Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
Leading Evangelical Craig Keener Says Arminians and Calvinists Question Once-Saved-Always-Saved As It Is Commonly Taught

Leading Evangelical Craig Keener Says Arminians and Calvinists Question Once-Saved-Always-Saved As It Is Commonly Taught

July 10, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Craig Keener, Eternal Security, Once saved always saved, provisional salvation

Dr. Craig Keener is a leading New Testament Evangelical scholar. He has published commentaries on Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Revelation. He is a Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is an Evangelical Arminian.

A friend recently sent me a link (see here) to his April 28, 2015, article entitled, “Once-Saved-Always-Saved? Maybe Not.”

In the article, he indicates that we all know people who were once zealous Christians “who no longer even claim to be Christians; some, in fact, claim to be something else.”

He points out that “Calvinists and Arminians may disagree on whether a person was provisionally converted or not [emphasis added], but they both agree that only those who persevere to the end will be saved [emphasis added].” Notice the future tense in will be saved. Keener distinguishes between present provisional salvation and future secure salvation. He then says, “But ‘once-saved-always-saved’ as it is commonly taught in many churches is neither Calvinism nor Arminianism.”

Notice that Keener speaks of being saved provisionally. The word provisional means “providing or serving for the time being only; existing only until permanently or properly replaced; temporary” (dictionary.com).

Keener is saying what I’ve maintained for years: neither Calvinists nor Arminians believe in once-saved-always-saved (OSAS), at least as it is “commonly taught in many churches.” Free Grace churches say that once a person believes in Jesus, he is saved once and for all. He cannot lose his salvation even if he fails to persevere. But that is not what Calvinists or Arminians say.

Most Evangelicals say that only those who persevere in faith and good works will make it into glory.

Keener alludes to Free Grace people when he writes, “Many teach a cheap version of ‘Once-saved-always-saved,’ wherein anyone who professes conversion remains in Christ no matter what happens.” Of course, we do not speak of “anyone who professes conversion” or even “anyone who professes faith in Christ.” We speak of anyone who believes in Christ for everlasting life (John 3:16; Acts 16:31; 1 Tim 1:16). But Keener rejects that, too. He later says, “The idea that someone who professes conversion will share eternal life even if they do not persevere as believers in Christ is another belief that is comforting—and dangerously false” (emphasis added). He equates being a “believer in Christ” with “professing conversion.” Keener’s issue is not with whether one professes faith in Christ but does not actually believe in Him. His issue is that believers will only gain final salvation if they persevere to the end of their lives.

After discussing warning passages in Hebrews and 2 Peter, Keener then says, “For some people with less self-confidence (sometimes including myself), such warnings are unnerving.” I think that anyone who believes that we must persevere in faith and works to avoid eternal condemnation will find the warning passages in the New Testament unnerving. I wonder how anyone could be confident in his eternal destiny if he believed that falling away from the faith would result in an eternity of torment in the lake of fire.

Keener begins the last paragraph of his article by sashaying around the issue at hand: “The warnings are instead for those tempted to fancy that we are saved by a single act of prayer or physical washing rather than by Christ, who treat salvation only as a cheap fire escape instead of rescue from being alienated from God.” Of course, the issue is not a single act of prayer or baptism. The issue whether a single act of believing in Christ for everlasting life guarantees that one is secure forever, as Jesus promised in John 11:26 and many other texts. But Keener rejects that, too.

He calls such faith “a cheap fire escape.” He contrasts that with “rescue from being alienated from God.” What he means there is that if we live in fellowship with God, we keep the provisional salvation initially given to us. But if we become alienated from God once again, then we lose that provisional salvation.

His penultimate sentence is misleading: “It is God’s act in his Son’s death and resurrection that saves us, provided that we accept his gift, i.e., believe this good news.” Where is perseverance in that statement? Evidently, the reader is to understand that statement in the context of earlier statements Keener made.

The final statement is a rather obscure summary of what he said in the article: “His gift is eternal life in his presence, an eternal life that begins when we truly believe—welcoming a new life in Christ.” Notice “when we truly believe,” which is defined as “welcoming a new life in Christ.” Based on what he wrote earlier, the person who will be finally saved at the end of his life is one who perseveres in welcoming a new life in Christ. The one who will gain final salvation is he who lives out the kind of godly life that Jesus wants him to live.

OSAS is true. The Lord Jesus guaranteed it (John 5:24; 6:35; 11:26). At the very moment of faith, the believer has everlasting life, is guaranteed he will not come into judgment regarding everlasting life, and he has passed from death into life (John 5:24). Perseverance is not required for OSAS to be true. The fact that most Calvinists and all Arminians don’t believe that shows us that the fields are white unto harvest. We have work to do.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Bob_W

by Bob Wilkin

Bob Wilkin (ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is the Founder and Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society and co-host of Grace in Focus Radio. He lives in Highland Village, TX with his wife, Sharon. His latest books are Faith Alone in One Hundred Verses and Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

January 27, 2023

Who Are the Elect in 1 Peter 1:1-2 and in Romans 8:28-30? Are We to Understand the “Elect” in 1 Peter the Same as the “Predestined” in Romans 8?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates take up a question about election and predestination. What does the Bible say...
January 27, 2023

A Novel Argument Against Inerrancy 

Kathryn Wright shared with me an interesting argument against inerrancy: I heard something today and thought it might make a good blog topic for you....
January 26, 2023

Will There Be Poor People in Heaven?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Bob Wilkin answer an interesting question about our status in Heaven or the quality of...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • Grudem Against Grace: A Defense of Free Grace Theology $15.00 $10.00
  • Grace in Eclipse: A Study in Eternal Rewards (Second Edition) $15.00 $8.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube