assurance of salvation
The Bible affirms that all who remain in faith in Jesus Christ will be saved and that nothing will ever snatch them away from Christ's hand. The Bible emphasizes the Lord's infinite faithfulness and the absolute sufficiency of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Furthermore, it highlights God's everlasting love for all nations and describes the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Possessing this assurance of salvation, the believer is urged to remain steadfast in the faith and to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Johannes 10,27-29; 2. Korinther 1,20-22; 2. Timotheus 1,9; 1. Korinther 15,2; Hebräer 6,4-6; Johannes 3,16; Römer 1,16; Hebräer 4,14; 2. Petrus 3,18)
How about "eternal security?"
The doctrine of "eternal security" is referred to in theological language as "the endurance of the saints." In common parlance, she is described with the phrase "once saved, always saved," or "once a Christian, always a Christian."
Many scriptures give us a certainty that we already have salvation, though we must wait for the resurrection to finally inherit eternal life and the kingdom of God. Here are some of the terms that the New Testament uses:
Whoever believes has eternal life. (Joh 6,47) …whoever looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day (Joh 6,40) …and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. (Joh 10,28)...Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Röm 8,1) … [Nothing] can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Röm 8,39)… [Christ] will keep you firm to the end (1Kor 1,8) …But God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. (1Kor 10,13)… he who began a good work in you will also complete it (Phil 1,6)… We know that we have come from death into life. (1Joh 3,14).
The doctrine of eternal security is based on such assurances. But there is another side that concerns salvation. There also seem to be warnings that Christians may fall at the mercy of God.
Christians are warned: “Therefore, whoever thinks he stands should look lest he fall.” (1Kor 10,12)Jesus said: “Watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation!” (Mk 14,28), and “love will grow cold in many” (Mt 24,12)The Apostle Paul wrote that some in the church were “in the faith”.
have suffered shipwreck" (1Tim 1,19)The church in Ephesus was warned that Christ would remove their lampstand and spit the lukewarm Laodiceans out of his mouth. The admonition is particularly terrifying in Hebräer 10,26-31:
“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, we have no other offering for sins henceforth, but nothing but a dreadful expectation of judgment and the greedy fire that will consume the adversaries. If anyone breaks the law of Moses, he must die without mercy on two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he deserves who tramples the Son of God underfoot, counting unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and reviling the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again: The Lord will judge his people. It is terrible to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Non-personal or anonymized information remains protected by tax secrecy. Disclosure to third parties is only allowed if no identification is possible and both states confirm that no harm to tax administration will occur. Hebräer 6,4-6 gives us pause for thought:
"For it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and been filled with the Holy Spirit and tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, and then fallen away, to repent again , since for themselves they crucify the Son of God again and make a mockery of it.”
So there is a duality in the New Testament. Many verses are positive about the eternal salvation that we have in Christ. This salvation seems safe. But such verses are softened by a few warnings that seemingly state that Christians can lose their salvation through persistent unbelief.
Since the question of eternal salvation, or whether Christians are certain – that is, if they are saved once, are they always saved – is usually raised because of such scriptures as Hebräer 10,26-31 Since this question arises, let's take a closer look at this passage. The question is, how should we interpret these verses? To whom is the author writing, and what is the nature of the people's "unbelief," and what have they accepted?
First, let's look at the message of Hebrews as a whole. At the heart of this book is the need to believe in Christ as the all-sufficient sacrifice for sin. There are no competitors. Faith must rest on him alone. The clarification of the question of possible loss of salvation that verse 26 raises lies in the last verse of that chapter: "But we are not of those who will shrink and be condemned, but of those who believe and save the soul" (v. 26). Some shrink, but those who remain in Christ cannot be lost.
The same assurance for believers can be found in the verses before Hebräer 10,26. Christians have confidence in being in God's presence through the blood of Jesus (verse 19). We can approach God in perfect faith (v. 22). The author exhorts Christians in these words: “Let us hold fast to the profession of hope, and not waver; for he is faithful that promised them” (v. 23).
One way to put these verses into Hebräer 6 And understanding point 10 about “falling away” lies in giving readers hypothetical scenarios to encourage them to remain steadfast in their faith. Let's look at, for example, Hebräer 10,19-39 The people to whom he speaks have, through Christ, “the freedom to enter the sanctuary” (v. 19). They can “draw near to God” (v. 22). The author sees these people as those who “hold fast to the confession of hope” (v. 23). He wants to encourage them to even greater love and greater faith (v. 24).
