Richard Seymour has taught in Bible schools and colleges for over thirty years, and currently serves on the faculty of Frontier School of the Bible in Wyoming. Professor Seymour is the founder and president of Clarity Ministries International and Integrity Press. Dick is the author of several books and numerous articles and pamphlets on the Bible and Christianity. He and his wife, Kathy, have two children and reside in LaGrange, Wyoming. You may contact Richard at dick@clarityministries.org.
Introduction
There are more than a few passages in Scripture that at first glance seem to indicate that a saved person may lose his salvation if he does not meet certain conditions. Though these verses have raised anxiety in many students of the Bible, a careful examination of each context will quickly dispel misunderstandings. With total confidence that the Scriptures are not contradictory, we will examine a number of puzzling and thought-provoking passages.
Important Passages To Examine
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. [2]The assumption that some draw from these two verses is that the “narrow gate” and “difficult way” are strict paths that lead to Heaven. They claim the path signifies a holy life. If you walk on that narrow way—and are careful not to step off it—you will eventually be saved. Of course, if you step off that narrow path of a holy life, you either lose your salvation or demonstrate that you have not yet been saved.
It is amazing how much can be read into a passage of Scripture when we allow our imaginations to run wild. But when we carefully compare Scripture with Scripture, such erroneous interpretations do not develop. For instance, Jesus said in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” So the gate or door is Christ Himself. He is the gate because He is the only entrance into God’s Heaven—there is no other way. In fact, Jesus developed this same thought even further in John 10:1: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”
The “narrow way” that leads to life is the Lord Jesus Christ, as we also see in John 14:6: “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” In both instances, Christ Himself is the gate and the way. Therefore, He is the straight gate and the narrow way, because there is no other gate to Heaven, nor any other way.
Matthew 7:13-14, therefore, has nothing to do with one’s behavior or losing salvation.
Matthew 8:12
But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”Sometimes we hear that since the “sons of the kingdom” shall be cast into outer darkness, this is proof positive that children of God may lose their salvation. Again, we need to emphasize the importance of keeping a statement in context and in harmony with the rest of Scripture. In Matthew 8:5 a Gentile centurion came to Christ desirous of having his servant healed. He told the Lord that all He would have to do is speak the word and his servant would be healed. Then the Scripture records, “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel’” (Matthew 8:10)!
Christ obviously says that many Gentiles (“many shall come from the east and west”) will believe and be with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom. On the other hand, 8:12 points out that many of the “sons of the kingdom” (Jews, to whom the Lord promised the kingdom) will be cast into outer darkness. It is another way of saying that many Gentiles will be saved and many Jews will not be.
Being a child of the kingdom is not the same as being a child of God, for we have recorded in Revelation 20:3 and 20:7-15 that many of the people of the nations who will be living during Christ’s earthly kingdom will follow Satan in his rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ. During the Kingdom, people will raise families and reproduce as they do now. Each person is responsible to trust Christ as people are responsible to do at the present time. Just living in the kingdom will be no guarantee that one is a child of God.
Matthew 10:22
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.In this chapter Christ gives His 12 disciples instructions as to what they will do as they go forth to preach. Starting in verse 10:16, He warns them about men, and especially men’s attempts to destroy their preaching and testimony. He tells them that they will be like “sheep in the midst of wolves” (verse 16), that men will deliver them up the council to be scourged in the synagogues (verse 17), that they will be brought before governors and kings for Christ’s sake (verse 18), that siblings, parents, and children will betray them to death (verse 21), and that they will be hated for His name’s sake (verse 22).
After these warnings regarding what men will do to them, He adds, “But he who endures to the end will be saved.” In order to understand this statement, we must answer two very important questions. First, what is it that they must endure, and, secondly, from what shall the one who endures be saved? [3]
It is immediately obvious that enduring refers to enduring the attempts of men to silence the disciples’ witness. And the promise is that if the disciples will endure the attempts of men to silence them—that is, if they do not give in to the pressures of the enemies of the Gospel—they will be saved from those very men who seek to keep them quiet.
When Christ sent out His 12 disciples in Matthew 10, He promised them deliverance from their persecutors if they stood firm. They did stand firm and all 12 returned later to give their reports of the results of their preaching journey. After Christ’s ascension to the Father’s right hand, however, 11 of the 12 (Judas not included) continued preaching the Gospel and were martyred for the faith. The apostle John is a possible exception; he may have died in exile. Christ had given them no promise of such deliverance following His ascension.
Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?’ ”There is a vast difference between telling an unbeliever to come to Christ for eternal salvation, and telling an already saved man to follow Christ for service. Coming to Christ (salvation) deals with the future life, while following after Christ (service) has to do with the present life here on earth—the Christian’s daily experiences.
In verse 24, Christ addresses “His disciples.” These men already possess eternal salvation and it is to them that He said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” They had already come to Him and now He invites them to follow Him.
The reason that some use Matthew 16:24-26 to argue that a person may lose his salvation is the use of the word “soul” (16:26). “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Those who believe a saved man can lose his salvation suppose that the implication of these verses is that if you do not deny yourself and take up your cross, you will lose your own soul (or your salvation). However, confusion about the matter is immediately cleared up when you realize that the word “life” (used twice in verse 25) and the word “soul” (used twice in verse 26) come from the same word in the Greek and should be translated “life” every time. For example, the American Standard Version translates it as “what shall a man give in exchange for his life”; Goodspeed translates it as “if he gains the whole world at the cost of his life”; and the New English Bible translates it as “if he shall gain the whole world at the cost of his true self [or, physical life].”
Not only does the definition of the Greek word bear out the fact that the present life is in view in this passage, but the context itself does also. As we mentioned before, Christ is speaking to those already saved and inviting them to live for Him now. The crux of the matter is verse 25, where Christ gives this promise: “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Matthew 25:1-10
“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.”The parable of the ten virgins has a single point, which we find in verse 13, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” I think it is foolish to try to identify the five foolish virgins, the five wise virgins, the lamps, the oil, the midnight hour, etc. The details of the parable are not the important thing; the point of the parable is important. And the point is that we had better be alert, for the Lord could come back at any time.
Nevertheless, there are those who seek to identify all the points of the parable, even though Christ himself did not. Some of these well-meaning people tell us the five foolish virgins were five Christians who lost their salvation because they did not watch. We are told that oil is a type of the Holy Spirit in this passage, and because the five foolish virgins burned up their oil (lost the Holy Spirit), they lost their salvation. Well, if the five foolish virgins were unsaved at any time, they were unsaved all the time, for you read in verse 3 that they “took no oil with them.” It does not say they lost or burned up their oil; they simply did not have any. When they went to buy oil for their lamps, the bridegroom came. They bought oil and returned to the door of the marriage feast; when they knocked for entrance the bridegroom said, “I know you not.” So, if oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, then when they came back to the door to enter the marriage feast, they would have been saved because they had oil (the Holy Spirit). But the bridegroom said, “I know you not.” He should not have said that to them if oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, signifying they had the Holy Spirit. Do you see how ridiculous this becomes? The bridegroom came. Those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast. Those who were not ready did not enter in because He did not know them. The same will be true when Christ returns. Those who know Him (and are therefore ready) will go with Him. Those who do not know Him (and are therefore not ready) will not go with Him. It is as simple as that, and has nothing to do with losing one’s salvation.
