For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:11,12)
Hence, saving grace teaches us to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present wicked age, while the devil is tempting us to disobey God. In contrast to the true grace of the Bible, the counterfeit and sinister grace of eternal security, as taught by the grace changers, declares a totally different message—one that lethally contradicts Biblical saving grace.
To be more precise the eternal security teachers do not think any Christian is putting into practice God's word (Luke 8:21; Mt. 12:48-50; Heb. 5:9) and incredibly portray Paul as continually, habitually practicing and doing evil in Rom. 7:19. To these dangerous teachers, therefore, the normal Christian life includes continually, habitually practicing and doing evil. (See pages 206-208 in my book, The Believer's Conditional Security: Eternal Security Refuted for some quotes.) This is also how the eternal security proponents believe and respond when dialoging with them one on one.
For a Christian to believe any eternal security proponent is living holy is a contradiction to both the embraced doctrine cherished by that eternal security proponent and what the Bible declares about a sinner, a slave to sin, those not obeying God, which they identify themselves as. They think of their sinning all the time, which they defend, as the typical Christian life.
Remember this: how could they view themselves as Christians and the Christian as sinning all the time in various ways, yet not be sinning all the time in various ways themselves? That wouldn't be rational nor would it fit into their own eternal security definition of a Christian, which they think they are. It can't fit their own theology which they have been deceived into believing is grace and the gospel.
Why do they believe this teaching in the first place since the Bible is so clear that eternal security is not Biblical, and therefore, not a Christian teaching? In part, because of false teachings but also because they are slaves to sin themselves, as they wrongly think Paul was in Rom. 7:14.
Some people who have rejected eternal security, even for years, start to embrace this security-in-sin doctrine because of sin in their own lives. (One such person just contacted our ministry and admitted to having sins that lead to spiritual death!)
The sins of some eternal security proponents might be less noticeable ones such as deceit, lust, hate, greed, etc. and not the more obvious ones such as drunkenness, theft, adultery (as David committed) or bowing before a graven image, but they are still slaves to sin, which they think is a Christian life. (If they weren't a slave to sin, how could they contend for that as being the normal Christian life?) Because they are slaves to sin, they are not slaves to Christ and to righteousness, which is what a real Christian is.
Again, their own personal lifestyle must be one that conforms to a sinner, since they think all Christians, including Paul, are sinners who habitually practice evil. It is impossible to be a slave to sin and a slave to Christ, obedience and righteousness, at the same time as a person with salvation is:
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom 6:6,7)
For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord's freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's slave. (1 Cor 7:22)
Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Rom 6:16)
Both their theology and lifestyle rejects the above truths and the following fact about becoming a new creature who has been set free from sin slavery:
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. (Rom 6:17,18)
All of this helps Christians understand how eternal security proponents can believe the following people remained saved while in wickedness, which implies they too think they personally will remain saved (and will profess themselves as a Christian) while in the same abominations:
● King David (adultery, murder)
● the prodigal (visiting prostitutes, wild living)
● the man in 1 Cor. 5:1-5 (sexual immorality)
● Solomon (idolatry)
● King Saul (murder, consulting witches)
● Lot (drunkenness and incest)
● Noah (drunkenness)
● Peter (disowning Jesus)
● the fruitless, wicked, worthless and lazy servant of Mt. 25:24-30.
● the faithless
● etc.
All Christians have been entrusted with the one and only gospel, which has a conditional security as part of it. It is so serious to preach any other gospel that one will be damned for doing such (Gal. 1:8,9), yet this is clearly what all eternal security proponents believe and communicate at times, while they also deny a conditional security, as taught by the Lord and his disciples. To deny and oppose a conditional security for the believer is also to deny and oppose part of the Lord's plan of salvation (Mt. 10:22; etc.) and his apostles (Rom. 8;13; Gal. 6:8,9; etc.).
It is also impossible to live holy if you are preaching or believing a false gospel that will damn you to hell for doing that. No one who is Biblically informed would think a Jehovah's Witness, Mormon or Catholic is living holy, based on their false doctrine. The same holds true for the one to five point Calvinists, who believe in once saved always saved (or the perseverance of the saints), especially after they argue that they themselves are sinners who sin all the time and therefore can't obey.
Also remember that just because someone appears righteous on the outside, does religious things and speaks Scriptural terms doesn't mean their heart is pure. The Pharisees were filled with sin yet appeared righteous, did religious things and spoke in Scriptural terms:
In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (Mat 23:28)
The Pharisees also had some sound doctrines:
The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. (Acts 23:8)
It is time for Christians to seriously fight against the devil's lies which are sending multitudes to hell, while many of the same shockingly think these people are going to heaven as self-professed sinners!
And, if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? (1 Pet 4:18)
The sinner (the same as an ungodly person) who doesn't have salvation is contrasted with the righteous person who does. Also remember this about a true Christian's past life:
When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Rom 6:20)
A slave to sin is not controlled by righteousness. Slaves to sin, therefore, can't be holy.
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Rom 6:22)
See also our article entitled, Is A Christian A Sinner? In conclusion, remember eternal security proponents have sinful lifestyles!
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