If the rebellious, destructive, twisted self will is removed,
can it ever be restored? In considering the security of eternal
life, we must look at three cases: The case of the first Adam,
the case of the second Adam (who was Jesus Christ), and consequently,
the case of every man.
In the case of Adam, he was created with eternal life. Adam was
a perfect man, without a dislocated joint, with no inbred sin,
and with no bent to sinning. The moment he was created he had
communion with God. He was given a rule by which he could keep
eternal life:
Genesis 2:16-17 (KJV) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Adam sinned. As Satan introduced the spirit of disobedience to
Eve, he will do it to every believer. Did Adam physically die
the day he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? The
answer is no. Adam lived 130 years totally, and begat sons and
daughters after leaving the garden of Eden. The very day Adam
disobeyed God, he died a spiritual death. He was
banished from the presence of God. Decide in your heart that you
will have your will over God's will,
and you are instantly back in a state of rebellion.
One disobedient decision, even prior to the act of sin, will restore
you to a state of rebellion.
In recognizing your frame, the mercy of God will allow you time
to realize that something is His will.
Psalms 103:13-14 (NIV) As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
Once however, you realize that something is God's will, you must
comply or you will be in rebellion.
If God had predestined that Jesus in his humanity could not fall,
the devil did not know it, or he would not have wasted time tempting
Him. If Jesus was eternally secure, then the temptation of Jesus
was a deceptive and futile exercise:
Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" 7 Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
If Jesus could not have fallen, then He could get no credit for
what He accomplished. If Jesus was locked in to God's will and
could not have sinned, then He would not be exalted by God for
what He did. If Jesus could not have fallen; then He was a lifeless
robot with no will of His own, showing no love for lost mankind,
simply carrying out an order. He, like we, have free moral agency.
At this point in time, we are free to worship God, or to not worship
God.
If Jesus could not have fallen, He did not know it, or at the
Garden of Gethsemane He would not have prayed "if it is
possible, may this cup be taken from me."
Matthew 26:39 (NIV) Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
Jesus was exalted because of what He personally accomplished.
Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus personally accomplished eternal life for all men who would
receive it. Jesus restored to the human race what Adam had lost
from the human race.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NIV) For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:44b-49 (NIV) If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
Romans 5:12-19 (NIV) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
The third case to be considered is the case of every man. God
gives clear teaching in His Holy Word concerning whether a man
can fall.
Deuteronomy 11:13-17 (NIV) So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today--to love the LORD your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul-- 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV) Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
1 Chronicles 28:9 (NIV) "And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
2 Chronicles 15:1-2 (NIV) The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
Isaiah 7:9b (NIV) If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'"
Isaiah 63:9-10 (NIV) In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
Ezekiel 18 (NIV) The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: "'The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 "As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4 For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son--both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. 5 "Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. 6 He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her period. 7 He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 8 He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. 9 He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD. 10 "Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things 11 (though the father has done none of them): "He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife. 12 He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery. He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. 13 He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head. 14 "But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: 15 "He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. 16 He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. 17 He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. 18 But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. 19 "Yet you ask, 'Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?' Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. 20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. 21 "But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 22 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? 24 "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die. 25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. 27 But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. 28 Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!
Matthew 5:13 (NIV) "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Matthew 24:45-51 (NIV) "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Luke 11:24-26 (NIV) "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."
Jude 1:5-7 (NIV) Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
If you do not sin, you are a son forever. You have eternal security.
If you do sin, you are not a son, you are a slave, and have no
permanent place in the family.
John 8:34-35 (NIV) Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
The Holy Spirit through Paul in Romans 11:17-24 draws an analogy
between the Jews, who are God's covenant children and a cultivated
olive tree; and the Gentiles, who are here described as a wild
olive tree. He states that the Jews were cut off after they rejected
Jesus Christ, and states that God will not spare Gentiles if they
reject Jesus Christ.
Romans 11:17-24 (NIV) If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18 do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
1 Corinthians 3:16 references Holy Spirit filled people, and their
punishment for Sin:
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
Paul was certainly filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet he knew
that he could fall.
1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV) Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
The writer of the Hebrews is crystal clear in stating that Holy
Spirit filled people can fall from grace:
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV) It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Jesus is the truth of Hebrews 10:26. Knowledge of the truth is
knowledge of Jesus.
Hebrews 10:26-27 (NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Hebrews 10:28-31 (NIV) Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The Holy Spirit through Peter is again very clear on whether a
man can fall from grace.
2 Peter 2:20-22 (NIV) If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. 22 Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
God in His Holy Word clearly teaches conditional
eternal security. We are eternally secure as long as we do not
sin.
1 John 2:3-4 (NIV) We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
John 15:10 (NIV) If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
1 Corinthians 15:2 (NIV) By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 John 1:7 (NIV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
2 Peter 1:10 (NIV) Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
What a person has been taught, or even what they believe, is only
significant if it aligns with the Holy Word of God. What God says
in His Holy Word, He has said consistently and throughout time.