Luke 9:62
But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.The subject matter of this passage, as in previous passages we have considered, is the present life, not the future life—working for the Lord now, not gaining salvation in the future. We see this in Luke 9:56, where Christ said, “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. And they went to another village.” In the next verse, a man said to Christ, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” He replied that even though the foxes have holes and the birds have nests, He (the Son of man) did not even have a place to lay His head. Then, in verse 9:59, Christ said to another man, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Christ rebuked him: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” Then a third man approached and said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” And it is to this man that Jesus said, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The subject matter is following Christ, not receiving Him as Savior. The word “fit” in verse 62 actually means “well-placed” and has to do with having a place of honor in the kingdom. The question in view is not whether a man who puts his hand to the plough and looks back will be in the kingdom, but rather whether such a man will have an honorable place in the kingdom. The Williams Translation brings this out beautifully: “Jesus said to him, no man who puts his hand to the plough, and then continues to look back, is fitted for service in the kingdom of God.”
Service is, after all, the focus of the passage. Remember, the Son of man came to save lives, and a Christian man’s life can only be saved in this life as he loses it for Christ’s sake—as he follows Christ without looking back. The Lord will honor such a man. Jesus points this out in John 12:26: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.”
Luke 12:42-46
“And the Lord said, ‘Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, “My master is delaying his coming,” and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.’ “The reason some think that this passage teaches we can lose our salvation is the statement made in verse 46 that the unfaithful servant will be cut in two and the lord will “appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” If you have a good reference Bible, you will notice that the word “unbelievers” ought to read “unfaithful.” This, of course, is in complete harmony with the passage. The question is asked in verse 42, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?” God then describes that “faithful and wise steward.” In verse 45 He then describes the unfaithful and unwise steward, bringing us to the point of the parable: If you are faithful and wise, you will be ruler over all that the Lord has (verse 44). On the other hand, if you are unfaithful and unwise, you will have your portion with the unfaithful.
The unwise and unfaithful servant is like the man described in 1 Corinthians 3 who builds upon the foundation of Christ (verses 3:11-12), yet his works are burned up so that he suffers loss (verse 3:15). However, the Scripture says that “he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.” He is an unfaithful servant who loses reward; but, notice, he is still saved.
The same is true of the servant in Luke 12. He thinks the coming of the Lord is delayed and thus behaves in an unwise and unfaithful manner. When the Lord returns, He will deal with this unfaithful servant severely. However, this unfaithful servant still belongs to the Lord, for verse 12:46 clearly states, “The master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him.”
John 8:31
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.To obtain a better picture of what Christ speaks of in verse 31, we need to go back to His statement in verse 29, “And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” These are terrific words proving beyond question that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, for no mere man can always do what pleases the Father. Christ, however, did please the Father all the time. When the people heard this statement by Christ, verse 30 says, “many believed in Him.” In other words, they were eternally saved because God guarantees in Acts 16:31, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
Christ bears this out in John 8:31, where we read, “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.’” He is not telling unbelievers how to become believers, or the ungodly how to become godly, or those who are going to hell how to go to Heaven. He is instructing those who have recently trusted Him how they may become His disciples. You see, the word “disciple” means “a learner.” It is one thing to trust Jesus Christ for salvation. It is another thing to be taught by Him, to learn from Him, and to follow Him in service. Christ promises them in verse 31—not salvation—but genuine discipleship. He said to those who believed on Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” Unbelievers become believers by trusting Christ. Believers become disciples by continuing in His word. There is no thought in this passage of obtaining eternal salvation, keeping salvation, or losing salvation.
John 10:27-28
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.You may be surprised that I include this verse among those used to teach that a person can lose his salvation. More often, Christians use this verse to support the opposite view, that once God saves a man, he can “never perish.” I include it here because some build an entire doctrine upon one word, which requires clarification. That word is “follow” in verse 27. Their logic runs this way: There is only one kind of person who shall never perish—he who hears Christ’s voice and follows Christ. By following Christ, these interpreters usually mean obeying Christ in every detail of one’s life. When an individual does that, they reason, he is “following.” Only so long as one so follows, he shall never perish.
This interpretation of the word “follow,” however, is inadmissible in context. Christ does not refer to how much we obey Him; He is concerned with whether we follow Him or someone else—the “stranger” of verse 5. Notice what Jesus says about “following”:
Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.” (John 10:5-8)
Every believer in Christ “follows” Christ in the way that the Lord uses this word in this chapter. In other words, we are not following Sun Myung Moon, Mary Baker Eddy, or the Dalai Lama. We are following Jesus Christ. We are following Him to Heaven. Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3).Accordingly, we may say that John 10:27-28 teaches the security of the believer, because all believers are followers of Christ rather than followers of someone else.
John 15:1-6
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.The phrase that leads men to believe that this refers to a Christian who has lost his salvation, we find in verse 6. “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” There are several flaws in assuming that this verse teaches that a believer who does not remain faithful is cast into hell.
First, it is not God who cast these people into the fire. It is men. The word “they” refers to men as clearly translated in the King James Bible: “men gather them.”
Second, it does not say they are cast into hell. Men cannot cast other men into hell. It only says they are cast into fire. A good cross reference for this is Luke 6:22, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.” Men can cast out a Christian’s name as evil, but they cannot cast a believer into hell.
Third, the branch in verse 6 is not a literal branch—it speaks of a believer. Christ pointed this out in verse 5 when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” By the same token, the fire may not be a literal fire. For instance, there is the fire of persecution when we stand for the Lord and men revile us for our faith; there is the fire of ridicule (which I think is spoken of here) that we may receive from others when they know that we are Christians, and yet our lives are not consistent with our profession.
In any case, there is no hint in this passage that God is taking an unfruitful branch and throwing it into hell. In addition, Jesus is speaking to His 11 disciples (believers) about bearing fruit, not about remaining saved. Fruit bearing is the subject, not salvation.
