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I apologize for the length of this...
We had a discussion recently that touched on the topic of eternal security and like the many discussions of eternal security we have had in the past, it had its supporters and its questioners. All good. It’s good to question if you don’t have understanding. It’s the way of wisdom. I am posting this not because I want to open a debate, but because I believe that resting in God’s finished work is foundational to the Christ Life and without it, we live lives of fear, misery and striving.
I have seen this discussion happen over and over on this board in the past 15 years I have been here. Objections to eternal security will range from the infamous “if” verses to “Grace is a gift. If it’s a gift that means, it’s a gift I can give back” to “you can lose your salvation if sin without confessing” to “sure, you can’t be snatched out of his hand, but you can walk away”.
And I have come to this realization: most objections come from a poor understanding of the Cross of Christ (his full work including death, burial, resurrection and ascension).
I want to lay out here a scriptural foundation for understanding the work of Christ on the Cross and our eternal security in Him, based solely on His work. I want to explain how the Work of Christ leading to Eternal Security secures for us the ability to follow Him, and give us a life…a true purpose, that it doesn’t give a license to sin or give people a reason to be lazy in their faith. Quite the opposite, really. All I ask, is that before you immediately reject what I say here that you open your Bibles and check for yourself.
Let’s begin.
In the western church we bought into a view of the cross that is strictly judicial. It’s essentially this: “I was born a sinner. I sin. God’s gift of grace to me is a PARDON for that sin”. In the judicial view of the cross it is easy to make comments like “well, God can revoke our pardon”. In the judicial view of the Cross, it’s all about the forgiveness of sins and making peace with God. While, there is indeed a judicial aspect of God’s work (and its wonderful), it is not truly a judicial work. The judicial part is a part of a greater work.
We need to forsake the idea of the cross being strictly judicial for the sake of a far a greater view….the transformative and inclusive work of Christ. Move beyond the judicial, and on to the transformative. Where the judicial view of the Cross takes on the forgiveness of sin, the transformative view of the cross takes on our deliverance of those sins. To remove the transformative from the cross, while leaving us forgiven of sin, still leaves us in bondage and leaves us unchanged from our presaved state to our salvation state.
In the judicial view of the Cross, we see Jesus on the cross, dying for our sins. We make the comment “Jesus died so I wouldn’t have to”. And this is true…but really, it’s only partially true, which more or less makes it a lie. A lie can occur when one is only present a half of a truth, which in turns leaves a believer in bondage. The truth of this is this: When Christ died on the Cross, I died too.
Two thousand years ago, I died with Christ…as did all of those who call on His name and believe. His work on the cross is not strictly substitutiary, so much as it is INCLUSIVE. When Christ died, I died. He took me with Him. (Romans 6:2-8, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3)
Why is this important? Because in one fell swoop, by including me in His death, Christ breaks sins hold over me. I have died forever and ever to old Master Sin. It has no hold on me any longer to make me obey its passions and lusts. It’s dead. Now, not only am I not forgiven for the sins I have committed, but I am now able to reckon myself dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:11) This is not some theological doctrine. This happened two thousand years ago when Christ died. It is not theory, it is historical fact. If you look at greek in Romans and all the verses talking about our death…it is in the Aorist form, which means it’s an event that has already taken place. Folks, we don’t need to die to sin. We ARE dead to sin. “I am CRUCIFIED with Christ” , “Old self WAS CRUCIFIED”, “You HAVE DIED”. Christ asks us to now believe this. To believe His work here for us…to RECKON (count) ourselves dead. Why? Because its true. It would be foolish to count our selves dead to sin if we really weren’t. But that’s not the case. We have died. And not only died, but we were buried with Christ as well. Get that? Dead and buried. The Old Man, who you once were, is now forever and ever dead.
