Galatians Chapter 5, Verse 1 — False Grace Vs. True Grace (Part 2 of 2) (Short Version) [Print Document]
"Eternal Security" — Is This True?
Galatians 5:1
“[1] Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.”
In the first part of this two-part article, we discussed how some Church leaders and teachers say, or strongly imply, that God’s liberty or grace is all that God has for Christians, even when they live in sin.
We laid the foundation, from Romans 5, for what grace is and how Abba Father God showed us His love by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross to pay for the penalty of our sins. And, we looked at Romans 6:16 and saw how one can actually become a servant of sin if he (or she) yields himself to serve sin.
Many teachers have taught that once you are saved from sin through Jesus Christ, you are always saved. They call this "eternal security." But, is this biblically sound? Does the Bible actually teach that born-again Christians can never fall away? We will examine this teaching in this second part of our article on Galatians 5:1.
Now, we will continue with Romans 6:16.
Expounding Romans 6:16
The result of sin, when it is not dealt with by repentance from sin (which is forsaking sin), is death, and not righteousness. So, this verse in Romans is saying that sinning, and not forsaking sin, will produce death?
That is exactly what it and other verses in the Bible actually teach. Many teachers today ignore the plain meaning of the verses, or don’t teach them at all.
But, what kind of death are we talking about? Is it just physical death? Let’s look at Hebrews 10:26-30. Click here to read this passage.
This person who trod the Son of God underfoot, and counted the blood of the covenant (i.e. the New Covenant under Jesus) “unholy,” was sanctified by Jesus Christ’s blood. He actually was set apart to Abba God by the blood of Jesus.
Here are some verses that speak about being sanctified:
Hebrews 13:12 - “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”
Hebrews 13:12 clearly states that Jesus sanctified us Christians with His own blood. Going back to Hebrews 10:29, the person this passage speaks of was sanctified by Jesus Christ’s blood. In other words, he was a true Christian, for a time. But, sin became his master, and he its slave, like Romans 6:16 speaks of. Again, Romans 6:16 says: “[16] Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Eternal Security and Calvinism
This is something to think about, because many pastors and teachers have told us that once you have been born-again, you can never reject God and fall away. But, does the Bible really teach that? That idea is found in Calvinism. Many Baptists believe that too. But, is “eternal security” false doctrine? Is the belief that a Christian can never leave their faith, and fall away, false doctrine?
Other pastors have said that you can fall away but that you have to verbally deny your former faith in Jesus and His sacrifice. They act as if it is very unlikely that a Christian would fall away. But, what does the Bible say about this subject? The reason we are asking these questions is that many Christians have been told that God’s grace will cover the sins of a rebellious Christian. But, does the Bible really teach that? Or, is that just wishful thinking?
John 10:28 — “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Did Jesus teach that a Christian could never turn from Him? Before we answer this, we need to find out what kind of person a sheep is. Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” If they stray from the Shepherd, those who are God's sheep will eventually return to Abba God and follow Him. If they don't follow God anymore, they would not be God's true sheep. So, if a Christian, theoretically, were to turn from God and walk away from Him, and not turn back to God, would that person be a sheep?
Listen to what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 24:12-13. Click here to read it. Jesus is saying that there are people who will not endure unto the end, and who shall not be saved. In Revelation 3:5, Jesus Christ said: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
So, whose names would Jesus Christ have to blot out from the book of life? Jesus said that the one who overcomes will not have his (or her) name blotted out of the book. But, could the ones whose names were blotted out never been true, born-again Christians to begin with? To respond to this question, I ask: “Why were their names written in the book of life if they were not born-again?” Revelation 20:12 and Revelation 20:15 speak about the book of life and how those whose names were not written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire. Click here to read these two verses.
Hebrews 6 Versus the Eternal Security Belief
To investigate this more, let’s look at Hebrews 6, keeping in mind what we saw in Hebrews 10:26-30.
Hebrews 6:4-8
“[4] For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, [5] And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, [6] If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
[7] For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: [8] But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”
The Greek word for “partakers” is metochos. The NAS Exhaustive Concordance defines it as: “companions (1), partakers (4), partners (1).” It also defines it as, “To have a part in; to share.” Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “partaker” as: “One who has or takes a part, share or portion in common with others; a sharer; a participator…” (See Footnote 2).
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Footnote 2:
Partake Defined: Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “partake” as “2. To have something of the property, nature, claim or right. … 3. To be admitted; not to be excluded.”
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The Parable of the Sower (or the Soil)
Pay attention to verses 13 through 15. The people with rocky soil have no deep root, even though God’s Word did grow in what soil they had. When temptations (and trials) come, they forsake Abba God and fall away. The people with weedy ground allow cares, riches, and pleasures of this life to choke out their walk with God and spiritual life in Christ. They do not continue to produce fruit. Contrast this with the people who have good ground. They hear Abba God’s Word, obey it, and patiently bring forth fruit. They are not rebelling against God’s Word, but they are obeying it. Thus, they are God's sheep.
Matthew 7 and the People Who Said ‘Lord, Lord’
But, some will speak of Matthew 7 as a basis for their belief that Christians can never fall away. Let’s look at Matthew 7:21-23. Jesus said:
[Matthew 7:21-23]
“[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
One may ask: “If they were former Christians, who called Jesus ‘Lord’ in verse 22, how could Jesus say He never knew them?” In the same way that Abba God forgets our sins when we repent, God also forgets people who only knew Him for not even a “millisecond” of eternity. (See Endnote). Abba God said these words in Ezekiel 33:
[Ezekiel 33:13] “When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.”
A man who turns from righteousness and turns to iniquity (sin) shall die for his sins, and shall not live. In the New Covenant, God sees that this person rejected Jesus Christ’s sacrifice so that he could pursue sin, selfishness, and pride. Such a person has become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (See Hebrews 3) and is no longer a true Christian. I had to come to this conclusion from seeking God, meditating on the scriptures (Psalm 1:2), and studying this out. It is not nice-sounding to hear, but it is the truth of God’s Word that we go by, and not man’s interpretation (Jeremiah 17:5-9).
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us forsake sin and repent from anything God is convicting us of. Let us forgive those who did wrong by us and give our pain to God, Who cares for us deeply (1 Peter 5:7). Let us walk in the light with Abba Father God (Who is the Light), and we will have close, intimate fellowship with Him, and He with us (1 John 1:5-10).
The devil wants us to think that we can get away with sin and that there will be no consequences. But, sin always has consequences. Let’s not go for the devil’s snares and traps, but be sober, and watch, and walk in the light of the Lord, who loves us better than we know. Abba God promised to meet all our needs (including spiritual, emotional, and physical) in Philippians 4:19 and Psalm 36:7-8. And, Abba God certainly shall.
If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.
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References:
Webster, Noah. American Dictionary of the English Language. United Books Press, Inc., 2009. (i.e. Webster's 1828 dictionary).
Biblehub.com.
Endnote:
If you divide 10,000 years by infinity, the answer is zero. If you divide 10 billion (10,000,000) years by infinity, you still only have a quotient of zero. So, if you lived for 120 years, that would not even be a noticeable fraction of eternity. In fact, it would not even be a numerical value, such as 0.000001. It would yield zero when divided by eternity.
In other words, the entire lifetime of a human being on earth is not even a true fraction of eternity because eternity is not limited in size or value. Therefore, from the perspective of eternity, a person who knew God for 80 years of his (or her) life, and then fell away from the faith, would not have known Abba God for even a true fraction of their entire existence in eternity. Their time knowing God would be zero compared to eternity.
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