1 Corinthians 9:27
But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.When Paul preached to others, he did so in such a way that he would not be disqualified. The question is, disqualified from what? The illustration given in the passage from verse 24 to the end of the chapter is of an athletic contest. Many run in the contest, but only one receives the prize. The ones who do not receive the prize are the losers. They run just as the winner runs, but the winner wins the prize, the losers do not. So, Paul says that he brings his body into subjection so that he will not be disqualified. Disqualified from what?—disqualified from the race. The race for what?—the race for the prize (verse 24), the race for the crown (verse 25). Not the race for eternal life! Nowhere does Scripture imply that eternal life is a prize or crown that we earn. To the contrary, eternal life is God’s gift. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Scripture always portrays eternal salvation as a free gift God gives those who simply trust Jesus Christ and never illustrates salvation as a prize to be won by effort or work.
If someone interprets 1 Corinthians 9:27 as proof that we must strive to put ourselves under subjection to gain eternal life, that same person has to ignore completely more than 150 verses that teach salvation is received simply by faith.
Furthermore, the word “disqualified” literally means disapproved. This, again, bears out the thought that they are disapproved—judged unqualified—for the prize, not disapproved for eternal salvation. The opposite of being disapproved is being approved, and God tells His children how to be approved in 2 Timothy 2:15: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” God has two kinds of children: those who are good workmen and those who are not. A good workman is approved. A poor workman is not. A good workman receives a prize. A poor workman does not. A good workman receives a crown. A poor workman does not. They both have eternal life.
In the same chapter of 2 Timothy this is also pointed out in verse 2:20: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.” Yet notice, both kinds of vessels are in the house—in this case, God’s house. All Christians are also in the race for the prize. This is stated in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Another way of saying it would be that in a race all the runners compete—all of them run, but only the winner receives the prize and may be counted a vessel of gold. It is so important to divide clearly Scripture into passages on salvation and passages on service. Failure to do this leads to unbelievable confusion.
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.What are the sins described in these three verses? Verse 19 says they are “the works of the flesh.” And verse 21 concludes that “those who practice such things [the works of the flesh] will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This is in perfect harmony with all of Scripture. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 15:50 we read, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.” Those in the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God because the flesh is corrupt; thus, corrupt flesh must put on incorruption. This is further developed in 1 Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” “This corruptible” is the flesh and “this mortal” is the flesh. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. We need a new birth—a birth of the Spirit—to inherit God’s kingdom.
Paul spoke of the same thing in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.It is not true that anyone guilty of these things is automatically excluded from Heaven. It is not true that a liar cannot go to Heaven. It is not true that an idolater cannot go to Heaven. It is not true that a thief, drunkard, or an adulterer cannot go to Heaven. What is true is that any sinner—who does the deeds of the flesh—and has not been washed, sanctified, or justified in the name of the Lord Jesus (verse 11) cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Paul was a murderer, but that did not keep him from being saved. When Saul the murderer trusted Jesus Christ, he was washed and cleansed, justified by faith and forever on his way to Heaven. One may say the same of men like David, Moses, and Lot. Every one of them was a sinner, just as we are. Because flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God, they needed—and we need—a new birth from God. This new birth (a birth by means of the Spirit) is what enables a person to enter the kingdom of God. The very fact that those who commit “the works of the flesh” are not qualified for the kingdom of God is proof positive that such people—which includes all the world—need God’s salvation desperately. This is why God offers it freely instead of telling us to work for it, because our flesh leads to the kind of works described in Galatians 5:19-21.
We need a Spirit-birth that qualifies us for entrance into God’s holy kingdom. God gladly gives this to those who trust in His Son. “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12)
Philippians 2:12
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.The apostle Paul is writing from prison to the Philippians whom he had led to Christ. He reminds them that when he had been with them they were obedient to the Lord. He urges them to be just as obedient in his absence as they were in his presence. Then he says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for [because] it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
There are those who attempt to make verse 12 a command to work for salvation. But no matter how hard one may try, he cannot make “work out” to mean “work for.” We are able to work out our salvation in our practical day-to-day lives because God is in us, working through us (verse 13). God only lives in the child of God, so these to whom Paul wrote, the Lord had already saved—they had God in them.
The verses following verse 12 tell us where we are to work out our salvation and how to do it. We are to work out our salvation “in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation” (verse 15). The way we are to do it is by “holding fast the word of life” (verse 16).
Working out your salvation would be the same as if I gave you a plot of land and I told you to “work it.” If I give it to you, it is yours; but if you do not work it, it does not produce—weeds will grow. If you do work it, it will produce. The farthest thing from Paul’s mind is the idea of working for his salvation; he is quite concerned, however, that the Philippians follow through on the desires and abilities that God implants in them.
Colossians 1:21-23
And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.This is one of the so-called “if” passages. Some teach that there are many passages in the Bible where God says He will save someone “if” they meet certain conditions. Such conditions vary so much that one would have to know the whole Bible to know what all the conditions are. That God would demand so many different things for salvation is unthinkable. Salvation would then depend upon knowledge of all these conditions instead of just simple faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The “if” in Colossians 1:23 is supposed to be one of these conditions. The logic runs like this: God will save you if you continue in the faith. If you do not continue in the faith, you will not be in Heaven. Two things are nearly always overlooked when someone interprets this passage in this way.
I think you will see what I’m talking about in the answers to the following two questions. First, consider the subject of verse 22. Is it about believers being presented before the Lord, or is it how we will be presented before the Lord? The passage does not say we will be presented before the Lord if we continue in the faith. It does say we will be presented in a certain way if we continue. Those who continue in the faith, “grounded and steadfast,” and who are not moved away from the anticipation of the Gospel will be presented before the Lord a certain way. That way is “holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight.”
All Christians are going to be presented, but not all Christians are going to be presented “holy, blameless and above reproach.” What proof do I have for such a statement? 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 says:
And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.According to 1 Thessalonians, Paul writes to those who will be presented “blameless in holiness,” if they “increase and abound in love.” Abounding in love has to do with service, not eternal salvation.
Notice 1 John 2:28: “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.” Some believers will have confidence and be unashamed before the Lord when He comes. Others will lack confidence and be ashamed. What will be the difference? The difference is, as 1 John puts it, “abiding in Him;” or as 1 Thessalonians words it, “abounding in love”; or as expressed in Colossians 1:23, “continuing in the faith, grounded and steadfast.” All of these expressions talk about the same thing. In other words, from a personal standpoint, the issue involved in Colossians 1:21-23 is not whether I will be presented before the Lord. Instead, the real issue is how I may be presented before Him in a blameless fashion.
Another thing that is often overlooked in this passage is that the condition for being presented before the Lord as holy, blameless and above reproach is not simply continuing in the faith. The condition is continuing in the faith “grounded and steadfast.” Believers do continue in the faith, but not all believers continue in the faith “grounded and steadfast.” What the apostle speaks of in verse 23 is spiritual growth or spiritual maturity. Those who grow in the faith become settled, grounded, and stable. These are the ones who will be blameless and above reproach. Those who do not continue in the faith will be, as 1 John 2 points out, “ashamed before Him at his coming.”