But it doesn’t stop there. Just as we were united in Christ’s death we are also united in his Resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5) When Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him. We rise as one. I in Christ. Christ in me and the two cannot be separated. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”, “we too may walk in newness of life”. Christ is the Last Adam. When he rose again, He begins a New Creation. It had been 4000 years from the time of creation, until the resurrection. Until that point nothing new had ever been created (since the original creation). Then Christ, the Second Adam rose, and we rose with Him. In this act, Jesus created a new people, a new race. He is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. It is in this act that Paul was able to say “there is no Jew, no greek, no male or female”. What was created was altogether NEW…something the world had never ever ever seen before. When Christ rose. I rose. Fresh. New. I rose as someone who no longer has Sin as a taskmaster. I rose with New Life, HIS Life. The resurrection life is not something that occurs in us after we have died. It’s already happened.
And in his resurrection, Christ forever destroys death. Because of his inclusion of me in his death and resurrection, I can no longer ever die again? Why? Because I already died and was reborn and I was reborn ETERNAL. There is no second death for me. This is why Paul and the Apostles spoke of physical death as “falling asleep”. We don’t truly die. We fall asleep. It’s like falling asleep in one room and waking up in another. There is no death for me or you. Death is reserved for the devil and his angels and those who don’t believe in Jesus. But that’s for THEM. Its not for US. How can we who have died, die again? It’s not possible.
And it goes on!! As we were included in his death, and his resurrection, we have been included in his Ascension. In Ephesians we see that we are already seated in Christ, in the heavenlies. This is not a future event. It’s an event that has already occurred. I AM in Christ. HE IS in me. I am seated with Him now in the heaven as He is in me now. We are eternally secure there. How do you leave being IN Christ? How do you jump out of his heart? How do you leave heaven? You can’t!
Do you see the transformative over the judicial in this? Do you see the greater work of Christ? I ONCE was dead in my sins, now I am ALIVE in Christ. I once was Old Tim who was addicted to pornography, who was cruel and hateful and loved to beat up on Christians and abuse his wife, and cheat on her. Now the Old Tim is dead and the New Tim is alive who delights in loving people, in helping people walk in their true identity in Christ, who loves loving on the abused and helping people find life in Jesus.
Once you have died and risen and ascended. You can’t go back to the Old Self. Ever. It is as absurd as the idea of a butterfly reverting back to its caterpillar state.
Grace is not something you give back either. Why? Because Grace is NOT pardon. Grace is the inclusive, transformative gift of God that occurred at the Cross. This is God’s FINISHED work on our behalf. He does it ALL! To say that we can give this back is the same thing as saying that my salvation depends on me being able to hold on to the gift (a gift that only makes sense in the judicial, not the transformative). It takes God’s transformative work of our salvation and puts it back in our hands.
This teaching of the Cross is not told in Churches. Instead we get gospels of sin management that keep us in bondage. What would happen to the Church of God if they were told what God really did for them? What would happen to the Church of God if we were told who we really were? What would happen? Do you not see that the idea of Eternal Security leads a person to apathy is just absurd? If a person were to truly believe that God did EXACTLY what He said He did, and if they were to believe that we are EXACTLY who God says we are, it leads to greater works! It doesn’t lead us to not following Christ. That’s a lie from the pit.
What would happen if you found out after a radioactive spider bit you that it gave you the abilities of a spider? Would you sit on the couch and watch the tube? Or would you start web slinging, climbing walls and saving damsels in distress?
What would happen within the Church if they were to believe God when He says this. “Son, don’t you know you are dead to sin and that old life? That you don’t have to obey its lusts and passions? That Sin no longer has any power over you because you have died to it? Don’t you know that you have been given new life in me? That I live in you right now? That you have at your disposal all my love, all my power, all my grace and all my authority? Don’t you know that you are a very Oak of Righteousness, meant to reign in this life? Don’t you know I have created you for Life and a purpose?”
Brothers and sisters…..we died to this earthly life and have been risen anew into eternity. This gift of grace is ours. It can’t be given back. It can’t be undone. It’s just not possible.
