Salvation is By Faith Alone in the
Gospel
Since mankind has nothing to do with
saving himself, then why would God require men to do something to maintain it?
Salvation is of God, not men. Paul said to “work out your own
salvation” in Philippians 2:12; the Bible doesn't say to work out GOD'S
SALVATION. God saves a person, pulling them out of the fires of Hell, but now
that person needs to be recycled. It is up to us whether we yield to the Holy
Spirit or not in our daily life, to search and obey the Scriptures. However,
salvation and discipleship are two separate things entirely. Whether or not a
believer lives a holy life has nothing to do with the “free gift” (Romans 5:15) of salvation. Those who say otherwise are
adding works to grace, which the Bible condemns (Romans 11:6). Salvation
cannot be by God's grace AND man's self-righteous works. Revelation 22:17 states:
“...And let
him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely.”
We are clearly taught from God's
Word that works are NOT essential to our salvation. Titus 3:5 states... “Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us...” And
again in Ephesians 2:8,9 we are told, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” We are all Hell-deserving sinners! We do NOT have
anything to do with salvation except to receive God's free gift by
FAITH. Salvation is receiving, NOT giving. Romans 4:5 reads, “But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” This is how
Abraham was saved in the Old Testament, i.e., his faith was COUNTED for
righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Acts 10:43 teaches
that Old Testament sinners were saved exactly as they are today... “To him
give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in
him shall receive remission of sins.”
If I
cannot do good works to get saved,
then how can I do bad works to lose salvation?
Eternal life is a gift, paid for by
Jesus' precious, redeeming, literal, physical, liquid, blood (1st Peter 1:18,19; Hebrews
9:12; Revelation 1:5). Shame on those heretics, such as
Dan Corner, who corrupt the simplicity
that is in Christ.
There is a perverted theology today
that mixes faith in Christ with surrendering one's life to God in
obedience. This false doctrine is called “Lordship
Salvation” and it is evil. The very idea that one's lifestyle is a
part of saving faith is damnable heresy. Opponents of Eternal Security all
follow Lordship Salvation, and they all use the corrupted
New International Version. Please listen
to the MP3 sermon by Dr. Curtis Hutson titled, “Why
A Man Goes To Hell” (Men are not lost because they won't quit their
sinning!”).
Perhaps you ask, what if a believer loses faith? A believer certainly may become discouraged, or falter in their faith for a time. John
the Baptist became discouraged and wavered in his faith, even questioning if
Jesus were the Christ (Matthew 11:3); yet, Jesus called John the greatest born amongst women
(Matthew 11:3,11). The Apostle Peter denied that he knew Christ, cursing the name of
Jesus; but the Holy Spirit convicted him, and Peter afterwards repented. When
king David commit the sins of adultery, conspiracy and murder, he greatly shamed
and brought reproach upon the name of the Lord; yet, we find David repenting,
crying out to God for mercy as a Christian in Psalms 51, and God faithfully
pardoned him. David never lost God's salvation. If saved, always saved! None of these believers LOST their salvation, and there's not one shred of
Biblical evidence to show otherwise.
If you are a parent, your child didn't
make a commitment to become your child; but rather, they were born to become
your child. Likewise, we are born-again to become God's child. Just as a child
has absolutely NOTHING to do with his or her own birth, neither does the
Christian have anything to do with their spiritual birth. It is completely of
God. Our part is done the moment we receive Jesus as the Christ, the
Son of God—believing that He died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and
raised up from the dead three days later (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
If you don't believe the Bible, you
can either get right or die wrong.
False Christians Never Saved
to Begin With
A born-again believer does NOT convert to
the Mormon
faith or become an atheist. When a man claims that he “used to be a Christian,” but now
has become a Jehovah's Witness, he's a liar. He never was a
Christian to begin with. He may have once had the philosophy of
Christianity (as the Greeks), or the organization of Christianity (as the Roman
Church), or even partook of a culture of Christianity (as exists throughout
Europe); but he never had genuine
Christianity, which is a “new birth” by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
You don't trust Christ one
day and then forsake him the next, it doesn't work that way. A child of God
will always be a child of God. If you don't have Jesus
Christ today, it is ONLY
because you never really trusted Him at all. In contrast to the other
Apostles, Judas was a known unrepentant thief (John 12:6). We have no
Scriptural reason to believe that Judas was ever a believer. This is
why the Bible warns us to make sure we are saved—“Examine yourselves, whether
ye be in the faith...” (2nd Corinthians 13:5). Most of America's
churchgoers are still lost and on their way to Hell. Satan's greatest weapon is
to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again.
