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Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?

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As a Charismatic in theology, I was raised in an atmosphere that was conditioned upon the belief that it was possible for a born-again christian to fall away and lose the salvation they had. Although it wasn't constantly spoken about, the belief lurked in the theological background as a sort of warning to luke-warm believers. Interesting thing that I have noticed is that not one preacher who believes this can state exactly at what point and what degree of sin will cause this precious loss. Interesting. I had had nagging doubts about "conditional security" for many years and the theological contradiction that goes with it. Then I found Dr. Stanley's book.

Charles Stanley has done a masterful job of tackling tough scriptures and dealing with the issue from both sides - exploring every nuance. Although I differ slightly on his handling of Heb 6:4-6, I am in agreement that it does not refer to losing one's salvation (but that is splitting hairs and being bald, I don't have many to split with!)

In general, if you believe in the unconditional eternal security of the believer, you will find this book a refreshing and vibrant polemic against "maintenance-based" salvation. If you do not believe in eternal security, still this book provides a foundation as to why those of us who are fear-free in regards to our security believe this way.

This book is a must-read for anyone hung up on religious rules & regulations! The book is easy to read and understand, and Mr. Stanley's practical approach is sure to touch anyone that has any doubts on their eternal salvation!

Charles Stanley is writing this book with the layman in mind, not the scholar. But the book can be a blessing nonetheless. The problem with conditional security boils down to an unscriptural qualification of sins. The person who teaches conditional security has set up their own law whereby they condemn those who don't measure up. But there are several reasons why a born-again believer cannot lose his salvation.

1) The most obvious reason is that the Bible says that God gives us eternal life when we believe (John 5:24). How long is eternal? If you read the popular conditional security teachers they all agree that once a person is condemned to eternal death, there is no hope for any reversal of their circumstances. Why? Because eternal death is eternal. Yet these teachers ignore the fact that believers don't have to wait until they die to get eternal life, but they can have it now! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, whoever hears the words of mine, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life and shall never come into condemnation, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24) Interestingly, in Robert Shank's book on conditional security there is a chapter entitled "Can Eternal Life Be Lost"...and he never directly answers his own question. Why, you ask? Because conditional security teachers know that the expression "conditional eternal life" is a misnomer. It's like teaching conditional eternal death.

2) The gifts of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Is salvation a gift, or not? Conditional security teachers can't find a single verse of scripture where God revokes something that is said to be a "gift". Why? Because a gift isn't earned to begin with. If it is worked for, then it is a wage, not a gift (Romans 4:4). Any blessing of God in scripture which is revoked was never a gift to begin with.

3) Conditional security is salvation by works. No stretch of logic by the conditional security teachers can avoid this point. They do not believe that a person is saved by grace through faith, but by grace through faith + holy living. And this is dangerous, because Paul suggests in Romans 9:30 - 10:3 that those who trust in their works to save them are lost.

One final point...conditional security teachers tend to ignore verses that condemn their own sins while pointing the finger at those who they deem "worse sinners" than themselves. Romans 6:23 says "The wages of sin is death." I know that Wesleyans and other such groups love to read qualifications into verses where no such qualifications are given, but there is not the slightest qualification of "sin" in that verse. If it's a sin, then it is worthy of death. Ecclesiastes 7:20 says "There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and never sins." If God revokes one person's salvation because of sin, then he is required out of justice to revoke every Christian's salvation since none of us can completely stop sinning in this life. But conditional security teachers ignore this fact. They ignore the warning of James when he says "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all...so speak and so act, as those who are going to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment." Notice that last verse..."mercy triumphs over judgment." It doesn't matter what you do in this life, if you are saved then mercy will triumph over judgment.

For any Christian who still has many doubts about his salvation, this is a book which should calm your fears.

After reading 200 pages on this topic, author Charles Stanley should have you convinced God is not going to give you something that important (your salvation), and then take it away (and keep doing that). Stanley, to back up the "once saved, always saved" thelogogy, argues it with many Scriptures and just common-sense statements.