The context in which verse 23 occurs further disproves the idea that continuing in the faith is necessary to keep one’s salvation. For instance, in verse 20, God says that Christ has already made peace. The apostle words it this way: “having made peace through the blood of His cross.” God then adds in verse 21 the following clear statement: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.”
So, those to whom he writes in verses 21-23 are those who Christ has already reconciled in verse 21, and to whom He has already given peace in verse 20. What He urges them to do is to continue to be stable in their faith so that when the Lord returns and gives out rewards, they may be presented in a holy, blameless, and above reproach fashion.
2 Thessalonians 1:8
In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.Many infer from this verse that you must obey God in everything or Christ will come back and take vengeance upon you. This verse, however, should not be viewed in this way. We need only to take the verse at face value to see that. Upon whom does God take vengeance? Those who obey not the Gospel. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and came back from the dead to provide eternal salvation for us (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
The Lord Jesus Christ gives eternal life to those who depend upon Him. That is the Gospel—the good news. Those who obey God regarding the Gospel do not have to worry about Him taking vengeance upon them. Those who do not obey God regarding the Gospel will have God’s wrath poured out upon them. This is stated clearly in John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
It simply is not true that to escape God’s wrath I must obey everything He says. If that were the case, there would not be a person on the face of the earth who has lived, is living now, or ever will live, who could qualify for salvation. No, God’s gospel is the thing we are to obey. And the gospel is that He gives eternal life freely to those who trust Him for it.
1 Timothy 4:16
Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.As in other passages we must ask ourselves, to what kind of salvation does Paul refer? From what shall we be saved when we “take heed to ourselves and to the doctrine”?
First, without leaving the verse, it is apparent that the salvation referred to here is not the eternal salvation of Timothy’s soul. I say that because the promise is “you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” Nowhere in all of Scripture does God guarantee to take someone to Heaven because of another person’s faithfulness. If faithfulness were required for entrance into Heaven (which it is not), then we would each get there upon our own faithfulness. I could not qualify for Heaven because of your faithfulness, and you would not be admitted because of my faithfulness.
So let us come back to our original question—what kind of salvation is referred to, and in addition from what does God promise to save Timothy? Staying in context, we read in verses 1 and 2,
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”These false teachers are also referred to indirectly in verse 7 where God tells Timothy to “reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.” Then, in verse 6, God gives the promise, “If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.” Notice the Lord declares that Timothy would be a good minister of Jesus Christ if he told the brethren “these things.” What things?—the warnings regarding false teachers.
Later, in verse 15, God says, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” Please notice again that our profiting will appear to all as we meditate upon “these things.” What things? The same things he has been talking about in the whole chapter—that in the light of false teachers and false teachings, Christ’s ministers should be faithful. When His ministers are faithful they become “good ministers” (verse 6), the brethren are “nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine” (verse 6), the minister’s progress becomes evident to all (verse 15), he saves himself from these “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (verses 1 and 16), and he will also save or deliver those who hear him. How will he save or deliver them?—by the sound doctrine that he proclaims. That is why Paul said in verse 13, “Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”
No, 1 Timothy 4:16 is not referring to saving our souls by good works; it is referring, quite clearly, to saving ourselves and others under our influence from false teaching, by taking heed to ourselves and the doctrine we proclaim.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.Keep in mind that eternal salvation is always referred to in Scripture as a gift. For instance, in Romans 5, salvation is referred to as “the free gift” (verse 15), “the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ” (verse 15), “the gift” and “the free gift” (verse 16), “the gift of righteousness” (verse 17), and “the free gift” (verse 18). Then there is the statement in Romans 6:23 that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So, we see that righteousness or salvation is God’s free gift which comes to man by grace when he believes in Christ (see Ephesians 2:8-9).
Therefore, when Paul speaks in 2 Timothy 4:7 of fighting the good fight, finishing his course, and keeping the faith, he obviously is not talking about receiving a free gift. The next verse (verse 8) shows clearly that he is talking about “a crown.” This crown is one he has earned and according to Scripture salvation or eternal life is never earned. The “crown of righteousness,” then, is not at all the same as the “gift of righteousness” mentioned in Romans 5. The crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4 is for faithful service; the gift of righteousness in Romans 5 is a gift, received solely by faith in Christ alone. It is a gift that we receive now, without works of any kind.
Notice this clear statement: “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). If I receive the righteousness of God now through faith alone—apart from works of any kind—that guarantees my salvation. Having received that gift of salvation, I can then labor for my Lord to obtain rewards or crowns for faithful service. This “crown of righteousness” in 2 Timothy 4:8 is possibly synonymous with the “incorruptible crown” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 9:25—the crown received by running the race, or being faithful. However, remember that any crowns for which we labor are earned only after we’ve received salvation by faith, and then from the position of already being a child of God—not in the hope of becoming His child, or remaining His child.
Crowns are one thing—given for faithful service; salvation or eternal life is quite something else—given as a free gift, apart from our works before or after we receive it, and cannot be lost.
Titus 1:1-2
Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.The key word in this passage in the minds of many people is the word “hope.” So often a person will read this and say something like, “You see, even the apostle Paul only hoped that he had eternal life—he did not know that he was saved.” Such a conclusion is based upon our modern use of the English word “hope.” For instance, when a husband comes home from work and tells his wife that his employer is considering giving him a promotion, his wife asks, “Do you think you will get it?” And the husband replies, “I hope so.” In other words, he means maybe I will and maybe I will not.
“Hope” in Titus 1:2 does not mean maybe something will happen or maybe it will not happen. The closest English word we have to the Greek word translated “hope” would probably be “anticipation”—in fact, the translation would be even stronger—a joyful anticipation. “Hope” is a real assurance—not a nagging doubt. What then is Paul saying to Titus?—simply that God, who cannot lie, has promised eternal life to those who have faith in Christ. Paul tells his readers that he joyfully anticipates this promise of God.
Following one of the rules of Bible interpretation, we compare other statements of Paul regarding salvation, particularly his own salvation. The following passages demonstrate Paul’s assurance of salvation rather than a merely “hope-so” salvation.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Romans 1:16)The Gospel is what saves people. Who does it save? “Everyone who believes.” Did Paul believe? Of course, he did. Is belief in Christ all that is required for salvation? We have already seen the abundant testimony of Scripture that God gives eternal salvation to those who believe in Christ—plus nothing else.
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)How does God save according to this verse? “Through the foolishness of the message preached.” Whom does he save? “Those who believe”— including the apostle Paul.
Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:33-39)The questions asked in verses 33 and 34, with their corresponding answers, may be more accurately translated in the following way: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? Will God who justifies? Who is he that condemns? Is it Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen?” It is unthinkable that in Paul’s mind God would charge his children with their sin after He has given His own Son to pay the penalty for that sin (verse 32). It is just as unthinkable that the Lord Jesus Christ—the One who actually “bore our sins in His own body on the tree”—would condemn those He has redeemed.