They have religion, but not
Jesus Christ. They have been lied to by false prophets like Dan Corner, Ray
Comfort and John MacArthur to think that they must live lives of obedience,
holiness and faithfulness to validate their salvation. They are self-righteous.
Are you really
a Christian? Churches today are filled with people who are not
saved. Most people today have
churchianity
without Christianity. Please make certain you have been
born-again. You need
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! The road to
Hell is paved with good intentions (Proverb 14:12; 2nd Corinthians 11:13,14). Please
don't miss the gift of God.
Genuine Believers Cannot Lose
God's Salvation
John 5:24
states: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
If you're a believer on Jesus
Christ, then you can NEVER lose your salvation. Jesus said
in 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 you read that? We shall NEVER perish, and NO MAN can affect our salvation. Someone may
pray to God for you to "burn in Hell" (a popular saying in society today); but that
simply cannot happen to a believer. You choose your own destiny based upon your
acceptance (or denial) of Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Did you
know that God CANNOT lie? According to Titus 1:2 God cannot lie! Well, God promised in Romans 10:13 to save anyone who trusts on Jesus' name... "For whosoever shall call [rely] upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).
We are wonderfully reassured in 1st
John 5:13 that we can KNOW that we are eternally secure:
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of
God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the
name of the Son of God." —1st John 5:13
I love this verse!...
that we
may "KNOW," not think, but KNOW that we have eternal life. How could
anyone be so foolish as to think that a person could lose "eternal life?" If you can lose it, then is it eternal? No! When God promises us
eternal life, that is exactly what He means. Jesus didn't say, "I give unto
them temporal life"; no rather, He said, "I give unto them eternal life (John
10:28)." I am eternally secure in
Jesus' arms...
"The
eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms..."
—Deuteronomy 33:27
Don't tell
me I can lose my salvation! There is NO such teaching in the Bible!
What about
"falling from grace?"
You cannot lose your salvation, period. You
can lose fellowship with God and the joy of one's salvation, buy you cannot lose
your salvation. Can a son no longer be a son? Of course not! You can disown Him (which I think is horrible and unscriptural), but he's
still your son. No matter what your son does, he's still your son. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. Jesus never forsakes us...
"Let
your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye
have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." —Hebrews
13:5
God cannot lie! (Titus 1:2). As a matter of fact, the Bible is speaking of
Eternal Security when It tells us
that God cannot lie... "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world began" (Titus 1:2). What a loving God! You can speak to people from many different religions and you'll discover a
pervading sense of fear and uncertainty. They don't have the precious
promises which the Bible offers to the Christian believer.
No wonder Jesus said:
"Come
unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
—Matthew 11:28
False religion enslaves people,
placing souls into chains of bondage which are not easily broken. Oh don't
be so foolish to believe their lies! You can KNOW that you are saved
certain. You must realize that salvation is completely of God; NOT man in
any way. Our faith is merely a key which unlocks God's saving grace. Salvation is a supernatural act of God in response to our faith. I did not
save myself—Jesus saved me. If I did nothing to earn salvation, then how
can I do something bad to lose it? Jesus paid a debt He did not owe,
because we owed a debt we could not pay. Eternal life is the free gift of
God, available ONLY through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:10-12; John 14:6).
The Bible clearly teaches
that eternal life is a gift. As a matter of FACT, the Bible even calls our
salvation a FREE GIFT.
"...the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life"
—Romans 5:18
Serious Flaws in Teaching that Salvation Can Be Lost
Let me ask you a question. What would you say if I were to give you a Christmas present, but then tell you
that I'm going to be watching you over the next year to see if your good enough
to keep it? If you're not good enough I'm going to take away your GIFT. Would that make any sense to you? Of course not, you'd say I'd been laying
out in the sun too long. You'd say I was crazy! A "gift" is NOT a
gift if there are ANY strings attached to it. A genuine gift is
UNCONDITIONAL. God is not a con-artist. God doesn't promise eternal
life to those who believe, and then take it away from them because they commit
further sins. I mean, that's the entire reason Jesus died for our sins, so
we wouldn't have to.
