I'd like to hear some opinions on the idea of "Eternal Security". I'm familiar with it from a Baptist and Methodist point of view but I know there are lots of varying beliefs on the subject. I am familiar with some of the verses that are the cornerstone for the basic idea, such as John 3:16, John 5:24 and John 10:28-29 to name a few. (I've recently been studying the Gospel of John which I find to be the most intriguing of the Gospels for study). I've also studied those verses people quote against the idea, such as 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Hebrews 3:14, 2 Peter 2:20-22 and of course Matthew 24:13 where Christ says “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”. A theoretical question for those who believe in the concept. If a serial killer comes to Christ by saying the "sinners prayer" or something along those lines and is baptized (as many believe baptism is key) and then engages in another killing spree, is that person really "saved"? Let's say this time at least each time he kills he asks God for forgiveness, does that change things? There's an old story that illustrates the way many people see Christianity. It goes something like this;
"I asked God for a bike. I was disappointed when I didn't get one. Then I went to church and the pastor there told me that's not how God works, so I stole a bike and asked God for forgiveness."
So, is eternal security some get out of jail free card for sin? What do you believe?
We have the Assurance and Confidence of forgiveness in the Gospel, and that we are Christ's, and that there is no power, neither in height no depth, above or below, in all the earth, that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. This means we can be confident in the promises of God, of HIs love for us, His mercy, and forgiveness. So that we can look to our baptism and know we belong to God because we are in Christ. We can look to the Lord's Supper where He offers us His body and blood, and that we are His for He gives us Himself. When the Gospel is preached, our faith is strengthened, our hope built up, so that we are confident and assured of these good things, comforted by them.
The problem with "once saved always saved" is that while on the surface it seems to suggest assurance and confidence, it really isn't.
The problem with "once saved always saved" is how it tries to tackle the very real issue of apostasy, when a Christian falls away from the faith and becomes an unbeliever. The doctrine of "once saved always saved" only has two answers: The Christian that falls away remains saved anyway, even though they live a totally unrepentant life in non-belief, having fully rejected Christ; this is not usually the answer OSAS gives, because most everyone recognizes the immediate absurdity of it. The answer usually given was that such a person was never a Christian in the first place, they never actually believed, because had they been a "Real Christian" they'd never have fallen away. But let's really listen to that answer, because it isn't an answer of hope, of confidence; it's an answer of despair and lacking hope.
Let me offer a personal anecdote:
When I was in high school there was a guy named Tom in my high school youth group at church. Tom took his faith seriously, he wasn't a stick in the mud, but he was the most devoted person I knew who was around my age. I would often find him, during lunch break at school, in the library doing devotional studies with Scripture, freely spending his time between class with his nose in the Bible, hungrily reading it, taking notes, and devoting himself to following Jesus and taking Jesus seriously. He wasn't arrogant, he didn't shove his faithfulness in anyone's face. He was a soft-spoken, humble, and dedicated and devoted Christian who really wanted to take Jesus seriously and walk the walk and talk the talk. I looked up to Tom, I respected Tom, I wanted to be a Christian like Tom.
Years later after high school I met Tom again. Tom wasn't a Christian anymore, he had between high school and dropping out of college completely thrown away his faith. I didn't know all the details, but I did hang out with Tom a few times, we shared a couple beers and talked about life. But Tom was different, he wasn't the same person; not just in the sense that he was no longer a believer, but there was just something that wasn't there anymore. And I'll be really honest, it shook me.
In high school I was a Christian, and I even had a reputation among some groups of friends as "the Christian" in the group. I struggled with a lot of things, of course I did, of course we all do. But my faith was shaky, I was always worried about my salvation, I believed in "Once saved always saved" and so I was frequently in fear about the sincerity of my own faith. It was a question that often led me to long tearful nights as I poured my heart out to God, just wanting to be saved and know I'm saved. It would be years before I finally had that aching resolved by a fresh hearing of the Gospel, and a new confidence could be built in me. But Tom? Tom didn't just talk the talk, he walked the walk. I'm sure he had his own struggles of faith, as we all do, I don't think Tom was perfect, who knows all that was in his heart and in his head--but Tom certainly wasn't
faking his Christianity.
I haven't heard from Tom in a very long time now, I don't know how he's doing or what he's up to. I don't know if perhaps, in the long years since we spoke that he has returned to the faith or not. But I want to be clear: When I met Tom last, Tom wasn't a Christian. And I absolutely reject the idea that Tom had never been a Christian.
If Tom had never been a Christian, then that calls into question whether I am a Christian even right now. How can I know I'm actually a Christian? Tom thought he was a Christian, I thought Tom was a Christian. If being a Christian is ultimately unknowable, then nobody can actually have any confidence, any assurance, in Christ, in the Gospel, of forgiveness, of hope, of eternal life.
Once saved always saved does not bring confidence and assurance and hope. It has the appearance of these things, but only if one can do the mental gymnastics to say, "Well, that person obviously was never a Christian, but hey, I know I am". But who is to say you're not just like Tom, you may think you're a Christian right now, but you only think you are.
The only way we can have assurance is by trusting in the promise of the Gospel. We can never look to ourselves, turn our gaze inward. It is only with eyes outward, upon Christ, that we have any hope and confidence. OSAS turns the gaze inward, not outward. And it ultimately provides no comfort or relief to the weary Christian who needs the Gospel to give him rest in this world of burden.
-CryptoLutheran
