Of course I agree with everything you've stated
EXCEPT re eternal security.
The N.T. is chock full of verses that show we have conditional eternal security.
It's conditional on being IN CHRIST. We have to NOT LEAVE CHRIST.
If we are IN CHRIST we are saved...if we are NOT IN CHRIST, we are not saved.
No matter WHEN that may happen.
Just read John 15:1-6 and tell me it doesn't mean that we can be removed from the vine and gathered and done away with.
No--eternal life is never conditional upon behavior--but salvation IS. That is why the expression, "once saved, always saved" is misleading. If that seems utterly confusing to you, hang on--I will explain. "Salvation" and the salvation word family, in the Old Testament and even, the New Testament almost never refers to eternal life. That is probably why Jesus doesn't mention salvation except in a few instances and it is not clear, at times, whether He is speaking of salvation or eternal life. The two are NOT synonymous--the word salvation basically means "deliverance" whereas, eternal life is just that. Deliverance from what? Danger, sickness, premature death, accidents, and various calamities. In Luke 19, when Jesus says that "today salvation has come" to the house of Zacchaeus, it is not clear whether He is speaking of Zacchaeus' mortal life being saved or eternal life having been conferred upon him. As a result of Zacchaeus' promise to quit extorting money from the Jews (and compensating those he cheated) it may have only meant that he wouldn't be knocked off by the Zealots who were always lurking about, for example.
A NOTE about the Zealots: The Zealots were Jews who were extremely resentful of their Roman overlords and
particularly those Jews who were put in positions like tax collector. Zacchaeus (many Jews took on Greek names in order to ingratiate themselves with the Romans--his given name was probably Zachariah) was a Jew (Jesus calls him a "son of Abraham" in Luke 19:9). If so, he was not only a sell-out to the Romans but one who cheated other Jews (by his own admission). He would have been a prime target of the Zealots' more radical group, who called themselves "Sicarii" for "dagger men". The Sicarii had the nasty custom of slipping into a crowd, and using a razor-sharp dagger to slit open the belly (disemboweling) of a Jewish target (a certain, slow and agonizing death, in those days). The assassin might even procure a bag of money off his victim, if the victim was in one of the marketplaces--which were always crowded. Jostling from the crowd was a given. The assassin would then melt back into the crowd--before the Romans even got wind of it, and often precious moments before the target even knew he had been attacked--giving the assassin time to get away. Roman officials were much harder to assassinate, in that way, as they were always surrounded by Roman soldiers when out and about in Judea. The Sicarii were often hesitant to attack a Roman for another reason--the Romans might extract severe penalties from the Jews for such an act. The Romans didn't particularly care if the Jews killed each other, as long as order was not disturbed. A Jewish tax collector was easily replaced by the Romans.
Zacchaeus may well have saved himself (along with his whole house, since he was the "wage-earner") from the Sicarii, by his pledge to "clean up his act". Salvation is almost always conditional--God says, "Do these things and you will live." Even in the Epistles, we see the difference between salvation and the conferral of eternal life, upon close examination.
Salvation was/is conditional on living a "clean life" (being "blameless" is the way that the OT puts it) and, in the Old Testament, in particular, it referred to having one's mortal life saved. Thus, Noah and his family were "saved"--from the flood waters. But the ark that God ordered him to build had nothing to do with preserving Noah in the afterlife--i.e. it did NOT furnish him with eternal life.
In the history of Israel, it was taken for granted that, as those chosen by Yahweh, their souls would "join their fathers" who had gone to the Edenic paradise that God provided, and their spirits would return to God from whom they came. All would be reunited in resurrection on the Last Day. Thus, we see Job declaring in Job 19:26-27, "...after my body has decayed, yet in my body, I will see God. I will see Him for myself. Yes, I will see Him with my own eyes." Job is thought to be the oldest book in the Bible.
In both the Old and New Testament, salvation nearly always has conditions attached. Or, as some pastors have warned, "Choose to sin, choose to suffer." Sin has negative consequences in this life. "Honor your father and mother,
so that your days will be long in the Land." In our modern times, murderers will be jailed for years and might even be executed, thieves are jailed, drunks may be killed in a car crash etc. God might choose to "save" us from the negative consequences of our sinful behavior; often, He does not. But it is important to remember that it could have nothing to do with one's eternal destiny. James 1:21 is seen in context to be saying that one would save one's life from premature death by refraining from sin. See also James 5:20 in that vein. James tells us to get rid of sin and be "doers of the word" to stay under God's protection from calamity and avoid the destructive effects of sin in this life. Sin also destroys our witness.
Let's look at 1 Peter 3:21. Here, Peter seems to be telling us that water baptism is important to gain eternal life. Instead, he is more likely saying that the public declaration that goes with baptism, that one intends to live for Christ--would keep us from flagrant sin that would carry us away into the flood waters of sin. Baptism of course, does NOT confer eternal life--but it might reflect an internal reality of belief and it is that belief that causes the more important baptism of the Holy Spirit (being born again from on high) that does confer eternal life. When we submit to the waters of baptism, we are telling the spirit world that we are no longer slaves to sin--that we are, in fact, dead to sin--and that we intend to live in the light which the Father and His Son provide. Interestingly, when I have done pre-baptismal counseling, many counselees have reported that they strongly felt the evil forces trying to prevent them from being baptized and making their public declaration of faith. It is my experience that some of the most powerful testimonies of faith are presented at believers' baptisms.
Finally, let's look at 1 Timothy 4:16. On first glance, it appears that the Apostle Paul is saying that our eternal life is dependent on a concentrated effort to avoid sin and have the proper doctrine. Instead, I think that Paul was telling Timothy that leaders in the churches must display the kind of behavior that their parishioners would respect and that proper teaching is important toward the faith that will not only lead to eternal life but save them from calamity in this life as well. The tragedy of the Christian man I spoke of before is that he came from a very legalistic ("holiness movement") church, and that bad teaching was part of the destruction of his life.
Many don't understand God's love ... no one is "good enough" for God.
Exactly.
Because persons misunderstand God is no reason to build a theology around THEIR misunderstandings.
No, it is not, but there are whole lots of Christians who believe that their eternal life is dependent on them maintaining it with good works. Again I ask, how many good works does one have to perform to keep his/her eternal life intact? Eternal Security means that once we have eternal life, NOTHING will remove it. Depending on how one lives his/her life, we may have sincere regret at the Bema seat because of lost opportunities to tell others about Jesus (in word and deed), but, it is important to remember that we will still be in heaven with Our Lord.
I had a priest I know tell me some years ago that persons that commit suicide are doomed. By the time I got thru with him, he had to agree with me and told me I was right. I told him I don't care to hear the magesterium version but the CORRECT VERSION of our faith. Anyway, depression makes persons understand things in different and incorrect ways.
That is undoubtedly true. Suicide is against the natural urge for self-preservation and self-love. Self-loathing is from the evil one and I am convinced that it comes from living with constant shame. The only remedy for shame is to resist the evil one who wants to keep us immobilized by it, and to come to the One who can heal us from its wounds. I pray that all who are considering suicide would do so and discover that He is a wonderful Savior.
