But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
(Matthew 24:13 - ESV)

Eternal security continues to be an issue that professing Christians are divided about . There are pastors who will preach that one can be saved at one point in his/her life, only to fall away from the faith and go to hell. There are other pastors who would preach that when you are saved at one moment in time, you are automatically saved for good  regardless of what the person does (unconditional eternal security/Once Saved Always Saved). Thanks for exploring another Taboo subject with Generation Christ as once again, we will look at what the Bible has to say on the subject.

The context of Matthew 24 is Jesus talking about what is going to happen in the future regarding false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, love growing cold, etc. He also talks about a great falling away happening as well. And He follows up by admonishing us to endure to the end in our faith. Why would He say these words to His disciples if what we do after our conversion to Christ does not matter? Though we are in right standing with God today, can this change tomorrow based on choices and decisions we make?

But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.  Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
Ezekiel 18:21-24 - ESV)

God is giving us clear truth regarding how we are required to remain in the faith and if we turn back, then we risk still being eternally separated from God and going to hell. Remember, if the Lord does not change then His disposition towards sin has not changed as well. No matter if you have been converted or not, He despises sin.  Will we believe what the Bible says or will we hold to a man-made doctrine?

The Lord is concerned about what we are now in our faith. None of us can rely on a past confession of faith and expect that will suffice. We must have an enduring and ever present faith in Jesus Christ and that is where we find our actual security. It is a lie from the devil to ever believe that we can disobey and rebel against God and expect no consequence. Remember Adam and Eve? Were they not in right standing with God from when they were created. But when they sinned against the Lord, things changed for them in a hurry.

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
(Genesis 3:22-24 - ESV)

This is man’s first example of finding out that unconditional eternal security does not exist. For if it did, then why were Adam and Eve (who once had perfect standing with God) thrown out of the garden and could no longer live forever? Where was their unconditional eternal security as they were separated from God and now needed forgiveness of their sins? Remember the lie that Satan told Eve:

But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
(Genesis 3:4 - ESV)

But both Adam and Eve surely did die. Right away they died spiritually which was why they hid themselves from God in fear, something they had never done for that had always welcomed God’s presence before. And eventually we read in Genesis that they died physically. Be convinced, there is no way for us to weasel our way out of sin, we must repent and continuously have our faith in Jesus Christ.

You may have heard or read that there isn’t any example in the Bible of people who once followed the Lord and then forfeited their salvation. There are actual 2 major examples in the Bible we can draw from. We’ll start in the Old Testament with Saul.

Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
(1 Samuel 10:6-9 - ESV)

King Saul was the first king of Israel and he was one whom God Himself appointed as king and the Holy Spirit came upon him  to guide him in his rule. Yet over time, Saul began to disobey God and with each sin, his heart grew darker and God’s patience began to wane. Eventually, the Holy Spirit left Saul and God snatched the kingdom away from  him to give to David. Saul went mad and pursued David to kill him and even killed prophets in this pursuit. He soon ended up seeking out help through witchcraft in order to fend off the Philistines and then actually committed suicide by the end of 1 Samuel.

The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
(1 Samuel 31:3-4 - ESV)

Recognize the difference between how Saul started out in 1 Samuel 10 and how he finished in 1 Samuel 31.  Is this indicative of the life of a true believer and follower of the Lord?  Can a man be truly heaven bound when he has forsaken the Lord in the way that King Saul did?

Now it may be stated that this actually happened during the Old Testament but when we are converted to Jesus Christ according to the New Covenant, then it is a salvation that automatically covers sins in the past, present and future. Let’s address this and also look at another example of a man who was once part of Jesus’ 12 disciples: Judas Iscariot.

And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
(Luke 6:3-6 - ESV)

While you may have heard that Judas Iscariot was a bad apple from the start, this was not the case according to the Bible. First, Jesus would not call and appoint a wicked man as a disciple and give that same man the power to cast out demons, heal the sick  and declare the gospel . When we read of Judas’ replacement in Acts 1, one of the requirements was that the person  (Matthias) had to be a bonafide believer in Jesus Christ.  And at one time, Judas was a bonafide believer in Christ before he started to help himself from the moneybags and allowed the devil to enter him and use him as a tool of evil before he betrayed Jesus and eventually committed suicide.

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