Predestination and Eternal Security
The once-saved-always-saved issue is a hot topic of debate in today’s church. On one
side, people can make a profession of faith and then have a false sense of security even
though they have no relationship with Jesus Christ at all. On the Calvinist side, people
have the attitude that if God wants it done, He will do it or make me do it. I once talked
with a man claiming to be a Christian who was trying to justify his pornography habit. He
stated that he didn’t think that he was accountable for his addiction. If God wanted him to
change, God would change him. Until that time, he was free to sin at every urge that God
permitted to tempt him.
I have also heard many people say that God will send people to the church if He wants
them to be saved. All we have to do is look around to see if this is true. The churches that
thrive outside their four walls are reaching people and are on fire when they come
together each week. Churches that only minister to themselves and those ’God sends’
have little impact on the culture around them and are often cold inside the walls of the
church. Jesus taught that we are to go into the highways and hedges to find those who
will come - go out into the all world. In Mark 16:15, Jesus issues the great commission to
go out and reach the world, not wait for God to send the world to us. A church hiding
behind the walls is in disobedience and by their own actions, limit God’s blessing that He
longs to invest in them. Numbers does not indicate spiritual maturity. I know large
churches that are cold as ice and small ministries that are on fire and impacting the world
for Christ.
Calvinism
The most popular doctrine of predestination is Calvinism. Calvinism takes its name from
John Calvin who wrote 5 points
Total Depravity of Man - all are born sinners
Unconditional Election - God has already chosen who will go to Heaven and Hell
Limited Atonement - Jesus died only to redeem those who were pre-chosen
Irresistible Grace - Man is saved by the will of God without choice
Perseverance of the Saints - Those predestined cannot be lost
I will state up front that I do not believe in Calvinism. One proof against it is its fruit.
Jesus said that we would know teaching by the fruit. Generally speaking, Calvinist
churches are only reaching people who are already believers. Obviously there are
exceptions to this, but as a whole, evangelism is not a part of this movement. The
believers they reach become like-minded and if they were outreach minded, they abandon
the idea. I was once under a pastor who was a Calvinist. We built a church in a heavily
populated unchurched community and it was an ideal location. The members present
when the church was built were the same members present 8 years later. I have a friend
who still attends. They are the same today as they were 20 years ago. Where is the fruit?
Where are the changed lives, the spiritual growth and the disciples who should now be
disciplers? The whole purpose of the church is to reach the lost, then equip and encourage
people for their personal ministries. True discipleship produces more discipleship. In
other words, I should be equipping people to become teachers, preachers and ministers
who will go out and reproduce themselves. A minister is anyone who is following God’s
call and doing what He has equipped them to do. Each person should grow to the point
where they are not dependent on someone teaching them. We still are commanded to
come together, but growth is limited if we are only growing in church.
God’s Foreknowledge
Look at the passage most Calvinist’s use:
Romans 8
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of
His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these
He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
What is the focus of this passage? It is to conform to the image of Christ. We are
predestined to conform to His image. This passage tells us that every Christian is
included in this destiny God has ordained. However, we don’t see every Christian
conforming to Christ. Under the Calvinist viewpoint, this would be a false statement in
my opinion. Who didn’t God foreknow? Even the unbeliever was foreknown. God
foretold of the sinners who would try and crucify Jesus. God foreknew the wicked kings
of Israel. God foreknew the wicked kings that would defeat Israel in judgment. God
foreknew the wicked people that would inhabit the Promised Land sworn to Abraham. If
you look back to the promise, God said that the people would be taken captive for 400
years and would inherit the land once the sins of the people God would judge was
complete. In other words, God foreknew the people and what choice they would make. In
Revelation, God foreknew the wicked leaders and the people who would reject and
accept Him during the Great Tribulation and He gave a glimpse in His prophecy.
What this passage in Romans is telling us is that God has planned our lives before hand.
He has given us everything we need to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Look at
Psalm 139:
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all
were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of
them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand
God knew me before I existed and He fashioned me in the womb to fit perfectly in the
plan He has for my life. He has also laid out His plan for my life and given me everything
I need to finish this life complete and stand before Him in victory when this life is over.
Therefore, there is no excuse for a Christian failing to become what God intended. If we
fall short of the promise, it is because we have refused God’s ways and have instead
followed our ways. Predestination does not nullify free will. If there is no free will, there
can’t be love. I can’t obey nor disobey if I have no choice. I can program my computer to
say, "I love you" every time it boots up. What pleasure would that give me? Why would
God program us to be forced to love Him? It is not love if there is not a choice to not love
God. We are predestined to conform to His image - which we were originally created to
reflect - but we have a choice to conform to the world instead.
