The apostle John emphasizes in his epistle that he wants every believer to “know that you have eternal life”. 1 John 5:13
Because the apostle is certain of the believer’s final perseverance into glory he emphasizes that we can now have confidence in the day of judgment: “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as he is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love”.
Assuming we can lose our salvation at some point in the future, how would it be possible that years before this we could have had such confidence concerning the day of judgment? It would not be possible. If the apostle John tells us that we do have such confidence now, as a present possession, this must imply that we cannot lose our salvation in the future. If we understand the infinite love of God for us, we will understand that God will never eternally punish us. Indeed, He can never punish us eternally because Jesus took all our punishment on the cross.
Yes indeed Aeliana! true security in Christ will necessarily evade all those who suppose that some genuine believers will ultimately forfeit or lose their salvation.
The distinction between a person's possession of a true or a false sense of eternal security
Do you possess a true or false sense of security/ assurance concerning your salvation? Recently I had a very important conversation with a friend pertaining to this issue, who holds to the LOS [Loss Of Salvation] position.
The question that he originally asked me was, "Are all of a believers sins [past, present, and future] already forgiven as it pertains to a believer's justified standing before God?"
In essence, our following dialogue shed light upon the distinction between a person's possession of a true or a false sense of eternal security before God :
Me : Another way to perceive the question would be, "Can believers possess a present assurance of a future entrance into Heaven? ... or, will failure on the part of some to confess or repent of their future sins "sufficiently" disqualify them from a future Heavenly inheritance?"
Many of those who believe that some genuine believers will lose [forfeit] their salvation agree that the believer can [and must] have assurance that they are a child of God. However, they don't believe this assurance includes a "future tense assurance." That is to say, they claim that this assurance can only be a present possession - believers are yet in some type of "probationary standing" in which they may yet fail to inherit what God has promised them [concerning their Heavenly inheritance ... future tense]. And if what they are saying is true, they cannot even logically claim to possess assurance that they will "remain saved" come next week or even tomorrow for that matter!
As I see it, the crucial question to ponder in the midst of this is, "Were genuine believers merely placed into some sort of probationary period [the first of a "two-step process" necessary to make the "final cut"?]. Or, did Christ's blood shed at Calvary actually and decisively atone for, and end once for all, the question of the issue of God's wrath and condemnation as it relates to those who have been washed by the precious blood of Jesus? It is my strong conviction that the latter is the gospel truth... it truly is the Good News that God legitimately offers to all.
To illustrate my assertion - What if a friend of mine was to say to me, "Today I've received Jesus as my Lord and Savior! I've placed all my faith and hope in His atoning work for the forgiveness of my sins; it's like a ten ton weight has been lifted off of me!!"? ... Should I respond by saying, "Praise God for this amazing news, I hope and pray that you make it to Heaven someday, I hope that you realize that you are still on probation despite the fact that you have been washed and cleansed you by the blood of Jesus?" ... I certainly hope that wouldn't be your response [whether it be verbal or your internal mind-set].
Now, it may be true that I may wonder if he or she truly placed their faith in Christ's atoning work on their behalf, and have asked for forgiveness solely on that basis. And, I may anxiously await to see if their are any fruits or evidence of the Holy Spirit's indwelling presence subsequent to my friend's profession of faith. But once again, the question revolves full circle back to question of genuineness. Was that person's faith truly "saving", was their faith directed, and placed upon the proper object of faith?... that being Christ's atoning work and His righteousness alone apart from anything that they can offer.
The real question at hand here is NOT, "will any person who has been justified before God lose or forfeit that position?"...but rather, "did that person ever experience the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and a justified standing before God?"
Friend : These are important questions that you bring up. I guess if you believe you can be saved and down the road lose your salvation, you can only be 100% sure of your present state of being a saved person.
But even if you can forfeit salvation for whatever reason, it doesn't mean there must be insecurity. Like being a dad to a child. The possibility of you leaving your child is there, but it's not like you are afraid this might happen, or feel insecure about it. Yet such things happen, even to good people.
Me : As for your assertion, "But even if you can forfeit salvation for whatever reason, it doesn't mean there must be insecurity" :
Well, from my perspective, it doesn't seem logically possible that at least some degree of insecurity doesn't exist in the minds of those who believe in LOS [Loss Of Salvation]. If they claim that some genuine blood-bought believers will ultimately perish, what then provides them with the assurance that they will not be one of those casualties? What then is it exactly that makes them so [presently] assured that they [specifically] are not going to be counted among those casualties? ...what makes them [as individuals] so special? ...what then provides [them] any type of genuine security or guarantee?
Keep in mind that it's exclusively those who assert that at least some genuine believers will necessarily and ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire [those of the LOS camp] that can logically claim that their future sins have not yet been forgiven [present tense] and covered by trusting in [past tense] the blood of Christ. In other words, in their case, and in their minds, they may or may not continue in their justified status before God [i.e. - their eternal destiny is yet (presently) in jeopardy].
Therefore, if their eternal destiny is yet in jeopardy, it appears to me that there must necessarily be some degree of present insecurity. After all, according to the LOS mindset, they may or may not remain in a justified standing before God next month or even next week [varying and depending upon just how short of a time period each individual LOS person reckons is sufficient to potentially forfeit their justified status].
Friend : You stated, "Keep in mind that it's exclusively those who assert that at least some genuine believers will necessarily and ultimately be cast into the Lake of Fire [LOS] that can logically claim that their future sins have not yet been forgiven [present tense] and covered by trusting in [past tense] the blood of Christ."
Check Lutheran theology. They certainly believe God has forgiven us past, present and future sins, yet they believe you can forfeit your salvation.
No genuine believer will be cast into the lake of fire, but if you can stop being a genuine believer in the future the possibility is there.
The security for the Lutheran comes from knowing that God will keep you as long as you keep trusting in Him alone for your salvation. Lutherans believe if you start to include works into the equation you have gone from grace to putting yourself under the law, and is thereby putting your salvation at risk.
Ask Lutherans if they feel uncertain about their future salvation. I know the answer. They will most certainly tell you "no!"
Me : You replied, "Ask Lutherans if they feel uncertain about their future salvation. I know the answer. They will most certainly tell you "no!"
It seems to me that that type of security is a false sense of security ... Why? as I clearly demonstrated in my prior post, by their own admission they say that some of them will forfeit their justified status [i.e - their justified status in in jeopardy ... it is changeable/alterable. Some "Protestants" or "non- Roman Catholics" even believe that they can "morph in and out of their justified status" [i.e - born again, "un-born again", then - "born again ... again", "un-born again ... again" ...etc., etc. etc. - can you see the folly in this?] - which is clearly the Roman Catholic Church position]. Why do they presume that they are one of those who will "pass the test"? What is the basis or grounding for their so-called "assurance"? ... it simply does not exist, that is, if their claim is true that some blood-bought believers will actually forfeit their justified status and perish eternally?
You said, "The security for the Lutheran comes from knowing that God will keep you as long as you keep trusting in Him alone for your salvation."
My question to them would be, "How can I be assured that I will keep trusting in Him?" ..."what exactly is the basis or grounding for such a presumption? ... again, that is, if their claim is true that some blood-bought believers will actually forfeit their justified status and perish eternally? ... it simply doesn't exist. In other words, despite their claims of a present acceptance before God [whether it be actual or counterfeit], without trusting in God's promise to preserve their justified status all the way until they reach "the Pearly Gates" ... there is no way that they could know that they will actually enter in ... this certainly falls so very short of the true nature of salvation that was won at Calvary through Christ's finished cross work.
Friend : Sorry, I cannot offer a response that will support my position concerning your specific questions.