We had a discussion recently that touched on the topic of eternal security and like the many discussions of eternal security we have had in the past, it had its supporters and its questioners. All good. It’s good to question if you don’t have understanding. It’s the way of wisdom. I am posting this not because I want to open a debate, but because I believe that resting in God’s finished work is foundational to the Christ Life and without it, we live lives of fear, misery and striving.
I have seen this discussion happen over and over on this board in the past 15 years I have been here. Objections to eternal security will range from the infamous “if” verses to “Grace is a gift. If it’s a gift that means, it’s a gift I can give back” to “you can lose your salvation if sin without confessing” to “sure, you can’t be snatched out of his hand, but you can walk away”.
And I have come to this realization: most objections come from a poor understanding of the Cross of Christ (his full work including death, burial, resurrection and ascension).
I want to lay out here a scriptural foundation for understanding the work of Christ on the Cross and our eternal security in Him, based solely on His work. I want to explain how the Work of Christ leading to Eternal Security secures for us the ability to follow Him, and give us a life…a true purpose, that it doesn’t give a license to sin or give people a reason to be lazy in their faith. Quite the opposite, really. All I ask, is that before you immediately reject what I say here that you open your Bibles and check for yourself.
Let’s begin.
In the western church we bought into a view of the cross that is strictly judicial. It’s essentially this: “I was born a sinner. I sin. God’s gift of grace to me is a PARDON for that sin”. In the judicial view of the cross it is easy to make comments like “well, God can revoke our pardon”. In the judicial view of the Cross, it’s all about the forgiveness of sins and making peace with God. While, there is indeed a judicial aspect of God’s work (and its wonderful), it is not truly a judicial work. The judicial part is a part of a greater work.
We need to forsake the idea of the cross being strictly judicial for the sake of a far a greater view….the transformative and inclusive work of Christ. Move beyond the judicial, and on to the transformative. Where the judicial view of the Cross takes on the forgiveness of sin, the transformative view of the cross takes on our deliverance of those sins. To remove the transformative from the cross, while leaving us forgiven of sin, still leaves us in bondage and leaves us unchanged from our presaved state to our salvation state.
In the judicial view of the Cross, we see Jesus on the cross, dying for our sins. We make the comment “Jesus died so I wouldn’t have to”. And this is true…but really, it’s only partially true, which more or less makes it a lie. A lie can occur when one is only present a half of a truth, which in turns leaves a believer in bondage. The truth of this is this: When Christ died on the Cross, I died too.
Two thousand years ago, I died with Christ…as did all of those who call on His name and believe. His work on the cross is not strictly substitutiary, so much as it is INCLUSIVE. When Christ died, I died. He took me with Him. (Romans 6:2-8, Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3)
Why is this important? Because in one fell swoop, by including me in His death, Christ breaks sins hold over me. I have died forever and ever to old Master Sin. It has no hold on me any longer to make me obey its passions and lusts. It’s dead. Now, not only am I not forgiven for the sins I have committed, but I am now able to reckon myself dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:11) This is not some theological doctrine. This happened two thousand years ago when Christ died. It is not theory, it is historical fact. If you look at greek in Romans and all the verses talking about our death…it is in the Aorist form, which means it’s an event that has already taken place. Folks, we don’t need to die to sin. We ARE dead to sin. “I am CRUCIFIED with Christ” , “Old self WAS CRUCIFIED”, “You HAVE DIED”. Christ asks us to now believe this. To believe His work here for us…to RECKON (count) ourselves dead. Why? Because its true. It would be foolish to count our selves dead to sin if we really weren’t. But that’s not the case. We have died. And not only died, but we were buried with Christ as well. Get that? Dead and buried. The Old Man, who you once were, is now forever and ever dead.