Keep the context in focus
It is always important to keep the whole revelation of God’s word in focus. Scripture
enlightens scripture. Every error finds its roots in the fact that one passage is given
greater weight than other scriptures. When someone zeros in on a passage and ignores
passages that are contradictory to their conclusion, error is the result. It is not the passage
that is in contradiction, but the conclusion being drawn when a passage is taken out of
context of the rest of scripture. I believe the Calvinist debate falls into this trap. If you
only look at the passages that use the word `predestined’, then you can easily draw the
conclusion of Calvinism. However, when you examine these passages in light of the
entire Bible, a complete picture begins to emerge. Anytime someone has to explain away
passages that disagree, they are on dangerous ground. Instead, we should look at the
whole picture and see where this passage fits in light of the rest of scripture. Calvinism
has to get past passages that point to freewill. Predestination and freewill are not in
conflict if sound biblical interpretation is applied. These passages compliment each other
to give us a complete picture.
Eternal Security
The second part of the of this study will examine the question of eternal security. I was
raised to believe `once-saved-always-saved’, but a few years back I began to question this
doctrine. I read well articulated arguments against it and I began to lean toward the
possibility that salvation is volatile. Over the last two years I have studied and returned to
my roots, but with a different perspective. I believe the bible is clear on this topic if you
look at the entire revelation of scripture.
Can we call salvation eternal life if it is only a temporary state that we must hold on to?
Even more so, can we call it grace if it is dependent on us? The first principle of salvation
that the apostle Paul hammered down is that salvation is not by works, but by grace alone
through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not based on works that we do to earn grace, nor is it
what we do to keep grace. Grace is grace, before and after we are born into God’s
kingdom. God doesn’t change the rules once we are saved. Even our faith has been
measured to us so that we could believe if we want a relationship with God. Romans 12
explains:
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God
has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
The only time `I’ comes into the picture is when I choose not to love God. My spirit
longs for God and only my will to love the world over God can prevent my relationship
with Him. I was created to love God. Ecclesiastes tells us that God placed eternity in our
hearts. By design, my spirit desires eternity, but by choice I can choose the world over
God. So contrary to common opinion, my efforts don’t come into play unless I reject
God. Yielding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction is a surrender, only resisting is an effort of
work. Therefore, works are not a part of the picture unless I am working against God’s
Spirit. I have nothing to boast of, God has done it all. God created me to love Him, He
placed eternity within me, and He gave me enough faith to believe on Jesus Christ.
Salvation is effortless. Rejection is the effort. If I had to chose to maintain my salvation,
then the effort would be mine and then there would be something to boast about.
Ephesians 2 says:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
If remaining saved was my effort, then this passage would be voided. If I can boast that I
maintain my salvation, then where is grace? Some argue that we are saved by grace but
maintain through works or some type of effort, but this is contrary to the word of God.
Keeping the Law?
Philippians 1:6 tells us that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. After
salvation, nothing changes. It is grace that saves us, grace that works within us, and grace
that leads us home. People who depend on works may not call it `the law’, but those who
say certain efforts must be made to maintain salvation are actually teaching that our
righteousness comes from the law - or keeping certain rules to please God. Even in the
Old Testament, the saints were not saved by the law. They were saved by faith in God’s
provision of salvation - which is Jesus Christ. The Old Testament saints kept the law
given to them out of faith in what God would one day reveal in Jesus Christ. The law
pointed to the cross. Now Jesus has been revealed and He is their Redeemer as well as
ours. It has never been the faith in the law that justified the saints. The true believers had
faith in God and their faith was evident by keeping the law. They didn’t trust in their
works, but in God. This is no different today. If someone says they are saved by grace
and then maintained by rules, they nullify the work of Christ. Look at Galatians 2 and 5:
2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the
law, then Christ died in vain."
Galatians 5
4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by
law; you have fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
We are warned not to turn from grace and to the law or we have fallen from grace. In
other words, we are not walking in the grace of God, but are walking according to our
own righteousness - which God does not acknowledge. My righteousness means nothing
to God. In fact, God said in Isaiah 64:6 that my works of righteousness are filthy rags in
God’s sight. In Isaiah 61:10, we are told that we become righteous because God covers us
with the robe of His righteousness. This agrees with 2 Corinthians 5:21
21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in Him.
We are not righteous, we inherit God’s righteousness. What can we do to become as
righteous as God? Nothing. When we try, we end up as rags described in Isaiah 64:6.
Always saved?
The problem with the `always saved’ doctrine is that many people who think they are
saved really are not. This is what led me back to the doctrine of eternal security. Every
time we see people abandoning the faith in scripture, we are told that they were not
believers. 1 John 2 addresses this. In verse 19, John says,
"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 they might be made
manifest, that none of them were of us".
When a Christian falls away, God draws them back. We live in a deceptive world.
