On Eternal Security - Part 5

Many things in life are multifaceted, like an onion with its layers or a diamond’s facets. This complexity is even more pronounced when it comes to God and His truth (cf. Psalms 104:24 = Job 38—41). Which is why theological nuances exist and must be worked out. This can present challenges for us, particularly for beginners, as they attempt to grasp the complete picture without first examining all that God has revealed. Enthusiastic beginners, driven by their zeal, often mistakenly believe they have all the answers or counterarguments to refute Eternal Security or Calvinism. How mistaken they are! The reason why I have to write in series is because there are many things that must be taken into consideration.

I have spent at least 10 years putting the Soteriology’s jigsaw puzzle together (as of this writing). I hope that you take what I say seriously and consider it well (cf. 2 Timothy 2:7).

IN but NOT OF

We learn from Christ that Christians can be IN the world but NOT OF the world (cf. John 17). Likewise, Satan’s ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), who are IN the community of faith but NOT OF the faith. Eventually they will depart from the faith (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1) because they were “NOT OF us” (1 John 2:19) or THE FAITH, see my series on Saving-Faith.

This truth is taught by Matthew 22:11-13,

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

There is a sense in which a person can be in the household of God and yet not belong there. False brethren and apostles secretly brought in (Galatians 2:4). There are many reasons why a person would claim to be a Christian or just want to join the community of faith (more on this in future post). This is why we have the concept of a Visible and Invisible Church because the community of faith is a mixed multitude. It’s one of the reasons why we have warning passages. We do not know with 100% certainty who truly belongs to Him (cf. 2 Timothy 2:19). We trust that God will carry out His purposes through the warning passages. In this context, warnings can be a means that God uses to awaken the false believer(s) in our midst, and to keep His people in the race. As the saying goes, killing two birds with one stone (cf. Luke 11:45).

Now, let us turn our attention to the fact that not All Israel is Israel. Meaning, there are Elect ones (true believers) within Elect (national) Israel.

“The Old Testament is clear that not all who were [in] Israel were [of] Israel. Some who were in the covenant community did not possess genuine faith.” (R.C. Sproul)

Simply being a descendant of Abraham does not guarantee salvation (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8). To be saved, one must undergo a spiritual rebirth (cf. John 1:13, 3:5).

As Paul says in Romans 11:7 and 9:8, only the elect in Israel were truly “children of God”; the rest were hardened. That is, under the old covenant what Moses said in Deuteronomy 29:4 was true of most Jews: “The Lord has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.” But to some he did give such a heart so that they loved him with all their heart (Deuteronomy 30:6) and delighted in his law to do it. If this is not the regenerate heart, then we don’t need regenerate hearts. —John Piper

Listen carefully and lay this to heart: just as in the Old Testament you could be a circumcised, sacrifice-offering, outwardly law-abiding, physical child of Abraham and not a spiritual child of Abraham (John 8:39–44; Romans 9:8), so in the New Testament church — so in Bethlehem — you can be a baptized, communion-taking, worship-attending, tithe-giving, doctrine-affirming church member and not be a child of God. —John Piper

Scripture employs the terminology of election in several senses. First, God is said to choose, or elect, certain people either to an office or to perform a specific task of service…

Second, Scripture also speaks of corporate election—the choice of certain nations or groups to enjoy special privileges or perform unique services to God. This is never clearer than in the case of God’s choice of Israel to be the recipient of his covenant love and blessings… God set his electing love and affection on Israel to be his special possession among all the nations of the earth…

Finally, in addition to election unto service and corporate election, Scripture clearly teaches that God chooses certain individuals for salvation. Some theologians point to the several passages of Scripture that teach vocational election or corporate election in order to argue against the doctrine of unconditional individual election. However, such an argument is invalid. It is not disputed that Scripture employs the terminology of election in multiple senses, but the mere occurrence of one sense is not in itself an argument against the legitimacy of any other sense. Indeed, Scripture is replete with references to individual election to salvation. —Biblical Doctrine (MacArthur & Richard Mayhue)

To be continued…