Some people have the wrong idea that one's salvation is
CONDITIONAL upon the way they live. Nothing could be further from the
truth of God's Word. I am not advocating living in sin, nor taking the
Christian life lightly (Romans 3:31; 6:15). I am simply saying that one's salvation is a gift
from God, rooted in God's unconditional love (Romans 5:8) and the precious blood
sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18,19). Salvation does not depend upon one's desire to
forsake sin, nor live a holy life; for that would be Works Salvation.
The concept of losing one's salvation is flawed in so many ways. I mean, at what point would a person lose it? How much sin is too much? Where would you cross the saved/unsaved line? The whole idea of losing
one's Eternal Security is preposterous. How can a person have Eternal
Security if no one can be eternally secure? It just doesn't add up. Let the Scriptures be your guide. In John 5:39 Jesus commanded His
disciples to SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!!!
Sealed with the Holy Spirit
I triple-dog dare you to show me
one person in the Bible who lost their salvation. King David lost the
"joy" of salvation, but he didn't lose his salvation. Jesus never spoke of
anyone losing their Eternal Security. The Bible has much to say about the
assurance of our salvation. As a matter of fact, God gave us the Holy
Spirit as an "earnest" of our inheritance in Heaven. The Greek word for
"earnest" literally means "down payment." God gave me the Holy Spirit as
PROOF that I am a "purchased possession." If you are a believer,
then you belong to God and He has made His claim on you.
"...ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
his glory" —Ephesians 1:13,14
Don't tell me I can lose my
salvation... my sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus! I am a "purchased
possession." The Holy Spirit is God's claim upon me as His own, which
means the Devil
cannot claim my soul to Hell. You cannot affect my salvation. I
cannot change my eternal security. God has placed His down payment within
my body—the Holy Spirit of God.
A License to Sin?
I am going to
Heaven, regardless of
how I live. But you say, that's crazy! No! That's Bible! So do Christians have
a license to sin? Yes, if you
want to view it that way. Of course, no believer has God's permission to sin,
which is why He has set apart a judgment, i.e., the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST,
just for believers (2nd Corinthians 5:10; 1st Thessalonians 4:6; Romans
12:19; 14:12). God expects every believer to fulfill the Law. The Apostle
Paul makes this very clear...
"Do
we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law"
—Romans 3:31
"What then? shall we
sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." —Romans
6:15
Carefully
notice that a believer is NO LONGER UNDER THE LAW. There is no condemnation for
the believer. However, a believer who sins must give
account to God at the Judgment Seat of Christ someday
(2nd Corinthians 5:10). Please read
Defraud Not Thy Brother. No one is going to get away with anything friend. It is this
misunderstanding that often prompts people to create false doctrines about
losing one's salvation. They are tired of phony Christians, and so am I.
However, we are all phonies to some degree if we'll be honest with ourselves,
because even the best of Christians still sin.
Fallen from Grace?
No believer
can fall from grace. Paul was addressing the unbelievers in the church,
who had heard the Gospel, but were still not saved. Galatians 5:4,
"Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by
the law; ye are fallen from grace." This Scripture clearly reveals an
unsaved person, for no one can be justified by the works of the Law (Romans
3:20). Anyone who rejects the Gospel has "fallen from grace," i.e., they
have passed up their only ticket to Heaven.
When the Christian believer sins (and
we ALL do continually), we fall “IN GRACE,” never “FROM GRACE.” Romans 5:20
teaches that when we sin (and we ALL do) “GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND.” Romans
5:20, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
The Galatians had embraced a satanic cult which taught partial faith in
Christ plus circumcision (works). Galatians 3:1-3, “O foolish Galatians, who
hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus
Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I
learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law,
or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the
Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” We are saved by BELIEVING the
Gospel when we hear it preached. That is the “simplicity” that is in
Jesus Christ (2nd Corinthians 11:3).
Fig-Leaf Religion
Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. They
went out and sewed fig leaves together. They knew something was wrong and they
tried to hide it. Adam and Eve were happy with their fig-leave religion until
God came. When God came they were embarrassed with their fig-leave religion and
they ran and hid themselves.