However, we have the promise that those who are His will hear his voice. People are
deceived for two reasons. One is ignorance, the other is choice. When someone is
deceived because they did not know the truth, they will hear God’s call when the truth is
taught. When someone chooses the lie over the truth, they will not return unless they
recognize the worthlessness of their choice. Many people make professions of faith out of
a desire for gain. They want to escape hell. They want to inherit heaven. They want to
unload the guilt they are carrying. When someone unloads a heavy burden, they can feel
an emotional high and will be excited about church. But when the emotions fade, if they
have not truly surrendered to the lordship of Jesus Christ, they begin to drift away
because they are not truly His. Salvation has many promises, but ultimately the choice of
grace is a desire for God. There must be a choice of laying down our life and
surrendering to Christ. Most people in the church want Jesus to be their Savior, but not
Lord. These people have not really surrendered. The evidence is that they will be drawn
by the world and they will follow their master. Their allegiance has always been in the
world and they will eventually return to their allegiance. Sometimes they remain in the
church, but they also remain very worldly.
Evidence for Salvation
The evidence of salvation is found in 1 John 2:
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this
we know that we are in Him.
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
This is where the law and grace divide the sheep from the goats. Those who try to justify
themselves, will have the never ending burden of trying to measure up to God’s standard.
Frustration, insecurity and bitterness are constant struggles. We can’t measure up to this
standard demanded by the law. How can I walk like Christ? How can I conform to His
image? Humanly speaking, this is impossible. Those who try to maintain this standard are
walking outside of grace and will never have the peace of a loving relationship with God.
Even their good deeds are sin in God’s eyes. Good deeds with selfish motives are not
good deeds. Trying to make myself righteous is not only selfish, but it is rooted in pride.
God said I can’t make myself righteous. If I think I can override God’s word, then by
default, I am sinful in my motives.
However, the person who loves God will conform to Christ because that is what he or she
desires. I am not pursuing my works, I am pursuing my relationship with God. He then
shapes me into His own image and gives me the grace to walk as He walks. The only
effort on my part is keeping myself unspotted from the world. I draw near to Christ and a
hunger to be like Him is born. I begin to thirst for His word and grow in maturity. It all
boils down to desire. If I desire the world but want heaven, I have missed what makes
heaven what it is. Heaven is not a vacation resort in the sky. Heaven is an eternal
kingdom centered around a loving relationship with God. People who want heaven but
not a relationship with God, don’t really want heaven. A relationship with God requires
that I die to myself and live for Him. Look at Hebrews 12
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us
have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Many want a kingdom made to suit them. However, the true believer rejoices in the
promise of a kingdom centered around God and find pleasure in serving Him. If I resent
serving God now when I have a choice, why would I desire a place where my only option
is to serve God? Works are the evidence that I have truly made a transfer of citizenship. I
serve God now because I love God and I am honored to be used in building His kingdom.
Someone who does not love God and has no pleasure in serving God should examine
their lives to see if they truly belong to Him. Those who fall from the faith have lost faith
in their god, not our God. They may call their god the God of the Bible, but they have
made Him into their image instead of conforming to His image. They may believe in
Jesus, but they have never surrendered to Him. Someone who belongs to God will not
turn away without a longing to return again. I have heard people say, "If someone was a
Christian and becomes an atheist, do they lose their salvation?" Look at 1 John 3
9 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.
10 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.
Can a child of God turn from the faith? No, not according to the scripture. Someone
religious can. Someone who calls themselves a Christian can. But someone who has the
Holy Spirit living within them cannot abandon the faith - at least not for long. People can
get discouraged and quit, but the Spirit within them will burden them until they come
home. Look now at 2 Timothy 2
11 This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, We shall also live with
Him.
12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us.
13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.
They key to this passage is `if we died with Him’. Those who abandon the faith have
never died to self. The questionable portion is verse 12, `He will also deny us’. There are
two possibilities here. One is to ask what He is denying from us? Is it salvation? I don’t
believe it is because scripture follows by saying that He remains faithful to the faithless
who have died with Him. Remember Peter denied Jesus 3 times and was restored and
became the rock of the church. I personally believe verse 12 is a `side bar’ comment. If
we deny Him by refusing to make Him Lord, He will deny us when we call Him Lord. If
we compare scripture to scripture we see another piece to this mystery in Matthew 7:
21 " Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 "Many will say to Me in that day, ’Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?’
23 "And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness!’
They called Him `Lord’, but denied Jesus of His rightful place as Lord. When they stood
before Him, He denied them as His own. In spite of their works, they were called `you
who practice lawlessness’ and were judged as unbelievers.
When we look at the entire revelation of scripture, we see security is a promise. When we
lose faith, He remains faithful. However, He will not allow us to go back to being as
someone unredeemed because His seed, the Holy Spirit remains within us. Yes, I do
believe in eternal security. The real question is `who are the redeemed?’ The evidence of
salvation is that we are conforming to the image of Christ. The evidence that we don’t
belong to Him is that we depart. In the middle are those whose hearts are in the world,
but practice religion without a heart for God. Those are the lukewarm who feel secure,
but God stated that He will spew them out of His mouth. The prodigal will depart from
the church, but his or her heart belongs to God and they will return. So in the end, only
God knows where a person is spiritually. From the outside, we cannot judge someone’s
salvation. We can judge their actions and words, but ultimately only God knows the
heart. We can only examine our own lives and judge ourselves by the truth of scripture.
Each of us must surrender or choose the world. The two cannot be married.
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