The Holy Word of God is perfectly consistent throughout. In any
case where something in the Word of God appears inconsistent,
it is due to a deficiency on the part of our understanding. God
has responded to rebellion in a consistent and constant manner
since time began.
2 Peter 3:17 (NIV) Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.
Jude 1:5-7 (NIV) Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.
"Once saved - Always saved"
The premise "once saved, always saved" is supported
by the fact that once you are born to your physical father, you
always remain a child of his forever. You may be a good child,
or a bad child, but you always remain his child.
This distortion is based on an earthly understanding of human
physical relationships, and an effort to superimpose them on spiritual
relationships. The spiritually discerning Christian realizes the
fallacy in this.
physical life - when you are conceived
Psalms 139:13-16 (NIV) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
spiritual life
John 3:3 (NIV) In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
physical death
Hebrews 9:27 (NIV) Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
spiritual death
Spiritual death is separation from God. It is the death Adam incurred
the day he sinned and was cast out of the Garden
of Eden. When we are born physically, we are "spiritually
dead," because of our father Adam.
The lie "once saved, always saved" is more than 2,000
years old, was perpetrated by the devil, and used by Organized
Religion, and the learned scholars of Jesus' day. It is the same
lie the Pharisees used in telling Jesus they were religious because
they were descendants of Abraham. They were attempting to force
a physical law on a spiritual relationship. Jesus destroyed their
distorted analysis and interpretation when He said it was false,
and those hiding behind it were the children of the devil. Jesus
said they weren't sons of God, they were slaves to sin. (See page
135 concerning slavery.)
Luke 3:7-9 (NIV) John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
John 8:31-47 (NIV) To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." 39 "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me? 47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
It is interesting that simultaneously, Jesus addressed the lie
"man sins every day in word, thought, and deed."
John 8:34-35 (NIV) Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
Apparently, this lie of Satan was connected to the "once
saved, always saved" lie 2,000 years ago. As Solomon said,
"there is nothing new under the sun."
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NIV) What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say, "Look! This is something new"? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.
The Holy Spirit addressed sin through Paul:
1 Corinthians 15:34 (NIV) Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.
Paul and John's remarks concerning a man prior to the crisis act
of righteousness are frequently used by "Calvinistic theologians"as
their biblical proof:
Romans 7:14-24 (NIV) We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
1 John 1:8 (NIV) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
"Calvinistic theologians" fail to show that Paul and
John both conclude with the cure for the problem in Romans 7:25-8:4;
and I John chapters 2-5 and particularly in I John 3:4-6.
Romans 7:25-8:4 (NIV) Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
1 John 3:4-6 (NIV) Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
"Calvinism" is the theology of the people who are: "having
a form of Godliness, but denying its power." (2 Timothy 3:5)
The only power in Christendom today that is being denied
is the power to live a sinless life. The devil is able
to counterfeit every power except one.
The power of God, manifested in Moses was counterfeited by Satan
to an extent. (Exodus 7:11,22)
Exodus 7:11 (NIV) Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts:
Exodus 7:22 (NIV) But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
The power of God, manifested in the gifts of the Spirit is counterfeited
by Satan. Certainly anyone in a charismatic church knows this.
Anyone who would attempt to defense the position that the gift
of tongues is the irrefutable evidence of the Holy Spirit, realizing
how often it is practiced by those living in sin, is exposing
their blindness.
The power to bring back to life is even counterfeited by Satan.
Revelation 13:3 (NIV) One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
Revelation 13:12 (NIV) He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
The only power Satan cannot counterfeit is the power to
live a sinless life. Because he cannot counterfeit
it, he contends that it does not exist.
(2 Timothy 3:5) This great power is manifested in the crisis act
of righteousness, spoken of throughout Romans.
1 John 2:3-4 (NIV) We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
John 13:34-35 (NIV) "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
John 15:9-17 (NIV) "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
2 John 1:5-6 (NIV) And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
JOHN CALVIN, I DO NOT KNOW YOU AND I CANNOT JUDGE
YOU PERSONALLY. WHAT IS BEING CREDITED TO YOU AS YOUR THEOLOGY
IS A LIE FROM THE DEVIL, A HERESY THAT WILL DAMN
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE TO HELL. ANY MAN WHO TEACHES THAT GOD'S
GRACE GRANTS A LICENSE FOR IMMORALITY IS GODLESS,
AND HIS TEACHING IS FROM THE DEVIL.
Jude 1:4 (NIV) For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
2 Corinthians 11:14-15 (NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
John Calvin built his theology strongly emphasizing the sovereignty
of God. This is an issue that no one takes dispute
with.
James 2:19 (NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.
