If your interpretation of
John 10:28-29 is correct why would Jesus tell His disciples "
the one who stands firm to the end will be saved."
Matthew 24:9-13
9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
I don't think the passage indicates that salvation is dependent upon the endurance of a
genuine believer who is under persecution but that the pressures of persecution will reveal the reality of a person's claim to be saved ("many will be offended," "the love of many will grow cold." See also
1 John 2:19). The one who endures to the end is the one who is (and so shall be) saved.
Colossians 1:22-23
(22) But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—
(23) if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul is talking to believers who have been reconciled, but Paul evidently believed that they could fail to continue in their faith, and that they could move from the hope held out in the gospel
I don't see anywhere in this passage where Paul indicates that a
genuine believer may lose their salvation. He simply notes the result of saving faith: A faith that perseveres, established and firm in the hope of the Gospel, is a faith that produces a holy life, free from blemish and accusation. A faith that does not persevere is a false faith, the faith of a "tare," that does not hold firm unto the end. If the Colossians claiming to be saved possessed such a faith, they could not expect to remained unmoved from the hope of the Gospel. This is how I understand Paul's words here. And my understanding appears to be reinforced by Paul pointing out that the Colossians
had already been reconciled to God; they were not, by dint of their perseverance, securing their reconciliation to God. This certainly seems to coincide well with Paul wrote to the Galatian believers:
Galatians 3:2-3
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
Ezekiel 18:26-27
(26) If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it; because of the sin they have committed they will die.
(27) But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is just and right, they will save their life.
Can a righteous person turn away from their righteousness and sin? If they can they will die for it.
Coming out of the OT, this passage has no bearing that I can see upon the circumstance of a person under the New Covenant established in and through Christ. It is precisely because the "righteous" person in the OT could not achieve
perfect righteousness that animal sacrifices had to be made and Christ, finally, had to die at Calvary. (
Romans 3:19-23; Romans 5:12)
Romans 2:7-8
(7) To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
(8) But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. Here is who Paul is talking to, not lost people.
Romans 1:6-7
(6) Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
(7) To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Evidently those called to be saints can reject the truth, follow evil and receive wrath and anger.
Was Paul describing
believers when he wrote what he did from
Romans 1:18 to the end of the chapter? Yes, he starts off his letter acknowledging to whom it he is writing, but this doesn't mean that
everything he describes in his letter is in direct reference
to the Roman believers. This is certainly true in the last part of chapter 1 and it is true also in the passage from chapter 2 you cite above. Neither passage describes
the Romans to whom Paul was writing. These descriptions seem, rather, to be set in distinct
contrast to them and as examples of what to avoid. In chapter 2, Paul is speaking (throughout the whole chapter, really) particularly to
hypocritical teachers:
Romans 2:1
1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
It's worth noting, too, that Paul doesn't use terms here that stipulate he is referring to Roman believers. Instead, he resorts to "O man" and "whoever you are," not "brethren" as he so often does in other places. At the end of the chapter he continues to describe who he means and his language does not give me cause to think he was referring to Roman believers:
Romans 2:17
17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,
Romans 2:24
24 For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written.
I don't see how it makes sense to think Paul is referring to Roman believers here. It seems to me that his descriptions above make it quite evident that he is not.
Galatians 6:9
(9) Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Here is who Paul is talking to, not lost people.
Galatians 3:2-3
(2) This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
(3) Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Evidently those who have received the Spirit can grow weary, give up and not reap a harvest.
Paul isn't indicating that good works obtain one's salvation in
Galatians 6:9. That would directly contradict his explicit statements in
Ephesians 2:8-9 and
Titus 3:5. It seems to me, then, that by "a harvest" Paul means the fruit of the good deeds sown by believers: Sowing mercy produces a harvest of mercy (
Matthew 5:7); sowing friendliness produces a harvest of friends (
Proverbs 18:24); sowing diligence produces a harvest of recognition from superiors (
Proverbs 22:29), and so on.
The quotation above from
Galatians 3 rather makes my case for me. It clearly excludes works as a means of salvation. As Paul explained in
Titus 3:5, the Spirit gives spiritual life to a person
entirely independently of their works. Paul simply repeats this fact to the Galatians.
