which God communicates His Sovereign Grace to us. While we as believers are active participants in the exercise of faith, our faith is not a self-generated faith. Our faith is not something we summon within ourselves through the power of our own will, but is rather a natural outgrowth of God’s work of regeneration within us. It is God alone who initiates the restoration of our spiritual sight- who removes the blinders from our eyes so that we are restored to fellowship and see the Gospel for the Truth that it is. (This is monogistic regeneration and it precedes faith in my understanding of the Ordo Salutis).
Salvation, of which faith is an integral part, is all of God and is not of our own doing… See passage below.
Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV
(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
(9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
3. Which argument of Conditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
Reply: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18:23-35 is a thorny passage to handle. Michael clearly stated this during the video lecture. It appears that the servant was forgiven a monumental debt by the king. He was shown mercy instead of justice. But, he did not display the same spirit of mercy toward his fellow servant who owed him a petty debt. When his associate could not pay the debt and asked him for more time, the creditor was unwilling. He began to choke him and had him thrown into prison. His fellow servants observed all this and reported it to the king – whereupon the king exercised justice and judgment upon the unforgiving servant by casting him in prison until he could pay the debt. (We know, however, that the debt was an astronomical figure and literally could not be repaid. Hence, the unforgiving servant was left to rot in prison).
If this story is meant to convey truth relative to God’s dealings with mankind in salvation, then it would appear that an individual who is forgiven by God could lose that forgiveness if he harbors an unforgiving spirit toward others.
Michael indicated, however, that there are too many passages that speak with clarity and authority concerning the security and preservation of believers to permit one solitary passage to usurp the unavoidable meaning of the others…
4. Which argument of Unconditional Security do you think is the most convincing? Explain.
Reply: “The Bible clearly teaches that a true believer can never be lost.” The implications of passages such as John 10:25-29 seem inescapable for the reasons I have outlined in my reply to Question 1. This passage (as Michael pointed out) is the strongest defense of eternal security from God’s perspective. See my comments in my reply to Question 1 above.
John 6:39-40 is also impressive. The Lord Jesus promises to keep us until the Day of Redemption when our bodies will be resurrected. See verses below.
John 6:39-40 ESV
(39) And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
(40) For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
5. Evaluate the validity of this statement: “The means by which a person is saved is also the means by which he is kept. The means by which a person is kept is also the means by which he is saved.”
Reply: Salvation is both an event (at a point in time) and an ongoing process. We were saved (initial conversion and justification); we are being saved (sanctification); we will be saved (glorification). Another way of viewing this is: we were saved from the penalty of sin; we are being saved from the power of sin; we will be saved from the presence of sin.
When scripture explains that salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), it is important to remember that salvation is a composite consisting in past, present, and future aspects. All three fall within the jurisdiction of sola gratia, sola fide (“by grace alone through faith alone”). God does not initiate our salvation by grace alone through faith alone and then expect us to consummate it through the power of our own flesh. He gets credit for it all. He and He alone does it all – past, present, and future.
Conclusion: We were saved by grace plus nothing, and we are kept (ongoing aspect) by grace plus nothing!
6. If you believe that a person cannot lose their salvation, how would you respond to the argument that a person can then sin all they want?
Reply: When a person is truly converted their inclinations and propensities are re-oriented. Whereas in the past (pre-conversion) an individual was inclined toward sin and was indeed a slave to sin, after conversion his primary inclination is toward righteousness. See below.
Romans 6:17-18 ESV
(17) But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,
(18) and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
Moreover, a genuinely converted individual exhibits fruits of righteousness. I would like to reiterate the summary definition of saving faith. “It is faith alone that saves, but the faith that saves will not be alone.” It will not be alone because it will be accompanied by works of righteousness. These works are not the ground of justification, but they validate the verdict of justification given by God at the moment the believer exercises faith.
John 15:5 ESV
(5) I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
A person who professes to be a Christian, but has a definite penchant for licentious living demonstrates a need for self-examination. If such a person has a cavalier attitude toward sin – perhaps because he recited the “sinner’s prayer” and feels his “fire insurance policy” is in full force – he is in real danger of hell fire, not because of a loss of salvation but because of the high probability of a false profession of faith. This person might have professed Christ without actually possessing Him.
