my little kingdom.

last night at my neighborhood group, the designated topic of discussion was "eternal security." the belief that once a person is saved, they are saved forever. salvation cannot be lost.

we sort of discussed that, and also sort of didn't. at least not the way i wanted to. not in a passionate, fiery way. conversation was derailed a bit, which i have no problem with. a neighborhood group is the right place for that sort of thing.

but i remembered i have a blog, and can rant about anything i want.

so here i go.

i've always believed that salvation can't be lost. i grew up on the arminian side of things. now that i am on the calvinist side of things, i wonder...what did i base that belief on? i don't have an answer for that.

i do have this great book called "putting amazing back into grace." and here are some quotes on the topic.

"Since God initially gives us the grace to believe in him and to turn from self, why would he not also give us the grace to keep on trusting him? One simply cannot believe in the possibility of losing salvation through moral failure and in salvation by grace at the same time."

"Once God truly changes someone, that person never really wants to undo what God has done!"

"Wouldn't you fear having your eternal destiny hinging on your decision-making ability, an ability that might lead you to commit yourself to a new course one minute and to reject it the next?"

"It is nice to know that you can gauge your life by God's decision for you and not the other way around."

"Sheep do indeed stray from the shepherd. After all, if sheep did not tend to stray, why would they need a shepherd? But notice that the shepherd is always there to bring the sheep back."

"We are unhappy in sin - like fish out of water - if our nature has truly been changed. It is still enjoyable, but eventually unbearable."

those quotes address questions like "what about people who walk away from the Christian life and do things they shouldn't for long periods of time?" they either strayed and need a shepherd to bring them back, or they aren't people who have been changed by grace. "believers." i don't know who falls into what category. that's not something i know. but the reality is that some people aren't really Christians. that's an unpleasant thought. just because it's an unpleasant thought, doesn't make it any less true.

my favorite part of all this, and what we really didn't get to, is Jesus. the reason anyone can be secure is because His acts of dieing on the cross and coming back to life were POWERFUL acts. mighty acts. so powerful and mighty that salvation is secure. to say that salvation can be lost is to say that those acts were weak. this is the passionate, fiery stuff. we are weak. but Christ and the salvation He gives are NOT.

more powerful and mighty than my decisions to stray or sin. this is the good stuff. this is the comfort on my bad days. this is a place to rest.

"Christ 'takes away the sin of the world.' And notice that he does not make the removal of the world's sin possible: He accomplishes it!"

"Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer said, 'Christ's death does not save either actually or potentially; rather it makes all men saveable.' If that is true, there is no real 'power in the blood.' Rather, the power would seem to be in the will of the creature."

"God's love is intense. It is a discriminate, special, saving love that truly reaches its target." (paraphrase)

"...apart from trusting in Christ there is not even a provision for salvation. But those who do believe have not only a provision and a potential atonement, but an effective redemption that actually accomplishes its purpose."

"The fact that God would choose, redeem, call, and keep a great number known only to him is amazing grace indeed and of infinitely more comfort than the idea that Christ's death actually secured the salvation of none, merely making salvation possible, depending on the ability of those who are 'dead in trespasses and sins' to make the right moves to God."

"The Bible says nothing of potential reconciliation, or a mere provision for reconciliation. Rather, it promises: 'Having been reconciled, we shall be saved' (Rom. 5:10)."

"Why should unbelievers get excited when I tell them, 'God loves you; Christ died for you'? Christ could have died for them; God could have loved them. But what good does that do them if they are all condemned anyway? Those whom the Savior loved and for whom he gave his life are saved! That's a love that achieves its objectives."

If salvation can be lost...

"It is a rather faulty piece of good news, because it is nothing positive; it is a grand uncertainty you have proclaimed to me."

a salvation that is uncertain is no salvation at all.

i really appreciate that the speaker last night took a minute to say that very intelligent, godly people disagree on this topic. i would also like to throw that out there.