Well, if God does not condemn believers, who or what can? Paul replies to this question in verses 38 and 39. Satan cannot separate us from the love of God since verse 38 says that “angels” cannot do it. The sins that we commit today—or even those we might commit in the future—cannot condemn us because verse 38 also says that neither “things present, nor things to come” can do it. I cannot separate myself from the Lord once I know Him because verse 39 tells me that there is no “created thing” that can do it. I may not be much, but at least I could be included in the words “created thing.” Neither can I be separated from the Lord by time or space, for the beginning of verse 39 says that neither “height nor depth” can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And remember it is the apostle Paul who says in verse 38, “I am persuaded” that none of these things can separate me from the Lord.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)Paul includes himself when he says, “according to His mercy He saved us.” Notice, that he not only includes himself in the statement but the salvation of which he speaks has already been accomplished—”He saved us.” Did Paul believe he was saved? Verse 7 says, “That having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Was Paul really justified? Certainly, but someone will say that the last part of verse 7 mentions that we will be heirs according to the “hope” of eternal life. Remember, however, that “hope” means anticipation, so Paul says that he has been justified by God’s grace, and because of that fact he will be an heir according to the sure anticipation of eternal life.
Hebrews 3:6-14
But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, “They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.” So I swore in My wrath, “They shall not enter My rest.” ‘ Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.”In the light of other Scripture, these verses are difficult to understand at first. To be honest, they cause one to really scratch his head and wonder how these verses can fit into the very clear verses that God has given on salvation.
In reality, however, these verses state clearly what the Bible teaches from cover to cover—and what I have been stating in this book over and over again—that only the person who trusts Jesus Christ alone is saved at all. The person who believes that Jesus Christ is necessary, but needs our help, is not really saved. The person who says he is trusting Christ, but also holding on to water baptism, or church membership, or enduring to the end, or being faithful, or tithing, or prayer is not really saved. Hebrews 3:6 says the following: “We are the house of Christ if we trust Him to the limit—or fully.” You see, the phrases “hold fast” and “to the end” have the thought of a full, complete, unlimited trust. Only the person who trusts Christ alone for salvation actually has that salvation and, therefore, is the only one who is actually a part of the house of Christ—or, as verse 14 states it, “partakers of Christ.”
These to whom the Lord writes in Hebrews 3 are already saved according to the earlier part of the chapter. For instance, in verse 1 they are called “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.” In verse 12 again, they are called “brethren.” So, these are men who know the Lord and are His “house” and are “partakers” of Him. Why are they His house and partakers of Christ? Because they hold fast their confidence—not hold fast their salvation—firm to the end. That is to say, the trust they have in Christ is a complete trust, and they continue to trust Him.
No man, according to Scripture, is saved from life’s adversities who does not trust Jesus Christ solely. I do not mean that one must trust Jesus for every detail of living. Yet, I am speaking of salvation now, in this life. If I depend upon anything or anyone else in place of, or in addition to, Jesus Christ, then I do not trust Him “to the limit.”
Hebrews 3:12
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.Again, I want you to notice that the ones addressed are “brethren”—saved people. The author warns them against having an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. Some assume this means departing from Him to the point of being lost. However, the Bible has many examples of God’s children who departed from the Lord and yet were still His.
“Departing” in this verse means “to remove or revolt.” Lot was a saved man who departed from the Lord. He pitched his tent toward Sodom and eventually lived in that wicked city and became one of its leaders. In fact, he got so involved in the affairs of this sinful city that we read in 2 Peter 2:7, he was “oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked.” Yet, in that same verse God calls him “righteous Lot.” And in 2 Peter 2:8 God refers to him this way: “(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds).” What lesson is there to learn from “righteous Lot” who departed from the living God? The lesson is found in 2 Peter 2:9: “Then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations [like Lot, and other brethren who revolt against the Lord], and to reserve the unjust [that is the unbeliever] under punishment for the day of judgment.” Notice, it is the unjust who are punished in the day of judgment. The godly—even though they revolt occasionally in their lives against God—are delivered out of temptation, just as God “delivered righteous Lot” (2 Peter 2:7).
Thus, Hebrews 3:12 warns Christians not to become doubtful and unbelieving regarding the promises of God and, thereby, find themselves revolting against Him. Instead, they are to do what verse 13 advocates: “exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Many believers—both outside and inside the Bible—have been hardened through the deceitfulness of the sin of unbelief. The Lord says this will not happen if we exhort one another daily. Therefore, Hebrews 3:12-13 is an exhortation to watchfulness against especially the sin of not believing God’s gracious promises to His children.
Hebrews 6:4-6
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.Some use this passage to teach that a man once saved may later lose his salvation, often drawing the following conclusions.
First, the people referred to in Hebrews 6 are really saved as seen in such phrases as that they “were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.”
Second, it is possible for these saved people to lose their salvation because the context also says, “if they fall away.”
I agree that those referred to in Hebrews 6:4-6 are genuine Christians. Yet, if verse 6 teaches that saved people can lose their salvation, that same verse must also teach that once their salvation is lost, they can never regain it. Notice carefully what these verses say: “For it is impossible … if they fall away to renew them again to repentance.” What is it impossible to do? To renew those who have fallen away to repentance.
Many people believe they can lose their salvation. They also believe that even though they have lost their salvation, they can repent and be saved again. But if the phrase “fall away” is the same thing as “lose salvation,” then Hebrews 6:4-6 can only mean once a saved man is lost he can never be saved again.
Consequently, what does Hebrews 6:4-6 mean? To answer the question we need to define certain things, for instance, the phrase, “fall away.” Basically, it means to fall to one side—not like falling off a cliff where there’s no return, but in the sense to be out of step. Also needing clarification is the phrase, “to renew them again to repentance.” A modern way of saying it might help. Williams translates it “to keep on restoring them to their first repentance.” Philips renders it “to make them repent as they did at first.”
According to this understanding, the thing that is impossible for a believer who gets out of step with the Lord is to go back to his original repentance—the repentance that brought him into eternal salvation at the beginning. Why would it be impossible to do this? The last part of verse 6 tells us why: Jesus Christ would have to be crucified over again. Such a possibility is unthinkable. Berkeley brings this out in his translation, “for they repeat—so far as they are concerned—the crucifying of the Son of God afresh …”
Nevertheless, we know that the people mentioned here are not lost because of what the writer goes on to say about them:
- They are “rejected” (disapproved).
- They are “near to being cursed.”
Hebrews 6 is also talking about rewards, not salvation. The illustration given in Hebrews 6 confirms this. In verses 7 and 8 God says, “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briars, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.”
