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The reasoning that has developed in the thread Salvation is COMPLETE and IRREVOCABLE, or something like that , in the Soteriology section of these boards, primarily argued by @FreeGrace2, (and now Eternal Security-is the Gospel) in the General Theology section) is along the following lines:
In the parable of the sower, there are those who BELIEVE FOR A WHILE and then fall away. Luke 8:13.
But in John 5:24, John 6:47, and John 10:28 it is given that those who believe POSSESS everlasting life, and shall NEVER PERISH.
So then, if I believe for a while and then fall away, did I possess everlasting life while I believed?
And if, when I fell away, I died spiritually, was it NOT everlasting life in the first place?
Because it seems to me that if life is everlasting, it will never end.
So the argument is, that if I believe for a while I have everlasting life; therefore if I fall away I continue to have everlasting life.
I call it "believe-for-a-moment" theology, and I consider it to be false doctrine, a doctrine of devils, in fact (see 1 Timothy 4:1).
But I don't have an answer.
Maybe we can put our noggins together and figure out an answer for this dilemna in the scripture.
Common sense would tell you that if you fall away from the faith, you no longer have salvation. Since faith is the catalyst for salvation, i.e. we are saved by grace through faith, therefore without faith I am not a recipient of grace and am not saved. So if someone falls away from having faith in Jesus Christ, they wouldn't be saved anymore.
And yet the nature of the life given to those who believe is that it is everlasting; it can never have an end.
And that it is possible that someone can have faith for a season is evident in Luke 8:13.
So if they fall away do they continue to have everlasting life? Or does the fact that they no longer have faith mean that they are departed from Jesus Christ and have salvation no more?
Because also, we cannot have salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ.
If we can have salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ, why come to Jesus in the first place?
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.
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A part of my answer is that when faith is mentioned in the Bible, it can mean different things regardless of the fact that it is the same Greek word. There may be a nominal faith vs. a radical faith, and/or a mental assent vs. a heart faith, the latter of which produces righteousness (Romans 10:10).
So is the "faith for a moment" wherein the person believes for a while and then falls away, is it talking about a mental assent only that does not produce real righteousness, or is it a heart faith that produces righteousness? Are there those whose hearts are changed by Jesus Christ who can fall away later? Or are the ones who can fall away only those who have mental assent to the doctrines of the faith, and who believe in this sense, but whose faith does not produce a change in the heart/life/behaviour?
If someone whose life is changed by faith in Jesus can fall away, was their life everlasting if they do? Because those who believe have everlasting life. John 6:47.
In the parable of the sower, there are those who BELIEVE FOR A WHILE and then fall away. Luke 8:13.
But in John 5:24, John 6:47, and John 10:28 it is given that those who believe POSSESS everlasting life, and shall NEVER PERISH.
So then, if I believe for a while and then fall away, did I possess everlasting life while I believed?
And if, when I fell away, I died spiritually, was it NOT everlasting life in the first place?
Because it seems to me that if life is everlasting, it will never end.
So the argument is, that if I believe for a while I have everlasting life; therefore if I fall away I continue to have everlasting life.
I call it "believe-for-a-moment" theology, and I consider it to be false doctrine, a doctrine of devils, in fact (see 1 Timothy 4:1).
But I don't have an answer.
Maybe we can put our noggins together and figure out an answer for this dilemna in the scripture.
Common sense would tell you that if you fall away from the faith, you no longer have salvation. Since faith is the catalyst for salvation, i.e. we are saved by grace through faith, therefore without faith I am not a recipient of grace and am not saved. So if someone falls away from having faith in Jesus Christ, they wouldn't be saved anymore.
And yet the nature of the life given to those who believe is that it is everlasting; it can never have an end.
And that it is possible that someone can have faith for a season is evident in Luke 8:13.
So if they fall away do they continue to have everlasting life? Or does the fact that they no longer have faith mean that they are departed from Jesus Christ and have salvation no more?
Because also, we cannot have salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ.
If we can have salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ, why come to Jesus in the first place?
.
.
.
A part of my answer is that when faith is mentioned in the Bible, it can mean different things regardless of the fact that it is the same Greek word. There may be a nominal faith vs. a radical faith, and/or a mental assent vs. a heart faith, the latter of which produces righteousness (Romans 10:10).
So is the "faith for a moment" wherein the person believes for a while and then falls away, is it talking about a mental assent only that does not produce real righteousness, or is it a heart faith that produces righteousness? Are there those whose hearts are changed by Jesus Christ who can fall away later? Or are the ones who can fall away only those who have mental assent to the doctrines of the faith, and who believe in this sense, but whose faith does not produce a change in the heart/life/behaviour?
If someone whose life is changed by faith in Jesus can fall away, was their life everlasting if they do? Because those who believe have everlasting life. John 6:47.
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