Eternal Security Sample

The Primary Objections 

Almost all the objections raised against the doctrine of eternal security fail to distinguish between relationship and fellowship, between salvation and discipleship, and even between God’s eternal judgment and His temporal judgment. When we understand these distinctions, the objections melt away. 

When a man has a little boy, a relationship has begun. It’s a father-son relationship. That’s permanent. No matter how disgraceful the boy may act, he’s still his father’s son. But whether the father-son relationship is an enjoyable one depends on their fellowship. If the boy runs away from home and even changes his name, the relationship still exists, but the fellowship doesn’t. If fellowship is to be restored, the boy must come home and ask his father’s forgiveness and submit to his authority. This distinction between relationship and fellowship helps explain how a child of God can conceivably run far from his Father and even deny the faith and family background, yet remain a Christian. The relationship he has with his heavenly Father will never change. It’s a Father-son relationship. But that relationship can only be enjoyed through personal fellowship with his Father. When we understand the difference between relationship and fellowship, we can also understand how someone can die in a car wreck with an unconfessed sin and still go to heaven. Confession of a known sin is the condition required by God for fellowship. Confession has nothing to do with relationship. The Christian who dies with an unconfessed sin still has the Father-child relationship, but he dies out of fellowship with his Father. 

Sometimes a passage describes us from the viewpoint of our position in Christ in heaven, or from our condition here on earth. In our position, we are already holy before God; but in our condition, we may be spiritual or carnal, controlled by the Spirit or the flesh. As we focus on our position in Christ, our condition slowly conforms to our position. When God says to be holy because He is holy, He’s calling for improvement of our condition. When He tells us we are sanctified in Christ, He means we are perfectly holy already in our position. Our position is intact and secure. Thus it is that a group of unholy people, such as the Corinthians, could be labeled “sanctified.” They were holy in their position, but unholy in their condition. Paul never threatened them with loss of position because of their condition. Rather, he appealed for improvement in their condition on the basis of their position.