The discussion on eternal security is highly debatable within Christian circles. Those who hold the belief of eternal security argue that one cannot lose his or her salvation, while the opponents of this belief argue that it is possible to lose your salvation as a result of apostasy.
However, when a human soul is saved or comes to the knowledge and acceptance of Christ as the savior, it develops a personal relationship with God. This relationship assures the person of eternal security. In other words, once a Christian is saved, it is hard to lose salvation as long as God’s grace remains in abundance and the individual continues to believe in the salvation power of Christ.
Apostasy is the act of denouncing a religious belief. In Christianity, it refers to when an individual, who once believed in Christianity, rejects the faith. Three things mainly lead to apostasy. They include persecution, deception, and temptation1. In the New Testament, Judas Iscariot is the perfect example of an individual who denounced his faith as a result of temptation to sin.
Christians are always tempted to go back in their old way of life and engage in vices or acts that contradict Christian teachings. This is also known as backsliding in the modern age. It is expected that Christians bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their every day living.
My conviction on this position is placed upon various scriptures in the Bible that allude to this. The one misconception that is held by those who do not hold this belief is that eternal security is a lee way to sin. This implies, that once a person says the salvation prayer, then he or she can continue living in sin while at the same time assured of heaven.
This is a misconception because the result of salvation is guided by the belief in the resurrection power of Christ and the grace provided by God. Salvation regenerates an individual by changing him from the old self to a new being.
The spirit of God, which is the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in a person and provides the help needed in the war against sin. A saved Christian, convicted by Holy Spirit will not seek to abide in sin. It is in contrary to the teachings and the power of salvation for one to deliberately continue sinning after salvation.
Calvinism presents an argument which supports this position. According to them, God predestines and selects people for particular purposes even before they are born2. Therefore, every saved Christian is assured of eternal security because God had already predetermined our destiny even before we were born.
The moment we are saved, God forgives us of all our sins including the sins that we are bound to commit in the future. This is one area that causes a bone of contention and also brings out the difference between this doctrine and that of assurance of salvation.
The doctrine of assurance, which is derived from protestant Christians, brings the aspect of the Holy Spirit as our inner witness. It is the Spirit of God that provides assurance of salvation. Unlike the doctrine of eternal security, salvation is only made possible by God’s grace, through faith.
This process then leads to the good works that many Christians display. Nonetheless, the common denominator between these two doctrines is that they each agree that it takes the grace of God for Christians to be saved.
Bibliography
Philip, Evans. Eternal Security Proved. London: Lulu enterprises, Inc. 2008.
Stanley, Allan. Salvation is More Complicated than you Think: A Study on the Teachings of Jesus. London: Authentic Publishing, 2007.
Footnotes
1 Allan Stanley. Salvation is More Complicated than you think: A Study on the Teachings of Jesus. (London: Authentic Publishing, 2007), 78.
2 Evans Philip. Eternal Security Proved. (London: Lulu enterprises, Inc. 2008), 113.