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ETERNALSECURITY

A FEW OBJECTIONSTO ETERNAL SECURITY

CONSIDERED

A.A .Huebner

Present Truth PublishersPIP 825 Hannony Road· Jackson NJ 08527 • USA,-_-, www.p ....-senttruthpublishers.oomwww.presenttruthpublishers.com

Scripture quotations are cited fromthe translation by J.N.Darby unlessotherwise indicated.

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A FEW OBJECTIONSTO ETERNAL SECURITY

CONSIDERED

MATTHEW 7 :21-23.

Not everyone who says to me,Lord, Lord, shall enter intothe kingdom of the heavens, buthe that does the will of myFather who is in the heavens.Many shall say to me in thatday, Lord, Lord, have we notprophesied through thy name,and through thy name cast outdemons, and through thy namedone many works of power? andthen I will avow unto them, Inever knew you. Depart fromme, workers of lawlessness.

Who are these self-styled "miracle"workers? They profess to know theLord. "Lord, Lord," they say.

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They thus claim consideration fromHim. We have done all these thingsin Thy name, they claim. With whatsolemn and final words He answers:"I NEVER KNEW YOU. Depart fromme, workers of lawlessness." Whata shock this will be for thesewonder workers. How could He say INEVER KNEW YOU if these are personswho were once saved and then lostagain?

My sheep hear my voice, and IKNOW THEM, and they follow me;and I give unto them lifeeternal; and they shall neverperish, and no one shall seizethem out of my hand. (John10:27,28).

Concerning His sheep, Christ says,I KNOW THEM. If you say that Matt.7:21-23 refers to lost againChristians, then you are guilty oftreating the Lord as a liar when Hesaid to them I NEVER KNEW YOU.Those 'miracle' workers never werethe Lord's sheep. They professedto know Him but it was not real.Bewarel These people are disguisedas 'Christians', they claim to work

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miracles, but Christ does not knowthem though they call Him "Lord,Lord". But they are workers oflawlessness; ie, they work theirown will. Judas is the great andterrible example of a person likethis. No one suspected him rightup to the last; except that ourLord, of course, knew his truecharacter all along [John 6:64-71).He was chosen to be one of the 12to serve afterward as an example ofhow far false profession candeceive others.

2 CORINTHIANS 13:5

But does not 2 Cor. 13:5 tell us toexamine ourselves to see if we arein the faith?

SINCE YE SEEK A PROOF OF CHRISTSPEAKING IN ME, [who is notweak towards you, but ispowerful among you, for ifindeed he has been crucified inweakness, yet he lives by God'spower; for indeed we are weakin him, but we shall live with


him by God's power towardsyou,} EXAMINE YOUR OWN SELVESIF YE BE IN THE FAITH; proveyour own selves: do ye notrecognise yourselves, thatJesus Christ is in you, unlessindeed ye be reprobates?

I have changed the type style sothat you can see at a glance howyou have been misled into thinkingthis Scripture supports the 'lostagain' notion. The fleshlyCorinthians were foolishly ralslngquestions about Paul's apostleship.Do you want the evidence of Christspeaking in me?, he wrote. Since Icame to Corinth and preached Christto you, see if you are Christiansand that will be proof enough,unless you are reprobates. Areprobate is a person rejected byGod. Those people noticed inMatthew 7:21-23 will find theirultimate portion with thereprobates, i.e., the rejected.The Corinthian Christians were not,of course, reprobates. Nor is thepassage discussing being saved orlost; the subject is their foolishquestioning of Paul's apostleship


But does notpossibility of alost again? Ithe KJV soappearance innotion.

and that their being saved wasproof of Christ speaking in theApostle. You will note that partof verse 3 and all of verse 4 isparenthetical [a parenthesis).This makes it clearer.

HEBREWS 6: 4-7.

Hebrews 6 show theChristian becoming

will quote it fromit has the best

favour of your

FOR IT IS IMPOSSIBLE for thosewho were once enlightened, andhave tasted of the heavenlygift, and were made partakersof the Holy Ghost, And havetasted the good word of God,and the powers of the world tocome, IF THEY SHALL FALL AWAY,TO RENEW THEM AGAIN UNTOREPENTANCE .•••

I have changed the type style sothat you may see the consequence of


your doctrine more readily. Ifthis is speaking of being lostagain after having been saved, notewell those words: FOR IT ISIMPOSSIBLE ••• IF THEY FALL AWAY,TO RENEW THEM AGAIN TO REPENTANCE.It would mean that one cannot besaved again. With such aconsequence of your doctrine,perhaps you would be willing to seethat this passage concernsapostates. An apostate never wassaved. Apostasy is looked at hereas apostasy from the Spirit'spresence and action among thepeople of God, whereas in Ch. 10 itis looked at as apostasy from theblood. No true Christianapostatizes. He is "kept guardedby (the) power of God through faithfor salvation ready to be revealedin (the) last time" (1 Peter 1 :5),and God gave that faith in thefirst place (Eph. 2:8).

