JRM Sison Chapter - Teachings - Salvation by Grace

Eternal security, two words that gave the Christian community a ‘split-decision’; you either believe it or not. Some Christians, especially the Baptists, believe on the doctrine of eternal security; others don’t. But what is eternal security? Why would such doctrine divide opinions of Christianity as a whole?

Eternal security is a doctrine about salvation; once you’re saved, you’re always saved. It is a doctrine that believes on faith rather than works. That it is through faith we are saved and not of ourselves or our works (Eph. 2:8, 9). If you will ask me about this doctrine if I believe on it, my answer is a big YES! I’m not a Baptist but I believe that works will not save me except by grace through faith. BUT… we must try to dig out what the scripture says about eternal security. We must seek our FINAL AUTHORITY in all matters of faith and practice.

Salvation

There is none righteous, no not one (Rom. 3:10). For ALL HAVE SINNED and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Rom. 5:12).

From these three verses we see that nobody is without sin; all have sinned. Whatever age, gender, position or authority, we are all subject to Rom. 6:23 (For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord). Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:14-17). Thus, salvation is through one man, and that man is Jesus Christ our Lord; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:15, 16). The gift by grace is the gift of God; through our faith we are saved and not of our works.

By Grace through Faith

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17). Note that God’s gift has an effect. Salvation makes the bearer a new creature. His old self is dying away and is being replaced by a new one. What does this mean? This verse implies that if any man be in Christ, our way of life will have a dramatic change. We become more understanding, loving, giving… we become Christ-like. It is through the presence of our Lord do we become like Him. Eternal security is true in this aspect. Thus, the true question that must be given is not about eternal security but on one’s faith; many people accepted Jesus but does not believe in Him. Note that acceptance is different with believing. Acceptance may be forced but believing is by love.

They feared the Lord and served their own gods

There is a flaw in the doctrine of eternal security, however. Many Christians use this doctrine as an excuse for their sinful living. Some continued their drinking alcohol; they say that they are saved by faith not of works; that they believe in Jesus and they know that they are saved. Some continued on their adulterous life; some on their fornicated life; others on their gambling habits. The sad thing about this is they use passages from the Bible to cover their sinful ways. Are they truly saved? If not, then is the doctrine of eternal security untrue? Let us look unto our FINAL AUTHORITY in all matters of faith and practice and allow the Lord to give us the answer.

2 Kings 17:24-33 states about the king of Assyria bringing unbelievers (instead of the children of Israel) to dwell in the land of Samaria. They fear not the Lord. Thus, God sent lions and killed some of them. Fearing for their lives they sought the help of the priests of Israel. And they were taught how to fear the Lord in order to survive. But they feared the Lord and served their own gods. Their acceptance is about survival and not of love. They didn’t believe in the Lord but they feared Him. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble (James 2:18-19). The people that the king of Assyria brought to Samaria believed but served other gods. These other gods were their past gods. They began to know God but still their service is unto other gods; they feared God but still continued with their sinful lives.

The Bread of Life

What then must we do? If the doctrine of eternal security is not true then how could we know we are saved for sure? There must be a way to know it! In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Furthermore, Jesus said in John 6:51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” In John 6:53-54, He said “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Wait, thus this mean that faith is not enough? What is Jesus trying to say here?

Romans 10:17 states “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” There is no faith when there is no word of God. Revelation 19:13 & 16 states that Jesus is called the Word of God. And a special note: when Jesus was tempted, He said to the Tempter “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4).” It is not enough to say that you are a Christian to be saved; it is not enough to say that you believe in Jesus to be saved.

The bread of life represents the word of God (our Bible which is the FINAL AUTHORITY in all matters of faith and practice). His blood represents the Holy Spirit. Thus, Jesus is trying to tell us to read His word with the help of the Holy Spirit to understand God’s message. Our Bible is the word of God. And since Jesus Christ is the word of God, our Bible is Jesus Christ. But the Bible is just a book without the aid of the Holy Spirit. Note that the Bible is a spiritual book and we need the Holy Spirit to interpret it for us.

Do you love Jesus?

We have a member from our church who loves a singer named Avril. Because she loves and admires her so much, she began to imitate her looks; dresses up like her; moves like her; acts like her, and even talks like her. As you see her, you see an image of Avril.

How about Jesus? Do we love Him? If we do love Him, why can’t we be like Him? We don’t move like Him; we don’t talk like Him; and we don’t even act like Him. We don’t even care about the Great Commission anymore because it is just for selected people. If people see us, they don’t see even a speckle of His image. They won’t know we’re Christians unless they see us going to church! What a disgrace!!! Don’t bother to say we’re Christians if we can’t love Him. Let us just stick with our hero-worship (basketball players, singers, actors/actresses, pastors, etc.). Let us just go on surfing the internet, browsing worldly sites, chatting endlessly about the world, playing computer games; and let us just forget to read our Bibles for the sake of our entertainment. It’s no fun to read the Bible than playing computer games and surfing. Let us just go with our friends and party together, having a good-time without sharing the love of Jesus. It’s just hassle to talk about Biblical things than to talk about worldly things. Oh, sweet is the taste of the world; better than the word of God!

Well, I got news for you: you’re a hellbound Christian, that’s for sure. Eternal security is for those that believes in Jesus Christ our Lord; whose faith is hearing God’s word; who when hearing God’s word keep it and do it. Brethren, if you can’t stick to God’s word then stick on these words: YOU’RE GOING TO HELL!!!

If you want to be eternally secured on your faith then strengthen it through God’s word; keep His commandments (love God and love one another). Be strong in His words with the help of the Holy Spirit; know that as we love Jesus, we try to be like Him; He is our perfect example; He is our true Idol. Salvation is by grace through faith…