Is a believer's salvation secure or can it be lost?

PART 9 ETERNAL SECURITY

Eternal Security or Eternally Lost?

 As I am attempting to conclude this study, a lot of thoughts are going through my mind. One of them, which stayed with me throughout was “Don’t give up”. See this study to the end, even though it involved a lot of minutia and an overwhelming amount of information.    

In my younger years, whenever I had engaged in a physical altercation with another teenager, whoever said the words “I give up” would declare that they had just lost the fight. It sounds like a strange analogy, but now we are able to understand the how and the why there are such differences in church theology. Only in these cases no one says “I give up”. Everyone not only wants to be right, and believes they are right, but also chooses to impose their right on the assembly telling them they had better believe what is being taught or else. Long time Christian friendships are easily destroyed. Labeling a fellow believer whom we have co-labored with for an extended period is now considered as being an apostate.

I have been involved either directly or indirectly with such circumstances. To see fellow believers or even myself be ostracized, spoken evil about, or just simply be removed from any aspect of church responsibility that we had been given oversight of can be quite discouraging and hurtful. It is one thing for a believer to no longer believe in truths that are considered as absolute such as the trinity, the incarnation of Christ, Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the Gospel of Christ, etc., but it’s another thing to consider other doctrines as being paramount such as tithing, drinking alcohol, women in leadership, eternal security, etc.

I have come to the conclusion that four things are imperative for a church assembly to operate effectively. The gospel of Christ should be presented to unbelievers for salvation. The absolute truths of the Word should be expounded upon. Learning about whom we have been made anew in Christ and how to appropriate these truths for ourselves. And how to connect with the Holy Spirit.

As far as what I will call the minor doctrines, we should be able to discuss why one church believes such and another does not, and let each believer decide for themselves the perspective they choose to adhere to. Don’t let minor doctrinal differences become a poison. Let God’s perspective of us and others be our perspective of us and others. Learn how to develop the fruit of the Spirit and exercise these qualities of character in the midst of the plan of God for our life so that others will see Him working in and through us and want Him for themselves.

I thank you for reading about this study and have come to the realization that much learning and formulation of an unswerving opinion on minor doctrine can have detrimental effects in our walk with God as we dialogue with other believers on whatever Biblical topic we are conversing about. But rather, let’s focus on doctrinal absolutes, our new standing in Christ, the Gospel of salvation, and the ministry of the Spirit so that the world sees how beautiful it is that the brethren dwell together in genuine unity and evidence this same God to those that don’t know Him in word and deed so that they will desire for themselves above all else the One who can truly change their life in time and eternity.

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