Dr Paul Allen

Another theological issue to consider regarding salvation, and another significant divide between Arminianism and Calvinism, concerns eternal security, sometimes called the perseverance of the saints: Can a true believer lose their salvation? Or is that person eternally secure in salvation? There is such a thing as a “professing Christian”— someone who professes Christianity but does not truly believe in Christ (Matthew 7:22–23; Titus 1:16). There is certainly no security in salvation for that person, since they are not actually saved in the first place. Only God can know with certainty who is a true Christian, but for the sake of our discussion, we will assume that this individual is a true Christian. Generally, one’s answer to the question of whether salvation can be lost will go along with one’s view of election. If the divine election,  is conditional, then there can be no eternal security because a true Christian may cease to believe in the gospel and thus lose the...

Well, the short answer is I don’t know. I don’t know whether your protracted sexual sin will have the effect of preventing you from being restored to repentance. I hope the fact that I don’t know will sound to you both sobering and hopeful. Sobering, because it is possible to sin oneself into a condition of being unable to repent. But hopeful, because in Christ Jesus, the worst of sins will be forgiven if there are authentic repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Let me try to help by giving the bigger picture of the book of Hebrews. Good Beginnings This book is written precisely to help people who have made a great beginning in the Christian life. The author describes it in Hebrews 10:32–34 : But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the pl...

Christians struggle with sin because we, in this life, are still sinners. The presence of sin in us will not be eradicated until that glorious day when we see Jesus face to face. What a day that will be! But until then, we fight sin by faith, and we can experience assurance inside the fight. But we also believe there are forms of “willful sin” that evidence a heart that has not been saved. Which leads to today’s question from Josh.  https://hopecollege.com Let's look at the book of Hebrews — specifically Hebrews 10:26–29 . The writer seems to be speaking about the ability to lose salvation by engaging in ‘willful sin,’ as it has been called.  What is the opposite of a ‘willful sin’? Is it an accidental sin? Or something else? Due to the presence of the Holy Spirit ’s conviction, all sin done by the believer is done willfully. Hebrews 10 and Hebrews 6 often give people the impression that a person possesses the fullness of salvation and then loses it. These texts can...

“If they then fall away, since they are crucifying again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt” (Heb. 6:6). Hebrews 6:4–6 paints the dreadful picture that it is impossible to restore to repentance those who fall away. It is impossible to restore those who may have done many things in order to show that they were genuine Christians (6:4–5).  As such, many believe that the passage teaches that genuine Christians can lose their salvation. But this position does not fit the evidence of this text or the rest of the Bible. Since the characteristics of the group that falls away may be true also of unbelievers in the church, we cannot automatically interpret the text as teaching that genuine Christians can lose their salvation. However important this may be, the most compelling reason for believing that 6:4–6 does not teach that genuine Christians may lose salvation is found in 6:7–8, which we will look at tomorrow. Let's examine Hebrews 6:6, which tells us ...

“For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened” (Heb. 6:4a). This is one of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture. Hebrews 6:4–6 has often been used with the attempt to prove that genuine Christians can lose their salvation. Because of this text, the Novatians and Donatists in the early church denied readmission to the church to those who had fallen into idolatry under persecution—even when some of these lapsed people repented and later died for the Gospel. Arminians believe this passage destroys any confidence that the saints will persevere. Calvinists deny that the passage should be understood in this way but sometimes have trouble articulating the reasons why. And so we must ask: Does Hebrews 6:4–6 refer to genuine believers who once really believed in Christ but then later fall away?  At first glance we might answer yes. The person described in these verses has done many things that might lead us to believe he ...

The apostle Paul describes how he is careful to be self-disciplined and to bring his body into subjection “lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” Does this word translated “disqualified” (NASB) suggest that Paul feared losing his salvation? Once again, as we see also in Rom. 11:22, it may be that Paul is echoing a theme found elsewhere in his letters and throughout the NT, namely, that ultimate salvation is dependent on perseverance in faith (cf. Rom. 8:13; Col. 1:23; Heb. 3:6, 14; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 2:19), a faith which Paul believes God graciously preserves and sustains within us (see, e.g., Phil. 2:12–13). More likely, however, is Paul’s concern that he not become slack or indifferent in his ministry lest he forfeit God’s approval on his apostolic endeavors (and perhaps the power of the Holy Spirit that energized his work). He fears not hearing God say: “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and thereby forfeiting the divine blessings ...

In light of the shooting in Oregon, where the gunman asked students if they were Christian, and if they said ‘yes’ the gunman shot the student in the head, what would happen if a Christian lied? What if it would have been me, and I would have said ‘no’? Would I still go to heaven when I die? This question is of particular importance because Christianity contains no exception to prohibitions against lying . Islam, for example, has a doctrine called Taqiyya , which allows a Muslim to temporarily deny his faith if his life is in danger—so long as it is not a “heartfelt” objection. But Christianity is differen t. In fact, martyrdom is one of the chief means of propagating the gospel . As people boldly stand for Christ and refuse to recant even in the face of death, the gospel message is strengthened. The gospel itself is an example of this. Jesus valued his mission from God as more important than his own life, and his followers ought to do likewise. And yet… many Christians have de...