Notice, the productive earth “receives blessing from God.” The nonproductive earth “bears thorns and briars [and] is rejected [disapproved] and is near to being cursed whose end is to be burned.” Notice, not cursed but “near to”—like 1 Corinthians 3:15, ‘he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.’ Again, notice that these nonproductive believers themselves are not burned but their “end” is. In other words, the end of all that they produced (“thorns and briars”) is burned.
Hebrews 10:26-29
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?It is very important to observe carefully the pronouns in this passage. For instance, in verse 26 we have the statement, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” Goodspeed translates that last phrase as follows: “There is no sacrifice left to be offered for our sins.” And the Twentieth Century New Testament translates it this way: “There can be no further sacrifice.” Why is there no more sacrifice for sins when we sin willfully? We find the answer in the same tenth chapter of Hebrews.
Referring to the Old Testament blood sacrifices, the writer of Hebrews says in 10:1-3:
For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.If Old Testament believers had been cleansed once and for all, they would never again need another sacrifice. The problem was that the sacrifices of the Old Testament did not cleanse them. They simply covered their sins temporarily. However, Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice is not that way:
By that will [by God’s will] we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:10, 14)Then the writer adds this pointed conclusion
Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:17-18)Accordingly, when the writer begins to talk about willful sins of believers (verse 26), we find that if we sin willfully after we know the Lord there are no more sacrifices to be offered. Why?—because Christ’s one sacrifice is all sufficient for all of our sins, once and for all.
Well, if I don’t have to worry about additional offerings for sins, what is left? What about God’s judgment and wrath? Where does it fall? Verse 27 begins the answer: “But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” No matter how you look at it, the believer in Christ is not an “adversary of Christ,” denoting “an enemy, an opponent, one who is in opposition to God.” These phrases do not define or describe the child of God. This is where it becomes important to observe the pronouns. Beginning in verse 28 we read, “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Please take note of the change of pronouns in verse 29:
Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.The one who will undergo “much worse punishment” is not “you,” but “he.” This “he” is the adversary of verse 27. And verse 29 describes three things that he (the adversary) is guilty of.
First, the adversary is guilty of rejecting Christ—”who has trampled the Son of God underfoot;” second, the adversary considers the blood of no value—”counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing;” third, the adversary abuses the work of the Holy Spirit—”and insulted the Spirit of grace.”
None of these things are true of Christians. A Christian, instead of rejecting Christ, trusts Him; instead of considering the blood of no value, the believer counts upon the blood to cleanse him; instead of abusing the work of the Holy Spirit, the believer has responded to the convicting work of the Spirit and has trusted Christ.
There are some, however, who point to the middle part of verse 29 and say, “Well, this man—this adversary—at one time was saved because verse 29 says, “he was sanctified.” No, my dear friend, verse 29 does not suggest that the adversary was ever sanctified. It does say that the Son of God was sanctified. See it for yourself. Reread the verse and ask the question, “Who was sanctified by the blood of the covenant?” The Son of God was. On the other hand, the adversary “has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing.”
You say, “Wait a minute! The Son of God did not need to be sanctified. He was already holy.” Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus Christ was sanctified. In fact, He sanctified Himself and said so in John 17:19: “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”
The adversary counts the blood by which Christ was sanctified an unholy offering. There is nothing in store for such a man but the wrath and judgment of a holy God. But, thank the Lord, for those who believe in Christ there is no more sacrifice—no more offering is needed or made for our sin—because, as God promised:
Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:17-18)What a blessing to know that even if we sin willfully after we know the Lord, it is still the one sacrifice made by Christ on Calvary that is forever completely sufficient and adequate for our eternal salvation. The adversary of the Lord has judgment to look forward to, but we look forward knowing that all of our sins have been paid for, forgiven, and put behind His back, on the basis of that one wonderful sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf.
Hebrews 10:38-39
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.Why do some commentators quote these verses as proof that a saved man can lose his salvation if he does not do good works? Twice in the passage the value of faith is brought out. In verse 38 he says clearly that “the just shall live by faith.” In verse 39, contrasting the believer with the unbeliever, he says that “we are not of those [unbelievers] who draw back to perdition; but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” It does not say, “We are of them who believe, work, and strive, and endure to the saving of the soul.” It says, “we are they that believe [nothing else] to the saving of the soul.” So, then, eternal salvation in this case—as everywhere else in the Bible—hinges upon the one condition of faith in Christ.
Some authors quote verse 38 to show that God will have no pleasure in those who draw back. I have had men—perhaps sincere—say to me something like the following: “Look! God says if you draw back He will have no pleasure in you! He does not say He will have some pleasure in you.” The point that such people seek to make is that if God has “no” pleasure in someone, then that someone no longer belongs to Him. The problem with that logic is the one speaking in verse 38 is not God, but the writer of Hebrews (the human author). “My soul” does not refer to God but the human writer. How do I know that? I know it because of the passage. Notice verses 34 and 38:
For you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. (Hebrews 10:34)
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, my soul [the one who was in chains in verse 34] has no pleasure in him. (Hebrews 10:38)It is not God who says He has no pleasure in the one who draws back. The writer of Hebrews says it. Not only that, but in verse 34 he tells them that they already have “a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven,” who are the same people who “believe to the saving of the soul” (verse 39).
James 2:17
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.The subject matter of James 2:14-26 is “what good does it do to tell another man ‘I have faith’ if I don’t show it by my works?” James 2:14-26 has nothing to do with eternal salvation before God; it does not involve how to receive eternal life; it does talk about the profit there is before men of demonstrating our faith.
Before we observe this in James 2, it is important to see clearly from God’s Word what He Himself has to say about being justified in His eyes. James uses Abraham as an illustration of someone justified by faith and works. However, he uses Abraham to illustrate how he was justified by faith and works before other men—as we shall soon see.
In Romans 4, God also uses Abraham as an illustration, but this time of how a man is justified by faith alone before God. In clear, unmistakable language God declares:
What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. (Romans 4:1-5)Notice that Abraham could be justified by works “but not before God.” If a person insists that James 2 teaches a man is justified by works before God, then we have a contradiction. If, on the other hand, Romans 4 is speaking of our justification before God (which it does), and if James is speaking of our justification before men (which is just as obvious by a careful reading of the chapter), then we have no contradiction whatever.
Let us go back to James 2. We discover the point of the passage in verses 14-16.
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?Please notice that in verse 14, James writes to “my brethren,” then in verse 15 the illustration he gives is “if a brother or sister” comes to you in need. Therefore, he talks about believers coming to another believer in time of need. He asks that if the brother who could help a destitute fellow believer does not help, then what profit is there? Obviously, there is no profit for the destitute believer. The conclusion is verse 17: “Thus also [in the same way] faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Some assume that if faith is “dead” then it is not there. However in this instance, the word dead means barren or unproductive. Even if you do not know Greek, the gist of the passage makes that clear. There is no profit in a dead faith so far as your fellow Christian is concerned. “Dead” in James is like a dead battery in a car. The battery is there but it is useless in producing any power. The same is true of dead faith. It is of no value—of “no profit”—if it does not produce works.