God killed an innocent animal, which is a picture
of the substitutionary death of Jesus. God skinned that animal to make coats for
Adam and Eve. God didn't let them keep one fig-leaf of their own making.
You may be satisfied to stand before men with your
fig-leaf religion, as were Adam and Eve; but how will you feel on Judgment Day
when you stand before God, and He casts you into the Lake of Fire? Religion is a
paved road to Hell.
There are many false prophets today who pervert the
gospel, teaching that a sinner must amend his ways, forsake the world, and make
a total surrender to Christ's Lordship in order to be saved. Salvation is the
free gift of God (Romans 5:15,6:23), paid for by the precious literal blood of
His dear Son, Jesus Christ (1st Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 1:5).
No
More Sacrifice for Sins?
Hebrews
10:26, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." A
simple look at Hebrews 10:29 quickly reveals that this Scripture again speaks of
the unsaved... "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Again, one who hears the
Gospel, but rejects Jesus Christ or makes light of the literal redeeming blood
of Christ, is unsaved. These verses do not speak of the believer
who has backslidden into sin.
If Saved, Always Saved
There is nothing wrong with the term “Once Saved,
Always Saved,” but I prefer the statement, “If Saved, Always Saved” better. If a
person is genuinely saved, then there is no possible way that person could ever
be unsaved. Christianity is not a philosophy that can be renounced. It is not an
organization that can be resigned. It is not a business that can be dissolved.
Christianity is a new birth, a supernatural act of God Almighty in response to
one's faith in Jesus as the Christ. Once a sinner has been born-again into the
family of God, all the hordes of Hell cannot change that. God NEVER disowns His
children.
The enemies of Eternal Security fail to address
Hebrews 12:6-8 where God says He chastens His children... “For whom the
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” The Bible doesn't say
that God disowns His children; but rather, He chastises them. The idea that God
kicks children out of His family when they sin and then requires them to forsake
their sins in order to be accepted back into the family is an insult to the
blood of Jesus Christ.
Eternal Life is the Free Gift of God
God
is not a liar. God has promised salvation to all those who trust upon the name
of Jesus Christ... “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.” God gave us the rainbow as a token that He is an honest
God Who keep His promises. Yet, those who deny Eternal Security call God a liar.
The Scriptures expose Dan Corner as a big liar. The
Bible teaches that salvation is a “free gift” (Romans 5:15; 6:23).
Ephesians
2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast.” A gift means a gift, with no strings attached.
The very idea that salvation is CONDITIONAL (as
Daniel Corner teaches) upon the life we live negates the gift of God. In
John 6:29 Jesus tells us the only “work” we need to do to be saved...
“Jesus
answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him
whom he hath sent.” That's it, to BELIEVE (i.e., trust) upon Jesus to
forgive one's sins. We are sinners and Jesus is the Savior. That is the
simplicity of salvation.
Dan Corner is a false prophet! The Word of God
exposes Mr. Corner as a false teacher because he requires self-righteous works
for salvation. Adding anything to faith alone in Christ is a guaranteed road to
Hell. If we are not saved by good works, then how can we be lost by bad
works? Salvation is of the
Lord. We are NOT saved by our own self-righteous efforts; but rather, by the
righteousness of Christ Jesus. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed
a debt we could not pay. Thank God for the gift of His only begotten Son.
Dan Corner places a heavy burden upon sinners,
teaching that their salvation is CONDITIONAL upon holy living, denying the flesh
and avoiding certain sins. If this were true, then how could salvation ever be a
free gift? It couldn't. By every definition of the word “gift,” it must be
offered free of ANY OBLIGATION OR COMPENSATION. Carefully notice in Romans 12:1
that the Apostle Paul pleads with the believers at Rome to live for the Lord...
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service.” Notice that Paul said it was their “reasonable
service”; not their required service. 1st Corinthians 6:20 tells us that we are
bought with a price, i.e., the blood of Jesus Christ. God gave the ultimate
sacrifice to pay for our sins. Thus, eternal life is a free gift that does not
require any compensation, obligation or prerequisites to receive it. God does
remind us that He paid a great price and we ought to live for Him; but this is
NOT mandatory to have the gift of eternal life.
In 1st Corinthians 5:1-5 we read about a Christian
man, a member of the Church of Corinth, who was living in open fornication in
the church. He was carnal and the church was also carnal (1st Corinthians 3:1).