But it doesn’t stop there. Just as we were united in Christ’s death we are also united in his Resurrection. (Romans 6:4-5) When Christ rose from the dead, I rose with Him. We rise as one. I in Christ. Christ in me and the two cannot be separated. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”, “we too may walk in newness of life”. Christ is the Last Adam. When he rose again, He begins a New Creation. It had been 4000 years from the time of creation, until the resurrection. Until that point nothing new had ever been created (since the original creation). Then Christ, the Second Adam rose, and we rose with Him. In this act, Jesus created a new people, a new race. He is the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. It is in this act that Paul was able to say “there is no Jew, no greek, no male or female”. What was created was altogether NEW…something the world had never ever ever seen before. When Christ rose. I rose. Fresh. New. I rose as someone who no longer has Sin as a taskmaster. I rose with New Life, HIS Life. The resurrection life is not something that occurs in us after we have died. It’s already happened.
And in his resurrection, Christ forever destroys death. Because of his inclusion of me in his death and resurrection, I can no longer ever die again? Why? Because I already died and was reborn and I was reborn ETERNAL. There is no second death for me. This is why Paul and the Apostles spoke of physical death as “falling asleep”. We don’t truly die. We fall asleep. It’s like falling asleep in one room and waking up in another. There is no death for me or you. Death is reserved for the devil and his angels and those who don’t believe in Jesus. But that’s for THEM. Its not for US. How can we who have died, die again? It’s not possible.
And it goes on!! As we were included in his death, and his resurrection, we have been included in his Ascension. In Ephesians we see that we are already seated in Christ, in the heavenlies. This is not a future event. It’s an event that has already occurred. I AM in Christ. HE IS in me. I am seated with Him now in the heaven as He is in me now. We are eternally secure there. How do you leave being IN Christ? How do you jump out of his heart? How do you leave heaven? You can’t!
Do you see the transformative over the judicial in this? Do you see the greater work of Christ? I ONCE was dead in my sins, now I am ALIVE in Christ. I once was Old Tim who was addicted to pornography, who was cruel and hateful and loved to beat up on Christians and abuse his wife, and cheat on her. Now the Old Tim is dead and the New Tim is alive who delights in loving people, in helping people walk in their true identity in Christ, who loves loving on the abused and helping people find life in Jesus.
Once you have died and risen and ascended. You can’t go back to the Old Self. Ever. It is as absurd as the idea of a butterfly reverting back to its caterpillar state.
Grace is not something you give back either. Why? Because Grace is NOT pardon. Grace is the inclusive, transformative gift of God that occurred at the Cross. This is God’s FINISHED work on our behalf. He does it ALL! To say that we can give this back is the same thing as saying that my salvation depends on me being able to hold on to the gift (a gift that only makes sense in the judicial, not the transformative). It takes God’s transformative work of our salvation and puts it back in our hands.
This teaching of the Cross is not told in Churches. Instead we get gospels of sin management that keep us in bondage. What would happen to the Church of God if they were told what God really did for them? What would happen to the Church of God if we were told who we really were? What would happen? Do you not see that the idea of Eternal Security leads a person to apathy is just absurd? If a person were to truly believe that God did EXACTLY what He said He did, and if they were to believe that we are EXACTLY who God says we are, it leads to greater works! It doesn’t lead us to not following Christ. That’s a lie from the pit.
What would happen if you found out after a radioactive spider bit you that it gave you the abilities of a spider? Would you sit on the couch and watch the tube? Or would you start web slinging, climbing walls and saving damsels in distress?
What would happen within the Church if they were to believe God when He says this. “Son, don’t you know you are dead to sin and that old life? That you don’t have to obey its lusts and passions? That Sin no longer has any power over you because you have died to it? Don’t you know that you have been given new life in me? That I live in you right now? That you have at your disposal all my love, all my power, all my grace and all my authority? Don’t you know that you are a very Oak of Righteousness, meant to reign in this life? Don’t you know I have created you for Life and a purpose?”
Brothers and sisters…..we died to this earthly life and have been risen anew into eternity. This gift of grace is ours. It can’t be given back. It can’t be undone. It’s just not possible.
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