Let us consider the remaining portion of the passage verse-by-verse.
Verse 2:18
Notice, a man says, “You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith [not, “show God your faith”] without your works, and I will show you my faith [not, “I will show God my faith”] by my works.” The only way I can show you my faith is by my works. The only way you can show me your faith is by your works. But neither of us has to show God our faith; He sees the heart. Moreover, according to Romans 4, when I trust Him He counts my faith as righteousness.
Verse 2:19
The person who believes in one God is no better than demons, because demons not only believe there is one God (monotheism), they tremble at the thought of it. God saves no one because he believes in one God. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Verse 2:20
This verse verifies the conclusions of earlier verses like 14, 16 and 17: that if works do not spring from faith, then that faith is nonproductive.
Verses 2:21-23
Abraham is a perfect example of one’s faith cooperating with his works before men to produce a mature faith. Notice that when Abraham was justified by works (verse 21), it was at the time “he offered Isaac his son on the altar.” According to Scripture, Abraham was justified by faith alone—before God—in Genesis 15:6. At that time Isaac was not yet born. Then, after Isaac’s birth and he began to grow as a young man, Abraham displayed his faith in the Lord by being willing to offer his son upon the altar (see Genesis 22). But keep in mind, that well before he was willing to sacrifice Isaac, Genesis 15:6 says, “he [Abraham] believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” Abraham was justified before God by faith alone approximately fifteen years before the events in Genesis 22 took place.
James 2:22 clarifies before whom Abraham was justified by works: “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect [mature or complete]?” In other words, this is the way you and I see it. We see Abraham’s works, and because we see how much he was willing to trust the Lord, we know he really did have faith. James 2:23 says: “And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.” There are two Scriptures fulfilled in verse 23: Genesis 15:6 which says Abraham was justified by faith before God and 2 Chronicles 20:7 which says Abraham is God’s friend because of his obedience. It’s impossible to display faith without obedience.
Someone may ask, “Well, when Abraham offered up Isaac there were no other men around to see him do it. So how could he be displaying his faith before men?” The truth of the matter is that there were other men around to see him offer up Isaac. Genesis 22:1-14 reveals that when Abraham took Isaac to Mount Moriah, he also took with him two of his young men (verse 3). Abraham, an old man by this time, “saw the place afar off” (verse 4). He turned to his young men and told them to stay with the donkey, while he and Isaac went to the place to which he pointed, to offer a burnt offering (verse 5). If Abraham could see the place, then there is no doubt the young men could certainly see it and did see it. The obvious observer, of course, was Isaac. He certainly had a front row seat!
James 2 sums up the matter in verse 24, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” Notice it carefully: “You see” it this way—not God. Before God we are justified by faith alone; before men, we are justified by faith and works. God sees the heart and our faith. Man does not see the heart; therefore, he must see works. And when he sees works (verses 18, 22, 24), then he may conclude that the person displaying those works has faith.
There is no hint in this passage of a believer losing eternal salvation because he does not work. Instead, it is an exhortation to join works with faith to be useful, especially among needy fellow “brothers and sisters” (verses 14-15).
2 Peter 2:20-22
For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.From this passage, it is sometimes taught that those referred to are former Christians who have become apostates. They once believed in Christ (verse 20) but later turned from the holy commandment (verse 21), and now their latter end is worse than the beginning (verse 20), having returned to sin and ungodly ways.
This interpretation does not do justice to the immediate passage or to the Scripture as a whole. To know of whom Peter speaks in these verses, we must identify in verse 20 who “they” refers to: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world…the latter end is worse for them … for it would have been better for them … than, having known it … the holy commandment delivered to them … but it has happened to them according to the true proverb.” Who does this passage refer to? We discover by observing verses 1 and 2, where Peter tells us of whom he writes.
There were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.Therefore, the “they” and the “them” of 2 Peter 2:20-22 refer to “false teachers” (verse 2:1). The subject is not true teachers who have turned sour, but false teachers who shall come in secretly among “you” (the believers, verse 1). The identification of these people as false teachers is further borne out in the following verses.
Verse 2:3
“By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” Observe, it does not say “your” destruction does not slumber. It says “their” destruction does not slumber.
Verses 2:9-11
“The Lord knows how to deliver the godly [the saved] out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust [the unsaved—in this case, the false teacher] under punishment for the day of judgment. And especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed.” Again, notice that it does not say, “Presumptuous are you,” but they.
Verses 2:12, 17-18
“But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption … These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh.”
Not only is it true that in context there are false prophets, but Peter also says of them in verse 22, “it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” Nowhere in this verse—or in the entire passage—are these men referred to as “sheep.” Throughout Scripture, true believers are called Christ’s sheep. The word does not call believers—regardless of how carnal they may be—dogs or pigs. Those who belong to Jesus Christ are sheep. Notice the many examples.
- I am the door of the sheep. (John 10:7)
- I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. (John 10:11)
- I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known by My own. (John 10:14)
- But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. (John 10:26-28)
- He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. (John 21:17)
- The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. (Psalm 23:1-2)
- Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. (Psalm 100:3)
- Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Peter 5:2-4)
- Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. (Hebrews 13:20)
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (Matthew 7:15)False prophets put on clothes resembling sheep, yet “inwardly” they are really wolves. They are not sheep who have become wolves; they are wolves pretending to be sheep. This is where much confusion arises. We can all point to people that we have known who said they were Christians and yet who later denied the faith. Sometimes—foolishly, I am afraid—a few will say that these were Christians who lost their salvation. In reality, however, according to Scripture, they were wolves dressed up like sheep, even imitating the sheep’s baaaa!
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! (Philippians 3:1-2)It is interesting to note that the “brethren” are warned against the “dogs.” Verse 2 does not say, “beware of becoming dogs.” Instead, it tells the brethren to “beware of dogs.” So, the brethren are not the dogs, and the dogs are not the brethren!
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Revelation 22:15)This passage describes the New Jerusalem (21:1-2). Outside of the New Jerusalem are the dogs; inside are the sheep.
One phrase in 2 Peter 2:20, which has puzzled many is that false prophets are said to have “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” So, the reasoning goes, if they have known the Lord Jesus Christ, then they were saved at one time. The problem immediately desolves when we understand the meaning of the word “knowledge.” It is true that anyone who knows Christ is saved. In fact, Jesus himself said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). The word “know” in this verse is the Greek word ginosko and speaks of a personal, firsthand knowledge of a thing or person. The word translated “knowledge” in 2 Peter 2:20 is the Greek word epignosis and means a recognition or an acknowledgment—not a personal, experiential knowledge.