A professing “Christian” who believes he can sin all he wants because his salvation is secure belies his Christian profession and evidences a heart that is incongruent with the heart of God. I find it next to impossible to believe that a true convert could manifest this pattern of thinking, even though he might be in the midst of lapsing or stumbling into sin. This posture is inimical to the state of mind required to properly exercise saving faith and repentance (resulting in conversion). A person embracing this posture should be admonished to examine himself and make his calling and election sure – not because he has lost his salvation but because he never possessed saving faith to begin with.
2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV
(5) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
2 Peter 1:10 ESV
(10) Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.
7. Read 1 Jn. 2:19. How does this passage contribute to this discussion?
Reply: The Apostle John speaks of those who at one time aligned themselves with Christians as professing believers, but they failed to persevere and broke fellowship with the Body of Christ. John makes this candid assessment: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” (1 John 2:19 ESV)
Here, John clearly implies that those who failed to persevere were never “of us.” In other words, these individuals were false professors from the very outset, but it wasn’t until they broke fellowship with true possessors of the faith that their true nature as unbelievers was incontrovertibly manifest.
I think this scenario illustrates what really happens when people apparently “fall away from the faith.” A person may fall away from a counterfeit faith, but a true possessor of Christ cannot and will not commit apostasy…
8. The doctrine of Perseverance teaches that while a true believer’s faith most certainly will fluctuate from time to time, he or she will never completely lose it. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have doubted the Gospel? In other words, does your faith ever fluctuate?
Reply: Yes. However, I have never despaired to the point of forsaking my faith in God. In my mind there is a fixed boundary across which my doubts can never trespass. I may falter and there may be lapses in my life, but I do not believe I will ever “fall away.”
9. How was your thinking challenged the most by the lesson? Explain.
Reply: I am challenged by the assertion that the “warning passages” in Scripture are not intended to imply that believers are in an ever-present danger of “falling away,” but, instead, are meant to warn nominal “Christians” of the necessity for self-examination in order to determine if they are really in the faith.
However, I also wonder if these same warning passages are God’s instruments for causing his elect “sheep” to persevere to the end. Those who are truly his sheep will hear his voice and invariably heed the admonitions proclaimed in the warning passages…
In other words, from God’s perspective His elect sheep are secure and safe from “falling away,” but from a human perspective I am an active participant in the process of perseverance – it is my responsibility to heed the warning passages. And, if I am truly one of Christ’s sheep, I will ultimately be responsive to these warning passages and endure to the end…
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April 6th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
1. I can’t believe that a person can lose their salvation because I believe salvation is totally God’s doing….a gracious gift for those He elects. I believe God will save those He wants to save. In that sense, it is not ours to lose.
2. I think many people believe they can lose their salvation because they feel like they work for it, and therefore if they fail to work hard enough or do the right things they will lose what they are working for. Also, many have probably seen people who profess to be Christians and who appear to do many things Christians believe in, but then end up leaving the faith, which leads others to think they lost their salvation. Some might also interpret struggles with belief and doubt as signs of losing salvation.
3. The argument for Conditional Security that seemed quite strong was the scripture passage that Michael expressed difficulty with in the lecture: Matt. 18:23-35, the parable of the unforgiving debtor. In this passage one can see a man who is forgiven and saved (from being sold) who is subsequently condemned when he can’t forgive his own debtors. He seems to lose his salvation. However, this story does seem to be mostly about the need to forgive, and one could even see a hint of the idea of purgatory since the unforgiving man is sent to jail to be tortured “until” his debts is paid in full.
4. Argument #1 for the idea of Unconditional Security in which unconditional election makes our salvation all God’s doing and thus something we cannot change, is very convincing. Argument #2, in which the weight of the scripture is considered, is also a very strong argument for Unconditional Security. I especially find John 10:28 “I give them eternal life and they will never perish…” to be very definitive on this subject.
5. Ephesians 2:8-9 says we were saved by grace through faith and that this is the gift of God. By God’s grace we were given a faith. We didn’t have it, we weren’t looking for it and we couldn’t get it on our own. In order to lose our salvation we would have to be able to give our faith back, which would make faith something we control, not something entirely of God.