If one wants to read a book giving the opposite viewpoint, that's fine. I've that, too. It's a difficult debate. I suggest you weigh both sides, pray about it, and take it from there. Personally, I liked Stanley's arguments better. They make more sense about the nature of God and convinced me. I now have peace about this important issue.

Although I was raised in church, I WAS NOT raised under the teaching of eternal security. Far from it. My Grandfather preached the Gospel for nearly 60 years and, in fact, preached very hard AGAINST such doctrine.
Under my Grandfathers preaching, I was born again in 1990. All was well for several weeks. I was full of joy and faith in the Lord. I finally had a "peace that passes all understanding". It didn't take long, however, for the enemy to attack. First, He attacked the validity of my salvation. "How do you know you're saved? Can you be sure? What if you're not?" I was hounded, day and night, by these questions. Soon, you guessed it, my joy was gone. Sadly, I slipped back into sinful habits. But, this time it was different. I found myself committing these old sins again, but not to the enjoyment I previously had. I actually hated them! I was miserable.
Under the doctrine I was raised in, I now was "lost" again, and needed to be "re-saved". But, somehow, that made no sense at all. How could I, or anyone, be "un-born" after they were "born again"? I WAS SO CONFUSED!!!
While at a Christian bookstore one day, I saw Dr. Stanley's book. I flipped through the pages. Could this "eternal security" be true? Well, I decided to spend the money and buy the book. It's teachings were totally the opposite of all the doctrine I had been taught all my life, but I saw myself on every page. Wanting to do good, but falling short. (Paul had this same problem in Romans 7.) The book in no way condones sin, but it does condone the Grace of God that is greater than any sin.
To make a long story short, besides the Bible, Dr. Stanley's book "Eternal Security" has helped me more than any! Thank you Dr. Stanley for teaching the Truth, knowing it wouldn't be accepted by many. (Just read some the other reviews listed here!) By the way, I now Pastor a church and am truely discovering that "He will never leave us, nor forsake us"! Things have changed a lot since I gave my life to the Lord in 1990, but I've discovered that He's not a quitter. He is Faithful and True and will not deny Himself.
Eternal security does not free us TO sin, as some mistakenly believe, but rather, it frees us FROM sin! The Truth makes us free!

I have a roommate who believes in Lordship Salvation. It seems as if he says every day "you're going to hell if you're not 100% perfect."

I was really confused. I knew that I wasn't sinless, and I was far from perfect. Upon reading this book, though, I found a magnificent assurance in my salvation. (My roommate of course thought the book was all lies and evil, but that was just him.)

This book completely restored my confidence in my salvation. A must read for anyone.

(Especially good is the section over rewards.)

This is a wonderful book if you are either struggling with assurance or have doubts about your salvation. It explains in easy to understand terms just what the gift of salvation actually is, and provides solid answers to many "problem" verses that can leave you bewildered. It is also an excellent study tool for students on both sides of the question who would like to learn more about the doctrine of eternal security.

The thing I like best about this book is that it gets you to think about the implications of each individual verse that you study. The author even has "Think About It" sections throughout the book and closes each chapter with pertinent review questions to help the reader internalize the information. The author does a great job in breaking down a difficult subject into verse by verse commentary that is accessible to readers of all levels.

This book is very convincing and gives a person stability in their Christian life knowing when they die, they will definitely be going to Heaven if they truly have a relationship with Jesus as Lord & Savior. Charles Stanley, who used to not believe in "eternal security", does a professional job of showing Scriptures that support eternal security as well as Scriptures that appear to go against the idea of "eternal security".

WOW!! I've read many books on the subject of Believer's Eternal Security but I have to say this book topped them all hands down! Thank you and God bless you Dr. Stanley for writing this eye (and heart) opening book. For those of you who are sincerely seeking the truth about the security of your Salvation, this is the book for you! It will bless you!

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough for people who have doubts about their salvation, as I did. This book should help put your fears to rest and give you the peace and joy the Lord's gift of salvation is meant to bring. God bless Charles Stanley for writing this wonderful and uplifting book.