As part of this encouragement, he paints a picture of what might happen—hypothetically, according to the theory mentioned—to those who “willfully persist in sin” (v. 26). Nonetheless, the people he is addressing are those who "were enlightened" and remained faithful during persecution (vv. 32-33). They have put their "trust" in Christ, and the author encourages them to persevere in faith (vv. 35-36). Finally he says of the people to whom he writes that we are not of those who shrink back and are condemned, but of those who believe and save the soul” (v. 39).
Let us also note how the author expresses his warning about “falling away from the faith” in Hebräer 6,1-8 He concludes: “Although we say this, dear friends, we are convinced that it is better for you and that you will be saved. For God is not unjust, so as to forget your work and the love you have shown for his name in ministering to the saints, as you continue to minister” (verses 9-10). The author goes on to explain that he told them these things so that they might “show the same zeal to hold fast to the hope until the end” (verse 11).
Hypothetically speaking, it is possible to speak of a situation in which a person who had genuine faith in Jesus can lose it. But if it were not possible, would the warning be appropriate and effective?
Can Christians lose their faith in the real world? Christians can “fall away” in the sense of committing sin (1Joh 1,8-22) They can become spiritually lazy in certain situations. But does this sometimes lead to a “falling away” for those who have genuine faith in Christ? This is not entirely clear from Scripture. Indeed, we can ask how someone can be “truly” in Christ and at the same time “falling away.”
The position of the church, as expressed in the beliefs, is that never can people who have the enduring faith that God has given to Christ be torn from his hand. In other words, when a person's faith is focused on Christ, he or she can not be lost. As long as Christians hold this confession of their hope, their salvation is secure.
The question about the doctrine of "once saved, always saved" has to do with whether we can lose our faith in Christ. As mentioned earlier, Hebrews seems to describe people who had at least initial "faith" but who may be in danger of losing it.
But this proves the point we made in the previous paragraph. The only way to lose salvation is to reject the only way to salvation - faith in Jesus Christ.
The Epistle to the Hebrews deals primarily with the sin of unbelief in God's work of redemption, which he accomplished through Jesus Christ (see, for example, the Epistle to the Hebrews). Hebr 1,2; 2:1-4; 3:12, 14; 3:19-4:3; 4:14). Hebrews, chapter 10, addresses this question dramatically in verse 19, stating that through Jesus Christ we have freedom and full confidence.
Verse 23 exhorts us to adhere to the confession of our hope. We certainly know the following: As long as we hold on to the confession of our hope, we are quite sure and can not lose our salvation. This confession includes our faith in Christ's reconciliation for our sins, our hope for new life in him, and our continued faithfulness to him in this life.
Often those who use the slogan "once saved, always saved" are not sure what they mean. This phrase does not mean that a person was saved just because he or she said a few words about Christ. People are saved when they have received the Holy Spirit, when they are born again to new life in Christ. True faith is demonstrated by faithfulness to Christ, and that means living no longer for ourselves but for the Savior.
The end result is that we are safe in Christ as long as we continue to live in Jesus. (Hebr 10,19-23)We have the full assurance of faith in him because he is the one who saves us. We don't need to worry and ask the question, "Will I make it?" In Christ we have security—we belong to him and are saved, and nothing can snatch us out of his hand.
The only way we can get lost is to kick our blood, and decide that we do not need it in the end and that we are self-sufficient. If that were the case, we would not worry about our salvation anyway. As long as we remain faithful in Christ, we have the assurance that he will complete the work that he has begun in us.
The comfort is this: We don't have to worry about our salvation and say, "What happens if I fail?" We have already failed. It is Jesus who saves us and He does not fail. Can we fail to accept it? Yes, but as Spirit-led Christians we have not failed to receive it. Once we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us, transforming us into His image. We have joy, not fear. We are at peace, do not be afraid.
When we believe in Jesus Christ, we stop worrying about "making it". He "made it" for us. We rest in him. We stop worrying. We have faith and trust Him, not ourselves. So the question of losing our salvation no longer plagues us. Why? Because we believe Jesus' work on the cross and His resurrection is all we need.
God does not need our perfection. We need His, and He gave it to us as a free gift through faith in Christ. We will not fail because our salvation does not depend on us.
In summary, the Church believes that those who remain in Christ cannot perish. You are "safe forever". But this depends on what people mean when they say "once saved, always saved".
As far as the doctrine of predestination is concerned, we can summarize the church's position in a few words. We do not believe that God has always determined who will be lost and who will not. It is the Church's view that God will make fair and just provision for all those who have not received the gospel in this life. Such people will be judged on the same basis as us, that is, whether they place their faithfulness and faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul Kroll
