The Tight Rope Dancer

“They weaken Christian comfort who make believers walk with Christ like dancers upon a rope, every moment in fear of breaking their necks.” -Puritan Thomas Manton

There are many who believe that their salvation can be lost, and spend their whole life with no assurance based on what Christ did, but rather based on their own preformance and works.

They are rabidly against what some call OSAS or once saved always saved. And most of the time they have no understanding of what that actually means to the one who correctly holds to it.

I believe “once saved always saved” is not the best term for the belief. A much better choice would be Perseverance or Presevervation of the Saints. Once saved always saved is the simplest explanation for this, but being so simple, it can lead to wrong assumptions.

Perseverance/ Preservation of the Saints, also known as Eternal Security, is the belief that it is God who secures our salvation, not our own efforts of works. Once justified, it is God alone who preserves His people, the saints, eternally.

Most who believe this is false will always point to some scenario where a person claims to get saved then becomes a murderer, drunkard, fornicator or habitual abuser for the remainder of their life, never showing any good fruit, but says they are saved because that one time they did this, that and the other. This is not what it means and is not the representation of true salvation from scripture.

They generally want to go to Hebrews as their “coup de grâce” or death blow to defeat the belief of eternal security. And they do this wrongly and without proper context. Nevertheless, they feel the debate is over and they leave trusting in their works rather that Christs work.

A misunderstanding of the Atonement is one reason for the belief that salvation can be lost. It’s almost as if they think our past sins, from the very beginning moment of salvation, are the only sins paid for. But our debt of sin, past, present, and future were nailed to the cross. Colossians 2:14 reads “having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross”. This was a legal transaction that wiped our debt clean. Christ redeemed us totally from the curse of the law, not partially, by becoming a curse for us (Gal3:13). This isn’t a temporary state, we have been justified forever.

Another reason for the misunderstanding of God’s covenant with His people and the work God does to and through His people. God upholds His covenant. We are brought into this covenant relationship through the works and blood of Christ (Luke 22:20). A great depiction of the New Covenant and exactly who does what can be found in Ezekiel 36: 26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”. And with Jesus Christ himself as the mediator of this covenant, who came to do the will of the Father, and He will not fail at this. John 6:39-40 reads “ And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day”.

The scriptures are full of assurance to the believer that God is faithful and will keep them as His own.

• Jude 1:24 “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy”
• John 10:28-29 “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.”
• Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
• John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
• Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”
  

Notice in Romans 8 that every possible thing is covered, including ourself. Nothing can seperate us from God and His love for us as children. But they say ” what about those who turn away from God and leave the faith forever… well scripture has the answer to that question as well. 1 John 2:19 reads “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

God refers to it as Eternal life because it is actually eternal. From beginning to end it is His will, His purpose, His work. When we look to inward for our assurance we can quickly find ourselves struggling, but thanks be to God that assurance is found in Christ, not our works of the flesh. Dancing the tight rope of “do this and remain saved” will only lead to more and more doubts and confusion. Place your trust in Christ. When He looked up and said Tetelesta (it is finished), it was truly finished for all time.