Never saved to begin with which explains their hardened hearts. It took them in the opposite direction of God. Considered the truth for a time, then hardened heart and departing from God became their final answer.
You are showing me your eisegesis.
Yes, unbelief. (John 3:18) There is no middle ground.
Their belief was not consummated belief resulting in salvation. Departing from God demonstrates that the stage in the progress of their belief fell short of being firmly rooted and established resulting in salvation. Those who draw back to perdition do not believe to the saving of the soul.
You are not reading these verses in Hebrews in context.
You are about 7 hours ahead of my time here.
I accept what it states after reading scripture in context and properly harmonizing scripture with scripture before reaching my conclusion on doctrine.
Roman Catholics also make that same argument yet teach false doctrines such as the perpetual virginity of Mary, infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, indulgences, purgatory, works salvation etc.. They will even quote the church fathers to back up their false doctrine. We should not assume that those who wrote about church doctrine during the early centuries were consistent with apostolic teaching. Yes, they were closer in time to the apostles than we are but that proves nothing. There were groups that separated from the Catholic Church before the Reformation. These include the Waldensians (who were bitterly persecuted by Roman Catholics) and the Hussites. In 1181 the archbishop of Lyons excommunicated the Waldensians. Three years later, the pope declared them to be heretics. In 1215 the
Fourth Lateran Council declared an anathema on Waldensian doctrine. That explains a lot! Roman Catholics will often argue that before the reformation no one taught faith alone.
To the contrary, we find:
Clement of Rome: "We also, being called through God's will in Christ Jesus, are
not justified through ourselves, neither through our own wisdom or understanding, or piety,
or works which we have done in holiness or heart, but through
faith" (Epistle to Corinthians).
Polycarp: "I know that through grace you are saved,
not of works, but by the will of God,
through Jesus Christ (Epistle of Philippians).
Justin Martyr: "No longer by the blood of goats and of sheep, or by the ashes of a heifer...are sins purged,
but by faith, through the blood of Christ and his death, who died on this very account (Dialogue with Trypho). "God gave his own Son the ransom for us...for what, save his righteousness, could cover our sins. In whom was it possible that we, transgressors and ungodly as we were,
could be justified, save in the Son of God alone? ...O unexpected benefit, that the transgression of many should be hidden in one righteous Person and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors" (Letter to Diognetus).
Athanasius: "Not by these (i.e. human efforts) but by
faith, a man is
justified as was Abraham."
Ambrose: "Without the works of the law, to an ungodly man, that is to say, a Gentile,
believing in Christ, his "faith is imputed for righteousness" as also it was to Abraham."
Origen:
"Through faith, without the works of the law, the dying thief was
justified, because...the Lord inquired not what he had previously wrought, nor yet waited for his performance of some work after he should have believe; but...he took him unto himself for a companion,
justified through his confession alone."
Jerome: "When an ungodly man is converted, God justified him through
faith alone, not on account of good works which he possessed not."
Chrysostom: "What then did God do? He made (says Paul) a righteous Person (Christ) to be a sinner, in order that he might make sinners righteous... it is the
righteousness of God, when we are justified, not by works...but by grace, where all sin is made to vanish away."
Chrysostom: "Again, they said that he who adhered to
faith alone was cursed, but he shows that he who adhered to
faith alone, is blessed."
Augustine: "Grace is given to you, not wages paid to you...it is called grace because it is given gratuitously. By no precedent merits did you buy what you have received. The sinner therefore received this grace first, that his sins should be forgiven him...
good works follow after a justified person; they do not go before in order that he may be justified...good works, following after justification, show what a man has received."
Augustine: "Now, having duly considered and weighed all these circumstances and testimonies, we conclude that a man is
not justified by the precepts of a holy life, but by faith in Jesus Christ,--in a word, not by the law of works, but by the
law of faith; not by the letter, but by the spirit;
not by the merits of deeds, but by free grace."
Anselm: "Do you believe that you cannot be saved but by the death of Christ? Go, then, and ...
put all your confidence in this death alone. If God shall say to you, "You are a sinner", say to him,
"I place the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and my sin."
Bernard of Clairvaux: "Shall not all our righteousness turn out to be mere unrighteousness and deficiency? What, then, shall it be concerning our sins, when not even our righteousness can answer for itself? Wherefore...let us flee, with all humility to Mercy which alone can save our souls...whoever hungers and thirsts after righteousness, let him believe in thee, who "justified the ungodly"; and thus, being
justified by faith alone, he shall have peace with God."
We know that the narrow way leads to life, (John 3:18) and few find it (
Matthew 7:13-14). That is true even within organizations and institutions that claim to be Christian and even during the first century we know that the apostles battled people who preached false gospels (2 Corinthians 11:4;
Galatians 1:6-9). Here is why I believe in eternal security of the believer and my belief is not negotiable.
Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me
has everlasting life, and
shall not come into judgment, but
has passed from death into life. (John 5:24)
The Lord does not forsake His saints/they are
preserved forever. (Psalm 37:28)
Jesus shall
lose none of all those He has been given. (John 6:39)
Jesus' sheep hear His voice, He knows them, they follow Him, and they shall
never perish or be snatched from His hand. (John 10:27-28)
Those He predestined, called and whom He
justified these He also glorified. (Romans 8:30)
Who also has
sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a
guarantee. (2 Corinthians 1:22)
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has
given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (2 Corinthians 5:5)
We
believe the gospel, are
sealed with the Holy Spirit/guarantee of our inheritance until the purchased possession. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
We are
sealed unto/for the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)
He who has
begun a good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)
He is able also to
save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25)
We have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all. (Hebrews 10:10)
For by one offering he has
perfected forever those who are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)
Those who are born of God are called, sanctified by God the Father, and
preserved in Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:1)
Salvation is not probation.
Eternal life is not temporary life.
Jesus is the door. He is not a revolving door.
*I have discovered that ALL false religions and cults that promote salvation by works strongly oppose OSAS/eternal security/preservation of the saints which has always been a major red flag for me.