HEBREWS 3: 6.

But does not Hebrews 3:6 say we maynot hold fast to the end?


.•. but Christ, as Son over hishouse, whose house are we, ifindeed we hold fast theboldness and the boast of hopefirm to the end (Hebrews 3:6).For we are become companions ofthe Christ if indeed we holdthe beginning of the assurancefirm to the end. (Hebrews3:14) •

These "ifs" are meant to test falseprofession. "See brethren, lestthere be in anyone of you a wickedheart of unbelief, in turning awayfrom (the) living God" (Hebrews3:12). That is what apostasy inHebrews 6 and 10 is about also. Areal Christian does not have awicked heart of unbelief. Thosethat apostatize do have a wickedheart of unbelief.

We are companions of Christ if wehold fast ..• to the end. Are you acompanion of Christ? You say,Yes, I believe on Him as mySaviour. Fine. Let us supposethat three years from now you 'letgo' and do not hold fast. Read


Heb. 3:6,14 carefully. This tellsyou that if you 'let go' in thefuture, then you are not acompanion of Christ right now. Youcan only be so right now if youhold fast to the end. You canonly be saved now if you never 'letgo' in the future. These passagesexpressly state that your presentconnection with Christ depends onwhat you do in the future. Thus,if you 'let go' three years fromnow you are not Christ's right now.

You have been wrongly taught thebearing of these passages. Infact, they teach eternal security,while warning those who have awicked heart of unbelief and make aprofession. These passages showthat if I am Christ's right now, Iwill hold fast to the end -- but,of course, not by human strength.We are in the hand of the Son andthe Father (John 10:28,291. Infact, in divine purpose the savedare glorified already. Romans 8:30tells us so. We are kept by thepower of God (1 Peter 1:51.


1 CORINTHIANS 9:27

But surely 1teaches that aagain?

Corinthiansman might be

9:27lost

Know ye not that they who runin (the) race-course run all,but one receives the prize?Thus run in order that ye mayobtain. But everyone thatcontends (for a prize) istemperate in all things: theythen indeed that they mayreceive a corruptible crown,but we an incorruptible. Itherefore thus run, as notuncertainly; so I combat, asnot beating the air. But Ibuffet my body, and lead itcaptive, lest (after) havingpreached to others I should bemyself rejected.

The essential message of thepassage is that holy living must gowith a profession of Christianityand that even Paul was no exceptionto this. A man might be a preacher


and be a castaway, i. e. rej ected.Judas was such a person.

"Castaway" , 0 r rej ected, in Greekis the same word translatedreprobate (Romans 1:28; 2Corinthians 13:5,6,7; 2 Timothy3:8; Titus 1:16) and rejected(Hebrews 6:8). It comes from aroot meaning a counterfeit. Acounterfeit does not become one.It always was one. Such was Judas.And such are some modern preachersand thei r pupi ls. Even "mi racle"workers are castaways (Matthew7:21-23). They are like the man inMatthew 22:11-14 who had no weddinggarment; or like the evil servantin Matthew 24:48. Foolish virginsare they, having no oil (Matthew25: 3) •

It is said that even Paul wasuncertain. False. In this verypassage he said, "I therefore thusrun, as not uncertainly ••• " (1Corinthians 9:26). But he statesthat even so, holy living goes withsalvation and he, Paul, is noexception.


THE PARABLES

There are a number of parables thatdifferentiate between the true andthe false. The wheat in theparable of the wheat and the tares(darnel) in Matt. 13 representsbelievers while the tares are thechildren of the wicked one (Matt.13:38). The tares never werewheat.

The man without a wedding garment(Matt. 22:11-14) never was saved.He was never chosen unto salvation.The fact is that he came in

without a wedding garment.

The servant of Matt. 24:48 was anevil man whose portion wasappointed with the hypocrites,since that is what he was. Ahypocrite is a false professor likethose noted in Matt. 7:21-23.

The same is true of the fivefoolish virgins. "Virgins" is aterm indicating their professionjust as in the case of the wise.


All professed Christ is Lord. Thegreat distinguishing fact is thatthe foolish "did not take oil withthem." They never had oil. Theynever were saved. They were notready, nor ever were ready, for theLord's coming. They may havelighted their wicks [torches) butthey were not fed with oil. It wasprofession only, not divinetestimony; and so they were shutout.

The same end awaited the man whoreceived one talent [Matt.25:14-30). He was a servant, butin profession only, like those inMatt. 7:21-23. He also calledChrist "Lord". But the secret ofthe heart will come out and it didso when he referred to his Lord asa "hard man" [v .24) . Hi s ta lentrepresents a responsibility inconnection with his profession ofowning Christ as Lord, but as youcan see nothing resulted from itwhen all was said and done. He wasan unprofitable servant like thosein Matt. 7:21-23 and like Judas,and his proper portion is in theouter darkness. Christendom has


many such peopLe in it. Theirprofession but makes them aLL themore responsibLe before God andthey wiLL be judged accordingly.Meenwhile, praise God, His saintsare kept by His power untosaLvation ready to be reveaLedl

FREE TO SIN?