1st Corinthians 5:5, “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.” This Christian man was living in unrepentant sin and Paul said
to give him over to Satan for “the destruction of the flesh,” but notice that
Paul also said the man's spirit would “be saved in the day of the Lord.” He was
saved and DIDN'T lose his salvation.
I recently saw a commercial on TV offering a “gift”
to anyone who opens a new account at their bank. That is false advertising. If I
am required to open an account to get the “gift,” then it's NOT really a gift,
it is a reward. There is a big difference between
a gift
and a reward.
Critics of Eternal Security Guilty of Self-righteousness
Eternal life
cannot be lost, because it is not ours to give. Salvation is of God alone. Our only part in salvation is to BELIEVE... "This is the work of God, that ye
believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). The greatest argument
against those who teach that salvation can be lost is this... If salvation can
be lost by our own sinful words, attitudes, or actions, then self-righteousness
is part of salvation. Romans 10:3-4 condemns such thinking... "For they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth."
Those who
claim that salvation can be lost are guilty of teaching salvation by
self-righteousness. If I have to maintain a certain degree of faithfulness
to God, a holy lifestyle, and a certain amount of faith to remain saved, then I
am earning my own salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly refute such
thinking... "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." No one deserves to go to Heaven. We all deserve Hellfire. We need
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS to be saved (2nd Corinthians 5:21); and not our own.
I was
recently reading an excellent book, 508 Answers to Bible
Questions, by
M.R. DeHaan
M.D. (1891-1965). Now Dr. DeHaan was a great man of God, and I respect him
dearly; BUT, I disagree with something he said in his book concerning the
Eternal Security of the believer. Dr. DeHaan DOES believe in eternal security;
however, he said that those who don't are still saved, just so long as
they are trusting the Saviour. Now, I have a big problem with that type of
thinking. Why? Because the very idea that someone can lose their salvation,
places salvation in men's hands, instead of 100% in God's. As born-again
believers, why would anything we do affect whether or not we're still saved? Did we have to do any good works to get saved? No!, we simply rested upon the
Saviour, because He paid the price for our sins with His blood. We did NOTHING
to merit or deserve salvation. Salvation is of God, not man. Our part is to
believe on Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), and God's part is to save (Isaiah 43:11).
The Hypocrisy of Those Who Don't
Believe in Eternal Security
The biggest flaw in the thinking of the enemies of
Eternal Security is that they fail to realize just how sinful they are
themselves. They hypocritically condemn other believers who live in unrepentant
sin, failing to realize that they're just as sinful in God's eyes. If salvation
can be lost, then who is righteous enough to keep their own salvation? Only a
self-righteous hypocrite would claim to be self-righteous enough to please God.
Isaiah 64:6 puts Dan Corner to shame... "But we are all as an unclean
thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a
leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
I thank God that my salvation is solely in the
hands of my righteous Savior Jesus Christ; and not dependent upon my own sorry,
frail, insufficient, rotten and sinful self-righteousness. Critics of Eternal
Security are hypocrites. They are no less sinful than the adulterous believers
they condemn. They condemn other believers, whom they consider more sinful than
themselves, accusing others of losing their salvation, but they're just as much
dirty, rotten, hell-deserving sinners, who fail to see the sinful beam in their
own eye.
A correctly understood gospel—salvation by grace alone through faith alone
on the basis of Christ's finished work alone—mandates eternal security. On
the other hand, if one is trusting in one's works or a “commitment” to
perform works or to live a certain way to be saved, then salvation cannot be
assured, and the doctrine of eternal security is either negotiable or is
denied.
The Eternal Security of
the Believer
(by Dr. Harry Ironside,
1876-1951)
Eternal Security is the Biblical doctrine that a believer CANNOT lose
salvation in Christ Jesus. I recently spoke with a Church of Christ
minister who believed that a Christian could LOSE their salvation by
failing to maintain a “relationship” with God. Of course, that is a lie of the
Devil. The Charismatics are also plagued with this false belief that a person
can lose their salvation. Calvinists call this false doctrine, the “Perseverance
of the Saints,” that is, they say that you must persevere in
good works and continued faith to remain in a state of salvation. The
Salvation Army
teaches this heresy. 
