Eternal Security

 
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 Eternal security is the salvation that everyone was given by Jesus Christ when He died on the cross for their sins.  In order to accept this gift, all one has to do is to have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and have repented of their sins.  This is called, becoming saved.  What happens if after someone is saved, they decide to stray from path Jesus told them to follow?  Whether intentionally or unintentionally, this is always a possibility for a Christian, which is why they should always be on guard.  Now, to make things even worse, what if they die in this backslidden state?  Will they go to heaven and be with God, or are they going to burn in hell for all eternity with Satan?

There always seems to be an answer in scripture, so let's look for one about this.  It would be nice to think that no matter what happens, people will go to heaven.  The Baptist denomination believes, by Calvinism, that once you are saved then you are always saved.  i.e. If you are truly saved at the age of 15, and you live your life from that point on in complete and total sinfulness, you will still go to heaven.

*Note: To make sure I don't mislead people, I want you to know that there is much, much more to this part of the Calvinist belief.  I shortened it drastically, but the example I gave is correct within the framework of Calvinism.*

This could be a correct interpretation of scripture, but there is just too much evidence that says otherwise.  Take the following verse for example:

Revelation 22:19 - "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

That one verse contradicts the entire belief of once saved always saved.  When someone is saved, then their name is written in the book of life.  This is the book that God has everyone's name written in when they accept Jesus sacrifice for their sins and repent.  If a person dies and their name is not in the book of life, then they will not go to heaven. 

Revelation 22:19 states point blank that it is possible to have someone's name removed from the book of life and their eternal life in heaven taken away as well.  They will no longer be saved.  Don't leave everything here though, please continue to read on.

An interesting study can be done on how the Jewish people gained forgiveness for their sins before Jesus made the ultimate atonement for everyone.  The ritual was an absolutely amazing thing, and served as a constant reminder of how unworthy man was to be forgiven, and how awesome God really is.  When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, He was the perfect sacrifice, and since then, no more sacrifices have ever needed to be made.  With this knowledge, let's go to Hebrews.

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."

*If you sin after you have become saved, and it is of your own free will, and you know exactly what you are doing, then your sins have no longer been paid for.*

Once again, there is a contradiction to the belief of once saved always saved.  Hebrews doesn't stop here, but continues on to say how terrible it would be to fall into God's hands and have to go through His wrath.  Everyone sins, but this verse is really only talking about purposefully being disobedient to God.  If someone is knowingly sinning and does absolutely nothing to stop, then their salvation can be revoked.  It is possible to lose one's place in heaven.

According to scripture, Eternal Salvation is conditional.  Accepting Jesus' gift of eternal life and and repenting of sins is the only way to be truly saved.  Once saved, however, there are requirements that one must live by in order to demonstrate that they are saved.  This is not talking about working one's way to heaven, but rather the state of one's heart.  Being saved is not a simple one time thing, but an ongoing process that requires effort due to mankind's fallen nature.  Mankind has rejected God, and now it is up to us to accept Him back in our lives.  Every time a sin is committed, it is exactly the same as rejecting God's free gift of salvation, and this is stated all throughout the Bible.  This means that mankind is the one who chooses where they will go after they die, and it is not entirely up to God.  God made the first step when He forgave us for rejecting Him, and now we must allow ourselves to accept this gift and run back to Him.