A few days ago, I read an article by an eminent theologian (who will remain nameless) that profoundly disturbed me. The article was about ‘eternal security’, and contained a lot of good stuff, but included the provocative statement ‘This afternoon I could go to hell’. I know this was written in the context of pastors and preachers turning apostate, and I have almost certainly taken this out of context; nevertheless, I seek to challenge such an assertion, and so dispel the feelings of disturbance and insecurity it has engendered within me…
By way of response, I’ve started to look at various scriptures and ‘case studies’. Romans Chapter 8 contains some key verses on eternal security, but my favourite would have to be John 10 v 27 to 30:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
Both the Father and the Son assure us of our eternal security.
And Romans 8 v 15 and 16 states:
You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…
Thus the Holy Spirit testifies that we are children of God.
But then what happens if we turn ‘apostate’? Do we lose our salvation?
What about King Solomon? Towards the end of his life he turned apostate – he started well, but he did not finish well. Did he lose his salvation? When he died, did he go to hell? My answer is ‘No’. Solomon may have lost his ‘reward’ (or at least a part of it), but I do not believe he lost his salvation. What do you think?
What about the thief on the cross? He did not exactly lead a virtuous life. I don’t think he went through the ‘four steps of salvation’, and he wasn’t baptised. But the scriptures suggest that he feared God, and was at least remorseful about what he had done, if not repentant, and he recognised that Jesus had done nothing wrong. So, after rebuking the other thief, he turned to Jesus, and asked Jesus to remember him when he came into his kingdom; and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” So the thief was saved because he ‘called upon the name of the Lord’ (if nothing else), and the security of his salvation was guaranteed by Jesus’ word. See Luke 23 v 39 to 43.
What about the prodigal son? We all know Jesus’ parable, and there are many lessons we can draw from this. But suppose the story took a different turn. Suppose the younger son did not return from the far country to his father’s house, but instead made a living in that far country – maybe he became a slave to a wealthy landowner, or perhaps he started his own business there, and never returned. Would he have ceased to be his father’s son? What would the father have done? I think that unless that father could go over to the far country himself to rescue his son, he would have waited patiently for his son to return – every day perhaps until he died. I don’t think he would ever have disowned his son, even though father and son would eventually become estranged. The son would thus never have lost his sonship – though of course he would have lost his ‘reward’, in the sense of missing out on reconciliation with his father, with the joyful celebration that is part of Jesus’ parable. See Luke 15 v 11 to 32.
This truth – the guarantee and assurance of our eternal security and sonship – is in my view of vital importance, both theologically and practically.
I don’t for one moment believe that the statement ‘I could go to hell this afternoon’ is true. I think that statement is contrary to many scriptures, including the John 10 and Romans 8 passages quoted above.
But let me apply it to myself. What if – say in the next 10 to 20 years – I really ‘lose it’, emotionally or mentally?
It could so easily happen, perhaps because of a life crisis or trauma. It could be temporary, or perhaps permanent. What if, as a result of my ‘losing it’, I somehow become estranged from God, or even hostile? Perhaps I might curse God, as Job was tempted to do. Or I could myself become ‘apostate’ in a host of other ways. But am I still God’s son? I say ‘Yes’. Will God ever disown me? I say ‘Never’. Can I lose my salvation? I say ‘No’…
But I could lose my ‘reward’ (or at least part of it) – but that’s another story…
What do you think?