Eternal Security
I'm in a Bible study at church and in it, we were asked to review our church belief system. So I did and came across the following statement about eternal security. I thought the scriptures they included were insightful.
All who have received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior are eternally secure and cannot lose their salvation. (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28-30; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 John 5:4-5)
John 3:16New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 5:24New International Version (NIV)
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.
John 10:28-30New International Version (NIV)
28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
1 Corinthians 5:1-5New International Version (NIV)
5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
1 John 5:3-5New International Version (NIV)
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
It is very good for you to study the Word for yourself to see what it means and not allow anyone else to dictate to you what they think it means (including myself; haha). All jesting aside, in the interest of not making this a long post, the first two verses that you cite, the word "believe" should actually be translated as "believing" as the Greek work "pisteuo" is a present tense verb. Thus one has to continue believing in order to have eternal life. Conversely, if one does not continue to believe, then eternal life is not assured. The third verse Jn 10:28-30 that you cite, notice that eternal life is only promised to those sheep in v.27. And what kind of sheep are they? The shepherd only gives eternal life to those who "hear/listen" and "follow" him. Those sheep who don't obey the Lord are not assured of eternal life.
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