It is astounding to me that someone could trust on Christ's finished work only to then live a life afraid to
presume that they are wholly, completely, eternally, and unconditionally saved. And frankly, if I have any part in "keeping" my salvation, I am so utterly lost that I may as well just take down this website and find a new line of work. I am so completely unworthy of the eternal life that God has promised me that I know if there is any chance I could lose it, I will.
I cannot imagine living in fear that I must be careful not to do whatever it is somebody thinks they can "do" to lose the
seal of the Holy Spirit!
And how arrogant I would have to be to assume that I have the
power to break the seal of the holy Spirit of promise!Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
And how arrogant would I have to be to assume that I could stand in the way of
the praise of God's glory! For that is what the seal is for: in the end, it is
for God's glory! How dare I assume that I have the power to not only
break the seal of the holy Spirit of promise but to also
take God's glory away from him!
And why oh why would we have such wonderfully comforting verses like these:
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Indeed,
who shall separate us from the love of Christ? According to the "once saved maybe later lost" crowed, apparently
I will! And if my "choice" to walk away from God isn't a "thing present" or a "thing to come" then
what is it? Was Paul just wrong?
All of the verses that could be understand to contradict the
finished and eternal nature of salvation must be understood
not to contradict Paul's clear teaching in Romans 8. It is that simple.
If you think a verse teaches that you can some how
break God's seal then you are simply and completely
wrong wrong wrong. I do not care how hard it is to understand a verse (2Pe 3:16), if you think a verse means you can
take God's glory away from him by walking away from salvation, you are simply
out to lunch.