Two Historic Errors[*]
“The two schools of thought
[Calvinism and Arminianism], both composed of deeply spiritual saints, has run riot
for many years. Each school is antagonistic to the other; each claims to found
its contentions on Scripture ... ...Frankly, we feel that both schools have
failed to catch the Holy Spirit's message...”[†]-R.Ε. Neighbour (1872-1945)
“It has surely
been a lamentably successful wile of the enemy of truth to persuade Christians
to hurl these classes of passages at one another from opposing camps, instead
of them being seen as complementary and in full harmony with the facts
concerning both God and man.”[‡] -G.H. Lang (1874-1958)
“The fact is that only when opposing Scriptures have been joined and balanced do we find the truth...” [§]-D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
Many wrongly interpret the many warnings to Christians in the Bible to teach that God's true children can ultimately lose salvation in eternity. This view has traditionally been referred to as Arminianism. To counter this claim, many, attempt to argue that the warnings are not really addressed to true Christians. This is the doctrine usually taught by the Hyper-Calvinist or Reformed advocates.
Unfortunately, both views miss the mark. The first view raises the entire foundation and makes salvation dependent on works. It obscures the salvation message for the lost and steals precious salvation assurance from multitudes of those already born again. The second view is forced to likewise turn salvation into a mere hope. Under this system, salvation assurance is obtained ultimately only through endlessly attempting to somehow prove through works that one is saved. According to this view, if a person is continuing in sin, he is not a real Christian. Ironically, since there is no objective, standard for what continuing in sin absolutely means (i.e. exactly how long), this often results in a certain degree of lawlessness, leaving professed Christians without accountability and without anything to really fear (Jude 1.4)![**] The truly humble will doubt they have enough fruit to qualify; the prideful will be inclined to rest self-assured (Luke 18:12[††], Romans 10:3)[‡‡].
Standing between these two extremes is found the sublime truth that is able to unify all the Scriptures addressed to Christians. When rightly interpreted in the light of this truth, the warning passages to the saints are seen to be parental in nature. God is simply- warning His children about the bitter rod of discipline that they are in danger of receiving if they do not behave and do as He commands. The fact that these warnings might appear to be extreme is no argument against their application to real Christians. There is a considerable margin between actually losing salvation and not being punished at all. Therefore, there is plenty of room to apply the warnings at face value without teaching a loss of eternal salvation.
There have been many Calvinists and Arminians who have momentarily caught glimpses of the truth in the middle of the two extremes. Ironically, James Arminius himself (of whom conditional security is named) almost stumbled onto the truth. He wrote:
I here overly and ingenuously
affirm, I never taught that a true believer can either totally or finally fall
away from the faith, and perish; yet I will not conceal, that
there are passages of scripture which seem to me to wear this aspect; and those
answers to them which I have been permitted to see, are not of such a kind as
to approve themselves on all points to my understanding. On the other hand, certain
passages are produced for the contrary doctrine which are worthy of much
consideration."[§§]
The answer lies between the two errors. The warnings are literal and real; yet, they do not threaten a loss of eternal salvation. These warnings will be examined in detail in later chapters.
This truth of Christian accountability is the golden mean between prodigal lawlessness on one side, and a Romish hope of salvation through fruitbearing on the other. It can only rest upon the holy foundation of salvation by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 3:12,15 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;... If any man's work shall be burned, he
shall suffer loss: but he himself shall
be saved; yet so as by fire.
It can be seen from 1 Corinthians 3:15 that if a Christian accomplishes nothing at all worthy of reward in his life (the highest degree of unfruitfulness that can possibly be imagined) he is still ultimately saved. He will “suffer loss” for his irresponsible stewardship; but God will not take His lovingkindness from His child (Psalms 89:30-33)[***]. Salvation in eternity cannot be lost (John 6:39-40)[†††].
It can also be seen from 1 Corinthians 3:15 that it is an error to teach that there is no such thing as a carnal Christian. The sad reality of carnal believers is also taught in 2 Timothy:
2 Timothy 2:20, 21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
In general, there are two types of Christians. There are many other Scriptures that demonstrate that true saints may walk in such a way as to be absolutely unworthy of reward in all that they do (Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 4:15; 1 John 2:28, etc.). [‡‡‡]
If Hyper-Calvinists will not blame God for their own sins, then they must confess that they freely choose to rebel against Him at times. If they can choose to rebel against Him, then they can choose to rebel against Him enough to merit the punishments of which the Bible warns!
