On Eternal Security - Part 3
False conversions is something that many Non-Calvinists don’t know how to deal with. We’re told by Christ to not judge according to appearances, i.e: what people say or do (John 7:24). This means that people often say one thing, but their heart is another (Matthew 15:8-9, 21:28-31). At the end of the day, only God alone knows the heart and can judge us rightly (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:4), without any filter or bias.
It is wise of us to believe what God says about people, and not what people say about people (1 Samuel 16:7; John 6:69-71). Only through the lens of Scripture can we rightly understand why some left the faith. The Eleven disciples had no idea that Judas was the one who would betray Christ. Judas blended in well! Peter spoke for the rest when he said, “Lord, to whom shall WE go?… WE have come to believe and know that You are the Christ…” But Christ answered, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and ONE of you is a DEVIL?” Peter was wrong about Judas and Christ gently corrected him for thinking that Judas had the same faith as them. The lesson here is: Don’t believe what people say about people. Believe what God and His words say about people. I’ll get more into this point later down the road.
As always, let us now turn to Scripture.
“We Will Hear and Do It!”
Deuteronomy 5:27 reveals something interesting: “You go near and hear all that the LORD our God may say, and tell us all that the LORD our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.”
But God saw right through, “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments…” (v.29). The Douay-Rheims translation is extremely helpful in this case, “Who shall give them to have such a mind, to fear me, and to keep all my commandments at all times…?” This pattern is found again in Joshua 24. After telling the people to choose this day whom they will serve, they responded with one voice, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods… We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” (v.16-18)
But Joshua said, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins…” (v.19)
Here’s the point:
“For you were hypocrites in your hearts when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the LORD our God, and according to all that the LORD your God says, so declare to us and we will do it.’ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, or anything which He has sent you by me.” (Jeremiah 42:20-21).
Similar to the Pharisees, they approached God with their mouths and honored Him with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. They claimed they would listen and follow His commands, but God and Joshua knew they couldn’t carry through without a new heart. God led them through the wilderness to reveal and expose what was truly in their hearts.
“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments…” (Deuteronomy 5:29). To put it simply, they would fail, and indeed they did. The question then arises: Who can give them a mind to fear God? The answer to this can be found in Deuteronomy 30:6, which states, “the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” Apart from the Regenerative work of the Spirit, no one can truly worship God in spirit and in truth. This is perfectly illustrated by the Rich Young Ruler. He thought he kept God’s commandments perfectly. You know the story, and the conclusion is: What is impossible with men is possible with God. Salvation is of the LORD.
We can hear what people say, observe what they do, but we can’t see the true state of their hearts. This is one of the reasons why we mistakenly believe that individuals were once truly saved and then later abandoned their faith, and from this faulty premise, we inaccurately conclude that salvation can be lost.
If you want to understand Judas Iscariot rightly, you must understand what’s being said here in this post, and work out all the theological nuances that exist in your system.
To be continued…