Eternal Security – Grace Evangelical Society

Being Cut Off God’s Olive Tree (Romans 11:19-24)

March 13, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Being cut off from the olive tree, Eternal Security, OSAS, Romans 11:19-24

You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of

Michael Eaton on What You Can Lose When You Sin

February 28, 2020 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - Eternal Security, Michael Eaton

People who deny eternal security think it’s unfair to say that Christians can sin and get away with it. But that’s a misunderstanding. The doctrine of eternal security doesn’t say you get away with sin. All it means is that whatever the consequences may be, they do not include losing your eternal salvation (see here and here and here). The warnings are about some kind

SBC President Says Once Saved, Always Saved—IF

February 13, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Always Saved, Eternal Security, Lordship Salvation, Once Saved, Perseverance of the Saints, Romans 11:17-21

J.D. Greear is the Pastor of the Summit Church in Durham, NC, and is the 62nd President of the Southern Baptist Convention. A few days ago, on Jan 29, 2020, he wrote a blog entitled “Beware of Complacency of ‘Once Saved, Always Saved.’” You can read his blog by clicking here. (See here for a similar article by John Piper.) He engages in

Free Will and Eternal Security

January 28, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Eternal Security, Free-will, Titus 1:2

A friend sent me this second-hand question: “Question from a friend online: ‘If God desires for us to always have free will, why would He not allow us to give back the free gift of eternal life if we so choose?’” How would you answer that? My answer involves two counter questions. Does God really want

Confusing Comments Concerning Certain Salvation

January 24, 2020 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Eternal Security, OT salvation, what is saving faith, what is the object of saving faith

A friend sent me a Jan 8, 2011, blog by Dr. Michael Heiser. You can see it here. It is entitled, “Election, Salvation, Unbelief, and Eternal Security.” I’ve read several articles by Heiser and found most of them to be outstanding. I am part way into his book Angels and have found it helpful. I’ve heard great things about his book The Unseen Realm. So I came to this article

Evangelical Leaders Who Deny Certainty of Salvation

October 25, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - absolute certainty, Assurance, Eternal Security, Evangelical leaders who deny the possibility of certainty, Perseverance

Dr. John Niemelä called today and asked me if I had a list of quotes from Evangelicals who deny absolute assurance. Well, I didn’t have the list, but I did have many such quotes. So, I’ve pulled them together for this blog. Robert Peterson: Protestants do not claim the ‘absolute’ certainty that Rome rejects.

Once Saved, Rarely Saved?

August 13, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - antinomianism, Arminianism, Eternal Security, motivations for Christian living, Once saved always saved

Someone sent me a link to a rather extreme Arminian preacher. Most who believe you can lose everlasting life think that people who believe you can’t lose your salvation still have a good chance of making it to heaven by persevering. However, this preacher thinks that the preaching of eternal security makes it very unlikely

Unless You Believed in Vain (1 Corinthians 15:2)

August 7, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - 1 Corinthians 15:2, Eternal Security, the perseverance of the saints, unless you believed in vain

I received the following question in a comment to a blog I wrote: “Why does Paul say you can believe in vain, 1 Cor. 15:2?” The questioner doesn’t seem to believe in eternal security. He implies that Paul was saying that you could believe in Christ, be born again, and then end up going to Hades anyway because the

Conversation with a Former Free Grace Guy

July 26, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - apostasy, Arminianism, Eternal Security, John 10:27-28

I received a call from a man I knew years ago. We will call him Frank. I had not talked with Frank in ten or fifteen years. He used to be a solid Free Grace guy. But no longer. We spoke for nearly an hour. Frank wanted to warn me that I am teaching heresy and that

Assurance Is the Essence of Saving Faith

July 16, 2019 by Bob Wilkin in Blog - Assurance, Assurance of the essence of saving faith, Berkhof’s view of saving faith, Eternal Security

We’ve written on this before. See here for a 1997 article by Zane Hodges. And here is a 2017 article by Shawn Lazar. Here is a 2008 article by me. Here is my recent review of a booklet which argues that assurance is of the essence. So why look at this issue again? Today I ran across a quote from Louis Berkhof, the premier Reformed theologian, concerning this issue.