Christians are to watch to make sure they do not fail of the gracious, sanctifying power of God in their lives. They are to strive to walk in all its fullness:
Hebrews 12:15,16 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
The Bible teaches that believers can receive the sanctifying grace of God (in regard to the Christian walk) in vain" (Psalms 78:41; 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 6:1; 2 Timothy 2:1)[§§§]. If a Christian can resist sanctifying grace once, he can resist it twice. A Christian may stay in a state of rebellion and refuse to repent to his own hurt. To do so would not be wise or comfortable; and it certainly should not be the norm! Yet, it is possible:
2 Corinthians 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults: 21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
Who is Paul addressing (the “you”) in these verses? The answer is given at the start of the same Epistle:
2 Corinthians 1:1,2 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia: Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is addressing true saints, the children of God; he considers it possible for real Christians to fall into great sins and not repent. The same sad reality may be gleaned elsewhere in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, these Corinthians are said to be children of God “our Father.” They are “sanctified.” This must refer to positional sanctification (i.e. the forgiveness of sins that makes one a Christian) since we learn later in the same Epistle that the Corinthians are not walking sanctified. Instead, they are walking just like the lost:
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 6:7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
Many point to the fact that Paul teaches that the Christian is a “new creature.” They interpret this to mean that no Christian can walk the way he or she did before salvation:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
This verse refers to position and provision; it is not absolute in regard to practice. It would be nice if all saints were like the holy Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1:7, 9, 10)[****]. This should be the normal state of the Christian. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case (Revelation 3:1-3, etc.)[††††]. Positionally, every Christian is washed and perfectly sanctified in Christ. Provisionally, every Christian has the power of a new man available. Jesus has purchased all the good works needed for the saint to “put on” as a child of God. Jesus has not only paid for the adoption, He has paid for the fine, clothes to wear in the household of God. Christians have the indwelling Spirit convicting them of sin. There is therefore no excuse for any Christian to live a defeated life! This is the reason the warnings addressed to such Christians are so severe.
If a person does not have absolute assurance that he is saved, he cannot have absolute assurance that the Holy Spirit is positionally dwelling within him. If he does not know for sure that he possesses the Holy Spirit, he cannot know for sure that he possesses the power to truly please God and fight sin as a Christian:
Romans 6:11,12 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Lost people are not “dead indeed unto sin.” Positionally they are “dead in sin” (Ephesians 2:1)[‡‡‡‡]. Therefore, absolute assurance of salvation is a prerequisite to Christian maturity. A person cannot absolutely “reckon” himself to be “dead unto sin” (i.e. possessing the power to overcome it) if he is using his abstinence from sin as a proof he is “dead unto sin” in the first place! Notice how Paul argues contrary to the illogical doublespeak of both the Hyper-Calvinist and Arminian systems:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:15, 18, 19 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye. have of God, and ye are not your own?
Paul does not argue backwards like many theologians. He does not tell the Corinthian saints to look at their works to see if they are temples of the Holy Ghost. He instead argues that since they are temples of the Holy Ghost, they had better not fornicate or defile their holy temples! Unbelievers are not temples of the Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).[§§§§] Contrary to the teaching of the apostle Paul, both the Hyper-Calvinist and Arminian doctrines leave believers with no absolute assurance the Holy Spirit indwells them positionally. How can they? Without an absolute knowledge of where the line is for losing salvation or the point of disobedience that constitutes continuing in sin, there is no way to know for sure whether or not one is still or in reality a child of God.
Even if one presumptuously professed to know such standards, the Bible warns against arriving at absolute assurance based on fruitbearing (see Psalms 139:23-24)[*****]:
1 Corinthians 4:4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
1 Corinthians 10:11,12 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 is telling Christians not to be too confident that they are practically standing in God's approval. This has to do with sanctification in the Christian walk, not salvation in eternity. Christians are to continually examine themselves to gain confidence that they are walking a life of manifested faith (1 John 3:21; 2 Corinthians 13:5)[†††††]. This faith has to do with the judgment seat of Christ and the great doctrine of reward. Every Christian is therefore warned against absolute assurance in regard to reward. However, it is assumed that every Christian possesses absolute assurance in regard to eternal salvation, since salvation in eternity is not given through works but by grace through faith alone.
[*] From The Rod: Will GOD Spare It? An Exhaustive Study of Temporary Punishment for Unfaithful Christians at the Judgment Seat and During the Millennial Kingdom by J. D. Faust; 2007 Edition; chapter 3.{www.KingdomBaptist.org}
[†] R.Ε. Neighbour. If They Shall Fall Away (Cleveland:
Union Gospel Press, 1940's; reprint, Miami Springs: Conley & Schoettle,
1984), Introduction
[‡] The Dawn (August 1944), 677.
[§] The Dawn (August 1944). 677.
[**] For there are certain men
crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation,
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the
only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
[††] I fast twice in the week, I
give tithes of all that I possess.
[‡‡] For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
[§§] The Works of James Arminius, Vol. I. 664-667 [book on-line];
available from Christian Classics Ethereal Library, Calvin College,
http://www.ccel.org; Internet.
[***] If his children forsake my
law, and walk not in my judgments; If
they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their
iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless
my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness
to fail.
[†††] And this is the Father’s will
which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of
him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
[‡‡‡] “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,” “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
[§§§]
“Yea, they turned back
and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.” “But by the grace of God
I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in
vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of
God which was with me.” “We then, as workers together with him,
beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” “Thou
therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.”
[****] "So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia....For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
[††††] "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."
[‡‡‡‡] And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
[§§§§] Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[*****] Search me, O God, and know my
heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way
in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
[†††††]
Beloved, if our heart
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. + Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?