The doctrine of eternal security is one of the hottest debated topics in Christendom. What is the qualifier for being saved? And if saved, is it a permanent privilege or can one lose it. The main hypothesis is that when one accepts Jesus Christ as his lord and savoir, one is saved. One cannot lose it from here. This is the stance taken on this topic by the majority. As with all things related to Christianity, any kind of approach or accepted belief has to be backed by Biblical scriptures, and if that is lacking – then it is just an opinion and has no semblance to what actually is. The basis always has to be the Bible.
What does the Bible say about it?
We begin well by trying to understanding some of these Biblical quotes from the scriptures:
“Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their conscience; as a result, there faith has been shipwrecked. Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so that they might learn not to blaspheme God”. – 1 Timothy 1:19-20
“Demas has deserted me because he loves the things of this world”. - 2 Timothy 4:10
Whom is Paul talking about in these letters? Is he talking about unbelievers or people who have claimed to be faithful? It is the latter!
If you have studied your Bibles carefully you will realize that accepting Jesus Christ as lord and saviour is only the first of the many steps. The others are you living a holy life and not letting the world corrupt you. Your life is your testimony and if you endure to the end, you will be saved.
Lacking this, and with faith that only amounts to lip-service with no works to show for it, that kind of faith is worthless and cannot save as James mentioned in his letter.
The doctrine of eternal security based only on accepting the Messiah and nothing else is incorrect. Accepting the Messiah is only the starting point and not the end. Hence, all who think that they have accepted the Messiah and can lead any kind of life with no inhibitions, and are saved only because of their faith are fooling themselves.
Conclusion
This is a very concise explanation. For deeper work on this subject read the letter of James and Paul. Read the entire chapters and not few verses so that you grasp the underlying meaning of the letter. Start with the letter of Paul to the Galatians, why did he write it and what is the message!
You must know your Bible and be able to check for any kind of teaching by referring to it. This is your job that cannot be outsourced.
