I hesitate to cover this topic because it has been a hot topic for a very long time and a lot has already been written about it. But because we may be entering a time in church history when one’s personal response to the perilous times that lie ahead may be influenced by his position on this issue, I will cover it.
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come.”
2 Tim. 3:1
“Let no man deceive you by any means, for that Day (Day of Christ) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
2 Thes. 2:3
There are three different positions on this issue held by the different mainline denominations:
Pelagianism, which believes that a man’s salvation is an act of his free will only.
Synergism, which believes that a man needs grace, but has to freely cooperate with it. (one is saved by grace through faith, but can lose his salvation when he, as an act of his free will, discards his faith)
and
Irresistible grace, which believes that grace saves even against human free will. (“once saved-always saved”, “eternal security”)
There are countless scriptures on salvation by grace through faith which lead to the promise of salvation and eternal life. (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 3:18, 3:36, 5:24, 6:44-47; Eph. 2:8) That is the heart of the gospel. If that was all there was to it, there would be no debate, but it is not. Grace is not the issue. Salvation is not the issue. Eternal life is not the issue. Reciting all the wonderful scriptures about our wonderful salvation by grace through faith in Jesus and the eternal life that goes with it are not in dispute. The believer’s deliverance from condemnation is not in dispute. None of the wonderful results of faith are in dispute. The dispute is whether or not a born-again believer can willfully discard his faith and lose all the fruits of the faith that he formerly had.
I will consider only Synergism and Irresistible grace, as very few give any credence to Pelagianism. Here are the main scriptures for the two, and it will be helpful if you read them so that you will be able to follow the discussion:
Irresistible Grace, “Once saved – Always saved”, or “Eternal Security”
“My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
John 10:29
“I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.”
John 17:15
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. … 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”
John 6:37, 39
“who (Holy Spirit) is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Eph. 1:14
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Phil. 1:6
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy”Jude 24
“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”
1 John 3:6
“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
1 John 3:9
Synergism (One can lose his salvation by an act of his free will)
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
Heb. 6:4-6
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Matt. 10:32-33
“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”
Matt. 12:31
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Rev. 3:5
“But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mk. 11:26 and Matt. 18:35
“nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Cor. 6:10
“having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray”
2 Peter 2:14-15
Even the most ardent advocate of either position must admit that the other side has a pretty strong case. However, that is normally not done. Usually, the only scriptures that are presented are those in support of one position or the other without addressing the alleged “opposing” scriptures. This level of exegesis is utterly inadequate. What good is that? That proves nothing. One must examine them all, both sides. Only after one has done some proper exegesis can he properly determine which one is correct. If anyone is unwilling to examine the other side, then he is not a legitimate student of scripture. So that is what we will do.
In order to do this, I took the approach that all the scriptures are true and somehow compatible. Then, I looked for the scriptures that were inflexible with regard to free-will and those which flexible with regard to free-will. Taking each group of scriptures as a whole, I looked for the group that could be compatible with the other group if I injected free-will into their flexibility.
I do not dispute that God will not allow anyone to be snatched out of His hand. (Jn. 10:29) I do not dispute that God will keep us from the evil one (Jn. 17:15), or that God will not cast us out. (Jn. 6:37) But all of those scriptures address the faithfulness of God and none preclude a believer from willfully renouncing his faith of his own accord.
I also did some individual exegesis, as follows:
Regarding the scripture that states that the Holy Spirit is the “guarantee” of our inheritance (Eph. 1:14), the Greek word translated “guarantee” is arrabon. A better translation of this word is pledge, earnest or down payment. Strong’s defines it as an “earnest (a part payment in advance for security)”. I reviewed all the translations of this verse in the different English translations of the New Testament (about 150) and there are more translations of the word (arrabon) as either pledge, earnest or down payment than as guarantee. It is a down payment, not a guarantee.
Regarding the wonderful encouragement in Philippians 1:6 and Jude 24 (faultless), they are wonderful encouragement, but they are not an accurate description of most Christians.