Let me illustrate what I mean. I know my wife, Kathy. I am personally acquainted with her. I know her experientially. We are members of the same family. In John 17:3 this is the meaning of the word “know”—to know personally.
I know about Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, and the President of the United States, but I do not personally know any of the three. I acknowledge them; I recognize their photographs when I see them; I know some things about them, but I do not personally know them. In 2 Peter 2:20 this is the meaning of the word translated “knowledge”—to recognize or acknowledge.
Thus, these false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) acknowledged Christ, recognized who He was, but never knew Him personally. In light of the knowledge they had about Him, their “latter end is worse for them than the beginning.” Why? Because the more light a person has the more severely he will be punished by a holy God if he refuses to respond to that light (see Matthew 11:20-24).
Second Peter 2 (the entire chapter) paints a horrible picture of a man who pretends to be a Christian while in reality he is not, and who even preaches against Christ. The description of these false teachers better fits religious unbelievers.
1 John 2:5
But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.The epistle of 1 John is a great assurance book. The key word of the book is “know.” In this epistle God gives a believer various ways that he may know that he really does belong to the Lord or is walking in fellowship. The conclusive and objective means of assurance is God’s own spoken word as in 1 John 5:9-13, especially verse 13: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
However, there are also experiential ways for the believer to know that he is right with the Lord in his walk. A number of these are listed in 1 John. For instance, 2:5 teaches us that we can know we are in Him when we see ourselves keeping His Word. That does not mean that we must keep His Word in order to know Him. It means that if we find ourselves keeping His Word, and having His love perfected in us, that is evidence to us that we know Him or are “abiding” in Him, speaking of our walk. Therefore, it gives us added assurance.
Verse 3:14 mentions the same type of thing when we read “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.” In my young Christian life this was a great proof to me that I must be a child of God—and something real and genuine had actually happened in my life. Before I knew the Lord, I was not very fond of people. Having been born with a double harelip and cleft palate, and having gone through much ridicule from others, I had no great affection for anyone. But a strange thing happened after I trusted Christ. I found myself beginning to love people. I discovered that I stopped thinking of people in terms of their color, or nationality, or economic standing. Instead, I was amazed to find that I had—although I did not understand from where—a real genuine love for people of all sorts. This was evidence to me that something actually had happened when I trusted Christ, and this is one of the things John talks about in his epistle.
What John is not saying is, “This is how to tell if another person is saved;” or “This is how to be saved — love the brethren, keep His Word, or keep His commandments.” No, he does not tell us to be saved by doing these things; nor does he tell us to be “fruit inspectors” of other people’s lives. He gives us guidelines and personal assurances that if we see some of these things in our lives, these are further evidences that we belong to the Lord and that our walk is what it should be.
However, the real evidence is God’s promise. He promised in 5:10-12 the following:
He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.Based upon this passage and verse 13, if we believe the testimony God gave of His Son then we have eternal life, because this life is in His Son. That is our unshakable assurance for God said it. That settles it forever. Other things mentioned in 1 John are ways we may also tell if we have experienced the miracle of the new birth through faith in Christ, or that we are abiding in Christ in our personal relationship with Him. There is no hint in any of these verses that we will lose our salvation if these qualities are lacking in our lives.
Revelation 2:7
To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.As is too often done, some interpret a word so as to infer that a person must do more than believe in Christ to be assured of salvation. The word in this case is “overcomes.”
I have heard people say something like the following: “Only those who love the Lord Jesus with all their hearts and really serve Him faithfully—the overcomers—shall eat of the tree of life.” I agree that only overcomers will eat of the tree of life. The important question is, who are overcomers and how do they overcome? We answer Scripture with Scripture, interpreting the somewhat unclear by that which is clear. 1 John 5:5 answers the question, “Who is an overcomer?” The answer: “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4 answers the second question:
“How do they overcome?” The answer: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” So the overcomers are believers. How do they overcome? By faith.
Overcoming, then, is not—as some would have us believe — a great struggle for more and more goodness; it is simply being born into God’s family. God puts it this way in John 1:12-13:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.Some say that eating of the tree of life and entering in through the gates of the city are synonymous with being saved. Therefore, this verse teaches that to be saved you must “do his commandments.” Well, does eating of the tree of life and entering in through the gates of the city mean the same thing as being saved? Let’s find out from Scripture.
In Revelation 20:15 the Bible says that anyone not found written in the Book of Life, the Judge casts into the lake of fire. Then, if you disregard the chapter divisions, it goes right on to say:
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.The Lord, through the apostle John, continues to describe that city. The city is not Heaven, but the city comes down from God out of Heaven.
Before this city comes down out of Heaven and before this new Heaven and new earth are created, all the unsaved dead are brought before God, judged, and sent to the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). So, when the new Heaven, the new earth, and the New Jerusalem are created, all unbelievers are already confined to hell. There are no unbelievers in the new Heaven, or new earth, or New Jerusalem. Chapters 21 and 22 describe the New Jerusalem. Chapter 21 even gives the measurements of the city. Then in 22:1-2 we have a description of the water of life and the tree of life which are located in the city.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
The water of life proceeds out of God’s throne. The tree of life, which is apparently not just one tree because it grows in the midst of the street and on both sides of the river, will bear 12 different kinds of fruit, a different fruit every month. And the leaves of that tree will heal the nations.When we come to verse 14 of Chapter 22, we learn that those who do the Lord’s commandments—in other words, those who obey Him—may do two things. They may eat of the tree of life and they may enter in through the gates of the New Jerusalem. These obviously are two great privileges that the obedient believer shall have. But remember, the tree of life is in the city and the city comes down from Heaven. The city is not Heaven; it is only a part of Heaven. Christ said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
The New Jerusalem is the most glorious mansion of Heaven, but it is not the only one. And those who know the Lord and are obedient to Him will have the right to enter in through the gates of the New Jerusalem and also to eat the 12 manner of fruit of the tree of life. We cannot say for certain what that entails, but it is obviously a great privilege.
But as we have said before regarding other passages, we must also say regarding this verse, that there is no hint in Revelation 22:14 that one who does not “do His commandments” will lose his salvation. That is not the subject matter. On the contrary, this is a picture of faithful servants being rewarded with high and very great privileges.
Notes
- Editor’s note: The CTS Journal publishes at times, along with more technical papers, articles that straightforwardly address troubling issues for Christians and that help put those troubles to rest. This article is such an article. By permission of the author, it is adapted from his book titled The Gift of God (first edition, 1969, second edition 2007), Integrity Press, PO Box 10, LaGrange WY 82221; pages 97-167.
- Scripture passages are cited from the NKJV.
- I also ask these two questions concerning the same statement made in Matthew 24:13 and I come to virtually the same conclusions.
- See Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:5.
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