"To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life" (Rom. 2:7).
"For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13).
"You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.' Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again" (Rom. 11:19-23).
And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (Rom 13:11)Since these last four cited passages all cause much trouble for the "once saved always saved" crowd, do you think the person (or persons) who omitted them when formulating the Romans Road might have been eternal security proponents?
"What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes" (Rom.9:30-10:4).
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who BELIEVE. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus."Please note the word "believe" in Rom. 3:22. This word "believe" in the Greek is a continuous tense. Hence, Paul was saying the condition for "this righteousness from God" is a continuous belief in Christ which is also the implied meaning of the "grace" mentioned in verse 24. This is an important point -- for it refutes the false view that many eternal security proponents embrace, like R. B. Thieme who said:
"Yet believers who become agnostics are still saved; they are still born again. You can even become an atheist; but if you once accepted Christ as saviour, you cannot lose your salvation, even though you deny God" [Apes and Peacocks or The Pursuit of Happiness (Houston: Thieme, 1973), p. 23 as quoted in The Gospel According To Jesus by John F. MacArthur, p. 98, (emphasis ours).]
"... believers who lose or abandon their faith will retain their salvation ..." (Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?, Oliver-Nelson Books, 1990, p. 94)[emphasis ours].Eternal security (or "the perseverance of the saints"), like the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, is a false hope that is misleading many sincere people. It needs to be openly addressed and refuted as never before. If these added verses of Scripture would be presented and expanded upon in the Romans Road gospel presentation, the problem of the perseverance of the saints would not be as great as it is today. This is especially so if Rom. 11:19-23 would also be repeated at the very end of such a gospel presentation. If all these verses corporately were Paul's original gospel of grace, how do some conveniently omit the ones revealing the necessity of continuous-tense belief on Christ and a conditional security for the believer? See also 1 Cor. 15:2.
Also, one might wonder why Rom. 3:23 would be magnified, but not Rom. 3:22, the preceding verse which teaches a continuous tense belief for imputed righteousness! The same kind of omission is found in Rom. 6 where verse 23 is cited but not verse 22! Why, when the omitted verse(s) also contain important information about salvation that is not contained anywhere in the commonly known Romans Road?
Beloved, be not deceived -- you must continue in the faith or you will certainly be lost (Rom. 3:22), sin can bring about spiritual death (Rom. 8:13) and we must persist in doing good to get eternal life (Rom. 2:7). [Eternal life is also shown in the Bible to be a present-tense possession at the point of salvation, 1 Jn. 5:12.] Don't be deceived by the popular Romans Road gospel presentation that would suggest these are not so! To believe otherwise is to show yourself deceived about these extremely important facets of salvation. John wrote:
"See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. IF IT DOES, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us -- even eternal life" (1 Jn. 2:24,25).Remember, the commonly known Romans Road to salvation gospel presentation is seriously flawed and leaves out vital salvation truths. That is important to know, but there is even more to know about those who teach contrary to the believer's conditional security:
I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. (Rom 16:17,18)Paul strongly established a conditional security in his epistle to the Roman's, then revealed additional truth about those who teach contrary. He stated such false teachers:
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom 10:9-13)When confronted by eternal security proponents and others who the misuse Romans 10:9-13, I like to direct them to these other verses to present a more complete picture, especially back in Rome at that time:
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but ONLY THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN. (Mt. 7:21)The book of Romans was written to those already saved (Rom. 1:7) and, despite chapter 10, we also have these verses also written to them:
...our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. (Rom. 13:11)
Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For IF GOD DID NOT SPARE THE NATURAL BRANCHES, HE WILL NOT SPARE YOU EITHER. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. (Rom. 11:20-22)
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. AND I WAS DELIVERED FROM THE LION'S MOUTH. (2 Tim. 4:17)Remember: You have to consider all verses on a topic to get a COMPLETE picture of the biblical requirements for the Christian life, such as what all it means to "believe on Jesus" and "confess Jesus as Lord". The devil has done a brilliant job of taking Christian words and truths and distorting and misapplying them. (Words and concepts such as love, grace, mercy, believing, confessing have been twisted by the devil and his servants to sneak in lethal poisons that distort the gospel - plan of salvation.)
But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. (Acts 25:26, ESV)The Greek term "Lord" is KURIOS, and is also the same word found in Romans 10:9, which further demonstrates the historical context - Caesar demanded to be considered "Lord". For Christians to rightly violate Caesar's law would mean death. Caesar also ruled from ROME, the same location of the church as addressed here:
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Rom. 10:9,10)
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