Regarding the blunt denial of all sin in all believers in 1 John 3:6 and 3:9; this is certainly not a description of what exists, but rather a call to believers to behave as they should. The verse that immediately follows these verses reads:
“In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” (1 John 3:10)
The Apostle John had a manner of writing that displayed his ideal. For instance: “He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us.” (1 John 4:6) And “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (4:8) And “God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” (4:12) Therefore John’s flat statements that some take as his assurance of salvation are more accurately taken as his expressions of the ideal Christian life.
If John’s letter is taken as a whole, and we take his portrayal of a true Christian as requirements, then few will qualify, and his letter could just as easily be interpreted to rule out most “Christians” as worthy of salvation at all.
In an effort to reconcile the two groups of scriptures, I inserted free-will into the equation and then compared the two. If, after applying free-will to the scripture, it could be compatible with the other group of scriptures, then I had my answer. I concluded that the Irresistible Grace (Once saved – always saved, eternal security) position could be compatible with the Synergism (One can lose his salvation by an act of his free will) position if free-will was inserted. On the other hand, none of the Synergistic scriptures offered any flexibility. They were already an expression of free-will. Therefore, I concluded that the true and accurate biblical position is that one can lose his salvation as an exercise of his free-will. There is no other way to honor the inflexible position so clearly revealed in all seven of the Synergism scriptures.
Heb. 6:4-5 refers to believers who “fall away”. This could only apply to someone who was once a true believer. Otherwise, a person could not possibly qualify as one who fell away. And in the example given in this passage, the believer is one who rose to unusual heights in his walk with God, and after his fall was unable to be renewed to repentance.
Matt. 10:33 refers to a anyone who denies Jesus before men. If such a person, who must also include believers, denies Jesus before men, Jesus will deny him before His Father.
Matt. 12:31 states that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit has committed the unpardonable sin. That includes anyone. (Perhaps this is what some of those who support the “once saved-always saved” position are so afraid of, because some of them teach that speaking in tongues is of the devil.)
Rev. 3:5 refers to those whose names are blotted out of the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is not possible to blot someone out if he is not there at the time.
Mk. 11:26 and its corresponding verse in Matthew state that if we do not forgive, then we will not be forgiven. And only the forgiven will make it to heaven. So, if some-one, as in anyone, refuses to forgive, which a believer is free to do, then he is damned.
Even true believers are free to behave as they choose. They are free to be thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners. And if they are, they will not inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor. 6:10
Peter described believers who had a “heart trained in covetous practices, and areaccursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray”. These “children” have forsaken the right way and gone astray, therefore they are accursed. Accursed means damned. 2 Peter 2:14-15
As strong as the scriptures are on the side of Irresistible Grace (once saved-always saved, eternal security), they are still subject to one’s free will. And we must of necessity reconcile them with the inflexible scriptures on the side of Synergism (Lose one’s salvation by an act of free will). Otherwise, one must just ignore what is there in the Bible, which I am not willing to do.
There is a scripture that reveals the clash of the two different principles and the answer to our question:
“to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter 1:4-5
Herein we see the necessity of a lasting faith. Yes, we have an inheritance, and yes, it is reserved for us in heaven, and yes, we are kept by the power of God. But it is “through faith” and it is not revealed until “the last time”. All of the promises to believers are dependent upon remaining a believer and having a faith that lasts.
Likewise in Colossians, Paul wrote about the need to continue in the faith, remain grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel in order to be saved:
”… to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard…” Col. 1:22-23
No one has full revelation of any one scripture, much less all the scriptures applicable to this issue. But I am confident that the conclusion that I have reached is the proper one, and all those who might be tempted to abandon their faith when it comes under extreme pressure should be mindful that their free-will will never be subverted by even a most gracious God. In addition, I see absolutely no benefit to believing that one can totally abandon his faith and do as much evil as he wants without any eternal consequences.