Why "Christian" people desire to study the teaching
of Satan put forth as "Calvinism" has ceased to be a
mystery to me. These people want to retain
the sin in their lives. They deceive themselves into thinking
that God will accept sin and them. They delight in their
sin and do not want to give it up. In many cases they
consider the sin that they retain to be very small, and not important
enough to keep them out of heaven. They do not realize that any
sin is proof of a rebellious, destructive,
twisted self will that will send them to Hell.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NIV) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
1 Corinthians 15:12-22 (NIV) But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
"Grace" that covers willful present sins is no
different than "once save, always saved."
Hebrews 10:26-27 (NIV) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Ezekiel 18:4 (NIV) For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son--both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Ezekiel 18:24 (NIV) "But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.
Ezekiel 18:26 (NIV) If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die.
Ezekiel 33:12-13 (NIV) "Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, 'The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.' 13 If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.
Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
Proverbs 14:12 was a haunting scripture to me, as I hoped that
I wasn't one of the disillusioned who actually believe they are
going to heaven, but are not. Then the Holy Spirit comforted me
with the knowledge that throughout the Bible, spiritually speaking,
only one thing ever leads to the room of death. It is the hallway
of SIN, and the hallway of unrepented sin always leads to one
place - the room of DEATH. This sad victim is the person that
Satan has deceived into believing he can continue sinning and
go to heaven.
Matthew 7:22-23 (NIV) Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
There is power in the name of Jesus to do many wonderful things,
even though you don't know Him. The word knew used
here is in the biblical sense of the word. The answer to the mystery
of Matthew 7:22-23 is in the last word. These people were "evildoers"
(sinners) because they never knew Jesus in the biblical
sense of the word.
Hebrews 6:4-6 (NIV) It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
Hebrews 6:4-6 is certainly a denunciation of "once saved,
always saved."
The devil would have us believe that your eternal destiny is set
before time began. You cannot in any way control where you will
spend eternity. After life, you are brought before God's justice
bar, and sent to eternal punishment for what you cannot control.
A God of justice will certainly have a better justice system than
that.
The Word of God teaches that because of God's omniscience, He
knew before time began where every individual would spend eternity.
To believe that God was surprised by the fall of Adam is to not
believe in God's omniscience. It is a faithless position that
leaves a person without the assurance that God will not be surprised
by the future events of their own life. It would be a frightening
position to think that God does not expect and plan for everything
in our lives. He does not control our destiny, He simply is aware
of it, and attempts to get people to prepare, and make changes
for their own benefit. God knew Adam would fall before time began,
and He predestined to bring humanity back to God
through Jesus Christ. God knows where a man will spend eternity,
but man determines where he will spend eternity.
Consider the contrasting net effect on humanity of the two diverse
poles of theology.
If I have misunderstood the Word of God concerning predestination,
(I know that I have not) I have not lost anything because my eternal
destiny was already set.
If, however, someone believes the teaching of the devil and is
discouraged into a fatalistic inaction, he will spend an eternity
in Hell.
Isaiah 28:15 (NIV) You boast, "We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place."
Isaiah 28:18 (NIV) Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by, you will be beaten down by it.
The devil would have us believe that we cannot keep from sinning.
Since we "cannot keep from it," accept the inevitable,
and continue sinning.
The Word of God is very clear.
1 John 5:18 (NIV) We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.
Consider the contrasting net effect on humanity of these two diverse
poles of theology.
If I have misunderstood the Word of God, and am deluded about
sin in my life, I have lost nothing, because "no one can
live without sin."
If however I have correctly understood the Word of God, anyone
sinning is going to hell.
Matthew 13:41-42 (NIV) The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Consider the contrasting desire of the Devil and God.
John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The devil first puts forth the lie, "Your eternal fate is
predestined, do not concern yourself with eternal life."
If your eternal fate is predestined, why is the devil troubling
himself to tell you anything? His crowd would already be predetermined.
He could not effect the outcome in any way. He would not waste
his efforts on you if his efforts were futile.
When a person receives life in Jesus Christ, the devil puts forth
the lie "your eternal salvation is guaranteed, you cannot
fall from grace." Then the devil tempts you to sin. If after
salvation, you could not fall from grace, the devil would immediately
cease tempting you, as his battle would be completely lost. You
are tempted to sin, because he knows that you, like Adam, can
fall from grace.
The devil puts forth the lie, "man sins every day in word,
thought, and deed," and he then tempts you to sin. If "man
sins every day in word thought and deed," the devil would
not waste his time tempting anyone to sin, as everyone would sin
anyway. The fact that the devil tempts you is proof that the devil
knows that you can live without sin.
If the devil's lies were true, he would not need to tempt anyone.
The devil continues tempting because he knows that the lie he
is putting out through a lot of "Calvinistic theologians"
is pure excrement. He knows it, unfortunately, most
of them don't.
Which theology is most risky?
Which theology will prove catastrophic?
Which theology is from the devil?