WeLL, you may say, I admit thatthese considerations seem to pointto eternal security, but if peopLebeLieve that, they wiLL be free tosin. Friend, someone who cLaims tolove the Lord Jesus, and cLaims tobe free to sin is Like those peoplein Matthew 7 :21-23 sayi ng "Lord,Lord". They are not reaL. Yournotion that fear of being lostagain is a good motive to Live ahoLy life is unscripturaL and notborne out by the facts. Titus2:11-12 says:

For the grace of God whichcarries with it saLvation foralL men has appeared, teachingus that, having denied impiety


and worldly lusts, we shouldlive soberly, and justly, andpiously in the present courseof things.

You see from this that it is grace(not fear) that teaches us. InRomans 6, Paul has directly dealt ablow expressly against your notion.'~hat then shall we say? Should

we continue in sin that grace mayabound?" (Romans 6:1); i.e., beingeternally secure, may we go onsinning and all the more grace willabound to get us through? Not so,says the apostle; and Romans 6shows the falsity of this notion.Friend, do you know where thethought came from that would seekto take advantage of God's grace?It arose in you from the carnalmind (Romans 8:7). Persons thatwouLd take advantage of God's graceare noticed in Jude: they turn thegrace of God into lasciviousness(Jude 1 :4) • They "crept in" to theChristian profession. They do not"walk in the light". They aretypified by creeping things whichare an abomination unto the Lord(Leviticus 11:41). Jude shows the


judgment of such. No, friend,grace teaches us to turn fromungodLiness and worLdLy Lusts toLive soberLy, righteousLy andgodLy. If you think otherwise, youare grievousLy out of step with Godand His Word.

This paper is meant to be Limitedin size and eternaL security is aLarge subject. I cannot go overaLL the Scriptures used to opposethe truth of eternaL security, butI pray the Lord that theseconsiderations wiLL cause you toLook more deepLy into the grace ofGod. It is by God's grace that aChristian is saved [Ephesians 2:8)and justified [Romans 3:24) andthen taught how to turn fromungodLiness to hoLy Living [Titus2:11,12) •


DENIAL OF ETERNAL SECURITY USUALLYLEADS TO DIVIDING & DEFILING THE

PERSON OF CHRIST.

Error concerning the fact that theseed of God (1 John 3:9), i.e., thenew nature, within us cannot sin (1John 3:9), is connected with dividing and defiling the Person ofChrist, Who could not sin.

1. It is said that while Christcould not have sinned as God, yetHe could have sinned as man. Ineffect, such a doctrine divides thePerson of Christ, for had He sinnedHis humanity would have to go tohell and thus the Person of Christwould be split. That would be adenial of the fundamental truth ofthe union of the human and divinenature, indissolubly, in one Person. The other alternative would bethat the God-man would go to hell.Neither alternative is the truth,neither is possible, and the assertion of either alternative isfundamentally evil doctrine.

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2. When our Lord emptied Himself(Phil.2:7), He veiled Godhead gloryin flesh. As man on earth it couldbe said of Him that all the fulnessof the Godhead dwelled in Him bodily (Col.2:9). The evil doctrinethat our Lord could have sinnedalso means that He in Whom all thefulness dwelled could have gone tohell. Such teaching does not comefrom the Scripture of Truth or fromthe Spirit of Truth.

3. The temptations of our Lord werefor the purpose of putting the puregold, so to speak, to the acidtest; not to show that it was notgold, but to demonstate that itwas. The evil doctrine suggeststhat "that holy thing" (Luke 1 :35)had within Himself a tug to havefellowship with the evil suggestions from Satan. In reality, sucha tug is evil in itself and thus isthe Holy One Who knew no sin (2Cor.5:21) defiled.

4. The blasphemy proceeds andclaims that the infirmities ofHeb.4:15 are our sinful tendenciesand Christ sympathizes with us in


this. How defiLing of His Person itis to say He sympathizes with oursinfuL tendencies because He feLtthe same. PauL said that he gLoriedin his infirmities (2 Cor.12:9J,and it is rather obvious that hedid not gLory in sinfuL tendencies.Compare 1 Tim.5:23, etc. Infirmities are weaknesses.

* * * * *If we wouLd beLieve God's Word wewouLd be deLivered from thesedoctrines; and then, overcome bythe magnitude of His grace, wewouLd want to be here for His pLeasure, as the Lord Jesus was herefor God's pLeasure; and present ourbodies to Him as a Living sacrifice(Rom.12:1J, being taught ~ graceto turn from the wrong and Learnwhat pLeases Him.


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