6. A saved person does not “want” to sin. A person who has been regenerated adn justified and who has begun the process of sanctification, no longer “wants” to sin, although they still do. When the saved person sins he grieves and is feels sorrow for the sin and they are moved to repent. A person who thinks they can “sin all they want” is not saved.
7. 1 John 2:19 speaks about people who looked like they were saved but ended up leaving the Church. People who do not persevere in their faith were not ever true believers. Many people can appear to believe and even partake of some of the blessings of the Holy Spirit, but the true believers will persevere to the end.
8. I tend to struggle with a need to understand more than a need to believe in the Gospel. When I can’t understand a doctrine or principle of Jesus’ teaching I tend to doubt whether I believe the “right” things. I find myself not trusting in what Christ did on the cross and trying to rely on my own understanding too much.
9. I was challenged by the passages of scripture that support Conditional Security. I was also challenged by the fact that the majority of Church history taught Conditional Security. This, I believe, calls us to redouble our efforts to be able to explain why we believe in Unconditional Security.
June 7th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Session 10 – Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe that a person can lose their salvation? Discuss.
Response: No, I do not. I like the concluding principle listed in the class notes:
• Our salvation is protected by the power of God.
• If you are trusting in Christ for your salvation, you have eternal life as a permanent possession.
• We are to persevere in our faith.
2. Why do you think that most people do believe that a person can lose their
salvation? Explain.
Response: I think this notion stems from the idea that “all good people go to heaven” or “How could a loving God allow someone to go to hell” as opposed to a desire to know God’s truths and accept that oneself is sinful, broken, and separated from God.
3. Which argument of Conditional Security do you think is the most convincing?
Explain.
Response: I would have to say #5 - Until the time of John Calvin, no one believed in the now common “once-saved-always-saved view.” Before the sixteenth century, it would have been considered heretical to think that a person could
not commit apostasy, thereby losing his or her salvation.
I know that theology can evolve as our understanding of Scripture improves. However, this does not easily come about without careful, objective critiques of why we believe what we believe.
4. Which argument of Unconditional Security do you think is the most
convincing? Explain.
Response: Argument #2 – The Bible clearly teaches that a true believer can never be lost. I believe this to be true based on the Scriptures.
5. Evaluate the validity of this statement: “The means by which a person is saved
is also the means by which he is kept. The means by which a person is kept is
also the mean by which he is saved.”
Response: Salvation is a process, a work of God in our lives, that is made up of different steps or parts as have been defined in this class – Election, Calling, Regeneration, Conversion, Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. The means by which a person is saved and kept is God’s grace.
6. If you believe that a person cannot lose their salvation, how would you
respond to the argument that a person can then sin all they want?
Response: I would be inclined to question whether or not this individual ever truly received salvation to begin with. The Bible speaks of things such as being “born again”, becoming “slave of righteousness”, true believers bearing good fruit, etc… which speak of a life free from the constraints of sin. Yes true believers do continue to sin but I would not describe this as a willful willingness to sin, but rather, a process of struggling with sin which we begin to overcome as God sanctifies us as we grow closer to Him.
7. Read 1 Jn. 2:19. How does this passage contribute to this discussion?
Response: 1 John 2:19 speaks of those who had left the fellowship, and thus, were never truly belonged with the believers.
8. The doctrine of Perseverance teaches that while a true believer’s faith most
certainly will fluctuate from time to time, he or she will never completely
lose it. Has there ever been a time in your life when you have doubted the
Gospel? In other words, does your faith ever fluctuate?
Response: I have never doubted Gospel since I first came to accept it as truth. However, I have often struggled to understand it and have often questioned the Gospel. My questioning the Gospel has stemmed from my desire to better understand it.
9. How was your thinking challenged the most by the lesson? Explain.
Response: Conditional Security vs Eternal Security does present a tension w/ theology. This class has helped me to dip deeper into the two views and hopefully I now have a somewhat clearer understanding of the two. In the past, I would be inclined to shy away from such issues that have divisive potential.